Princess Chaoyang’s eyes were filled with fury as she pointed at the woman tremblingly, "This lunatic, this lunatic. Seize her! Gag her!" Clearly, her own painful past had triggered her.
That madwoman fiercely bit the servant who tried to capture her, freeing herself and continued to laugh crazily, "What?! Are you frightened? Are you afraid that people will recall your shameful past? Time has passed, but some truths cannot be changed in a lifetime. You, Chaoyang, were jealous that Li Xinhe of Le Yuanhou Mansion won the heart of Mu Xiang. You wanted to harm her. You sprinkled makeup powder on her to attract a black bear - an assassination attempt, who would’ve thought that Mu Xiang risked his life to protect her. Later, you tried to frame her for the murder of Concubine Shen but fortunately, the Emperor figured out the truth. After marrying Li Xinhe, Mu Xiang distanced himself from the capital city to rid himself of your crazy stalker antics! You say I’m crazy? I say you’re the crazy one!"
"You think I’m afraid of you now? You killed De Zhuang, and I will not let you get away with it. I’m an orphan about to die, what do I have to be afraid of? At least, in my life, I received the sincere love of the person I loved. What did you receive? You have nothing. A thousand years from now, all that will remain of you is the notorious reputation of a cruel and tyrannical princess!"
Chaoyang was seeing red. She directly drew the sword from a guard next to her and stabbed the crazy woman in her chest.
The woman screamed sharply once and made no more sound, glaring at Chaoyang in her death, full of resentment like a fierce ghost. Her lips moved, and people could faintly hear her last words: "Vile woman!"
The scene instantly fell silent. Whether they were nuns or noblewomen from aristocratic families, nobody dared to say a word or even breathe a little louder, for fear that they would inadvertently bring calamity upon themselves.
Princess Chaoyang’s past, which she couldn’t bear to recall, had faded over time, and even if anyone remembered it, they didn’t dare to mention it. However, this lowly servant reopened old wounds on this day, slapping Chaoyang in the face publicly.
Princess Chaoyang’s face was a pale, frightening color, her rage and embarrassment causing her chest to heave violently. The humiliation and shock of having her secrets exposed had almost caused her to lose her sanity.
"Sever the head of this despicable person and hang it on the city gate for all to see!" Chaoyang commanded, grinding her teeth.
"Yes, as you command!" the eunuch hastily complied, and ordered his men to remove the servant woman’s corpse.
Ji Xinhe watched everything coldly, and although no one could guess what she was thinking, she maintained her composure and attempted to reduce her own presence. At this point, Ji Xinhe was struggling to protect herself, let alone have the luxury of concerning herself with the troubles of the Princess’ mansion.
Ji Xinhe intended to distance herself from the incident, but unfortunately, the unpredictable Princess suddenly recalled her from oblivion. "Tell me, what do you think of my decision to kill this despicable maid today?" Chaoyang sneered and pointed at Ji Xinhe.
Caught off guard by the question, Ji Xinhe responded calmly, "The Princess is handling her own servants. As a civilian woman, I dare not interfere, and so should others."
Chaoyang sneered, "Yes, they are my servants. Who cares about such an insignificant person? If she dares to spread rumors, I dare to kill without hesitation. Even if this place is a sacred Buddhist land, so what?"
Ji Xinhe kept her eyes lowered and said nothing.
Xiaoyu and Shulan were soaked in nervous sweat.
The surrounding area was quiet. Everyone watched Ji Xinhe with varying degrees of suspicion. They knew that Chaoyang held herself above all others, barely acknowledging even noblemen or noblewomen who were slightly inferior to her status, let alone an ordinary woman. But suddenly, this small civilian woman had become a target of the Princess’s relentless probing. Chaoyang’s seemingly illogical focus on the unimportant woman made everyone wonder if the Princess had gone mad or was simply disoriented.
Or... could it be another reason entirely?
Even Chaoyang couldn’t answer this question herself. She didn’t understand why she was so interested in this little civilian woman, especially when that despicable woman had mentioned Ji Xinhe. A vague sense of familiarity drew her to ask this woman more questions.
A hint of doubt crept into Chaoyang’s heart, prompting her to look more closely at the low-key woman. The woman wore a veil which obscured her face and exuded a calm demeanor. She was dressed in rather ordinary brocade, but when Chaoyang took a closer look, she couldn’t help but notice that the woman’s eyes were eerily similar to Ji Xinhe’s.
The contrast was stark though. Ji Xinhe’s eyes sparkled with arrogance and brazenness, while the woman’s eyes were deep, reserved, and humble. They were both beautiful but had very different charms.
Regardless, her strong resemblance to Ji Xinhe was enough to provoke Chaoyang. Over the years, anyone who bore the slightest resemblance to Ji Xinhe wasn’t spared her wrath. Naturally, her current state of intense anger required an outlet.
Chaoyang smirked and pointed at Ji Xinhe, "You have very beautiful eyes. They must belong to a very beautiful woman. Isn’t it a pity to hide behind that veil? Take it off, let me have a good look at you."
Ji Xinhe said, "My husband’s family has strict rules, and I dare not remove my veil when outside. I’m not worth the Princess’s scrutiny."
Chaoyang snapped, "Remove it when I ask you to! If I want to look at you, it means I honor you. If you dare to say another word, I will gouge out your eyes!"
Gouge out these eyes that resemble Ji Xinhe so much!
So raged Chaoyang.
All her unhappiness in this life was because of that despicable Ji Xinhe! No matter seven years or seventy years, Chaoyang utterly despised her.
Sharpness flashed in Ji Xinhe’s downcast eyes, her hand in her sleeve cautiously touched the hidden dagger, as secret guards preparing to take action were concealed in the shadows.
Ji Xinhe wasn’t worried about escaping from Chaoyang’s clutches, but if she were to reveal her identity today, she would certainly alert the Emperor of her presence. That would make her upcoming tasks considerably more challenging, particularly her mission to rescue Le Yuanhou.
While Ji Xinhe was contemplating her options, the silence was abruptly broken.
"Why has the Princess come to pray at Qingyuan Temple today?" A solemn voice shattered the tension.
Ji Xinhe looked up abruptly to see Duan Lan slowly approaching. His eyes glanced at her briefly, but it was as though he hadn’t seen her at all.
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