HPDBC Chapter 646: When the Jokester Becomes the Joke
Chapter 646: When the Jokester Becomes the Joke
Chapter 646: When the Jokester Becomes the Joke
Vermillion Bird noticed Lady Three laughing off in the distance, but there was no time to deal with that hateful turtle. Right now, she was literally burning at the seat, figuring out how to deal with an enraged Chichi.
What troubled Vermillion Bird the most was that, in the past, she had genuinely and righteously opposed Zhao Changhe’s relationship with Xia Chichi... and she was sincere about it. Back then, she even thought of killing Zhao Changhe to put an end to everything, and if she had not feared that doing so might provoke Xia Chichi into rebellion, she might really have done it.
Not to mention anything else, just the idea that a saintess should not let her affection sway away from the cult was enough for her to take such actions, and her fear had indeed proven true. Whenever Zhao Changhe was involved, Xia Chichi would lose all objectivity, so how could she continue being the saintess, let alone a candidate for cult leader?
It only showed how wise and farsighted she was in opposing the relationship back then!
But when she herself took the lead and got on the ride, even the most righteous foresight turned into unjust behavior. To anyone, it would seem like she was simply competing with her disciple for a man. That was the main reason why she could not reveal her identity later on. The deeper she got involved, the more afraid she was to confess until it finally became impossible to hide.@@@@
Was this the karmic consequence for once wanting to kill Zhao Changhe?
And now, her disciple was even asking if she had done it to snatch him for herself. How was she supposed to respond?
Vermillion Bird was stuck in silence for a long while before finally managing, “You know why I stopped you in the beginning... And later, wasn’t it you who matched me up with him? You even said it yourself...”
Xia Chichi: “...”
Right... Just a few days ago, she had taken credit for matchmaking them, saying so out loud.
Xia Chichi’s face turned greener than the Azure Dragon[1] itself.
This was not just out of anger and embarrassment—her social death was no less severe than Vermillion Bird’s. Just days ago, she was taking credit as the great matchmaker, even discussing with Huangfu Qing on how to deceive Vermillion Bird together. In her eyes, did she look like nothing more than a clown on a stage?!
She had even pretended to force her to serve tea and punished her by making her copy the Classic of Materia Toxica.
No wonder Vermillion Bird later punished her for everything, even down to how she entered a room with her left foot first. All that followed had been endless punishments of copying texts.
The humiliation of being betrayed by her master, mixed with the shame of being a fool, left Xia Chichi with no other way out but to tear someone apart.
“Oh, so it’s all because of me, huh? But the one I matched was the Fire Serpent of Yi—where is she? Let her come out and speak a few words, maybe serve some tea?”
Vermillion Bird stiffened, unable to respond.
Xia Chichi shook Vermillion Bird—whom she had once feared severely—by the collar. “Speak, little serpent! Isn’t that tongue of yours usually so glib and that mouth equally adept? Your oral skills are supposed to be so impressive, aren’t they? What happened? Why are you so mute now?”
“The Fire Serpent of Yi is now the empress dowager.” Vermillion Bird finally said. “If anything, you should serve her tea...”
“Pfft...HAHAHAHAHA!!!” Lady Three rolled on the grass, wheezing.
Xia Chichi almost jumped up. Did this fake mother think she could not tear her apart?!
Vermillion Bird continued, “Besides, I never stopped you later on. Just a few days ago, you made yourself look like Tang Wanzhuang’s personal maid, stepping in to support her when she faltered. I clearly knew and said nothing, right? Didn’t I tacitly allow it...”
Xia Chichi fumed, “I’ve already ascended the throne and am to be cult leader—you couldn’t stop me even if you wanted to! And you call that a favor? Why don’t you explain to the followers how you ended up stealing your disciple’s man?!”
Xia Chichi’s anger subsided, though Vermillion Bird’s did not.
She was indeed in the wrong, willing to accept the opportunity Zhao Changhe offered her to back down. But bowing her head to a disciple and admitting fault was an immense loss of face. For Vermillion Bird, who had held onto her pride for a lifetime, her face burned hot beneath her mask. Without it, she was not sure she could even stand there anymore.
She needed to redirect her anger.
Her beautiful eyes swept around and landed on Lady Three, who was peeking at them from a distance.
“Yuan Sanniang[2]!” Vermillion Bird gritted her teeth. “So you’ve been in cahoots with him all along, pretending to be impartial and advising me to accept the new empress! You treacherous backstabber, I’ll kill you!”
Boom!
Flames roared, a massive firebird diving toward the distant grass—its intensity far surpassing her earlier sparring with Zhao Changhe.
“...” Lady Three turned to run but could not outrun Vermillion Bird. Soon enough, she was caught, forced to turn and fight back.
The two venerables battled on the outskirts of the capital—water and fire clashed, changing the winds and clouds.
“This is for your own good!”
“Stealing my man is for my own good?!”
“Yes, just like you said it was for Chichi’s good...”
Xia Chichi opened her mouth, then closed it without saying anything.
“Lady Three, you’re dead!”
“I meant it was good for you to let go and not be torn. Look at how great things are now! All this talk about doctrine and faith—do those compare to having a man?”
“So all your lofty speeches were just nonsense, then?”
“They weren’t entirely nonsense... Oh, come on, believe me~”
Boom!
In truth, Lady Three was still stronger than Vermillion Bird, and significantly so... But she felt guilty, so she did not dare fight with all her strength. After only a few exchanges, she was pressed down. Vermillion Bird sat on top of her, pounding her on the grass. “Inviting you to join the cult at Lake Tai was the biggest mistake of my life!”
Lady Three wailed, struggling without success: “Zhao Changhe, say something! Aren’t you good at smoothing things over? Help me, please~”
Zhao Changhe covered his face, while Xia Chichi folded her arms in silence.
It was a good thing they had changed locations to fight. If this had been in front of the followers of the cult, the Four Idols Cult might have disbanded on the spot.
1. Note that the word used in “azure” for the Azure Dragon is 青, which can mean either blue or green. ☜
2. Note that this is Lady Three’s actual name, though I’ve been keeping it as Lady Three as that was what was originally established with Sanniang/Lady Three (三娘). ☜