Is that so?
Xiaosuisui tilted her head, looking at Zhao Chunxiang, who was pinned beneath the Emperor’s foot—her adoptive father. Images of the past flashed before her eyes. The pain that had been etched into her bones now seemed to lessen considerably.
Gently nodding, she said, "I am Princess Chang Rongshun Shunhe. So no one can bully me, right?"
In other words, if she hadn’t been a princess today, she would have been bullied.
The young Emperor had no idea what the little girl was truly thinking at that moment, but he decided that her tendency to run away from trouble was unacceptable. So, he immediately transformed into an old nanny from the Palace who instructed princesses and began to earnestly lecture her.
"People bully the weak and fear the strong. The reason she wanted to beat you to death today is because you’ve always been too timid and easily bullied. If, in the past, whenever she tried to beat you to death, you had fought back—beat her until she couldn’t get up—and struck her every time she bullied you, again and again, just think, would she still dare, or even be able, to hit you then?"
The little girl tilted her head, mulling over the young Emperor’s words. After a good while, she murmured, "Oh," then softly asked, "Emperor Adoptive Father, does that mean I can do to her everything she did to me in the past?"
The young Emperor chuckled. She was his adoptive daughter, ennobled by his own imperial decree; it wouldn’t do if her character wasn’t a bit ruthless.
"Of course, you can!" the young Emperor nodded without hesitation.
"Emperor Adoptive Father, put me down."
The little girl kicked her short little legs and slid down from the young Emperor’s arms.
She stood before Zhao Chunxiang.
Zhao Chunxiang was kneeling on the ground, kowtowing desperately and begging for mercy. "Princess, spare my life! Princess, please spare my life..."
Xiaosuisui stood quietly, just watching Zhao Chunxiang kowtow relentlessly.
My adoptive father, the Emperor, said that she’s like a dead dog now. If I’m pleased, I can keep her as a pet to play with.
Pet?
Oh dear, I miss Xiaobai! Xiaobai is so adorable! Second Aunt’s heart is so wicked! I remember now, the idea to bury me alive... it seemed like she was the one who brought it up with Grandma.
Her adoptive father, the Emperor, had also just said that since she was a royal princess and Zhao Chunxiang had dared to mistreat her, then Zhao Chunxiang’s life and death were hers to decide.
The young Emperor watched the little girl stand motionless for a long while and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. This little girl is still too young; she doesn’t have her own strong opinions yet! This won’t do. When we return to the capital, I absolutely must find someone to teach her properly! Otherwise, what if she grows up, takes a prince consort, and ends up being bullied?
Just as the young Emperor was thinking this, he saw the little girl looking around, as if searching for something!
"What are you looking for?" the young Emperor subconsciously asked.
"A shovel!"
"A shovel?" the young Emperor repeated, puzzled. He then saw Li San, who was kneeling on the ground and trembling, hurriedly say, "This lowly one will go get it for you!"
Li San was actually quite shrewd. Otherwise, seeing earlier that Xiaosuisui was just a child, he wouldn’t have thought of trying to force her to kneel to Zhao Chunxiang to curry favor.
Soon, Li San returned with three shovels of different sizes. "Princess, which one do you want?"
Xiaosuisui’s hands were small, so naturally, she couldn’t lift a large one. She casually picked up a small one.
Then, she reached out, grabbed Zhao Chunxiang by the collar, and dragged her straight towards the latrine in the backyard.
Witnessing this, everyone was stunned. Was the little princess truly that strong? Or was that peasant woman being cunning, deliberately pretending to be dragged along to cooperate with the princess? Was she trying to lull the princess into a false sense of security, hoping for an opportunity to beg for her life?