Wen Lingrao lifted her skirt and sat firmly in the grand armchair.
She placed the Shangfang sword across her lap, her back straight as a rod, her calm gaze sweeping over the people below.
“Now, I have questions to ask.”
Everyone in the hall felt a jolt in their hearts. A few of the timid ones had already collapsed to their knees, their heads bowed low.
In the corner, Chu Qirui, who was being propped up by two servants, heard Wen Lingrao’s use of “this palace” (a self-referential term used by high-ranking royalty) and a fit of manic rage surged to his head!
“Wen Lingrao!” he roared, slurring his words. “How dare you! Is that a place for you to sit? Who are you trying to scare with that broken sword! We, the Chu family, don’t want a shrew like you! A divorce! I am divorcing you! Now! Immediately!”
Wen Lingrao didn’t even move an eyebrow; she merely lifted her eyes to look at the man still barking impotently.
The crowd only felt a blur before her eyes, and she had already flown from her seat and was standing right in front of Chu Qirui.
Chu Qirui’s eyes widened in terror.
“SLAP!”
Another crisp slap struck his right cheek, the one that wasn’t yet swollen!
“Divorce?” Wen Lingrao shook her hand, and with the other, she lifted the Shangfang sword. With a flash of light, she lightly shaved the air right against his scalp.
The jade coronet on Chu Qirui’s head fell to the ground, along with several strands of hair.
His neatly combed hair fell into disarray. Coupled with his pig-head swollen face and mouth full of blood, he no longer resembled a young master of a noble family; he looked like a beggar—a beggar who had been scared out of his wits.
He felt clearly that the blade had passed right against his scalp. If it had been any lower, it wouldn’t have been his hair he lost, but his head!
His crotch grew hot, and a pungent, warm liquid uncontrollably gushed out.
He had peed himself.
Wen Lingrao withdrew the sword and took two steps back to avoid the stench, her face expressionless.
At that moment, the system’s mechanical voice rang in her head:
[Detected that the host has continuously engaged in behavior fitting the definition of ‘going crazy,’ intimidating the entire audience and destroying the opponent’s dignity. Additional Reward: Truth Charm (Activated. You may designate one target; they will be unable to lie for a quarter of an hour and will speak their truest inner thoughts, especially regarding secrets related to the current situation).]
Oh? An unexpected harvest?
Wen Lingrao’s gaze shifted and landed on Old Madame Chu, who was glaring at her.
You’re the one.
She silently thought to activate it. Target: Old Madame Chu.
Old Madame Chu shuddered, her eyes glazed over for a moment before clearing.
Wen Lingrao sat back in the main seat and looked at her leisurely, suddenly asking, “Old Madame Chu, I am very curious. What exactly did your Marquis of Changning estate see in me? Enough to make your son endure his disgust to marry me?”
Old Madame Chu’s mouth seemed to have a mind of its own.
Subconsciously, she wanted to curse her using the lines she had prepared, but as the words reached her lips, they completely transformed:
“Of course, we had our eyes on your dowry! Ten miles of red silk, mountains of gold and seas of silver, and the military power held by your father! Otherwise, do you think our Chu family would look twice at a fool like you who has nothing going for you other than a good birth?”
Gasp!
The entire hall was in an uproar! The servants were stunned, and even Chu Qirui, on the ground, looked at his mother in terror.
Old Madame Chu herself was shocked; she slammed her hand over her mouth, unable to believe those words had come from her own lips.
Wen Lingrao curved her lips into a smile and continued asking slowly, “Oh? And after I was married in? How did you plan to settle this ‘fool’?”
Old Madame Chu pressed her hand tightly over her mouth, but the voice leaked through her fingers anyway:
“Settle you? Once we slowly obtain your father’s military power through our kinship ties, and once your golden mountains and silver seas of a dowry fill the holes in the Marquis’s estate, what use will you have? That girl You Yuyan, though of low birth, is obedient and easy to manipulate, and she’s already carrying a cub in her belly! When the time comes, we’ll just find an excuse—say you died of a sudden illness, or catch you in a mistake and divorce you!
“Once you’re a dead woman or a divorced cast-off, who will stand up for you? Your father is far away at the border and can’t interfere! So what if the Emperor is your cousin? Would he completely break ties with our Marquis of Changning estate just for a dead person? Royalty cares about face too!”
Even the servants of the estate couldn’t bear to listen anymore; one by one, they lowered their heads, their faces burning.
Chu Qirui’s face turned ash-gray. It was over—everything was over.
After Old Madame Chu finished speaking, her entire body went limp, her eyes unfocused.
She finally realized what terrifying things she had said.
The smile on Wen Lingrao’s face slowly faded.
She stood up, carried the Shangfang sword, walked over to Old Madame Chu, bent down, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:
“Old Madame, your calculations were truly loud. Unfortunately, I am no longer that original Wen Lingrao.”
“Listen well. From today on, I am in charge of the Marquis’s inner estate. If anyone in your estate touches my dowry, I will chop off a hand. If you dare to hatch any more crooked schemes, I don’t mind using this Shangfang sword to first send your trash of a son to scout the path, and then send you to keep him company.”
Old Madame Chu couldn’t catch her breath; her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
Wen Lingrao straightened up and looked coldly around the room: “Are you all deaf? Can’t you see the Old Madame and the Heir need to rest? Get them out of here!”
The servants gave a start and scrambled forward in a panic, some lifting the Old Madame, others hoisting Chu Qirui.
“And her,” Wen Lingrao pointed the sword tip at You Yuyan. “Don’t you love to kneel? Drag her to the courtyard and have her kneel facing the direction of my residence for a full twelve hours. If she is short even a moment, I will have someone shatter her knees and make her kneel for the rest of her life.”
She swept her gaze over the head maids: “You all, watch her. Whoever lets her get up or gives her a cushion will finish kneeling the remaining time for her, and then crawl out of the Marquis’s estate themselves.”
The maids were so scared their souls nearly left their bodies; they kowtowed repeatedly, agreeing to the terms.
Wen Lingrao said no more, sheathed the Shangfang sword, and handed it to Banxia, who was looking at her with adoration.
“Take it, and let’s go back to the courtyard.”
“Yes! Young Lady!” Banxia’s voice was loud; she held the sword box tightly, lifted her head, and puffed out her chest as she followed behind Wen Lingrao.
…
The next day.
At the first light of dawn, Wen Lingrao was being attended to by Banxia as she washed her face.
Banxia’s grin still hadn’t faded; her young lady was like a completely different person—no, like an immortal descended to earth—formidable and satisfying!
“Young Lady, you were divine! When that Shangfang sword was revealed, you didn’t see the Old Madame’s face—it went white in a flash, just like it had been painted with whitewash!”
As she combed Wen Lingrao’s hair, Banxia said excitedly, “And the Heir… pfft! That bastard, he was so scared he wet his pants! He deserved it!”
Wen Lingrao closed her eyes, enjoying the rare quiet.
The effect of the “Born Divine Strength” had worn off, and her body felt a bit weary, but her mind was very clear.
Listening to Banxia, she only gave a faint “Mm.”
“Oh, right, Young Lady,” Banxia suddenly remembered something, looking a bit worried. “Before dawn today, there was movement over at Rongxi Garden. The little maid who watches the inner gate told me secretly that Nanny Qian, who is by Old Madame Chu’s side, rushed out of the estate. It looked like she was heading toward the palace gate. I’m afraid she went to submit a request to meet a lady inside the palace.”
Wen Lingrao opened her eyes; the bronze mirror reflected a clear, beautiful face.
She picked up a plain silver hairpin and twirled it at her fingertips: “Oh? Submitting a request? Looking to complain?”
“That must be it!” Banxia was anxious. “Young Lady, the way you handled them yesterday, they must hate you to death! Imperial Concubine Xi is the most favored in the palace and is the birth mother of the Fourth Prince; she seems to have some distant kinship with the Old Madame. They must be trying to go to the Concubine to complain and twist the truth!”