Read Novel Full Chapter 94 - Husband and Wife (2)
Such naked praise made Zanxing feel a bit uneasy, and she was also somewhat puzzled. She asked, “Did the late king not have any flaws?”
Princess Lizhu looked at her in surprise. “Why would you ask that?”
“Everyone has flaws. Even in the eyes of a lover, where minor imperfections can seem endearing, there are always some flaws. You and the late king were husband and wife. Didn’t he have any shortcomings, even just a little?”
Princess Lizhu shook her head. “No, he didn’t.”
Zanxing pondered this.
Gu Baiying commented, “From what you’re saying, Emperor Shengning was a man without the strength to even truss a chicken. How could such a man subdue the shark demon?”
His words were quite blunt.
Princess Lizhu did not get angry. After a while, she slowly spoke, “In fact, I don’t know. Perhaps it was because of the Demon-Slaying Formation.”
“And where is the cultivator who set up the Demon-Slaying Formation now?”
“The cultivator left after eliminating the shark demon all those years ago. I haven’t heard any news about him in the palace these years, nor has he left any word. Otherwise, with the current chaos in the city, we would have sought him out to set up the Demon-Slaying Formation again,” Princess Lizhu said, then looked at Zanxing. “You two immortals have asked me so many questions. What exactly is the meaning behind it? Do you think there’s something wrong with my husband?”
This woman was sharp as a tack. Zanxing hurriedly said, “Princess, please don’t overthink it. We don’t mean any offense. It’s just that the scrolls related to the shark demon from back then were written very hastily, so we wanted to inquire a bit more.” She tried to change the subject and noticed a bullhorn bow hanging on the opposite wall. She smiled and said, “This bow looks impressive. Is it yours, Princess?”
Princess Lizhu followed Zanxing’s gaze and then smiled, “This is my bow. When I came from the Linshi Kingdom to this place years ago, I brought it along in case I missed my homeland.”
Gu Baiying raised an eyebrow slightly. “So, the princess knows archery.”
“The Linshi Kingdom is full of mountains and forests, and everyone is skilled in archery. As the princess of Linshi, I grew up handling bows and arrows.” Princess Lizhu’s eyes lit up and her expression became more animated as she spoke. She smiled, “Riding through the forest with a bow and arrow feels much better than sitting in the palace.”
Her attendant chimed in, “Our princess’s archery skills even drove away pirates back in the day.”
“Pirates?” Zanxing asked. “The princess encountered pirates?”
Princess Lizhu chuckled, “That’s all in the past now. When I came from the Linshi Kingdom to Li’er Island years ago, we sailed through the Western Sea and encountered pirates who were pillaging and killing innocents. I went to help with my accompanying attendants. Those pirates were no match for me, and they eventually abandoned ship and fled.”
“What do you mean, no match for them?” the attendant retorted. “Clearly, they were terrified by the princess’s archery skills and fled in panic. You immortals may not know, but our princess standing at the bow of the ship, holding her bow and shooting arrows
1, was quite an awe-inspiring sight.”
Princess Lizhu drifted into thought.
She was not yet eighteen at the time, already burdened with many anxieties and apprehensions about the political marriage. Yet, fate brought pirates right to her doorstep. Women from the Linshi Kingdom were always brave and resolute, with no hint of cowardice. So, she grabbed her bullhorn bow, sneaked onto their ship with a few attendants under the cover of night, and caught the pirates off guard, dispersing them without hesitation.
The pirates plundered many passing ships, sparing only the women for their amusement while killing all the men. Princess Lizhu still remembered the grateful looks on the faces of those women when she rescued them, but among them was a frail young boy. He seemed timid and panicked, and before Princess Lizhu could ask him anything, he leaped into the sea and disappeared. Despite her attendants’ efforts to find him, they could neither locate him nor determine if he survived.
“Sounds impressive,” Gu Baiying commented casually, taking a sip of his tea. “But there’s not a single mention of your bravery in the Li’er Country’s scrolls. Could it be that all your valor has been attributed to Emperor Shengning?”
This man had a knack for hitting where it hurts. Zanxing chuckled diplomatically, “That might be because we haven’t seen the scrolls that mention the princess.”
Princess Lizhu remained silent for a while before smiling, “That’s not the case. It’s just that since I came here, I’ve hardly touched a bow. In the Linshi Kingdom, where women are expected to be refined, gentle, and delicate, wielding weapons is considered rebellion ”
“Wielding weapons is considered rebellion?” Gu Baiying sneered. “They won’t even let you touch a bow and arrow, yet you say your husband treated you well and had no flaws. Princess Lizhu, you’re quite generous with your praise.”
Zanxing wished she could kick Gu Baiying in the shin.
Princess Lizhu froze at Gu Baiying’s words. She didn’t refute his statement, only gazing out of the window without responding for a while.
The atmosphere became awkward.
Seeing that there was no way to salvage the situation, Zanxing put down her teacup and stood up, saying, “We came here today just to ask casually. Thank you, Princess, for sharing so much with us. It’s getting late, so we’ll take our leave now. If we have any other questions, we’ll come to seek your enlightenment again.” With that, Zanxing desperately signaled to Gu Baiying, but seeing him ignore her, she grabbed his arm and forcibly dragged him out of Princess Lizhu’s side chamber.
When they returned to their own courtyard, Gu Baiying shook off Zanxing’s grip on his arm and said, “Yang Zanxing, what were you winking at me for just now?”
“Senior Uncle, why do you keep mocking the late king in front of Princess Lizhu?” Zanxing looked at him. “He’s dead now, and we should show respect. There’s no need to say so much.”
“Hypocrites deserve to be called out,” Gu Baiying sneered. “All the scrolls of Li’er Country are full of lies. They might as well be burned.”
Zanxing was about to say a few more words of persuasion when suddenly she heard the voice of Tian Fangfang from outside the courtyard, “Senior Uncle, Junior Sister Zanxing!”
“They’re back?” Zanxing turned around and saw Tian Fangfang and Men Dong rushing into the courtyard.
Once inside the house, Tian Fangfang grabbed a teacup from the table and took a few sips of tea. Zanxing asked, “Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Senior,” Men Dong looked at Gu Baiying, speaking excitedly, “We’ve made progress, we’ve found something this time!”
Gu Baiying asked, “What did you find?”
“Those women, the ones who were killed forty years ago, indeed all turned out to be eighteen years old. Today, we went to those five households and asked for their birthdates. We found out that all those women were born on Yin months, Yin days, and Yin hours!” Tian Fangfang slammed the teacup heavily on the table, “It’s not a coincidence, Senior Uncle, those women all had Pure Yin physiques!”
Footnotes
This reminds me of a certain scene from the anime Yona of the Dawn