All the noble ladies followed the direction pointed by the frightened woman. There, they saw Ji Yunkai, covered in blood and standing amongst the the guards in a sorry state. All of them were stunned.
"Greetings to the ladies, I was ordered to enter the palace." Ji Yunkai saluted, and took the opportunity to turn her body in a way that her right face could not be seen.
"I was about to leave the palace, but I met with some trouble. Luckily, the guards from the palace rescued me." Ji Yunkai looked at Infanta Tao'an and the Son of Prince Duan, and said softly.
"Madams, you are all too courteous." The Son of Prince Duan pushed Infanta Tao'an behind him, laughing gently yet keeping her away from sight.
All the women suddenly remembered that they had ran over when they saw something had happened. They hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, what's wrong? Do you need help?"
They wanted to ask what had happened. However, they knew very well that neither Infanta Tao'an nor the Prince would answer their questions.
"How do you ladies want to help?" The Son of Prince Duan's tone did not change, but his gaze became visibly colder.
The madams knew that the Son of Prince Duan did not want them to ask any further questions, so they put up a smile and said, "Since His Highness and the Infanta have no need of anything, we shall take our leave first." No matter what, they had to give Prince Duan's Mansion face.
"Ladies, take care." The Son of Prince Duan did not say anything further.
"Let's go, let's go." Before the madams left, they secretly glanced at the guards who had fallen on the ground, and then looked at Ji Yunkai, who was covered in blood, and the whip that had landed at the side. They had already made their guesses, but they did not dare to say anything.
"You, you… didn't you see her face?" The woman who saw Ji Yunkai's face earlier, who was hiding behind the crowd, asked in confusion after seeing everyone leave.
Could it be that she was the only one that saw it? Did she imagine it?
"What face? Go, go. If there's any more trouble, the Son of Prince Duan will not be happy." Prince Duan was the closest kin to the royal family, and was siblings with the Late Emperor. They were the most unreasonable and tyrannical. Causing trouble for the people of Prince Duan's Mansion, one would not have a good end.
"You, you… you didn't see anything?" The woman was being dragged away, and her body still trembling.
"See what? Nothing. Come on, come on. Don't get involved in the matters between Prince Duan's Mansion and the Ji Family." A woman who could enter the palace and had a husband who was at least a third-rank official could not possibly be so brainless.
"But, but …" The woman had wanted to turn back several times to confirm if she was seeing things, but she was afraid of being scared again. "Don't 'but', let's go quickly.…" The ladies around her would not believe her, and they dragged her away.
Watching as the group of women left, the Son of Prince Duan opened his mouth to ask, "Miss Ji, are you satisfied?" He had helped Ji Yunkai send them away, and also help conceal her ugly face. These group of women would not have the chance to spread that she was as ugly as a yaksha.
"Son of Prince Duan must be joking, what does this have to do with me?" The reason why the Son of Prince Duan sent them away so quickly was due to his fear that they would say that the one who had injured the Imperial Guards was Infanta Tao'an, and that these group of women would spread this gossip about Infanta Tao'an.
"Don't you think it's annoying to be so good at a cheap price?" The smile on Son of Prince Duan's face dimmed a bit, and there was a hint of unhappiness.
Ji Yunkai said: "There are many people who hate me, and you are not the first, nor will you be the last. Your Highness, I'll be leaving first if there's nothing else." This was the Imperial Palace, so it was hard to tell if the Emperor had any more tricks up his sleeve. She would only feel at ease if she left as soon as possible.
"You want to leave, but if you don't take care of these people, will you be able to?" The Son of Prince Duan pointed to the Imperial Guards on the ground.
"Take care of it? How do you want me to settle this, Your Highness? Kill them?" Ji Yunkai feigned ignorance as she retorted. Without waiting for the Son of Prince Duan to speak, she continued, "If Your Highness cannot solve this problem, you can report it to the Emperor. The Emperor will decide on his own."
After Ji Yunkai finished speaking, she turned around and left.
"Halt!" The Son of Prince Duan's expression turned cold as he replied.
Ji Yunkai did not turn her head around, as she waved her hand with her back facing Son of Prince Duan and walked away confidently.
"You...." The Son of Prince Duan pointed to the person behind him. He originally wanted to ask them to stop Ji Yunkai, but when he saw the young eunuch's weak look, he swallowed his words.
It was just asking to be humiliated.
"Royal Brother, you, why did you let her go?" Infanta Tao'an's eyes widened when she saw Ji Yunkai leaving as if she was fine.
She was bullied by Ji Yunkai to such an extent, but her big brother actually let her go?
"If you don't let her go, Tao'an, can you stop her?" The Son of Prince Duan had already recovered his composure as he said with a smile all on his face. However, Infanta Tao'an's face paled, as cold sweat dripped down her back: "Royal Brother, I, did I do something wrong?"
"You even know that you have done wrong. Not bad, you can still be saved." The Prince nodded, as if he was very satisfied.
"R-Royal Brother... what, what was my mistake?" Infanta Tao'an was so scared that she retreated two steps, no longer being unruly and willful like before.
"Don't know? Go back and copy the Buddhist scriptures until you know your wrongs." The Son of Prince Duan said with a gentle expression.
"Royal Brother, I don't want…." Infanta Tao'an rejected him instinctively, but before she could finish, she was interrupted by a glare from the Son of Prince Duan.
"I-I will go back to copy the Buddhist scriptures." Infanta Tao'an said in an aggrieved manner.
"That's more like it." The Son of Prince Duan smile was like a spring breeze, but the Infanta only felt afraid. She looked at the Son of Prince Duan with an aggrieved expression, and asked him to exempt her from this punishment.
The Son of Prince Duan acted as if he did not hear anything, and said to the maidservants behind her: "You four, see that the Infanta goes back to her residence."
"Yes." In front of the Son of Prince Duan, the four maidservants were as obedient as little rabbits. They no longer had the arrogance that they treated Ji Yunkai with.
A woman, wearing red armor, stood in the darkness, taking in the scene before her. She suddenly laughed, "Qianzhu, this sister-in-law seems to be quite extraordinary."
"Of course, a gift bestowed by the Emperor will naturally be excellent." The armored woman behind her said this without changing her expression.
"That's right, what the Emperor bestowed us is naturally excellent. Let's go, we will go to the Emperor to thank him." The lady in the red armor strode towards the main hall. Her steps were steady, valiant, and full of confidence. Her whole body was brimming with an unforgettable aura.
This woman was the younger sister of Prince Yanbei, Xiao Shiqing!