Mu Wan Yao stepped out of the cottage with a sword in hand, her maids and guards following closely behind. It seemed no one dared to stop the princess at this moment.
At the foot of the steps, Yan Shisheng, who had arrived holding an umbrella, sensed trouble upon seeing Mu Wan Yao's demeanor. As she descended the steps, he immediately approached: "Lady Mu..."
Mu Wan Yao's features were strikingly beautiful, yet her expression remained as cold as ice from the depths of an abyss.
The sword in her hand flicked up a spray of rainwater. Her maid Chunhua hurriedly opened an umbrella and chased after the princess, nearly slipping on the wet ground before being steadied by the guard captain Fang Tong.
Yan Shisheng recklessly kept pace with Mu Wan Yao: "Lady Mu, the rain seems lighter today..."
He attempted to calm her through conversation.
But Mu Wan Yao shoved the irritating scholar aside and continued striding forward.
Yan Shisheng realized the situation was dire—Mu Wan Yao wouldn't even grant him a chance to explain.
He inwardly cursed the misfortune.
Still striving to match her pace, he quickened his speech, hoping to make her listen within a few breaths—
"Lady Mu, there must be some misunderstanding. I was reading indoors when I heard commotion in the courtyard—it was your maid arguing with my third brother over some damaged item. Rather than rushing, perhaps we should pause and clarify the details..."
Yan Shisheng: "Would you care for some tea to compose yourself? Lingnan has teas not found in the Central Plains—I could brew some for you."
Mu Wan Yao's sleeves fluttered as she marched on without breaking stride.
Rounding a corner, the entourage trailing the sword-bearing girl saw Yan Sanlang surrounded by two or three of Mu Wan Yao's maids in front of a side room, loudly demanding compensation.
Yan Musheng, the third Yan son, was locally famous for his booming voice.
His current outburst reached Mu Wan Yao and his second brother clearly: "How is this my fault? The roof leaked at midnight—I didn't break it! Why blame my family? Besides, you're the ones who seized our house! If things got damaged, it's your own carelessness!"
The three maids were frantic with anger.
They retorted: "That night you chose this room yourself for storing important items! You guaranteed its safety! Now that there's trouble, of course it's your responsibility!"
"Exactly! And who's to say you didn't sneakily damage the roof last night? Don't think we haven't noticed your contemptuous glares these past days!"
Yan Sanlang roared: "Such sophistry! Even if I wanted to ruin your things, you'd deserve it! With your bandit behavior..."
Hearing his brother's reckless words from afar, Yan Shisheng's heart sank. Noticing Mu Wan Yao's icy gaze from the corner of his eye, he shouted: "Third Brother, silence!"
How could he say such things!
But it was too late.
The maids and Yan Musheng all turned to see the murderously approaching princess.
The maids bowed deeply: "My lady, the Yan family deliberately sabotaged us..."
Yan Musheng stared dazedly at the beautiful girl's approach, but upon seeing the sword in her hand, he retreated uneasily: "What do you mean by coming here with a sword? You can't just kill people—there are laws in this land!"Mu Wan Yao cut off Yan Sanlang's blustering display with the declaration, "I am the law!"
Boom—
As her resolute words echoed, thunder cracked across the sky.
Mist surged like a torrent, swirling from the mountain peaks like smoke.
The three-foot sword's snowy gleam reflected in the young woman's eyes—she stood there as though it were the most natural thing in the world, utterly justified. And merely by standing there—
She was the law!
Yan Sanlang stood frozen, awestruck by Mu Wan Yao's commanding presence, watching as raindrops pattered against the heavy wooden umbrella over the young woman's head. His eyes narrowed as he saw Mu Wan Yao's sword thrust forward.
A few steps behind her, Yan Shisheng, the second son of the Yan family who followed closely, paled slightly. He tossed his umbrella aside and lunged forward.
"Thud—"
In that split second, the umbrella Yan Shisheng had been holding flew out, splashing a circle of rainwater. His sleeves billowed as he threw himself forward, barehandedly reaching for Mu Wan Yao's sword.
Yan Shisheng shouted sharply, "Mu Wan Yao, stop—"
Seeing his second brother about to collide with Mu Wan Yao's sword, Yan Sanlang panicked. His brother was merely a scholar in white robes—what ability did he have to stop a blade? His eyes wide with fury, he rushed forward. "Second Brother!"
Fang Tong, the captain of the guards, had been worried that Yan Shisheng might be injured by the princess's sword. Now, seeing Yan Sanlang seemingly about to charge at the princess, Fang Tong immediately stepped forward, grabbing the third Yan son by the shoulder to prevent him from so much as touching the hem of the princess's robe.
At the same time, under the watchful eyes of all, Mu Wan Yao's sword swept downward—
Two locks of fine hair floated up from the maids' coiled buns, only to be severed by the blade and drift gently to the ground.
The maids had been quietly waiting for the princess to swing her sword at Yan Sanlang. It wasn't until the princess raised her sword and swung it toward them that they realized something was amiss.
Meeting the princess's icy, penetrating gaze, one maid stood petrified, fainting straight away from sheer terror. The other two stared rigidly as the princess's sword swept past their cheeks, cutting off their long hair.
Yan Shisheng had not expected Mu Wan Yao's sword to be aimed not at Yan Sanlang. He stumbled forward, missing his mark, and turned back to see Mu Wan Yao's blade severing the dark tresses of the two maids.
Silken black strands drifted coldly to the ground.
Aside from the maid who had already fainted in terror, the other two had their hair disheveled, staring blankly at their severed locks.
Coming to their senses, they dropped to their knees, drenched in cold sweat, lips trembling too much to form a coherent plea for mercy.
Mu Wan Yao looked down on them with disdain.
She then turned her face to Yan Shisheng, who had tried but failed to stop her sword.
Mu Wan Yao stared at Yan Shisheng. "What did you just call me?"
Yan Shisheng: "..."
Mu Wan Yao's face darkened instantly. "How dare you address me by my personal name?"
Yan Shisheng stood speechless.
Mu Wan Yao continued, "Did you think I intended to kill your third brother?"
Yan Shisheng remained silent.
A few raindrops dotted Mu Wan Yao's face, enhancing her delicate beauty and aloof demeanor. Still holding her sword, she stood before the crowd and suddenly laughed. "What, did you think I indiscriminately kill without reason or cause?"
Yan Shisheng opened his mouth but ultimately gave up.
His eyelashes fluttered slightly, his dark eyes fixed on the opulently dressed young woman who had just cut off the maids' hair in the rain. He watched this farce unfold, his attention wholly captured by this remarkable lady.Seeing that he was gentle and well-behaved, Mu Wan Yao paid him no further attention.
She glanced at the maids whose locks of hair she had severed and said leisurely, "I entrusted my case to your care, so of course you are to blame when something goes wrong. Did you think I would let you off just because you shifted the blame to the Yan family? Those who expect me to be a fool—are you vicious women or just idiots?"
The maids trembled uncontrollably, no longer daring to cling to any hope. They bent over and kowtowed, stammering, "Mistress, we were wrong..."
Mu Wan Yao threw down the sword.
She turned to Fang Tong and said, "Punish each of them with thirty strokes. If they die, so be it."
Ignoring the pitiful pleas behind her, Mu Wan Yao did not look back at the maids kneeling in the rain.
Chunhua was still hesitant, unsure of what to do, when she heard Mu Wan Yao call out, "Chunhua, come with me!"
Chunhua hurriedly replied, "Yes!"
Lifting her skirts, she rushed after the princess, only managing to turn back briefly and say, "Guard Fang, you handle things here!"—
Mu Wan Yao wore a veiled hat that barely shielded her from the rain as she rode out on horseback with Chunhua.
Furious, she was naturally displeased with the maids' attempts to evade responsibility. Yet what angered her even more was that the ointment her mother had personally prepared had been soaked by the rain and was now unusable.
How could that be?
It was one of the few things her mother had left her. As she returned, many of the past favors would gradually slip away. But the things left by those from the past—she did not want to lose them. She wanted to preserve her mother's belongings, just as she wished to hold onto the love her mother had once bestowed upon her.
Only with these things would she remember that her mother had once loved her.
Stubbornly, Mu Wan Yao rode out into the rain, heading to the town. The roads here were rough, and she and Chunhua wandered aimlessly through the town, pushing open shop doors one by one, asking if they had certain materials.
She wanted to restore the ointment. Her mind was a chaotic mess, unsure of exactly what materials to prepare, but she had to retrieve it.
Mu Wan Yao asked Chunhua, "What materials are needed for face and hand ointments?"
Chunhua didn’t really know either, but she racked her brains and said, "At the very least, cinnabar and angelica... oh, and I could smell patchouli."
Mu Wan Yao gave a faint "Mm" in response.
The two women, drenched from head to toe, rode through the town searching for shops. Chunhua didn’t believe the princess could restore the face ointment left by her late mother—she had seen it and felt it was beyond their capabilities. But Chunhua didn’t dare tell the princess the truth, so she simply accompanied her in the rain, helping her buy materials that might or might not be of any use.
Emerging from another shop, Mu Wan Yao clutched a small packet of realgar she had managed to purchase after much persuasion. Descending the steps, she prepared to search for the next shop.
Above her, an umbrella appeared.
Mu Wan Yao slowly looked up. Raindrops trickled down her lashes, and she squinted, gradually making out the person before her as the umbrella was raised.
Yan Shisheng stood before her, holding the umbrella over her.
Mu Wan Yao’s elegant robes were now stained with mud, and her hair was slightly disheveled, yet her back remained straight, her demeanor proud and aloof—she was still the lofty Danyang Princess. With a cold expression, she ignored him entirely, clutching the oil-paper package in her arms as she prepared to leave.
Yan Shisheng reached out and gently held her wrist, stopping her momentarily. She flinched as if burned and glared at him.
Mu Wan Yao said, "Step aside, or I’ll kill you."Yan Shisheng's voice was gentle: "Why do you want to kill me? I came to help you."
Raindrops flowed like river water overhead, falling upon the umbrella and splashing into misty vapor.
Amid the pitter-patter, Mu Wan Yao halted her steps. In Yan Shisheng's eyes, she lifted her face—her eyes round and alluring, like shallow lakes brimming with moonlight, sparkling and captivating.
OpenNovel