Lady Dongyang was so furious she nearly toppled over backward.
"How dare you! How dare you!"
Her face was gaunt, and though her aged features still retained traces of beauty, her fury twisted them into something grotesque.
Lin Zhen was in her own princely residence, surrounded by loyal guards, and didn't fear her in the slightest.
This was like catching a turtle in a jar.
"Your house came uninvited and behaved with such insolence before me—it makes one truly worry about your family's upbringing. Since you clearly lack proper manners, it is only fitting that this Princess Consort teaches you a lesson today, lest you grow so brazen in the future that you offend another household."
How dare Lady Dongyang act so arrogantly before a royal princess consort? Was this not a clear sign that she held no respect for Lin Zhen as Princess Consort Fu?
After all, when she had fawned and offered up her own concubine-born daughter to that doddering old prince years ago, would she have dared to glare with those triangular eyes and curse at him the same way?
She thought she could squeeze a soft persimmon, believing herself nobler than Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen wouldn't strike her.
She would only strike her precious eldest son instead.
Surely Lady Dongyang now understood what a little pain felt like.
"My son—my son is the future earl! How dare you strike a noble of the court?!"
"My son is the heir of a princely residence—a future prince. Yet you dare to shout at me. I think I've been far too generous with you."
"You—" Lady Dongyang hated this lowly fox spirit with every fiber of her being.
Just a destitute nobody who had once sold smiles on the street, a base creature whose mother had cuckolded her husband with some unknown man—and yet she dared to put on princely airs here?
"Strike again." Lin Zhen smiled.
Amid the screams, the Heir of Count Dongyang received two more heavy slaps across the face.
"If you're not satisfied, I can have someone take the heir out to the front gates and continue there." Lin Zhen stroked Ping'an's little face as he clung to her, watching with wide, round eyes, utterly unconcerned.
Lady Dongyang was so enraged she could barely breathe, but at this moment Lin Zhen had overwhelming numbers on her side.
She had been careless and now found herself at a disadvantage.
She trembled and looked toward her grandson… Shouldn't he be shouting in protest right now, seeing his own maternal uncle and grandmother so humiliated?
She truly hadn't taken Lin Zhen seriously.
A young widow with nothing but beauty and no children—this residence would eventually belong to her grandson. What right did this dead girl have to play the mistress here?
But when she met Ping'an's eyes, Lady Dongyang choked on her words.
What was this?
How could this grandson of hers—always so dull, so timid, never daring to lift his head before her—have such light shining in his eyes!
She had never seen this listless grandson look so delighted.
"Mother is well." His mother was standing up for him, and Ping'an's heart swelled with joy—he wished he could roll around on the floor in delight.
"Now then, tell me—what business brought you here?" Lin Zhen had the slapping stopped and asked.
If this had been any other time, Lady Dongyang would have leapt up and slapped the fox spirit herself. But for the sake of her son, she endured until her eyes nearly bled, only glancing back at her wailing boy.
She glared at Lin Zhen and ground out through clenched teeth, "You dare ask me! You beat my household's servants and then sent them off to the northwest—on what authority?!"
She had received word that the Princess Consort Fu had beaten the old matron who had accompanied her daughter as part of her dowry to the Fu residence, and had ordered her sent to the northwest.
Everyone said that when you strike a dog, you must consider its master. By beating a servant of the Dongyang estate, wasn't Lin Zhen slapping the entire Dongyang family in the face? If they didn't rise up in protest, they wouldn't be the Dongyang family!
Moreover, the Dongyang estate hadn't received its usual tribute of silver from the Fu residence lately, which made her even less willing to let this go.
Though Earl Dongyang was a titled noble, he was unremarkable at court, with no particular abilities or achievements to earn him special regard. His post in a minor government office brought in little profit.
And because the men of the household all had expensive tastes—the earl favored antiques, the younger masters dabbled in calligraphy, paintings, and patronizing opera performers, each with their own indulgences—the Dongyang estate spent a great deal every month.
Without that contribution from the Fu residence, saying they couldn't make ends meet would be an exaggeration, but life would certainly become much harder. That was precisely why she had come knocking.
She had planned to seize the initiative and intimidate the little fox spirit, making her afraid to put on airs and ensuring she would continue to support the earl's household.
But instead, she had been met with a slap to the face.
"They were negligent toward the young heir, which is truly detestable. Without rules, nothing can be accomplished—punishment was only natural. Besides, sending them to the northwest isn't a death sentence."
The servants in that courtyard had indeed been beaten, but Lin Zhen had no intention of letting anyone die in her residence. She had already ordered the household physician to treat their wounds.
Even those sent to the northwest would only be dispatched after they had recovered.
Moreover, they were being sent to the Fu residence's horse ranch in the northwest to work—not to die.
If she truly wanted them dead, she wouldn't be sending them to a horse ranch. She'd be sending them to the mines.
Lin Zhen had long anticipated that Lady Dongyang would use this as an excuse to cause trouble. Her voice was calm, showing not the slightest urgency.
Seeing her so composed and dignified, thinking of how all this ease and comfort should have belonged to her beloved daughter, Lady Dongyang's eyes turned red with fury… Her daughter had been only one step away.
If only she hadn't been so young and hot-tempered, dying so early—had she endured just a few more months, she would have outlived Prince Fu and finally risen to enjoy the wealth and honor of the princely mansion.
By then, wouldn't everything in this mansion be under her daughter's control?
The Earl of Dongyang's household could take whatever they wanted without any restraint.
Lady Dongyang's teeth itched with hatred.
Back then, when the Late Emperor was choosing a consort for Prince Fu, her daughter—because the heir of the Wen'an Marquis's household, whom she had known since childhood, had refused to propose to her—had petulantly submitted a memorial to the palace, declaring herself willing to become Prince Fu's consort. The Late Emperor granted the marriage, and at least she married into the imperial family to spite the heir of Wen'an Marquis, hoping he would be consumed by regret.
But who would have thought that ungrateful heir of Wen'an Marquis felt not a shred of regret, nor any realization that he had lost his true love and still cherished her in his heart? Instead, he happily married a young lady from another family, and the couple lived in devoted harmony.
That alone had dealt her beloved daughter a heavy blow—she never got to see the heir of Wen'an Marquis kneeling at her feet, heartbroken and despairing.
She had thought that without love, she could marry into power and wealth. But once she truly married Prince Fu, she found him utterly repulsive for being fat.
How wronged was it, really?
She had missed the refined and handsome heir, only to marry a dull, obese, mediocre man she had to face day and night.
She gritted her teeth and bore him a son, but could her heart not harbor resentment?
With Prince Fu looking like that… yet her daughter was as beautiful as a flower. Who in the capital didn't secretly mock her behind her back, laughing at how shamefully she had married?
She had thought that Prince Fu, born with poison in his very bones and sickly as he was, surely wouldn't live long. Once he died, she wouldn't have to endure anymore.
But who could have imagined that in the end, it was her daughter who grew increasingly irritable.
And because of raising Ping'an, the usually good-tempered Prince Fu actually dared to argue with her. Her beloved daughter, in a fit of rage, ran off and jumped into the lake herself.
She had meant to scare Prince Fu… who would have thought she'd be the one to come down with a high fever and die.
Every time Lady Dongyang thought of this, she felt her heart shatter into pieces.
"Fine, I hear you. You can accuse me of anything if you're determined!" This talk of slighting the heir was just that fox spirit's way of winning over the child… Since she couldn't bear children herself, she wanted to snatch someone else's son to be her own support, and give the Earl of Dongyang's household a slap in the face at the same time.
How could that be tolerated?
Lady Dongyang's eyes darted around, then she slapped her thigh and wailed, "My poor child! You left too soon, unable to watch over your own son, letting people twist black into white! Your mother's heart aches for you!"
She was no longer young, yet she was throwing a tantrum right in front of Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen turned her head and gave Jiaoyue a slight nod.
The latter went to the back and returned after a moment, carrying a tray.
A length of white silk lay on the tray.
Lady Dongyang wailed loudly, while the battered and swollen-faced Heir of Count Dongyang was released and helped support her, glaring at Lin Zhen with hatred.
They both froze at the sight of the white silk.
"With all this crying, I'm afraid your daughter can't hear you." Lin Zhen was accustomed to the theatrics of crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide—she wasn't afraid of a shrew barging in.
She only smiled at Lady Dongyang and said, "You claim to miss your daughter so dearly—it would be unconscionable not to go keep her company right away. How lonely it must be down there; she's probably missing you too… What, you're unwilling?"
Seeing Lady Dongyang staring at her in disbelief, she smiled and said, "So it seems this so-called love for your daughter is just empty talk. What a waste of her heart."
The late Princess Consort Fu had funneled so much money to her natal family, holding them dear to her heart.
But it seemed her family didn't love her quite as much.
The mother and son of the Dongyang household were dumbfounded.
They'd never seen anyone told to go die.
Lady Dongyang had never met such an utterly shameless person.
In any other household, a scene like this would be met with forced smiles and a desire to smooth things over.
What was even more infuriating was the little cub hiding in the fox spirit's arms, covering her mouth and giggling with snorting sounds.
"Since it's all false affection, stop performing." Lin Zhen hadn't come to trade jokes with the Dongyang household. She smiled, then her face suddenly turned cold as she looked at Lady Dongyang, who was clutching her chest and glaring at her with resentment. She said icily, "And from now on, your household need not come calling again. This isn't your daughter's home—it's this Princess Consort's. Don't come begging at my doorstep like some distant relative. What, too embarrassed to say it? All that talk of servants and face—isn't it just begging from the mansion?"
"How dare you speak like that?!" The Earl's household had its dignity!
Even if they truly wanted money, nobles were supposed to be subtle—not shouting it out so crudely.
"Then what did you come for? Let me tell you plainly: from now on, this mansion won't give the Earl of Dongyang a single copper coin."
The silver in this mansion was all Lin Zhen's own!
Raising a cub, raising beauties—Lin Zhen had plenty of money.
But raising anything else? Not a chance.
"I'm Ping'an's grandmother!"
"I'm the one who rules this mansion."
"Get out!" Lin Zhen splashed the tea from the cup in her hand onto the ground and said coldly, "This is the last courtesy I'll extend to you. If you dare come knocking again without knowing your place, don't blame me for being rude."
Prince Fu was gone.
Though she had the protection of the Empress Dowager and the Empress, if she didn't establish her own authority, people would only see her as easy to bully and never take her seriously.
Fortunately, the Earl of Dongyang's household had come knocking right on cue.
They slunk away, unable to get in from outside, and now they left in disgrace, the Heir of Count Dongyang bearing a bright red handprint on his face.
Soon, the capital would know that the Prince Fu's estate was still not to be trifled with.
It was merely killing the chicken to scare the monkey.
Otherwise, Lin Zhen wouldn't have let Lady Dongyang into the estate in the first place, knowing full well she had come to cause trouble.
Now that there was nothing left to say, it was only natural to have them scram.
"How dare you!" Lady Dongyang, already fuming, was now utterly blinded by rage, forgetting all about the guards as she charged at Lin Zhen with a ferocious expression.
"Go on, be arrogant—do you dare kill me? Kill me, the matriarch of the Count's estate?!" She'd scratch this vixen to death!
"Bad!" Just then, the little cub who had been happily nestled in Lin Zhen's arms tumbled to the ground, blocking Lin Zhen's path and spreading its thin little arms wide.
"Don't you dare, bully Mother!"