Volume One, Chapter 19: Hua Zhiyu Gets Beaten

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Consort Rong’s favor showed no sign of waning, and as a result, the Emperor held the Third Prince in exceptionally high regard as well. Once the prince came of age, he would be permitted to enter court and take part in government.

The Emperor had few heirs and had yet to appoint a Crown Prince. The Third Prince was therefore highly likely to be named heir to the throne.

For these reasons, ever since Changle had become betrothed to the Third Prince, Qi Feirou, as the prince’s future mother-in-law, had been flattered and fawned over at every banquet and tea gathering.

If Changle broke off the engagement, then however much praise and flattery Qi Feirou had received before, she would receive just as much mockery and ridicule afterward.

Qi Feirou could not afford to suffer such humiliation.

She knew that whenever Changle lost her temper, she would listen to no one. It had been the same years ago, when Changle had barely escaped alive from a bandit den and returned home. For a long time afterward, anyone who dared approach her risked being cut down by her sword. Only Wei Shuoye had been able to calm her.

“Changle, marriage is no child’s game. You’re not a little girl anymore. You cannot treat your betrothal as a way to vent your temper.”

“That does sound rather reasonable.” Changle nodded, raising her unruly brows. “But who are you, and why should I listen to you?”

“I’m your mother!” Qi Feirou nearly tipped backward with rage.

“That Lin Xinyan was born of lowly status and was once even registered as a bondservant. Her Highness Consort Rong would never permit her to marry the Third Prince. At most, she could become a bedchamber maid or an unofficial mistress kept out of sight. She could never threaten your position as Third Princess Consort.”

“And yet you insist on breaking off your engagement with the Third Prince over such a thing. You refuse to yield even an inch or show the slightest tolerance. Have you lost your mind?”

Changle laughed. “If I’ve lost my mind, then doesn’t that mean you’ve lost it even worse?”

“It’s easy to pretend to be magnanimous when the whip hasn’t landed on your own back.”

“Back then, my father merely took a fancy to one of the maids in your household. The girl was lowborn and posed no threat whatsoever to your position as the wife of the Marquis. So why did you carry on as though the sky were falling—crying, making a scene, threatening to hang yourself, and refusing to stop?”

“Later, when my father stopped seeking that maid out, you still refused to let it go. You did not even bother inventing an excuse before having her beaten to death.”

“When she died, she was already carrying my father’s child. Two lives were lost in a single death. Where was your magnanimity then?”

“Compared with you, I merely canceled my engagement to Wei Shuoye without troubling Lin Xinyan at all. I’ve behaved with far more dignity.”

“If you’re so capable, why didn’t you kill my father instead of killing the maid he had forced himself upon?”

The maid in question had possessed a certain beauty. One night, after the Marquis of Changan returned from standing guard, she helped him remove his clothes, wash, and prepare his bed. As the saying went, lamplight could turn three parts beauty into ten.

Ignoring the maid’s refusals and struggles, the Marquis had forced himself upon her. She had already been promised in marriage and was supposed to wed in another month.

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After the Marquis of Changan had taken her, whether she had consented or been forced, the maid could no longer marry anyone else.

Qi Feirou could not endure it. She had confronted the Marquis, only to be slapped and then neglected for some time.

Daring neither to retaliate against the Marquis nor do anything to him, Qi Feirou turned her anger upon the maid instead. Once she learned that the maid was pregnant, she had her beaten to death without hesitation.

In an aristocratic household, it was hardly considered a serious matter for the lady of the house to have a bondservant beaten to death.

The only difference was that Qi Feirou had known the maid was carrying the Marquis’s child and had still ordered her execution. It was tantamount to murdering the Marquis’s offspring.

After learning of it, the Marquis of Changan cold-shouldered Qi Feirou for more than half a year. He even stripped her of control over the household and handed it to one of the estate’s secondary wives. Qi Feirou remained deprived of authority for an entire year—a punishment that taught her a bitter lesson and dealt a very real blow to her pride.

Many years had passed since then, yet in Qi Feirou’s heart, it remained a thorn that had never been pulled out.

Now that Changle had brought it up again, Qi Feirou rolled her eyes back in fury and nearly fainted.

Hua Zhiyu hurriedly caught her. “Mother.”

Leaning weakly against Hua Zhiyu, Qi Feirou repeatedly lamented what sins she must have committed in a former life to give birth to such an unfilial daughter.

Hua Zhiyu comforted her gently for a while. Only after Qi Feirou had calmed somewhat did she look up at Changle and say, with some reproach, “Sister, Mother is only thinking of what’s best for you. How can you wound her so cruelly?”

“Thinking of what’s best for me? If she truly were, she’d cut off those meddling hands and feet, so she wouldn’t mistake herself for some grand person when she doesn’t even know whether she’s round or flat.” Changle curled her lips. “Though I admit, I’m somewhat hesitant now.”

“If I marry Wei Shuoye and become the Third Princess Consort, every time you see me, you’ll have to kneel and salute. When I think about it, that does sound rather satisfying.”

Hua Zhiyu’s gaze tightened, though a smile remained on her face. “It’s good that you can think of it that way, Sister. Father and Mother have always hoped you would be this sensible.”

“Men are naturally entitled to three wives and four concubines. The Third Prince merely happens to favor one woman besides you. It is hardly a grave matter.”

“Now that you’ve managed to see things clearly, I’m truly happy for you, too.”

“Is that so? You also hope very much that I’ll marry Wei Shuoye and become the Third Princess Consort, don’t you?”

Changle rose lazily and walked over to Hua Zhiyu. Without the slightest warning, she raised her hand and struck Hua Zhiyu across the face with a sharp slap.

The blow came so suddenly that Qi Feirou and the others had no time to react. Clutching her stinging cheek, Hua Zhiyu stood there in shock.

Changle lifted a brow and smiled brazenly. “Since you’re so happy, let’s celebrate and make me happy too.”

As she spoke, Changle swung backhanded and slapped Hua Zhiyu across the face again.

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“You wicked child! What do you think you’re doing?”

Qi Feirou raised her hand to strike Changle, but Changle did not move.

“If you dare hit me, I’ll break off the engagement. Then we’ll see how you can continue showing off to everyone else.”

Qi Feirou’s raised hand froze in midair.

Hua Changqing hurried forward to shield Hua Zhiyu and frowned at Changle. “Changle, Zhiyu did nothing to provoke you. You’ve gone too far. Apologize to Zhiyu at once.”

“Her standing here is enough to offend my eyes. If I hit her, she has no choice but to endure it.”

“That day, she gave me three slaps. One is still missing.”

“If I become the Third Princess Consort, I won’t merely hit her. I’ll also arrange a fine marriage for her. Once the Emperor grants the match, I imagine you won’t dare defy his decree.”

Leaning against Hua Changqing’s arm, Hua Zhiyu lowered her eyes and clenched her teeth.

Having vented her anger, Changle clicked her tongue twice, turned around, and picked up the calligraphy and painting.

“The position of Third Princess Consort is no trivial one. Perhaps I might even become Crown Princess one day. For the sake of making you kneel before me more often, I think I’d better give this some serious thought.”

With that, Changle left in high spirits, paying no attention to their darkened faces.

Qi Feirou looked at the red marks on Hua Zhiyu’s fair cheeks and stroked them tenderly, her heart aching.

Hua Zhiyu forced a smile. “Mother, don’t worry. As long as Sister has been able to vent her anger, I’m fine.”

“But I’m worried that even after venting her anger, she’ll still act on impulse and break off the engagement when she sees Her Highness Consort Rong tomorrow. If she offends Her Highness and brings disaster upon our marquisate, what will we do?”

Once Changle began acting mad, there was no telling what she might do.

Hua Zhiyu offered her suggestion in a gentle voice. “Father, Mother, Sister has already said when and where she will meet with Her Highness Consort Rong tomorrow. Why don’t we secretly follow her? If Sister still insists on breaking off the engagement, we can try to dissuade her.”

“If that fails, at the very least we can apologize to Her Highness in person and beg her forgiveness. What do you think?”

“Of course, this is merely my humble opinion. We should follow whatever arrangements Father and Mother decide.”

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