Chapter 175: Feeling Even Worse

The Talent Banquet was tomorrow, so everyone in the Princess Mansion was busy checking inventory and making final arrangements.

The only one with any leisure time was Xiao Li.

Aside from providing the questions and the money, she paid no mind to anything else. She wasn’t worried about it being a disaster, as long as someone could bear the consequences.

She was in the rare mood to tease the little wolf cub for a bit when Feng Yin arrived. He stood beside the cub, gazing at her with the same pair of damp, pleading eyes.

Xiao Li looked at Feng Yin, then back at the wolf cub. ’You know,’ she thought, ’they really do look alike.’

"Sit."

Feng Yin came and sat down, looking somewhat sullen. He took several sips of tea before speaking. "He Changyu hit my sister. The family knows about his affair now."

"Grandfather had his official post revoked and his legs broken, then forced him to sign the divorce papers. But for the sake of that mother and her two children, he dragged his injured body and knelt to beg my sister..."

"My sister is injured too... She was almost beaten to death by that He Changyu... But she... she’s kneeling before Grandfather’s door right now... pleading for mercy on behalf of that mother and her children..."

Xiao Li raised an eyebrow. "What is she pleading for?"

Feng Yin’s expression was grim, his voice strained. "She says she doesn’t blame He Changyu, because he’s been so good to her all these years. That he just made one mistake."

"She blames herself for being barren, thinking she might be infertile for life. So she’s willing to accept the Wu Family’s Daughter as a concubine, along with those two children."

"She says she wants to remain his wife... even... even if it means severing ties with the Feng Family..."

’What a completely unsurprising turn of events,’ she thought.

’This was exactly why she’d chosen not to expose the truth, even when she first learned of it.’

’You think you’re helping someone by revealing the truth, but they’re ruled by emotion. After all the tears and drama, they’ll just get back together, happy as ever.’

’In the end, the only one who becomes the villain is you—the person who revealed the truth in the first place.’

’So, respect their destiny and don’t meddle. That’s the real truth of the matter.’

Feng Yin gripped his teacup tightly, his expression suppressed. "My sister has deep feelings for him. I knew she wouldn’t believe me even if I told her. That’s why I deliberately had someone leak that the Feng Family was involved in the kidnapping of that woman and her children. I wanted to intimidate him into confessing to my sister himself. I never imagined he would get drunk and actually raise a hand to her."

"I deeply regret that she got hurt. But the moment I saw her kneeling... I... I actually started to think that I was the one who was wrong..."

Seeing the young master so clearly devastated, Xiao Li sighed. ’He’s just faced too few hardships in life if something like this is enough to make him question everything.’

’Then again, she was partly to blame. If she hadn’t mentioned it because she couldn’t stand to see it, and then given him the idea to have them kidnapped, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point. Although, from her perspective, this outcome was inevitable.’

’It was bound to come out sooner or later, and as long as Feng Yu remained childless, she would always choose to forgive him.’

’It wasn’t her place to criticize Feng Yu. All one could do was respect the woman’s wishes. Besides, it had nothing to do with her.’

But while she might be indifferent, Feng Yin was clearly miserable.

She turned and had Lan Yue fetch some wine.

One pot of wine, two cups.

Xiao Li poured the cups herself. She downed one before pushing the other toward him. "Want some?"

’When you’re this upset, having a drink, getting drunk, and sleeping it off is a good option. After all, she was terrible at comforting people.’

Feng Yin was truly in a state. He glanced at the cup, then grabbed it and downed it in one go.

He then took the pot and poured more, not forgetting to top off Xiao Li’s cup first.

After three cups in a row, a faint pink flush spread across his face, and his gaze on Xiao Li grew hazy.

Xiao Li knew he couldn’t hold his liquor, but...’Three cups? Is his tolerance really that low?’

"Princess~~~"

Feng Yin leaned in, the smell of wine mingling with his own unique, clean scent. "Why are you holding a husband-selection banquet? You clearly said you wouldn’t get married."

’Weren’t we just talking about your sister? How did the topic change so fast after a few drinks?’

Xiao Li raised a hand to his forehead, stopping him from getting any closer. "It’s a Talent Banquet, not a husband-selection banquet. I never said anything about getting married."

Feng Yin didn’t believe her. He reached up, grabbing her hand and squeezing it tightly, his gaze burning. "Can I participate?"

Xiao Li said, "No."

The light in Feng Yin’s eyes instantly dimmed. He didn’t say a word, but with that expression on a face naturally designed to soften hearts, he looked utterly wronged.

He refused to let go of Xiao Li’s hand, using his free one to pour and drain another cup.

He had the bravado of someone who could down three jars, but in reality, he was already quite drunk after just three small cups.

"COUGH, COUGH..." ’Great,’ she thought. ’Now he’s choking on it.’

He coughed several times in a row, his face flushing several shades redder.

Seeing his small face all scrunched up, Xiao Li reached out and gave his cheek a pinch. "Are you really that miserable?"

Feng Yin nodded obediently. "Miserable."

’He’s like a soft little bun. So amusing.’

"Is it because of your sister, or because of me?"

Feng Yin pressed his lips together. "I’m miserable for my sister. But for you... I’m even more miserable."

As he finished speaking, he looked up at her with those damp, pleading eyes—a look both innocent and accusatory, like he was staring at a heartless woman who’d used him and was now refusing to take responsibility.

Lou Yan had to use every trick in the book just to coax a single kiss from Xiao Li, yet all Feng Yin needed was a look.

Xiao Li leaned in and kissed him, her hand moving to cradle the back of his head as she forcefully deepened the kiss.

Left breathless, Feng Yin let out a distressed whimper, tears welling in his eyes.

Xiao Li finally let him go. "Still miserable?"

Feng Yin’s cheeks and ears were bright red, and his lips, in particular, looked as if they’d been painted with rouge.

His eyes were filled with panic. He snatched his hand away from Xiao Li’s and desperately pulled at the hem of his robes, trying in vain to hide something.

Xiao Li glanced down. "..." ’Looks like he’s even more miserable now.’

"Don’t... don’t look..." While one person stared openly, the other was so embarrassed he wanted to crawl under the table.

Xiao Li decided not to tease him anymore. ’Otherwise, who knew which one of them would be the one unable to resist temptation?’

She shifted away slightly to drink her tea, her gaze resting on Feng Yin. ’Not for the first time,’ she mused, ’I have to wonder how his face could possibly be so perfectly suited to my tastes.’

’His face was just right, and his personality was growing on her more and more.’

’If this were her past life, she would have devoured him without a second thought by now.’

She raised a hand and tapped the space between her brows. ’What a pain.’

’She was no chaste maiden or paragon of virtue. When it came to men and women, her philosophy was carpe diem—as long as it was consensual, enjoy the moment. Yep, a textbook playgirl.’

’But this world was her nemesis. It felt like nothing ever went her way, with pitfalls at every turn.’

’She wanted to leave but couldn’t. She wanted to kill the story’s heroine but couldn’t. She wanted to flirt with a man, and hah... every last one of them was to her liking, but she couldn’t forget that this body was extremely fertile.’

’Or maybe it wasn’t just "highly fertile." It was that in the original plot, the body’s previous owner got pregnant after sleeping with a man just one time.’

’She wasn’t sure if that particular plot point had changed now that she’d made a complete mess of the story, but the thought of a belly growing bigger by the day—a pregnancy that couldn’t be terminated by medicine or ended with a fall—was terrifying.’

’For other women, a pregnancy was a fragile treasure. For this body, it was like an unkillable cockroach.’

’Whenever Xiao Li thought of that wretched creature from her past life, a vicious aura surged within her.’

’There were few things in the world that could truly frighten her, but the period in her past life when she was trapped inside her own body had become her worst nightmare.’

’Even though she had killed that scumbag at the first opportunity, the fear lingered.’