Chapter 130: The Ridiculous Look with Two Leaves on the Head

Jun Buwen walked up to Xia Jiujiang and, seeing her with two vegetable leaves perched atop her head, remarked, "I must say, Princess Jin, this look you've chosen to welcome me with is quite a surprise."

As Jun Buwen made his entrance, Ming Ningzi stood with her mouth agape, looking completely entranced. Mounted on a white horse, dressed in a magnificent brocade robe with a golden crown and jade belt, his eyes were as deep and captivating as a vast, starry sky. He possessed an indescribable air of nobility, looking as if he had stepped out of a painting. What was once only a flicker of interest in him was now completely ignited.

Xia Jiujiang snatched the vegetable leaves off her head. Who on earth would welcome someone looking like this? If she were truly going to adopt such a style, she might as well just squat in a corner with a broken bowl for alms.

However, the arrival of Jun Buwen brought a sense of relief to her tense state. The crowd of commoners before her had become impossible to reason with; they acted solely on their own biases, completely indifferent to the truth. Xia Jiujiang was both furious and at a loss as to how to stop them.

"Why are you here?" she asked awkwardly, not having expected Jun Buwen to witness such a disheveled scene.

Jun Buwen smiled. "If I hadn't come, I fear the things adorning my Princess’s head would have been more than just two leaves."

More than two leaves? Xia Jiujiang rolled her eyes. Did he expect her to be wearing the entire produce market?

Jun Buwen’s Imperial Guards immediately moved to suppress the rioting crowd, bringing a sudden silence to the scene. Jun Buwen turned his gaze toward the peasant woman who had started the commotion. "What exactly is happening here?"

The woman knelt on the ground, wailing, "Please, Prince Jin, deliver justice! My son died an unjust death. The Princess of Jin herself said my son was poisoned by a curse, and this matter is inseparable from the Princess of the Southern Kingdom. The Princess of Jin is shielding her—I beg you, Prince Jin, grant us commoners justice!"

The surrounding crowd chimed in, one after another: "We beg Prince Jin to judge!"

"That Southern Princess even tried to silence us!"

"Prince Jin, look at the whip in that Southern Princess’s hand. She was clearly enraged after we exposed her true colors."

"And the Princess of Jin keeps shielding her, showing no regard for human life. We are the people of Li; how can she turn her back on her own kind?"

How did it become that Xia Jiujiang was protecting the Southern Princess? Xia Jiujiang was infuriated by the woman; it was truly a case of a scholar trying to reason with soldiers—logic meant nothing.

Taking a deep breath, Xia Jiujiang asked, "When did I ever shield the Southern Princess?"

After her loud challenge, the surrounding commoners began to shout over one another.

"If you weren't shielding her, why would you protect her until you were covered in vegetable leaves?"

"Princess Jin, you’re joking. If you hadn't been protecting her, we would have captured her long ago."

"Look, Princess Jin, that Southern Princess even drew a weapon. She clearly intends to harm people."

"As a woman of Li, how can you help the Southern people? Just because she is a special envoy? In your eyes, is a child's life worth nothing? All that talk about equality is just empty words."

Xia Jiujiang let out a cold laugh. "You say the Southern Princess is harming people? Who did she harm? Step forward and show us who has a whip wound! Since Prince Jin is here, he can examine it for you right now!"

As she spoke, the crowd looked at one another, but no one stepped forward. Xia Jiujiang had noticed that Ming Ningzi was merely putting on a show of force to intimidate the crowd and hadn't actually struck anyone.

Seeing no one come forward, Xia Jiujiang said with contempt, "You lot are all in a chaotic mess, shoving and pushing, yet when the Southern Princess draws a weapon, you call it harm? What kind of logic is that?"

Someone muttered, "Look, she says she isn't speaking for the Southern Princess, yet she targets us with every word. Does she even consider us the people of Li? Does she even consider herself one of us?"

"I’m curious what the Southern Princess promised her for such loyalty."

"We’re only speaking up because we saw a child cursed and felt pity. Unlike the Princess of Jin, who knows the Southern Princess cast a curse yet still stands by her side."

Xia Jiujiang asked again, "Who said the Southern Princess cursed the child? I only said the child was cursed; I never said the culprit was the Southern Princess." She didn't want to be the executioner pointing fingers at the Southern Princess, so she quickly distanced herself from the accusation.

She continued, "Since you are so certain, do you have evidence? The Southern Kingdom does use curses, but that doesn't mean every curse is cast by a Southerner. On what grounds do you accuse the Southern Princess?"

The peasant woman, unable to out-argue her, sat on the ground and began to throw a tantrum. "Princess Jin is bullying us! We are mere commoners, and the Southern Princess is royalty. If we don't band together, how could we ever have a voice against her? Now you make it sound like we’re conspiring against her. Oh, my poor dead child!"

Xia Jiujiang gritted her teeth and said, word by word, "Do you want to save your son or not?"

When these words left her lips, not only was Jun Buwen shocked, but the woman and the onlookers were all stunned. The child was already dead, his body cold and motionless—yet Xia Jiujiang was talking about saving him? As she spoke, a strange, chilling breeze swept through the area, making the atmosphere feel eerie.

The woman shivered, crying out loudly, "What are you saying, Princess Jin? My son is stone-cold dead, and you talk of saving him? Are you mocking me?"

"The child is dead. Isn't it going too far to make such a joke?"

"Talking about 'resurrection' for a dead child—do you think we commoners are fools?"

"If you want to help the Southern Princess, there are better ways than this."

"If you're going to be so unreasonable, you might as well arrest us all to silence the crowd, rather than telling such absurd jokes."

Xia Jiujiang shouted, "I have given my word! I said I could bring the child back to life, and I have the means to do so!"

The crowd was in an uproar. "The Princess is bluffing!"

"Resurrection? How could such a thing exist in this world?"

"She’s just trying to shield the Southern Princess."

It was clear that no one believed her; they thought she was merely trying to clear the Southern Princess of suspicion.

Xia Jiujiang declared, "Because he isn't dead yet! Naturally, I can save him."

The woman was startled. Not dead? How could that be? She suddenly became flustered. Stammering, she said, "My son is cold and has no breath. You say he’s not dead? This is just deception!"

"Whether it is deception or not, just watch," Xia Jiujiang commanded. "Bai Zhi, bring me glutinous rice water, rooster blood, red thread, and an egg from a ten-year-old hen. Quickly!"

In a nearby alley, a figure heard the commotion. A person dressed in a long robe and a conical hat let out a cold laugh. "This Xia Jiujiang truly understands curses. Not only does she know what kind of curse it is, but she even knows how to break it. It seems I truly underestimated her."

"Master, what should we do now? Will she ruin our great plan?"

The figure in the robe shook his head. "Since we have tested her, that is enough. In fact, we can use Xia Jiujiang to help us achieve our goal."

The figure turned to leave. A follower asked, "Master, are you giving up on the Jiang Mantang affair?"

The figure sneered, "The curse was merely a test for Xia Jiujiang. Since we have our results, she will surely resolve the Jiang Mantang matter smoothly. There is nothing left to see."

The figure disappeared into the dark, cold streets. Xia Jiujiang never imagined that someone had placed a 'Yin Louse' curse on the child and gone to such great lengths to create chaos at Jiang Mantang, all just to test her.