Chapter 5759: Bad Luck
Princess Huaizhu scoffed dismissively, "Impossible. Why would people from Divine State bother coming to our Lower Star Domain for no reason?" Huaizhu had no understanding of Beimo's background, nor did she know the reason why Beimo had stood strong on Sikong Star for so long. She didn't understand why Beimo, with such an absurdly dissolute Old King, could still be so prosperous and flourishing.
She only believed what she saw and heard with her own eyes and ears. Isolated in Tundong, she had never heard about the former Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Beimo, so it was impossible for her to connect them to the Upper Three Continents. Earlier, she had merely chimed in with Qiao Lin because she was constantly being ignored. While seemingly praising Qiao Lin, inwardly she was quite dismissive.
Although the little maidservant's words made some sense, in Princess Huaizhu's opinion, how much foresight could a maidservant possibly have? How could she have guessed correctly? It must be because that girl wanted to show off in front of the Crown Prince, so she falsely claimed her identity, desperately trying to gild herself. Her intention was too obvious: to elevate her own worth.
Huaizhu sneered, murmuring to herself: One day, I will expose her identity and reveal her to everyone in the world. I'll make her so ashamed in front of the Crown Prince that she can't even lift her head. Thinking of this, Princess Huaizhu's mood brightened slightly, and a smile touched her lips.
A Street Incident
"Bang!" A person pushing a unicycle suddenly crashed into Princess Huaizhu's knee, causing her to shriek in pain, grimacing. Several accompanying maidservants rushed over, surrounding their Princess, angrily scolding the peasant woman who had caused the collision, their faces flushed. "Are your dog eyes blind?!"
"You village woman, do you know who this is?"
"Hurry up and kneel before Her Royal Highness the Princess!"
The peasant woman trembled all over in fear, immediately falling to her knees and kowtowing repeatedly. "I-I'm so sorry, P-Princess." A mere village woman, she had never witnessed such a grand scene. Several maidservants, obviously well-dressed, glared at her with furious eyes. After being scolded a few times, she became speechless, only shrinking her neck and pleadingly kowtowing repeatedly.
People nearby became curious and gathered to watch. Princess Huaizhu was already full of suppressed anger with nowhere to vent, and this peasant woman had practically walked right into a beating. Seeing this, she angrily shouted, "Beat her!" Two burly guards stepped forward with sticks and, without a word, knocked the peasant woman to the ground, beating her mercilessly.
The peasant woman screamed in pain, terrifying the onlookers. Xijiu City had always been very peaceful; they had never seen such a brutal wealthy family publicly beating someone in the street. Several young men, unable to bear it, quickly spoke up to stop them. "Stop hitting her! You'll kill her if you keep going." How could a village woman withstand so many blows from such thick sticks? Three minutes ago, she was already dying, barely clinging to life.
By the time the City Lord arrived with his guards, the peasant woman had been beaten to death on the spot. City Lord Gu, usually gentle and refined, was so enraged that he pointed at Princess Huaizhu, sputtering "You, you, you" unable to speak. Several young men who tried to intervene were also struck with sticks. One of them, bleeding from his head, angrily shouted, "City Lord! This person disregarded a life and beat our compatriot to death in the street! She must be severely punished!"
"Yes! Severely punished!"
"Severely punish! Severely punish! Severely punish!!"
An Unwanted Disturbance
Princess Huaizhu coldly glanced at the young man with blood on his head and motioned to her personal maid. The maid, Qingluo, stepped forward a few paces and said indifferently, "Are you blind? It was your person who pushed the unicycle and crashed into our princess. Her Highness's leg is bruised!"
"Now, merely taking her dog life, without implicating her nine generations, is the greatest mercy and grace of the Princess. What more do you want to cause a fuss about??"
The common people immediately fell silent. Many of the agitated crowd earlier actually didn't know Princess Huaizhu's identity. They only thought she was some rich young lady from the city showing off. Upon hearing the maid's condescending tone, they immediately deflated. After all, they were just ordinary commoners. If it truly led to implicating their entire family, it would be too terrifying.
Seeing them, who had been righteously indignant just moments ago, now all silenced, Huaizhu couldn't help but proudly raise her chin slightly.
City Lord Gu's face was ashen. "Princess, you are not a princess of my Beimo. You are a princess from Tundong who has come from afar. Our Beimo should fulfill its host duties and treat you well. But you cannot disregard the king's law and arbitrarily dispose of our Beimo people."
"What?" This obnoxious woman in front of them wasn't a princess from the Imperial Capital; she was an outsider? Most ordinary citizens had never even heard of "Tundong." Now, seeing the tragically deceased peasant woman on the ground, their nationalistic sentiments were ignited, and they were all even more enraged than before. "City Lord, this so-called Princess of Tundong has committed murder in our Xijiu City! She must be severely punished!"
"Yes, she must be severely punished!"
The crowd's anger surged, startling Princess Huaizhu. She quickly pulled Qingluo and the other maids back a few steps, stammering, "What do you want to do? City Lord Gu, are you going to just stand by and watch your citizens beat this princess to death with sticks??!"
"If something happens to this princess within your Beimo territory, or furthermore, in your Xijiu City, how will you take responsibility?? If this princess loses even a single hair, my father king will not let you off!"
The citizens of Xijiu City were furious, roaring in unison, "City Lord, please uphold justice for us ordinary citizens! City Lord, City Lord!"
"Report!" A city guard rushed in just as Mo Yu and Little Lin were fighting over a peach. The guard, eyes straight ahead, knelt on one knee. "Reporting to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Princess of Tundong has beaten a peasant woman, who was selling vegetables in the city, to death in the street. She is now surrounded by the enraged citizens of Xijiu City."
"The City Lord specifically sent this humble one to request guidance from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on how to handle this matter."
Qiao Lin's eyes widened slightly, her face filled with disbelief. "She, wasn't she with us when we left the restaurant?" In the short time they had been back at the Qiao residence, this Tundong princess had caused such a big commotion. What, what was she trying to do?
Mo Yu saw the little fellow dumbfounded, and naturally snatched the peach from her hand. "Is it difficult to handle?" Mo Yu took a bite of the peach, casually glancing at the messenger. "Is this City Lord getting worse at his job?"
"Handle it as it should be handled," Mo Yu said flatly. The guard quickly kowtowed, then stood up and rushed out. "This humble one understands!"