Chapter 387: Putting up with this for decades has been a real drag.

Chapter 387: Putting up with this for decades has been a real drag.

Lin Rou stood about three feet away from Xiao Yin, who adjusted his hold on Ruo Xi Baby.

Ruo Xi Baby didn’t seem bothered by the woman’s stench. She looked at her, practically smelling death on her. It seemed this woman’s life would end today.

"It’s this kid! Ever since she showed up, you’ve been different!" Lin Rou looked at Xiao Yin and said, "Back in the day, no matter what I pulled, you’d always go along with it, listen to me, protect me, and never let me be unhappy. But now, you’ve changed!"

"You wanna know why I put up with your crap?" Xiao Yin looked at Lin Rou, his voice cold.

"Because you were in my debt!" Lin Rou replied.

"Yeah, I owed you. When I was just a kid, you stuck your neck out for me. I never forgot that, and swore I’d always have your back," Xiao Yin said.

Ruo Xi Baby paused, remembering something. She recalled her grandmother telling her mother a story about why the emperor treated Lin Rou the way he did.

Back then, Xiaoyue was still young, and the current empress dowager was just a concubine, not yet a noble consort.

She wasn’t the type to make waves, and after giving birth to Xiaoyue, she personally took care of the child.

At that time, Xiao Yin was only about five or six years old. As a concubine’s kid, he was sharp but got no love. The other princes picked on him, messed with him, left him out, and once even shoved him in the drink.

That time, Lin Rou was there too. Little Lin Rou, just four years old, grabbed his hand and yanked him back from the edge.

Right then and there, Xiao Yin swore he’d never forget this girl.

It wasn’t love, but he knew he had to look out for her.

Later, he, his mother, and his sister tiptoed through palace life, always one misstep from disaster.

To keep his mom and sis safe, he volunteered for the front lines. This way, he would no longer be a threat to the throne, and the other concubines and princes would leave them alone.

The palace taught him to watch his back, so he steered clear of romance or asking the emperor to arrange a marriage for him.

Out there in the thick of it, all he cared about was his mom and sis staying safe.

Until one day, he returned to the Imperial City from the border, and the emperor publicly arranged his marriage to a daughter of the Lin family.

Even though the Lin girl didn’t exactly jump at the chance.

He was a nobody prince, and she was the black sheep of her family. But when the emperor said jump, you didn’t ask how high.

Later, when he found out that Lin Rou was the girl who had saved him as a child, he gave her all his affection.

Maybe his constant doting gave her a sense of stability. In the early days, they lived together in Yunzhou City. After he stopped fighting, he was granted the title of prince and given Yunzhou City.

But then the emperor lost his marbles, and the princes started gunning for his sister.

Xiao Yin returned to the Imperial City.

With chaos on the borders and enemies at every turn, Xiao Yin marched to war, praying it’d buy his mom and sis some safety.

He also thought that the previous emperor, seeing him as no threat, and his brothers, knowing he wasn’t competing for the throne, would spare Xiaoyue and her mother.

But he was wrong. Some folks just gotta step on others to feel big.

Remembering how that noble consort messed with his mom and sis, Xiao Yin’s blood still boiled.

"No, you don’t get it!" Lin Rou let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. "It was me who pushed you into the water, do you know? It was me who pushed you. My brothers said you were overshadowing the second prince, that the previous emperor favored you, so they told me to push you. I was the one who pushed you!"

"..." Xiao Yin's expression hardened slightly, and he didn't know how to continue.

"Indeed, as Baby said, this woman doesn't seem kind-hearted at all. From start to finish, there's no sign of any good aura around her." Ruo Xi Baby sighed softly, then looked at her uncle after a while. "If she had done good deeds and her crimes weren't punishable by death, there would be some auspicious aura around her. But this woman is completely clean, surrounded by black malevolent energy. This means she's always been wicked from the very beginning!"

Xiao Yin: "..."

He didn't feel like talking anymore!

Although he didn't understand love among the women in his harem, he simply thought that living together, being kind, tolerant, and protective was enough.

Like the virtuous consort, who stood by him on the battlefield.

Like the lively consort, who always made him happy.

In return, he treated them well, showering them with rewards and letting them live happily and freely.

But he never realized that not loving simply meant not loving. This woman had never truly loved him.

"Lin Rou, did you ever truly care for me?" Xiaoyue finally asked the question from the side.

"You..." Lin Rou looked at Xiaoyue, then shook her head after a while. "Xiaoyue, you know, I was the one who poisoned you. From the very beginning, from the day you attended the banquet, because only I, you would trust..."

"Tch!"

With a swift motion, Dong Ju's dagger pierced Lin Rou's shoulder.

"Ugh, cough cough..."

Lin Rou collapsed to the ground, coughing weakly.

"It was indeed you. How dare you say that? You're utterly heartless. When you were young and bullied by those little princesses and noble ladies, by your cousins, it was the princess who helped you. Yet you treated her like this!" Dong Ju was so angry she wanted to stab her again.

"Why? We are all human. Why are you so high and mighty? Why are you the most beautiful? Why are you still the princess, while I can only be bullied by the concubines in the mansion?" Lin Rou looked at Xiaoyue and shouted.

"Enduring all these years must have been tough!" Xiaoyue shook her head and said.

"Dong Ju, finish her!" Xiao Yin said, then carried Ruo Xi Baby and walked out.

"Hahaha, Emperor, do you know the truth about your origins?" Lin Rou looked at Xiao Yin and laughed loudly. "Do you know why the Emperor doesn't like you? You're not the Emperor's son..."

"Pfft!" Xiaoyue darted forward and slit Lin Rou's throat in one swift motion.

Xiao Yin hesitated for a moment, then kept walking.

Ruo Xi Baby pursed her little lips. She wasn't thinking anything now, knowing her uncle would sense her thoughts.

This matter was too shocking.

But Ruo Xi Baby figured her uncle must already know, or else why wasn't he surprised?!