Fate Trading System – Chapter 194

Plan A

Guiding Stars 10

Confrontation

Once Su Xin made up her mind, she would execute it immediately.

She gave Yue Xinglan a friendly smile, causing Yue Xinglan to inexplicably shiver.

As the sky gradually darkened, Jinxiu anxiously stamped his feet at the courtyard gate, finding it unusual that his master had not yet returned.

Could something have happened? But what could happen to an imperial child in this palace? Who would dare to be so brazen as to do anything?

Though Jinxiu thought this way in his heart, he couldn’t put his mind at ease. He gritted his teeth and hurriedly walked outside.

When passing by Mingjing Lake [明鏡湖 | míng jìng hú | Mirror Lake], Jinxiu heard some commotion.

“Hold her down!”

Yue Xinglan’s clothes were disheveled, and her hair was pulled messily askew.

Jinxiu looked on with great sympathy, thinking this was Er Dianxia [Second Imperial Highness] disciplining some palace servant, making such a grand show of it.

Jinxiu wanted to see who the unfortunate person was, but they were blocked from view. As he sighed and prepared to leave, he saw the unobstructed clothes of the blocked unfortunate person and his eyes widened.

He would absolutely not mistake it! Those were his master’s clothes!

Su Xin received Fourteen’s prompt,

And timely displayed an expression of humiliation.

“Master! What are you doing to them!”

Jinxiu shouted and rushed forward.

“Help! Someone come quickly!”

Jinxiu knew well that he might be able to stop this, but if nothing was done, the matter would be settled as is. The Emperor Consort might not intervene, so it was better to make a scene first and deal with consequences later.

Jinxiu was somewhat naive and foolish, but in the palace, serving beside Yue Xingchen, how naive could one remain? Not that Yue Xingchen was particularly scheming, but rather because of how she was bullied and ignored, especially considering the Emperor Consort’s attitude toward her after having his own biological daughter.

“Don’t you dare call out!”

Yue Xinglan shouted to stop him, clearly realizing something.

“Release her, all of you!”

Yue Xinglan hurriedly ordered, but it was too late – the Imperial Guard who had been patrolling nearby had already arrived, drawn by the commotion.

Su Xin’s hair hung loose as she curved her lips into a smile.

Let’s return to the previous moment.

When Yue Xinglan wanted to have a good “heart-to-heart” with Su Xin, Su Xin decided to “communicate” with her properly.

Su Xin’s plan to outmaneuver Yue Xinglan couldn’t be a simple frame-up, because Su Xin had studied martial arts for a year and was older than Yue Xinglan. She needed to find a reasonable excuse with enough witnesses.

Su Xin estimated how long it would take Jinxiu to arrive, and began making casual conversation with Yue Xinglan.

Yue Xinglan’s purpose was to humiliate, show off, and mock, while Su Xin, needing to buy time, just let Yue Xinglan say whatever she wanted, responding with a deadpan expression.

This child was too dramatic.

“Da Huangjie, Mother Emperor has rewarded me with such and such… blah blah… so very rare…”

“Oh, I see. Congratulations.”

“Mother Emperor especially loves me. Can’t help it, I’m just so lovable. Da Huangjie, you probably can’t understand that feeling, can you? Who made you so pitiful, born without a father, having nothing…”

Yue Xinglan let out a mocking laugh, anticipating Su Xin’s humiliated and angry reaction.

“Oh.”

Not only did Su Xin not become angry with humiliation, she instead let out a bored yawn.

“How dare you show such an indifferent expression!”

Yue Xinglan lost her composure, seeing that her mockery had no effect on Su Xin, she clenched her fists in anger.

“Why should I care? The more someone lacks something, the more they tend to show off about it at times.”

Su Xin couldn’t care less about the so-called Mother Emperor’s favor or lack thereof, and cared even less about any rewards.

Su Xin didn’t care if fighting with a child was beneath her; since this little brat started the mockery first, she shouldn’t blame her.

When the conversation reached the point where Yue Xinglan could no longer tolerate it, Su Xin finally felt the timing was right.

She was now eleven years old, and manually beating up a nine-year-old girl was still a simple matter.

As an assassin, Su Xin had to know the body’s weak points like the back of her hand.

Such as how to quickly kill someone, which spots were fatal, and which places could be struck to cause internal injuries while leaving no visible marks.

Su Xin struck first, landing a punch on Yue Xinglan’s stomach, making her hurt for a while, provoking her anger first.

They were standing by the lake, and Su Xin’s move nearly sent Yue Xinglan into the water. When Yue Xinglan panicked and tried to cry out, Su Xin immediately pulled her back.

“Yue Xingchen, what are you doing!”

Yue Xinglan was so angry she didn’t even bother to call her Huangjie anymore, directly shouting Su Xin’s name in this world in anger.

“Obviously, I’m teaching you a lesson. Can’t you tell, my dear clever Er Meimeimei?”

Su Xin rubbed her small fist, revealing a smile.

“You dare to hit me! Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Mother Emperor and my Imperial Father and let them deal with you?!”

After all, Yue Xinglan was still a child, and her first thought when something happened was to tell her parents.

“Oh? I’m so scared.”

Su Xin nodded, speaking with exaggerated drama as she rolled up her sleeves and continued walking toward Yue Xinglan.

Su Xin was careful to control her strength, not hitting too hard, as destroying someone wasn’t her objective.

The scene descended into chaos, as the palace servants Yue Xinglan brought wanted to save their master, but the one doing the hitting was Da Dianxia. If they made any mistake, their crime would be severe.

During this hesitation, Yue Xinglan was hit several more times, crying out in pain, glaring fiercely at the stunned palace servants standing nearby, shouting in anger.

“Why are you all standing there like idiots? Quickly come help This Palace restrain this lunatic!”

“Lunatic? Er Meimei, speaking of your elder sister this way is quite disrespectful.”

Su Xin struck again, rubbing her small hand.

After a year of systematic training, plus Su Xin’s thorough understanding of the secret manuals, her body’s coordination had reached a very high level.

Those stunned people finally reacted, hurriedly coming forward one by one, trying to restrain Su Xin.

Su Xin nimbly moved her body, creating quite a comical scene.

After Fourteen indicated that Jinxiu was already on his way, Su Xin ‘pretended’ to be exhausted and allowed herself to be caught.

“Beat her!”

Yue Xinglan gritted her teeth, enduring her body’s pain, and ordered with a twisted expression.

The palace servants looked at each other hesitantly. Er Dianxia was a child, but they weren’t. Er Dianxia might be furious, but they weren’t crazy.

This was Da Dianxia, a golden branch and jade leaf [金枝玉葉 | jīn zhī yù yè | meaning: imperial family member], how could they dare lay hands on her…

“What’s wrong? Are you not following This Palace’s orders anymore? If you don’t want to stay in This Palace’s palace, get out now.”

Yue Xinglan sneered. Since these people dared to disobey her orders, they were useless anyway. She knew of more obedient ones.

The palace servants exchanged glances, then reluctantly held down the struggling Su Xin. They appeared to hit her hard, but their strikes actually landed very lightly on Su Xin.

While the palace servants were making a show of it, Su Xin raised her head to glare at Yue Xinglan, letting out a contemptuous laugh.

“Er Meimei, aren’t you afraid of being seen like this? If people see this, won’t your good reputation be completely ruined?”

“Shut up!”

Yue Xinglan, truly hurting from the earlier beating, walked over and stepped on Su Xin’s back, even grinding her foot excessively.

Su Xin let out a muffled grunt, keeping her head down, not wanting Yue Xinglan to see her eyes. She didn’t want to ruin her plan yet.

And so began the scene that Jinxiu first witnessed.

“Master!”

Jinxiu couldn’t help wiping away tears. The palace servants, seeing the Imperial Guard pouring in, were frightened stiff, not daring to continue. Even their hands holding Su Xin loosened.

Su Xin broke free and was supported by Jinxiu.

Jinxiu took out a handkerchief from his robes to wipe Su Xin’s face, then carefully wiped her fingers, showing a pained expression.

“Er Meimei, you’ve gone too far.”

Su Xin seized the initiative, disheveled her hair, and looked accusingly at Yue Xinglan.

Yue Xinglan was stunned by this turn of events, but after hearing Su Xin’s voice, she quickly came to her senses and glared at Su Xin with even more fury.

“You’re scheming against me, aren’t you? This was all deliberate!”

“What do you mean deliberate? I was just walking along minding my own business. Weren’t you the one who brought your palace servants to find me? Weren’t you the one who said you wanted to have a talk with me? What do you mean I schemed this? Er Meimei, not only do you bully me, but you’re also making false accusations!”

Su Xin spoke with great grievance, and she wasn’t lying. It wasn’t her who started trouble – it was Yue Xinglan who came to mock her. Originally there was no issue, and she hadn’t planned to deal with Yue Xinglan now.

Yue Xinglan opened and closed her mouth, not knowing how to refute. To say Su Xin had planned this from the start seemed impossible, because she had taken this route on a whim today. How could anyone know she would pass by here? This was indeed Su Xin’s necessary route back from the martial arts training ground, and it was indeed she who approached Su Xin first, saying she wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk.

If everything was indeed connected, then Yue Xinglan felt her elder imperial sister was truly terrifying, but she also felt it couldn’t be possible, as the timing wasn’t exactly perfect.

But Da Huangjie had struck her and appeared so fearless – she must have had some backing.

The Imperial Guard had already notified the Emperor at the first discovery, after all, the two protagonists were the First and Second Imperial Princesses – such a major incident naturally required the Emperor’s judgment.

“Tell me, what happened?”

The Emperor said with a stern face, looking pressingly at everyone.

“Mother Emperor, Da Huangjie hit me first, my palace servants can testify. That’s why I retaliated.”

Seeing the Emperor arrive, Yue Xinglan hurriedly explained.

“Er Meimei… you…”

Su Xin showed an expression of disbelief, clutching her chest, with a faint mist appearing in her eyes.

“Mother Emperor, Da Huangjie even tried to push me into the lake, but Er Chen struggled desperately and prevented her from succeeding. Mother Emperor, please make a fair judgment!”

The Emperor remained expressionless, merely shifting her gaze to Su Xin.

“Mother Emperor… it wasn’t like that. Today Er Chen was returning alone as usual from the martial arts training ground when I encountered Er Meimei and her palace servants on the way. Er Meimei, for some reason, spoke harshly to Er Chen and even threatened to teach Er Chen a lesson. Er Chen alone couldn’t fight against so many people and tried to struggle free, but Er Meimei… Er Meimei… actually ordered her palace servants to seize Er Chen and humiliate Er Chen…”

Su Xin squeezed out two tears, looking utterly pitiful.

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