Yu Jian panicked, completely losing her composure. "Princess Consort, you cannot administer unlawful punishment! Let me go, let me go! No, don't! Your Highness, Your Highness, save me! I am a steward auntie you promoted!"
Annoyed by the repeated cries, Ye Qingcheng yanked Yu Jian's hair. The tearing pain on her scalp made Yu Jian instinctively shut her mouth.
Ye Qingcheng let out a cold laugh. "When I arrived, I overheard something from Steward Auntie Yu Jian that I found rather amusing." She then released Yu Jian's hair and tossed her onto the ground like garbage.
"Jing Xiu, bring a chair."
Jing Xiu, though confused, obeyed and moved a chair directly in front of Yu Jian.
Ye Qingcheng sat down, crossing her legs, propping her temple with one hand and tapping her fingers on the armrest with the other. Her presence was imposing, and even Lin Xiao, looking at her profile, was astonished, unable to resist glancing back at his master.
"Yu Jian, let me ask you, whose is this princely manor?"
Yu Jian trembled and looked at Xiao Wangye behind Ye Qingcheng. Xiao Wangye was currently gazing at Ye Qingcheng's back.
Yu Jian dejectedly lowered her eyes. "It belongs to Your Highness."
"And who has the greatest authority in the inner court?"
"It is... Your Highness."
Ye Qingcheng narrowed her eyes slightly. "Does he manage the inner court?"
Yu Jian looked up at Ye Qingcheng, a bead of cold sweat trickling down her forehead. "It is you. You have the greatest authority, you are the Princess Consort of the manor."
Ye Qingcheng chuckled. "Well said. Any who cannot remember this point, my manor has no need for."
The words were familiar; Ye Qingcheng had said them herself that morning, but now it was Ye Qingcheng speaking them to her.
Yu Jian straightened her kneeling posture, her gaze fixed on Ye Qingcheng. Yet, the subtle movement of her swallowing betrayed her; she was at her limit, fragile and vulnerable.
Ye Qingcheng's dark eyes were unreadable as she asked word by word, "So, Yu Jian, who gave you the courage to lay a hand on someone by my side?"
Yu Jian's body stiffened, her eyeballs shrinking and trembling. She stared at Ye Qingcheng's lips as they moved.
"Your usual actions, I considered them harmless and turned a blind eye. But now you've become audacious, pushing your luck and showing me less and less respect. Let me tell you, I am still the Princess Consort of this manor. You must still bow when you see me. Bi Xi is my top maidservant. Setting aside whether you could touch her, even if she committed a grave offense, it is I who should be informed, not used for your public display of power. Must I teach you these things, Yu Jian?"
Seeing her continuous silence, Ye Qingcheng waved her hand impatiently. "Enough. Tie her up and throw her into the woodshed. No one is allowed to release her without my order, not even His Highness."
Yu Jian was completely panicked. She had never imagined that Ye Qingcheng could become so formidable. As the servants approached, Yu Jian desperately pleaded, "Your Highness, save me! Please, save me! Your Highness, you personally promoted me! Your Highness."
The servants had already dragged her away, and even from several yards away, her calls to "Your Highness" and pleas could still be heard.
Xiao Wangye mused that as the managing auntie, if she were confined, who would the servants obey now? "Ye Qingcheng, you..."
Ye Qingcheng looked at him coldly. "Are you interceding for her?"
Xiao Wangye did not answer. "I have already punished her."
Ye Qingcheng let out a cold laugh. "Merely kneeling for two hours, and you call that punishment? What about Bi Xi! She is a bloody mess, left unattended from the night watch to the morning hours. Her flesh has adhered to her clothes, and the untreated wounds have caused a high fever. Bi Xi is only thirteen years old! Yet, she merely knelt for two hours."
"In your eyes, did these mere two hours offset Bi Xi's physical suffering?"
Xiao Wangye merely watched her, his expression unchanging, devoid of any emotion. "Ye Qingcheng, they are merely slaves."
Ye Qingcheng was stunned, utterly shocked. She slowly walked to Xiao Wangye's desk, placing her hands on it. Her eyes, hidden in the shadows, shone brightly as she spoke with a sorrowful tone, "Xiao Wangye, are you even human?"
Xiao Wangye's brows furrowed at her words.
"Do not forget who takes care of our daily needs. They are human, living, breathing people. Even if one can choose their birth, who wouldn't want high position and power? If you do not respect people, how can you govern a nation?"
Xiao Wangye's lips parted slightly, but he found himself unable to speak, his throat dry and uncomfortable.
"Xiao Wangye, your studies were about governing by principle and managing the people with clarity. Did your teachers not tell you that the world belongs to the people, and the country likewise belongs to the people? Without the people, how can you govern?" Ye Qingcheng then pointed to the servants standing behind her. "Without them, where would your fine clothes and delicacies come from, your life of having everything handed to you? And pointing to Lin Xiao, who stood silently nearby, "Without their risking their lives, could you, with your current physique, still be alive? Don't tell me you've always believed this was a matter of course?"
Seeing his silence, Ye Qingcheng was deeply disappointed. "Xiao Wangye, there are gods above and spirits below. Do you wish for the divine to know that the Regent of Cheng Kingdom is nothing more than a petty scoundrel incapable of ruling the realm?" Finally, she cast a deep look at Xiao Wangye and turned away in disappointment.
Xiao Wangye, facing Ye Qingcheng's accusations, felt a profound shock for the first time.
As they passed through the rear garden, Jing Xiu stepped forward to remind her, "Princess Consort, you should go back and change your clothes!" She was still in her undergarments.
Ye Qingcheng looked herself over. Her originally clean white clothes were now dirty. She realized that if guests were to arrive and see her in this state, it would be her own reputation that suffered.
Ye Qingcheng returned to her chambers, changed her clothes, and tidied herself up before regaining her senses, her heart pounding.
On the way to Bi Xi's room, she took advantage of Jing Xiu's inattention to finally relax her emotions, feeling overwhelmed.
It was over! What had she said! Ye Qingcheng hugged her head, feeling utterly lost, and squatted by the pond, weeping.
Although Xiao Wangye was the male protagonist in the novel, the story was set in ancient times.
In ancient times, thought was inherently feudal. What Xiao Wangye believed was not wrong by the standards of that era. But why had her blood pressure surged, her mind gone blank, and she had uttered those words? Wait, wouldn't that mean she could be driven out? Wasn't that what she had always longed for?
No, what if Xiao Wangye killed her for this? That would be too easy.
If she died, would she be able to return? Probably not. She had been bitten by zombies and died; returning would mean returning to death.
Ahhhhhh!
Oh heavens! Why did you resurrect me into a novel with this historical background! I've read more than just this one novel! You could have sent me to modern history! After all, before the zombie apocalypse, I was a scholar!
But there are no 'what ifs'.
"Princess Consort? What's wrong?" Jing Xiu's voice suddenly reached her ears.
Ye Qingcheng turned to look and saw Jing Xiu bending over to look at her, backlit by the sun.