Chapter 166: Looks Like Her Brain Was Fried From Crying

"Waaaah, Princess, I... waaaah..."

She tried to speak through her tears, but couldn’t even get a full word out before she was sobbing too hard to breathe.

Xiao Li rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Just cry for now. We can talk after you’re finished."

’Don’t choke on your own tears.’

Wang Wanqing burst into loud sobs, as if trying to cry out all the grievances she had suffered these past few days.

She cried for a full half-hour before finally calming down, her sobs slowly turning to quiet hiccups as she composed herself. Only then did she realize she was sitting in Xiao Li’s lap.

The tears were forgotten in an instant as her entire face turned beet red.

"P-Princess... I didn’t mean to, I..."

Wang Wanqing scrambled to her feet, so mortified and anxious that she was stumbling over her words.

Xiao Li, however, was perfectly calm. "I was the one who pulled you up. There’s no need to be nervous."

When Wang Wanqing cried, she truly lost all sense of her surroundings. She had been tugging on Xiao Li’s clothes relentlessly, and Xiao Li, after a few failed attempts to free her sleeve, had no choice but to scoop the girl up into her arms to keep from being disrobed.

The girl was light as a feather, but her tears were copious, soaking the front of Xiao Li’s robes.

"Finished crying?"

Wang Wanqing nodded. "Finished."

Xiao Li said nonchalantly, "If you’re finished, you should go back. I need to take a bath."

She had a reasonably good impression of Wang Wanqing. The girl was pretty, had a quiet personality, and possessed some skill. For these reasons, Xiao Li was willing to be a little tolerant and even let her cry in her arms once.

But Xiao Li didn’t have much of a tender heart, nor could she play the role of a sympathetic big sister who comforted others.

From Xiao Li’s perspective, the bit of hardship Wang Wanqing had endured was not even worth mentioning.

She had grown up in the lap of luxury; her greatest vexation was merely discovering that her parents might not love her as much as she had imagined.

What she called suffering was nothing more than reaching an age where she finally had to face the reality of this world.

People’s hearts are biased. The flesh on the back of the hand is not as thick as on the palm. Even the best relationships will one day fade.

No matter the relationship or how deep the affection, the ultimate reason it continues is that the other person is useful to you. That is the essence of society.

She didn’t need best friends or fawning admirers. She did things entirely based on her mood.

Although Wang Wanqing had gone through some trials, she had not been reborn to the extent that she could walk the same path as her.

Take this moment, for example. Wang Wanqing found it hard to understand why Xiao Li, who had been so gentle—rescuing her, helping her, even holding and comforting her—could maintain such a cold attitude, begrudging her even a single smile.

But even if she couldn’t understand, it didn’t change her heart’s devotion to Xiao Li.

’Because the Princess has always been like this. She doesn’t need to put on a show; anyone who truly pays attention will see her goodness.’

"I just came to thank the Princess for saving my life."

She finally remembered her purpose. As she spoke, she moved to kneel, but Xiao Li lifted her foot to block her knee. "I’ve received your thanks. There’s no need to kneel. Go back now."

Being sent away again, Wang Wanqing felt a small pang of disappointment. She opened her mouth to say something but immediately felt she was being melodramatic. The Princess had already been good enough to her.

She had originally wanted to pour out her grievances to the Princess, but now that she had cried them all out and been held so gently, there seemed to be nothing left to say.

Those were her family members; talking about them wouldn’t change anything.

And the Princess was the person she liked and admired most. She had comforted and tolerated her so gently—how could she bother her with all that trivial mess?

She couldn’t sever the blood ties with her family, nor could she do anything to them. Complaining to the Princess was meaningless.

Just being able to see her and cry in her arms was enough to leave her feeling satisfied.

’As for that little bit of disappointment, I’ll just have to try my best to figure out how not to get sent away by the Princess next time.’

"Then I’ll be going. Please take care of yourself, Princess. I’ll come see you again when I have the chance."

Xiao Li looked at the tear stains still wet on her face and handed her a handkerchief. "If you’re just going to cry, don’t come. My patience is limited. I’m only letting you cry this once."

Wang Wanqing took the handkerchief and nodded obediently. "I won’t cry. I’ll never cry when I see the Princess again."

Xiao Li found her demeanor rather cute. "You have to fight for your own future. The Empress gave you an opportunity, so cherish it."

Wang Wanqing’s eyes sparkled as she nodded repeatedly. "Mhm!"

After nodding, she quickly covered her eyes, wiped away the fresh tears, and looked up at Xiao Li with watery eyes. "I’m not crying."

Xiao Li: "..." ’It’s over,’ she thought. ’This Miss Wang seems to have cried her brains out.’

Hong Yue escorted Wang Wanqing out, and Xiao Li turned to go take her bath.

She had only been soaking in the tub for a moment when Hong Yue returned, holding a box. "These were left by Miss Wang. She said she embroidered them for you herself."

She opened it and presented it. Xiao Li glanced inside: knee pads, wrist guards, and shoe insoles. They looked quite exquisite, with dense stitching that was in no way inferior to the work of a master embroiderer.

The items weren’t valuable, but the sentiment was priceless.

’She’s a little miss who knows how to be grateful.’

"Put them away."

After such an eventful day, Xiao Li was tired. She went to bed right after her bath, without even eating dinner.

She slept until broad daylight the next morning. Just as she was leisurely eating her meal, Yang Jun came to report, "Princess, Lady Xuanping Hou requests an audience."

’Lady Xuanping Hou?’

Only then did Xiao Li remember that such a person existed.

"Marquis Xuanping... Is he still locked up?"

It was clear from her tone that she had completely forgotten about him.

Yang Jun replied, "He is."

Xiao Li was about to say they should let him go, but then an idea struck her, and a smirk played on her lips. "Drag all of them to the entrance of the Prince Yanping Mansion. For every time Marquis Xuanping curses Xiao Jingzhao, I’ll release one person. If he doesn’t curse him, then it’s ten thousand taels of silver per person to ransom them."

Yang Jun’s mouth twitched. ’Only the Princess could come up with something like this.’

"This subordinate obeys."

Xiao Li had captured seventeen people from the Xuanping Marquis Mansion, which meant the total would be one hundred and seventy thousand taels of silver.

How could Marquis Xuanping possibly be willing to spend so much money to ransom mere servants? But cursing Prince Yanping would surely invite his wrath.

He couldn’t curse the prince, and he couldn’t pay the money.

Just then, Xiao Jingzhao and Jia Ruo came out, having heard the commotion. Marquis Xuanping immediately pleaded for help, "Your Highness, I beg you, do something about Princess Xuanyang! She’s specifically targeting me to bully!"

"She’s demanding I pay one hundred and seventy thousand taels of silver to ransom them! Where am I supposed to get that much silver? Last time, she forced me to pay one hundred thousand taels, and thirty thousand of that was even paid by Mr. Wang! Now she wants this much again? She’s trying to kill me!"

Jia Ruo rebuked angrily, "Isn’t this just robbery?"

A phrase Xiao Li had said last time flashed through Marquis Xuanping’s mind: ’Isn’t that exactly what I’m doing?’

’No, I can’t let her rob me again. I absolutely cannot fuel her arrogant behavior!’

"Your Highness, the Princess said that if I don’t pay up, I have to curse you to get my people released. How could I possibly curse you, Your Highness? I beg you to help persuade her. Ask the Princess to let me off just this once."

Xiao Jingzhao frowned. "What is she up to now?"

Yang Jun stepped forward to explain before Marquis Xuanping could, "Marquis Xuanping sent men to kidnap Doctor Cen..."

Before he could finish, Marquis Xuanping cut in anxiously, "I’ve already said! Cen An had just arrived at my mansion when he drugged my servants and escaped! He’s not in my custody!"

Xiao Jingzhao’s expression changed slightly. He now understood why Xuanyang had sent the people here.