Volume One, Chapter 15: Striking the Empress’s Head Once More
Fan Xiu felt as if he were a saint.
He had just rescued a woman by chance, attending to her with tea and water, even emptying the chamber pot for her.
Most importantly, Xiao Ruoqing’s clothes were all torn.
After all, she had worn them for so many days, and they were stained with blood. Fan Xiu wanted to wash her clothes and had even borrowed a new set from his sister-in-law, Li Shi, in advance.
But Xiao Ruoqing refused to change.
The most talkative member of the household, sister-in-law Li Shi, had been taken back by her family that afternoon.
In the end, Fan Xiu had no choice but to resort to a threat to convince Xiao Ruoqing.
His method was very simple:
Tickling!
During the day, because Xiao Ruoqing claimed the gold was fake, Fan Xiu was so furious that he began tickling her, only to discover she was extremely ticklish!
Before he even touched her, Xiao Ruoqing burst into loud, goose-like laughter.
She laughed while scolding him and even threatened to skin him alive.
Within three seconds, she was begging for mercy.
So Fan Xiu prepared to use the same trick again.
But just as he reached out, a cold shout rang out behind him.
“Scoundrel! How dare you!”
He turned around in confusion, only to see a black shadow flash past, and then the sole of a large foot appeared before his eyes.
Bang!
A muffled thud!
“Ah!”
Fan Xiu screamed in pain, was kicked over, and immediately lost consciousness.
On the bed,
After several days, Xiao Ruoqing finally saw Ying and the Blood Feather Guards and felt a surge of joy.
Ying had found this place so quickly.
But before she could say a word, Ying charged in and kicked Fan Xiu unconscious.
Xiao Ruoqing opened her mouth wide, stunned by the scene.
“Your Majesty, your humble servant arrives late to rescue you! Scoundrel! How dare you lay a hand on the Sovereign! I will kill you!”
Clang!
Ying drew his long sword, which hadn’t been unsheathed for years, and thrust it toward Fan Xiu.
Only then did Xiao Ruoqing regain her senses and shout, “Stop!”
The sword’s tip stopped just a millimeter from Fan Xiu’s heart.
“Your Majesty, anyone who dares harm you must die!” Ying said angrily, glaring at Fan Xiu.
“Who said you could kill him?” Xiao Ruoqing urged hastily.
Ying looked puzzled. “Your Majesty, do you intend to kill him yourself?”
“I never said that!” Xiao Ruoqing said sternly, her imperial dignity shining through.
Though she often joked about skinning Fan Xiu alive, it was only out of anger.
But Fan Xiu was her lifesaver, after all. As Empress of Dayin, how could she repay kindness with ingratitude?
Even if Fan Xiu had taken advantage of her quite a bit, he did not deserve death.
Ying and Xiao Wan knelt quickly, terrified.
“Your Majesty, forgive us.”
“Your Majesty, forgive us.”
Xiao Ruoqing waved her hand. “You have done no wrong. I am delighted that you found me so quickly!”
Ying was confused. “But Your Majesty, this scoundrel just tried to assault you. Shouldn’t he be killed?”
She pointed at Fan Xiu.
“No!” Xiao Ruoqing glared at Fan Xiu on the floor and said, “He only wanted to wash my clothes.”
“Ah?”
Ying’s eyes widened. “Wash your clothes? I don’t understand!”
She truly couldn’t comprehend it.
Just now, the man reached out laughing, and Xiao Ruoqing was shouting not to touch her—yet it was to wash her clothes?
Xiao Ruoqing took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “A few words cannot explain it clearly. Just know that he saved me, and he does not even know who I am.”
At that moment,
Fan Xiu on the floor stirred and murmured, “Ouch~ Hurts so much~~”
Xiao Ruoqing quickly signaled to Ying and Xiao Wan.
They immediately understood, glanced around, then leapt to the beams above, disappearing into the darkness.
Even lying on the bed, Xiao Ruoqing would not have noticed them without looking carefully.
On the floor,
Fan Xiu rubbed his dizzy head and staggered to his feet, cautiously scanning the surroundings.
“Strange, my dear wife, I clearly saw a shadow just now. Where did it go?” Fan Xiu said, puzzled.
Ying and Xiao Wan were startled.
This scoundrel dared to call the Empress “wife”?
Empress Xiao Ruoqing was always proud and aloof. How dare Fan Xiu?
Was he not afraid the Empress would kill him in a rage?
Wait.
No, something’s off.
Why isn’t the Empress angry?
Xiao Ruoqing completely ignored the “wife” in Fan Xiu’s words; she had heard him call her that so many times her brain filtered it out automatically.
Suppressing a smile, she said, “Someone? Where? Just now I only saw a black cat rush in and bump into you.”
“No way!”
Fan Xiu immediately replied, “I also saw a sole! At least size forty!”
On the beam,
Ying’s face darkened at Fan Xiu’s words.
Her feet were indeed large.
Years of martial training had made her feet several sizes bigger than ordinary women’s, almost as large as a man’s.
In the entire Dayin Dynasty, only Xiao Ruoqing dared to tease her about it.
No one else ever mentioned it.
But this guy downstairs, just seeing the sole of her foot, called her “big-footed cat”? He truly deserved death!
If he weren’t Xiao Ruoqing’s lifesaver, Ying would have already rushed down and cleaved Fan Xiu with her sword.
“Cough!”
Xiao Ruoqing coughed heavily and said, “Perhaps it was a black cat wearing shoes.”
Bang!
Fan Xiu immediately flicked his fingers and snapped the top of Xiao Ruoqing’s head.
“You!”
Xiao Ruoqing held her head, glaring furiously at Fan Xiu. “You flicked my head again!”
Ying’s expression turned cold as she prepared to leap down.
Xiao Wan quickly stopped her, whispering, “Master Ying, Your Majesty did not permit us to act.”
Ying steadied herself but was inwardly furious.
This scoundrel had such gall to flick the Empress on the head? Did he want his entire clan wiped out?
“Who said you’re making things up?” Fan Xiu said, arms crossed.
“A cat wearing shoes? What do you take me for, Cinderella? Even if a cat could wear shoes, it couldn’t wear ones that big!”
“How would I know?” Xiao Ruoqing shouted angrily. “I didn’t see what it was!”
“Forget it,” Fan Xiu waved dismissively. “Let’s not talk about it now. Give me your clothes. I’ll wash them for you.”
Xiao Ruoqing didn’t want to argue further and said, “You go rest. I’ll give you the clothes tomorrow morning.”
“Tch!” Fan Xiu rolled his eyes. “Suit yourself.”
He left the room.
Ying and Xiao Wan descended from the beam.
“Your Majesty, why does that scoundrel call you ‘wife’? Could it be that you two...” Ying asked suspiciously.
“What nonsense,” Xiao Ruoqing said seriously, though a faint blush tinged her cheeks. “There is nothing between us. He just has a dirty mouth. Today...”
“Hello!”
A cheeky voice suddenly sounded at the door.
Fan Xiu returned abruptly, wearing a flattering smile.
“My dear wife, I…”
Before he could finish,
Fan Xiu suddenly noticed two slender figures in black inside the room.
He instinctively looked at Ying’s feet, then at Ying herself, then back at her feet again. His face instantly drained of color.
“Damn! You’re the big-footed cat from before!”