Volume 13
Chapter 12: Worse Than a Beast
Zhu Xi was still that Zhu Xi. Whether you call her audacious or say she has superhuman courage, an ordinary person wouldn’t think of immediately striking back right after escaping danger. She was extremely aggressive. The moment she confirmed she had no worries behind her, she couldn’t wait to start her counterattack. Lu Li somewhat understood why Zhu Zhengyuan had sought him out. Zhu Xi was like a spirited horse, constantly galloping toward the edge of self-destruction. Before, she only had a single rein named Zhu Qiao. If Zhu Qiao had really died at the hands of the Yan Matriarch, Zhu Xi would have no more scruples. At this time, perhaps she needed a rider to rein her in at the cliff’s edge, before it was too late.
The weather was severe, and the blood on the ground was frozen cold. Zhu Xi looked at her foolish and dazed imperial father. “I need you to accompany me one more time.”
Zhu Youcheng was afraid of death. He actually never dared to step into the Yan family’s territory. But he knew that if he backed down again today, he might never get his daughter’s forgiveness. So he hitched up his overly tight waistband and nodded as if forcing himself to be calm.
And so, the soldiers in the honor guard uniforms “escorted” the disarmed assassins toward the Yan family’s old residence. On the way, Zhu Xi called over the assassin who spoke Chinese the best and instructed him on some matters. The latter, of course, did not dare to disobey.
…
Sitting in his prospective father-in-law’s luxury car, Lu Li comforted the somewhat nervous Wen Hupo. No matter how intelligent Hupo was, she was still a girl. She had probably never even seen a chicken being killed, let alone a person. There was a row of low wine cabinets in the car. Lu Li poured a small glass of red wine for Hupo. “Drink a little. Get some good rest.” Wen Hupo took the wine glass. “You don’t have to worry too much about me. I’ve seen corpses before, back at the Amber family.”
“Amber?” The most nervous one was actually his prospective father-in-law, Zhu Youcheng. He started to randomly find topics. “Is that the Amber that sells weapons? Old Osric and I are good friends! How has his health been lately? I haven’t gone to have tea with him in a long time!”
“Osric is already dead,” Wen Hupo said. “He’s been dead for about a year now.”
“Ah…” Zhu Youcheng was a little dazed. “…They’re all gone.”
Lu Li looked at Zhu Xi, who was silently holding Zhu Qiao. He noticed that the poison princess’s hands were trembling slightly. He had to correct his judgment. The most nervous one wasn’t the timid prospective father-in-law, but rather the audacious Zhu Xi. Yan Rujun had raised her for more than ten years. No matter what, this kindness of raising her was always hard to let go of. She knew very well what she was about to do.
Lu Li sat a little closer to her. He didn’t talk about what was about to happen, but instead chatted about Zhu Qiao. “Little Qiao has lost her ability. What will she do in the future?”
“I’m fine. I won’t back down at the last minute. You can rest assured.” Lu Li had asked about Zhu Qiao, but Zhu Xi had answered about herself.
“If life is too tiring, it’s fine to let me trouble you appropriately too.”
Zhu Xi’s shoulders relaxed, and she smiled slightly. “Don’t worry. You’ll have plenty to be busy with in the future.” She called Wen Hupo’s English name and said thank you. Lu Li didn’t know, but this might be one of the few “thank yous” Zhu Xi had ever said in her life.
Wen Hupo took a small sip of the red wine. “You’d better thank Lu Li than me.” She seemed to be a little dissatisfied with Zhu Xi. Long ago, when Lu Li had first stood against Zhu Xi, Hupo had already shown her hostility toward Zhu Xi. The naturally indifferent Hupo and the radical Zhu Xi would probably never get along. Lu Li played deaf and dumb. He realized that after this matter was over, he would have to deal with even greater troubles between women.
…
A strong fortress is often breached from within. By the time the bloated, slow-moving Yan family had not yet detected Zhu Xi’s intention to counterattack, a large group of people was already blocking the main gate of the Yan family. Under Zhu Xi’s arrangement, the Yan residence was attacked from both inside and out. A team of armed soldiers and assassins with the fanaticism of converts trampled over the threshold of the Yan family—literally trampled, no exaggeration.
The Yan Matriarch was suspicious of electronic equipment, and because of this outdated thinking, after Zhu Xi cut off her contact with the outside world, she was unable to send her orders out of her bedroom. And because of the harsh family rules of the Yan family, the people below did not dare to act rashly without receiving Yan Rujun’s orders—after all, the one leading them was the young miss, second only to the head of the family. While they were anxiously waiting for the head of the family’s reply, Zhu Xi had already led Lu Li through that dim corridor and arrived at the gloomy main door.
Zhu Xi had pushed open this door many times. Every time, she had been careful and cautious, afraid of making a sound and disturbing her grandmother. But this time, her state of mind was different. She deliberately pushed it very slowly, making the heavy wooden door emit an annoying creaking noise. The Yan Matriarch shrieked, “Are you looking for death?” Upon seeing it was Zhu Xi, the Yan Matriarch’s eyebrows furrowed, and her already terrifying, mummy-like face became even more frightening.
However, in the next second, the Yan Matriarch saw Lu Li behind Zhu Xi, and two points of sharp light burst from the shadows under her brow bones. “Xi’er, what is the meaning of this?”
The words Zhu Xi had rehearsed in her mind many times disintegrated under this one question from the Yan Matriarch. The psychological shadow left from more than ten years made her at a loss for how to respond for a moment. Lu Li stood beside Zhu Xi and took the Fourteenth Princess’s hand, their ten fingers intertwined. He had never thought that one day he would actually be standing on the same side as the infamous poison princess.
“Haven’t you always wanted my life?” Lu Li said.
The Yan Matriarch scrutinized the clasped hands of Lu Li and Zhu Xi. “Sure enough… I only regret not having killed you sooner. Boy, you are indeed a scourge to Xi’er.”
Should I praise her for her foresight or criticize her for her short-sightedness? Lu Li couldn’t judge. The Yan Matriarch wouldn’t know that it was precisely her preemptive strike that had given Lu Li the opportunity to come into contact with Zhu Qiao and Zhu Xi.
“You can’t kill him. And you can’t kill Zhu Qiao either,” Zhu Xi finally adjusted her state and spoke with a powerful voice.
“…I am your grandmother, Xi’er.” The Yan Matriarch changed her fierce demeanor from just now, her tone becoming gentle. But her appearance, half-paralyzed and barely living on the bed, couldn’t be associated with gentleness at all. On the contrary, it reminded Lu Li of the big bad wolf.
Lu Li said in a small voice, “She’s stalling for time.”
Zhu Xi shook her head. “Yan Rujun, it’s no use. I know all your trump cards. You told me yourself. All the forces you can use have already been controlled by my people. No matter how much you delay, you won’t be waiting for your reinforcements. Are you perhaps counting on those vassals? It’s a pity, your orders won’t leave this room.”
“Zhu Xi! You ungrateful little beast!” The Yan Matriarch suddenly flew into a rage, like a mental patient. The finger she pointed at Zhu Xi was like a withered branch. “I raised you, cultivated you, let you inherit my legacy, and this is how you repay me!”
“You weren’t cultivating her. You were sending Zhu Xi to her death.” Lu Li cut in coldly. He didn’t want to hear the Yan Matriarch play the sympathy card anymore. This old woman had tried to kill him several times; he would never compromise with her.
“Beast! Shut up! There’s no place for a no-dad, no-mom bastard like you to speak here!”
Smack!
Zhu Xi threw a bag at the Yan Matriarch. The Yan Matriarch caught it, opened it, and saw the bloody head of that female housekeeper. Her hand trembled, and she dropped the head on the ground.
Zhu Xi squeezed Lu Li’s hand. “He’s not a bastard. He saved my life. He’s the imperial son-in-law I’ve chosen. What gives him no right to speak?” Her palms were sweating. To have defied her to this extent was already pushing her limits.
Lu Li was not angered by the Yan Matriarch’s insult. “You’re right, Yan Rujun. I am an orphan. But at least I have someone who loves me and whom I love. Unlike you, a lonely old woman hiding in this sunless old mansion, plotting the death of her own granddaughter. The pigs in the sty at least have brothers and sisters. Yan Rujun, you are worse than a beast.”
