webnovelvip Chapter 208 No matter what your status was before, you are now a lowly maid!
Chapter 208 No matter what your status was before, you are now a lowly maid!
The proprietress knelt down with a thud.
He collapsed to the ground, limp as a lump of mud.
Her lips trembled violently; she wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.
All I could do was stare wide-eyed at that pale white figure.
The woman she was just thinking of "teaching a lesson" to.
She thought that woman was just a rich girl from a wealthy family.
that……
She is Empress Li Yang.
She was on the same level as the emperor who was kneeling before her, begging for mercy.
He's the kind of person who can make the entire Eastern Continent tremble with a single stomp of his foot.
And she—
The owner of a shady shop.
A desperate criminal who makes a living by killing and robbing.
A woman who was just thinking about how to rise in status and become a phoenix—
They actually said they wanted to "teach" Empress Li Yang a lesson?
Tears welled up in the proprietress's eyes.
Of course, this wasn't out of emotion or excitement.
It was fear.
A deep-seated, extreme fear.
She looked at Qin Mu, her lips trembling violently, and finally managed to squeeze out a few broken syllables:
"Your Majesty...Your Majesty...This humble woman...This humble woman..."
Qin Mu smiled gently as he looked at her.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "Scared?"
The proprietress nodded frantically, as if she were pounding garlic.
afraid?
She was terrified!
Empress Li Yang!
That's Empress Li Yang!
She just said she was going to "teach them a lesson"!
Isn't this just courting death?
Qin Mu's smile deepened as he looked at her.
He stood up, walked up to the proprietress, and looked down at her.
"Don't be afraid," he said, his voice as gentle as if soothing a frightened kitten. "I told you to discipline her, so just do it."
He paused, leaned slightly closer, and lowered his voice:
"With me here, no one can hurt you."
The proprietress looked up at Qin Mu, her eyes blurred with tears.
She knelt on the ground, trembling all over.
By the window, Zhao Qingxue remained motionless, her back to everyone.
The moonlight shone on her, making her slender figure stand out clearly.
That figure stood straight and solitary, like a sword that refused to bend.
However, the fingers gripping the window frame were a little white and trembling slightly.
The candlelight flickered in the room.
Yunluan stood by the door, her hand on the hilt of her sword, her face expressionless.
Xiao Yu huddled in the corner, shivering.
The proprietress knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
Qin Mu leaned back in his armchair, one hand supporting his chin, his posture languid as if he were watching a play about to begin.
His gaze fell on the proprietress's face, which was contorted with fear, and the smile on his lips deepened.
"Hurry up and let me see what you're capable of."
The proprietress knelt on the ground, trembling all over.
She raised her head, her eyes blurred with tears, and looked at Qin Mu, then at the pale white figure by the window. Her lips trembled violently; she wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.
She dared not move.
That's Empress Li Yang!
Let her teach Empress Liyang a lesson?
Even killing her wouldn't be enough!
As Qin Mu looked at her like this, the smile in his eyes gradually faded.
"If you won't make a move," his voice remained calm, but carried a hint of icy coldness, "then I shall make my move."
The proprietress trembled all over!
The chill was like a bucket of ice water poured over her head, jolting her awake from her fear.
She looked at Qin Mu's still smiling, handsome face, but it was as if she were seeing an abyss.
If you don't fight, you'll die.
Taking action might offer a glimmer of hope.
The proprietress closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with a resolute determination to go all out.
She slowly stood up.
Her legs were still weak and she could barely stand, but she gritted her teeth and persevered, walking step by step toward the window.
He walked up to Zhao Qingxue and stopped.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating Zhao Qingxue's profile.
That peerless face was calm as still water, without anger, fear, or even any expression.
But those deep purple phoenix eyes were quietly fixed on the proprietress.
The gaze was faint and light, yet it was like two invisible swords, piercing the proprietress so much that she almost took three steps back.
Her lips trembled, and her voice stammered:
"Zhao...Zhao...I'm sorry, I..."
She couldn't continue.
Because she didn't know what to say.
Sorry, I'm going to hit you?
How can you say that?
Zhao Qingxue looked at her without saying a word.
That gaze remained calm, a calmness that sent shivers down one's spine.
The proprietress stood there, at a loss for what to do.
She opened her mouth, wanting to make a move, but she couldn't lift her hand.
He wanted to curse, but swallowed the words back down.
She looked at Zhao Qingxue, at those deep purple phoenix eyes, at that innate imperial majesty.
A deep sense of powerlessness welled up inside me.
How did she manage to do it?
How did she begin?
She never trained the Empress!
She had trained mostly poor girls sold into servitude, or girls from brothels who were jealous of each other, or at most, mistresses of wealthy merchants.
But the woman before me is Empress Li Yang!
It's a being whose mere stomp of its foot can shake the entire Eastern Continent!
She is Zhao Qingxue, the legendary woman who ascended the throne as a woman, purged eight princes in five years, and became a powerful figure throughout the world!
Let her train a woman like that?
How dare she?!
The proprietress stood there, unsure whether to go forward or retreat, her expression twisted and awkward.
Qin Mu watched this scene and smiled gently.
"Just treat her like a rich girl who's fallen on hard times," he said casually.
The proprietress gave a bitter smile.
It's easier said than done.
But how could she possibly do that?
If she didn't know the other person's identity, she might actually be able to do it.
After all, she had seen many down-on-their-luck rich girls when she was young.
When they were first sold into the apartment building, they were all incredibly arrogant, crying and begging to go home. But what happened later?
Haven't they all submitted to the order?
The problem is, she knows now.
He then learned that the woman before him was Empress Li Yang.
I learned about this woman's legend.
I now know how terrifying this woman is.
How can she pretend she doesn't know?
The proprietress took a deep breath, then another.
She looked at Zhao Qingxue, at those deep purple phoenix eyes that remained calm.
Suddenly, an idea popped into my head.
What's the difference between her and a prisoner now?
His cultivation level must have been sealed.
Can't move anymore?
It's just a toothless tiger.
What is she afraid of?
Thinking of this, the immense fear in the landlady's heart suddenly dissipated considerably.
Instead, there is a kind of reckless... courage.
Anyway, it's already like this.
Anyway, we'll die if we don't fight.
Anyway...
She gritted her teeth and straightened her back.
Her gaze changed as she looked at Zhao Qingxue.
"What are you looking at?!"
She spoke, deliberately raising her voice a few decibels, with a hint of ruthlessness:
"You slut, you deserve to be taught a lesson!"
Zhao Qingxue looked at her, her gaze remaining calm.
The calm was like a stagnant pool, without any ripples.
It was as if the proprietress's words were nothing more than a gentle breeze brushing past my ear.
The proprietress, feeling emboldened by her gaze, almost lost all her courage.
But she gritted her teeth and continued:
"Get up right now!"
Zhao Qingxue continued to look at her.
They didn't speak, they didn't move.
That gaze was calm to the point of indifference, indifference to the point of contempt.
It's as if it's saying: Who do you think you are?
A hint of hostility flashed in the proprietress's eyes.
Desperate, she gritted her teeth, reached out, grabbed Zhao Qingxue's arm, and pulled hard!
Zhao Qingxue was forcibly pulled from the window by her, staggered a couple of steps, and almost fell.
Her brows finally furrowed slightly.
"Regardless of your past identity,"
The landlady stared at her, speaking slowly and deliberately, each word laced with deliberate malice, "Now you're just a lowly maid!"
From now on, whatever others tell you to do, you must do it!
"otherwise--"
She paused, a cold smile curving her lips:
"You'll regret this!"
Zhao Qingxue looked at her.
A flicker of emotion finally appeared in those deep purple phoenix eyes.
She really wanted to do something.
I wanted to yell at her, to tell her to get out of my way, to let her know who was standing in front of her.
But there was nothing she could do.
After her cultivation was sealed, she was no different from an ordinary woman.
The proprietress in front of us is at least a second-rank martial artist.
She was no match for him.
They can only be manipulated at will.
This realization stirred up an emotion she had never experienced before.
That emotion is called—
At the mercy of others.
The proprietress looked at Zhao Qingxue's deep purple phoenix eyes, noticing the complex light that flashed within them.
A thought struck me.
She discovered that Empress Li Yang seemed... truly unable to resist.
Those legendary, fearsome methods; the ruthlessness of purging the eight princes in five years; that domineering aura that shook the Eastern Continent—
At this moment, they were like sealed beasts, trapped in this frail body, unable to move.
Without status and power, she was nothing more than an ordinary woman with a stubborn streak.
This realization dispelled the last trace of fear in the proprietress's heart.
Instead, there was an almost frenzied... boldness.
She drew a weapon from her waist.
"Stand still," she said, her voice carrying a commanding tone. "Don't move unless I tell you to."
Zhao Qingxue looked at her without speaking or moving.
His gaze remained calm, but a hint of coldness had crept into the depths of his eyes.
The proprietress's heart skipped a beat when she saw that gaze; the coldness was like icy needles, sending chills down her spine.
But then, she straightened her face and gritted her teeth—
"Snapped!"
Zhao Qingxue's body trembled slightly.
She stared wide-eyed at the proprietress.
For the first time, a genuine emotion flickered in those deep purple phoenix eyes—
incredible.
She, Zhao Qingxue, the Empress of Liyang, has commanded a million soldiers and dominated the Eastern Continent for five years since her ascension to the throne, causing countless heroes to bow down and submit.
I've never been treated like this before!
I have never suffered such humiliation before!
But when the proprietress saw her like that, the courage she had just mustered almost vanished.
That gaze was terrifying.
It felt as if I were being watched by a sleeping behemoth, ready to be torn to shreds at any moment.
But then she remembered her current situation, Qin Mu's words, "If you don't make a move, I will," and that Empress Li Yang was now nothing more than a helpless prisoner—
She gritted her teeth, straightened her face, and struck again!
"Snapped!"
This time, it was a bit heavier than before.
"You dare glare at me?!" The proprietress's voice trembled slightly with tension, but she tried her best to maintain a fierce tone.
Zhao Qingxue looked at her, the disbelief in her eyes gradually fading.
Instead, there was a cold, calm, like a thousand-year-old icy pool.
There's so much hidden beneath that calm.
There was anger, resentment, and humiliation.
There is also a deep, almost resigned sense of powerlessness.
She just stood there, motionless.
He let those humiliating words pierce his ears, one by one.
He was left to be "taught a lesson" in the most brutal way by the owner of a shady inn in this small inn room.
Qin Mu leaned back in his armchair, quietly watching all of this.
The corners of his mouth always held that ambiguous smile.
His eyes gleamed with satisfaction and excitement.
He admired this scene.
It wasn't because humiliating Empress Liyang gave him pleasure.
Rather, it's because—
He finally saw a genuine change in the face of this high and mighty empress, a face that was always calm and composed.
That kind of emotional fluctuation is called humiliation.
It's called powerlessness.
It's called despair.
These things are more precious than any anger or any resistance.
Because she will only show that expression when you truly touch the deepest part of a person.
And at that moment, he touched it.
Qin Mu's smile deepened even further.
Xiao Yu huddled in the corner, hugging her knees tightly with both hands, shrinking herself into a tiny ball.
Her eyes were wide open, staring unblinkingly at the scene.
Looking at that peerless face, I saw the humiliation and resentment that surfaced.
Her heart was pounding.
There was fear, tension, and a complex mix of emotions that were hard to describe.
She remembered that not long ago, her aunt had hit her with a broom.
At that time, she felt humiliated, angry, and like the world had collapsed.
But at this moment, looking at Empress Li Yang, she suddenly felt—
My own affairs don't seem to matter anymore.
After all, even Empress Li Yang gets whipped.
This thought brought her a strange sense of comfort, which was then overwhelmed by a greater fear.
She quickly lowered her head, not daring to look any further.
Yunluan stood by the door, her hand on the hilt of her sword, her face expressionless.
Her gaze calmly swept over everyone in the room, finally settling on Zhao Qingxue.
There was not a trace of emotion on that cold, stern face.
It was as if she wasn't watching Empress Li Yang being humiliated, but rather an ant struggling.
As the leader of the Dragon Shadow Guard, she had seen far too much.
She had seen even more brutal scenes.
She has dealt with people of even greater rank.
To her, the scene before her was nothing more than a play whose ending was already predetermined.
Who the main character of the play is is not important.
The important thing is—
His Majesty is watching.
His Majesty is smiling.
This is enough.
The proprietress stood in front of Zhao Qingxue, holding a weapon.
Her heart was racing, and her palms were sweaty.
But her face was full of a smug smile.
"That's right," she said, her voice carrying a deliberately feigned sophistication and composure. "Just be obedient."
"Be good from now on, and you'll have a good life."
"If you dare to disobey..."