“…How did my son die?”
Li Hua’s voice was very soft.
Her gaze shifted away from Feng Zexuan’s calm expression and locked onto her husband’s face.
Zhang Shan did not answer.
His chin trembled, his teeth chattering with faint clacks.
Sweat slid from his temples into his collar.
“A-Hua, y-you… don’t listen to her nonsense!”
He finally forced the words out. “Our son… he was…”
“He’s the type who won’t cry until he sees the coffin.”
Feng Zexuan interrupted him. With a flick of her wrist, the long saber at her waist slid halfway out of its sheath with a sharp shing.
The blade reflected a cold light inside the dim straw hut, and Zhang Shan’s pupils shrank instantly.
【Trash like this deserves to know what fear feels like.】
Feng Zexuan sneered inwardly.
“What are you doing?!” Li Hua screamed.
Ignoring her, Feng Zexuan pressed the blade against Zhang Shan’s neck.
The icy touch instantly stopped his trembling. He froze stiff, not even daring to breathe too hard.
“Tell the truth.”
Feng Zexuan’s tone was flat. “And I’ll let you live.”
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Feng Zexuan tilted her wrist slightly forward.
Shhk—
The sharp tip sliced open his skin. After the brief chill came burning pain.
A bead of blood welled from the cut and trickled down his neck.
The metallic scent of death flooded Zhang Shan’s nose.
He broke instantly.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Don’t kill me!”
His scream was hoarse and tearful.
“It… it was me…”
He didn’t dare look at Li Hua, his eyes fixed desperately on the floor.
“I… kicked our son to death!”
“…”
The blood drained from Li Hua’s face in an instant.
Her lips moved, but no sound came out as she stared fixedly at Zhang Shan.
“Y-you’re lying to me…”
She finally found her voice, weak as a thread.
“She threatened you, didn’t she?”
Zhang Shan’s body gave out completely. He slid down the wall onto the floor.
“That day… I was with Widow Wang next door… in the woodshed…”
He spoke incoherently, his voice shaking uncontrollably.
“Our son… our son saw us…”
Li Hua’s breathing stopped.
“Say it clearly!” she roared.
“I told him not to tell anyone… but he said… he said he’d tell his mother…”
Zhang Shan’s voice grew smaller and smaller, almost a sob.
“I panicked… so… I kicked him…”
“How was I supposed to know he was so weak?”
“Just one kick to the chest… and he collapsed… stopped breathing…”
He could not continue. Covering his face with both hands, he let out beastlike sobs.
【Tch. Even when admitting it, this scum still makes it sound like it was the child’s fault.】
Feng Zexuan felt sick with disgust.
【Host, garbage like him really deserves death.】
Li Hua stood frozen, her body swaying slightly.
“I don’t believe it…”
She muttered to herself, the last trace of hope still struggling in her eyes.
“You’re lying… you must’ve been forced…”
Expressionless, Feng Zexuan lifted a foot and kicked Zhang Shan hard in the shoulder.
He rolled twice across the ground and slammed into the corner wall with a dull thud.
The pain shattered the last of his act.
“I didn’t mean to! A-Hua! I really didn’t mean to!”
Crawling on the ground, he kowtowed frantically toward Li Hua.
“I just wanted him to keep quiet! I was afraid you’d beat me to death! I was really scared!”
“Then cavalry just happened to pass by… so I… I dragged our son’s body into the road… made it look like… he’d been trampled by horses…”
SLAP!!
A loud smack echoed through the hut.
Li Hua’s palm struck Zhang Shan’s face viciously, five red finger marks instantly appearing.
Her hand trembled violently in midair, her eyes overflowing with despair and rage.
“You beast…”
Her voice was low and hoarse.
“You absolute beast!!”
She lunged at him, using her fingernails to gouge his eyes and her teeth to bite into his shoulder.
“Give me back my son!!”
“Give me back my son!!”
Her nails carved deep bloody gashes across Zhang Shan’s face.
He screamed in agony but did not dare fight back, only curled up on the floor begging for mercy.
“A-Hua! I was wrong! I was really wrong! Please spare me!”
“I’ll kill you!!”
Tears mixed with blood across Li Hua’s face as she looked utterly deranged.
Feng Zexuan stood nearby, watching the farce coldly.
【System, is this guy’s status in the family really that low? He’s getting beaten senseless by his wife and still doesn’t dare fight back?】
【Host, in Tingxia Kingdom, there are far more men than women. By law, women can divorce husbands, but men cannot divorce wives.】
【A sturdy woman like Li Hua is considered highly desirable there. A weakling like Zhang Shan only managed to marry her because he talks well.】
【If he dares hit back, Li Hua could divorce him the very next day, throw him out penniless, and leave him homeless.】
Feng Zexuan understood immediately.
【So he’s just a spineless freeloader who’s useless but loves causing trouble.】
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Li Hua finally exhausted herself.
She collapsed to her knees, burying her hands in her hair as she wailed in despair.
“My son… Mother failed you… I was blind!!”
Feng Zexuan stepped forward and lifted both of them up like limp chickens, one in each hand.
“Done crying?”
Neither dared answer. Only heavy breathing and suppressed sobs remained.
“Now you have two choices.”
Feng Zexuan’s calm voice was chilling.
“One: I kill both of you right now to pay for the poisoned children.”
“Two: you kneel beneath Yanmen Pass and tell every citizen the entire truth. After that, I’ll send you back to Tingxia Kingdom for your king to judge.”
Zhang Shan barely needed to think.
He was from Tingxia. Even if he had killed children from Great Xia, the king would at most demand compensation for fellow citizens—not his life.
He immediately slammed his forehead against the ground repeatedly.
“I choose the second! Your Highness, I choose the second! Please spare me!”
【Heh. Just as expected—a coward terrified of death.】
Feng Zexuan sneered inwardly.
Li Hua closed her eyes. Two lines of tears slid down, mixing with the blood on her face.
“…I’ll go.”
Feng Zexuan released them, and both fell heavily to the ground.
“Good. We leave now.”
She swung herself onto her horse as Mofeng snorted.
“I’ll be right behind you. If either of you tries anything…”
She did not finish the sentence, but the murderous aura alone terrified them out of their wits.
The pair scrambled out of the straw hut.
Along the road to Yanmen Pass, Li Hua seemed to regain some strength. Every time Zhang Shan slowed down or tried begging for mercy, she kicked him viciously without hesitation.
Zhang Shan’s face became swollen and bruised, but he could only endure silently.
Feng Zexuan followed leisurely behind them on horseback.
【Humans are basically still animals. Evolution’s way too slow!】
【Host, humans are animals.】
An hour later, Yanmen Pass came into view.
Torches blazed brightly outside the gates. Not a single citizen had left.
Seeing the children had already taken the antidote—their rashes fading and breathing stabilizing—the people finally relaxed a little.
The moment Feng Zexuan returned, the crowd erupted into motion and fell to their knees.
“The Prince has returned!”
“Thank you, Your Highness, for saving us!”
But when they noticed the two bedraggled figures following behind her, everyone froze.
“Your Highness, who are these people…?”
Feng Zexuan pulled on the reins and swept them with a cold glance.
Zhang Shan and Li Hua’s legs gave out instantly, and they crashed to their knees.
“People of Great Xia—we are guilty!”
Zhang Shan shouted hoarsely.
“The poison in your children… w-we were the ones who administered it!”
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