The furious Lady Dongyang saw that her own grandson was not siding with her but instead protecting Lin Zhen, and her eyes turned red with hatred.
If he wouldn't side with his own family, then what kind of grandson was he!
So even though she saw Ping'an's small, thin figure right in front of her, she didn't stop. She continued swinging her claws, aiming for Lin Zhen's face.
Lin Zhen had been watching coldly from the sidelines.
On her own turf, with so many maidservants and guards watching, if Lady Dongyang could so much as touch a single hair on her head, Lin Zhen would consider herself the loser.
She had been confident and unmoving.
But when she saw Ping'an block himself in front of her—even though Lady Dongyang was still far away from them and posed no threat—Lin Zhen instinctively lunged forward, scooped up the little cub before her, and turned slightly to shield him beneath her body.
At that moment, another slender figure rushed out from behind and placed herself between Lin Zhen and Ping'an.
That slender figure was also trembling, as if terrified beyond measure, yet she still did not move aside.
Of course, Lady Dongyang couldn't do whatever she pleased. She was immediately pinned down by two maidservants.
"Fine, so there's you too, you little beast."
There was no room in the Prince Fu mansion for Lady Dongyang to throw her tantrum.
Seeing Lin Zhen rise with Ping'an in her arms, staring coldly at her from behind the many guards and maidservants protecting her, Lady Dongyang shouted loudly, "You ungrateful thing!"
She hated Lin Zhen with every fiber of her being.
But what infuriated her even more was that she had now clearly seen who had once again stepped in front of Lin Zhen.
It was actually A'Yu, the concubine-born daughter of her own household.
That concubine-born daughter she had sent in with ill intentions to take up a position.
That timid, fearful girl who had been afraid of everything since childhood actually dared to act presumptuously before her! If she couldn't deal with Lin Zhen, could she not deal with this concubine-born daughter?
A girl like that, with no backing, whose very life and death were in the palm of her hand, actually dared to betray her—she must not want to live!
In an instant, countless methods of dealing with this little wretch had already formed in her mind.
A'Yu trembled as she looked at her legal mother, who was always so domineering at home.
She was terrified beyond words, so much so that she couldn't even recall how she had heard Ping'an's cries from outside and, with blood rushing to her head, had charged out.
She had never dared to defy her legal mother, always submitting meekly. But when she heard the Princess Consort was in danger, she hadn't even thought…
What was she supposed to do now, in her current situation?
Her legal mother must already hate her to death. Looking at those venomous eyes, A'Yu felt that she might have already decided to kill her.
Would she take her home and marry her off to some aged noble, or something even worse…
But she didn't regret it.
Whether it was wanting to stay by the Princess Consort's side moments ago to share her fate, or rushing out now to truly offend the legal mother who held her fate in her hands—she didn't regret any of it.
"Since they don't appreciate kindness, throw them out." Just moments ago, Lady Dongyang and her son might have been able to walk out with dignity, preserving some face for their noble house.
But now that she had dared to nearly charge at Ping'an and A'Yu right before Lin Zhen's eyes, Lin Zhen had no intention of letting her off.
At her command, two sturdy matrons strode in quickly to carry Lady Dongyang away.
Lady Dongyang struggled to no avail, glaring venomously at Lin Zhen. "You dare treat our Earl Dongyang household like this today—I will never let this rest!"
Don't think the Earl Dongyang household was easy to bully.
This little fox spirit was nothing but an inexperienced young widow; she had no idea of the power of the nobles in the capital.
"I'll be waiting." Lin Zhen said coldly.
If they wanted to burn bridges, so be it. She'd like to see what the Earl Dongyang household could actually do to her.
She was a widow residing in the Prince Fu mansion, nothing more than a woman of the inner quarters. Could they have censors impeach her? Could they make things difficult for her in some official post?
Even if they tried, so what?
She had her own ways.
"You're coming home with me!" Lady Dongyang stared fixedly at the concubine-born daughter who now seemed to know fear, trembling behind Lin Zhen.
She looked so timid and cowardly that one could hardly see any trace of the girl who had just grown a leopard's heart and dared to defy her legal mother.
"Wait." Seeing A'Yu tremble as she moved to obey, Lin Zhen spoke calmly. As Princess Consort Fu, she might dare to act arrogantly and aggressively toward noble ladies, but if someone else's daughter was being taken home by her legal mother, there was no real justification for Lin Zhen to stop it… No justification for others, perhaps. But for Lin Zhen, what was justification?
Justification was the murderous guards, the mountains of gold and silver of the Prince Fu mansion, and the backing of the imperial palace.
She curled her lips into a mocking smile, raised an eyebrow at Lady Dongyang, whose eyes were splitting with rage, and said softly, "Since she has entered the Prince Fu mansion, she is my person. No one else gets to order her around."
"What did you say?!"
"Look at that—Lady Dongyang is so confused." She couldn't even understand plain speech, and still had the nerve to ask for clarification.
However, Princess Consort Fu was a tolerant person. While stroking Ping'an, who was curled up in her arms like a startled kitten, she said casually, "Once you enter my gates, there's no such thing as coming and going as you please. What do you take my Prince Fu's mansion for? A place where people can be sent in and then casually taken away? Who gave you the audacity to come to my Prince Fu's mansion and try to snatch my guest?"
"She is a daughter of the Earl's household!" Lady Dongyang had never taken A'Yu seriously, but she couldn't stomach these words either.
What was this supposed to mean?
Was this not outright abduction of a common woman?
Once someone entered her mansion, she wouldn't allow the family to take them back…
How was this any different from the late Prince Fu's behavior!
"Princess Consort…" A'Yu knew that although Lin Zhen spoke firmly, if Lady Dongyang went out and complained, there would surely be people who thought the Princess Consort was domineering and bullying others.
She didn't want to cause any more trouble for the mansion.
"Princess Consort, I, I…"
Better to let her go with her legitimate mother.
Whatever her legitimate mother might do to her in the future, she felt she had no regrets.
She had once received unreserved love from her beloved, and had also received genuine protection from Prince Fu and the Princess Consort. So much sincerity and kindness, it was already, already…
"Remove the jade pendant from his waist." Lin Zhen wasn't just abducting a woman—she was robbing them too.
Seeing the little one in her arms suddenly lift his small head, she leaned in patiently to listen, then pointed at the Heir of Count Dongyang, who was already swaying unsteadily.
Two fierce guards immediately moved, grabbing the extremely fine and warm jade pendant hanging from the Heir of Count Dongyang's waist.
After a pause, the guards, learning without being taught, glared and carefully looked the panicked Heir of Count Dongyang up and down, then tore open his jade belt and stripped two jade thumb rings from his fingers.
"What, what are you doing?!" Seeing her son being practically stripped bare by the guards, Lady Dongyang forgot that she herself was being dragged out by the matrons and shrieked.
Her eldest son was her very life!
"Those who curse the people of my mansion, yet still have the nerve to claim my mansion's possessions as their own? Are those things really from your Earl Dongyang's household?" The former Princess Consort Fu had constantly been moving things back to her natal family.
If Lin Zhen hadn't seen it, she would have let it go, but since Ping'an had recognized the jade pendant at the Heir of Count Dongyang's waist as one that the palace had once bestowed upon Prince Fu, she certainly couldn't let them take it back.
She smiled and said softly, "What a fine Earl Dongyang household—the only things worthy of being brought out are actually all from my Prince Fu's mansion… What, is your family really that poor?"
Even the heir of the Earl's household had nothing better than Prince Fu's possessions, which was why he had to carry around Prince Fu's treasures. This really made one worry about the future of the Earl's household.
"Mm!"
Ping'an's eyes sparkled as he nodded vigorously, feeling that his mother was absolutely right.
That jade pendant… had actually been bestowed upon his father by the palace, and his father had later given it to him because he saw that he liked it.
But after his father passed, his deceased mother had snatched the pendant right out of his hands, saying he wasn't worthy of such a fine thing.
After that, the pendant had hung at "Uncle's" waist.
Ping'an had never tried to ask for it back, because he knew that even if he did, "Uncle" wouldn't return it.
"Father, was sick." He murmured so softly that even Lin Zhen could barely hear him.
Ever since he was little, his father had always been ill, and there had been a long period when he didn't see his father at all. Everyone said he had gone away to recuperate, leaving only him and his birth mother at home.
When his father returned, he could have complained and asked his father to seek justice for him.
But seeing his father, who despite being estranged still smiled at him with such kindness, and turned away to cough softly so as not to frighten him, he—even though he wasn't close to his father—immediately… didn't want his father to worry himself further on his account.
The little one hugged his mother, who was willing to listen to his grievances and fight for him, pressing his cheek against her soft arm, looking at no one.
He was young and didn't understand much, but he only felt that within his small, tender chest was a little heart, beating very, very fast, yet also very steady.
In his ears were the sounds of "Grandmother" and "Uncle" struggling helplessly, screaming as they were dragged away.
But Ping'an felt that only now did the screaming not seem frightening or noisy at all.
It sounded wonderful.
Of course, there probably weren't many people who found that screaming wonderful.
Everyone except the Prince Fu mansion was terrified by the scene.
Anyone who saw Lady Dongyang with her hair completely undone, being dragged and thrown out the gates by two matrons, and the Heir of Count Dongyang with his clothes hanging open and his face swollen like a pig's head, would shudder.
Not only did those outside the Prince Fu mansion shudder, but even inside the mansion, in a luxurious courtyard, a beautiful woman dressed in mourning clothes sitting in her seat asked in disbelief, "You saw clearly?! That old thing from Earl Dongyang's household was really beaten?!"
"To answer the Secondary Consort, whether she was beaten or not, I don't know—but it looks like she's rolling around on the ground right at the mansion gates."
A matron, respectful and still shaken, said, "Ever since the Prince…" She glanced at her somewhat dazed mistress, not daring to utter the words "Princess" and risk touching her master's sore spot, so she said quietly instead, "That one in the main courtyard truly showed no mercy—she simply had them all thrown out the front gate. You can't judge a person by their appearance…"
Since the new Princess had entered the household, she had treated everyone with warmth and gentleness. Even when their mistress, Consort Shen, had overstepped her bounds, she had merely smiled and let it pass. But who would have thought that when her anger did flare, it would be like thunder—truly ruthless and merciless.
The people were beaten, and no face was spared. Lady Dongyang, thrown out of the Prince's residence in such a sorry state, would only become a laughingstock in the capital.
But this new Princess, so ruthless and merciless…
The matron couldn't help but worry for her own mistress, who only knew how to shout and make a fuss without any other means at her disposal.
If the Princess were to free up her hands… could the Consort even survive?
She was already worried sick, but Consort Shen seemed completely unaware, merely pursing her lips and murmuring softly, "Hmph! What she did… is still somewhat presentable."