Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Prince's Estate Ablaze

Early the next morning, the Prince’s residence was already bustling with activity. A stout, matronly woman, dressed in a deep cyan gown trimmed with gold silk and wearing the latest popular Kyoto hairstyle, paced about. Several dazzling gold hairpins swayed as she gestured wildly, clinking with every move.

"You... you, you, you! Make sure everything is placed correctly! If you break anything, just see what I’ll do to you! Be careful now!" Mother Wang had once been a stewardess in the imperial palace. After coming to the residence of Prince Xiao in her later years, her air of command had not diminished in the slightest, and most of the maids in the estate had suffered under her harsh discipline.

"Mother Wang, isn't the Princess supposed to come today to learn etiquette from you? Why hasn't she arrived yet?" Lian Ya asked, supporting Mother Wang with a gentle, sensible demeanor, her large eyes blinking in feigned confusion.

"Hmph! She’s nothing but an unloved Princess; how dare she put on airs!" Mother Wang snorted with disdain. Her eyes were filled with contempt for Yan Ziyu; she had never once considered that woman a true Princess.

Lian Ya nodded in agreement. "I heard the Princess is quite ruthless. Yesterday, someone put saffron in Concubine Qian’s meal, and she nearly lost the child in her womb. Rumor has it that the person who poisoned her was the Princess herself! But the Prince forbade anyone from investigating, so we dare not speak of it. Mother Wang, you must keep this a secret for me!"

With that, Lian Ya feigned a look of terror, as if the mere mention of it would bring about a catastrophe.

*Bang!*

The tightly shut doors were kicked open with a violent thud. A figure in emerald green stood at the entrance, slowly retracting her foot. She wore a veil, obscuring her features. "This door is such an eyesore. To think it wouldn't open when the Princess arrived—it deserves to be nothing but firewood!"

The woman stood before them, wearing an emerald green gauze dress. A lavish, intricate hairstyle was piled high on her head, adorned with so many gaudy, shimmering gold hairpins that they clattered with every step—utterly vulgar! Not to mention the three sachets tied to her waist, five pieces of top-quality mutton-fat jade pendants, and three or four exquisite bracelets on her wrists. Her arrival brought with it such a thick, cloying perfume that everyone nearby felt lightheaded.

"Who dares to barge into Prince Xiao’s residence? Guards, seize this person!" *Cough, cough...* Where did this vulgar creature come from? That heavy scent of powder was suffocating.

"Insolent maid! How dare you be disrespectful to the Princess? Someone, drag this maid away and give her thirty lashes!" Yan Ziyu’s voice went cold as she pointed a delicate finger at Lian Ya, standing beside Mother Wang, and commanded sharply.

Before coming, Liu and the others had repeatedly warned her to be careful of Lian Ya, the Prince’s head maid, who had constantly tripped her up in the past. It was Lian Ya’s idea to have the Prince send Mother Wang to "teach" her etiquette. If she didn't punish this girl now, she would be stifled with indignation.

If the Prince, the Emperor, or the Imperial Consort bullied her, she lacked the strength to fight back and had to endure it. But now, even a mere maid was climbing over her head to plot against her? Did they really think Yan Ziyu was a soft persimmon?

The guards looked at the people in the room with hesitation. On one side was the Prince’s head maid; on the other, the unloved Princess. This was...

"What? My word as the Princess is no longer valid? Fine, very well..." Yan Ziyu smiled brilliantly, though cold light flickered in her eyes. She said to Ziyi beside her, "Ziyi, slap her!"

Ziyi hesitated, but upon meeting the Princess’s chilling gaze, her heart trembled. She braced herself, walked up to Lian Ya, and struck her across the face.

"Are you swatting a mosquito? Slapping should be done like this—*smack!*" Yan Ziyu backhanded the lead guard across the face with a heavy blow, leaving a deep red mark. Everyone present was stunned.

*Smack!*

Ziyi gritted her teeth and struck Lian Ya hard, leaving five vivid finger marks across her pretty face.

"You bitch! How dare you hit me? I’ll kill you..." Lian Ya hadn't reacted to the first slap, never expecting the timid Ziyi to dare strike her. But she recovered quickly from the second, her face flushing with rage as she lunged to strike back.

*Bang!*

Yan Ziyu retracted her tiny foot, encased in an embroidered shoe, and nonchalantly asked Ziyi to pour her some tea, as if she hadn't just kicked Lian Ya flying. She didn't even glance at the girl, who was curled up in a corner, clutching her stomach and groaning in agony.

"This maid is plotting treason, attempting to murder the Princess. Why haven't you seized her yet? Are you waiting for the Prince to return and arrest her himself? Hmm?" She smoothed the stray hairs on her forehead with a gentle hand, her tone soft but her eyes piercing. She looked at the guards standing by the door with such intensity that they felt as if their souls had left their bodies, shivering with cold dread.

"Yes, your command is our duty!" The head guard was the first to snap out of it. With his face still swollen, he bowed immediately. "This person attempted to murder the Princess; her crime is unforgivable. Guards, throw her into the dungeon to await the Prince’s judgment."

As the guards dragged away the injured Lian Ya, the room fell silent. Yan Ziyu glanced at Mother Wang, who was still standing there, and curled her lips. *Quite composed, aren't you? But... this is only the beginning!*

"Oh, look at my memory. I was so busy dealing with that insubordinate, murderous maid that I forgot Mother Wang was waiting to teach me etiquette. Well then, Mother Wang, let’s begin!" A hint of mischief flickered in her clear, bright eyes. *So what if you’re angry? So what if you’re annoyed? I am the Princess, and my status is higher than yours. What are you going to do? Bite me?*

Yan Ziyu was clearly here to cause trouble. Last night, Long Xiaoyan had suddenly sent word that she was to learn imperial etiquette from Mother Wang. Was this a way of accusing her of not knowing her place? How could she swallow such an insult?

Unlike Yan Ziyu’s carefree mood, Mother Wang’s eyes darkened. Frowning, she said, "Since the Princess is here, take off your veil and let’s begin!"

"Er... take off the veil... Mother Wang, that wouldn't be appropriate!" Yan Ziyu covered her face as if electrocuted, looking at her with hesitation.

Mother Wang’s eyes flashed with disdain. She looked down on the Princess’s small-mindedness and her voice turned colder. "It is fine. Take it off!"

"Are you sure? Mother Wang, you should reconsider..."

"Take off the veil!"

"Are you certain? Very well then. You all step out; I will only show Mother Wang." With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the maids trailing behind her, stepped forward with a shy look, and slowly lifted her veil...

"Ah—"

*Thud—* Mother Wang’s eyes bulged, and she let out a scream as if she had seen a ghost, before collapsing heavily onto the floor with a loud crash.

Yan Ziyu checked her breath. *Good, she’s not dead!*

Still, her nerves were far too weak. To faint from a simple scare—so much for being an experienced matron. *Pathetic!*

Yan Ziyu had completely forgotten how shocking her current appearance was. Her delicate, oval face had been transformed into a flat, dough-like mask using heaven-knows-what. She had piled on so much rouge and powder—and it seemed Qiuhua had even found flour to fill in the gaps—that she looked like a pancake. She had stuck black sesame seeds all over her face, and her mouth was painted a blood-red, resembling two large sausages. Her small, straight nose had been made into a long, bulbous, red, alcoholic’s nose. Combined with her garish attire, she looked like a reincarnated female demon.

It was a wonder Mother Wang had only fainted; anyone else might have been frightened to death.

Yan Ziyu glanced up at the peeling pillars. Remembering the intense fear this house had once instilled in this body, her eyes narrowed with a flicker of malice. She dragged Mother Wang out of the room, tossed her into the courtyard, and returned inside.

A quarter of an hour later—

"Fire! Fire!" Huge flames roared, thick smoke engulfed the entire Prince’s residence, and shouts rang out.

"Ah—Mother Wang, Mother Wang..." A maid discovered Mother Wang lying unconscious in the courtyard and hurriedly called for help to carry her away.

"Quick, water... hurry and put out the fire!"

"Hurry up, extinguish it!"

"The well water isn't enough, go to the backyard and fetch more water, go!"

The fire was gradually extinguished, but the house was reduced to ruins. Yan Ziyu watched as the building that had once held such terrifying memories for her turned to ash. A strange sense of relief filled her heart. She walked away with a light step, humming a merry tune.

"Tsk tsk... this woman is truly interesting. It seems my trip to the Dayun Kingdom won't be boring after all. Hehe..." A handsome man in purple appeared where Yan Ziyu had been hiding. Watching her retreating figure, he curled his lips into a wicked smile, his expression a mix of bewitching charm and unrestrained arrogance. He chuckled to himself.

With that, his figure flickered and vanished into the night as silently as he had arrived, as if he had never been there at all.