Chapter 18018 The Past

Chapter 18

The slippery snake crawled into Yingji's clothes. She took off her clothes in fear and slapped it hard.

The three princesses of the Snow Crossing Kingdom laughed heartily. When Yingji's clothes were torn into a mess, they looked down upon her with contempt, as if she were being humiliated. "You are so stupid! You can't even see through an illusion. You are really bringing shame to the royal family!"

Yingji was stunned. She looked at her body again, but there was no snake left.

The other princess laughed, "As expected of the fox demon's chosen one, you really enjoy taking off your clothes."

After a burst of laughter, the leading princess raised her hand and pointed: "Lock her up!"

Two palace maids immediately stepped forward, held down Yingji's arms, lifted her up and threw her into the woodshed.

"Sister, what should we do next?"

"You don't have to do anything." The proud princess shrugged. "She's different from us. She needs to eat and drink. Starving her is enough."

Several princesses were laughing and playing in the courtyard, sharing their recently acquired spiritual weapons. Then, bored, they decided to meditate and practice.

They stayed outside for three days before opening the woodshed.

"See if that girl is starving to death."

With a creaky sound, the door of the woodshed was opened, and the warm sunlight poured into the dark and damp woodshed without mercy.

Yingji was kneeling on a pile of weeds, stuffing something into her mouth.

The bright light illuminated her face, which was dirty and covered in blood, and the rat's tail was still hanging out of her mouth.

"She, she actually ate mice!" Several princesses bent down and acted evil, then left in disgust.

Yingji got up from the ground and ran out, but she fell down due to weakness. Almost without stopping, she got up again and trotted to get a piece of bacon hanging from the tree.

She quickly cut the bacon into small pieces and filled a large bowl.

Kong Fan thought she was starving, but she ran into the house with a large bowl in her arms and opened the cupboard. She placed a large bowl of bacon in front of the tiger cub, smiling and stroking it. "Are you starving? Eat quickly. I'll make you something fresh tomorrow."

Kong Fan squatted down in front of Yingji, observing her expression, which seemed accustomed to bullying. He reached out to wipe the blood from her face, but his disembodied hand slipped across her cheek.

At night, Yingji quietly walked out of the room.

She picked up the backpack on the ground and held a sickle in her hand.

She had no spiritual power and could not perform illusion techniques, so she went to catch a real snake.

Kong Fan followed behind her, watching her skillfully catch one snake after another, and watching her pour the caught snakes into the bedrooms of the three princesses through the window.

Screams of terror echoed through the night.

Yingji stood quietly in the night, her eyes bright and firm, her face expressionless.

But the truth was revealed.

She suffered further retaliation and was thrown into the Buddhist temple to repent, covered in wounds.

She curled up motionless, closing her eyes to endure the pain in her body.

When the dawn shone into the Buddhist temple, she got up and knelt devoutly before the Buddha to repent.

"I was wrong." She confessed with bright eyes, "Buddha, I shouldn't have acted rashly. I should have prepared a more complete plan. Kill him with one strike and eliminate the trouble forever."

His words were so firm, as if he was swearing an oath.

Kong Fan looked at Yingji's thin but kneeling figure. He stood behind her and followed her line of sight to look at the compassionate Buddha.

·

The tiger cub's leg wound had healed, and it was running around the courtyard in full sprightliness. Various herbs were still drying in the yard, but the medical book spread out on the stone table had become a book on poisons.

"Princess! The eldest prince and Princess Ling Wei are back!" The little palace maid ran in with a smile.

Yingji's face instantly brightened, a rare childlike smile on her face. She happily ran out to greet them.

"Brother! Sister Ling Wei!"

Xue Zhongyu strode over, bent down, and picked up Yingji. "Ying has grown taller again!"

Xue Lingwei smiled and said, "Yes, he's taller, but why do I see he's lost a lot of weight?"

She pinched Yingji's face and asked, "Did you eat well?"

"Yes. I eat well and full every day!" Yingji smiled with her eyes curved, her smile was innocent and childish.

Kong Fan looked at her in confusion, finding it hard to connect her with the one from a few days ago.

The scene changed, and Yingji, Xue Zhongyu, the emperor of Duxue Kingdom, and her and Xue Zhongyu's mother, Concubine Wan, were sitting together for dinner, laughing all the time.

Concubine Wan was in poor health and had been bedridden for years. She would not leave her bedroom until Xue Zhongyu returned to the palace.

While talking to Xue Zhongyu, Princess An held Yingji on her lap. Occasionally, she would gently lower her head and feed Yingji herself.

The whole family is happy.

Yingji looked up at her mother, her eyes filled with happiness and tenderness.

Whenever Xue Zhongyu returned to the palace, Yingji would be brought here, clinging lovingly to her mother. But Xue Zhongyu was the eldest prince, the most powerful of all the other princes, and the next crown prince. He didn't spend much time in the palace, spending most of his time outside hunting monsters and gaining experience.

Yingji stayed in her remote palace, accompanied by a maid named Mujin and a tiger. She was constantly bullied, but she mostly endured it silently, without resistance.

Just as she had made up her mind before the Buddha, she would only fight back fiercely after being fully prepared.

·

Kong Fan stayed by Ying Ji's side day after day, watching her grow up. She had a stunningly beautiful face from a young age. As she grew older, her appearance became even more remarkable, and she could no longer be described as simply beautiful.

But she was different from the Ying Ji that Kong Fan met.

There are three seasons of snowfall in Duxue Country. She always wraps herself in a thick coat, never dresses up, walks in a hurry with her head down, and wishes that no one would notice her.

Unfortunately, her beauty is too eye-catching. Even without makeup, it is difficult to hide her stunning appearance. Instead, she is praised as a lotus emerging from water.

The men looked at her with more and more greed, as if they were looking at prey.

Yingji gathered her cloak around her and hurried back to her residence with her head lowered. She sat down anxiously and sighed deeply.

Mu Jin poured her tea and asked her what was wrong.

"Sister Ling Wei is going to marry Bei Xuan." She lowered her eyes, feeling anxious and distressed.

Wars are becoming more and more frequent in the world. The power of the Duxue Kingdom is gradually declining. Sandwiched between several major countries, its life has become increasingly difficult in recent years.

Xue Zhongyu walked in dejectedly, having drunk some wine and reeking of it. He blamed himself for his own incompetence, for forcing the woman from the Snow Crossing to marry far away.

Yingji quietly accompanied him in drinking.

At the palace banquet in honor of Beixuan, Yingji looked at Xue Lingwei from time to time. She had a smile on her face, but no amount of makeup could hide the sadness in her eyes.

Yingji felt sad for Xue Lingwei and was also worried about herself. She was afraid that marrying into a foreign country would be her future fate.

While the wine was flowing, Yingji quietly left the table.

She returned to her residence and was looking through ancient books. Mu Jin ran over in a panic and told her that something big had happened and that something had happened to the eldest prince.

Yingji put down the ancient book and hurried back to the banquet.

——Everyone saw Xue Zhongyu embroiled in a fight on the bed. The figure flashed by, and they only had time to see the woman climbing out the window, wearing the palace dress of the Princess of Duxue Country.

The people who witnessed this incident were from Beixuan Kingdom. The people of Beixuan were happy to see the scandal of the royal siblings of Duxue, and were even more happy to see the most outstanding prince of Duxue Kingdom fall into the mud, and they wanted to make a big deal out of the matter.

Concubine An, who had always been bedridden, rushed over, grabbed Xue Zhongyu's skirt, and said urgently, "Who seduced my son? Speak up, tell me who it was?"

The Emperor of Duxue, his face livid, coldly demanded to know the identity of the person who had escaped through the window. At this point, the only way to save his eldest son was to capture his daughter and shift all the blame onto her.

"Come here!" The Emperor of Duxue Kingdom waved his hand, "Let all the princesses come here and have their bodies examined one by one!"

"Aying..." Xue Zhongyu's voice trembled.

Kong Fan immediately turned around and looked at Ying Ji. She was standing in the corner, slowly raising her eyes and quietly looking at the elder brother she had respected since childhood.

The crowd was in an uproar. Yingji's wrist was grabbed and she was dragged forward, stumbling. Before she could even stand, Wanfei's slap came down hard.

She was knocked to her knees and her vision went dark for a brief moment.

Yingji didn't care about the pain or excuses. She turned her head and stared at Xue Zhongyu beside her without blinking.

She didn't understand, she didn't believe it.

"elder brother?"

Xue Zhongyu closed his eyes and didn't dare to look at her.

Concubine An squatted down, grabbed Yingji's collar, and hit her hard again and again.

"Everyone says you're restless, but I don't believe them! How could you even treat your own brother so badly! Just because you're beautiful doesn't mean you can seduce men! If I had known this would happen, I would have strangled you to death the moment you were born without spiritual power! It's not enough to disgrace yourself, but you even insult your brother!"

Pain washed over her, and Yingji was on the verge of collapse. Despite the beating and scolding, she raised her head and looked at her mother. "No! I didn't! I didn't do anything!" She reached out to pull at her mother's sleeve.

Concubine An pushed Yingji away in disgust, "Still trying to quibble? You vixen!"

"Someone! Take her away and tie her to the Frost Snow Stone!"

When Yingji was dragged away, she looked at her mother eagerly, but saw her mother looking at her son with eyes full of heartache.

At that moment, Yingji suddenly stopped making excuses.

She realized in an instant that the truth didn't matter at all. Her mother abandoned her without hesitation and chose to try her best to save her son.

What was so surprising? Her brother had always been her mother's favorite. She was just a hug for fun when her mother was in a good mood.

Kong Fan frowned as he looked at Ying Ji. He would rather she struggled and cried out for justice than remain silent for a moment. Her gaze stung his heart.

Kong Fan silently walked through the crowd and followed Ying Ji out. He stretched out his hand, but the translucent palm reminded him that he could do nothing now.

The Cold Snow Stone stood in the center of the bustling square of the Duxue Country. Yingji sat in the snow, leaning against the stone, her ankles chained with heavy iron chains.

The people of Duxue Country came and went, looking at the delicate princess in the palace.

Kong Fan stood in front of Ying Ji, wanting to block those offensive glances for her. He also wanted to cover Ying Ji's ears to prevent those dirty comments from reaching her ears.

Late at night, several figures appeared silently and walked towards Yingji with ill intentions.

Yingji tried to move, and the iron chains on her ankles rattled.

Her mother should know what would happen to her if she was tied up here, right? At this moment, Yingji suddenly didn't want to struggle.

So tired.

Mu Jin ran over from a distance and hugged Ying Ji to protect her.

"The princess did nothing! She was wrongly accused!"

Yingji, who had never cried before, suddenly burst into tears.

Mu Jin used her weak spiritual energy to protect Ying Ji, but Ying Ji watched helplessly as she was slaughtered, blood gushing out, staining the white snow red.

"Mujin!" Yingji cried and hugged Mujin in her arms, using both hands to block her wound. The hot blood burned her hands.

Kong Fan looked at Ying Ji crying to the sky. He raised his hand and pressed his chest to stop the throbbing pain.

He had seen many human tragedies, but he had never experienced such heartache.

Was it because of the Tongsheng Gu? He could truly feel Ying Ji's pain, so was he feeling so much pain?

But he entered Yingji's inner demon and returned to her past. The Gu that bound him to her had not yet taken effect.

A flash of sword light split the darkness. Xue Zhongyu held the sword in his hand, gathering strength to chop it across. With one strike of the sword, the people surrounding Ying Ji all groaned, their heads and bodies separated, and they fell down in unison.

Xue Zhongyu took a deep breath and ran towards Yingji. "Aying... I..."

His legs went weak and he knelt down in front of Yingji.

Yingji looked at him and suddenly smiled strangely.

"Thank you." She smiled. "I haven't trusted many people in my life, and from now on I won't have any more. That's a good thing."

Yingji's ankles were covered in blood after she broke free from the chains. She stood up, holding Mujin's body, and walked step by step into the snow.

From then on, there was nothing to lose and nothing to fear.

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