AUBTN -Chapter 170 It’s Quiet Now

Lu Yan waved his hand, tossing the scar-faced man to the ground at Li Yunxi’s feet as if he were garbage.

“Your Highness, the Princess, you should know this man, right?”

The scar-faced man was now terrified out of his wits. Seeing Li Yunxi, he kowtowed desperately.

“Princess, save me! Princess, save me! It was Manager Wang who sent me…”

Li Yunxi’s expression shifted briefly, then quickly returned to its usual arrogance.

She kicked the scar-faced man aside and sneered coldly.

“How could I possibly know such a despicable thing?”

“So what if I did know him?”

She rose to her full height and stepped toward Lu Yan, lifting her chin proudly.

“I merely taught two unchaste merchant women a lesson.”

“Lord Lu, Governor Shen, you two are pillars of the court, yet for two lowly women, you dare to lead troops to besiege my residence?”

“If this reaches the Emperor’s ears, can you bear the consequences?”

Li Yunxi was certain they wouldn’t actually take action.

After all, she was the elder sister of the current sovereign.

“Lowly?”

Shen Jue chuckled lightly.

The folding fan in his hand snapped shut with a crisp sound.

“In my eyes, they are ten thousand times nobler than you.”

Shen Jue stepped forward, forcing Li Yunxi to instinctively retreat half a step.

“Your Highness, regarding the affairs in Xizhou, have you handled them cleanly?”

At the mention of Xizhou, Li Yunxi’s pupils constricted sharply, a flicker of panic crossing her face.

“You… what are you talking about!”

Lu Yan looked at her coldly, his gaze sharp as a blade.

“Today’s events, I will report truthfully to His Majesty.”

“Furthermore, Manager Wang has already been taken to the imperial prison by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”

“I hope to hear more… interesting stories from his mouth.”

Li Yunxi trembled with fury, pointing at them and yelling.

“Get out! All of you, get out!”

This was the first time since returning to the capital that a man had put her in her place.

Watching them escort Su Hewan and Yu Qing away, Li Yunxi dug her fingernails deep into her palms.

Those two wretches!

They actually managed to unite these two sworn enemies against her!

Her gaze turned venomous and unhinged.

“Fine, very well…”

“If you want to play, then I will play with you to the very end!”

After this major commotion at the Princess’s residence, the rumors about Li Yunxi’s tyrannical behavior and her orders to her evil servants to commit violence were completely confirmed.

Coupled with the spread of the story “The Grievances of Xizhou”, the entire capital’s public opinion boiled like water over a flame.

Imperial Palace, the Emperor’s Study.

The young new Emperor sat on the dragon throne, frowning as he looked at the towering piles of impeachment memorials on the desk.

“Elder Sister, you’ve gone too far this time.”

Though young, the Emperor already carried the bearing of a sovereign.

Looking at Li Yunxi standing below him, an air of nonchalance on her face, he suppressed his anger.

“Lu Yan and Shen Jue are my left and right arms. You humiliate them like this, how am I supposed to report to the court?”

Li Yunxi waved her hand impatiently, cutting him off.

“Emperor, are you lecturing me?”

Relying on her status as the elder sister, she didn’t take this younger brother seriously at all.

“Don’t forget, you owe this position partly to me, your elder sister of Xizhou. If I hadn’t persuaded Marquis Ning’an to send troops, would you even be sitting here right now?”

“Moreover, as your elder sister—an elder sister is like a mother!”

“Is it such a big deal that a few lowly people died and two women were injured?”

“The ministers are just looking for trouble. If the Emperor listens to them over such trivial matters, how will you govern the realm in the future?”

Li Yunxi’s words were sharp and aggressive, like scolding a child.

The young Emperor’s hands, hidden in his sleeves, clenched into fists, knuckles whitening.

“Your Highness’ lesson is well taken.”

The new emperor lowered his head, masking the fleeting glint of malice in his eyes.

“I understand. You may rest in peace, Imperial Sister.”

Li Yunxi snorted coldly, swept her sleeves, and left, her bowing perfunctory to the extreme.

Watching her arrogantly storm away, the new emperor suddenly swept the teacup off the table, shattering it on the floor.

“An elder sister like a mother…”

He ground his teeth as he muttered the words, his eyes full of resentment and venom.

“I am the true Son of Heaven of Great Wei!”

The wildfire of The Lament of Xizhou had, in the end, reached the eyebrows of the Princess Li Yunxi.

Rumors in the capital boiled like scalding water, and the old stalwarts of the Censorate, hearing the news, moved at once. Memorials and petitions flew into the Imperial Study like snowflakes.

Even Li Yunxi, no matter how domineering, had to momentarily retreat from the spotlight.

The vermilion gates of the Princess’s mansion remained tightly shut for a full half month.

Even her usually arrogant servants went out to buy groceries with their tails between their legs.

The sky over the capital had, for once, become a little clearer.

Autumn winds rose, and the fragrance of osmanthus filled the air.

Another Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching.

Inside Wutong Courtyard:

“Ah—I can’t do this! This isn’t making a lantern, this is torture!”

A sharp, girlish cry shattered the afternoon calm.

Yu Qing sprawled on the zitan wood National Preceptor’s chair, utterly ungraceful.

In her hands, she clutched a few crooked, poorly split bamboo strips.

Lu Yan sat opposite her, holding a delicate carving knife, meticulously whittling the bamboo frame.

Hearing the commotion, he didn’t even raise an eyelid.

“You’ve only carved two strips so far.”

His tone was cold, but with an almost imperceptible hint of indulgence.

Yu Qing pouted, and a little mental theater began playing in her head.

【Lu Yan is such a blockhead! Can’t he see my fingers are red? Doesn’t he care at all?】

Lu Yan’s carving knife paused sharply.

He set it down and stood, walking over to Yu Qing.

“Give me your hand.”

Yu Qing froze for a moment, then theatrically extended her fair, delicate hands, trembling.

“It hurts…”

She sniffled, her voice soft and sweet as if water could be squeezed from it.

In reality, the skin wasn’t broken—just a faint red mark pressed onto it.

Lu Yan frowned at the tiny mark.

His rough fingertips gently stroked it, sending a shiver of tingling down her arm.

“Delicate.”

He verbally complained, but his body betrayed him.

Turning around, he sat with his back to Yu Qing, taking the few uneven bamboo strips from her.

“I’ll do it. You just watch.”

Yu Qing sneaked a triumphant smile, like a fox who’d successfully stolen the meat.

She leaned close, resting her chin on Lu Yan’s broad shoulder, her breath brushing his ear.

“Master Lu is so wonderful, Master Lu is mighty and imposing, Master Lu is the best man in the entire capital!”

Flattery spilled from her like a rainbow at no cost.

Lu Yan’s back stiffened, and the hand holding the knife tightened.

His heartbeat was thrown off rhythm.

【This man—his ears are red all over, yet he pretends to be serious.】

Yu Qing’s thoughts once again slipped into Lu Yan’s ear without reservation.

He clenched his back teeth but couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from lifting.

This enchantress.

She was going to be the death of him.

Elsewhere, Su Hewan sat on the soft window bench, holding an ancient book, but her mind wandered.

Her left leg was slightly bent, the pant leg rolled up, exposing the previously injured calf.

The bruises had mostly faded, leaving only faint traces.

Shen Jue half-knelt in front of her bench.