similar

Xu Yi still couldn't believe it: "But...but wasn't Bai Da's fate because he was arrested by the authorities?"

"So... how did Jiu Yin discover Bai Da and the others' whereabouts?" Wu Zi murmured. "And Bai Da is a snake demon who has cultivated for a thousand years. How could he be so easily refined into that state by Jiu Yin?"

"Because Bai Da doesn't have the Heart-Protecting Scale anymore?" Xu Yi naturally interjected, then, thinking of certain possibilities, Xu Yi's scalp tingled: "Could it be... that she tricked Bai Da into giving her the Heart-Protecting Scale? And then told Jiu Yin about Bai Da and Bai Er's whereabouts? That's how all these things happened? And she used Bai Da to solve the lecherous ghost's problem, and then used Jiu Yin to solve Bai Da's problem, and in the end, she can still find a respectable family to marry into like a normal lady from a good family?"

Xu Yi considered this possibility and felt that everything made perfect sense... How could a normal young lady seek out a lecherous man? And even willingly become his matchmaker? At the engagement banquet, she seemed to have known all along and showed no reaction whatsoever... Later, when Bai Da and Bai Er disappeared, she remained indifferent...

Judging from how familiar she and that man were yesterday, it didn't seem like their first meeting. In other words, while Bai Da's life or death was uncertain, she was looking for a new suitor.

As Xu Yi thought about all these things, and Bai Da's crippled body, her anger surged... Just as she was about to lose her temper, she heard Yi Qing speak: "The Prime Minister's eldest daughter? It seems that she is the designated candidate for Crown Princess."

"What?!" Xu Yi's eyes turned completely red. "How could a woman of such questionable character, with an unbalanced personality and a long-standing affair with a lecherous man, become the Crown Princess? And the future Empress?"

Xu Yi thought of the long-deceased Empress, her hypocritical, benevolent face, and felt waves of nausea rising within her...

The thought that the dynasty he was willing to die for was actually such a worthless piece of trash made Xu Yi slam his fist on the table: "Has Xingchao really degenerated to this extent?"

The three men reacted differently to the table that Xu Yi's men had smashed...

The supervisor glanced at Xu Yi and said slowly, "Xu Yi, calm down."

Xu Yi gasped for breath, trying to calm the anger and disappointment in her heart. Her eyes were bloodshot, and when she looked at the crowd, a chill ran down one's spine for no reason...

Wu Zi rubbed Xu Yi's arm and comforted her, "These are just guesses, it may not necessarily be her."

Yi Qing quickly chimed in, "Others are unaware of Xiang Qi's entanglement with the lecherous ghost, so naturally they can't see her inner filth. However, the Imperial Observatory is in charge of private matters, so we can report this to the higher authorities. After all, this is the selection of a new empress, so we must be cautious."

“No need,” Xu Yi looked up, his eyes sharp as he gazed toward the Imperial Study, much like a nobleman of the dynasty: “I will go and speak to him myself.”

Wu Zi stopped her: "Xu Yi, you are already dead. You shouldn't get involved in the affairs of Xingchao anymore. Go, leave these worldly matters behind, go far away, and walk your own path..."

“I can’t leave in peace until this matter is resolved. If I leave now, this knot will remain in my heart and become a demon. I must resolve it.”

Xu Yi removed Wu Zi's hand and walked out resolutely. Wu Zi wanted to persuade her again, but the supervisor had already spoken: "There's no need to stop her, let her go. She's right, if this matter isn't resolved, it may become a mental obsession."

“But…” Wu Zi still disagreed. Xu Yi had finally reached this point, and if he acted recklessly, all his years of hard work could be for naught. But the supervisor just shook his head at him…

Wu Zi now knew that Xu Yi had to overcome this hurdle on her own, so he let her go...

Xu Yi's anger was rising to her throat, but she managed to suppress it only after the supervisor's persuasion. So, contrary to her usual practice, she decided to go see the emperor herself; she wanted to know if the emperor was also utterly corrupt…

I want to know just how rotten Xingchao really is...

So, ignoring everyone's advice, she went straight to the Imperial Study. Just as the dragon spirit on the plaque of the Imperial Study was about to emerge, Xu Yi roared, "Get out..." and then used the surrounding spiritual energy to nail the dragon spirit back onto the plaque...

Even the dragon soul couldn't withstand Xu Yi's spiritual power, let alone the mortals outside the imperial study? With a roll from Xu Yi, the surrounding people were all thrown to the ground by the force, lying sprawled haphazardly...

Seeing that something was wrong, the other soldiers around Xu Yi quickly surrounded him. The leading imperial guard asked Xu Yi, "Who dares to be so insolent in the Imperial Study?"

"Who is it?" Xu Yi looked at the leader, neither humble nor arrogant: "Xu Yi, the thirteenth princess of the Great Xing Dynasty. Step aside, I don't want to make things difficult for you. Let the person inside come out and talk to me."

As soon as Xu Yi finished speaking, whispers arose all around: "The Thirteenth Princess? Wasn't she dead?", "The Thirteenth Princess? I know, didn't she resolve a lot of demon issues recently?", "So, is she a human or a ghost now?"

Before any further whispers could circulate, the emperor's chief eunuch emerged, waving his whisk and announcing, "His Majesty's decree."

Everyone around knelt down. The eunuch glanced at Xu Yi, who remained unmoved and refused to kneel, before continuing to deliver the decree: "All of you, step back. This matter must not be mentioned again." After the surrounding imperial guards had all withdrawn, he turned to the side and gestured for Xu Yi to leave, saying, "Please."

Xu Yi strode into the imperial study and immediately saw the former crown prince on the throne.

The emperor sighed, dismissed everyone in the imperial study, and then smiled at Xu Yi, saying, "Is she really Thirteenth Sister?"

"There's no need to go through these hypocritical procedures; they're disgusting."

"Alright, then what brings you here today, Thirteen?"

"Xiang Qi, the chosen candidate for Crown Princess, is of questionable character and unsuitable to be a royal wife."

"But I've heard that the Prime Minister's eldest daughter is exceptionally talented and virtuous, making her an excellent candidate."

"That's just on the surface. She's been entangled with a lecherous ghost for a long time, and her past isn't exactly innocent. Moreover, she's repeatedly used and harmed innocent spirits for her own selfish reasons. It's already a favor that she didn't die; how could she possibly have a glorious life?"

"But she is the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's family. Moreover, she harmed a demon, not a human."

"So what if it's a demon? Doesn't a demon's life matter?" Xu Yi shouted angrily, his voice so loud that it shook the entire imperial study.

The Emperor glanced at the dust that fell from the ceiling after the shake, raised an eyebrow, and said helplessly to Xu Yi, "Thirteenth, the royal consort isn't judged by these things. As long as she can bring benefits to the royal family, everything else is secondary..."

"Interests? What interests?" Xu Yi unconsciously clenched his fist: "Does having interests excuse her bad character? Ordinary people choose virtuous wives, but in the royal family, only interests matter?"

The emperor sighed: "Thirteenth, you are not a person of officialdom, you don't understand. If my son marries her, he can win over the prime minister and the scholars under the prime minister. In this way, he can smoothly pass through the ascension to the throne in the future. This is the greatest benefit she brings."

Xu Yi's eyes immediately reddened, and the spiritual energy around her surged due to her emotional fluctuations, causing the entire imperial study to tremble once again...

The emperor quickly gestured to Xu Yi, taking a step back: "How about this, we deal with her after my son has smoothly ascended the throne?"

"Oh?" Xu Yi laughed angrily, "So the entire royal family is used and then discarded... just like Xiang Qi? In that case, she really is quite suitable to be a royal wife?"

The emperor, thinking Xu Yi had heeded his advice, nodded and smiled, "That's right, Thirteenth Prince, you can treat her as a tool; it's not too late to discard her after you're done..."

"Heh... Just like me, is that it?" Xu Yi took two steps closer to the emperor: "When you need me, you send me off to marry a foreign ruler and die, but when you don't need me, you won't even let me into the imperial mausoleum, is that it?"

"Is it because of the imperial tombs? That's easy. I'll issue an imperial decree immediately to have the Imperial Observatory bring your remains back, shall I?"

"No need, I find it dirty."

Xu Yi understood. Matching Xiang Qi with the Crown Prince was like a turtle eyeing a mung bean—a perfect match. This utterly rotten dynasty was best suited to someone as rotten as Xiang Qi.

So she didn't say anything more and just left quietly.

Since the fair dynasty doesn't want to give it, then I'll give it to them myself.

Xu Yi left the Imperial Study in a flurry and then rushed to the Prime Minister's Residence. As soon as he arrived, Xu Yi waved his hand at the servants who came to greet him, and all the guards at the main gate were knocked down by the force of his wave... Xu Yi went straight to the Prime Minister's boudoir.

When Xu Yi arrived at Xiang Qi's boudoir, she immediately waved away the maid who was protecting Xiang Qi, and then sealed off all the doors and windows.

Before Xiang Qi could recover from the shock on her face, her maidservant flew to the door and closed it. She looked at the hostile-looking Xu Yi and tried her best to maintain a polite smile: "Miss, what brings you here?"

"I don't like beating around the bush. I'll just ask you, how did Bai Da's protective scale end up on you?"

Instead of answering the question directly, Xiang Qi changed the subject: "Heart-protecting scales? Weren't they already taken away when you and his brother came last time?"

"I'm asking you where you got that heart-protecting scale, don't play dumb with me."

"The heart-protecting scale is the most important part of a snake's body. Of course, it was given to me by him. How could I, a mere mortal, possibly remove it?"

Xu Yi's eyes narrowed, and the anger that had been building up inside her surged to her head. She hadn't expected that even at a time like this, she would still be beating around the bush...

"You don't actually think I have no way to understand if you don't tell me, do you?" Xu Yi said leisurely, "Ever since I got this skeleton, I've been able to see many things... I can even see where the memories in your mind are if I try hard enough... Do you need me to pull them out little by little and examine them closely?"

"No!" Before Xiang Qi could speak, Wu Zi's voice rang out from outside. It turned out that Wu Zi, fearing Xu Yi would cause a great disaster, had been following him from a distance. Hearing Xu Yi say he wanted to extract mortal memories, he immediately stopped him: "Xu Yi, if mortals' memories are rashly extracted, they are prone to becoming mentally impaired. If selfishness leads to bad consequences, Heaven will hold you accountable..."

Before Xu Yi could speak, Xiang Qi curled his lips into a confident smile: "Oh? So Heaven will hold people accountable?"