Chapter 139

Pei Shangling then earnestly said to Mu Yuanzhi: "Ah Zhi, those dog lackeys who bullied you, I beat them all up! I also kicked them into the cesspit! You didn't see how stupid they looked!"

He muttered to himself, laughing hysterically.

Mu Yuanzhi, however, coldly looked at him, saying nothing.

Pei Shangling stopped laughing, embarrassed and puzzled, asking: "Why are you like this? I helped you get revenge!"

"They bullied me when you didn't come; after I came out, you didn't settle scores with them; now you say you're avenging me—it's just because you dislike them and want to oppress the noble Fourth Prince, isn't it?" Mu Yuanzhi sneered.

"Not like that!"

"What is it then?"

"It's..."

He couldn't say it; he used to think her suffering in Yong Alley was deserved, that it was her fault for harming the younger sister; now he knows it's not, and he just remembered to deal with these people as well.

"But I still got revenge for you…… otherwise he wouldn't have beaten them so badly."

Mu Yuanzhi chuckled: "Looks like the Fourth Prince really likes being here; maybe we shouldn't announce this edict?"

"Don't!" Afraid Mu Yuanzhi would leave, Pei Shangling no longer dwelled on this matter.

Anyway, she'll someday know he's still that good to her; no rush.

"Then why aren't you kneeling?" Mu Yuanzhi also tried the feeling of holding a chicken feather as a command arrow; it's really not bad.

There's no need to kneel when hearing the edict, but now I'm the chopping block and he's the meat; she can do whatever she wants.

Pei Shangling furrowed his brows, stayed silent a moment, then knelt to listen.

The edict was just those few lines; anyway the result was to be released. Pei Shangling didn't listen closely, and only when he stood up to receive the edict did he notice the last line, his eyes widening: "Have me sweep the entire palace for a month?!"

Crazy!

"A lot? If you don't want it, you can return the edict to me, and I'll give it back." Mu Yuanzhi said, reaching to snatch the edict.

Pei Shangling immediately stuffed the edict into his lapel, not giving it up, and asked Mu Yuanzhi: "Is your little sister still cultivating at the Hall of Gratitude?"

Mu Yuanzhi smiled, curling her lips: "Naturally, she couldn't stay idle and caused trouble, ending up harming others and herself, getting whipped by a pervert."

She gave a rough summary.

"What?!" Pei Shangling asked Mu Yuanzhi dubiously: "She... she wouldn't be trying to harm you again, would she?"

How is she still like that?!

Hasn't she repented? Isn't it just a momentary confusion?

What did she do now?

"You might as well ask her when she'll stop harming me."

"What did she do?" Pei Shangling asked cautiously.

He feared hearing the answer, feared knowing his own younger sister was wicked.

"What did she do?!" Qilin appeared out of nowhere, furious: "I've never seen such a wicked person! Knowing that the prince of Huangli State is a pervert who likes to beat people, she allied with Princess Lanting to try to knock out my senior sister so he'd hit her, making him interested in my senior sister! She wanted to ruin my senior sister's reputation!"

He knew Mu Yuanzhi had come here to announce the edict, uneasy, he secretly followed; his current skill makes it easy to enter and leave Yong Alley unnoticed.

Pei Shangling couldn't believe it; if something really happened, Gu Rongjin would no longer want Mu Yuanzhi, and the Father Emperor would have Mu Yuanzhi remarry that perverted prince—what then?!

The more he thought, the more fearful he became; how could his younger sister devise such a vicious plan...

It's too terrifying; how could a girl think of such a method to harm her own sister?

"What happened next?" Pei Shangling asked, only then recalling what Mu Yuanzhi had just said about Pei Yunxi harming others and herself.

So the result is that the younger sister reaped what she sowed?

Although it's not worth pitying, after all, she's his own younger sister!

"Afterwards, it was just your sister deserving to be whipped half to death—no, half-dead is an exaggeration; she's already returned to the princess manor, likely nothing happened, Fourth Prince, you needn't worry." Qilin shrugged.

Mu Yuanzhi actually didn't intend to say it in such detail; telling Pei Shangling would be pointless, and if Qilin wants to say it, let him; she won't stop him, Pei Shangling can believe or not—what difference does it make? After all, it's his own younger sister; can he really uphold righteousness over kin?

Just like the Son of Heaven, didn't he immediately revoke the decision to punish Pei Yunxi's cultivation?

After all, family doesn't distinguish between each other, unlike her, an outsider.

"Let's go, Qilin."

"Senior sister, don't walk so fast!"

"Ah Zhi! How is the Father Emperor planning to deal with the Huangli prince?" Pei Shangling chased after and asked.

"I don't know; you can go ask."

What else could be done? That's the Huangli prince, the future Son of Heaven of Huangli State; weighing pros and cons, she doesn't believe the Son of Heaven would publicize this.

As expected, sure enough, there was still a day when all the foreign envoys would leave the capital, and the imperial city remained quiet.

Saying it's quiet isn't right; the prince's marriage negotiations are proceeding in full swing, the princess consort will be the sister of the Rebel‑Suppressing General, Qi Shian, and the concubine is the daughter of the Fusang Grand General, Ximo, Xixi; thus Fusang's Xixi won't return with the Fusang entourage but will stay in the capital, temporarily lodging at the palace gate.

Mu Yuanzhi first saw this Miss Xixi up close in the imperial garden; she had merely been passing by, but saw a woman in exotic attire chasing a pig.

This was truly rare at the palace gate, so she glanced twice.

"What are you running for! I'll stew you!" Xixi, furious and embarrassed, chased after the frantic little pig, with a hint of taking out her anger on it.

She chased and chased, then noticed Mu Yuanzhi looking over, and urgently said: "Can you help me block it?!"

With little effort, Mu Yuanzhi not only blocked it, but directly seized the pig.

"Wow!" Xixi stared, blinking her big eyes, her face full of admiration: "Sister, you're too fierce! How did you learn to catch pigs?"

Could you say you learned it in Yong Alley? If you can't even catch a pig, you're bound to get beaten.

"Just eye‑hand skill." Mu Yuanzhi said offhandedly, making it up.

"Oh, a natural talent." Anyway, she couldn't learn it.

The pig that Mu Yuanzhi caught, squealing, was delivered into Xixi's hands.

"You don't even ask why I'm chasing after a pig?" Xixi asked curiously.

She's always like this when strangers see her; they always ask, and once they learn it's her pet of long standing, they're greatly astonished—hard to put into words!

Mu Yuanzhi: "Not interested."

"What a cool older sister." Xi Xi re-evaluated Mu Yuanzhi, eyes flashing with interest, "Sister, you're so pretty and dressed so beautifully, are you a lady of the palace?"

"I am the emperor's adopted daughter." Mu Yuanzhi said calmly.

"Ah! I know! You're Princess Yuanzhi!" Xi Xi's face fell after a moment of excitement, "So you're the crown prince's sister, right?"

"You could say that."

"This Miss Xi Xi doesn't seem to like Pei Shangyan much, does she?"