6 This Dead Man? (II)

Both Chahua and the middle-aged manager lady gawked at her, taking in her feminine features and clicking pieces of the puzzle together. The beautiful Chahua didn't look so alluring and graceful anymore with such a bewildered expression on her face.

It was the manager to speak up first. "Uh… this…"

Before waiting for her to finish, Xueying pointed at the gold coin she gave the manager earlier. "You can keep that. I gave it to you so that you would stop bothering me, but who knew why you took that as the fact that I wanted to see some camellia." She took a look around the brothel, sighing. "Then, if there's nothing else, I'm going."

Leaving both of them shocked, Xueying bent down to pick the hair pin off the floor, messily gathering her hair together and sliding the pin back in place. She wasn't in the mood anymore for browsing the markets or anything of that sort after this incident with the brothel messed up her happy outlook on this little trip outside the palace. Xueying decided that once she exited this disgusting place, it would be better to just return back to where she belonged without causing any more trouble for the day.

Nearly stomping as she went down the stairs, she walked past tables of men and girls, not even eyeing them once. Too many negative thoughts were going through her mind that she couldn't even bother to listen to all the laughter coming from the people in the brothel.

That is, until, Xueying bumped into a drunk man.

The impact startled her, and her eyes snapped upwards to the face of the drunk man. He was in his early forties, perhaps, built with a broad frame and a tall height. Just being near him made Xueying's nose wrinkle— the strong smell of alcohol clung around him.

Ignoring the light collision, Xueying continued on her way, unwilling to start a fight again over such trivial things. She decided that her mood certainly was terrible today. Usually as the princess, she would punish any servants who dared to bump into her to remind them of her control, but today, she didn't seem to be in the mood to do anything. Dealing with the ignorant manager of the brothel was tiring.

Xueying only managed to walk a few steps further before a heavy hand clamped on her shoulder.

Oh, heavens. What was with these people and their obsession of touching her shoulder? Couldn't they call her instead? Why did they have to initiate so much… physical contact?

Being the princess who no one would even dare to touch, Xueying was obviously not used to any sort of physical contact, and the amount of times that she's been clung onto and touched at the brothel was much more than her definition of pleasant.

Xueying had to constantly remind herself that she wasn't trying to get herself involved in anything more. Pushing down the urge to hurt the man whose arm was still clamped on her shoulder, she shrugged him off and silently turned around to face him.

The man, face tinged red from drinking so much alcohol, pointed to the left side of his chest. "Hey— you little sissy boy, how dare you bump into," he burped, "—me? Do you know who I am?"

Xueying's left eye twitched.

What did he mean, "how dare you bump into me"? Shouldn't it be the opposite? If he knew that he bumped into the princess of Danyan, he would be the one who was kneeling on the floor and begging for her mercy.

"Here—" the drunk man continued with his slurred speech, "pay me— say— all the money you have on you." He chuckled slowly. "You look like— a rich boy, heh."

Xueying's left eye twitched again.

If he wanted her to give him all of her money… what a dream.

Seeing that Xueying wasn't responding, the man laughed again. "Heh, you don't want to give me money? Then, kneel, lick the floor around me clean, and maybe I'll let you go."

Screw her goal of peacefully returning to her palace without causing trouble. This man— by bumping into her, touching her shoulder, and giving her these threats— was practically asking for it.

Without a second of hesitation, Xueying raised her right hand and slapped the man across the face.

And upon being hit, the man flew across the room in the blink of the eye, landing on a table filled with dishes in the back of the building and breaking it in half.

Ah, this man deserved such a painful—

Hm?

What?

Xueying's mouth fell open.

She stared at the man she slapped, who was now all the way across the room and bleeding on the floor. High-pitched screams erupted in the room from the girls in the brothel, and some froze in their spots while others pushed their seats back, staggering backwards. Instantly, the aura of the room transformed from full of laughter and satisfaction to panic and horror at what had just happened.

She could feel all eyes on her— these people— these people, they were all looking at her in fear.

Looking down at her right hand, Xueying stared at her palm. What had just happened? She just— she just, slapped the man, not even using much strength in her slap, and the impact of the slap caused the man to sail across the room as if he was flying?

When did she get so strong?

Xueying raised her arm, feeling her biceps. She couldn't get too strong, or she would be muscular, and that would be hideous. No one would want a muscular prin—

No.

She looked back at the man. Now wasn't the time to worry about how ugly her muscles might look. She should be worried more about the man.

Right. The drunk man she just smacked.

Walking a little closer to the crime scene, Xueying winced. It looked painful. The entire table split roughly in half, and nearly all the dishes broke as well. It didn't help that there were all sorts of foods on the dishes, so now, among with the blood that was leaking out of the man, tomatoes and eggs were mixed inside, as well as plates of sweet sauce that were drizzled on the meat on the plates. The man seemed to be unconscious…

… or was he… dead?

This man was dead?

Did Princess Su Xueying… just kill a man?

Mixed emotions rose up inside of her, filled with a little bit of apprehension and alarm while she observed the seemingly dead man. Words from Tutor Zhang's lessons appeared in her mind, echoing.

"Even if the Son of Heaven, the emperor himself, broke the laws and committed a crime, he would have to be punished like a normal citizen. There is no exception for anyone once a law has been broken."

Xueying stumbled back a step. If they found out that she killed a man, wouldn't she be hung or sentenced to death as well? A life for a life?

At those frightening thoughts, perhaps it wasn't the correct, moral decision for her to make, but Xueying didn't wait a single second before turning around and running out of the brothel, not willing to spend anytime longer near the scene of crime.

Did Princess Su Xueying just kill a man… and run away as if she wasn't the one who did it?

Yes, she just did.