“You, you…”
Xie Yumo froze abruptly, her face turning deathly pale in an instant.
Flee!
Stared at by that pair of frigid eyes, only one thought remained in Xie Yumo’s mind.
But her feet seemed to be nailed to the ground, unable to move an inch.
“Husband?”
Just as Xie Yumo was about to scream, Xie Yuantang’s voice suddenly came from ahead.
With just that single address, the terrifying, baleful aura around Si Tu Yan instantly vanished without a trace. He reverted to being that simple, harmless, foolish Fifth Prince.
“Wifey, wifey, wait for me!”
Only after Si Tu Yan had run a good distance away did Xie Yumo recover from that suffocating sensation.
She looked at Si Tu Yan’s foolish appearance and furrowed her brows in confusion.
She must have been overthinking things just now, right?
He was just a fool.
…
The group returned to the main hall. Old Madam Xie did not appear.
Xie Zhaoqing explained, “My mother is advanced in years, and she has not been feeling well recently. It is not suitable for her to receive guests. I ask for your understanding, Gonggong.”
Although the more distinguished Fifth Prince, Si Tu Yan, was present, he directed his explanation to Qu Pei.
Xie Yuantang sneered inwardly, but her face showed surprise. “Grandmother is ill? Then I must go see her later.”
“Husband, you don’t know, but when I was at home, Grandmother was so good to me!”
The kind of good that involved beatings and scoldings.
“Pfft… Cough, cough, cough, cough!!!”
He took one sip of tea and sprayed out half a cup!
Xie Zhaoqing set down the teacup with a trembling hand, staring at Xie Yuantang in shock.
What nonsense are you spouting?
Good to you?
She was the one who proposed sending you for the Chong Xi!
Xie Zhaoqing placed the cup back on the table, cleared his throat, and said, “Today is the joyous occasion of your homecoming visit. You are young and have always been frail. You shouldn’t go see her, lest you catch her illness.”
Xie Yuantang blinked, her small face filled with filial concern. “It’s alright, I’m not afraid.”
Xie Zhaoqing: “…” You’re not afraid, but I am!
Ever since he learned that this daughter had not died from the Chong Xi and had even delighted the Emperor, his heart would pound every time he looked at her!
“There’s really no need. Your grandmother just took her medicine and has probably just fallen asleep.”
“Is that so? What a pity!”
Xie Yuantang recalled the old crone’s face as she used to beat and curse the original owner, her youthful face filled with regret.
How could it not be a pity?
She had already prepared a show guaranteed to anger the old hag to death, but the old crone was feigning illness and refused to come out!
As they spoke, Wei Lian and Xie Yumo, who had been walking at the very back, finally arrived.
The moment they entered, they saw Xie Yuantang sitting high in the seat of honor. Her small body was so petite her feet couldn’t even touch the ground, yet she could look down on them with such arrogance.
A flash of jealous hatred crossed Xie Yumo’s eyes. Usually, she was the only one who could act this way!
How was this lowly spawn, Xie Yuantang, worthy!
“Oh! Sister, why are you glaring at me like that?”
As if she had just noticed Xie Yumo’s gaze, Xie Yuantang cried out in alarm and turned to Si Tu Yan and Qu Pei, her pale little face filled with panic and fear.
“Husband, Qu Gonggong, is Sister going to hit Tangtang again? Tangtang is so scared~”
Xie Yumo, Wei Lian, and Xie Zhaoqing: “!”
Xie Yumo was so angry she nearly jumped to her feet. “Who hit you? Xie Yuantang, don’t you dare slander me!”
Hit her “again”?
Who was she trying to implicate with that insinuation!
Xie Yuantang seemed to be frightened by Xie Yumo. Her small body trembled and shrank back as she grabbed Si Tu Yan’s sleeve. “Husband, I’m scared~”
“Don’t be scared, wifey. I won’t let her hit you!”
Si Tu Yan glared at Xie Yumo. “Why are you being fierce to my wifey?”
“I…”
Xie Yumo was about to curse back, but she remembered the look Si Tu Yan had given her earlier. The words caught in her throat, and she suddenly didn’t dare to speak.
Throughout the entire exchange, Qu Pei’s brow was tightly furrowed, his expression toward Xie Yumo growing increasingly displeased.
He had been assigned to Si Tu Yan and Xie Yuantang by the Emperor, so he naturally sided with his own prince and consort. Besides, he had seen with perfect clarity the sinister and jealous look in Xie Yumo’s eyes just now.
If she dared to act like this in front of him, one could only imagine how she must have treated Xie Yuantang in the past.
Looking at the unhealed whip marks on Xie Yuantang’s face, Qu Pei felt even more heartache for his Little Imperial Consort. Without a second thought, he snorted coldly, “Insolence! You fail to salute His Highness and the Imperial Consort upon seeing them, and you dare to cause a scene in public. Does the Second Miss Xie look down on the imperial family?”
“I did not…”
“Yumo, are you not going to kneel and salute?”
Just as Xie Yumo was about to argue, she was reprimanded by Xie Zhaoqing.
Xie Yuantang blinked and looked at her, saying in a crisp voice, “It’s normal for my younger sister to forget her etiquette. Her mind isn’t all there.”
“Ah! And she just fell on her bottom. Her legs are probably not working well either. It’s alright, you can kneel slowly. No rush, your big sister will wait for you.”
Xie Yumo: “…”
You’re the one whose mind isn’t all there! You’re the one whose legs aren’t working!
Xie Yumo glared furiously at Xie Yuantang, then unwillingly knelt down with Wei Lian. “Greetings to Your Highness, greetings to the Imperial Consort.”
Xie Yuantang lowered her head and drank her tea.
Xie Yumo raised her voice. “Greetings to Your Highness, Imperial Consort!”
Xie Yuantang lowered her head and ate a pastry.
Xie Yumo: “Xie Yuantang! Are you doing this on purpose!”
Xie Yuantang put down the pastry and looked up at Qu Pei, her large, dark eyes sparkling. “Gonggong, I am young, and my husband doesn’t quite remember the palace rules either. I wonder if my sister’s behavior is in accordance with the rules?”
Qu Pei also couldn’t stand Xie Yumo’s arrogance, so he immediately went along with Xie Yuantang’s words. “To offend a superior is, naturally, not in accordance with the rules.”
“Then what should be done?”
“According to the law, thirty strokes with the rod.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent.
Xie Yumo never expected Xie Yuantang to want her punished with the rod. She gritted her teeth in anger. “Xie Yuantang, you dare!”
“Yumo, do not be disrespectful to your sister.”
Xie Zhaoqing frowned and chided her, then turned to Qu Pei. “Gonggong, please don’t be offended. My young daughter is just playing around with her sister. She did not mean any disrespect.”
After a pause, he looked at Xie Yuantang, his voice carrying a slight warning. “Yuantang, aren’t you going to tell your sister to rise? Don’t let Gonggong and the Fifth Prince see you make a fool of yourself.”
The moment he finished speaking, Si Tu Yan, whose name had just been mentioned, suddenly spoke up. “I’m not laughing at my wifey!”
“She bullied my wifey. She’s the bad one. Why don’t you punish her, but instead say my wifey will be laughed at?”
He rarely spoke such a long sentence, but it left Xie Zhaoqing momentarily unable to retort.
Qu Pei watched from the side, a hint of gratification in his eyes.
As for Xie Yuantang, she had remained calm from beginning to end, her large eyes watching this family as if she were watching a play.
Only when she heard Si Tu Yan’s words did she blink her long lashes and curve her lips into a smile.
“Yuantang, are you still not going to let your sister get up?” Xie Zhaoqing urged again.
“I can’t~”
Xie Yuantang shook her head, the twin buns on her head bobbing about cutely. “His Majesty the Emperor said that Qu Gonggong is to help my husband and me establish the rules. If Father wants me to let my sister go, is he asking me to defy an imperial decree?”
Xie Zhaoqing instantly stiffened.
Xie Yuantang then said to Qu Pei, “Gonggong, she is my sister, after all. Thirty strokes with the rod is too heavy. Let’s change it to slapping her face instead.”
“Just match the whip marks on my face. Make them identical, and that will be enough.”