USWHC -Chapter 236 Off to Die, That Fool (Part 6)

“Ah!” Princess Pingning let out a sharp scream, falling heavily to the ground. Her once-elegant high bun couldn’t withstand such an ungraceful fall—it smacked right onto her face. The scene was beyond merely embarrassing; it was outright comical.

Sister-in-law You immediately burst out laughing, unable to contain herself. “Shoehorn face! Shoehorn face!”

“Sister, you’re wrong—it’s the shoehorn hitting the face!” Zhu Jie kindly corrected her.

Indeed, her once-proud long “Chasing Clouds, Tying Moon” bun now hung upside down like a shoehorn dangling over her forehead. How could this not provoke laughter? Even the maidservants couldn’t hold back their giggles.

“Who? Who’s speaking?” The Princess shrieked again, frantically trying to straighten the shoehorn on her head.

Alas, the “Chasing Clouds, Tying Moon” bun refused to cooperate, dangling stubbornly to the side, never to stand upright again.

Angrily, she lifted her head, scanning for the speaker—but no one appeared. Her brows furrowed tighter. Just then, she saw Ji Yi lift his foot and, like kicking a ball, send the footstool servant he was standing on flying out.

The Princess’s eyes widened as yet another human “cannonball” hurtled toward her. She shrieked again, and the maids hurriedly backed away to protect her.

With a dull “smack,” the servant landed hard, unable to recover. He raised his head in helpless grievance, stretching his arms as if to grab something, but could only clutch at the hem of a nearby garment.

“Ah~!” The maids panicked at his outstretched hands, shrieking and scrambling over each other to pry them apart, kicking him mercilessly. That poor servant finally fell silent—truly knocked out by the maids’ relentless kicking.

The Princess trembled all over, either from fear or fury, her long fingernails digging into her palms.

Then, Ji Yi suddenly clasped his fists in a martial-arts-style salute, striking a heroic pose, and boomed, “Greetings, Princess Pingning!”

This greeting was not his usual polite or naive tone. It carried a dark, commanding weight—like a hero straight out of Water Margin acknowledging another.

Not only his voice, but even the pose emphasized it: his biceps bulged, exuding a lethal, imposing aura. The Princess, seeing him like this, felt her lips quiver uncontrollably.

Had she just encountered a notorious bandit? For some reason, the atmosphere turned terrifyingly tense, the air almost freezing. Everyone fell silent—even the Princess dared not breathe.

“May I ask, Princess, what crimes have my sister and mother committed to be beaten so?” Ji Yi’s voice remained icy.

Hearing this, the Princess swallowed nervously, but still tried to sound firm: “They… stole things!”

Before she could finish, Ji Yi interrupted: “Were they your household servants?”

“No!” she admitted, voice wavering.

“Were they your clan members?” he continued.

“Also… no!” she whispered, even smaller now.

Ji Yi’s expression visibly hardened, as if frost had settled over his face. Coldly, he asked, “Then who gave you the right to mete out private punishments?”

“They… they stole! Can’t I punish them?” she demanded, still trying to sound assertive despite her guilt.

“Laws govern the state, and rules govern the home. If the Princess ignores state law, then perhaps we should discuss ‘jianghu’ rules instead,” Ji Yi said unexpectedly.

Indeed, even if Ji Mei and the others had stolen something, the Princess had no right to punish them arbitrarily—they were still free individuals. In fact, even ordinary peasants enjoyed certain personal freedoms.

Of course, there were always tyrants and bullies in history—but Ji Yi made it clear: “I’m not one of the good guys. If you want to use force, we’ll settle this differently.”

“Jianghu rules?” The Princess had never encountered anyone directly challenging her with “jianghu etiquette” before. She was stunned, completely caught off guard.

At that moment, Ji Mei began to cry, her voice hoarse and piercing, tinged with panic and urgency: “Let me go! I didn’t steal anything! I didn’t steal!”