Ex-Wife is a Big Villainess
Chapter 68 - 64: Young Aunt

Chapter 68: Chapter 64: Young Aunt

Suddenly hearing a sharp scolding, Princess Xi Yue was startled, and nearly dropped the gold she held in her hand.

Turning her head to see the newcomer, her expression revealed a hint of surprise.

What appeared before her was an extraordinarily handsome young man with well-defined features and ice-cold eyes.

Xi Yue found him somewhat familiar.

On closer thought, it seemed he was the Liushan Division government official she had glimpsed once on Antai Street.

Upon seeing the man, the thin dark-skinned girl’s eyes instantly sparkled with brilliance.

Her eyes, clear as glass, seemed to come alive suddenly, shimmering with star-like radiance.

This made Xi Yue even more irritated.

She wished she could gouge those eyes out right now.

"Are you her master?"

Realizing that her plan to kill through a hired hand might fail, Xi Yue glared gloomily at Jiang Shouzhong.

Jiang Shouzhong took the thin girl’s dirty, chilblain-covered hand and said coldly, "She is my servant who accidentally lost her way; please take your gold back, Miss."

"I bought it!"

Xi Yue’s eyes were cold and fierce.

Jiang Shouzhong could not be bothered with her and, holding the thin girl’s hand, turned to leave.

"Ma Wu! Break the legs of these two lowly dogs!"

The usually willful princess didn’t care about her Crown Prince brother’s instructions at this moment and was already frustrated enough from dealing with Li Guanshi; now, a petty official and a lowly beggar were causing her trouble too.

Was a minor Liushan Division official capable of stopping her from killing someone?

As for whether someone would make an issue of this at the court the next day, she didn’t care at all.

Inside the carriage, Zhou Wei was exasperated by his impertinent younger sister and couldn’t intervene in time as the guard Ma Wu rushed toward Jiang Shouzhong.

However, the next moment, Ma Wu abruptly stopped, wearing a strange expression.

Because someone stood in his way.

A woman in a pale green dress.

Even Jiang Shouzhong hadn’t expected this woman to appear there, his expression inevitably stunned.

Jiang Shouzhong put away the exquisite flintlock at his waist, his gaze complex.

The woman was dressed in an elegant pale green, with a slender, delicate frame.

Her black hair cascaded down her thin, knife-cut back, reflecting the moonlight as if a fairy had descended.

Xi Yue was somewhat stunned, her fine eyebrows tightly furrowed, and then she scornfully laughed,

"I wondered who it might be, but it turns out to be Miss Ran. What, saw injustice on the road and decided to play heroine? Or did you fall for this young man, stirred by romantic feelings, wanting to stage a drama of beauty saving a hero? Too bad, he has a taste for that filthy mutt from the ditch."

Ran Qingchen spoke in a clear, cool voice, her brows and eyes exhibiting neither joy nor anger.

"He is a member of the Wind Thunder Hall of the Liushan Division, under my command. Miss Zhou, why bother with a trivial person?"

"Oh, I almost forgot that Miss Ran is now Lord Ran,"

A hint of mockery sparkled in Xi Yue’s eyes, she coldly said, "since he is your subordinate, then I’ll leave his punishment to you. You know well what punishment he deserves for offending me, just break his legs in front of me. Lord Ran, unless you have another method of punishment?"

"Apologize,"

Ran Qingchen’s gaze was as calm as still water.

The cold night breeze flowed like water, gently sweeping across the woman’s skirt and hair, ethereal and captivating.

"Apologize?"

Xi Yue’s lips curved into a chilling smile, "What kind of punishment is that, Lord Ran? You’re being too obvious in protecting your own people."

Ran Qingchen lifted her clear eyes, her tone still cool but edged with a sharp frost, "I meant, please apologize to my subordinate for your earlier inclinations to violence and those insults."

"What!?"

Xi Yue was stunned, disbelieving.

She snorted with laughter, looking at Ran Qingchen as if she were a fool, her angry face slightly contorted, "Ran Qingchen, do you really think that because of your late mother, you can——"

"Xi Yue!"

A cold voice suddenly interrupted.

The Crown Prince, Zhou Wei, stepped beside his sister and gently patted her shoulder, then apologized to Jiang Shouzhong, "We were presumptuous, my younger sister meant well, thinking the girl was homeless and wanted to offer some help."

Jiang Shouzhong smiled derisively and replied, "Your sister’s heart of a Bodhisattva will get its reward."

Zhou Wei’s gaze shifted to Ran Qingchen, his expression complex as he lightly said, "No need to apologize then, tonight was our fault. Let’s give everyone face and a way out, shall we?"

"Apologize."

Ran Qingchen remained expressionless, her dress fluttering as if greeting the wind.

"Look," Xi Yue sneered at her Crown Prince brother, "she doesn’t appreciate kindness. Good intentions to you are nothing but cast pearls before swine."

"Do you really want to escalate this, make a spectacle out of it... to the higher-ups?"

Zhou Wei’s eyes gradually turned cold.

Ran Qingchen glanced at the guard Ma Wu, "Then I will compete with him. If I win, you apologize. If I lose, I will apologize for him."

Zhou Wei frowned, "Although you two are of the same level, he is Great Perfection, stronger than you..."

Ran Qingchen did not speak, her jade-like delicate hands drew a three-foot green blade.

"If she wants to die, let her be."

Zhou Xiyue, who had long disliked Ran Qingchen, had a sinister smile and gave Ma Wu a covert wink, saying cheerfully, "Go easy on Miss Ran, show some mercy and cherish the beauty."

Ma Wu had a headache, and seeing the Crown Prince show no reaction, he had no choice but to draw his sword and step forward.

He was about to exchange some pleasantries with Ran Qingchen when the woman struck first, whooshing a long sword aura straight toward him.

The sword aura fluctuated unpredictably, like a long dragon drilling into the ground, a white rainbow piercing through the long street.

Ma Wu gripped the handle of his knife tightly and suddenly exerted force.

Just as his blade was about to make contact with Ran Qingchen’s sword aura, the woman’s figure suddenly vanished.

Ma Wu’s expression changed, his astonishment lasting only an instant before he caught the trace of the woman’s presence and swung his knife out, leaving behind a long trail of white smoke in the air.

However, just as he was about to swing his second knife, he found his body firmly drawn into the circle of her sword. The woman, having circled around, abandoned her defense and attacked with a desperate posture.

Ma Wu was startled by her life-risking style.

It was just a contest, was it necessary?

With a moment’s hesitation in his heart, he missed the first move and could only swing his knife in defense. At the same time, a golden light shield emanated around him.

The Vajra Temple’s Golden Armor!

Boom!

A muffled thunder explosively resounded.

Ma Wu was sent flying, crashing heavily against the wall. A cold, gleaming long sword laid across his neck.

"You lost,"

Ran Qingchen lightly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her tone cold.

Ma Wu’s face turned red with frustration, he really wanted to curse "crazy woman," but didn’t dare, only managing a forced bitter smile.

Zhou Xiyue’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"Ma Wu! You fool! You definitely did that on purpose!" the little princess screamed shrilly, stomping and seething with rage.

Ran Qingchen sheathed her sword and walked towards Zhou Xiyue, staring coldly at the young girl, "You should apologize now, Miss Zhou, since you agreed to the bet."

Feeling the imposing aura coming at her, Zhou Xiyue’s little face turned pale, she subconsciously stepped back two steps, quickly hiding behind Zhou Wei, "Someone help! There’s an assassination attempt! She’s trying to assassinate me!"

The other guards, seeing this, could only grit their teeth and block in front of Ran Qingchen.

"Oh, it’s quite lively tonight."

Just then, a carriage engraved with "Silver Moon" came to a stop by the roadside.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and a woman wearing a veil smiled as she looked at everyone.

The Crown Prince’s expression changed slightly, he suppressed the dark emotions in his eyes and stepped forward with a smile, "Wei’er greets Ms. Jiang."

The little princess, upon seeing the woman, fell silent as if struck by frost.

"When you accept a bet, you must accept loss, the more prestigious you are, the less you should renege,"

the woman’s charmingly languid voice floated softly.

At that moment, Consort Lan’s voice came from another carriage, "Xi Yue, apologize!"

Zhou Xiyue clenched her fists tightly, her face turning ashen.

Seeing the stern look from her elder brother, she gritted her teeth and finally walked up to Ran Qingchen, throwing out three words, "I am sorry!"

"Not to me, to him,"

Ran Qingchen turned aside.

Zhou Xiyue trembled with rage, wishing she could take a knife and chop up that despicable woman and the adulterous couple, but upon hearing her mother’s command from the carriage again, she obediently went to Jiang Shouzhong.

"I am sorry, it was my fault."

After saying that, the girl turned and entered her own carriage with reddened eyes.

Zhou Wei gave a bow to the woman in the Silver Moon Tower carriage, then apologetically smiled at Ran Qingchen and followed his sister away.

The carriage gradually departed.

The turmoil ended in this strange fashion.

Ran Qingchen hesitated for a moment, then walked up to the Silver Moon Tower carriage, respectfully saying, "Qingchen greets auntie."

The woman did not even glance at her, dropping the carriage curtain and directing the guards to drive away.

Ran Qingchen was left feeling lost and disheartened.

Her slender figure on the street appeared increasingly lonely.

——

Author’s note: I couldn’t help but say a few words. Although the book is about harems, the protagonist is not someone who would just accept anyone. From the female characters introduced, it is clear who will develop a relationship with the protagonist and who is the antagonist.

Given that the Crown Prince is already established as an enemy, there’s no way I would plot a romance with the little princess, what with all the tortuous melodramatic twists. My style is to ensure all such characters are neatly laid to rest in their coffins.

So far, the performance of this new book is indeed not good, since my style involves setting things up slowly without any writing tricks of climbing climaxes every thirty thousand words or major ones every hundred thousand. I also don’t know if I will get a chance to be recommended on Sanjiang next week.

However, I am not overly worried because the plot is smooth and stable. This time, I will not rashly change the outline, and when it’s time to wrap things up, it won’t seem abrupt.

Of course, I am prepared for the possibility that the book might not perform well when it’s released. But having a successful previous book under my belt, I won’t lose much confidence. I believe this final fantasy series will turn out very compelling.

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