"Leng Ruo Li! You, you..."
Prince Qing was so angry he almost exploded, rage churning in his chest.
"You what... If you're here to see a doctor, get in line at the back. If not, please get lost and don't hinder me from treating others," Leng Ruo Li ordered immediately.
"Hmph! If you don't treat me first today, I'll sit right here and won't let you treat anyone else," Prince Qing threatened her.
This woman was too detestable! In less than a month, she had extorted two hundred thousand taels of gold from him, leaving him tight on cash. Yet, on her clinic's opening day, she was treating common folk while selling him expensive ointments. If he, Jun Mo Yao, didn't cause her some trouble, he couldn't swallow his anger.
Seeing Prince Qing's obstinance, Leng Ruo Li stood up and swapped seats with her disciple, Old Huang, to attend to another patient.
Prince Qing, witnessing Leng Ruo Li ignoring him, felt his anger burn even hotter.
He shot up from his stool, stomped back in front of Leng Ruo Li, and kicked the middle-aged woman currently being treated off the stool. Caught off guard, the woman fell to the ground, her forehead hitting the hard brick floor, quickly bleeding.
"Jun Mo Yao, you're insane!"
Leng Ruo Li berated Prince Qing furiously while rushing to help the middle-aged woman up. Chu Ming Xuan and Xing'er, with their keen awareness, immediately came over to assist Leng Ruo Li.
"Ming Xuan, you first help this auntie with her wound. I'll teach this beast a lesson."
Leng Ruo Li was enraged, her delicate eyebrows twitching slightly, her eyes shooting out killing intent.
"Understood!"
Chu Ming Xuan nodded firmly.
Although he also wished to beat up Prince Qing, doing so might bring him trouble. Prince Qing was a royal, with a ruthless maternal clan, while he was merely a minor physician.
But Leng Ruo Li's actions were different. She was the imperial consort, Prince Qing's second sister-in-law. Not only did she possess great skills herself, but she also had a formidable husband, and the Emperor and Empress Dowager favored her. Even if she beat Prince Qing half to death, the Emperor and Empress Dowager wouldn't do much to her, perhaps just scold her a few words.
Moreover, Prince Qing had a long list of misdeeds. Even if Leng Ruo Li accidentally killed him, it was likely the Emperor and Empress Dowager wouldn't severely punish her.
While Chu Ming Xuan was busy tending to the woman's forehead wound, Leng Ruo Li had already grabbed Prince Qing by his sash and thrown him to the ground outside the clinic. She then proceeded to kick him several times.
"Ah... This is killing me!"
"Leng Ruo Li, you wicked woman, how dare you kick me! I will kill you."
Prince Qing, pinned to the ground by Leng Ruo Li's foot, wailed in pain and roared at her.
"Heh! Alright! Jun Mo Yao, if you have the guts, crawl up and kill me! Don't lie there howling like a mad dog."
Though it was past noon, the sun still blazed overhead. Yet, Leng Ruo Li's clear, bright almond-shaped eyes emanated a terrifying chill. Her tone was extremely icy.
"You..."
Prince Qing uttered a single word and tried to struggle to his feet. But no matter how hard he strained, he couldn't break free from Leng Ruo Li's foot. In the end, his struggles left him panting.
He truly couldn't fathom how a woman could possess such strength, while his own body felt so weak. Could it be true, as the imperial physicians had said, that his vitality had been depleted?
"How is it? Can't get up now? Heh heh..."
Leng Ruo Li sneered at the man beneath her feet.
"Leng Ruo Li, don't get too smug. As long as I'm alive, I will have my revenge for this humiliation one day," Prince Qing gritted his teeth and said to Leng Ruo Li.
He was utterly infuriated today. He was a prince, the Emperor's son, yet this woman had trampled him underfoot in public, stripping him of all dignity. How could he maintain his authority in Tian Wu Kingdom from now on?
Prince Qing glared fiercely at the surrounding commoners. Although they dared not discuss his predicament to his face, he saw mockery in their gazes. They were all laughing at him being stepped on by a woman.
He was fuming!
Truly fuming!
But now, he could do nothing but rage.
"Hahaha..."
"Jun Mo Yao, you are truly a disgrace to the royal family! How could the Emperor, such an astute man, have such a foolish son?"
Leng Ruo Li mocked him publicly.
"You... You woman, don't be too arrogant."
Hearing Leng Ruo Li's words, Prince Qing almost spat out a mouthful of blood. This woman certainly knew how to provoke people.
But Leng Ruo Li paid him no mind, speaking to herself: "There's a saying: water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. Your insults to the commoners today, if spread throughout Tian Wu Kingdom by those with ill intentions, will cause the prestige of your Jun family's royal court to slowly erode in the hearts of the people.
When the Jun family's imperial authority is completely lost in the eyes of the populace, that will be the time of your Jun family's downfall," Leng Ruo Li said meaningfully to Prince Qing.
As soon as Leng Ruo Li finished speaking, the surrounding commoners were deeply moved by her words, only Prince Qing failed to grasp their meaning.
"Leng Ruo Li, you're talking nonsense! The Jun family's empire was built by the ancestors of the Jun family leading troops into battle. What does it have to do with these lowly commoners?"
From Prince Qing's words, Leng Ruo Li understood just how foolish he was. No wonder his behavior was so arrogant. Hearing him speak, she found the reason. She wondered how the Empress had raised him since childhood.
After listening to Prince Qing, Leng Ruo Li raised her right leg and kicked him several more times. Then, she grabbed Prince Qing's sash with her right hand, lifted him with one arm, and spun him around a few times. Suddenly, she released her right hand. Prince Qing was flung several meters away, crashing heavily onto the ground, startling the onlookers into screams.
Moments later, the crowd began applauding Leng Ruo Li.
"Wow..."
"Princess Leng is truly amazing!"
Someone in the crowd cheered loudly for Leng Ruo Li.
"Indeed!"
"But Princess Leng is only doing this to vent our anger as commoners."
Another person in the crowd chimed in.
"Why do you say that? Brother, do you know something else?"
At this moment, someone suddenly asked.