Chapter 34 - 33: Public Execution! The Empress’s Might
Chapter 34: Chapter 33: Public Execution! The Empress’s Might
SCREECH—
The sharp, piercing sound of a chair dragging across the floor made the students turn around in surprise.
"Whose account is this? Where’s the proof that my mom knew about this all along? Isn’t she a victim too?" Meng Shuyan’s face was livid. "This is slander! I can sue them!"
"Shuyan, calm down. Take it easy." A boy leaned over and saw the content of the reply. "It’s just a string of gibberish, probably a burner account. What does babies getting switched at birth have to do with the kids themselves?"
"A burner account?" Meng Shuyan sneered. "They’d better pray I don’t find out who’s really behind this."
Despite his words, he was already convinced that the account belonged to Shi Changying. Who else but Shi Changying would maliciously speculate about Xu Zhao Yu like this?
"Shuyan, didn’t you say your grandparents still treat your family the same as before?" The boy hesitated before trying to persuade him. "It’s been over forty years. Everything is pretty much set in stone. Blood relations can’t change anything now."
Meng Shuyan’s jaw tightened. "That’s how it is now, but who knows what will happen in the future."
The boy was at a loss for words and stayed quiet. After all, as an only child, he couldn’t comprehend how fierce the infighting could be within a large, sprawling family.
Meng Shuyan’s gaze darkened. He needed to figure out a way to teach Shi Changying a lesson. This time, he had to make sure he left no trace, so as not to cause any trouble for Xu Zhao Yu.
***
Over in Class 17 of the senior year.
Song Qingmu went for a quick spin outside and came back beaming. "Senior Sister, I found out! After morning exercises today, Meng Shuyan is going to be publicly executed!"
Shi Changying was meticulously practicing her Pinyin, stroke by stroke. Hearing this, she asked lazily, "Oh, are they going to kill him?"
"O-Of course not!" Song Qingmu was so startled he almost coughed up a lung. "Meng Shuyan was called into the principal’s office yesterday. The principal made him write a self-reflection letter and apologize to you in front of the whole school, Senior Sister."
Shi Changying started using her phone to search for "what kind of penal law is public execution." And just like that, Empress Taichu learned yet another new internet slang term.
"I’ve never liked Meng Shuyan anyway," Lu Mi grumbled. "Sure, his grades are in the top ten of the history track, but if you ask me, his character is way worse than the school bully’s. It’s a shame they’re even cousins."
Shi Changying clearly caught that specific term. "School bully? Xiao Mi, which class is he in?"
"Yingying, why are you looking for Meng Qi’an?" Lu Mi paused in surprise. "He might be handsome, but he’s incredibly fierce when he fights."
"To make him step down," Shi Changying replied. She had yet to meet anyone fiercer at fighting than herself.
"???" Lu Mi was speechless. She thought, "New classmate, that’s a very dangerous idea!"
"Good morning, Young Master," Song Qingmu suddenly called out happily.
Shaoyuan nodded in acknowledgment, then placed a stack of workbooks, easily twenty centimeters thick, onto the desk.
THUD.
The heavy sound made Song Qingmu flinch. "Are these... the worksheets we have to do today?" he asked tremblingly.
"No," Shaoyuan replied.
Song Qingmu breathed a sigh of relief.
Shaoyuan tapped his finger lightly on Shi Changying’s desk. "It’s her homework for the month."
Song Qingmu was dumbfounded. "Young Master, are you trying to work Senior Sister to death? Is it even humanly possible to finish all this?"
Shaoyuan raised an eyebrow and smiled. "A normal person couldn’t, but our young lady can, right?"
Shi Changying didn’t care in the slightest that the stack of workbooks was taller than her head. "Right."
Song Qingmu looked heartbroken. "Senior Sister, how could you fall right into the Young Master’s trap? He’s just goading you!"
Shaoyuan leaned back in his chair, already closing his eyes to rest.
Shi Changying suddenly turned her head. Sensing her gaze, Shaoyuan didn’t open his eyes. "Do you have something to say to me?"
Shi Changying opened the notebook where she had jotted down "high-EQ phrases" yesterday and read aloud, "A day of loving me can now begin."
"..."
Song Qingmu’s brain practically short-circuited, and Lu Mi felt her soul leave her body.
Shaoyuan opened his eyes slightly. He cast a sideways glance at her, a faint, teasing smile on his lips. "Mhm. Love you. Now do your homework."
Shi Changying opened the first workbook.
The class bell rang at that exact moment. Even though Song Qingmu had a million questions, he was forced to swallow his words. It wasn’t until they went out for morning exercises that he pulled Lu Mi aside. "What on earth have you been teaching Senior Sister?"
"Just some high-EQ phrases that have been trending lately," Lu Mi said, guiltily twiddling her thumbs. "Besides, saying ’a day of loving me has begun’ is just so much classier and more sophisticated than a boring ’good morning’!"
"Those aren’t high-EQ phrases at all!" Song Qingmu choked out. "If you keep teaching her this nonsense, just wait until the Young Master completely ends you." He made a throat-slitting gesture.
Lu Mi looked deeply aggrieved. "I didn’t expect Yingying to use every single one of those phrases on the Young Master!"
"You should count your lucky stars that the Young Master has a good temper and isn’t holding it against you." Song Qingmu shook his head. "Listen to me, stop teaching her! If you keep this up, something terrible is going to happen!"
***
After the morning exercises concluded, the Director of Moral Education told the students not to disperse just yet and called Meng Shuyan up to the stage.
Almost all the students knew about the farce that had unfolded the day before. Xu Shuyu watched with a cold expression as Meng Shuyan stood on the podium.
"I apologize to Classmate Shi Changying. I shouldn’t have accused her of tearing my poster without any evidence..." Meng Shuyan’s tone was stiff. "I checked the security footage at the security office. This entire incident had absolutely nothing to do with Classmate Shi. I apologize to her once again."
Filled with humiliation and resentment, Meng Shuyan finished reading his eight-hundred-word reflection letter. His face was flushed red. Unwilling to stay a single second longer, he immediately walked off the stage.
But just as he turned around, he came face to face with the person he hated the most. Meng Shuyan demanded coldly, "What are you doing up here?"
The Director of Moral Education was also a bit puzzled, but remembering Principal Ning’s prior instructions, he didn’t shoo Shi Changying away. Instead, he asked, "Classmate Changying, do you need something?"
Shi Changying picked up the microphone. She was very satisfied with this contraption called a microphone; the amplification effect was excellent. She spoke. "Hello, everyone. I am Shi Changying. I recently transferred to Jianghuai High School."
The girl stood dead center on the podium. Facing thousands of students below, she showed not a hint of nervousness. On the contrary, she looked completely in her element, as natural as a fish in water.
Song Qingmu let out a sound of awe. "Wow, I was worried Senior Sister would be shy up there. I’d stutter even if I had to give a speech just in front of our class."
Lu Mi beamed with pride. "Greatness runs in her blood! Our Yingying is incredible!"
Shaoyuan stood at the back of the line. Unlike everyone else, he wasn’t looking at the podium. His gaze had landed somewhere far off. He always carried an air of detachment, as if he existed entirely outside the rest of the world.
"The book Meng Shuyan tore belonged to my father. As for why he would do such a thing—" Shi Changying’s voice was calm and indifferent. "It’s because forty-five years ago, his black-hearted biological grandfather wanted his daughter, who suffered from a heart condition, to live a life of luxury. So, he deliberately swapped my father’s and his mother’s lives at birth."