After being reborn, I stole the female lead's cheat ability and raised the empress.

Chapter 167 The Death of the Princess

"How dare you!"

At this extremely tense moment, a high-pitched voice rang out.

Everyone turned around and saw Li Fu, the chief eunuch beside the empress, walking towards them.

He coldly swept his gaze over the young men present and said in a shrill voice, "How dare you cause trouble here? Do you have no respect for the rules? Do you have no respect for Her Majesty the Empress?"

Upon hearing that they were from the Empress's entourage, the young men turned pale and hurriedly bowed, forcing a smile, "Your Excellency has misunderstood. We just... we just got lost for a moment. We'll be on our way now."

After saying that, he led a group of people away in a dejected manner.

The maids breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Li Fu one after another.

Li Fu said, "Her Majesty the Empress knows the situation here. You must hurry and rescue Her Highness the Princess!"

After saying that, he turned and left.

Although he had no roots, he was still a man.

……

After returning, Zhao Jihua was very worried about Xia Li's situation. Fortunately, the news from Baixiaolou was that Xia Li had completely fooled him.

Only then did she feel relieved.

He gave Su Tiyu a series of instructions.

Before long, the palace returned to its usual tranquility.

Because the Empress fell ill, she kept dreaming that the concubines and children she had killed came to haunt her and demand their lives. Her hair was falling out in clumps, and her face became so haggard that she was unrecognizable. No matter what medicine the imperial physicians prescribed, it was useless, and in the end, she was driven insane by the nightmare.

The third prince killed the son of a high-ranking official in a fit of anger, which thoroughly enraged the public, leaving him unable to attend to other matters.

As for the second princess...

Ah!

……

The second day after falling into the water.

At this moment, the second princess lay there quietly with her eyes closed, motionless, as if she had lost consciousness.

Her delicate body was tightly bound to a wooden chair with thick, stiff ropes.

Just then, Xia Li leisurely picked up a basin of water and splashed it directly onto the Second Princess's face without hesitation.

"what!"

With a scream, the previously unconscious second princess suddenly opened her eyes and instantly woke up from her confused state.

When she saw the situation before her, she was utterly shocked!

Meanwhile, that despicable Xia Li stood leisurely in front of him, a cryptic smile on his face.

The second princess was both shocked and furious. Her beautiful eyes widened as she shouted angrily, "Xia Li, how dare you! How dare you be so presumptuous as to kidnap me, the princess? When my father and mother find this place, they will tear you to pieces and make sure you die without a burial place!"

Xia Li, however, did not take it to heart at all. With a slight smile, she said softly, "Hehe, Your Highness, why don't you guess where you are right now?"

Upon hearing this, the second princess was startled and quickly turned her gaze to examine her surroundings.

However, what came into view was a scene that was all too familiar—an exquisite and beautiful bed, a curtain with exquisite embroidery, and a variety of furniture arranged neatly... This was clearly the palace where he usually lived!

Realizing this, the second princess shouted fearfully but arrogantly, "This...this is actually my palace?! How dare you trespass here and do such an indecent thing to me?"

Her emotions grew increasingly agitated, and she shouted again, "You audacious scoundrel! If I were to shout, the guards outside would rush in and seize you! If you know what's good for you, release me now, and perhaps I'll spare your life! Otherwise, hmph! The consequences will be far beyond what you can bear!"

However, Xia Li merely glanced at her indifferently.

The second princess felt as if she had punched cotton, and became even angrier: "You just wait, when Mother comes, I will definitely cut you into a thousand pieces, and... yes, first I'll throw you into the fighting cage to feed the tigers! Then I'll cut you into a thousand pieces..."

You'd better release me now, but even if you do, I won't forgive you!

How dare you disrespect this princess! This princess will make you die a horrible death!

"Help! Help! Catch the assassin!"

She shouted for a while, but when she realized no one was coming in and Xia Li seemed indifferent, she became furious and yelled at Xia Li:

"Xia Li! Are you even listening to me?"

Xia Li picked at his ear, then replied slowly:

"Princess, don't worry~ Please listen to me. Your Highness, ever since you fell into the water, you've had a persistent high fever and remained unconscious. Today, many palace maids and eunuchs came in to attend to you and found you dead. They saw it with their own eyes~ So, everyone will only assume you died suddenly from illness, or perhaps it's retribution for your usual disregard for human life—how could anyone blame me? Hahaha..."

"You! You dare!"

"Princess, why don't you guess why they haven't come in yet?"

"You..." The second princess had already realized the seriousness of the situation.

She finally began to feel afraid:

"Xia Li, let me go! If you let me go, I'll give you anything you want!"

However, Xia Li simply played with the dagger in her hand and did not respond.

The second princess trembled all over and kept begging for mercy.

"Please, Xia Li, let me go. I'll never target you again. What do you want? Money? Power? Or what? I'll give you whatever you want."

Xia Li scoffed: "Wealth? I have a house full of gold and jade, can you be as rich as me?"

Power? We are both princesses, what can you offer me?

"Then why are you targeting me?" The second princess had a sudden inspiration, "—Because of the third prince?"

She became increasingly certain, "Xia Li, I know you're holding a grudge because your third brother targeted you. If you let me go, I'll help you get revenge. I can lure the culprit out. Your third brother trusts me completely; he'll believe whatever I say. With me here, you can definitely get your revenge! Really, please..."

Xia Li chuckled inwardly as he watched her so eager to betray even her own brothers for her own life.

What a selfish woman!

The more arrogant they were before, the more pathetic they are now.

Xia Li extended his dagger, gently stroking the other's cheek, and smiled faintly: "I will slit your wrist and then let you bleed to death!"

After saying that, she took out a black silk cloth and blindfolded the other person.

The second princess was terrified and quickly begged for mercy: "Xia Li, I... I was just joking earlier. Please let me go, and I'll forgive you for what I did. I'll even give you many rewards and help you plot against my third brother. Just let me go..."

In response, Xia Li slashed his own wrist.

Pain shot through her wrist, but despite being blind, her hearing was remarkably sharp.

"Ah! Xia Li! If you really kill me, my father, mother, and third brother will never let you go."

"Xia Li, I beg you, please let me go."

"Xia Li! Release me at once! My mother comes to see me every day, and she'll be here soon. If you don't release me now, you'll be executed along with her if we find out!"

"Waaaaah, I don't want to die, please, Xia Li."

"..."

She wanted to escape, but the thick, sturdy ropes prevented her from moving.

A moment later she heard the sound of blood dripping.

"Tick-tock-"

"Tick-tock-"

One after another,

It was heard in my ears and touched my heart.

Panic gripped her mind; the second princess grew increasingly frightened and weak.

From constantly begging for mercy to becoming utterly exhausted.

Finally, he "died from blood loss".

Xia Li sat in the chair opposite, waiting quietly.

This was an experiment she had read about in a book. It described how a kidnapper was tied to a chair and blindfolded. The kidnapper was told that he was going to cut a gash on his hand with a knife and bleed to death slowly. In reality, a piece of ice was used to cut the gash on his hand, and water droplets were used to simulate the sound of blood dripping. The kidnapper then died slowly.

In reality, Xia Li didn't even cut her skin. He was just using psychological effects to first imply that she would bleed to death, and then "cut" her, using a dripping pot to pretend to drip blood.

Although the force did not cause her any harm, under the psychological suggestion, she thought that her wrist had been cut and she was bleeding continuously, and naturally died from "blood loss".

Seeing that the second princess was completely still, Xia Li's lips curled into a slight smile: "Psychological suggestion can be quite terrifying~"

Now, who can find it on themselves?

She wouldn't have let the other party go so easily if it weren't to prevent others from finding any trace of them.

Anyone who dares to harm my sister will be reduced to ashes!

She put the princess back on the bed and settled her down before leaving.

Now all we have to do is wait and see what happens.

However, she didn't see this scene!

The Xia brothers opened doors for her all the way.

Xia Li sighed, “No wonder everyone hates those who have connections, but everyone wants to be one.”

Xia Jingwen asked, "Huh?"

"I mean, with you all in this palace, I feel like I'm in an empty place. Thank you, brothers."

Xia Jingyuan laughed and said, "Otherwise, why do you think I came here to take up this post? From now on, we can protect you wherever you want to go in this palace."

Xia Jingwen also said, "Even if you want to break into the Imperial Study, I can deliver it to you."

He leaned close to Xia Li's ear and whispered, "Let me tell you, my elder brother has gathered a lot of men. Even if you want to rebel in the future, I will open the palace gates wide for you!"

At that moment, Xia Jingwen had no idea that his words would become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In the not-too-distant future, they actually opened the palace gates to each other.

Xia Li was utterly astonished: Brother! The Emperor appointed you to guard the country, not to sell it out!

She said, "Just keep an eye on Sister Zhao for me."

"Of course, she's our sister too! We'll protect her too," the two replied in unison.

Xia Li laughed heartily: "It seems that Sister Zhao has won over quite a few people in the palace this past month!"