Chapter 403

Chapter 403: You Can’t Live Well? Then Blame Yourself

Yu Jiao Jiao’s body trembled, and all her wild thoughts fell away. She looked up carefully and saw Yu Zhi Yi watching her with a calm, blank face.

She tried to sound steady as she asked: “What… what are you going to do?”

Yu Zhi Yi lifted her hand, and Yu Jiao Jiao’s neck seemed to place itself right into Yu Zhi Yi’s palm.

The feeling of suffocation hit at once. Yu Jiao Jiao finally panicked and struggled with all her strength as she gasped: “You can’t kill me! You can’t! If you do, my father will never let you go! My brother-and my other brothers-won’t forgive you either!”

Yu Zhi Yi gave a soft, cutting laugh and said: “Who cares.”

Her fingers tightened. Yu Jiao Jiao’s face turned a worse and worse color, her pupils shrinking to pinpoints. Suddenly, a desperate idea flashed across her mind, and she rasped out, voice harsh: “If you do something, people will learn of it. Today is the Eldest Princess’s banquet. If you dare lay a hand on me, the Eldest Princess will notice.”

She hurried on, clinging to the one thing she had: “You just injured the Eldest Princess. She must hate you now. If she finds I’m missing, she’ll suspect you even without proof.”

Yu Zhi Yi’s brows drew together, tight. After a short pause, she loosened her grip and said: “You’re lucky today. Too many people saw you here. Next time, you won’t be so lucky.”

Yu Jiao Jiao clutched her aching throat. By habit she wanted to spit a few cruel lines like before, but when she met the cold look in Yu Zhi Yi’s eyes, the words died on her tongue. She turned and rushed out of Plum Grove Villa as if wolves were chasing her.

She ran a long way before stopping. She looked back carefully and, seeing that Yu Zhi Yi wasn’t following, patted her chest in relief. Then she snorted and muttered to herself: “Idiot!”

She mocked, eyes glinting: “What great master of mystic arts? She bragged like she was unmatched under heaven, but her brain is as dumb as a pig’s.”

She had slipped into the Eldest Princess’s flower-viewing banquet in secret. No one knew she had come-no one except herself and Yu Zhi Yi. If you think for even a moment, it’s obvious: she was being kept under guard by Duke Yong’s Manor. How could she openly show up in public?

But her mockery soon faded. Even with a talisman from a high expert, she couldn’t kill that hateful woman. What could she use now?

Back at the garden, the “pig-brained” Yu Zhi Yi pinched a dust-cleansing spell and carefully cleaned her hands inside and out. Then she strolled toward the gathering crowd.

She had been worrying about how to deal with Immortal Qing Feng, and Yu Jiao Jiao had run right into her own trap. Immortal Qing Feng was even pretty “generous,” sending along such a fine gift.

Yu Zhi Yi had never seen that talisman before, which meant it was a high-grade one. Lately, her sixth sense had become sharply accurate. The instant she saw the talisman, a strong hunch rose in her: even Immortal Qing Feng wouldn’t be able to resist it.

The only problem was that someone had tampered with it. The moment it appeared, it would auto-lock onto her.

She walked and thought it through. Her memory had always been good. With her growing strength, she now remembered things at a glance. The brief moment just now was enough for her to fix every detail of the talisman in her mind.

She stopped short and murmured: “So that’s it.”

The talisman was stained with her aura.

Except for the brief time-less than a quarter of an hour-when Yu Jiao Jiao lured her away, Yu Zhi Yi hadn’t gone far from the crowd at all.

The Eldest Princess had been injured, so the plum-viewing banquet ended early. In front of everyone, Yu Zhi Yi hadn’t made a move. Everyone clearly saw the Eldest Princess catch her sleeve on a coral tree, the tree fall and knock over a teacup, and then shards from the cup and the tree cut her. None of it could be blamed on Yu Zhi Yi.

With no fault on her, no one could stop her. She walked out of Plum Grove Villa openly with the other noble ladies.

Back in the Capital City, she did something rare-she worked a bit of overtime in the afternoon. At the Ministry of Justice, she read through the files of ten cases and offered new clues.

By doing so, she earned herself three more days of leave.

Speaking of leave, Yu Zhi Yi had planned to save up her days off and use them later when she set out for her sect. Now, though, she could only save a little and spend a little. [Plans never keep up with changes.]

The Minister of Justice looked at her with a gaze full of wounded pride, as if complaining: We’re both working for His Majesty-so why do you get to be so relaxed, working three days and resting two, while I have to keep to the schedule every day?

Only because His Majesty had been ill these few days could he steal a moment of rest. Of course, it was only a moment. He was, after all, the Minister of Justice. The daily affairs he had to handle were no fewer than the memorials His Majesty faced. So a tiny bit of slacking would have to be enough.

Yu Zhi Yi looked up in surprise and asked, voice crisp: “What did you say, Minister? His Majesty is ill?”

In truth, she had already heard from the palace guards that the Emperor was sick. But she hadn’t seen him and didn’t know how serious it was.

By reason, unless the Emperor was close to death, he wouldn’t turn away court officials seeking an audience. What if there was an urgent matter? He wasn’t a muddle-headed ruler. He wouldn’t do something that undercut his own base of power.

It felt as if an unseen hand in the dark was blocking her, not wanting her to meet the Emperor. To be exact, it didn’t want her to see the Emperor’s fate pattern.

The Minister of Justice lowered his voice and said: “His Majesty’s spirit hasn’t been good lately. He often zones out at court. Two days ago, he didn’t notice the steps and fell.”

He spoke very softly. On an ordinary person, this would be a joking story. But you couldn’t joke when it came to the Emperor. So his expression was extra careful as he warned: “Official Yu, hear it and let it go. Please don’t spread it around.”

If Yu Zhi Yi wasn’t the Emperor’s trusted official, he wouldn’t have dared to reveal such an embarrassing thing.

Yu Zhi Yi nodded, thoughtful, and said: “Thank you, Minister. Don’t worry. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

Leaving the Ministry of Justice while the sky was still light, Yu Zhi Yi returned to Peach Garden. Zhang Xiang had already set the meal. Yu Zhi Yi went into the dining room, wolfed down a few bites, and then hurried back to her room.

She closed her eyes and carefully reviewed every detail of the talisman.

After a long time, she opened her eyes. She didn’t try to draw it right away. Instead, she washed her hands and burned incense.

When all was ready, she went to the incense room where the ancestors were honored. She set talisman paper and cinnabar on the table.

She bowed and said to the ancestor tablets: “Ancestor above, your disciple Yu Zhi Yi is now in danger and needs great fortune to pass through safely. Your disciple has found this chance, but my strength is too low. I fear I cannot draw talismans of such a high level.”

She pressed her forehead to the floor and vowed: “Please show mercy and bless your disciple to get what I seek and turn disaster into safety. If I escape danger, your disciple will immediately craft a Golden-Body Idol for you.”

After offering a stick of incense with full respect, Yu Zhi Yi returned to the table, picked up the brush, steadied her breath, and lowered the tip to the paper.