novelTragedy Befalls the Maidservant, Xiao-Er
| ← Ch.254 | Ch.256 → |
Translator: Minotauruz
No one knew the truth of the matter clearer than Zou Zilong and Jun Xiaomo. That said, this was not the first time that Princess Linglong had caught others red-handed. There were times when the female cultivator had indeed made advances towards Zou Zilong, while there were times when Princess Linglong had simply been oversensitive. The only thing that remained constant whenever Princess Linglong caught a female cultivator "red-handed" was the fact that these female cultivators would invariably meet with a tragic end.
Zou Zilong had thought that this incident would end up the same as any other incident in the past, when he would end up witnessing Princess Linglong beating Jun Xiaomo to her death as he felt a slight tinge of remorse in his heart. That said, how could he have known that Jun Xiaomo's master, Tong Ruizhen, would be so protective of her?
More importantly, Zou Zilong had never expected Jun Xiaomo to directly draw flak to him.
As soon as Jun Xiaomo directed her contemptuous allegations at him, Zou Zilong felt a huge lump swell up in his throat, and his facial expressions contorted and stiffened.
That said, this was but for a fleeting moment. As a man with ambitions no less than Qin Lingyu, his aptitude with pretenses was akin to that which Qin Lingyu possessed. In the blink of an eye, he adjusted his expressions and appeared normal once again. If not for the fact that Jun Xiaomo had been staring at him this whole time, she would never noticed the fact that his expressions had changed for that one fleeting moment.
"Jun Xiaomo, don't malign me. My conscience is clear. To think that you'd turn around and bite the hand that fed you when I'd been appealing to the princess for mercy on your behalf." Zou Zilong appeared to be stoic and placid as he presented himself as though he was completely righteous and innocent.
"Am I really the slanderous one here? Very well, then would martial brother Zou be willing to testify on the Authentication Array? We'll know who's right and who's wrong when we see who ends up suffering from its punishment." Jun Xiaomo curled her lips into a mischievous smile as she glared at Zou Zilong coldly.
Zou Zilong was instantly taken aback by Jun Xiaomo's suggestions and he was rendered completely speechless. The veins on his forehead bulged and throbbed, and his entire face turned a sickly green – of course he couldn't agree to Jun Xiaomo's suggestion! He knew full well that he was lying. His pretense would be torn apart and his true colours would be exposed if he were to make a declaration on the Authentication Array.
That said, even without the use of the Authentication Array, his present hesitance and stark change of expression spoke volumes about where the truth lay.
Everyone around could tell that Zou Zilong had been lying, and his guilty conscience was manifesting in full force right now.
Zhuang Lenghui remained incognito among the rest of the onlookers as she continued to watch the show unfurl with glee. A wicked smile crept up the corner of her lips as the plot thickened. It had truly been worth every bit of her time orchestrating the entire incident.
Princess Linglong glared at Zou Zilong with disbelief, and her breathing instantly turned haggard. After several moments of gasping for breath, she closed her eyes, and she finally managed to suppress the roiling emotions in her heart and shelf the urge to air their dirty laundry in public.
She did not want others to know that Zou Zilong had been the one at fault.
Then, as soon as she opened her eyes once more, Princess Linglong had already made her resolve. She spun around and addressed both Jun Xiaomo and Tong Ruizhen, "Enough. This highness can't be bothered to pursue the matter any longer. This highness shall be merciful and let you off this time. You'd best reflect on your own actions."
It was evident that Princess Linglong had finally realized whose fault it was in the present incident. However, her infatuation for Zou Zilong had inhibited her ability to make the right decisions, and she clearly preferred to see her mistake through to the very end and pin the blame on Jun Xiaomo, just so that she could protect the man she loved.
Zou Zilong heaved a sigh of relief. The fact that Princess Linglong was willing to let matters go was beneficial to him. After all, he knew that if his master were to successfully secure the position of Sect Leader, he would need both the help of the royal family, as well as Sect Elder Tong.
Even if Sect Elder Tong did not expressly support his master, he knew that he should steer clear of tipping the scales in favor of the Phoenixia Peak.
Unfortunately, Jun Xiaomo was not a fool willing to take things lying down. Princess Linglong and Zou Zilong were evidently attempting to cast aspersions on the integrity of her actions right now – how could she simply swallow this bitter pill?!
Besides, Jun Xiaomo hated third wheels who tore apart blissful marriages to begin with. Having been maligned and labelled as the vixen who had seduced Princess Linglong's fiancé, how could she not do anything to clear her name? She was most certainly not prepared to leave things status quo.
Thus, she coldly chuckled as she remarked, "I didn't do anything wrong, so why should I reflect on my actions? Princess Linglong, your burdens are far too heavy for this innocent lady to bear."
"Then just what do you want?" Yue Linglong glared at Jun Xiaomo in horror.
"It's simple. I want to use the Authentication Array to prove my innocence. If the Authentication Array judges that I'm lying, then I would simply deserve it. How about it?" Jun Xiaomo coolly made her suggestion. Her composed attitude was in complete contrast with the increased tension and anxiety plastered all over Zou Zilong's face right now.
"No way!" Princess Linglong glanced once at Zou Zilong before shifting her gaze straight back at Jun Xiaomo. Then, she added sharply, "If this highness says you're at fault, then you're at fault! There's no need to use the Authentication Array!"
In other words, even if you're not at fault, you would have to swallow this bitter pill.
Yue Linglong was the princess of an entire kingdom, while Zou Zilong was her fiancé. To Yue Linglong's mind, their personal identities and statures meant that there was no way they could be in the wrong. In turn, the only person who could possibly be at fault must necessarily be Jun Xiaomo.
Yet Jun Xiaomo simply chuckled. Just as she was about to say something, she heard the Heavenly Crane standing beside Sect Elder Tong cry out sharply as it rushed straight towards Princess Linglong. The Heavenly Crane's beak was incredibly sharp. If it pecked viciously at Princess Linglong, it would most certainly draw more than blood from her.
Princess Linglong was so shocked that she shrieked in fear. It completely slipped her mind that she was holding onto a whip in her hand as she turned to run. As she ran, she even shoved the maidservant in front of the Heavenly Crane to act as a meat shield for her.
"Ah! I was wrong. Don't kill me, don't kill me..." The maidservant was only a normal human being. When the massive Heavenly Crane charged straight towards her, there was not a single thought of resistance in her mind. Her feet weakened, and she immediately collapsed on the ground – she did not want to die.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Crane was completely uninterested in the maidservant. It leapt slightly, hopped over the maidservant's head, and then continued to pursue Princess Linglong. On the other hand, despite standing on the other side of Princess Linglong when all these things happened, Zou Zilong remained completely rooted to the ground in shock. Everything happened too quickly, and the thought of rescuing Princess Linglong hardly crossed his mind.
As the Heavenly Crane gave chase, it continued to cleverly and nimbly peck at Princess Linglong's hair and clothes. Within moments, Princess Linglong's hair became absolutely disheveled, while her clothes appeared disorderly and messy – where was the dignity and pride that accompanied her stature as a princess now?
That said, everyone could tell that the Heavenly Crane was doing nothing more than teasing the princess right now. It was evident that it was not after the princess's life. Rather, it was the princess's shrill shrieks that were far more fearsome than the cries of the massive Heavenly Crane – they were so shrill that they threatened to burst the eardrums of the onlookers around.
Finally, Princess Linglong collapsed to the ground as though she were on her final breaths. It was only at this moment that the massive Heavenly Crane glanced once more at Princess Linglong, let out yet another majestic cry, before it ran proudly back to Tong Ruizhen's side."Hahahaha... wonderful, wonderful! Good boy!" Tong Ruizhen petted his pet as he repeatedly praised its actions.
All of this had happened in the blink of an eye. When everyone finally came to their senses and finally began to react to the situation, they quickly ran over to Princess Linglong's side and attempted to help her to her feet once more.
"Princess!"
"Princess!"
"Princess..."
"Get lost!" Princess Linglong wrested her arms free from her bodyguards and her maidservant as she cried out viciously, "Why didn't you come rescue this highness earlier? What's the use of coming over only now?!"
Her face was still strewn all over with a mixture of dust, dirt and tears, while her palms were filled with the mud from the ground. This was the first time in her entire life that she had been reduced to such a tragic state, and the hatred and indignation in her heart burgeoned to unprecedented levels.
"This highness will never let you off, Jun Xiaomo. Just you wait!" Yue Linglong barked as soon as she got to her feet. She did not even bother to adjust her clothes as she continued to glare at Jun Xiaomo and Tong Ruizhen viciously as she added, "Count yourselves lucky that I'm letting you go with your lives intact. You won't have such fortune next time. Let's go!"
Her pride and reputation had all been thoroughly stripped off and trampled on the ground, and she no longer had any intention to remain at this place and be mistreated by those around her.
"Hang on." Jun Xiaomo stopped Princess Linglong in her tracks. Jun Xiaomo glanced at Princess Linglong's maidservant with a somber look on her face, causing Princess Linglong's maidservant to shudder in fear as a sense of unease surfaced on her heart."Princess highness, I think there's still something else that needs to be dealt with. Before we deal with this matter, I'm afraid I can't let you go off yet."
"Jun Xiaomo, don't you dare step all over my head just because I'm giving you some latitude right now!" Princess Linglong glared back indignantly at Jun Xiaomo, "And don't you suggest the use of any Authentication Arrays anymore. This highness is never going to accept those suggestions!"
Princess Linglong had never felt as embarrassed as she had today. If the Authentication Array could prove that Jun Xiaomo was innocent, while Zou Zilong had been lying all this while, then where would she, as the princess, be going to hide her face?
Princess Linglong feared that others would talk behind her back, gossiping about how she was unable to even keep her fiancé's heart loyal to herself. To make matters worse, she was afraid that people would talk about how she had lost out to a piece of trash that was only at the sixth level of Qi Mastery.
Jun Xiaomo could tell what was on Princess Linglong's mind. That said, the reason why she had held Princess Linglong back this time was not so that she could press the issue and make her innocence even more starkly clear. Rather, she sincerely wanted to know who the mastermind scheming against her was. After all, she had discovered the panic and anxiety surfacing time and again from the depths of the maidservant's eyes, and she knew that there was no reason for the maidservant to be scheming against her.
Thus, Jun Xiaomo ignored Princess Linglong and looked straight at the maidservant as she asked, "Miss, were you the one who had earlier informed princess highness that I was seducing martial brother Zou?"
"Yes... that's right." The maidservant couldn't tell what Jun Xiaomo was trying to get at, so she responded cautiously and carefully.
"Then, could you let everyone know how long it took you to report the alleged incident to princess highness after you 'witnessed' it?"
"I... how would I know? I didn't take notice of the time." The maidservant stiffened her neck and pretended to be annoyed as she glared back at Jun Xiaomo.
However, her glare was no more than a mere pretense to cover up the guilty conscience in her heart. In fact, she was unaware that her actions in this regard had already revealed far more than she was willing to say.
The truth of the matter was that the maidservant had never personally witnessed Jun Xiaomo "seducing" Zou Zilong at all. As soon as she received Zhuang Lenghui's instructions, she immediately executed them and reported the "incident" to Princess Linglong without further consideration. After all, there were practically innumerable people who had died under Princess Linglong's whip as a result of similar incidents, and she had never thought that Jun Xiaomo could ever be an exception to the norm.
Yet not only was Jun Xiaomo an exception, this exception also happened to be a person highly proficient at tearing apart pretenses and exposing schemes. When the maidservant noticed how Jun Xiaomo diverted her attention towards her, she immediately knew that the cat was out of the bag.
Profuse sweat permeated her back. If she possessed the ability to do so, she would have immediately tied up Jun Xiaomo's lips right now.
At this stage, I can only hope that the Princess wouldn't know what I've done. The maidservant's heart was all over the place right now. Yet even she was unaware of the extent of the calamity that was about to strike her.
| ← Ch. 254 | Ch. 256 → |