In the name of Da Zhou’s lady of the household, ordering her to get out of Da Zhou—and threatening consequences on top of it?
It was almost unbelievable. Situ Xin’er couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath—how long had it been, and this woman had already grown even more insufferably arrogant? She was Da Zhou’s lady too, wasn’t she?
“Han Ziqing, aren’t you being a little shameless? Do you really think you’re something special? You! You…!”
Situ Xin’er was so furious she could barely form words, pointing at Ziqing and advancing step by step, her finger practically jabbing at the tip of Ziqing’s nose. Ziqing didn’t budge, didn’t speak, standing there silently—yet an unmistakable, quiet air of authority radiated from her, impossible to ignore despite her composure.
Ziqing didn’t move, didn’t speak—and it was Situ Xin’er who found herself losing her nerve instead, her confidence draining away.
Her finger hovered right in front of Ziqing’s face; one more inch and it would have touched her nose.
She stopped there, meeting Ziqing’s gaze, and instantly felt herself shrink somehow—though she couldn’t quite say where that feeling came from—rooted to the spot, not daring to move.
Though Situ Haonan couldn’t tell exactly what Ziqing was planning, he couldn’t stand watching this any longer—forget what Jun Beiyue would do if he found out, even he himself wouldn’t tolerate his rude, disrespectful sister treating Han Ziqing this way.
Situ Haonan stepped forward immediately, grabbing his sister’s hand hard and yanking her aside. “That’s enough out of you! Get out of here now—this is my business, not yours to meddle in!”
“Let go! Situ Haonan, let go of me!” Situ Xin’er struggled at once, but Situ Haonan refused to release her, turning instead to Ziqing, whose face remained expressionless. “Wait for me at the city gate—I’ll be right there!”
With that, he dragged Situ Xin’er toward the door—but without warning, she lunged forward and sank her teeth savagely into his wrist.
Situ Haonan yelped in pain and instinctively let go, shoving her away hard, sending her stumbling to the ground. “You crazy woman, what exactly do you think you’re doing?!”
Situ Xin’er, hair in disarray, screamed furiously, “Situ Haonan, you’re finished! How dare you seduce the princess of Xijing into eloping with you, sparking a war between two nations! You and that Qianqian woman, both of you, have no shame!”
At those words, Situ Haonan immediately raised his hand to strike her. “Watch your mouth, or I’ll—”
“Or you’ll what?” Situ Xin’er shot back, no longer afraid of him this time. She deliberately raised her chin, her tone fierce. “What are you going to do, hit me again? Go ahead, hit me! I’m warning you—if you dare lay a hand on me today, I’ll make sure you regret it!”
“Crack!”
Suddenly, without warning, a sharp, ringing sound cut through the air, startlingly loud.
Situ Xin’er froze. A bright red handprint bloomed across her delicate, fair cheek, her face slightly askew from the force of the blow.
Situ Haonan froze too, slowly turning to look. He’d always assumed Ziqing’s combat skills, aside from her deadly Wind Blade and zither-based sound attacks, weren’t anything especially remarkable.
He had never once imagined her speed could be this fast—let alone that her sheer physical strength could rival any man’s.
Ziqing stood right before Situ Xin’er, bent slightly at the waist, her phoenix eyes cold enough that no one dared meet them directly. Her expression remained utterly blank; she hadn’t said a single word.
But then—without warning, she raised her hand again for a second slap. Before it even landed, Situ Xin’er shrieked, “Ahh… ahh… ahh…”
The sound was piercing, like something sharp scraping against glass, grating on the ears.
But so what?
“Crack!”
Another loud, ringing slap. Ziqing’s hand came down again, and another bright red handprint bloomed on the other side of Situ Xin’er’s face.
Situ Haonan finally snapped back to himself, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold snort. Like Ziqing, he said nothing, his expression hardening as he stepped back to the side, arms crossed, settling in to watch.
Dealing with someone this venomous-tongued, reasoning with her was pointless—no need to waste words. The only answer was to strike, straight up.
Strike until she couldn’t even speak anymore, let alone cry!
After two slaps, Situ Xin’er finally came back to herself—fury far outweighing the pain now. Without a second thought, she sprang up. “You wretch, how dare you hit me!”
Cursing, she lunged straight at Ziqing. At this close range, there was no room for fancy technique—she simply threw herself forward, clawing and striking wildly.
But there was no way Ziqing would let her get close. She swung another slap, sending Situ Xin’er sprawling to the ground again, another bright red mark blooming across her face.
“You wretch, I’ll fight you to the death!”
Situ Xin’er, crying and cursing in equal measure, scrambled up to try again—but Ziqing closed the distance in an instant, her face like ice, and with an elegant, almost effortless motion, delivered yet another slap. “Crack!” Right across the face again!
Situ Xin’er couldn’t even block it in time, her face swelling red like a pig’s head, furious and helpless, with no strength left to resist. All she could do was take the beating!
She curled up, arms over her head, still muttering incoherently, but not daring to move.
A flicker of disdain flashed through Ziqing’s eyes, and she finally stopped, making no further move. After a long silence, seeing that Han Ziqing had stopped, Situ Xin’er didn’t dare lift her head either, and finally quieted down—only to snap out a sharp warning instead. “Han Ziqing, even my own father has never hit me. You dare lay a hand on me? Let me tell you—my parents are right behind me, don’t you dare think about running!”
At those words, Situ Haonan startled slightly, his previously cold gaze growing complicated. So that was why Situ Xin’er had chased them all the way out here—she’d brought their parents along with her.
He knew, then, that there was no avoiding this now.
But Situ Xin’er’s threat had absolutely no effect on Ziqing whatsoever. She looked coldly at Situ Xin’er and finally spoke. “Where’s your face?”
Face?
What face?
Situ Xin’er didn’t understand, her cheeks burning hot as if on fire—but even that paled in comparison to the fear she felt facing this woman before her. Thankfully, her parents were right behind her; that alone gave her the nerve not to be afraid.
“Situ Xin’er, where’s your face? What, too ashamed to show it to anyone?” Ziqing said, deliberately curling her lips into a cold, disdainful smile.
“You!” Situ Xin’er raised her head. “Han Ziqing, don’t push your luck too far—once my parents get here, we’ll see how arrogant you can still be!”
So this was the temper of someone with parents to back her up, was it?
This was the kind of attitude doting parents produced?
“So what if you have parents? Let them come. If they’re shameless too, this princess consort will happily keep striking regardless. Today, Situ Haonan is coming with me, no matter what,” Ziqing said coldly.
Just then, a furious voice suddenly rang out from behind them. “Han Ziqing, what an enormous nerve you have!”
The one speaking was none other than the mistress of Situ City herself—mother to both Situ Xin’er and Situ Haonan, eldest daughter of the reclusive Nangong martial family of the northern steppe—Lady Situ, Nangong Mei!
The moment Situ Xin’er heard her mother’s voice, she immediately let out a wail and burst into tears. “Mother! She hit me! Mother, you have to avenge me!”
Sobbing, she threw herself into Lady Situ’s arms like a small child seeking comfort!
Situ Haonan pursed his lips and murmured under his breath, “Ziqing, wait for me at the city gate. I promise I’ll be there.”