Reborn Daughter: The Young Lady Wants to Make a Trouble

The air was thick with the smell of blood. Birds chirped in the background, their voices eerie and mournful. Occasionally, one of the maids would whimper, another would sob. They were all kneeling, but some of them collapsed to the ground because their legs were weak.

"What does this mean?" Li Xueyue let out a breath and glanced at the gloomy atmosphere around her.

In the center of the open-air courtyard was a wooden platform with blood dripping from its surface and a badly mutilated body tied to a wooden pole.

Li Xueyue felt like vomiting before she had even had breakfast. She didn't need to ask who was on the podium, especially since the discarded clothes on the podium were exactly the same color as what Xu Jiaqi wore yesterday.

"Yuzhen?" She asked softly as she saw him. He was only a few feet away from her, and his chair was placed far away from her. The chair was facing the wooden platform, so she couldn't see his expression.

Hearing her voice, he slowly turned around, a sinister smile slowly appearing on the corner of his mouth.

"You got up so early. Did the screaming just now wake you up?" He stretched out his hand and motioned her to come over.

Li Xueyue took a step towards him, but then stopped. At the other end of the yard, she saw a group of people walking towards her.

"Your mother..." she said tremblingly, knowing that this would not end well.

"You're shaking." Yu Zhen stood up, walked in front of her, and looked down at her figure.

"My robe and cloak look stunning on you." She flinched when his cold fingers brushed her cheek.

Yu Zhen's mood darkened. He prepared a gift for her, didn't she like it? He narrowed his eyes. Even if she didn't like it, it had already happened.

Xu Jiaqi was beaten to a bloody mess, and her gorgeous clothes were stripped off, leaving only dirty rags.

Li Xueyue's maids were arranged to watch the punishment. They were afraid that they would have nightmares for a while. Madam Xu Jiaqi's howling, screaming and begging were hard to ignore. They had thought she was the most honorable maid, despite her arrogant behavior. But the consequences of her actions completely changed everyone's view of her.

"Your hands are so cold." Li Xueyue said tremblingly. She touched his calloused, pale, purple hands.

"How long have you been out?" she asked gently, blowing hot air into his palm. Without warning, he grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her towards him.

"Yu, Yu Zhen?"

Yu Zhen stared into her eyes, searching fiercely for fear. He had thought her eyes were made of stars and twilight, a brilliant hazel brown. He was right. He saw his own reflection in her clear autumn eyes.

"You don't have to do this," she whispered, referring to the public torture. When she made eye contact with a maid, Li Xueyue's heart ached. These poor fellows...had to witness the prince's pure brutality.

"Hanging a big fish like this... will cause trouble." Li Xueyue added. She didn't know what he was looking at, but there was a hint of annoyance in his eyes, and his lips gradually tightened.

"Why are you shaking?" he asked, grabbing her hand before it could touch his chest.

"Because I'm cold."

Yu Zhen's thumb touched her finger. She didn't lie. "Are you afraid of me?"

"I witnessed what you did to the Viscount and Viscountess. If I were really afraid of you, I would have fled long ago."

Yu Zhen's heart was soothed by her words. Everyone in the palace was afraid of him. They saw him trembling all over, staring at the ground with dull eyes. People saw his stern face, and no one dared to be his enemy.

Yu Zhen didn't need his wife to do the same. His wife raised her hand and touched his chin, and he suddenly came back to his senses. He leaned naturally on her hand. Her touch was hesitant and soft.

"Is she still alive?" she whispered.

"Inside or outside?"

Li Xueyue's throat was dry. She tilted her head. Xu Jiaqi's body was beaten to a bloody mess, with only skin and flesh left. She lowered her head, blood dripping from the wound. There was something on the ground... A gust of wind whistled through the yard, and it rolled down. It was a broken finger - the nail was off.

“It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it?”

"I sometimes forget that you're crazy." Li Xueyue covered her mouth with her hand, resisting the urge to vomit. Instead of scolding her for peeking, he put his hands behind her head and pressed his body tightly against hers.

"Who did this?" she asked, trying to look around, but his chest blocked her view.

"My men."

"You said you'd let me take care of this," she said.

"You must have dreamed of words like this."

Li Xueyue frowned. He had stained his hands for her again. Why did others always want to help her? It wasn't that she didn't appreciate it, but she wanted to do things on her own.

"Your maids all looked at you with wide eyes. They knew they must not hurt you or they would suffer the same fate, or worse."

Li Xueyue didn't know where to start. There were so many things she wanted to say and so many feelings she wanted to feel. She was at a loss. Her hands tightly grasped the corner of his clothes.

"This is not what I want."

"I am sure of it."

Li Xueyue suddenly raised her head and opened her mouth, but he pinched her chin and pressed his thumb against her lips.

"Don't lie to me. When you knocked that girl unconscious just now, I saw the murderous intent in your eyes."

Yu Zhen gave a rude smile, "Your hands are already stained with blood, there's no need to stain them further."

"Isn't that satisfying?" he added, turning her head in the direction of the wooden platform.

Xu Jiaqi couldn't stand up at all. Her body collapsed forward, supported only by the ropes tied around her body.

Li Xueyue finally noticed the men in black standing beside her. They held whips in their hands. In the far corner, there was a stove with burning charcoal and metal rods next to it. She was branded in more than one place.

Her legs almost gave out, but he held on to her.

Li Xueyue didn't hear Xu Jiaqi's scream, but it must have sounded as sharp as a beast. This kind of torture is not something a coward can endure.

"She loves you," the words escaped her before she could stop them.

"A lot of people love me. Does that mean I should love all of them, too?"

Yu Zhen did find it strange that Xu Jiaqi pleaded with him with more empty eyes than any woman he had ever seen. Who would have known that it was heartbreak? He certainly didn’t know. He didn’t care either.

He stared at her with the darkest eyes. She didn't cry when her clothes were torn off. But when he stared at her with pure hatred, she cried. Perhaps, her heart broke at that moment.

Perhaps the best torture for Xu Jiaqi is heartbreak. Xu Jiaqi was beaten unconscious, and she had faith in him until the last moment.

Until he saw her desperate cry for mercy, he couldn't help but yawn. Just like that, the light in her eyes disappeared, and tears flowed more and more.

"I should have known I would fall asleep so quickly." Li Xueyue muttered.

Yu Zhen just smiled, held her face, and kissed her forehead gently. "I said, Li Xueyue, I will kill all those monsters of yours until no one bothers you anymore. I won't take it back."

Li Xueyue could only close her eyes tightly. She fell in love with a monster. But she didn't care at all, did she? She walked into his arms willingly and stepped into his territory willingly.

When the courtyard was silent, Li Xueyue knew who had finally arrived. But she was surprised because Han Jian's mother did not come alone. She was accompanied by His Majesty the Emperor Han Jian.