Chapter 591: Justified Beating
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Min Baoyun, solely focused on venting her anger, hadn’t considered this aspect. Upon hearing Fu Zifei’s words, she felt a bit embarrassed but refused to concede, sneering, ‘What are you pretending to be a good person for? Who was the one punishing this palace maid to kneel here just now?’ Changing the subject, she asked with a smirk, ‘I heard you met His Majesty just now? Did he reward you with anything good?’
Fu Zifei trembled with anger but held back and said, ‘What are you talking about? I don’t understand. I haven’t done anything meritorious, why would His Majesty reward me?’
Min Baoyun burst into laughter, “Rewarding with a slap or rewarding with licking boots, it’s all a reward! Thunder and rain are all the grace of the monarch! Did His Majesty’s boots taste especially sweet?”
Fu Zifei couldn’t bear it any longer, her eyes turning red. She was about to retaliate fiercely when she saw Yuwen Chu walking towards them from the front. With a quick thought, she screamed and rolled her eyes, falling backward to the ground.
Unbeknownst to her, Mingzhu was standing nearby with Su Mei and Su Momo, quietly observing the commotion here. Mei Yuxi, the newly appointed steward of Changxin Palace, had a smile playing on their lips, standing respectfully on the side, indifferent as ever.
Min Baoyun was startled by the sudden action, sneering, “You’re really good at pretending to be fragile. You dare use this trick against me? Was I raised on scare tactics? Huh, who’s afraid of who?” Turning back to the palace maids, she asked loudly, “Have you ever seen me laid a finger on her? No, right?”
Just as she spoke, someone approached from behind, saying coldly, “What did you do to my niece?” Before she could finish, her face received a hard slap, causing her to scream and fall to the ground. As she got up, she shouted hysterically, “Who dares to hit me, I’ll fight you!”
Her nanny hurriedly pulled her back and whispered, “It’s Ying Wangfei.”
“Even if it’s Fu Mingzhu, so what? Why did she hit me?” Min Baoyun shouted frantically, trying to rush towards Mingzhu, who just sidestepped, leaving her for Su Momo to handle. Su Momo still appeared respectful, holding onto Min Baoyun’s arm and softly saying, “Slow down, Your Grace, don’t trip.”
Min Baoyun was held in place by Su Momo and couldn’t move. She could only shout at Mingzhu, “Why did you hit me?”
“You lack manners, and so do your parents. I have no choice but to teach you how to behave,” Mingzhu said, indifferent to Min Baoyun’s cries, since she couldn’t hear them anyway. She had seen Min Baoyun bullying Fu Zifei in public and causing her to faint. If someone dared to beat her aunt’s servants and bully her niece right in front of her, how could she not intervene? People might say that the Fu family is powerless. As an elder, it was her duty to discipline Min Baoyun, and even if she beat her, it would be justified! As for how Min Baoyun would retaliate against Fu Zifei afterward, that wasn’t her concern. She just did what she had to do.
Su Mei, feeling disgusted, went to help Fu Zifei. Seeing her eyes darting around under her eyelids, she knew Fu Zifei was pretending. After helping her up, Su Mei pretended to lose her grip, causing Fu Zifei to fall hard again. Such malicious people deserved to suffer a bit.
Fu Zifei was thoroughly disoriented from the fall. She knew Su Mei did it on purpose but didn’t dare to say anything. She was extremely frustrated; she had pretended to faint because she saw Ying Wang coming, hoping he wouldn’t ignore her. But who knew Mingzhu, this nemesis, would show up out of nowhere? Despite her deafness, Mingzhu still didn’t hold back and remained so fierce and violent. Wasn’t she afraid of Ying Wang’s disdain at all?
Just as she was thinking, Su Mei had already pushed her into the arms of Hu Po and Caidie. Hu Po and Caidie were scared enough today, afraid of any mishaps happening to her, so they pinched her hard on her acupuncture points. Fu Zifei took the opportunity to “wake up” and cried, “Auntie, help me plead my case!” as she lunged towards Mingzhu.
Mingzhu glanced at her with a cold and insightful look, which sent chills down Fu Zifei’s spine. Her feet stopped abruptly, and she muttered, “Auntie.”
Mingzhu said lightly, “The Great Empress Dowager has been looking for you everywhere, but little did she know you sneaked off here quietly. Steward Mei, take the young lady back, and you can tell the Great Empress Dowager about what happened just now.”
After saying this, she turned and left. Su Momo released the wailing Min Baoyun and, with a deferential attitude, led Xia Yu and Xia Lu to follow Mingzhu. Fu Zifei looked at Mingzhu’s departing figure, feeling a faintly domineering aura emanating from her, feeling extremely aggrieved. Suddenly, she remembered Yuwen Chu whom she had seen earlier and looked at him with tearful eyes.
Yuwen Chu, accompanied by Wei Tiande, had witnessed the entire commotion but didn’t interfere. He stood calmly aside, waiting. When Mingzhu approached him, he smiled gently at her. Knowing she couldn’t hear, he didn’t say anything and just reached out to her, holding her hand firmly and leading her forward.
He was happy that Mingzhu had regained her previous dominance, indicating she had recovered. Being spirited and lively, ready to confront anyone she didn’t like was much better than those who cried and fainted at every turn, he thought.
Fu Zifei bit her lip, envy and jealousy burning in her eyes as she watched the two of them walking away. She really wanted to rush up and talk to Yuwen Chu about Yuwen Fu’s matter, but in front of so many people, she didn’t dare. She feared that before she could return to Changxin Palace, Yuwen Bai would catch her again.
People fear comparison, but how they respond differs. Some use comparison as motivation to strive for improvement and change their destiny, while others blame fate, resent those better than them for taking their luck, and sink deeper into despair.
Fu Zifei obviously didn’t understand this principle. With resentment, she approached Mei Yusi, pretending to be pitiful. “Steward Mei, you must have had a good laugh.”
Mei Yusi smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying. “It’s nothing. Let’s go; the Great Empress Dowager is waiting.”
Fu Zifei was about to beg him not to tell the Great Empress Dowager about what happened here, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in her scalp. Turning around, she saw Min Baoyun grabbing her hair fiercely, claws ready to scratch her face. “Shameless little b*tch! I’ll make you pay for framing me! If I don’t avenge myself, I’ll turn the Min word upside down!”
Fu Zifei screamed in terror, desperately protecting her face and trying to grab Min Baoyun’s hair. Her actions were almost as rude and domineering as those she despised in Mingzhu.
The others hurriedly pulled the two apart, each dragging them away. Min Baoyun cried and cursed, while Fu Zifei just cried, pleading with Mei Yusi to keep it quiet. Mei Yusi sighed, “If it weren’t for what happened afterwards, I could have helped you cover it up. But since you and Miss Min fought, there’s no way to hide it.”
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