“Jiang Er, don’t say that! The one who deserves to die a thousand deaths is Jiang Yanqing! Your Marquis Pingyuan’s Manor are all kind-hearted people, yet she turned out to be such a vicious and arrogant wretch. Today, this Prince shall clean up the house on behalf of your manor!”
Not believing that Jiang Yanqing, some country girl, would actually dare to do anything to him—an imperial prince—Zhou Yuhuai picked up the teapot from the table with his other hand and smashed it toward Jiang Yanqing’s head.
Jiang Yanqing tilted her head slightly, and with a slap, a heavy blow landed on his face.
Immediately, everyone was stunned.
The people from Marquis Pingyuan’s Manor didn’t even dare to breathe heavily, while Zhou Yuhuai stared at Jiang Yanqing in absolute disbelief. “Do you know what you’re doing? I am an imperial prince!”
“Slap!“
Jiang Yanqing gave him another slap. “An imperial prince is such a big deal? I’m even your great-aunt! Zhou Qicen is supposed to be quite a smart man, so how did he end up giving birth to a fool like you?
No, wait, he’s a fool too; if he were smart, a sycophant like the Marquis of Pingyuan wouldn’t still be around today. Of all the young ladies you could have fancied, you had to fixate on Shen Ruoyou, that woman who is as ugly as she is poisonous.
Let me tell you, there isn’t a single good person in the entire Marquis of Pingyuan’s Manor. Shen Changfeng embezzled his late wife’s and father-in-law’s estate, Old Madam Shen aided and abetted the evildoers, Feng Yulian framed the mistress, and of the four children she birthed—the youngest I don’t know well, but the older three are wolves in sheep’s clothing.
The Marquis of Pingyuan’s Manor is a den of wolves, and you’re the only real sheep here, you know that?”
Dazed from the beatings, Zhou Yuhuai had blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He could only cry out: “Somebody, come quickly… Marquis of Pingyuan, are you dead? Just standing there watching me get beaten…”
Shen Changfeng knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
“Fifth Prince, it’s not that this subject refuses to help you, it’s just that all of my manor’s elite guards were killed by her a few days ago, and we haven’t had time to replace them yet.”
“Then why aren’t you hurrying to notify the Grand Court of Revision to come and arrest her?!”
“There’s no need!” Jiang Yanqing brushed him aside and said, “I’m going with you into the palace to see Zhou Qicen; I want to ask him exactly how he taught his son.”
Pointing at Jiang Yanqing, Zhou Yuhuai was almost choked with anger. “You’ve got guts. This Prince hopes you’ll still dare to address my Imperial Father by his given name once you’re inside the palace.”
“Stop talking nonsense, let’s go!”
Jiang Yanqing grabbed him, hauling him around like a little chick, shoved him into his carriage, and then climbed in and sat down right beside him.
Old Madam Shen anxiously said to Shen Changfeng, “Son, Jiang Yanqing has completely lost her mind. If she starts spouting wild nonsense in the imperial palace, do you think His Majesty will blame our manor as well?”
Shen Changfeng took a deep breath. “It’s fine. The patriarch of our manor is someone who helped the Imperial Grand Ancestor conquer the realm. As long as we don’t commit treason and collude with the enemy, His Majesty won’t blame us because of some outsider. Besides, Jiang Yanqing doesn’t even carry the surname Shen, so she has nothing to do with us.
Hmph! For daring to strike an imperial prince and directly call His Majesty by his given name, her trip to the palace is bound to be a one-way street with no return. Once she’s dead, our manor can finally have some peace.”
Old Madam Shen pressed her hands together in prayer, muttering, “Heaven bless us, she simply must die.”
…
Inside the carriage, Zhou Yuhuai sat huddled in the corner, while Jiang Yanqing took the main seat instead.
Noticing the pastries on the tea table, she even picked one up and popped it into her mouth.
Rolling his eyes, Zhou Yuhuai cursed, “Go ahead and eat! This will be your last supper!”
Jiang Yanqing rolled her eyes right back at him. “You’d better wait to have three layers of skin peeled off by your imperial father.”
“Hmph! What a joke. My imperial father will only peel your skin and cramp your tendons!”
“Well then, let’s wait and see.”
With that, Jiang Yanqing crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes to rest.
Once the two of them stepped out of the carriage and entered the imperial palace, Zhou Yuhuai bolted.
While running, he shouted at the Imperial Guards at the top of his lungs: “Someone come quick, catch the assassin! Catch the assassin!”
The corner of Jiang Yanqing’s mouth twitched. Utilizing her lightness kung fu, she flew toward him and kicked him squarely in the back.
“I see you were beaten too lightly.”
“Ouch…”
Zhou Yuhuai sprawled flat on the ground like a toad.
Zuo Peng, the Commander of the Imperial Guards, was so frightened his soul almost left his body.
This female assassin looked only sixteen or seventeen, carried no weapons, and wore no veil, yet she had beaten the Fifth Prince in broad daylight.
He hoisted his long spear, also executed a burst of lightness kung fu, and thrust it toward Jiang Yanqing, while dozens of Imperial Guards swiftly surrounded her.
To his surprise, Jiang Yanqing flicked the folding fan in her hand, directly slicing Zuo Peng’s spear in half.
Shocked, Zuo Peng immediately drew the scabbard sword of one of the Imperial Guards and resumed his attack on Jiang Yanqing.
As the head of the Imperial Guards, Zuo Peng’s martial arts ranked quite high within Daxing.
Moreover, since Jiang Yanqing had no desire to hurt him, she focused primarily on dodging.
When Zuo Peng launched a sudden counter-attack, his sword nearly grazed her arm. As Jiang Yanqing stepped backward without paying attention to the steps behind her, expecting to take a tumble, she instead found herself landing in a broad, sturdy embrace.
She turned her head to see a handsome man with sword-like brows and star-like eyes.
He looked somewhat familiar.
Jiang Yanqing straightened up and suddenly smiled, saying, “You’re that handsome guy from Heyun Tower the other day! What are you doing in the imperial palace too?”
Zuo Peng barked sternly, “This is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince! Down on your knees!”
“The Crown Prince?”
Jiang Yanqing pointed at Zhou Yuhuai. “You’re that fool’s older brother?”
“Yes, I am his Third Imperial Brother.”
“Then what’s your name?”
Zuo Peng: “Audacious! Is the name of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince something you are permitted to ask?”
The Crown Prince was naturally aloof, notoriously cold and heartless, and kept a wide distance from women. With Jiang Yanqing acting so presumptuously, everyone assumed she was about to be sentenced to death.
Yet, to everyone’s astonishment, the Crown Prince said in a deep voice, “Zhou Yuxiao.”
Jiang Yanqing’s smile widened even further. “Sure enough, handsome people even have better names than that fool.”
At that moment, Zhou Yuhuai came running over. “Third Imperial Brother, look, my face has been beaten into a lump of raw pork by this stinking girl! She even claimed to be my great-aunt and called Imperial Father by his given name. Hurry up and arrest her!”