Prince Zhao had never been slapped in the face his entire life.
"Ye Xiwu! How dare you strike this prince!" Xiao Shen quickly recognized who she was, his face contorting with rage.
Known for his cruel and vindictive nature, Prince Zhao—who had initially been intrigued by Su Su's beauty—now wished nothing more than to torture her to death.
She actually dared to hit him!
He would have this insolent woman gang-raped to death!
"Guards—"
Yu Qing, standing nearby, was equally astonished. Having served Prince Zhao for years, he naturally recognized Su Su's identity.
With amused interest, Yu Qing glanced at Su Su and stopped Prince Zhao.
Wearing a concerned expression, he advised: "Your Highness, please calm your anger. She is Ye Xiao's only legitimate daughter."
Prince Zhao was nearly losing his mind, his eyes venomous: "This prince will have her dead today!"
Su Su wasn't afraid of him in the slightest.
Since emerging from her shell all those years ago, Su Su had feared many things—the relentless march of the righteous path, starving children and elderly, comrades turning to ashes.
But she had never feared the scum of this world!
She had heard clearly what Prince Zhao had done to Tantai Jin and his wet nurse. For the first time, she could understand why every bearer of the Evil Bone ultimately became a demon.
If trapped in hell, where kindness and weakness offer no protection, what harm was there in becoming the blade itself?
Never mind Tantai Jin—even she, upon hearing those words, wanted to kill this Prince Zhao.
Pursing her lips, Su Su bent down to help Tantai Jin up from the ground.
Surprisingly, the youth's body temperature was colder than hers.
His pitch-black pupils stared directly at her, reflecting her image within them. The boy's profound eyes revealed no emotion.
Having witnessed what just happened, Su Su didn't know how to comfort him, so she simply brushed the accumulated snow from his clothes.
She whispered in his ear: "Don't worry, Prince Zhao wouldn't dare kill us. My father is nearby."
Tantai Jin continued staring at her fixedly before finally lowering his eyes.
"Mm."
His voice was low and hoarse. Su Su assumed he was feeling down after being humiliated.
She sneered at Prince Zhao: "Xiao Shen, I address you as 'Your Highness' out of courtesy, but don't actually think you can trample over my Ye family as you please. Even if it were Xiao Lin instead of you, he would still need to think twice."
"My Ye family serves the monarch and country loyally—but not the likes of you. My father fought on battlefields for twenty years, not so our family could suffer such humiliation from you! Tantai Jin is my husband. To insult him is to insult me. Should I not resist when you insult me without cause?"
Prince Zhao's face turned as dark as a burnt pot.
Feeling secretly pleased by the situation, Yu Qing coughed lightly and added fuel to the fire: "I beg Your Highness to reconsider."
Prince Zhao had been the instigator in today's incident. Moreover, Third Miss Ye's disheveled appearance might lead others to believe they had caused it.
Everyone knew that the military power of Great Xia rested entirely in Ye Xiao's hands—the kingdom's peace for over a decade relied solely on him.
If anything happened to his only legitimate daughter, and Ye Xiao's temper flared up enough to rebel, Xiao Shen wouldn't stand a chance at the throne.
Even the emperor feared the Ye family. If Xiao Shen had any sense, he would know Ye Xiwu was untouchable.
Hadn't everyone noticed how the Sixth Prince Xiao Lin, though also disliking Ye Xiwu, always simply ignored her?
Seeing Prince Zhao still struggling to swallow his anger, Yu Qing whispered: "Your Highness, even if you wish to teach her a lesson, you cannot do it openly. We'll find another opportunity."
Restrained by Yu Qing, Prince Zhao finally regained his senses. He forced a smile: "Just a misunderstanding." The spot where he'd been struck throbbed with pain.Prince Zhao's gaze was sinister and menacing.
Su Su replied, "It was naturally a misunderstanding."
Next time I'll dare to do it again! She would definitely find another opportunity to whip that turtle-spawn Prince Zhao.
Watching Su Su and Tantai Jin depart, Prince Zhao covered his burning red cheek and angrily kicked his sedan chair.
"Ye Xi Wu! This prince won't let you off!"
Su Su herself felt uncertain.
She wasn't actually sure whether Ye Xiao had left or not. This nominal father, General Ye, spent most years campaigning abroad and rarely showed concern for his children.
In the original host's memories, Ye Xiao deployed troops with god-like strategy, his spear dancing with formidable power.
But rather than paying attention to his delicate daughter, he preferred training his talented eldest son.
Su Su hadn't gone far with Tantai Jin when she spotted Ye Xiao with an unpleasant expression.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, even tigers don't eat their own cubs—General Ye hadn't abandoned her.
Ye Xiao frowned. "Xi Wu, where did you go?"
"Father, I was separated from you in the crowd and got lost. Luckily, I managed to escape," Su Su said.
Ye Xiao looked her up and down, still astonished by what had happened at the banquet.
Xi Wu had indeed learned swordsmanship, but her performance today surpassed even his eldest son's. If not for his youngest daughter, he might have been buried in Prince Xuan's mansion today.
However, this wasn't the right place for questioning. Thinking of those monsters inside, Ye Xiao said, "Let's return first."
His heart felt heavy. With demonic creatures appearing in the world, Great Xia's decade of stability would likely be no more.
The times were changing.
When Chun Tao saw Su Su, she said with reddened eyes, "Miss, this servant thought something had happened to you, wuwu... you scared me to death..."
Su Su felt both amused and touched. "Don't worry, your young mistress has great fortune and won't die so easily."
Xi Xi sobbed as she brought a warming pan and cloak, wrapping Su Su up securely.
Su Su was truly in a sorry state—her fair, tender hands covered with shocking scratches.
Earlier, focused solely on escaping, she hadn't felt the pain, only the numbness from cold. Now that she was warm, a stinging sensation set in.
With her body warmed, she felt much better.
Tantai Jin remained silent in the corner.
Since leaving Prince Zhao, he had been exceptionally quiet.
The young man didn't even maintain his usual pretense of weakness and pitifulness. The lines of his face were cold, like the winter snow outside in December.
It was unclear whether he felt more humiliation or more hatred.
Su Su looked at Tantai Jin's hand.
His finger bones had been crushed under Prince Zhao's foot, hanging limp and powerless, the flesh bruised dark purple.
The future earth-shaking figure, this year, could only drift and sink in endless human suffering.
Su Su detested his future deeds, yet thinking of the madwoman in the cold palace, her feelings inevitably became somewhat complicated.
She recited cleansing mantras in her heart repeatedly.
Don't sympathize with him. Don't think about what he's been through.*
Amid the clip-clop of horse hooves, Su Su suddenly realized a problem: how exactly did the Devil God awaken?
The Mirror of Past couldn't show causes and consequences. So, did Tantai Jin die by someone's hand, or by accident? He couldn't possibly have become so disheartened that he didn't want to live anymore!
Considering the last possibility... Looking at the youth's gloomy profile, Su Su felt thoroughly unsettled.
Tantai Jin showed no expression of pain on his face, appearing completely numb.
He thought coldly that Ye Xi Wu had helped him only because she felt he had shamed the Ye family.
Since she was afflicted with the Spring Silkworm Curse, she had to preserve his life no matter what.
He waited for Ye Xi Wu to settle accounts with him.
Just like before, mocking him for being a useless waste.As he had expected, the girl indeed leaned closer.
But instead of scolding him, she hesitantly untied the jade pendant from her waist and fastened it onto him, saying, "Take this. The Prince of Zhao will surely show some restraint when he sees it."
This jade had been bestowed by the emperor the year Third Miss Ye was born. At that time, General Ye was still on the battlefield, and Third Miss Ye had lost her mother right after birth.
The emperor, pitying her, granted her this piece of jade.
It was also a symbol of status.
Su Su said, "No matter how sinister the Prince of Zhao is, in a few decades, he'll be nothing but a handful of yellow sand. If his fate is particularly unlucky, he might not even live that long. Perhaps you can't do anything now, but you must outlive him, and live even longer. The past is just the past. One must always look forward in life."
She offered these dry words of comfort, hoping Tantai Jin would find a way to come to terms with things.
If he couldn't let go, all beings in the Three Realms would fall into Purgatory.
Tantai Jin pressed his lips tightly together. The moment Su Su leaned in, his body instinctively tensed, wanting to distance himself from her.
The girl's delicate fragrance permeated the entire carriage, leaving him with nowhere to escape.
His fingers accidentally brushed against the smooth, lustrous jade.
He couldn't tell whether it felt warm or cool.
From Tantai Jin's perspective, the girl's face was smudged with dirt, her ink-black hair disheveled and damp from melted snow.
She wiped her cheeks carelessly, her hands covered in wounds. Against her fair skin, the bloodstains looked particularly gruesome.
Why she was injured—Tantai Jin knew all too well.
He stared at the crown of her head, his heart filled with endless mockery.
How foolish.
Someone this stupid was naturally blessed with such good luck to still be alive and returned.
He thought about putting on his usual gentle and pitiful act, saying words of gratitude to her.
That was what he excelled at.
But today, though his lips moved slightly, his eyes remained cold, as frigid as his innately indifferent nature.
Tantai Jin closed his eyes as if giving up, deciding not to look at her anymore.
After resting for two days, Su Su finally regained her energy.
Tantai Jin remained confined in the eastern courtyard. As the weather grew colder, Su Su had someone send him two extra quilts. She only needed to wait for the second and third young masters of the estate to leave again, and the truth would come to light.
Thinking of his hands, she hardened her heart and did not send a physician to treat him.
Their positions were different; she couldn't afford unnecessary sympathy.
It was no different from keeping a slave—whether crippled or not, as long as they were alive, it was enough. Occasionally, Su Su felt somewhat uneasy, but then she remembered the memorial tablets and the endless mountains of corpses, and she steeled herself again.
Su Su worried that her slaying of the Crimson Flame Bee might arouse Ye Xiao's suspicion, so she prepared her explanation in advance, waiting for Ye Xiao to summon her for questioning.
Unexpectedly, Ye Xiao hadn't returned to the estate at all and had been outside for the past two days.
An inexplicable tension gripped the estate, and a sense of dread enveloped the Great Xia imperial city. During breakfast, Lady Du said, "The general hasn't returned for two days. Is that monster really as fearsome as the rumors say?"
Ye Lanyin said, "Aunt should ask Third Sister. Didn't Third Sister see it?" She looked at Su Su, her expression sour, still resentful over the theft of her dowry.
Su Su nodded. "It is indeed formidable, so everyone should avoid going out during this time."
Lady Du said, "I heard that thing originated from the Zhou Kingdom. If the Zhou Kingdom is cultivating such monsters, could they be planning to..."
Planning to start a war.
Over a decade ago, the Zhou Kingdom suffered a crushing defeat and sent Prince Tantai Jin as a hostage.The Zhou Kingdom today was vastly different from the past—it had recuperated and prospered, boasting strong soldiers and sturdy horses, lush pastures, and fertile lands, while Great Xia was blanketed in ice and snow. Zhou had long coveted Great Xia, and a sudden attack on the border was not impossible.
Aunt Du's words left everyone somewhat anxious.
After all, if war truly broke out, the men of the Ye family would be the first to march to the battlefield.
Old Madam interrupted Aunt Du with displeasure: "The inner household should not recklessly discuss such matters."
They could not afford to stir up panic before a war had even begun.
In such a delicate situation, the most direct impact was the discussions about Tantai Jin within the mansion.
In the afternoon, Chun Tao anxiously said, "Third Miss, the servants are saying the hostage is a harbinger of disaster. They also say that if Zhou and Great Xia go to war, the general will be the first to behead the hostage. Is that true?"
Chun Tao was very worried. In the young maid's eyes, the hostage was the young lady's husband, and she feared such a thing might happen.
Su Su paused her hand while writing.
For the first time, she realized how difficult it was for some people to simply live in peace.
Even someone like Su Su, who knew little about mortal wars, understood that if the two kingdoms went to war, Tantai Jin would inevitably become the target of public criticism.
To Zhou, he was a discarded pawn abandoned for over a decade; to Great Xia, he was a captive without a shred of dignity.
If she did not find a way to save him, she would have to extract the Evil Bone before anything happened to him.
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