“In a Prince’s mansion, can servants talk back to their masters? I wasn’t aware that this was the rule in Prince Xuan Qing’s residence,” she sneered, her tone suddenly turning cold.

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Ling Lang widened her eyes. “I’m not your servant. My mistress is the Princess Consort. Who do you think you are to act as my master?”

“Hehe.” Han Yan looked at her as if she’d heard an amusing joke and laughed to herself. Mu Feng felt a chill in his heart. Sure enough, Han Yan’s next words immediately made the maid eat her own words: “Didn’t you just say your mistress is the Princess Consort? That makes you a member of Prince Xuan Qing’s household.” She curved her lips upward. “As a servant in the Prince’s mansion, you only acknowledge the Princess Consort as your master. Do you not see the Prince as your master at all?!” Her tone suddenly became heavier on the last sentence, startling even the guard at the door.

“I… of course I acknowledge the Prince as my master… don’t talk nonsense.” Ling Lang hadn’t expected Han Yan to say this and became flustered. This Han Yan had seized upon the flaw in her words. Everyone knew that being a member of the Prince’s household yet not acknowledging the Prince as master showed disloyalty. Such servants with ulterior motives would be expelled from the mansion once discovered.

Han Yan looked at her: “Is that so? Since you’re the Prince’s servant, and I’m currently staying here as the Prince’s guest, yet you mock me. Throughout the land, there’s never been such an insolent servant like you. Your mouth speaks of loyalty to the Prince, but your actions bring shame to the Xuan Qing Prince’s mansion. This two-faced behavior, is this the custom of your Xi Rong people, or perhaps…” She smiled mysteriously. “You have other motives for being here. What exactly does Xi Rong intend to do?”

Ling Lang had never suffered such humiliation before. She felt Han Yan’s every word was an aggressive interrogation. Moreover, Han Yan had elevated the issue to involve all of Xi Rong – this concerned her entire country. If word got back… Thinking of this, she immediately became nervous: “I didn’t… don’t make things up, I just… I just…”

“You just momentarily offended me, it’s your problem and has nothing to do with Xi Rong, right?” Han Yan kindly reminded her.

Mu Feng watched with trepidation as Ling Lang, seemingly catching a lifeline, immediately nodded repeatedly.

“Then, do you admit this was your mistake?” Han Yan straightened up and asked.

Ling Lang, previously rattled by Han Yan’s repeated mentions of “Xi Rong,” saw an opportunity to disconnect from national implications. Even if all blame fell on her, she was the Princess’s servant – they couldn’t do anything to her. So she nodded: “Yes, I was wrong. I offended you, Young Lady.”

Han Yan pursed her lips: “Very good. Since you’ve apologized to me, I’ll forgive you.”

Ling Lang was stunned, looking up at Han Yan in disbelief. She hadn’t expected Han Yan to let her off so easily. She thought Han Yan was probably just trying to scare her, as she didn’t have the authority to go against the Princess. Thinking Han Yan was just a paper tiger, not worth fearing, she began to feel contemptuous. Nevertheless, she said: “Thank you…”

“However.” Before Ling Lang could finish speaking, Han Yan continued: “Rules cannot be broken. In our Da Zong, wrongdoings must be punished to serve as a warning to others. Following the mansion’s rules, take her away and give her thirty heavy strokes.”

Ling Lang froze, hardly believing her ears: “What did you say?”

“Or do you think the punishment is too light?” Han Yan smiled innocently. “No need to thank me. If you want to voluntarily increase the punishment, I have no objection.” She then ordered Mu Feng: “Go call someone.”

Ling Lang screamed: “You’re crazy! I’m the Princess’s maid. How dare you beat me? Do you dare disrespect the Princess? How dare you! How dare you!” She tried to lunge forward. But Han Yan sidestepped, leaning back to avoid her grabbing hand, and in a flash, her plum blossom dagger was at Ling Lang’s throat. She whispered in Ling Lang’s ear: “Know your place.”

Then she turned to Mu Feng and said coldly: “Attacking your master, one hundred strokes. Mu Feng, if you delay any longer, you’ll be punished too.”

Mu Feng immediately left – he dared not disbelieve Han Yan’s words. If Han Yan said she would punish him, she definitely would, even if not openly, he would certainly end up being “punished” eventually.

Although Ling Lang didn’t dare move now, surprised that Han Yan knew martial arts, she still screamed: “How dare you! Let me go!”

“I dare?” Han Yan said coldly: “You keep bringing up the Princess and Xi Rong, who do you think you are? Just a servant, yet you think you can represent the Princess and Xi Rong? You can’t be foolish enough to think that. Does Xi Rong and the Princess need a mere maid to represent them? Let me tell you, your Xi Rong is now nothing but a defeated nation, and your Princess is merely a gift sent to Da Zong to sue for peace, to protect your country. Just an object – what right does she have to claim nobility?”

A “crash” sound came from inside the room as a vase shattered.

Ling Lang stared stupidly at Han Yan, suddenly realizing she couldn’t answer a single word. She couldn’t refute anything this woman said. This person who had always been quiet, seemingly allowing others to bully her, never getting angry – indeed hadn’t gotten angry. Earlier, Ling Lang thought this Da Zong woman was easy to bully or perhaps wanted to smooth things over, but now she realized she was wrong. The reason Han Yan hadn’t confronted them wasn’t because she couldn’t – it was because she found them beneath her notice.

“Take her away and beat her,” Han Yan turned her back, saying coldly.

Two sturdy servant women came forward, one in front and one behind, grabbed Ling Lang, and pressed her down on a long bench. Two servants holding long boards looked hesitantly at Mu Feng. Everyone knew this was the Xi Rong Princess’s maid, and the Xi Rong Princess would become the Prince Consort in the future. If they made an enemy of her now if the future Princess Consort investigated later… Mu Feng glared at them: “What are you looking at? Beat her!”

The servant gritted his teeth and brought down the board with a “whack.”

Ling Lang immediately screamed miserably. In Xi Rong, no one had ever dared treat her this way. She was Yi Lin Na’s maid, and people usually couldn’t wait to curry favor with her, let alone inflict such physical punishment. And all this because she had said one wrong thing to Han Yan. She hadn’t expected Han Yan would dare to beat her – did she truly not fear offending the Princess?

Han Yan looked at Ling Lang with a half-smile, her gaze deep and profound, silently telling her: “Now you know I was telling the truth, don’t you?”

After several strokes, Ling Lang’s screams became like pig squeals, unbearably shrill. Such screams were impossible not to hear, and those inside the room certainly wouldn’t miss them. Sure enough, with a “creak,” the study door was suddenly pushed open, and Yi Lin Na walked out.