“Who is the murderer?” Shen Xiabai asked.
Xiao Lan lifted a pair of bloodshot eyes and stared fixedly at Shen Xiabai without speaking or moving.
Shen Xiabai said, “Could it be that the princess’s other ear is afflicted as well? Shall I summon the imperial physician back to examine it?”
He took a step closer. Xiao Lan’s eyes immediately shrank, and she backed away. “He’s… he’s outside.”
Shen Xiabai smiled. “That’s more like it. The princess had better protect that one remaining ear. If it loses its hearing too, you truly won’t be able to hear anything at all.”
He turned and took Cui Yunchu’s hand.
“Shen Xiabai,” Xiao Lan said through gritted teeth. “How dare you treat me like this? Aren’t you afraid my mother and imperial brother will hold you accountable?”
She was a princess, after all. Injuring a princess was a capital offense.
Shen Xiabai merely turned his head slightly. “The princess thinks far too highly of herself. I told you long ago that if I could bring you back from the temple, I could also send you back there—or even make sure you remain in the capital forever.”
The word “remain” carried an unmistakable threat and warning.
“The princess has distinguished right from wrong and is willing to hand over the accomplice who did the deed—Yu Feng. Take the princess outside to identify him, then execute him on the spot.”
Yu Feng acknowledged the order. Without saying a word, he stepped forward, hauled Xiao Lan up from the ground, and dragged her outside. Her right collar was stained with a great deal of blood, leaving her looking thoroughly disheveled.
Cui Yunchu said, “Shen Xiabai, won’t this truly bring trouble upon you?”
Shen Xiabai bent down with a smile. “Kiss me, and all the trouble will disappear.”
Cui Yunchu punched him in the chest, her brows drawing together slightly. Shen Xiabai raised a hand and gently smoothed them out one by one, then took her hand and led her outside.
“She’s only a princess. When all is said and done, it’s nothing more than a title without any real authority.”
Only a princess?
Cui Yunchu sighed inwardly. In the eyes of a powerful minister, even the title of princess was not worth mentioning.
The two of them stood at the top of the steps, looking down over everything in the courtyard. Shen Xiabai glanced sideways at Cui Yunchu and asked, “A Chu, do you like this height?”
Cui Yunchu looked at Shen Xiabai, then turned her gaze toward the courtyard below. Her eyes met Xiao Lan’s by chance. Within them were hatred, unwillingness, and yet also fear.
It was exactly like her own former self—furious but unable to speak out, enduring and restraining herself.
“I like it.” She nodded.
Who wouldn’t like standing at the top? Who wouldn’t like power?
She tightened her grip on his hand and said to Shen Xiabai, “I’ve dreamed of it. I’ve dreamed of it so often, and I love it.”
Shen Xiabai raised her hand, lowered his head, and placed a gentle kiss on the back of it. “Your husband will teach you how to wield power, A Chu. That way, when I’m not around, you can use your influence to bully whoever you please.”
Cui Yunchu: “…”
There were people all over the courtyard, and he still spoke without the slightest attempt at discretion.
Judging by Xiao Lan’s expression, her eyes were practically about to bulge from her bloodshot face.
Cui Yunchu had always wanted wealth and power, but now that Shen Xiabai had put it so bluntly, why did it suddenly sound so shameless?
Shen Xiabai released her hand and slipped an arm around her waist instead. “Yu Feng, bring the woman out.”
“Let Her Highness the Princess have a good look, so she won’t mistake someone’s identity again and bring disaster upon others.”
Yu Feng seized a trembling old woman by the collar and lifted her from the ground, then tossed her directly in front of Xiao Lan. Frightened, Xiao Lan hurriedly backed away, but the soldiers of the Office of Discipline surrounded her, leaving her nowhere to hide.
Yu Feng said, “Her Highness, my lord says you should look carefully, so you won’t make the same mistake again.”
“Princess, save me! Old servant begs you, please save me!” The old woman crawled across the ground on her knees, trembling like a leaf.
Xiao Lan slapped away the hand reaching toward her and raised her eyes to look once more at Shen Xiabai and Cui Yunchu.
“Shen Xiabai, you truly are insane! You two aren’t even married, yet you dare parade yourselves around so brazenly, behaving so intimately in public. It’s utterly shameless and disgusting!”
Cui Yunchu had been insulted for more than a decade. There was hardly any reaction on her face.
Shen Xiabai said, “Wasn’t ‘insane’ the very word His Majesty used to describe you several years ago?”
“Speaking of which, the princess certainly has unique tastes. You refused the sons of respectable families, yet insisted on pursuing a man who was already betrothed and deeply in love with someone else. What is it? Is something stolen simply more useful?”
Xiao Lan opened her mouth but was left speechless, her face turning purple.
Shen Xiabai continued, “I’m very fond of the princess’s assessment of me. I hope you’ll keep my madness in mind. In the future, think twice before you act.”
How could he make a madwoman fear him if he did not act mad himself?
Yu Feng yanked the old woman up by the collar, as though he were lifting a chicken. “The princess has seen enough.”
Cui Yunchu instinctively took a step back.
Yu Feng’s blade spun in his hand. Under the reflection of the white snow, it gleamed with a razor-sharp chill as it slashed toward the old woman’s throat.
A warm hand suddenly covered Cui Yunchu’s eyes. She turned her head toward Shen Xiabai.
A shrill scream from Xiao Lan rang out in the courtyard, accompanied by a coarse, muffled gurgling sound—like a chicken whose throat had been slit, thrashing in agony.
Cui Yunchu raised her hand and pulled Shen Xiabai’s away, then stared fixedly at the scene in the courtyard.
Yu Feng stood there with the sharp knife in hand, blood dripping from its tip. At his feet lay the old woman, the snow beneath her stained dark red with blood. The sight was jarring.
Her arm seemed to twitch almost imperceptibly. A moment later, it fell utterly still.
Xiao Lan crouched on the ground. From where she sat, she had witnessed the old woman’s throat being cut from beginning to end. Now the woman’s body lay directly within her line of sight.
Her eyes were slightly widened, and her face was gradually turning blue and purple. The wound on her throat was deep enough to expose bone.
Xiao Lan turned her head away and braced herself against the ground, suddenly retching.
Two pairs of shoes stopped close together in front of her. She raised her head in disarray and met Shen Xiabai’s grim gaze.
“Aren’t you very fond of killing people, Princess? Why have you stopped watching? Don’t you like the way that old woman died?”
Xiao Lan glared at him, unable to utter a single word.
If she had once harbored improper thoughts about this man, then after today they had all turned to dust. In her eyes, Shen Xiabai—this handsome man with power and influence—was no different from a demon straight out of hell.
He was a devil. Plain and simple.
Cui Yunchu frowned as she watched the pain twist Xiao Lan’s features.
She asked calmly, “Why did you kill her that day?”
Xiao Lan shifted her gaze to Cui Yunchu and glared viciously at her.
Cui Yunchu frowned, her voice turning cold. “You’ll tell us sooner or later.”
Xiao Lan gave a mocking laugh.
Cui Yunchu’s gaze fell upon the old woman’s lifeless body. “Red and white really do complement each other. You can admire the sight to your heart’s content in your residence, Princess.”
“Oh, right.” Cui Yunchu seemed to have suddenly remembered something. She looked at Xiao Lan and said, “My birthday is in a few days. Princess, you must be sure to come.”
After a pause, she added, “Perhaps I should start calling you my stepmother.”
“Get lost.” Xiao Lan’s brows knitted together in disgust.
Shen Xiabai looked down at her from above, his voice as cold as the bitter winter air. “Does the princess still remember what you and the Gu scion did together all those years ago?”
Xiao Lan’s face went pale, and even her lips began to tremble.
Shen Xiabai curled the corner of his lips and said without a trace of warmth, “Princess, you must never forget that day. Only by reliving it every day can you remain tormented by fear and unease.”
Xiao Lan’s expression turned vicious. “They’re nothing but two commoners. I can kill them whenever I please. Why would I be afraid?”
