Her gaze landed pointedly on the stack of papers in Zheng Yingying’s arms. “Are you here to submit your punishment copy?”
Anger flared across Zheng Yingying’s face. “What’s it to you? I’ll go wherever I please! You don’t get to control me!”
The sight of Princess Ming Zhao’s face only made her more irritated.
It was all because of that girl that she had been confined to the cold, damp Reflection Pavilion, forced to copy these blasted rules day and night. Her hands were almost raw from the effort. She had been scolded and beaten by her grandmother, Father had shown disappointment, and even her mother suffered because of it.
But reason reminded her that this was Cui Weijin’s territory. She had just been severely punished for her previous misconduct.
Today she was delivering the punishment copy to Cui Weijin under Father’s orders—there was no room for further trouble.
Suppressing the urge to confront the Princess openly, she forced the words through her teeth: “Just seeing you brings bad luck. Move, you mutt, out of my way!”
She sidestepped, squeezing past Princess Ming Zhao, and deliberately jabbed her shoulder hard against Princess Ming Zhao’s.
She held her breath, determined to make this wretched girl suffer a little.
Princess Ming Zhao had anticipated this.
At the moment of contact, she let herself fall along the force, landing on the steps.
A young palace maid who had accompanied her gasped in fright. “Princess! Are you alright?”
Princess Ming Zhao did not rise immediately.
One hand braced against the rough stone steps, the other pressed tightly to her chest as she began coughing violently.
“Cough… cough…”
Her frail body trembled slightly with each spasm, looking weak and vulnerable, as if a gust of wind could topple her.
The sudden commotion immediately drew the attention of the guards at the gate and several officials passing by.
“Princess!”
The palace maid panicked. “Are you hurt? Where? I’ll fetch the imperial physician immediately!”
Princess Ming Zhao’s eyes were red from coughing, but she forced a reassuring smile.
“It’s nothing.”
She patted the maid’s hand, then turned to Zheng Yingying. “It’s not your fault, Second Miss Zheng. I’m the one at fault.”
“My body has been weak since my illness in the Reflection Hall. I lost my balance… cough… really, it’s not your fault…”
Zheng Yingying realized and trembled with fury.
Pointing at Princess Ming Zhao, she shouted, “What are you pretending? I didn’t even push you! You fell on your own! You—”
“Second Miss Zheng!”
An older official in deep blue robes could not help but interrupt. “I clearly saw that you did indeed collide with Princess of Lin’an. The Princess has already fallen to the ground—how can you speak disrespectfully now?”
A middle-aged official added, “Second Miss Zheng, this is clearly your fault. I heard the Princess had been reflecting in the Reflection Hall and caught a chill, suffering greatly. Even His Majesty was concerned.”
“She’s only just recovered, and yet you act recklessly. What if something worse had happened? How could you bear the responsibility?”
Another official muttered to a colleague, “Speaking of the palace banquet the other day, both were punished, right? Second Miss Zheng looked fine, but the Princess clearly suffered more.”
“Yes, same house arrest, yet such different outcomes.”
Zheng Yingying hated being compared to Princess Ming Zhao.
“What nonsense are you spouting!”
She turned on the whispering official, pointing so close to their nose that it could poke them. “Who’s fine? Do you know what I’ve been through these days? How many times I’ve copied these blasted palace rules?”
“My wrist is still swollen! You know nothing and spout nonsense here. Say that again, I dare you!”
The surrounding officials exchanged glances, their expressions shifting subtly. So this was the upbringing of the Zheng Family’s legitimate daughter?
With the help of the palace maid, Princess Ming Zhao slowly stood.
“My lords, please do not speak so of Second Miss Zheng. She is usually the model of a noble daughter—gentle, refined, well-read. Today, she must have urgent matters pressing her to see Lord Cui.”
“It was an inadvertent mistake, not intentional. Please do not misunderstand her because of me.”
Princess Ming Zhao’s words were deliberate.
“Gentle, refined, well-read”—uttered while Zheng Yingying flailed angrily—maximized the ironic effect.
Some officials around could not suppress quiet snickers.
Zheng Yingying was not foolish, only spoiled and quick-tempered. Could she not detect the hidden sarcasm in Princess Ming Zhao’s words?
…
“Your Excellency!”
A young clerk entered through the main gate, reporting to Cui Weijin:
“Your Excellency, Second Miss Zheng of the Zheng Family has had a dispute with Princess of Lin’an outside the main gate. Princess appears unwell!”
Cui Weijin looked up from his documents and set down his brush.
By the time he reached the gate, he first saw Princess Ming Zhao, already upright, seemingly moving toward Zheng Yingying.
No—she was not falling toward her; it looked as though she deliberately approached.
Princess Ming Zhao leaned back and fell solidly on the steps.
Zheng Yingying was stunned, staring blankly at the Princess’s hand only half a foot away.
She hadn’t pushed her—Princess Ming Zhao had fallen on her own.
“I didn’t!”
She stammered, “This time I didn’t touch her at all! She’s framing me!”
“Who is causing a disturbance here?”
“Lord Cui!” Princess Ming Zhao spoke before anyone else.
Supporting herself with her hands, she said, “It’s not Second Miss Zheng’s fault! I lost my balance and fell—it’s not her. She didn’t push or insult me.”
She shifted slightly, leaning toward Cui Weijin’s side, hiding behind him and grasping the sleeve of his dark robe.
Her grip was light, but in the open, it was clear.
Cui Weijin’s gaze fell on the slender hand at his sleeve.
He stayed a moment, then withdrew it.
“Miss Zheng, it seems three days of house arrest and copying have not taught you caution, nor cultivated even a shred of composure.”
His cold words struck down: “Repeated public misconduct shows the Duke Zheng household has indeed been negligent in discipline.”
“I didn’t! I’m not!” Zheng Yingying thought of her grandmother’s slaps, Father’s disappointed eyes, and the cold, damp Reflection Pavilion.
“All the words she spoke were mine to endure! All I did was what I was supposed to do!”
Tears pricked her eyes as she scrambled to hand over the neatly copied palace rules.
“I never intended to cause trouble. Lord Cui, I came under Father’s orders to present these copies for your review!”
“I didn’t provoke her—it was her own fall, deliberate!”
Behind Cui Weijin, Princess Ming Zhao silently raised her middle finger at Zheng Yingying—a subtle international gesture.
At the same time, her lips mouthed the words: “Idiot.”
Afterward, she quickly withdrew her hand, pressing her forehead lightly against the back of Cui Weijin’s shoulder, body swaying slightly, as if she might faint at any moment.
Zheng Yingying understood the gesture, and now read the silent words clearly.
“You…” She ignored decorum, consequences, everything, and flailed toward Princess Ming Zhao. “Princess Ming Zhao, you wretch! I’ll tear your mouth apart! I’ll kill you!”