She Was Written to Die, So She Seized the Throne Instead

Traveling back to the city together in a snowstorm was no big deal, so Xiao Li naturally agreed.

However, she had only just arrived. It was impossible for her to head back the very next day. She would have to wait until the day after tomorrow at the earliest, the twenty-ninth of the month, to return to the city.

She wasn’t about to disrupt her own plans to accommodate them. If they wanted to travel together, they would have to stay here until then.

Song Junzhan was agreeable. "Then we’ll be imposing on you, Princess."

Cen An inwardly sucked in a breath. ’Wait, bro, what are you...?’

After leaving the main house, Cen An couldn’t even wait to get back to his quarters. He dragged Song Junzhan to a secluded spot and started interrogating him. "Do you have any idea what you’re doing? That’s Princess Xuanyang! The rumors about her are everywhere. Why are you still getting close to her?"

Song Junzhan knew he had misunderstood and calmly explained, "It’s not what you think. I’m the one who needs a favor from the Princess."

Cen An: "For real?"

Song Junzhan: "Why would I need to lie to you?"

Cen An was half-convinced. "You’d better be telling the truth."

For his friend’s sake, Cen An decided he couldn’t hide it any longer. He had to expose the Princess’s terrifying true colors.

Cen An pulled Song Junzhan back to their quarters, preparing to vent all his pent-up grievances.

He was walking so fast he wasn’t paying attention and bumped right into someone.

The person he hit fell to the ground without a sound, which gave him quite a scare.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

The person Cen An had bumped into was a woman wearing a veil. After being knocked down, she didn’t speak. She just quietly got to her feet, glanced up at him, and then walked away.

"Hey, you..."

Watching the figure disappear around the corner, Cen An wondered, "That person seemed a little familiar. Why would someone who works for the Princess wear a veil?"

’If I can’t figure it out, I won’t think about it. Complaining is more important right now.’

Before he had even finished a cup of tea, Cen An had already poured out a mountain of grievances.

He complained about the frustration of being imprisoned twice, of being threatened, and of being forced to treat patients and compound medicine day and night.

He hadn’t committed any crime, yet he was forced to experience what it felt like to be in jail.

It was utterly unjust and inhumane!

Of course, he never mentioned the payment Xiao Li had given him. He was mainly afraid that if he did, his friend would think he had been bought off and wouldn’t understand just how detestable Princess Xuanyang was.

But even though he was deliberately painting the Princess as a villain, it seemed to have little to no effect on his friend.

He spoke with impassioned eloquence, yet Song Junzhan listened with a placid expression, completely unmoved.

"From what you’ve said, the Princess only restricted your freedom. She didn’t mistreat you. Compounding medicine is hard work, but it hardly counts as abuse."

"I suspect the Princess has other reasons for keeping you here, and she never intended to harm you. Besides, you’re on her territory. I’m afraid your accusations and slander have probably already reached her ears."

Cen An: "..."

"Shouldn’t you be sympathizing with me? Why are you taking her side?" ’Whose side are you on, anyway?’

But it was strange. He wasn’t actually afraid of his words reaching the Princess’s ears. His intuition told him that she couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.

’When I think about it that way, the Princess does have some redeeming qualities... no, wait. I have to think about how bad she is. I can’t let myself be swayed.’

Song Junzhan didn’t say anything, and Cen An lost interest in complaining.

"Don’t take this lightly. I’m only telling you all this because this Princess is no saint. If you try to get involved with her, the consequences will be severe. You’d better just be asking for a favor. If you have any other ideas, just remember Lu Yanzhi is a cautionary tale."

Song Junzhan sighed. "If you hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have even considered it. But now that I think about it carefully, winning the Princess’s favor doesn’t sound so bad."

Cen An felt like his throat had suddenly been squeezed shut. He almost couldn’t breathe.

’He was trying to warn Song Junzhan, to talk him out of it, not make him reflect on his inner feelings!’

"Just shut up! You’re making me so mad!"

Cen An didn’t even want to talk to him anymore. He angrily stood up and went outside to let the snowy wind cool his head.

Suddenly, he saw a group of guards hurrying past. He grabbed a nearby servant. "What’s going on?"

The man replied, "The Princess’s little pet is missing. Everyone’s out searching for it."

"What little pet?"

The servant shook his head. "I don’t know."

Cen An assumed the "little pet" was a cat or a dog. So when he turned to go back and saw a slender figure in his room, he was merely surprised. "How did you get in here? What are you doing in my room?"

The veiled woman looked at Cen An, her eyes pleading. "Please, save me."

The woman was Xue Zhi. She curled into a ball, hugging herself in terror, her eyes filled with the fright and innocence of a fawn.

"Sir, don’t tell them I’m here. She’ll kill me."

"Huh?" Cen An was completely baffled. "Aren’t you one of the Princess’s people? Who would dare to kill you?"

Hearing the word "Princess," Xue Zhi’s body trembled involuntarily. She looked incredibly fragile and pitiful.

KNOCK, KNOCK.

Someone knocked on the door. "Doctor Cen, we’re searching for the Princess’s little pet. We’re coming in now."

Before Cen An could refuse, the door was pushed open. In a blur, the veiled woman dove behind his bed curtains.

Cen An: "..." ’Does anyone care about my feelings at all?’

Two guards entered, their gazes sweeping across his simple, bare room. They even tried to search his wardrobe.

Cen An was speechless. "I didn’t see any small animals come in."

A guard shook his head. "It’s a little pet, not a small animal."

Cen An: "?" ’Is there a difference?’

"Ah! Let go of me!"

The woman hiding behind the curtains was dragged out by a guard. She struggled fiercely. "Let go of me! Let go!"

The guard dragged her away with a blank expression, completely ignoring her feeble struggles.

Cen An was dumbfounded through the whole thing. Then, Xue Zhi grabbed the corner of his sleeve. "Sir, please, save me! She’ll really kill me, save me..."

She looked so wretched that Cen An couldn’t bear it. He asked, "Aren’t you looking for the Princess’s little pet? Why are you taking her? Did she do something wrong?"

However, the guard’s reply left Cen An speechless: "She *is* the Princess’s little pet."

’A little pet... not an animal, but a person?’

Xue Zhi was forcefully dragged away. Cen An couldn’t help but follow them out to see what was happening. Just then, the door to the next room opened, and Song Junzhan, wrapped in a heavy cloak, also came out. The two men exchanged a glance and followed the guards.

Xue Zhi was dragged over and thrown down at Xiao Li’s feet with a THUD.

Seeing the leisurely, nonchalant Xiao Li, she stopped screaming and didn’t dare to move. She just tried to make herself smaller, trembling uncontrollably.

Xiao Li sneered, "Still as foolish as ever?"

’This entire manor is filled with my people. Where could she possibly run?’

’Besides, it’s a world of ice and snow outside. Trying to escape now would probably be a faster death than staying in my hands.’

Xue Zhi groveled on the ground, her eyes filled with humiliation and hatred. "I haven’t offended you, nor have I committed any crime. Even if you’re a princess, you can’t just imprison people without reason."

Xiao Li had no interest in reasoning with her. "Take her away. If you let her run out again, the punishment won’t be so simple."

’Guards who can’t even keep an eye on one person should just get lost.’

As Xue Zhi was being dragged away, she passed by the corridor and saw Song Junzhan and Cen An standing not far off. She looked at Cen An, who wore an expression of pity but hadn’t offered any help. Her eyes filled with sorrow and despair, yet she stubbornly refused to beg again. She was simply dragged away in silence, as if she had accepted her fate.

Cen An’s expression was complicated. "I knew she was no saint."

Song Junzhan watched calmly, offering no comment.

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