Ruo Yi—the maid—sneered. "This is Prince Jun's palace. We obey his orders, not yours! Ordering your maids to beat me changes nothing. No servant in the Jun Palace will recognize you as wangfei!"
"Ah Mei, shut her mouth," Su Qing's low voice tinged with an icy edge.
"You dare—" Before Ruo Yi could finish speaking, three consecutive slaps landed on her cheeks. Ruo Yi only felt a brutal force assault her before blackness swallowed her vision. All the servants gaped at the unconscious Ruo Yi. The haughty girl now looked a complete mess as she lay sprawled on the ground. The slaps swelled her cheeks red and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
"Tsk, even a paper tiger has the gall to mock my young miss..." Ah Mei mocked in disgust. The haughty maid couldn't even withstand a mere three slaps from her. Ah Mei cracked her knuckles as she stepped away from the girl. The crackling sound snapped through the air, waking the servants from their stupor. Ah Mei smiled at their terror-struck expressions, the way they eyed her as if she was a horrible monster, and enunciated, "No one saw what happened, you heard nothing and you'll not spread any rumors outside. Am I clear?"
"Yes..." The servants stuttered in evident fear.
"Now, tidy the courtyard. Also, prepare the rooms for our stay."
The servants did not dare dally after Ah Mei's fierce display of power. It scared them, and they did not want to end up as Ruo Yi. Not wanting to incur her wrath, the group of servants set off to arrange the courtyard.
Good, very good..., Ah Mei smiled in satisfaction at the meek sight of their fleeing figures.
Her smile amused Feng Yi. He did not think of the delicate maid to be skilled in martial arts. Normal people might have not noticed, but being a practitioner of martial arts, Feng Yi calculated the strength behind the slap. If his guess was correct, she dislocated the unconscious maid's jaw. Feng Yi thought that the little maid's fiery temper was like a breath of fresh air among the myriad of perfumed talcs.
The smile on Ah Mei's face dipped as she felt a scorching gaze on her back. She turned around and met Feng Yi's stunned gaze.
"What are you looking at?" Ah Mei did not like the intensity of his stare. Feng Yi widened his eyes, it looked as if he didn't expect her to turn around. The tips of his ears turned hot, which went unnoticed by Ah Mei.
"Idiot! Stare any longer, and I'll gouge your eyes out!" Annoyed by Feng Yi's foolish expression, Ah Mei glared at him.
Feng Yi narrowed his eyes, it was the first time a woman dissed him like that. Her unrestrained words scratched his heart like the wild paws of an untamed cat. It felt itchy and restless. Ignoring the peeved man, Ah Mei skipped to Su Qing and grinned.
"How did I do, young miss?"
Gone was the fuming pepper. Su Qing snorted at Ah Mei's 'child begging for a candy' image. The lady was merely fifteen, but her round eyes coupled with those ruddy cheeks made her look like a cute dumpling. It made one want to pat her head, and Su Qing did just that.
"You scared them off. Now, this young miss can rely on you," Su Qing complimented Ah Mei.
"Ahem!" Ah Lan cleared her throat and pointed at the still unconscious Ruo Yi, "Miss, shall I tie her or gag her?"
"Carry her in!"
Su Qing felt Ruo Yi's actions abnormal. No maid will choose to harass someone of higher status, not unless promised enough favors to accept such a risk. Su Qing didn't suspect the prince because he had shown his stance clear, and she doubted a prince would use tricks of the backyard. Su manor was out of the list, as they would never go against her in the open; Making her lose face is smearing their clan name. The Su family elders never act in such a ludicrous fashion. Su Qing was interested in the person who flashed attitude towards her the moment she entered the Jun Palace.
It wouldn't be long before she finds the identity of the person behind this Ruo Yi. Then she would respond in the same with an added temper of her own.
...
"Your wangfei is interesting..." He Jian spoke after Su Qing and her maids entered into the wooden mansion.
Wang Mo Xie raised his brows but did not respond to He Jian's comment. After walking away from the drunken fools, Wang Mo Xie loitered around the gardens. Soon, he was joined by He Jian. They had been discussing upcoming auctions and opera performances in the city. Both of them did not expect to stumble upon such an interesting scene.
"Is that your doing?" He Jian asked incredulously.
"No."
The space between Wang Mo Xie's brows wrinkled, his expression became thoughtful as he remembered the events that transpired before him. He was not that foolish to not address her as his wangfei. The edict had long declared her as his righteous wife, and he did not have the authority to go against it. He knew his circumstances, and he accepted his fate long ago.
He did not instruct anyone, especially an unknown maid, to disrespect the Su young miss. He did not escort her, as he was not interested in the marriage and he did not want to give any false hopes to a woman that she can conquer his heart. He made his stance clear so that the woman would not have any second thoughts.
His heart was displeased as he thought of a person. Only she had the ability to cause such a ruckus. He had tolerated her antics long enough, but this time she truly angered him. How dare the woman interfere in the inner matters of his palace!
Wang Mo Xie might be a playboy, but he was a prince nonetheless. He was displeased by the woman's insolence and his servants' blatant disobedience. How can they allow such a thing to happen? How dare they defy his orders?
He would deal with his servants later. First, he should warn that woman to stay away from him and not interfere in the matters of his palace anymore.
"Jian, let's go to the Chen manor."
"Oh," He Jian's lips curved, "It's high time we went there on our own."