Volume 5 – Years Like Razor Blades
Prologue:
Truly, time is the most merciless of razors.
“Young man, who are you looking for?”
Wielded alternately by the sun and the moon, it scrapes across the uneven earth, layer after layer,
“Big brother, I have one just like it~”
Harvesting the sick…
“I’m sorry, I’ve tried everything.”
The elderly…
“Is this the only solution to the price?”
Even those taken by early death.
“Xiao Lu, are you mistaken?”
Leaving behind only barren longing,
“Fuck you, God!”
And a lonely, lingering sorrow.
“Your memory is getting worse and worse.”
“Baili, I’m back!”
***
Chapter 1: Poison
Poison, potent and pervasive, a harmful weed, growing rampantly.
The wedding venue was resplendent and magnificent. A gold fountain stood in the center, the basin filled not with water, but with colorful jewels and agate. Waiters in shirts and vests, carrying trays of champagne flutes, weaved through the guests. The long tables were laden with delicacies: French escargots, Greek moussaka, Italian truffles, enough to make anyone’s mouth water. Yet, in such a setting, the well-dressed guests were silent and apprehensive, like sinners awaiting judgment.
The bride, adorned with jewels and jade, made her grand entrance. Even those who hated her couldn’t deny her beauty. She was slender, with a voluptuous figure and a tiny waist. She wore a jeweled crown and a wedding dress embellished with silver chains and green agate, like a reincarnation of Daji, the bewitching concubine who captivated King Zhou of Shang. Her fox-like eyes made the guests dare not look directly at her, afraid of losing their minds like those poor souls before them.
Zhu Xi looked coldly at the guests. “Why? It’s my wedding day, why do you all look like you’re attending a funeral?”
Everyone lowered their heads, no one daring to speak. The reporters at the back tactfully turned off their cameras, pretending to change batteries.
“Scholar Zhang, if I remember correctly, you’re the head of the Zhang family in Tongcheng, right?” Zhu Xi’s words were laced with sarcasm and mockery. “I heard that the Zhang family recently made a big deal, earning a fortune. You should be happy, why are you acting so gloomy like the rest of them? Do you have some objection to me?”
Scholar Zhang, a member of the central cabinet, immediately knelt on the ground. “Your Highness, please forgive me! Your Highness, please forgive me!”
“Get up, Scholar. Don’t lose your dignity.” Zhu Xi sneered. “People who don’t know better might think the imperial power has been restored in Shenzhou.”
Scholar Zhang was drenched in cold sweat. He was thinking about how to give that money to Zhu Xi when he heard her ask, “Has the groom arrived yet?” Groom? He should be called the Prince Consort. No, “corpse” would be more fitting. Scholar Zhang thought to himself.
This was Zhu Xi’s third marriage. The groom was the adopted son of the Du family. When the Du family, all fifty of them, heard the news, they were so terrified that they tried to flee the country overnight, only to be stopped at the border by Zhu Xi’s men. The poor young man burned incense and prayed to Buddha every day, writing letters to Zhu Xi, begging for mercy for his family. He didn’t know that those letters were used by Zhu Xi to start fires, without even a glance.
When the princess was first engaged, everyone said it was a match made in heaven, the youngest and most beautiful princess of the royal family marrying into a prestigious family. Although Zhu Xi had never met the man, she obediently agreed – that year, she hadn’t revealed her true nature yet. The wedding was as grand as today’s, with non-stop news coverage and celebrations all over the country and even abroad. Until the groom suddenly collapsed and died as he was walking down the aisle.
His death was gruesome. His face turned purple, blood oozing from his seven orifices. Before dying, he stared at the expressionless Zhu Xi, leaving a trail of blood on the red carpet. It was clear that he wanted to say something to the princess, but he didn’t have the chance.
What followed was a bloody purge. The family’s assets were seized by Old Madam Yan, and Zhu Xi inherited a massive fortune. She just stood there at the wedding, doing nothing, watching the young man she had never met die a horrible death. The police investigation concluded that it was due to food poisoning, that the toxins accumulated in his body had suddenly erupted. But Scholar Zhang knew they were talking nonsense. No food poisoning would cause bleeding from the seven orifices.
The second wedding was equally coincidental. The groom disappeared on the wedding day, his body never found. Scholar Zhang heard that Zhu Xi was raising a pack of wolves during that time. Purebred wolves, the kind that ate people.
And today was Zhu Xi’s third wedding.
As everyone waited anxiously, a female officer in plain clothes entered the venue. She hurried to the Fourteenth Princess and whispered something in her ear. Zhu Xi frowned. “Why are you whispering? Speak up and let everyone hear!”
The young policewoman straightened her body and saluted nervously. “Yes, Your Highness!”
“The groom, Du Wenhou, was involved in a car accident on his way here and unfortunately passed away!” She shouted nervously. There were many details she omitted. Du Wenhou was driving normally, very slowly, when a large truck suddenly crashed head-on into his car, turning the young master into a pulp. But did these details matter?
Du Wenhou’s second uncle fainted on the spot.
Zhu Xi heard sighs and saw the worried expressions on the guests’ faces. She poured the red wine in her hand onto the carpet, as if playing along. “Perhaps I’m cursed to bring misfortune to my husbands. Three weddings, three failures. It seems I’m destined to be alone forever.”
The dark red wine seeped into the carpet, like pus and blood from a decaying corpse seeping into the damp soil.
Zhu Xi raised an eyebrow, her seductive eyes glancing around. “I’ve heard of celebrating even during funerals. Today was supposed to be a joyous occasion, let this joyous atmosphere dispel the bad luck for the Du family! Someone, play some music!”
As if prepared in advance, the orchestra started playing cheerful music, and the dancers, with fake smiles plastered on their faces, began to dance. Amidst the lively atmosphere, no one bothered to help the fainted Du Wenhou’s second uncle. They just looked away coldly, even afraid to glance at him.
“Scholar Zhang.” Zhu Xi looked at the trembling scholar. “Aren’t you going to dance?”
Scholar Zhang swallowed, not knowing whether to nod or shake his head. The next second, he heard words that almost made him despair. “I heard that the Zhang family in Tongcheng has an unmarried son?” Scholar Zhang was dumbfounded. He wanted to kneel down and beg Zhu Xi for mercy, but his body was weak and limp.
Since when… had the upper class of Shenzhou been played like puppets by this young woman?
Indeed… perhaps they shouldn’t have passed that law…
Zhu Xi laughed. “Scholar Zhang, I was just kidding. Why are you so scared? The man who’s worthy of me hasn’t appeared yet. In that case, I don’t need to bother with marriage anymore. I hope you will all refrain from mentioning my marriage in the future.”
With that, the beautiful bride took off her crown, tossed it on the floor, and turned to leave.
Scholar Zhang collapsed weakly to his knees. His colleagues rushed to help him up, sighing in relief that he had escaped a disaster, then cursing Zhu Xi for her cruelty, saying that she would eventually face retribution. Scholar Zhang stared blankly at the floor, his mind filled with sorrow. These hypocrites, so obsequious in front of Zhu Xi, but putting on a show behind her back. Did any of them think about helping the fifty members of the Du family? They were so hypocritical and pathetic, and he was no different. Perhaps, as Zhu Xi had said, the man who was worthy of her didn’t exist in this world.
Poison, potent and pervasive, a harmful weed, growing rampantly. The title of Poison Princess was well-deserved.
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