Xiao Chaihu stood by the road, whispers of discussion from the crowd filled his ears. He lifted his eyes slightly to take in the pompous procession entering the city. His eyes were filled with murderous intent. His hand, hidden in his sleeve, clutched the handle of his knife, calculating the distance between him and the procession, as well as the odds of successfully killing Song Yalin in one strike. He was about to move forward to finish her off.
But suddenly, someone grabbed his shoulder.
A reflexive attack from Xiao Chaihu twisted the intruder’s arm in return.
Xiao Bei howled out, "Li Nan! You’re going to snap my arm!"
Xiao Chaihu’s frowned; recognizing that the man was Xiao Bei, he let go of his hold and lowered his voice to ask, "Why are you here?"
Xiao Bei rubbed his sore arm, "If I didn’t come, you probably would’ve done something reckless!"
He glanced at Song Yalin’s procession, "What were you planning to do? Kill Song Yalin in public? Do you know what kind of consequences there would be if you brazenly attacked her now? She has the title of a side consort at the Pingyang Prince Mansion, even the Emperor himself granted her marriage, moreover, there’s a child in her belly..."
"That’s an illegitimate child." Xiao Chaihu coldly interrupted.
Xiao Bei said helplessly: "What use is it for us to know that he’s a bastard? She preemptively claimed the child in her belly is the child of the Royal Mansion. Even if you question her now, she would only bite back."
"I have no interest in questioning her; I just want to kill her." Xiao Chaihu spoke calmly, talking about murder as if it were as simple as having a meal.
However, the coldness in Xiao Chaihu’s eyes made Xiao Bei shudder, and he quickly grabbed him, "It’s because I was afraid you would do something foolish that my sister asked me to come find you. Regardless of whether the allegations are true or false, she now has so many identities, plus a supposed heir to the Royal Mansion in her belly. If you kill her in public, can you imagine the consequences and punishments you will face? I fear even my sister won’t be able to protect you."
"If she lives, it will trouble the princess." Xiao Chaihu said coldly.
"So, you don’t care about yourself?" Xiao Bei asked, "Don’t you know, if you assassinated the side consort of the Royal Mansion in public, that would be a capital crime punishable by killing nine generations of your family. Aren’t you afraid to die? Li Nan, you’ve always been smarter than me. If I can think this through, why can’t you?"
"I know."
"Knowing full well it is a foolish act, you still want to do it? What’s gotten into your head? You weren’t like this before!" For some reason, Xiao Bei seemed somewhat angry. Couldn’t he see clearly the value of life, having grown up together since young? 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Xiao Chaihu said indifferently, "I’ve always been like this."
"You..." Xiao Bei was stuck for words, trying to blurt something out, yet suddenly finding himself unable to speak. He stared at the calm yet determined eyes of Xiao Chaihu, as if realizing something but not really wanting to accept it. He shook his head, suppressing the answers that were about to surface, and in the end, could only angrily say, "Anyway, my sister asked me to bring you back. You are not to take any rash action against Song Yalin. If you insist on causing trouble, consider this warning as unheard!"
With that, he turned around and strode away angrily.
In fact, Xiao Bei was not really that angry. He didn’t even know why he had acted that way. Was he really angry but unconscious of it? Or, could it be that he was using this false anger to suppress some answers that were about to slip out?
Xiao Chaihu turned to look at the procession which had gradually moved farther away. Thinking of what Xiao Bei had relayed from Ji Xinhe, he forcibly suppressed the murderous intent rising within him, turned around, and followed Xiao Bei.
As they took a shortcut and galloped back, they arrived at the mansion well ahead of Song Yalin’s procession.
It would take another hour for Song Yalin to travel from the prefecture city to Lian’an Town. Throughout this hour, from the prefecture city to Lian’an Town, there’d be crowds of people watching wherever they went. It would be impossible for Ji Xinhe to secretly arrange for assassins to deal with her.
Otherwise, how would she have the guts to come to Yu State? This was Ji Xinhe’s territory!
Royal Mansion.
Xin He was reviewing the account books of Winding Pavilion and noticed that Xiao Yu came in and reported, "Princess, Young Master Ji and Xiao Chaihu have returned."
Xin He closed the account book, "Let him in."
"Yes."
"Sis!" Xiao Bei rushed in, "I brought Xiao Chaihu back."
Xiao Bei was always casual, and Ji Xinhe didn’t require any formalities from them. However, Xiao Chaihu was always careful, and he would never be negligent. As soon as he stepped in the door, he gave a salutation: "Princess."
Xin He nodded, "You’re back? Did you do anything foolish?"
Xiao Bei complained, "He almost did. Lucky I was there on time! I gave him a good scolding too. He just doesn’t regard his own life, sister, you have to have a serious talk with him!"
Xin He curled the corner of her mouth, "Alright, I understand, you may leave now. Ah Guai is in the adjacent chamber writing, go keep her company. I have some important matters to deal with."
Xiao Bei was not involved in Xinhe’s serious matters, not that she didn’t want him to be, but rather, he simply wasn’t interested. Besides reading and playing, Xiao Bei wasn’t interested in anything else. Ji Xinhe didn’t push him, but let things go according to his wishes.
Xiao Bei nodded and then left, not without first sticking his tongue out at Xiao Chaihu before leaving.
After Xiao Bei left, Xin He lightly glared at Xiao Chaihu: "I knew you were going to mess things up, that’s why I sent Xiao Bei after you. Else, I don’t know how I would’ve cleaned up your mess. I asked you to monitor Song Yalin. I certainly didn’t ask you to assassinate her. At this precarious moment, if you had actually done her harm, do you think you’d end up in a better position than her?"
"If I don’t do it, the princess will." Xiao Chaihu said.
Xin He glared at him, "That’s exactly it. If someone’s going to do it, it should be me. Why are you getting involved?"
Xiao Chaihu lowered his head in silence. In his heart, he thought: if anyone had to do it, and handle the mess it’d inevitably leave behind, he’d rather it be him. He could take it all upon himself if need be.
But he couldn’t voice these thoughts, and only lowered his head.
Seeing his reactions, Ji Xinhe thought he must have repented. So, she softened her tone, "Anyway, let’s let it slide this time. Don’t repeat this."
"Yes."
After a pause, Xiao Chaihu continued to speak, "What does the princess plan to do next? Song Yalin is already on her way to the Royal Mansion, causing quite a scene. By now, I’m afraid everyone in Yu State knows about the child in her belly. Princess..."
Ji Xinhe laughed coldly, "Now that she’s here, naturally we have to handle it cleanly. I was never afraid of the Rouyi Army or the imperial court’s troops, would I be afraid of a small fry like Song Yalin now?!
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