MYUFPC CHAPTER 39
you can't cross my bottom line
A cold aura surrounded Zhan Yue, and his brows naturally carried a compelling heroic spirit. At this moment, the soft moonlight did not soften the lines of his face, but instead made his pale profile more angular and distinct.
Zhang shi's breathing became heavy under Zhan Yue's intimidation. She forced a smile on her face and said boldly, "Of course, whoever is guilty will admit it."
Zhan Yue smiled faintly, his lips curving up slightly. His expression was calm and unperturbed, and although there was still coldness in his eyes, his slightly smiling thin lips seemed to no longer care about the offense in Zhang shi's tone.
Yingchun had been standing behind Zhang shi, and seeing fourth master like this, she thought he really intended to "smile and let it go." Her heart just relaxed.
However, she saw Liu Qi, who was following Zhan Yue, suddenly rush forward, as if he wanted to teach Zhang shi a lesson.
Yingchun was startled, and before she could exclaim, Zhan Yue stopped her with a soft call, "Liu Qi."
Liu Qi shouted with red eyes, "Master."
"She insulted Madam." Liu Qi had been following Zhan Yue since he was young, and he knew his feelings for his mother, and he also knew that he didn't hit women.
But a servant must avenge an insult to his master, and Liu Qi couldn't bear it.
Zhan Yue lowered his voice and shouted, "Retreat."
Liu Qi refused, "Master!"
"Retreat." Zhan Yue's face remained motionless, and he calmly repeated it again.
Liu Qi clenched his fists. He glanced at Zhang shi and Yingchun, his eyes filled with undisguised anger. Yingchun even believed that if fourth master wasn't here to hold him back, Liu Qi might really do something.
As for Zhang shi, seeing that Zhan Yue and Liu Qi were only making a lot of noise but little rain, she couldn't help but smile and push her luck. She said, "You still have some sense."
Zhan Yue looked at her meaningfully, and he said indifferently, "Don't misunderstand."
He casually took off the gray fur coat from his neck and threw it to the retreating Liu Qi.
A small section of white collar like clear snow was exposed from Zhan Yue's neck, making his face look even more like jade.
Zhan Yue's eyes were bright, and his pupils were black and clear. "I heard that Madam's nephew, Zhang Wenchang, just passed the imperial examination."
"Yes." Zhang shi didn't understand why he suddenly mentioned this, but since it was a happy event, she responded.
Zhan Yue smiled lightly, "I remember, Madam's natal family has more than one nephew, right?"
"The Marquis of Cheng'en seems to have been running around for Zhang Wenwu these past few days," he stared at her intently, his tone soft yet icy. "It seems the Marquis of Cheng'en wants Zhang Wenwu to join the Jinwu Guards."
Zhang shi pursed her lips and instantly understood what Zhan Yue meant.
Zhan Yue smiled effortlessly, no longer beating around the bush. He said, "Please pass this message on to the Marquis."
He stepped forward slightly, getting closer to Zhang shi. His tall figure caused Zhang shi and Yingchun to instinctively take a step back.
Zhan Yue's face was pale, looking exceptionally cold in the moonlight. Without blinking, he said, "Just tell him that as long as I'm alive, he will never let him get his wish."
Zhan Yue's tone was extremely soft, and Zhang shi's back immediately broke out in goosebumps. Her pupils contracted rapidly: "How dare you be so overbearing? Aren't you afraid of—"
"I dare," Zhan Yue interrupted her abruptly, and he said indifferently, "I'm not afraid."
He emphasized the words "dare" and "not afraid," almost directly hitting Zhang shi's heart.
Zhang shi took a deep breath, but before she could speak, Zhan Yue paused for a moment, smiled coldly, and said, "Madam, have you forgotten about Mama Li?"
Zhang shi's back stiffened: "What are you trying to say!"
Zhan Yue's gaze swept over Zhang shi unintentionally. His expression returned to normal: "If there's a next time, it won't just be the Marquis of Cheng'en, or just your nephew. The same thing will happen to Ying'er."
"You!" Her only son was the apple of Zhang shi's eye, how could she tolerate such a threat!
She pushed Yingchun away and looked deeply into Zhan Yue's eyes: "Ying'er is the eldest grandson. If you dare to do anything to him, the Duke and the Old Madam won't let you off."
When Zhang shi said this, her voice was sharp, clearly out of anger.
Zhan Yue seemed oblivious. He smiled faintly and lightly nodded: "You're wrong."
"Whether I dare or not doesn't depend on me, but on you."
His voice was clear and gentle, as if he were a very gentle young man, as if he had never done anything threatening.
"I don't want to be enemies with Ying'er either, but you can't cross my bottom line."
Zhan Yue smiled, "If you dare to insult my mother again, you can see if I dare or not."
The last few words Zhan Yue said were very soft, but the coldness in his eyes directly penetrated Zhang shi's marrow.
For a moment, there was dead silence.
Zhang shi glared at Zhan Yue hatefully, and Zhan Yue did not yield an inch.
After a while, Zhan Yue's cold voice rang vaguely in Zhang shi and Yingchun's ears again - "The princess has a bad temper. In the future, when she becomes your sister-in-law, please be more tolerant."
After saying this, Zhan Yue no longer looked at them but, with Liu Qi, took long strides and went directly to Old Madam Wen's courtyard.
He had come silently but left with a great fanfare.
Yingchun could imagine that Madam's mood was certainly very unpleasant at this moment. She didn't dare to make a sound in the short time, nor did she dare to approach Zhang shi.
It wasn't until Zhang shi said, "Let's go back!" that Yingchun lowered her head and obediently replied, "Yes."
Unexpectedly, the next day, Old Madam Wen summoned Zhang shi to her courtyard again.
This time, besides Sheng mama and Yingchun who followed Zhang shi, there was not a single extra maid in the main hall. A bad premonition just wrapped around Zhang shi's heart, and before she could think about it, Old Madam Wen slapped her across the face without warning.
Zhang shi didn't even have time to react, and the right side of her face was instantly swollen red. After a while, she finally came to her senses.
"Does it hurt?" Old Madam Wen asked slowly.
Zhang shi gritted her teeth and replied, "It hurts."
"Good," Old Madam Wen raised her eyebrows, her face full of solemnity and authority, "I'll tell you. It's not just the slap on the face that hurts, the one on the heart counts too."
"That word 'bitch', who were you cursing?" Old Madam Wen's voice suddenly rose, and she scolded, "In your heart, Fu Shiyu is a bitch, so what does the Duke count for, huh?"
Zhang shi didn't expect the old madam to know about last night's incident so quickly, and her face turned pale. But since she was in the wrong, and Old Madam Wen had such a long-standing prestige.
Zhang shi took it silently.
“Some old things are in the past.” Old Madam Wen sighed deeply, turning the Buddhist beads in her hand, “I won’t pursue this matter.”
Old Madam Wen looked at Zhang shi quietly, paused for a moment and said, "But I’m not dead yet. Don't cause constant trouble and disrupt the peace of the household."
These words were too harsh.
Although Zhang shi was dissatisfied in her heart, she still lowered her head and said obediently, "Yes."
“Are you dissatisfied?” Old Madam Wen saw through Zhang shi at a glance and said, “Yanqing threatened you with Ying’er, and I have disciplined him as well. I have also punished him to copy Buddhist scriptures ten times.”
“To avoid partiality, your punishment is the same as his.” Old Madam Wen's gaze swept across her face and asked, “Are you satisfied?”
Zhang shi lowered her head, hiding the resentment in her eyes, and said, “Satisfied.”
Seeing that her cheek was almost swollen, Old Madam Wen didn't keep her for long and sent Yingchun to send Zhang shi back to her courtyard.
After returning to the courtyard, Yingchun quickly peeled a fresh egg that had just come out of the oven to apply to Zhang shi's face, and while applying it, she sighed, “The eldest young master will come to pay his respects tomorrow. What will you say when he sees Madam like this?”
Zhang shi still had hatred in her eyes, and she said coldly, “Tell the truth!”
Yingchun, who could follow Zhang shi as a dowry, had a brain and enough scheming. Hearing that Madam wanted to continue to pursue this matter, she hesitated for a moment and hurriedly said, "The old madam has already intervened in this matter. Moreover, the eldest young master and the fourth master are, after all, uncle and nephew. In the future, there may be times when they can help each other. Why continue to be entangled..."
Zhang shi turned to look at Yingchun and let out a mocking laugh from her throat. She said coldly, "Help each other? Look at how the fourth master acted yesterday, did he have the slightest intention of helping the eldest young master?"
“Since he's shameless first, why should I be timid and cautious for anyone to see! I might as well tear my face off with him.” Zhang shi’s face was gloomy, and as she spoke, she couldn’t help but become angry again, so she pushed Yingchun’s hand away and gently rubbed her cheek with the egg herself.
Yingchun shook her head and said slowly, “Madam, if the Qi Le Marquisate knows that our household is not harmonious, they may not be willing to easily marry their daughter here. The eldest young master is about to get married, and at this time, creating more trouble is not very beneficial to us either.”
Whenever mentioning Zhan Shaoying, it could make Zhang shi's mind calm down the fastest.
Zhang shi narrowed her eyes, and her sharp nails instantly drew a crack in the thin egg white.
Her face turned pale, and her breathing alternated between heavy and slow several times. Zhang shi's eyes were still frightening. She smashed the egg on the table, with half of her face swollen, and compromised, "In the next few days, say I'm sick."
Although Zhang shi looked displeased, she finally listened to the advice. Yingchun finally breathed a sigh of relief, nodding in agreement.
A cold sneer appeared on Zhang shi's face. Her expression was distorted and twisted with laughter, her tone as venomous as a snake: "We and Zhan Yanqing have officially started from this point on."
Having suffered such a great humiliation, although there was some "karma" involved, according to Madam's temperament, she would naturally not let it go. Yingchun had been by her side for many years and understood her temper, so she could only take another fresh boiled egg and rub her face while lowering her eyelids.
Meanwhile, Doctor Kong had been treating Zhao Youze's eyes for about a month. During this period, Zhao Youze naturally spent more time in Fengyang Pavilion.
One evening, after dinner, Zheng mama suddenly came.
Since Su Yu and the others had grown up, Zheng mama had begun to delegate authority. Now that Hanzhu had been punished, Su Yu was the one whom Jiashan trusted the most, and Zheng mama also trusted Su Yu. Unless there was a critical issue, she would hardly ask about everything in Fengyang Pavilion.
Seeing that Zheng mama had a slight sweat on her forehead, Jiashan personally poured her a cup of tea and jokingly said, "Why are you in such a hurry, mama? Is there a mouse chasing you?"
Zheng mama was obviously not in the mood to joke with Jiashan. The wrinkles between her eyelids were very deep, and she lowered her voice and asked, "Has Your Highness been worrying about the Fourth Prince recently?"
Zheng mama's words were vague, but how could Jiashan not understand.
She said calmly, "Yes."
"The outcome is still unknown, and I thought that mama is old, so I temporarily didn't tell you." Seeing Zheng mama's pale face, Jiashan couldn't help but ask, "Is there something wrong?"
Zheng mama's eyes were dull, she pursed her dry lips and shook her head, saying, "No."
"I'm just a little nervous," Zheng mama said softly.
Zheng mama was the wet nurse of both Jiashan and Zhao Youze, watching them both grow up. She treated them both like her own children. Now that Zhao Youze's eyes had a glimmer of hope, it was normal for Zheng mama to be nervous.
Jiashan smiled and said, "It's not time for urgent treatment yet, mama doesn't need to worry all the time. I'm afraid this situation will happen, so I hid it from you."
Zheng mama nodded slightly, but her gaze was still very heavy. She pondered for a moment and sighed slowly, "If the Empress were still alive, I wonder what she would think if she saw the Princess caring so much for the Fourth Prince."
"Mother will be happy," Jiashan said with a curved lip, "Yuan Kang's eyes have always been a heartache for Mother. She will be very happy to know that Yuan Kang can see this world."
Zheng mama's pupils were dark. Thinking of the late Empress, she buried her head and took a sip of hot tea with mixed feelings, her mood suddenly depressed.
After Zheng mama left, Jiashan welcomed an "unexpected guest." Actually, it wasn't unexpected, because it wasn't the first time Zhan Daren had "sneaked in" to see the Princess.
Hearing a noise outside, Jiashan put on a red fox fur coat and went out. Su Yu was almost startled by Zhan Yue. Fortunately, she was always steady and didn't shout for help.
Seeing the Princess come out, Su Yu quickly said sensibly, "I'll go and make some tea."
Seeing Zhan Yue, and thinking of Princess Ruyang's instructions before she left, Jiashan didn't know whether to scold him or feel sorry for him. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she suppressed the desire to scold him, and asked softly, "Is there something wrong?"
Zhan Yue raised his eyebrows in surprise and handed her a long piece of paper. With a smile on his face, he said, "The betrothal gift list is out, and I wanted to show it to you first."
Jiashan replied with an "oh" and reached out to take it, but Zhan Yue pressed down on the other half with his fingertips, looking as if he was going to give it or not.
Jiashan couldn't help but look up and stare at him, asking, "Aren't you going to show it to me?"
Zhan Yue's dark eyes stared straight at her. Seeing that her cheeks were soft and there was no anger on her face, he couldn't help but be even more curious.
Zhan Yue lowered his voice and asked leisurely, "I came here in the middle of the night, and the Princess doesn't think I'm rude, and doesn't want to say a few words to me?"