ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 122

In the elegant room, aside from Xiao Wen and the other two, there were quite a few people. They had originally been chatting, but upon seeing Li Zhizhi and Yang Jun appear, they all fell silent and turned to look in their direction.

The expressions on their faces varied. Xiao Wen was clearly surprised and said, “Why has the Princess come?”

“Sister.”

Yang Shen was being held down by two guards dressed as attendants, struggling to turn around. Yang Jun immediately stepped forward but was blocked by someone nearby, preventing her from getting closer. Li Zhizhi frowned slightly and looked at Xiao Wen, saying, “What is the meaning of this, heir?”

Xiao Wen merely glanced her up and down, smiling, and replied, “This man spoke disrespectfully and rudely. I wanted to reason with him. Does the Princess know him?”

Li Zhizhi said, “He is a distinguished guest of the Grand Princess.”

Hearing this, Xiao Wen’s expression froze for a moment but quickly returned to a smile. “In that case, let’s forget it.”

With that, he raised his hand, and only then did the two guards release Yang Shen. Thanks to Li Zhizhi and Yang Jun arriving in time, he hadn’t suffered any physical punishment. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to Xiao Wen, but Yang Jun, quick to react, pulled him firmly, signaling for him to stay silent.

Xiao Wen smiled as he looked at Li Zhizhi and said, “What a pleasant surprise. Since the Princess is here, why not sit and try the new wine?”

Li Zhizhi smiled slightly and politely declined, “I would like to, but unfortunately, it’s quite inconvenient. We still need to see the Grand Princess and can’t keep her waiting.”

Upon hearing this, the smile on Xiao Wen’s face faded. He seemed to lose interest, waving his hand and saying, “Princess, please go ahead.”

He didn’t rise to send her off, which was clearly a very dismissive att.i.tude. Li Zhizhi couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and left with Yang Jun and her brother.

After she left, Li Suwan looked at Xiao Man with a hint of inquiry in her eyes but stopped herself from speaking. However, Xiao Man merely glanced at her as if she hadn’t seen it, leaving Li Suwan to hold back her words.

Before long, the waiter brought the new wine, and the room full of people started drinking. After three rounds, Xiao Man got up and left. Li Suwan quickly followed, calling out, “County Princess, wait!”

Xiao Man stopped and slightly raised her chin. Li Suwan immediately understood and followed her to a secluded spot, asking, “County Princess, what should we do now?”

Xiao Man curled her lips into a slight smile, “We?”

Her voice carried a rising intonation, and Li Suwan quickly corrected herself, “I mean me. I really can’t stand that wretch’s smugness. If it weren’t for her, how would I have fallen to this point?”

As she spoke, her eyes reddened, filled with venomous hatred. Clearly, she despised Li Zhizhi deeply.

Xiao Man was more than happy to see her like this. The more Li Suwan hated, the easier she would be to manipulate. However, Xiao Man didn’t show it on her face and asked plainly, “What do you want to do?”

Li Suwan immediately replied, “I want her reputation ruined, everyone despising her, and her fate a hundred times worse than mine!”

“Is that all?” Xiao Man shook her head in disappointment and sighed softly before suddenly asking, “Don’t you want her dead?”

Li Suwan seemed startled, crying out in shock, “Dead?”

“I was just joking,” Xiao Man gave her a sidelong glance. “Look at you, with that little bit of courage. How can you plot against anyone?”

Li Suwan fell silent, looking embarra.s.sed. Xiao Man’s expression turned slightly bored, and she said, “Forget it. Your affairs are your own business. Now you come crying to me for help, but when things go wrong, you’ll betray me in a heartbeat.”

Hearing this, Li Suwan hastily said, “I would never! County Princess, you must believe me. I am loyal to you and will never have second thoughts.”

She did want to deal with Li Zhizhi herself, but the gap between them was now too great. Li Suwan didn’t even have a chance to get close to her and could only hope Xiao Man would help.

She begged for a while before Xiao Man finally took out a small bottle from her sleeve and handed it over. Li Suwan was momentarily stunned and hesitated to take it. She stammered, “Is… is this poison?”

She even stuttered, prompting Xiao Man to sneer coldly, mocking her, “Have you forgotten how you managed to catch the heir’s attention? This poison is potent. Once she takes it, she will disgrace herself completely.”

Only then did Li Suwan realize what it was. She quickly accepted the bottle, though still hesitant, and asked, “How should I get her to take it?”

“Fool,” Xiao Man was tempted to pry open her brain to see if it was empty. She leaned in slightly and whispered a few words into Li Suwan’s ear.

After a moment, Li Suwan’s face showed a look of realization. She tightly gripped the bottle and said, “I understand now. Thank you for the guidance, Your Ladyship.”

Xiao Man warned, “Be careful. Do not expose yourself.”

Li Suwan nodded, watching her leave before looking down at the small bottle in her hand. Just then, she noticed a dog in the corner gnawing on a meat bone. An idea crossed her mind, and she shooed the dog away, carefully sprinkling the powder on the bone. She stepped back a few paces, and the dog hesitantly approached, sniffed the bone, and then eagerly began gnawing on it again.

After watching it chew for quite some time with nothing happening, Li Suwan felt somewhat rea.s.sured, and she hurriedly tucked the bottle away and left.

…

In a private room, Li Zhizhi was chatting with the Grand Princess and Yang Jun. One had to admit, the new wine at Huixian Pavilion was quite excellent. Even though Li Zhizhi wasn’t much of a drinker, she couldn’t resist having a few more cups. Knowing her weak tolerance, the Grand Princess had specially ordered fruit wine, served in small white jade cups no larger than a thumb, for delicate sipping. The wine was fragrant, sweet, and refreshing.

In contrast, Yang Jun was much more bold. If not for the presence of the Grand Princess and Yang Shen’s repeated urging, she would have grabbed the wine jar and started drinking directly.

The Grand Princess, watching the sibling duo with a smile, remarked, “Jun’er takes after your mother more, while Shen’er must take after your father.”

“G.o.d forbid he takes after him,” Yang Jun waved dismissively, laughing, “If he truly takes after our father, he’ll end up being divorced, unable to swallow the insult, and die from his own rage. What a miserable end!”

She often said shocking things without any sense of propriety, something Yang Shen had long grown accustomed to. He merely reminded her dully, “Sister, mind your words.”

“It’s fine,” the Grand Princess smiled amiably, “We’re all family here, no need to stand on ceremony.”

Seeing Yang Shen looking somewhat reserved, Li Zhizhi changed the topic with a smile, “By the way, I ran into Tang Yu earlier.”

At these words, Yang Shen immediately looked over, a hint of delight in his eyes. “Miss Su is here too?”

Li Zhizhi chuckled, “Yes, I even spoke with her. Would you like to go greet her?”

Upon hearing this, Yang Shen hesitated. “Wouldn’t that be too forward?”

Yang Jun slapped him hard on the shoulder and laughed, “How will you win the lady’s heart if you’re so timid?”

Pointing a finger at his nose, she questioned, “Why are you men all such cowards? Don’t you understand the saying ‘persistent pursuit wins the lady’s heart’?”

After speaking, Yang Jun stood up and muttered, “I’ll go talk to her for you. No time like the present.”

Yang Shen nearly jumped up in panic, pressing her back into her seat, his head pounding, “Please don’t cause trouble.”

Leaning back comfortably, Yang Jun pointed lazily at the door. “Then go now.”

Yang Shen, utterly terrified of her, quickly replied, “I’ll go, I’ll go.”

The Grand Princess was laughing so hard from the side that tears were about to fall from her eyes. Li Zhizhi also couldn’t help but smile and said, “I’ll take Brother Shen over, we’ll be back soon.”

The Grand Princess wiped her eyes with a smile and nodded, saying, “Go quickly.”

Li Zhizhi took Yang Shen out the door and headed towards the private room where Su Tangyu was. As they pa.s.sed through the hallway, the sounds of laughter and cheers echoed from downstairs, filled with the lively buzz of voices. Strangely, she suddenly thought of Xiao Yan and wondered if the Mid-Autumn banquet in the palace was just as lively.

Su Tangyu had come today with her elder brother, sister, and brother-in-law. Seeing Li Zhizhi and Yang Shen visiting, she was overjoyed and enthusiastically pulled them over to sit and drink, chatting merrily.

Su’s elder sister curiously looked at Yang Shen and said, “This young man looks very familiar.”

Su Tangyu laughed, “Sister, don’t you remember him? He’s the little boy from the Su family who used to come to our house to play.”

Su’s elder sister thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, “Oh, it’s you. You haven’t changed much since you were a child.”

The whole room gathered around Yang Shen and Su Tangyu to talk. Li Zhizhi just watched from the side, occasionally joining the conversation. Suddenly, someone in the corner stood up—it was Jiang Ziyu. She didn’t even look at anyone and simply opened the door to the room and left.

The air grew quiet for a moment before Li Zhizhi asked, “What’s wrong with Sister Jiang?”

“She’s in a bad mood,” Su’s elder sister waved her hand indifferently. “She was the one insisting on coming to Huixian Tower to drink, but now she’s sulking as if someone owes her money. Let her be.”

No one in the Su family said anything more, as if they were used to it. Li Zhizhi sat for a while longer, seeing that Yang Shen and Su Tangyu were deep in conversation and seemed to be getting along well. Feeling somewhat rea.s.sured, she got up to leave.

When Yang Shen was about to leave, he seemed reluctant, his emotions written plainly on his face. Su’s elder sister, seeing this, teased and invited him to visit the Su residence again.

Yang Shen gladly agreed before finally leaving with Li Zhizhi. They hadn’t walked far when a waiter from the restaurant approached and said to Li Zhizhi, “Miss, a young master has invited you to come for a conversation.”

Li Zhizhi was startled. “Which young master?”

The waiter replied, “He says he is your cousin and is waiting for you in Huyue Pavilion.”

“Song Lingyun?” Li Zhizhi immediately thought of this name and recalled having seen him earlier. Her brow furrowed slightly. Why did Song Lingyun want to see her?

How interesting—those few people she despised had all gathered at Huixian Tower today. Li Zhizhi couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. If the building were to collapse today, wouldn’t her great revenge be exacted on the spot?

But then she reconsidered and thought it wasn’t right. The Grand Princess and Su Tangyu were also here, and the thought was far too unlucky.

Of course, Li Zhizhi wouldn’t go to see Song Lingyun. Not only was she short on time, but more importantly, she had no connection with him. He was likely trying to use her to get to Su Tangyu. Remembering his despicable deeds from her past life, Li Zhizhi felt disgusted and said, “I have other matters to attend to and cannot go. Please pa.s.s the message to him.”

The waiter left, and Li Zhizhi and Yang Shen returned to the private room. Upon entering, they saw Yang Jun whispering with the Grand Princess, who nodded thoughtfully in response.

Surprised, Li Zhizhi asked, “Mother, Sister Jun, what are you two talking about?”

Yang Jun, her cheeks flushed from drinking, looked even more striking with her red lips and white teeth. She smiled mischievously and said, “I’m telling the Grand Princess a secret.”

Li Zhizhi grew curious. “What secret?”

Yang Jun waggled her finger mysteriously and said, “Buddha says it cannot be spoken.”

Yang Shen couldn’t help but hold his forehead in his hand. He was already thinking about how to get his drunken sister back home.

Yang Jun asked again, “By the way, how did your meeting with Miss Su go?”

Li Zhizhi then recounted the situation to them in detail. The three women eagerly discussed it, but Yang Shen, sitting beside them, felt immensely awkward yet couldn’t stop them.

After chatting for a while, suddenly, a shout came from outside, accompanied by heavy footsteps, which seemed a bit abrupt. Li Zhizhi and Yang Jun exchanged glances, while the Grand Princess frowned and ordered the servant, “Go and see what’s going on.”

As soon as the servant opened the door, people from the neighboring private room also came out, asking, “What’s going on?”

“It seems like someone is shouting.”

Then, a panicked voice echoed through the hallway, “Someone’s dead!”

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