The final rebuke echoed in Xiao Luzi's ears like thunder. He flinched, taking an involuntary step back before fury at his own fear overwhelmed him. He'd been startled by a disgraced princess?
"Your Highness! Do not spew such slander!" he shrilled, his voice cracking. "This is the allotment! If you are dissatisfied, take it up with the Empress yourself! You are clearly still delirious with fever, speaking nonsense!" He shot a look at the two junior eunuchs. "Her Highness is unwell. Assist her back inside!"
The two eunuchs hesitated, then moved forward to grab Li Qinghuan's arms.
[Ding! Plunderable target detected: Eunuch Xiao Luzi (Fortune Value 35). Host can plunder Fortune via intimidation, confrontation, or direct seizure. Initiate Plunder?]
The system's prompt was perfectly timed.
"Initiate!" Li Qinghuan commanded coldly in her mind.
Simultaneously, her eyes flashed. Before the eunuchs could touch her, her hand shot out.
SMACK!
A sharp, clear crack rang out as her palm connected with the face of the lead eunuch. Putting all her meager strength into the blow, she sent him stumbling back, clutching his cheek in stunned confusion.
The other eunuch froze in terror.
Xiao Luzi gaped, pointing a trembling finger. "You… You dare strike someone?!"
Li Qinghuan ignored the junior eunuchs, her glacial gaze piercing through Xiao Luzi. "I am the First Princess of the Great Tang by blood! Even with my mother gone, even in this reduced state, I will not be trampled by castrated dogs like you! You dare withhold my due and insult me today; do you dare murder your rightful mistress tomorrow?!"
"You spout lies!" Xiao Luzi's face turned purple with rage, but a sliver of cold dread seeped into his heart. This princess… she's like a different person. Has she lost her mind?
[Ding! Successfully confronted target 'Junior Eunuch A.' Plundered 3 Fortune Points! Host's Villain Points +30!]
[Ding! Successfully intimidated target 'Eunuch Xiao Luzi.' Plundered 5 Fortune Points! Host's Villain Points +50!]
[Current Fortune: -91 (Storm-Clouded & Cursed).]
[Current Villain Points: 180.]
An increase of 8 points! From -99 to -91! Still negative, but the stifling aura of certain doom had lightened, just a fraction. Her Villain Points had also jumped to 180!
Li Qinghuan's spirit soared. The effect was immediate and potent!
She pressed her advantage, stepping forward. Her phoenix-like eyes radiated a sharp, dangerous light that forced Xiao Luzi to retreat involuntarily.
"Go back and tell your mistress," Li Qinghuan's words cut like knives, "that I am not yet dead. So long as I draw breath, I remain the legitimate First Princess of the Tang! If you dare short my allotment again, if you bring me filth unfit for swine, then I will stake this worthless life of mine. I will go to the Hall of Supreme Principle, I will strike the Imperial Bell, and I will ask the entire court if the laws of the Tang still hold! I will ask my father, the Emperor, if his firstborn daughter is truly lower than a slave!"
Her voice was not loud, but it carried a desperate, reckless ferocity, the conviction of one with nothing left to lose.
Xiao Luzi was thoroughly cowed. He bullied Li Qinghuan because he believed her weak and broken. But if she had truly gone mad, if she caused a public scene… Even if the Emperor did nothing to her, he, the eunuch who provoked it, would undoubtedly be sacrificed to quell the scandal. Empress Su would not protect him.
The imagined consequences made cold sweat drench his back. His arrogance evaporated, replaced by pure fear.
[Ding! Successfully severely intimidated target 'Eunuch Xiao Luzi.' Plundered 15 Fortune Points! Host's Villain Points +150!]
[Current Fortune: -76 (Cursed & Unlucky).]
[Current Villain Points: 330.]
The pale yellow halo above Xiao Luzi's head visibly dimmed, its value plummeting from [35] to [15].
"Y-Your Highness, please calm your anger! This slave… this slave was blind! This slave deserves death!" Xiao Luzi dropped to his knees with a thud, slapping his own face hard twice. "The allotment… this slave will have it replaced! Immediately! The full amount, according to the regulations… I will bring it myself!"
He was terrified. The look in Li Qinghuan's eyes was terrifying—the glint of someone who had stared into the abyss.
"Get out!" The single word was a whip-crack.
"Yes! Yes! This slave is leaving! Leaving right now!" Scrambling to his feet like a pardoned man, Xiao Luzi fled in a panic, his two underlings scurrying after him, not even daring to retrieve the pathetic 'allotment' on the ground.
Silence instantly reclaimed the courtyard, leaving only the young maid with the broom, who stood utterly transfixed.
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