Tian Bozhi spat out a mouthful of blood, and coldly stared at Qi Yuan—without a hint of fear. Instead, he suddenly started laughing. “Feeling proud of yourself, Qi Yuan?”
Smack!
Qi Yuan slapped him hard again. His right cheek instantly swelled like a pig’s head.
Liujin felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
He silently vowed—he would never cross Miss Qi for the rest of his life.
Because Miss Qi was really…
Tian Bozhi hadn’t held back just now. He’d used his full strength to strike her on the back. And now, the part of her back that had been exposed was bloodied and mangled—thorns still embedded in the flesh.
That must hurt like h*ll.
But Qi Yuan acted like it was nothing.
Liujin suddenly felt a pang of sorrow.
No wonder His Highness always said Miss Qi had suffered greatly. Who knows how much pain she endured growing up to become this kind of person?
Tian Bozhi’s gaze was icy, and rather than begging for mercy, he laughed again. “You think killing me means the Empress Dowager won’t find out? That you’ll all be safe?”
He glared hatefully at Qi Yuan. “Her Majesty will kill you. She’ll kill everyone in the Yongping Marquis’ household!”
Everyone in power had blood on their hands—who could claim to be spotless?
Some in the military padded headcounts and pocketed ghost salaries. Others outright stole soldiers’ rations—drank their blood, ate their flesh.
And the nobility? For profit, they’d destroy entire families just to force people to sell their tea mountains.
Things like this happened in every dynasty.
What did those nobles fight for when they helped the emperor ascend the throne? For the people? For brotherhood?
Of course not! It was all for wealth, for glory, for the endless prosperity of their descendants!
Every dynasty was the same.
If justice were truly carried out, no official in the land would be innocent.
Even the Qi family wouldn’t be spared.
Tian Bozhi looked at Qi Yuan’s righteous expression with disgust.
Qi Yuan lowered her eyes and looked at him coldly: “That’s a problem for the future. For now, all I know is—you’ll die before me.”
Smack!
Another slap landed on Tian Bozhi’s face.
“So only your son matters, is that it?” she said coldly. “Other people’s sons are worthless—stones on the road to be trampled as you please, is that it?”
Tian Bozhi replied as if it were obvious: “Yes! Isn’t that how it is? A person’s fate is determined at birth. My son is simply nobler than a commoner’s. That’s a fact that can’t be changed! What are those people? When the Hu barbarians invaded from the north, they called them two-legged sheep—slaughtered them and ate them at night. Why could they do it and we can’t?”
Qi Yuan suddenly smiled.
Liujin broke into a cold sweat.
He felt Tian Bozhi had clearly never seen real danger.
He didn’t know that Qi Yuan was not someone you provoked.
Sure enough, Qi Yuan gave a light “Oh?” “So you enjoy being two-legged sheep, huh?”
As soon as she finished speaking, a dagger slipped from her sleeve, and she stabbed it straight into Tian Bozhi’s knee.
Tian Bozhi let out a blood-curdling scream:
“Qi Yuan, you b*tch!”
But before he could say more, Qi Yuan—expressionless—drove the blade into his wrist, pinning his hand to the ground.
It was only then that Tian Bozhi truly understood what pain meant.
He stared at her in disbelief: “You b*tch! The Empress Dowager will kill you! My guards are coming—they’ll be here soon! You’ll die a miserable death!”
Qi Yuan coldly raised her head. Without a word, she drew another dagger and nailed his other wrist to the ground.
The pain nearly drove Tian Bozhi mad. But he didn’t dare move—because the moment he did, the tearing pain from his wounds would become unbearable.
Worse than death.
She’s a madwoman.
He’d run into a complete lunatic.
Qi Yuan slowly stood and looked down at him: “You don’t treat others like people. So someone like me won’t treat you like a person either.”
She paused, then suddenly smiled, leaned down, and lightly patted Tian Bozhi’s cheek. Looking at him like she was about to devour him, she spoke softly: “Duke Chengen, what service have you rendered the nation? What good have you done for the people?”
“You don’t even measure up to Duke Chu. At least he conquered cities and seized territory.”
“You? You’re nothing but a leech who climbed through a woman’s skirts—a worthless parasite!”
Liujin sucked in a sharp breath.
Yes—that was Miss Qi’s style.
She didn’t just kill.
She crushed the soul too.
Tian Bozhi was instantly enraged and began struggling violently.
But every movement ripped open his wounds, and he let out a scream of agony.
Qi Yuan lowered her eyes. “When I left the village, I saw many people sifting through shapeless piles of bones, trying to find their loved ones. One mother didn’t even find a full skeleton—just her child’s little rattle.”
She grabbed Tian Bozhi’s hair and yanked his head up.
“You enjoyed rank and wealth, but you let your son treat people like animals. You deserve to die!”
With that, she no longer wanted to waste another word.
She’d already talked too much today—she was sick of it.
Without removing the two knives pinning his hands, she suddenly stood up and dragged him by the hair toward the edge of the cliff.
Tian Bozhi realized what she meant to do and began struggling frantically.
But it was useless.
His tendons had already been severed. He couldn’t muster any strength.
At the cliff’s edge, Qi Yuan looked down at him and smiled: “Didn’t you love your son so much? He’s down there now—go keep him company.”
And with that, she kicked him off the cliff.
Liujin rushed over and saw her back still bleeding heavily.
He couldn’t help but blurt out: “Miss Qi, y-you’re hurt!”
Qi Yuan didn’t respond to that. She just nodded and turned to look at him: “What are you going to say happened?”
Liujin’s mind spun rapidly.
“Duke Chengen was surrounded by angry commoners. He tried to escape with Tian Baoci’s body, but ran into more vengeful locals. They hijacked his carriage. A fierce fight broke out, and… Duke Chengen was overpowered and fell off the cliff.”
He exhaled.
It was nonsense, sure.
But at this point, the story wasn’t really about Tian Baoci or Tian Bozhi anymore—the real focus was that horrific dog arena.
That alone would cause a public uproar.
As for the deaths of Tian Baoci and Tian Bozhi—that would mostly just affect the Empress Dowager.
And besides, there was still Nanan County Prince to consider.
He had serious grievances with the Tian family now.
Liujin looked at Qi Yuan with concern. “Miss Qi, you should go back and get your injuries looked at.”
