Chapter 9: The Eldest Princess

Liu Yuxian and Yin Mei almost looked at each other at the same time, then turned their gazes to Xu Ping'an with probing eyes.

Xu Ping'an's heart tightened. Being stared at by the two of them made him feel a little guilty.

He naturally knew of the Great Flame's eldest princess. She was one of the female leads, after all.

But he had no idea what relationship she had with the original owner of this body.

It was only now, hearing that name, that he started searching through his memories.

With only a slight thought, a flood of crystal-clear images surfaced in his mind.

The next moment, a wave of intense disgust surged up in him.

He remembered that the original owner of this body had been hopelessly infatuated with that eldest princess, almost to the point of obsession.

Yet the eldest princess had always been ambiguous toward his pursuit. She never accepted any of his attempts to please her, but she never rejected them either, leaving him tormented and unable to let go.

What he could least stand was that she had even made that idiot of a body-owner sneak into his father's study to steal intelligence, and demanded a delivery at least once every month.

Xu Ping'an clenched his fist, his gaze growing colder and colder, but he quickly took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

Then he said, "Let him in."

Before long, the luxurious carriage curtain was lifted, and a burly figure strode in.

He first glanced around, his eyes lingering for a moment on the two women before he dropped to one knee without the slightest hesitation, his expression respectful.

He had been prepared, but the princess had been pressing hard on her side. He had only heard from the guard that the carriage held a madam from the Duke's residence, and he never expected both of them to be here. What shocked him most of all, however, was how breathtakingly beautiful they were.

The woman on the left, with her gentler air, wore a green qipao that fit her slender frame perfectly, tracing every curve of her exquisite figure. A simple wooden hairpin held up her hair in an elegant bun, but even so, it could not hide her graceful and soft temperament. Her peach blossom eyes, like rippling autumn water, blinked with a purity like a clear spring, and paired with her apricot-shaped face beautiful as a peach or plum blossom, she looked just like a flower fairy descended to the mortal world.

The woman on the right drew even more of his attention. She was holding a cup of hot tea with both hands, and a long red dress woven with cloud patterns clung tightly to her wildly exaggerated figure. Her proud, upright breasts looked as if they might tear through the fabric, and her muscular, leopard-quick arms gave her the air of a fierce she-panther. A silver-ringed hair ornament arranged her hair into a high, cloudlike bun, making her entire bearing look razor-sharp and bold.

She did not lift her head, as if she did not care at all about someone as insignificant as him. Her cold, sharp face held no expression, but those dazzling gold vertical pupils radiated an overwhelmingly terrifying pressure that made the flow of his mysterious energy turn sluggish throughout his body.

Lowering his head a little more and bowing his body even further, Li Chi cupped his fists and said, "Xu... Young Master Xu, Her Highness sent me to ask when you can deliver this month's things."

Though he looked down on Xu Ping'an, he did not dare show the slightest disrespect to these two noble madams.

"Things? What things?"

Xu Ping'an feigned confusion and straightened his body slightly.

Li Chi frowned faintly and said in a deep voice, "Does Young Master intend to break his word to my princess?"

"Heh... break my word?"

Xu Ping'an let out a cold laugh and stood up to his side, saying unhurriedly, "It has always been you lot begging me. How did that become me being the one who won't keep my word?"

"You!"

Li Chi was momentarily choked speechless.

"You and those few lapdogs of yours have eaten my food, used my money, and even the few courtesans from the brothels were paid for by me. And now you say I'm the one who doesn't keep my word?"

Looking at him, Xu Ping'an's tone grew heavier with every sentence. He continued, "Oh, right, and your mistress too. That Nine Tribulations Thunder-Condensing Herb, that Seven Stars Jade-Transforming Pill... weren't all of them given by me? What, you ate my things and now you're turning around to bite me?"

Beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down from the top of Li Chi's forehead, and a chill shot straight up into his skull. He had never imagined that Xu Ping'an would dare lay everything out in the open like this in front of the two madams.

Most of those things had indeed been wanted by the princess, but the spirit stones and rare treasures had all been things he had tricked Xu Ping'an into handing over. And now, all of it was being laid bare on the table just like that.

At this moment, he could almost already see that he would not be walking out of here alive today.

Trying hard to control his emotions, he said in a trembling voice, "You... aren't you afraid that the eldest princess will blame you?"

"Blame me? That bitch dares to blame me?"

Xu Ping'an sneered, his contempt utterly unhidden.

He crouched down, leaned close to Li Chi, and stared straight into his eyes. "Even if I cut you into eight pieces and throw you at her doorstep today, she wouldn't dare let out a single fart. Do you believe that?"

The two women beside him both widened their eyes at those words. They naturally knew this boy had always been mischievous, but toward that eldest princess he had always been humbly fawning, even stealing things from the residence to offer up as treasures, no matter how many times he had been beaten.

What shocked them even more was the ruthlessness in him now, the ruthlessness to dare draw a blade against someone he had once loved so deeply. And that person was a princess, no less.

Bitch...

Hearing that, Li Chi's pupils shrank. The last sliver of hope in his heart was shattered as well.

He also realized that he had been acting stupid all along, and stupid beyond belief.

What kind of status did the Duke's residence of the State Protector have?

It was one of the pillars of the entire Great Flame, one of the top noble powers in all of Great Flame. Not to mention the old duke was still alive. Who would dare provoke them?

Forget the eldest princess, even the emperor would have to think twice before trying to move against the Duke's residence.

And besides, didn't Xu Ping'an like the princess? Why was he so disgusted with her today?

His body was so stiff that he could barely feel his hands and feet anymore, but he was still struggling desperately, trying his best to explain himself: "Xu Ping'an, no, Young Master Xu..."

As he spoke, he took out the pills and treasures he had hoarded in his storage ring, almost frantically dumping them out in a mad rush. "These things of mine... all of them, I'll give them to you, all of them, as long as you can spare my life!"

Hearing his pleas, Xu Ping'an could not help but find it a little funny. The sense of superiority that had never existed in his past life mixed with an unfamiliar thrill and rose up in his chest, and he chuckled softly. "Li Chi, do you think I'd be short of your little bit of stuff?"

"Do your scraps even amount to a tenth or a fifth of what I've given you?"

At this point, Li Chi was practically plunged into an icy abyss, cold all over, his thoughts nearly frozen. He only felt the two divine senses locked onto him growing stronger and stronger.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder, and then Xu Ping'an spoke again. "Want to live? Fine. Then tell me everything about that bitch."

His heart nearly stopped, then suddenly contracted violently and sped up, his fingers digging into his own flesh without him even noticing.

Tell him about Her Highness's affairs?

Wouldn't that mean he was dead for sure when he went back?

But if he didn't tell him, he was definitely going to die here today.

Xu Ping'an knew his hesitation, but he did not care in the slightest.

He had originally wanted to do it himself, but then he looked at this weak body of his and could not help showing a trace of helplessness.

Only now did he truly understand that feeling of powerlessness. Let alone the fact that he had been injured, even if he hadn't, there was no way a mere mortal like him could ever hurt this man on his own.

The gap between cultivators and mortals was like a heavenly chasm, let alone someone this young being able to become the eldest princess's confidant. Whether in talent or cultivation, he could not possibly be mediocre.

So he had no choice but to turn a pleading look toward his second aunt behind him, blinking at her.

Yin Mei's lips curved, a glint flashing through her pupils. She nodded lightly. "Ping'an, what do you want Second Aunt to do?"