Chapter 105

Chapter 105 Jiang Baobao's gaze darkened as she stared at Xie Run. "Are you mocking this Side Consort?!" Xie Run smiled but said nothing. Consort Jiang snapped angrily, "Xie, you show no respect for your superiors and no reverence for this Side Consort..." Her gaze drifted downward, landing on Xie Run's slightly swollen belly, and she let out a string of cold laughter. "Considering you're with child, this Side Consort won't punish you." Consort Jiang's eyes suddenly turned sharp, her gaze falling on Dantao who stood nearby. "Your maidservant will take the punishment in your stead." She called out, "Lizhi, slap her twenty times!" Dantao's eyes flew wide open, shock written plainly across her face. In all her time in the residence, she had never seen anyone so arrogant and overbearing. Even Consort Ning in the early days had never gone around ordering slaps on the servants of other concubines. The maidservants beside Consort Jiang seemed well-versed in aiding their mistress's tyranny—not a trace of surprise on their faces as they rushed forward to slap Dantao. Xie Run rarely lost her temper, but now a flicker of anger rose in her. "Zihu! Stop them!" Zihu, who had been blending into the background like a ghost, suddenly stepped forward and blocked the two maidservants with a sweep of her arm. Seeing this, Jiang Baobao was furious. "Concubine Xie, you dare defy your superior for the sake of a maidservant?!" "You mistress and servant truly have no sense of bounds!" Consort Jiang yanked a whip from her waist. The whip appeared to be made of some special material, and it cracked sharply against the ground with a crisp snap. The sound sent a chill crawling across everyone's scalp. Jiang Baobao declared, "Anyone who dares to interfere—don't blame this Side Consort's whip for being blind!" Xie Run said coldly, "Zihu, block them as you please!" "If you stop Consort Jiang, you're protecting your mistress. I stake my life on your safety." "If the Prince and Princess Consort wish to hold anyone accountable afterward, I, as your mistress, will bear the blame first!" Everyone in Songya Courtyard was taken aback. They never imagined that the usually gentle Concubine Xie would prove to have such a backbone. Jiang Baobao had made her threats, but the more forcefully Xie Run stood her ground, the more it felt like a slap to her own face. How could she not be furious?! "Are you all dead?!" Jiang Baobao snarled. "If your mistress can't even touch a maidservant, won't the whole rear courtyard laugh at her?!" Xie Run swept a cold gaze over the people behind Consort Jiang, her days of comfortable living having lent her an added air of authority. "Consort Jiang is noble and untouchable, but you lot don't share that nobility!" "If you so much as disturb the child in my belly by a hair, are your heads—and your families' heads—enough to pay for it?!" Xie Run's words did indeed intimidate quite a few people. Only four senior maidservants and one matron had accompanied Consort Jiang into the residence. The matron hadn't come today, and only two of the senior maidservants were present—the rest were all assigned by the Prince's household. Naturally, these people didn't have the courage to offend a superior. Seeing her people cowed, Jiang Baobao's eyes blazed. "Who do you think you are? You dare threaten the people around this Side Consort?!" The moment the words left her mouth, her whip lashed out treacherously toward Xie Run. Everyone present drew in a sharp breath. Dantao and Zihu both moved to block the strike at the same time. Zihu caught the whip in one hand, but the tail end whipped across her arm, leaving a bloody gash that looked deeply alarming. Zihu said coldly, "Mistress, please leave first!" Xie Run nodded. "Chunjuan, take two people to help your sister Zihu. Don't let her be wronged." Xie Run, being pregnant, didn't dare take risks by staying where she was. Seeing Xie Run about to leave, Jiang Baobao grew even angrier. "You pack of fools!" "Chase after her at once!" Zihu's arm moved, and she twisted the whip around Jiang Baobao's neck, pinning her against her chest. Jiang Baobao shrieked, "How dare you!" "You lowly slave, who gave you the nerve to lay hands on your superior?!" "Naturally, this Prince did!" A cold, deep male voice suddenly cut through the air, like a gust of winter wind blowing straight into everyone's bones. The maidservants and matrons present, upon seeing Prince Jing, quickly crouched in salute. Jiang Baobao's eyes reddened at the sight of Prince Jing. "My Prince, Concubine Xie has committed the grave offense of defying her superior—she's utterly detestable!" She wanted to run to Prince Jing's side to lodge her complaint, but Zihu showed no sign of letting go. Furious and frustrated, she appealed to Prince Jing, "My Prince, look how insolent this girl is—she dares to humiliate your concubine right before your eyes!" By this time, Xie Run had already led her people back to Chunshan Courtyard and shut the gates. Naturally, she knew nothing of what was happening outside. Prince Jing glanced at Zihu. "Release her." Zihu obediently let go. But Jiang Baobao, hearing this, immediately broke into a delighted smile, thinking Prince Jing was protecting her. The moment she was free, she spun around and slapped Zihu across the face. The crisp sound of the slap echoed through the snowy grounds, and even the newly planted green plum trees seemed to tremble. Prince Jing's eyes were dark and terrifying, his entire presence pressing down so heavily that it was hard to breathe. Prince Jing: "How dare you!" Zihu expressionlessly crouched in salute. Jiang Baobao still didn't feel afraid. She pouted and complained to Prince Jing, "My Prince, this maidservant truly is insolent!" "She actually used Concubine Xie's authority to humiliate your concubine. In your concubine's view, even death by execution wouldn't be punishment enough for her crime!" Prince Jing looked at her coldly. "Oh? Did Consort Jiang often execute servants back at home?" Only then did Jiang Baobao realize something was wrong, and she quickly said, "Of course not." She softened her voice, speaking to Prince Jing in a coquettish manner: "Your concubine's household would never have such insolent servants who look down on others." Prince Jing replied unhurriedly: "I think it's because Consort Jiang assumed this Prince and the Princess Consort were both dead that she developed such audacity to look down on everyone?" Jiang Baobao's expression shifted slightly, her body stiffening as she crouched in a salute: "Your concubine would not dare." "I think you dare quite a lot." Prince Jing's voice suddenly turned cold, a sharp edge flashing in his eyes: "You should be grateful that Concubine Xie and this Prince's child are unharmed." "Otherwise, your position as Side Consort would have come to an end!" Jiang Baobao's body went limp, looking at Prince Jing in disbelief: "My Prince, it was clearly Concubine Xie who showed disrespect to your concubine, committing the offense of a subordinate against a superior..." "What is there about you worthy of respect?" Prince Jing looked down at Jiang Baobao from his elevated position, and when his gaze fell upon the Five-Tailed Phoenix Hairpin on her head, the disgust in his eyes deepened. "Who permitted you to wear a phoenix hairpin that only the Princess Consort is allowed to wear?!" Startled by his words, Jiang Baobao nearly burst into tears. Just as she was about to offer an explanation, Prince Jing said coldly: "Shian, remove the hairpin and send it to the Green Pine Courtyard for the Princess Consort to handle." "Yes!" Eunuch Shian immediately stepped forward and deftly removed the hairpin from Jiang Baobao's head. His movements were not rough, nor did he deliberately humiliate Consort Jiang. But Jiang Baobao's face flushed crimson. Feeling she had suffered unprecedented humiliation, her teeth chattered softly. Prince Jing continued: "Since you are so ignorant of the rules, you will be confined to your courtyard for three months to learn proper conduct." After speaking, he glanced at the maidservants behind Consort Jiang: "So it was you who laid hands on Concubine Xie just now?" Lizhi and Yingtao quickly knelt and begged for mercy. Prince Jing ignored them both, saying coldly: "I suspect you've committed no shortage of misdeeds following your mistress." "Thirty lashes each, then send them back to where they came from!" "Keeping them in this Prince's residence would only mean they continue to stir up trouble alongside their mistress!" Prince Jing sneered: "Kneel here and take your punishment, so that everyone in the inner courtyard can see the consequences of disregarding this residence's rules!" When Prince Jing heard the news that Consort Jiang had led people to Spring Mountain Courtyard to pick a fight, he was both furious and astonished. No matter how the infighting within the residence played out, those were matters done in the shadows. On the surface, everyone in the inner courtyard still had to observe the rules. Prince Jing himself placed great importance on rules. Someone like Jiang Baobao who came knocking to cause trouble had never existed in his inner courtyard. Such things were common in the Emperor's harem, though. But Prince Jing looked down most on the ways of the imperial consorts in the Emperor's harem, often privately despising the Emperor for his lechery and debauchery, and the Empress for her weakness and incompetence. The very thing Prince Jing despised most had now appeared in his own inner courtyard—how could he not be angry? If Jiang Baobao had not just entered the residence, and had not been personally bestowed by His Majesty for her meritorious service in disaster relief, Prince Jing would have directly demoted her rank! Though she had not been demoted, Prince Jing would never show her the slightest favor again. Hearing Prince Jing's punishment, Jiang Baobao's eyes widened in disbelief. She cried out: "My Prince, your concubine is wronged!" "It was clearly Concubine Xie who grew arrogant from favor and showed no respect for her superiors..." "You must have been misled by her people's slander and misunderstood your concubine!"