"My Lord."
Meng Jiangming heard Wu Yi's voice and looked up, startled. "You... what happened to you?"
Wu Yi, covering a face that his own parents wouldn't recognize, bared his teeth and said, "Lord Feng Wu is here."
Meng Jiangming asked, "He beat you?"
Wu Yi wanted to cry but dared not respond, for the lord's true form was right outside.
"I did. May I ask what business the Young Lord has with this subordinate?" Feng Wu pushed open the door, looking coldly at Meng Jiangming.
A female form with a male countenance, broad shoulders, a perpetually cold expression, and eyes that seemed ready to strike at any moment.
Meng Jiangming swallowed hard and said, "Guard Feng, please sit!"
Feng Wu looked at Meng Jiangming coldly and spoke with biting frost, "Young Lord, if you have something to say, speak quickly. This subordinate has important matters to attend to."
Meng Jiangming coughed a few times to muster courage, but a single glance from Feng Wu, sharp as a blade, startled him. He choked mid-cough and forcibly suppressed it.
Instantly, his face turned crimson, and he began to cough violently. He inwardly lamented, intending to feign weakness, but it had turned into an unintended reality.
Feng Wu watched Meng Jiangming's incessant coughing, her dissatisfaction and disdain growing. To think that His Highness would spend her life with such a person – how could she not feel regret for His Highness?
His Highness was heroic and decisive, and moreover, beautiful. How could His Majesty have fallen for this useless, dissipated Young Lord Meng Jiangming?
Meng Jiangming felt Feng Wu's gaze as if it were fire, as if she were about to devour him.
He couldn't help but regret why he had sought out this androgynous individual.
Seeing Meng Jiangming remain silent, Feng Wu said coldly, "Young Lord, if you have nothing to say, this subordinate will take her leave."
Saying that, Feng Wu stood up to depart.
Having reached this point, having invited the person, to return empty-handed would surely invite mockery.
With this thought, Meng Jiangming said, "Who... who said I have nothing to say?"
Hearing this, Feng Wu eyed Meng Jiangming coldly, "If Young Lord has something to say, then speak. This kind of stammering is not befitting a man."
Meng Jiangming's anger flared upon hearing this. In a fit of pique, he slammed the table and jumped up, "How am I not like a man? I am a genuine man. But you, you look neither male nor female. I just don't understand, how can Princess Xingyue have someone like you by her side, someone who is neither male nor female..."
Before he could finish, Feng Wu appeared before him. Startled, he retreated repeatedly. "You... what do you want? Feng Wu, I'm telling you, I am a dignified Young Lord. You, a mere fourth-rank imperial guard with a sword, dare to lay hands on me?"
Feng Wu's gaze was ice-cold as she looked at Meng Jiangming. Meng Jiangming could even see burning red flames within her eyes, and his heart skipped a beat for reasons unknown.
Feng Wu grabbed Meng Jiangming by his collar and said coldly, "If it weren't for your status as Young Lord, I would have smashed your head in."
"You androgynous creature, you dare?" Meng Jiangming shouted defiantly.
Feng Wu could no longer restrain herself and threw a punch.
"Ah..." Meng Jiangming cried out, clutching his eye and falling to the ground.
"Your status as Young Lord is merely a result of the Duke of Ning's mansion. What else do you have?"
Feng Wu cast one last cold glance at Meng Jiangming and turned towards the door. Upon seeing the terrified person at the doorway, she knew it was Meng Jiangming's servant.
She strode forward. Wu Yi flinched back repeatedly, begging for mercy, "My lord, spare me, my lord, spare me."
Feng Wu said coldly, "Today, I was the one who beat your Young Lord. It has absolutely nothing to do with Princess Xingyue. If they ask you, you know what to say, don't you?"
"I... I know, young master knows." Wu Yi quickly replied.
Feng Wu left the room.
"Wu Yi, aren't you going to help me up?" Meng Jiangming roared.
Wu Yi quickly stepped forward to help Meng Jiangming up. Meng Jiangming angrily asked, "Where is she? Where is that androgynous creature?"
"Reporting to the Young Lord, she has left." Wu Yi said.
Meng Jiangming kicked Wu Yi in the backside, furious. "Who told her to leave? She beats me and then leaves? Does she think she can just beat me?"
Wu Yi quickly replied, "Young Lord, I... I couldn't stop her!"
Meng Jiangming looked at Wu Yi's slender frame and nodded. "You truly couldn't stop her."
"Young Lord, what... what should we do?"
Meng Jiangming covered his eye and said, "Go quickly and find me a mirror."
Wu Yi asked, puzzled, "Young Lord, what do you need a mirror for?"
"Why? Do you want me to go out with a bruised face?" Meng Jiangming said angrily.
Wu Yi hurried out to find the innkeeper to get a mirror. Soon, he returned with a bronze mirror.
Meng Jiangming took the bronze mirror and saw his half-bruised face. He gnashed his teeth in fury, "This androgynous creature, if I don't skin her alive, I will never rest."
Wu Yi's eyes darted around, and he quickly said, "Young Lord, this androgynous creature dared to lay hands on you. If you report this to Princess Xingyue, she will surely not let her off lightly."
Hearing this, Meng Jiangming glanced at Wu Yi. Wu Yi flinched, becoming flustered. "Young... Young Lord, you..."
"You want Princess Xingyue to know that I was beaten by her subordinate?" Meng Jiangming asked, enunciating each word.
Wu Yi quickly shook his head. "No... I... I just think this beating you took shouldn't be in vain."
"It indeed shouldn't be in vain, but people can't know that I was beaten by someone neither male nor female. If the word gets out, what about my reputation?"
Wu Yi twitched his lips, inwardly thinking, Young Lord, your reputation is already in tatters.
"Then what does the Young Lord plan to do?" Wu Yi asked instinctively.
Meng Jiangming stood up and looked at Wu Yi. "Return to the mansion."
With that, Meng Jiangming walked towards the door.
Wu Yi was stunned. The Young Lord wasn't going to pursue it? That didn't sound like the Young Lord's usual temperament.
Upon returning to the mansion, Meng Jiangming stayed obediently in his room, refusing to come out or let anyone in.
Madam Jiang initially paid it no mind, but when Meng Jiangming still hadn't emerged by evening, she suspected something was amiss. She then ordered Shao Yao to summon Wu Yi.
Wu Yi, with a heavy heart, knelt before Madam Jiang and asked, "Madam, did you need something from me?"
Madam Jiang looked at Wu Yi and asked, "What is wrong with the Young Lord?"
"Reporting to Madam, the Young Lord is simply tired and is resting in his room," Wu Yi replied.
Madam Jiang let out a cold laugh. "Wu Yi, it matters not if you deceive others, but if you deceive me, you must weigh the consequences carefully."
Wu Yi trembled and lowered his gaze.
Madam Jiang said coldly, "What exactly happened?"
Unable to withstand Madam Jiang's interrogation, Wu Yi revealed what had happened.
Upon hearing this, Madam Jiang became enraged and slammed the table forcefully. "He... he dared to strike my son? How audacious! Someone, prepare the carriage, I am going to the Princess's mansion."
Upon hearing that Madam Jiang was visiting, Xue Xingyue was somewhat surprised, but she still led her attendants to the mansion gates to welcome Madam Jiang.
"Madam, why didn't you send someone to inform me beforehand? I could have come to your mansion," Xue Xingyue said.