Yang Miaozhen did not care in the slightest. She stood calmly where she was. "I had originally planned to form an alliance with Li Quan, but that man was so brazenly lustful that he actually dared to drug my tea with an aphrodisiac. After I saw through him, I naturally killed him."
Nine parts truth, one part lie—such lies were often the hardest to expose.
Xia Quan froze, then waved for his men to put away their blades. He could not help sighing. "Li Quan has pursued you madly all these years. Who would have thought he'd become so deranged as to do something like this?"
As Yang Miaozhen spoke, she stared straight at him. "I've thought it through as well. If I am seeking an alliance, why not ally with the strongest? Why seek out someone like Li Quan, neither here nor there?"
Noticing those watery eyes that seemed able to speak, Xia Quan could not help swallowing. That tigress can be rather womanly sometimes. Is she trying to hint at something?
Suppressing his delight, Xia Quan asked, "What brings Fourth Mistress here?"
Yang Miaozhen sighed. "Now that my elder brother is dead, I, a mere woman, cannot keep the Red Tunic Army in line. A few days ago, I also killed Li Quan. The people under him will surely seek revenge for their leader. I am trapped between advancing and retreating, so after thinking it over, I could only come seek refuge with Brother Xia. I hope Brother Xia will take me in."
Seeing her reveal such a rare display of fragility, Xia Quan was overjoyed. Especially that "Brother Xia"—it made his whole body go weak. The few thousand men under Yang Miaozhen were one thing, but the key was Yang Miaozhen herself. Fourth Mistress was a renowned