“Do you need me to go with you?” Nangong Rang’s expression turned solemn.
He knew exactly what kind of person his mother was.
Ruan Xingci was not nervous at all. Instead, she asked, “Are you worried I won’t give her enough face?”
Nangong Rang was stunned for a moment before saying, “Both are possible…”
“Husband, so you were worried that I would be made miserable by my mother-in-law…”
Ruan Xingci deliberately grabbed Nangong Rang’s arm and stomped her foot in a coy manner.
Though she was currently fat and ugly, her lack of affectation in her playfulness did not repulse Nangong Rang.
“Don’t worry, Husband. I will return in one piece…”
It wasn’t until Ruan Xingci left that Nangong Rang gave a self-deprecating smile.
Perhaps this fierce new wife of his truly could cure his mother’s character—one that was indecisive, submissive, and yet demanded that he endure along with her.
On the way to the main courtyard, Ruan Xingci was blocked by a maid.
“Our young lady requests your presence…”
The maid’s expression was far from friendly; she clearly did not view Ruan Xingci as a master.
Ruan Xingci felt a bit of a headache. Did the people of this era lack brains? She had already beaten two high-ranking nannies; how thick-skinned must these servants be to think they were special?
Without a word, she stepped forward, grabbed the maid’s hair, and yanked her to the side with force.
“Ah—!”
The maid’s voice warped as she was met with the slap Ruan Xingci had already raised.
“Are all the servants in this residence as ignorant of status as you? Do I, the Consort of the Heir Apparent, need to teach you the rules?”
The maid was knocked to the ground, her face full of defiance, but she shivered when she met Ruan Xingci’s intimidating gaze.
As a practitioner of martial arts, Ruan Xingci possessed an inherent aura of authority.
“Sister-in-law is so overbearing. Do you have no respect for me at all?”
A woman dressed in immense wealth spoke from a short distance away.
The woman was strikingly beautiful, adorned with tinkling pendants and hairpins that were clearly no ordinary trinkets.
Ruan Xingci took one look at her. She had seen her in the main hall earlier, but she and Nangong Rang had fallen out with the elders and left before they could speak.
Based on her position, she should be from the Third Branch. That would make her the eldest daughter of the Third Branch and the only daughter of the Nangong family’s current generation: Nangong Xing.
“Knowing I have business to attend to, you sent an arrogant maid to block my path, and your first words are to criticize me, your elder sister-in-law. What kind of beasts taught the rules of your Third Branch? Nangong Xing, have I given you too much face?”
Ruan Xingci didn’t care about the other’s status in the slightest and barked at her directly.
Nangong Xing was stunned. She hadn’t expected a woman sent for a political marriage alliance—someone without any support—to dare to act so wildly in the residence.
“You… are you mad? This is Great Zhou!”
Ruan Xingci retorted coldly, “Do I need you to remind me? Didn’t you hear how I spoke to those tactless elders in the main hall just now? When Third Aunt gave birth to you, did she keep her legs closed and squeeze your head? Or when Third Uncle played ‘toss the baby’ with you, did he throw you up three times but only catch you twice?”
Nangong Xing was dazed. This Ruan Xingci was truly ugly and venomous; her mouth seemed as if it had been soaked in arsenic.
“Not only do I know this is Great Zhou, but I also know I am in the Changchun Houfu. I am the Consort of the Heir Apparent, the Eldest Daughter-in-law of the First Branch of this Houfu. You, a brat from the Third Branch, relying on the favoritism of your elders, sent a lowly servant who knows nothing of status to block my path. I taught the servant a lesson in your stead, and yet here you are shouting at me. If you bare your teeth at me again, I’ll slap you right along with her.”
Ruan Xingci’s aura, combined with her physical size, made Nangong Xing recoil.
“You, you…”
Nangong Xing sputtered “you” for a long time but ultimately didn’t dare to continue the confrontation.
“I’m going to tell Grandmother…”
“Go ahead. You’re a grown woman, yet when you’re in the wrong, you run to play the victim first. Do I look like I’m afraid of her?”
Ruan Xingci didn’t give her another glance, leading Bailu away with an air of triumph.
Only after she was far away did Nangong Xing dare to let out a frustrated shriek.
The maid who had been slapped finally crawled up, clutching her face. “Eldest Miss, those warnings you prepared… you didn’t get to say them…”
“I know! I don’t need you to remind me!” Nangong Xing snapped.
In that situation just now, her reason hadn’t been enough to remind her what to do.
The maid lowered her head, not daring to say another word.
“Ruan Xingci, you ugly, fat bitch! Just you wait. As long as I, Nangong Xing, am here, I’ll make sure you can’t take a single step in Fengjing!”
Before Ruan Xingci reached Ying Mei’s courtyard, Nanny Sun had already recounted the events in the garden.
Ying Mei’s expression grew even more unsightly, her loathing for this daughter-in-law deepening.
As soon as she saw Ruan Xingci enter with a smile on her face, she went straight to the point: “Kneel.”
Ruan Xingci found it quite tiresome; Ying Mei’s tone and words were exactly as she had imagined.
Bailu couldn’t help but be nervous. Her lady had changed too much since coming to Great Zhou—or more accurately, since entering the Changchun Houfu and completing the wedding ceremony.
Even though Ruan Xingci had said they would live freely from now on, Bailu still needed time to adjust.
Ruan Xingci eventually knelt, but her tone held no fear of being scolded. Instead, she said cheerfully, “This daughter-in-law pays her respects to Mother-in-law once again.”
Ying Mei studied Ruan Xingci, feeling nothing but irritation.
So fat, so ugly, with poor skin to boot—and she lacked any sense of propriety. She didn’t know what had possessed her husband to give up on their son’s original betrothal and instead petition for a political marriage alliance. In the end, Beiguo had sent such a woman.
Behind her, Nanny Sun also scrutinized Ruan Xingci with a stern, disdainful gaze, acting as an extension of the mistress of the house.
To their surprise, Ruan Xingci showed no discomfort. After paying her respects, she stood up quite naturally and stepped to the side.
“Consort of the Heir Apparent, the Madam has not yet told you to rise!”
Nanny Sun couldn’t help herself, her tone dark as she issued the reminder.
Ruan Xingci considered that the woman was, after all, her mother-in-law’s personal attendant. She endured her once and said instead, “Mother-in-law had to remind me to kneel just now, but I know how to stand up on my own. How could I wait for her to remind me again? It’s better to take the initiative.”
Ying Mei was stunned. Someone could actually explain it that way?
Nanny Sun’s tone remained grim. “Consort of the Heir Apparent, please kneel properly. You may only rise when the Madam allows it.”
The atmosphere turned icy. Bailu didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.
“Mother-in-law, have I misunderstood? Didn’t you bring me here to nurture our relationship? Or is what this Nanny says your true intention? You invited me over just to admire my kneeling posture?”
Ying Mei was infuriated by Ruan Xingci’s words. Usually, she wasn’t particularly forceful; she only spoke harshly when threatening Nangong Rang. Faced with someone like Ruan Xingci, she was somewhat at a loss.
“You are simply unreasonable! Do you have any idea how grave a mistake you made in the main hall earlier?”
As Ying Mei finished speaking, Nanny Sun quickly helped rub her back while shooting Ruan Xingci a nasty look. “Consort of the Heir Apparent, you had better kneel.”
Ruan Xingci rolled her eyes at her, then spoke calmly to Ying Mei. “Mother-in-law, if I kneel, will Grandmother stop being biased? If I kneel, will the Second and Third Branches stop targeting my husband? If I kneel, will my husband’s health be saved? Why do you think that protecting my only hope in Great Zhou was a mistake that requires me to kneel and repent before you? Why don’t you tell me directly exactly what I did wrong, rather than letting this old thing go on ‘borrowing the tiger’s majesty’?”