"How dare you insult me?" The Ru Princess, pushed to the extreme, calmed down instead. Her face, contorted with rage, was a mask of ferocity, and anyone could sense her deep animosity and hatred towards Zhan Feiyu.
"The Princess is getting old, and it seems her hearing is failing. When did I insult the Princess?" Zhan Feiyu stood beside Yin Wuyan, smiling serenely. Her bright, intelligent eyes swept over the people from the Ru Prince's manor. "Did you hear that? Big Brother, did you hear?"
Even though Yin Wuyan remained silent, his allowing Zhan Feiyu to "talk nonsense" clearly indicated an extraordinary relationship between them. After all, it would be hard to find anyone in the capital who dared to embrace the Commander of the Imperial Dragon Guard.
Commander Kuang and the others lowered their heads in tacit agreement. Offending the Imperial Dragon Guard meant that even if they admitted to hearing, they likely wouldn't survive to leave Huai Tree Alley. Thus, they could only feign deafness and muteness. Returning to the Ru Prince's manor might still lead to punishment, but it was better than losing their lives.
"You lot?" The Ru Princess turned abruptly, her gaze fixed on Commander Kuang and the others with uncontrolled fury. She never expected them to be intimidated into silence by a mere girl like Zhan Feiyu.
As if the Ru Prince's manor wasn't already sufficiently angered, Zhan Feiyu smiled sweetly, her clear voice ringing out again, infuriatingly calm, "The quarter-hour is almost up. Do you all truly intend to have a day trip with the Imperial Dragon Guard?"
Upon hearing this, several timid maids and nannies wished they could turn and flee.
"Princess, perhaps we should return to the manor first?" Commander Kuang said, steeling himself. If the Princess were to fall into danger today, Commander Kuang would fight to his death, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.
However, the Ru Princess and Commander Yin were mother and son. If they were to truly clash, then this life would be utterly wasted. Even ants cling to life; Commander Kuang did not wish to die an ignominious death under the swords of the Imperial Dragon Guard.
The Ru Princess cast a cold glance at the "cowardly" crowd, then at Zhan Feiyu, whose face was a picture of defiance. The immense humiliation almost drove the Ru Princess to lose her reason. In her entire life, besides that slut Liang Wenyi, who had made her feel so stifled and humiliated, this slutty girl before her was the second.
After all, she had been a princess for many years. The Ru Princess looked at Commander Kuang again, her words carrying a chilling authority. "Commander Kuang, I order you to apprehend this slut who has insulted me!"
The Ru Princess issued a death order. Commander Kuang hesitated for a moment. Even knowing the consequences of acting, he had no choice but to obey.
"Wait!" At this very moment, Zhan Feiyu spoke, and her body moved suddenly.
Commander Kuang had been on guard. Seeing Zhan Feiyu about to act, he also struck instantly. Unfortunately, his long sword had barely been drawn half an inch when it was flicked away by the long sword in Yin Wuyan's hand.
"You..." The Ru Princess, caught off guard, felt her vision go black. Before she could utter a word, she slumped down.
Seeing this, Commander Kuang quickly caught her. At the same time, he looked at Zhan Feiyu, who had already retreated to Yin Wuyan's side, with surprise. This Miss Zhan, who was causing such a stir in the capital, was actually a martial artist?
However, the Ru Princess being knocked unconscious by a palm strike from Zhan Feiyu caused the group from the Ru Prince's manor to breathe a sigh of relief. They even felt a subconscious gratitude towards Zhan Feiyu. Otherwise, in the tense atmosphere just now, if they had made a move, they would likely have met a tragic end under the雁翎刀 of the Imperial Dragon Guard.
After a while, the luxurious carriage of the Ru Prince's manor left Huai Tree Alley at an extremely fast pace. As for the Ru Princess, who was knocked unconscious in the carriage, even though she would be furious and mete out punishments upon returning to the manor, they had at least salvaged their lives from the clutches of the Imperial Dragon Guard.
Meanwhile, on the other side, after Zhan Feiyu and Yin Wuyan returned to the two-courtyard residence, the subordinates who had followed Yin Wuyan surrounded Chong Guang and He Sheng. As for He Nuan, she was to personally attend to Zhan Feiyu, so even if they had the courage of a leopard, they wouldn't dare to keep her behind to gossip.
"What are you doing? Such gossipy men, why don't you go inside and ask Seventh Master?" Chong Guang pushed away the approaching subordinates with disgust. Being so close, their sour stench was enough to suffocate him.
"Brother Guang, please be merciful. Is this our Commander's wife?" The subordinate who spoke was grinning lewdly, giving Chong Guang a thumbs-up.
They had once speculated if their lord, who seemed indifferent to women, was perhaps inclined towards men. They never expected that when their lord did make a move, it would be an old bull eating tender grass, and tender grass from the Scholar's Manor at that. Truly, the Commander!
He Sheng, whose face was usually expressionless, suddenly changed color, looking at the man speaking so carelessly with unspoken anger.
"Hey, all of you, keep your mouths shut and don't talk nonsense!" Brother Chong Guang put his arm around He Sheng's shoulders and glared at his subordinates. "Don't blame me for not warning you. If Seventh Master hears this,呵呵, you'll be lucky to escape with your skin."
Although they had been separated for many years, sometimes not seeing each other for a whole year, Chong Guang knew in his heart that every month Seventh Master would send a cartload of goods from the capital. From food to fabrics to books and decorative items, whatever was good, Seventh Master would order people to send it to the plump girl immediately.
At first, Chong Guang had said that Scholar Gu wasn't taking disciples but raising a daughter. Later, seeing Yin Wuyan's actions, well, their Seventh Master was also raising a daughter, one who needed meticulous care in every detail.
Judging by the people surrounding the plump girl, even the imperial princes likely didn't have so many personal guards and hidden sentinels.
Unaware of the gossip outside among Chong Guang and the others, inside the room, Zhan Feiyu was discussing the various trivial matters in the capital with Yin Wuyan.
"Big Brother, I can swear to heaven, I really didn't provoke trouble. This is all undeserved misfortune," Zhan Feiyu sat upright, raising three fingers of her right hand, her expression serious and as earnest as could be. "I'm purely a case of 'a person sitting at home, disaster falling from the sky.'"
The more Zhan Feiyu spoke, the more unlucky she felt. Just because she encountered Young Master Ning in the same place, she was targeted by that lunatic Zhe Jing. Later, she inexplicably offended Wen Ruyi.
If that were all, Zhan Feiyu said angrily, "Big Brother, I couldn't just stand by and watch Yao Damin hack Bai Zhaohui with a cleaver. But by helping, not only did I not receive gratitude for saving a life, but Madam Bai acted as if she were bewitched. I not only have no intention of marrying, but even if I did, I wouldn't fancy Bai Zhaohui!"
Yet Madam Bai was convinced that she would leverage the life-saving grace. This led to Yao Damin, who was being driven to his death, falsely accusing her before he died.
Speaking of which, Zhan Feiyu let out a long sigh, shaking her head helplessly. "Putting aside Bai Zhaohui's matter, Yu Bawang's death has absolutely nothing to do with me. Yet Madam Hou insisted that I be buried with him. Who knew the Ru Princess would also get involved."
Zhan Feiyu felt fortunate to have the ability to protect herself. If it were any ordinary person, even a daughter of an official, without influence in the capital, she would likely have been forced to death by Madam Du to be buried with Yu Bawang.