Chapter 110: The Enchanting Grand Princess
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Li Yunji walked silently toward the painting. After standing still for a long time, he slowly took it down and carefully packed it away, as if afraid to disturb the woman’s slumber in the portrait.
Turning around, he faced Xiao Quan with a disdainful glare and said coldly, “When I left Beiling back then, I gave you five thousand taels of silver to take care of everyone in the Wang residence. Do you remember, Steward Xiao?”
Xiao Quan trembled all over and nodded shakily, “I remember, I remember.”
Suddenly, a trace of cruelty flickered in Li Yunji’s eyes as he shouted, “Is this how you took care of things?!”
Sweating coldly in terror, Xiao Quan hurriedly kowtowed and begged for mercy, “Your Highness, please spare me. I know I was wrong! I will return every single tael of silver right away!”
Li Yunji stepped forward, his voice cold, “Do you think I care about the silver?”
When Li Yunji left Beiling, he had almost handed over all the ready silver in the Wang residence to Xiao Quan. Silver was insignificant to him, a fact Xiao Quan was well aware of.
Yet he never expected Li Yunji to return so suddenly, nor that he would find him so quickly.
Xiao Quan’s face turned pale, and he dared not respond. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead, soaking his lavish clothes.
Li Yunji snorted coldly and scanned the courtyard of the Xiao residence, noting many items from the Wang residence scattered about.
“These furniture and decorations are all old possessions from the Wang residence. Xiao Quan, you truly have some nerve,” Li Yunji said expressionlessly, his voice imbued with undeniable authority.
“Did you think I would never come back?”
Xiao Quan trembled even more violently, his voice quivering, “No, no, Your Highness, you must be mistaken. I was only safeguarding them on your behalf! Since you have returned to Beiling, I will return everything in full immediately!”
There was a hint of luck in Xiao Quan’s tone, a slight relief in his quick-witted response.
Li Yunji’s gaze remained icy as he lowered his head to look at the scroll in his hand. The thought that Xiao Quan had touched this painting filled him with disgust.
“Safeguarding? You deserve that?” Li Yunji said coldly.
Turning slowly, he shouted angrily, “Cut off his hands!”
Eleven gave the order, and with a single stroke of the blade, Xiao Quan’s anguished screams echoed through the courtyard.
The servants buried their heads in fear, trembling and unwilling to witness the horrific scene.
Li Yunji and his party vanished without a trace.
...
Wang Residence, Study.
Chu Qi, with a smile lingering on her lips after the great revenge, paced back and forth in the room, lamenting Xiao Quan’s past evils while praising Li Yunji’s decisive actions today.
Li Yunji remained silent, propping his chin on his hands as he stared at the painting brought back from the Xiao residence.
“Young Master,” Eleven stood beside Li Yunji, mimicking his pose, puzzled, “You’ve been staring at the portrait of the princess consort all day long.”
“You’re about to see flowers in it.”
Li Yunji smiled faintly. “How come I never realized before how beautiful Mother was?”
“That’s because—” Eleven chuckled, “She was the most beautiful woman in Great Qian, not a reputation without merit.”
“Back then, admirers of the princess consort stretched all the way from the South Sea to the Northern Desert!”
“Is that really an exaggeration?” Li Yunji laughed foolishly.
“Not at all. When you were born, the whole city of Beiling was almost overwhelmed by the guests coming to congratulate.”
“I remember clearly, the prince hosted visitors for a whole month.”
“All of them came to see the princess consort.”
Chu Qi frowned, “Shouldn’t they have been here to see the young master?”
“Some, yes,” Eleven rolled his eyes, “but very few. Most just used the excuse of visiting you to show care for the princess consort.”
At that moment, Su Qingmeng entered slowly with a doubtful look. Seeing the portrait hanging on the wall, her eyes lit up, confirming that Eleven’s words were not exaggerated.
“But how could Mother, a princess of the highest rank, fall for a rough man like Father?”
Li Yunji was still incredulous about how Li Jia managed to win over his mother, Zhao Yan.
By all rights, Zhao Yan was a peerless beauty, never short of suitors.
Old Li Jia had neither looks nor literary talent.
Aside from his unparalleled second-rank cultivation, what else did he have?
Could it have been a political marriage?
Li Yunji pondered this.
“You don’t know,” Eleven said, standing with hands behind his back and approaching them with the air of a storyteller.
“The prince in his youth was indeed both talented and handsome.”
Talent? Li Yunji raised an eyebrow; Li Jia was indeed a cultivation talent.
As for looks...
The image of Li Jia’s untidy, slovenly appearance flashed through his mind—he could easily blend into a crowd of beggars without standing out.
That was one reason why Li Yunji called him “Old Li.”
“Talking nonsense,” Li Yunji scoffed, “I’ve seen enough old men to know what they look like.”
Eleven’s gaze fixed on Li Yunji before glancing back at the portrait on the wall, sighing softly.
“I’m not lying. The prince was truly extraordinary in demeanor back then.”
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“But since the princess consort’s death, the prince became silent and withdrawn, losing all of his former charm and gallantry.”
“Afterwards, he threw himself into cultivation, caring less and less about his appearance.”
Li Yunji responded with a doubtful “Oh.”
...
At dusk, the heat waned, and the setting sun bathed the courtyard in golden light.
Su Xiyan sat by the pond, her little feet splashing the water as she munched on watermelon, her eyes fixed intently on the koi swimming below.
If Li Yunji hadn’t told her that koi meat wasn’t tasty, the lotus pond would likely be devoid of any living creatures by now.
Li Yunji casually plucked a lotus pod, scooped out a few lotus seeds, and handed them to Su Xiyan.
The little girl took them curiously, bit into one, and her eyes immediately brightened.
Delicious!
“Guess who I saw on the street today?” Su Qingmeng’s voice sounded behind them.
“Who?” Li Yunji asked indifferently, reclining on the grand advisor’s chair.
“Wu Jin,” Su Qingmeng stepped forward.
Li Yunji gave a faint acknowledgment, showing little surprise.
“That day when Ru Yue tried to assassinate me, I had a suspicion.”
“Why would the two of them appear in Beiling?”
“They appeared in Beiling for the same reason they were in Jiangnan,” Li Yunji murmured, slowly closing his eyes.
Su Qingmeng pondered for a moment, then a flash of insight struck her. “To assassinate you?”
“Not entirely,” Li Yunji replied.
“Other purposes as well?” Su Qingmeng pressed.
Li Yunji half-opened one eye to glance at her and spoke calmly, “In Jiangnan, they only acted in secret to sabotage us.”
“But since I came to Beiling, they’ve made their intentions clear. Guess why?”
Su Qingmeng thought briefly and said gravely, “It means Beiling hides secrets unfavorable to the crown prince.”
“Smart,” Li Yunji smiled and nodded. “Actually, I knew all along that the crown prince has been watching us.”
“In both the capital and Jiangnan, the crown prince only set traps to block us.”
“But since leaving Jiangnan and heading north, we have already faced two assassination attempts—both aimed at killing me.”
“What does that mean?”
Su Qingmeng’s expression grew even more serious. She said with conviction, “It means we are getting closer to the truth...”