Chapter 11: Committing Crimes Under the Banner of the Evil King

This was the easiest and most satisfying theft Luo Xia had ever committed! As she left the Alchemy Room, Luo Anbang had even warmly pressed a few third-grade pills into her hand! She truly hadn’t wanted them, but it was hard to refuse such enthusiasm! In the end, Luo Xia swaggered away under the loving gaze of Luo Anbang. Honestly, she deeply sympathized with her uncle—if he ever learned the truth, would he die of anger?

“Speak! Where did that useless girl go?” Bi Zhu was of the same cultivation level as the other two—both at the beginner stage—but years of waiting on Luo Xia had left her with little time to train, and her body was injured. Now, she could only endure being viciously beaten by Xiao Qing and Xiao Ya. Bi Zhu clenched her teeth and said nothing.

Xiao Ya ran a wicked hand across Bi Zhu’s face. “You know, your face is actually quite pretty. I wonder what would happen if I cut it?” Bi Zhu turned pale with fright. “You…” “What? Don’t want your face ruined? Then tell us where that good-for-nothing went!” The two maids were simply venting on behalf of the eldest miss—whenever she was in a foul mood, she would take it out on Luo Xia. Only when Luo Xia suffered would the eldest miss feel appeased.

Luo Xia had just returned to her courtyard when she saw Bi Zhu being beaten by Xiao Qing and Xiao Ya. Fury welled up in her chest! The old Luo Xia had been utterly powerless, but the Luo Xia of today was strong enough to challenge Luo Mei herself!

Slap—! Slap—! By the time Xiao Qing and Xiao Ya realized what was happening, their cheeks had already swollen up. Both were furious—how dare the third miss hit them? That useless girl wasn’t even as strong as they were! What right did she have?

“Not convinced?” Luo Xia didn’t know where she’d gotten the dagger, but she slashed it fiercely across Xiao Ya’s face—serves her right for threatening Bi Zhu’s! What better example?

Xiao Ya howled in agony as blood streamed down her face. Luo Xia twirled the bloody dagger in her hand. Xiao Qing, pale as a ghost, stared at Luo Xia as if she’d seen a monster. “You… the eldest miss will never let you off for this!” Next, Luo Xia kicked Xiao Qing hard.

With a sickening thud, Xiao Qing crashed to the ground, spitting blood. “You two are bold indeed, daring to insult the future Princess of the County. You deserve to die a hundred times over!” Luo Xia’s tone was light, but her arrogant bearing was that of a true mad princess.

Xiao Qing and Xiao Ya seethed with rage. This useless girl really thought she was something now, just because she’d been named the prince’s betrothed? The two of them scrambled out of Luo Xia’s courtyard as fast as they could.

After they’d gone, Bi Zhu came to her senses and stared wide-eyed at Luo Xia. “Miss, you…” Luo Xia casually tossed her a few third-grade pills. “Take them, and guard the courtyard.” Honestly, it felt great to commit violence under the prince’s name. After all, the emperor had bestowed the marriage, and she’d already been titled as the prince’s consort. Yet, even the maids dared to bully the future princess—wasn’t that simply disregarding the prince altogether?

She was sure the two would crawl back to tattle, and that Luo Yi would be livid. Let her come—an even bigger problem was waiting for her. Luo Xia felt fantastic. Carrying a candle, she slipped quickly into the secret passage.

Inside, the man in black had already coughed up dark blood all over the floor. He was now weakly bracing himself against the wall. Luo Xia hesitated for a moment, deciding to stand three feet away—this man, even gravely poisoned, could easily kill her.

“If I’m not mistaken, you’re deeply poisoned. I brought an antidote—” Luo Xia hadn’t finished her sentence when she felt a powerful force surge toward her. To her shock, every pill she’d stolen began to float from her body, one by one. Damn it! Did he really have to snatch them like that? She’d wanted to bargain!

The antidote pill flew straight into his hand while the rest returned to their places. He only took the antidote. Well, at least he had some conscience. In the blink of an eye, he swallowed the antidote and sat down to refine it. Luo Xia watched as streams of black smoke drifted from his body—the antidote was indeed working, driving out the poison within.

She breathed a sigh of relief. If he died, it wouldn’t benefit her at all. At this point, he was the only one she could trust—someone so powerful would surely keep his word. She wasn’t certain if her sealed spiritual power was connected to the Luo family, but she was sure of one thing: Luo Yi wanted her dead. And she wasn’t naïve enough to think the Evil Prince would protect her—if he simply left her alone, she’d already be grateful.

Luo Yi was still fuming when she saw Xiao Qing and Xiao Ya return battered and bruised. The two maids painted Luo Xia as a wild shrew, making Luo Yi tremble with rage. “She’s grown bold? Daring to commit violence under the prince’s name?” “That’s right. She even said she’s the prince’s consort, and not even you can touch her, eldest miss,” Xiao Ya said, seething with hatred for Luo Xia, who had ruined her face.

Luo Yi was completely enraged. “That useless girl actually dared to say that?” Both maids nodded. Fury makes people lose all reason.

In her blind rage, Luo Yi didn’t even ask who had injured Xiao Qing and Xiao Ya—she assumed Bi Zhu had followed Luo Xia’s orders. Alone, Luo Yi stormed toward Luo Xia’s courtyard.

“Luo Xia, you useless girl, get out here!” Luo Yi kicked the courtyard door open. Inside, Bi Zhu was already trembling with fear, but Luo Xia remained utterly calm, dressing her hair before the mirror. Luo Yi was livid. In the past, Luo Xia would have rushed out on her knees, begging for mercy, the moment she heard Luo Yi’s voice. Luo Xia had always seemed born to be her victim. But now, as soon as she was named the prince’s consort, she’d grown proud?

“Miss, let’s go out…” Bi Zhu whispered, shaking. Luo Xia smiled serenely. “She’ll come in herself—why waste our energy?”

Was this really the third miss?

“Luo Xia!” Sure enough, Luo Yi kicked open Luo Xia’s bedroom door. Her eyes burned with fury—if looks could kill, Luo Xia would have died a thousand times over. Yet Luo Xia greeted her anger with easy composure, smiling sweetly. “Sister, you’ve just been named crown princess—you should be happy, shouldn’t you? Or—” She suddenly feigned surprise. “Oh? Don’t tell me you don’t actually like the crown prince?” Then, covering her mouth in mock apology, she added, “Oh dear, what a slip of the tongue! I hope I haven’t cursed you.”

Only moments before, Luo Yi had refused to believe this useless girl could have changed—but now she did. Luo Xia had struck a nerve, and Luo Yi was beside herself. “You wretched girl, looks like I need to teach you a lesson!”

“The crown princess is about to kill someone!” Luo Xia suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs. Fearing for her mistress, Bi Zhu bolted out the back door. “The crown princess is going to kill someone!”

Luo Yi hadn’t expected this tactic. She wasn’t afraid of bystanders, but she dreaded drawing the crown prince’s attention. “Shut up!” Luo Yi quickly conjured a fireball and hurled it at the window—her target was Bi Zhu! As a fire element mage, such spells were nothing for her.

Luo Xia knew that if Bi Zhu were hit, she’d be dead. Grabbing a chair, Luo Xia hurled it at the fireball, knocking its path askew. The fireball shot out the window, missing its mark.

“Murder! The crown princess is trying to kill someone!” Bi Zhu kept screaming, scrambling away. Another fireball nearly grazed her, and she collapsed to the ground in terror—she’d almost met the King of Hell that day.