Reborn as the Business Empress

Slap, slap...

"Hehe... Miss Xiao, you certainly are intelligent, participating in these plans as if you were right there. But no matter how clever you are, what does it matter now? You've still fallen into the trap and have become a prisoner at the foot of the platform. However, Xiao Yao, even up to this moment, I still despise you, especially those eyes of yours. But very soon, I will be able to feed those eyes to the dogs!" Chang Liying said through gritted teeth with poisonous hatred.

Xiao Yao showed not a hint of panic, but remained as calm as ever, looking into Chang Liying's eyes and asked, "Why did Xuanyuan Jinxing only start getting close to me after five years?"

"Hehe, since it's come to this, I have no reservations anymore. I'll just tell you straight so you can die with a clearer understanding!"

"Oh...?"

"Originally, Brother Xing wanted to ingratiate himself with your father, but that old coot Xiao Chengguang wouldn't have any of it!"

"Slap!" Five red finger marks appeared on Chang Liying's face.

Chang Liying, holding her slapped face, was a bit stunned. She hadn't expected Xiao Yao to still be strong and fearless enough to slap her now. No one had ever dared to hit or scold her, so Chang Liying glared at Xiao Yao with vengeful ferocity, wanting to order her execution immediately, but she still retained some rationality. She couldn't let Xiao Yao off easy without subjecting her to extreme torture first.

"For every disrespectful word you say about my family, I will give you a slap!" Xiao Yao didn't care about Chang Liying's fierce glare in the slightest—she only knew that whoever slandered her family, she would make them pay a price.

"Fine, Xiao Yao, since you're soon going to wish you were dead, I'll let you be arrogant for a bit longer!" Chang Liying said bitterly.

"To get close to the Xiao Family, we really racked our brains, but it was all in vain. Later, Brother Xing remembered that Xiao Chengguang had a precious daughter, ugly and also a disciple of Elder Tianshan. So he thought that his daughter could very likely be the breakthrough. If he could get hold of his daughter, not only would the Xiao Family be an asset, but his daughter, as a disciple of Elder Tianshan, would be the icing on the cake. Haha, Xiao Yao, Brother Xing successfully ascended to the throne, and I am his Empress. Eliminating the Xiao Family and with the power of the Chang Family rising like the sun at midday, it proves that we succeeded. It wasn't in vain that we spent years gathering information about you. Haha..."

Chang Liying, with the posture of a victor, laughed maniacally in front of Xiao Yao, unleashing all the pent-up jealousy and hatred she had harbored for fifteen years. Her face, with the five finger marks, looked even more frightful and fierce.

"Brother Xing and father took two years, using all means—deception, ambush, bribery, seduction, and threats—eventually, we bribed a servant from Xiao Family whose family member had a critical illness and urgently needed money for treatment. It was from him that we got your exact timing for coming down the mountain!"

"Knowing the time of my descent, but not my whereabouts, how did you begin to implement the first plan?"

"During the days of your return, Brother Xing and father would have someone watch every member of the Xiao Family, including the servants. Finally, one time, a servant said, 'Miss is coming back, we need to buy more of the dishes she loves to eat.' But why does the Miss always like to run to the streets every time she comes back? It's quite a headache. It was from this bit of news that we quickly came up with the first plan!"

"So, the start of the first plan was to purchase a person on the street, arranging a six-year-old girl from a poor family to sell herself to pay for her father's funeral rights. And indeed, I did not disappoint you, as I bought her, and thereafter, arranged for her to become my maid. Isn't that right, Zhi Yun? Why are you still standing behind the Empress? What, too ashamed to face your mistress?" Xiao Yao suddenly asked Zhi Yun, who had not been in the cell long but had become an invisible person, her eyes shooting sharply toward her.

"Mistress!" Zhi Yun slowly walked towards Xiao Yao, lowered her body and saluted her. Xiao Yao ignored her and continued to calmly speak, "And Xuanyuan Jinxing, you and your father were constantly observing from the opposite restaurant, saw me successfully buy the person according to your plan, and immediately started the second plan. And this plan involves you, Miss Chang, taking this opportunity to get close to me."

"Exactly. I took advantage of the child's admiration for a heroic female warrior and started bothering you on the street for the first time!"

"After that, every time I was out playing on the streets each year, you would 'coincidentally' meet me, and each time I'd get wrapped up with you, making the people around us think we were already good friends. And Zhi Yun coming to you would represent a command from me, Xiao Yao, even my father started to think so. That gave you the opportunity for the third plan. When I was eight, I sneaked down the mountain again. After learning about it, my father was both furiously concerned and worried, fearing for my safety as a young child outside, so he quietly sent Zhi Yun to ask if I'd gone to see you, didn't he?" Xiao Yao continued to narrate with an air of nonchalance, her tone devoid of boasting.

"Upon receiving this information, you immediately contacted your father and Xuanyuan Jinxing, right? Xuanyuan Jinxing, having listened for so long, you should come in. Or do you intend to be a turtle retracing into its shell even after becoming Emperor?"

Xuanyuan Jinxing came in, clad in a bright yellow dragon robe that accentuated his tall frame, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and a handsome face. Hearing Xiao Yao's question, a flicker of ruthlessness passed through his deep, dark eyes. He walked in without saying a word.

But Xiao Yao didn't wait for his answer and continued to affirmatively narrate.

"So, you started the third plan!"

"And Xuanyuan Jinxing, you and Chang Liying's father, Chang Hongwei, immediately started strategizing the third plan: the hero saves the beauty. Without alarming the Xiao Family, you had your men discreetly trace my whereabouts. I would always disguise myself as a boy when going out, hardly changing my mask. But that time, I used a different mask. However, based on my age and playful character, you finally found me in a Red Mansion in a dark alley and verified it was me. Therefore, you planned to drug me. Knowing from Zhi Yun that my constitution was immune to all poisons except aphrodisiacs, you bribed a woman from the Red Mansion to administer the drug. Once I was drugged and rendered helpless, you had the madam transport me out of the city where I 'happened' to encounter Ruan Ping, the Empress's nephew, who had a penchant for young boys. He bought me from the madam and, not being able to take me back to Ruan's residence, coincidentally found an abandoned Imperial City Temple nearby and took me there. Then you, disguised as a dandy youth who loves to play the hero, 'accidentally' came to my rescue. After a fight, you finally snatched me from Ruan Ping's clutches. Knowing I'd been drugged, you immediately made arrangements for an antidote, and that experience made you appreciate my gratitude. If I'm not mistaken, Ruan Ping's fondness for young boys only started thirteen years ago, right? Xuanyuan Jinxing, you and the Chang Family have gone to great lengths to get close to me, a child back then. Every plan executed flawlessly, without a single slip-up!"