Chapter 401

Chapter 401: Watch Your Words

Here’s what happened: when the Eldest Princess sprang up in anger, she didn’t notice a coral “tree” ornament just behind her. Her sleeve swept wide; the hem of her robe snagged on the coral. Because she yanked forward with force, the coral toppled.

Good news: it fell in a direction where no one stood.

Bad news: right there sat the teacup she had just slammed down.

The coral struck the cup; the lid flew off, and, along with bits shaken from the coral, smashed into the princess’s mouth. A face that had been all dignified grace was now smeared with blood.

The Eldest Princess hurt, shocked, and enraged, raised a shaking hand to point at Yu Zhi Yi, hatred in her eyes.

Yu Zhi Yi stood straight, face cool, and said: “I warned the Eldest Princess not to create bad karma with words, or trouble would come from the mouth. As you see, it has come true.”

Her tone stayed calm.

The Eldest Princess nearly fainted from rage. Wretch! Daring to curse her! But her mouth was full of blood, and pain stole her voice; she could only glare and pant.

The noble ladies were all stunned and forgot to move.

Madam Yao was the first to recover and called out sharply: “Quick, summon the Imperial Physician!”

With a flick of her sleeve, Yu Zhi Yi stepped aside and kept quiet.

At such a noble gathering, an Imperial Physician was bound to be on hand. He rushed in soon after, and the sight of the Eldest Princess’s bloody mouth startled him: “W-What happened?”

No one answered. He didn’t dare delay and hurried to examine her.

Not long after, he let out a small breath. Though the Eldest Princess looked frightening, the injury wasn’t deep-just torn skin. There were no fragments embedded inside. It wouldn’t be too hard to treat.

But wounds on the mouth are troublesome. Ointments don’t work well there; healing is slower than elsewhere, and eating is affected. The Eldest Princess was in for a rough stretch.

Grumbling inwardly, the physician kept his face blank and wrote prescriptions-especially for pain.

When the pain eased and the Eldest Princess wanted to lash out at Yu Zhi Yi, she looked around and found that Yu Zhi Yi had already slipped away.

“Didn’t expect you to still come out,” someone said behind a stand of trees.

Yu Zhi Yi turned, genuinely curious as she looked at the speaker. Yu Jiao Jiao stared back, her eyes full of naked hatred, and said with a cold smile: “Seeing me out, are you disappointed?”

It had been a while since they last met. Yu Jiao Jiao was much thinner now; the rounded softness and girlish charm were gone. The weight loss gave her a dark edge-you could tell from far away she was hard to deal with.

“You got yourself out,” Yu Zhi Yi said with an easy smile. “That’s your ability. Why would I be disappointed?”

“Stop pretending, Yu Zhi Yi,” Yu Jiao Jiao hissed, hatred flaring. “What I hate most is that look like nothing matters to you.”

“Ever since we were little, every time I targeted you or mocked you, you acted like you didn’t care. But inside, you were furious, weren’t you?”

“For the sake of a face you don’t even have, you kept pretending and pretending, as if you were some spotless white lotus. Do you know, every time I saw that calm face of yours, I wanted to scratch it to pieces!”

She stepped closer and closer, almost wild now, saying: “What angers me most is this-why does your life keep getting better while mine keeps getting worse?!”

“In the last life it was like that. In this life, it’s still like that!”

She stared hard at Yu Zhi Yi, hoping to catch shock or panic on her face.

But there was none.

Yu Zhi Yi was very calm-and even answered her kindly.

“Because I don’t chase shortcuts, and I don’t try to take what isn’t mine,” she said. “I work step by step to improve myself. I may not be the strongest yet, but I can stand without relying on anyone.”

“When you lean on a mountain, the mountain can still fall. You should understand that better than I do.”

Yu Jiao Jiao’s eyes widened: “You’re also-”

Yu Zhi Yi’s lips curved. “Surprised? I thought you’d guessed from the way I don’t care about the Yu Clan anymore.”

Yu Jiao Jiao’s steps faltered, then she staggered back a few paces. “You… you…”

Fear and confusion mixed in her gaze. “Since you’re reborn too, why didn’t you fight to take back Zhang Tian Shun?”

Yu Zhi Yi asked in return: “Don’t you already know the answer?”

Yu Jiao Jiao truly didn’t. But seeing the calm in Yu Zhi Yi’s eyes, she figured it out quickly.

Zhang Tian Shun was rotten. Not worth fighting over. Du Zi Heng might be hateful at times, but he was faithful and kind. As long as he didn’t cross You Bing Yue, he wouldn’t raise a hand against a woman.

Marrying into the Chancellor’s Manor-other than living like a widow most of the time-wasn’t so bad. Her in-laws were kind and even gave her the right to manage the household.

She had once thought Madam Yao was fake and that the Du Clan didn’t truly value her as a daughter-in-law. But everything is clear in comparison. After what she went through at the Brave Duke’s Manor, she finally understood what a truly vicious mother-in-law was like. Madam Yao, by contrast, was a model of a good mother-in-law. And in her past life, she hadn’t known how to be grateful.

Old hatred, which had begun to fade, flared up again. She glared at Yu Zhi Yi and snapped: “You knew the Brave Duke’s Manor was a mud pit, but you watched me sink into it. You’re vicious!”

“That wasn’t your choice?” Yu Zhi Yi asked, speechless.

“I didn’t know what that place was like-that’s why I made the mistake! But you knew it was a swamp and didn’t stop me. You just couldn’t stand to see me do well!”

“That’s right,” Yu Zhi Yi said with a mild nod.

Yu Jiao Jiao almost thought she misheard. “What?”

“I really can’t stand to see you do well,” Yu Zhi Yi said evenly.

Yu Jiao Jiao stood there, stunned.

Yu Zhi Yi had always been the type to keep a straight face even if a mountain collapsed in front of her. Even if someone cursed her to her face, she could walk by without a blink. Call it steady if you’re kind; call it spineless if you’re not.

Yet this same person now admitted her ill will without flinching.

Yu Zhi Yi went on, voice calm: “I staked my life on my path, so I can’t kill people at will. And if I don’t kill, people who hate me-people like you-will keep existing.”

“The more I respond to you, the more excited you get. Even if I’m just defending myself, you’ll claim I’m awful for embarrassing you.”

“Since I can’t crush you in a single move, why waste my time and energy? Your little tricks did nothing except push the already biased Yu Clan farther away from me.”

“As for those who believed you and hurt me again and again-I stopped caring about them. Whether they think badly of me or drift away, I don’t mind.”

“In short, everything you did never cost me a thing.”

“When you see an ant trying its hardest to bite an elephant, do you find the ant scary? No. You find it laughable and pitiful.”

She smiled, bright and easy, and said: “Everything you did in the past is just a joke to me. I won’t be sad about it-I only find it funny.”