‘Yang Pigu really is a bastard, to actually find a wife like this.’
Even though the gazes around her were as cold as poisoned blades, even though the entire Council Hall had just been seething with murderous intent toward her and her son, even though the atmosphere was so heavy you could almost smell rust… this lady, dressed in a simple old dress with her hair in a flawless bun, still maintained a calmness that commanded respect.
She lowered her head slightly, holding the hand of a boy who looked about five years old.
Slowly, she walked to the front of the hall, stopping at the empty space below Lord Lai En’s seat.
She bent her knees slightly and performed a flawless greeting.
For a moment, even Alicia couldn’t tell whether this lady was truly calm or simply resigned to her fate.
“It’s been a while, my lady,” Lai En said. Neither accusatory nor harsh, just making casual conversation. “Is this Xiao Dimian? He’s grown a bit since last year.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” the lady replied, maintaining proper etiquette, neither humble nor arrogant.
“You scoundrel! A trapper putting on airs! Get on your knees!” A military officer roared, leaping forward.
Alicia recognized him.
This guy seemed to be called Dike Xiaote, a hot-tempered fellow.
He was originally one of the fence-sitters in Lide’an City, without an official military post, but a minor noble with a village as his fief and thirty sergeants that his territory couldn’t possibly support.
During the previous war council, he had been the loudest shouting for bloodshed.
The young girl immediately added him to her mental blacklist.
People like this, with a voice louder than a lion and a brain smaller than a mouse, were people she would definitely avoid dealing with in the future.
Yet even after such rude and violent rebukes, the lady remained unmoved—or rather, simply ignored him.
That was only natural.
No matter what her husband had done, she was still a noble lady, not something Dike Xiaote, a low-ranking minor noble, could compare to.
“Are you looking down on me?”
Dike Xiaote flew into a rage, veins bulging on his forehead, fists cracking audibly.
Alicia could only lower her head, desperately hiding her contemptuous gaze.
No shit!
Of course I’m looking down on you!
You’re the only one here who couldn’t hold back and jumped out to be a target! Don’t you know your own weight? You don’t need to force yourself into the spotlight like this!
See, even Elder Lord Enlaike is frowning!
However, Lai En only frowned almost imperceptibly, saying nothing.
“Lord Dike Xiaote, you’ve gone too far!”
Enlaike roared, and the room instantly fell silent.
“I…!”
Dike Xiaote was stunned by the rebuke, his defiant expression freezing.
He opened his mouth, then could only take half a step back resentfully and shut up.
Alicia curled her lips in a smirk.
See?
Forcefully sticking your neck out just makes you eat humble pie!
“My lady, do you know what your husband, Lord Xipuaisi, has done?”
Lai En finally asked calmly.
The lady lifted her chin slightly to meet Lai En’s gaze.
“Yes. He committed great treason and betrayed Your Highness.”
“Hmm, I think if I send an envoy with you to persuade him to surrender…”
Before Lai En could finish, the lady shook her head heavily.
“Though I am willing, I know my husband. He will not surrender so easily.”
“How arrogant!”
“Refusing to repent even at death’s door! Despicable!”
The surrounding military officers were instantly ablaze with fury, faces red, shouting for blood, as if they wished they could tear the mother and son apart with their eyes.
Little Xiao Dimian, only five years old, couldn’t withstand the hall full of fierce faces and deafening roars.
His face turned pale, and he burst into loud wails.
A flicker of panic finally crossed the lady’s face.
She immediately crouched down, pulled the child tightly into her arms, and patted his back with a trembling hand, whispering soothingly, trying to shield him from the murderous stares with her frail body.
Alicia couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
“Your Highness, this is too cruel,” the girl said, stepping forward to stand in front of Xiao Dimian.
“At least let the child leave. He doesn’t understand anything yet!”
Dike Xiaote jumped out again, a cruel sneer on his face.
“Hah! Let the brat know what his father did before he dies. When they reunite in hell later…”
“Shut up!”
Alicia’s inexplicable anger flared.
She glared at Dike Xiaote’s ugly face and pointed toward the main seat.
“His Highness hasn’t said a word yet. It’s not your place to decide life and death here! Are you trying to overstep your authority?”
“Who the hell do you think you are?! How dare you talk back to me?”
Being publicly scolded by a woman of low status, Dike Xiaote instantly felt humiliated and flew into a rage.
His face turned an alarming purple-red, and without hesitation, he swung his fist straight at Alicia’s defenseless face!
Alicia never expected that in the Council Hall, even in front of Lai En, he would resort to violence! Her pupils contracted, her mind went blank, and she could only instinctively raise her slender arm to block her face.
“Stop it!” Lai En roared, slamming the table as he stood up.
But it was too late.
Dike Xiaote’s hate-filled strike crashed solidly into the girl, knocking her to the ground!
Alicia felt as if she had been hit by an invisible war hammer.
Her arm bones ached and threatened to break.
She fell backward uncontrollably, and the back of her head slammed heavily into the stone floor!
In an instant, sharp pain and intense dizziness struck like a tidal wave.
Stars burst before her eyes, her ears buzzed, the lights and chaotic voices in her vision twisted and faded, and the world spun so violently she almost vomited.
“Dike Xiaote!”
Lai En’s voice twisted with fury.
He grabbed the silver wine cup in front of him, filled with wine, and smashed it against the ground near Dike Xiaote’s feet.
Clang—!
The beautiful cup instantly deformed, and the dark red wine splashed like blood.
“Striking a colleague openly in the Council Hall—do you think I don’t exist?”
“Uh… Your Highness, your servant…”
“Furthermore, it seems you have quite the opinion on how to deal with Lady Xipuaisi and her child!”
Lai En narrowed his eyes dangerously, his gaze cutting like a blade that made Dike Xiaote tremble.
“Are you thinking of rebelling too?”
What a massive accusation!
Dike Xiaote’s rage was instantly doused.
His face quickly turned from red to black, then to pale white.
He immediately knelt on one knee, his head bowed deeply, putting on a sincere “loyal subject” expression.
“Hmph!” Lai En let out a cold sneer from his nose, wordlessly sweeping his gaze over everyone in the hall.
Wherever his eyes landed, no one dared to meet them.
The ministers who had been so agitated moments ago now bowed their heads deeply.
The vast Council Hall fell into absolute silence.
Even little Xiao Dimian, who had been sobbing, was cowed by the sudden shock and fell silent.
At last, Lai En slowly sat back in his main seat.
The anger on his face subsided slightly, but his authority was even more pronounced.
“This council is adjourned! Everyone go back and calm down. I will decide when to march.”
He then looked at Dike Xiaote, still kneeling and trembling.
“As for your punishment, it will be discussed later. I suggest you behave yourself for now!”
Finally, his concerned gaze swept over the lady and Xiao Dimian, then landed on Alicia, who was slumped against the wall.
“My lady and Dimian, please stay for a moment. Enlaike, go fetch a physician!”
“Ugh… I’m fine…”
Alicia held her head, trying to stand, but the intense dizziness and nausea hit her again at the slightest movement.
She had no choice but to give up on getting up and just sat there, leaning against the cold wall.
She watched the backs of the nobles and generals who filed out as if pardoned, watched Dike Xiaote scramble up and stagger away, watched Elder Lord Enlaike hurry off in one direction, and also watched the young lord on the main seat, who had sunk back into deep thought, his gaze unfathomable.
That punch was really vicious.
Dike Xiaote really doesn’t know how to be gentle with a lady.
Is this the consequence of a subordinate challenging a superior?
Anyone with eyes could see that Lai En had been showing her great favor recently. Although her status was low, being the lord’s favorite should have earned her at least a bit of face.
What was wrong with Dike Xiaote? Did he have a screw loose?
Or was he simply a pawn pushed forward by others?
He threw the punch, but perhaps that fist represented a group of old nobles and ministers who were resistant to her reform proposals?
They didn’t dare clash directly with Lai En, so they used this brainless brute to make an example of her?
It all came down to her low status.
So any brainless mutt could climb over her and do as they pleased!
She had to climb up!
No matter what, she had to climb step by step!
Not that she expected to reach high, but at least she had to make people think twice before laying hands on her!
The hall gradually emptied, leaving only Alicia, the mother and son whose fate was uncertain, and Lai En on the main throne.
The air was thick with alcohol, fear, anger, and an even heavier, more complex feeling.
“Your Highness… give the lady a chance!”
Alicia held her head, struggling to sit up by grabbing a chair.
Her face was pale from the pain, with fine beads of cold sweat on her temples.
“The lady… probably lived with Xipuaisi in Biluo’en Castle all along. She should be most familiar with the situation there. Perhaps… she would be willing to point out some weaknesses in the city defenses, or… tell us something useful…”
“We’ll talk about this later.”
Lai En walked over to the lady, crouched down, and gently patted Xiao Dimian’s head.
“I’m sorry you had to witness such a disgraceful scene. My lady, please rest with the child. But unfortunately, until a final decision is made regarding your husband, you cannot leave your residence privately.”
“I understand. Thank you, Your Highness,” the lady said, bowing.
She took Xiao Dimian and left.
As she passed by Alicia, her steps paused almost imperceptibly, and she gave a slight nod in Alicia’s direction.
After that silent acknowledgment, she and the child disappeared into the shadow of the corridor under the “escort” of two guards at the door.
Now only Lai En and Alicia remained in the hall.
The young lord instantly shed all his authority, hurriedly came to the girl’s side, and crouched down to check her injuries.
“You’re too bold! Let me see—are you alright in the head?”
Alicia rolled her eyes.
“Are you scolding me?”
“I’m worried about you!”
Lai En carefully pushed aside her hair, and his hand came back covered in red.
Looking closer, there was a trail of blood on her pale neck.
Lai En felt a wave of panic and his nose stung.
He started to speak dejectedly: “The physician will be here soon. Hold on a little longer! Don’t fall asleep!”
It’s just a flesh wound.
I’m not going to die.
Geez…