Prince Baxian and Imperial Physician Gu watched anxiously—it was exactly as they’d feared. Chu Feiyan intended to make an example of the Prince Yao estate’s servants!

Why did that girl Hongyi have to be so careless!

“Princess Imperial, Princess Yao, please, both of you calm down—there’s no need to sour relations over a mere servant.” Consort Yi appeared at just the right moment, subtly stepping between the two women.

Chu Feiyan, having gained the upper hand, pressed on relentlessly, saying coldly, “What, so this princess comes to your Da Zhou, comes to the Prince Yao estate, and finds herself worth less than a servant—any stray cat or dog can harm this princess without consequence? What’s the point of Prince Yao’s escort then? This princess won’t even wait any longer—I’ll leave right now and make my own way to Nanzhao!”

With that, she truly turned to storm off in a fury.

Ziqing looked at Hongyi’s scalded, swollen hand, her face grim, saying nothing.

Consort Yi hurried to hold Chu Feiyan back, about to plead with her, when the Second Prince sneered coldly, “Prince Baxian, with Prince Yao away from the capital, you must take charge of this. Don’t let Da Zhou’s dignity suffer for it!”

The Second Prince needn’t have said anything—Prince Baxian would have kept her regardless. If keeping Chu Feiyan satisfied could defuse a potential standoff between the two nations, he’d sacrifice not just one maidservant but ten without hesitation.

Within the palace, within the court, between nations—what did a few lowly lives matter?

“Princess Imperial, please calm your anger. Even the Son of Heaven himself is bound by the same laws as commoners when he breaks them—how much more so a maidservant who has erred. She must be severely punished, of course!” Prince Baxian said earnestly.

Only then did Chu Feiyan stop, saying coldly, “Heh, this guest of yours can’t very well administer the punishment herself—shouldn’t her mistress be the one to do it?”

Hearing this, Hongyi couldn’t help but suck in a breath. What a vicious woman, this Chu Feiyan—this wasn’t just aimed at humiliating the Prince Yao estate, it was a direct attack meant to wound her mistress’s heart!

Her mistress had a stubborn, fierce temperament—even before Prince Yao, she never knew how to act weak or flatter a man, let alone before anyone else!

And yet her mistress’s heart was the softest thing in all the world—outwardly stern, but fiercely protective and tender-hearted toward those beneath her.

Chu Feiyan wasn’t wrong—when Hongyi erred, it was naturally Ziqing’s place to administer the punishment, as was only proper.

For a moment, all eyes turned to Ziqing. But to everyone’s surprise, Hongyi suddenly slapped herself hard across the face. “This servant erred, and shall punish herself!”

With that, she raised her hand to strike again, but Ziqing said coldly, “Stop that!”

“This servant erred…” Hongyi began again, but Ziqing cut her off coldly, “If the princess imperial truly wishes to hold someone accountable, then poor discipline of my household is my own fault as mistress.”

As she spoke, she personally lifted a cup of tea, offering it with both hands to Chu Feiyan. “Princess Imperial, allow me to apologize to you.”

Chu Feiyan felt triumphant at this—why would she bother striking an unrelated servant like Hongyi? What she truly wanted was to see Han Ziqing bow her proud head before her!

She didn’t accept the cup, saying coldly instead, “Princess Yao, if you’re going to apologize, shouldn’t you at least specify what exactly you’re apologizing for?”

“Of course. It was my failure to properly discipline my household that resulted in harm to the princess imperial. I ask for your magnanimous forgiveness,” Ziqing said flatly, her eyes lowered and composed.

Chu Feiyan stretched lazily, in no hurry to accept the cup, sauntering back to her seat with perfect ease. Ziqing had no choice but to follow, offering the tea before her again. Chu Feiyan frowned at it and said dismissively, “You held it so long, it’s gone cold now. Bring another cup.”

Consort Yi and the Second Prince watched with great satisfaction, Consort Yi in particular smiling sweetly as she couldn’t resist adding fuel to the fire. “Oh my, our Princess Yao really does understand the bigger picture, doesn’t she—so sensible!”

Ziqing’s small face remained expressionless as she personally fetched a fresh cup of hot tea and offered it to Chu Feiyan again.

But Chu Feiyan still wouldn’t accept it. “This tea is too hot now—bring another.”

Ziqing didn’t utter a single word of complaint, simply going to fetch tea again. Though outwardly the picture of humility, she somehow projected an unmistakable sense of stubborn resilience, which made even Hongyi and Imperial Physician Gu ache with sympathy for her.

Anyone who understood her stubbornness, who knew her kindness, couldn’t help but feel for her.

This time, Chu Feiyan finally stopped complaining about the tea. Lounging lazily against the armrest, she pretended to ponder for a moment before saying, very seriously, “Princess Yao, you just said something—say it again, would you? My memory isn’t very good, I’ve forgotten already. This tea shouldn’t be drunk for nothing, should it?”

Even Prince Baxian couldn’t help clenching his fists—this princess imperial was truly going too far. But what could anyone do?

Either throw Hongyi out to take the punishment, or Han Ziqing had to keep enduring it herself.

“It was my failure to properly discipline my household that resulted in harm to the princess imperial. I ask for your magnanimous forgiveness,” Ziqing said flatly, betraying no emotion whatsoever.

Only then was Chu Feiyan satisfied, accepting the tea, taking only a token sip without truly deigning to drink it, laughing, “Well, well, everyone makes mistakes now and then—especially, of course… those of low standing!”

Chu Feiyan had gained the upper hand—that word “mistakes” was clearly a veiled insult, mocking her mistress under the guise of scolding a servant.

Hongyi nearly burst into tears—not from the insult itself. As a servant, what grievance hadn’t she already swallowed? It was seeing her mistress endure this that pained her, especially seeing her mistress’s quiet, composed demeanor now, which only made it hurt more.

This was the woman Prince Yao cherished above all else! How could she suffer such humiliation in her own household’s main hall, all over some insignificant maidservant like her!

In that moment, Hongyi wished desperately that Prince Yao would return this instant!

Ziqing offered no defense, simply sitting back down, her quiet face betraying nothing at all. She merely said flatly, “Princess Imperial, as I mentioned, the Prince Yao estate only has a woodshed, no guest rooms. If you have no other business, perhaps you should head to the envoy’s residence.”

But Chu Feiyan acted as though she hadn’t heard a word, picking up the mirror beside her and glancing at it lazily—only to suddenly shriek in alarm. “Aaah…!”

The sharp sound cut through the air like a blade scraping glass, making everyone present clap their hands over their ears.

“Imperial Physician Gu, what kind of medicine did you put on me? It was just a scraped bit of skin, and you’ve ruined my face like this? Fix it, right now!”

“Let me tell you, if my face is ruined, I will absolutely have Prince Nanzhao hold Da Zhou accountable for this!”

…

Amid the shrieking, Ziqing’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter. Chu Feiyan clearly had no intention of stopping—next in line to suffer was Imperial Physician Gu.

Imperial Physician Gu was neither servant nor master here!

Chu Feiyan’s face was, at that moment, speckled with dark medicinal marks—up close, one could tell it was medicine, but from a distance, it looked like she’d been scarred by smallpox. Imperial Physician Gu broke into a cold sweat, hurrying to explain, “Princess Imperial, this medicine will wash off entirely by tomorrow. This humble official guarantees it will absolutely leave no scar!”

But Chu Feiyan shouted furiously, “You expect me to face people looking like this until tonight?”

With that, she flung the bronze mirror in her hand straight at Imperial Physician Gu. Ziqing suddenly lunged forward, shoving him aside—and the mirror struck her directly on her still-fresh forehead wound instead.

Ziqing let out a muffled grunt, collapsing to the floor, one hand pressed against her forehead. Blood seeped uncontrollably between her fingers, trickling down slowly.

She said nothing, her clear eyes fixed unwaveringly on Chu Feiyan. Seeing this, Chu Feiyan finally felt a chill of genuine fear settle in…

She’d never expected Han Ziqing would go this far to protect a servant. Bold as she’d been until now, if she pushed too far, even her status as Nanzhao’s princess consort might not be enough to protect her from Han Ziqing’s wrath.