Chapter 25: Shocking the Entire Court with Strength

“Where did you get this from?”

“My master gave it to me. He said that once you see this, you’ll have to obey me unconditionally.”

“You’re lying. I only agreed to one condition with him.”

“Just one? Well, let me think about it.”

Indeed, her master had said only one condition, but she was deliberately trying to deceive the emperor.

Zhuang Xiaoyu lifted herself off the chair and sat down on the dragon writing desk, causing the emperor’s lips to twitch uncontrollably. In the end, he said nothing.

The ministers were dumbfounded. What was going on here? The emperor was sitting in his chair, while she sat on the desk in front of him, yet the emperor didn’t show any signs of anger.

“If it’s just one condition, then to avoid you causing more trouble in the future, you should abdicate. I’ll become the emperor. From now on, I’ll decide who to marry and who to take as a spouse.”

“You… you have quite the appetite. I only agreed to grant you one condition as long as it doesn’t violate ethics, and you want to usurp my throne?”

“I’m not interested in the throne. I just don’t want to be bothered by others. It’s really annoying. If I kill him, it wouldn’t be a death sentence, but if I don’t kill him, he’ll still irritate me. So I was thinking, if I became emperor, would anyone still dare to bother me?”

“Zhuang Xiaoyu, don’t go too far.” Everyone knew who she was talking about. After all, this was his son, and to have a woman speak of him in such a manner, the emperor was furious.

“Forget it. I’ll reserve my opinion. We’ll deal with that condition later.”

Zhuang Xiaoyu roughly shoved the iron token into her bag, preparing to leave.

“Zhuang Xiaoyu, you shouldn’t be so reckless.”

The emperor gritted his teeth. Even though she had the Lingxu Daoist’s token, she shouldn’t be so arrogant. She deserved to die.

“Heh, I’ve already heard you grinding your teeth. Unfortunately, grinding your teeth won’t change anything. The reason I’m being so reckless isn’t because of my master’s token. I’m reckless because I have the power to back it up. Your wife and son have already provoked me. You haven’t even apologized, so I’m angry. When I get angry, someone’s going to suffer. Just wait.”

They still wanted her to be the little wife of the son? Dream on.

As Zhuang Xiaoyu walked out, she waved to the crowd. “Everyone, go about your business. I’m just here to announce the cancellation of the engagement. Let everyone witness that Murong Ze is unworthy of me. Our relationship is over.”

Surprisingly, everyone started leaving without waiting for the eunuch to announce the end of the court session, leaving the emperor furious, clutching his chest, nearly spitting blood.

Zhuang Xiaoyu and her father walked toward the palace gates.

“Xiaoyu, wait for me!”

Murong Ze, unwilling to give up, caught up to her, still trying to get close.

“Get lost.”

“Xiaoyu, look, I almost took a beating for you…”

Before Murong Ze could finish his sentence, Zhuang Xiaoyu waved her hand, and he was blown away like a leaf in the wind, finally landing on the highest rooftop of the Jinluan Hall.

Murong Ze was petrified, lying there motionless, too scared to move in case he fell and died. Afterward, he screamed for help.

Eventually, someone heard him, but because the roof was so high and there weren’t ladders tall enough, he had to wait for the eunuchs to bring a taller ladder to rescue him.

By the time he was brought down, it was already evening. He had gone to court without eating breakfast, and it wasn’t until he was back on the ground that he felt his stomach grumbling.

Xiaoyu’s strength was not to be underestimated. It seemed she had been holding back before.

The smell from the empress’s fart finally stopped, and only after the stench had dissipated did she dare to open the doors of the Xixi Palace.

Murong Xiao had also been notified that he could go and pay his respects to the empress.

It had been a long time since they last met. Since Murong Xiao had been confined, they hadn’t seen each other, and after that, the empress had been poisoned by Zhuang Xiaoyu and had been avoiding people. Her farts were so foul that she couldn’t hold them in, and the people in the Xixi Palace had to cover their noses every day, as if they were being tormented in hell.

The good-for-nothing crown prince was deposed, and Murong Xiao and the empress were feeling sentimental. However, the empress didn’t forget to remind Murong Xiao, “Xiaoyu is a monster.”

“Son, don’t provoke that demoness. She’s a freak. Feng Gugu was thrown around by her like a toy, and those two guards were tossed away by her just like that—so terrifying.”

“Mother, I know. Just now, she threw Second Prince off the Jinluan Hall roof. He still hasn’t come down!”

The empress thought Zhuang Xiaoyu was a monster, while Murong Xiao understood that her inner strength was beyond measure. With such accomplishments, she must have had a unique encounter. After all, even if a girl starts training from birth, she wouldn’t be this powerful at eighteen. Moreover, who is born capable of understanding human speech?

“How did Murong Ze provoke her? Didn’t the emperor grant them an engagement?”

“Zhuang Xiaoyu didn’t agree. She came today to annul the engagement. She was so arrogant in the Jinluan Hall, and even the emperor didn’t dare do anything to her.”

“Has the marriage been annulled?”

“Yes, it has. Seventh Prince still wanted to pester her, so she sent him to the rooftop.”

“Don’t provoke her. This woman is not someone to mess with. Tell your sister-in-law, and also tell your uncle to avoid her. Xiao’er, she hasn’t hit you, has she?”

“… No.”

He had never been hit by her. He had only been gently slapped until he coughed up blood twice.

“You mustn’t let her hit you. It could be fatal. It’s better to stay alive. Son, live well. As long as you’re alive, we don’t care who becomes the emperor.”

“Mother doesn’t need to worry too much. Zhuang Xiaoyu doesn’t hit people casually.”

Seeing how scared his mother was, could it really just be from seeing her throw someone away? What else had she done?

Zhuang Xian had been in a state of shock and confusion since Zhuang Xiaoyu appeared at the Jinluan Hall. Even after leaving the palace and returning home, he felt like he was still dreaming.

“Xiaoyu, I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“Yes, you’re in a dream.”

“No, this isn’t a dream. Tell me, what happened today?”

“You saw everything, didn’t you? My master gave me a broken iron token and said it would make the emperor agree to one thing. I went today to see if that dog of an emperor would keep his word. Step one, barely passed.”

“What if he doesn’t keep his word?”

“I’ll slap him to death. The emperor will be replaced.”

“Xiaoyu, listen to your father. Don’t be so reckless in the future. Even if we have power, we need to keep a low profile. Look, you scared everyone today.”

Seventh Prince must still be on the rooftop. It’s fine if he safely gets down, but if he falls and gets hurt, it would be hard to feel good about it.

“Got it. I won’t scare them anymore, as long as the emperor doesn’t provoke me.”

“With your martial arts skills, don’t go out too often. Teach Wan’er something, so she can defend herself.”

“Sure, let Ah Xun come back too. They can learn together.”

“Ah Xun still has to study. Next year, he’ll be able to take the imperial exams. If he passes, he won’t have to go to the academy anymore. He can stay in the house, and you can teach him.”

“He can come back now to study. Many people can’t afford to go to academies, but they still take the exams.”

“Our family isn’t short of money, is it?”

Tch…

That day, anyone who saw Zhuang Xiaoyu causing a scene in the Jinluan Hall warned their wives and daughters not to provoke her. She could slap someone to the rooftop. Her strength was terrifying—she wasn’t even human.

But what do they mean by “not human”? Could it be true, like the rumors a while ago—that she’s a calamity for the country, a monster? They only dared think it in their hearts but didn’t dare say it aloud.

Even the formerly infamous Sun Yulan, now a street mouse, heard the news from the empress’s maidservant. She suddenly remembered the time when she was stripped and hung on a tree…

After being restless for so long with no results, she finally understood. All of this was Zhuang Xiaoyu’s doing. She must have been the one who secretly plotted against her, and when she found out about Mr. Xu, she had just gotten his poem and was hung on the tree. Only Zhuang Xiaoyu had the strength to do that.

She blamed Zhuang Xiaoyu for everything. She swore to take revenge. Even though she wasn’t living like a human now, she couldn’t let it go.

Her father had already given up on her and was now focusing on nurturing her younger half-sister. With the crown prince still undecided, it wasn’t too late to groom another daughter for marriage.