The steward's heart lurched at the words.
How could Nan Shiying dare?
"What? Can't you hear me? Do you want the King's Mansion's Xuan Guards to break into the Nan residence before you'll yield?" Nan Shiying's icy voice, carrying a biting wind, lashed into the Nan family's steward's ears. A tearing pain shot into his brain along with the gale. The mere thought of the bloody scene they had just witnessed drained him of all strength, leaving him feeling like a puddle of mud, barely able to stay on his feet.
"I... I'll get in there. I'll get in there now."
The steward trembled like a sieve. He tried several times to get up from the ground but failed. Feeling the chilling gaze from above, he gritted his teeth and began to crawl towards the Nan residence.
What humiliation? What dignity? Once life was gone, all was lost!
Nan Shiying stood erect at the gate of the Nan residence. Xuan Yi and the maidservant Lü Wan stood respectfully behind her, awaiting Madam Liu's reception.
Only after crawling inside the residence and out of Nan Shiying's sight did the steward's limp limbs regain some strength. He scrambled to the Li Wan Pavilion.
"Madam, Madam, something has happened, Madam!"
His terrified cry reached the courtyard. Madam Liu's hand, which was holding a walnut crisp, trembled slightly. With a "crack," the crisp broke in two.
She frowned, tossed the half-crisp back onto the plate, and her voice took on a sharp edge, "Granny Qin, go see which blind fool is shouting in the mansion."
"Yes!"
Granny Qin took her orders.
However, before Granny Qin could leave, the steward rushed into the Li Wan Pavilion, knelt outside the door, and shouted, "Madam, something has happened! That Nan Shiying ordered the King's Mansion's Xuan Guards to break down the main gate and has... has already killed the gatekeeper in the street! Now, she's demanding that you come out to greet her, saying... saying if you don't, she'll have the King's Mansion's Xuan Guards break into the residence."
"What?"
If it wasn't for the bright sun overhead, Madam Liu would have thought she was dreaming!
She looked up at Granny Qin and saw that Granny Qin was also dumbfounded. Only then did she belatedly react.
So, she hadn't misheard?
Not only had Nan Shiying broken down the Nan residence's gate and killed the gatekeeper, but she was also demanding that Madam Liu come out to greet her?
This was outrageous! Utterly outrageous! How could that little wretch dare? How could she dare!
Madam Liu suddenly stood up, strode to the door, pushed it open, and looked at the steward kneeling on the ground, terrified and weeping uncontrollably from Nan Shiying's actions. The gentle water in her eyes instantly transformed into the sharpest of blades. She kicked the steward, sending him sprawling to the ground, and her voice, laced with venom, was chillingly cruel, "You useless thing! To be scared stiff by that good-for-nothing Nan Shiying! She wants me to go out and greet her? She's not worthy! She's just a jinx who climbed onto a high branch. If it weren't for the Nan family's reputation, I would have spread the rumor of her being a disaster long ago. Now, to think that I spared her, and instead of being grateful, she dares to step all over me? Good, very good."
"Go, have someone go out the back gate to the京兆尹 (Jīngzhào Yǐn - Prefectural Governor), and say someone killed a person in the street..."
"Madam, you mustn't, Madam!"
The steward, knocked to the ground, struggled back up and frantically stopped her, "Before Nan Shiying killed the gatekeeper, she... she convicted him."
"She said he disrespected the royal family and slandered the Prince."
"At that time, the commander of the city patrol happened to be passing by. When he heard the gatekeeper's crimes, he was so scared he didn't say a word. In the end, he even took the gatekeeper's body, intending to throw it into a mass grave to be fed to dogs."
"Madam, you absolutely cannot escalate this matter. If Nan Shiying retaliates and uses the gatekeeper incident to falsely accuse our Nan family of disrespecting the royal family and slandering the Prince..." At this point, the steward couldn't help but shiver, his face filled with dread. "Madam, you know that the Regent King wishes our Master dead. If he uses this as an excuse to accuse our Master, even if the Emperor favors our Master, to appease the Regent King's anger, he will still punish our Master. If our Master is punished by the Emperor, how will you carry on? How will Miss carry on?"
"What did you say?"
Madam Liu was, after all, just a woman of the inner court. Even with her considerable skills, they were only for squabbling and vying for favor. She couldn't see the bigger picture. If not for the steward's reminder, she wouldn't have realized how far this matter could escalate.
She couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment, her features contorting with anger.
"That damned wretch, that harbinger of bad luck, that filthy thing, that ant!"
She threw a terrible tantrum. The servants in the Li Wan Pavilion were as still as cicadas in winter, afraid of becoming the target of Madam Liu's fury.
"Madam, now is not the time for anger." Granny Qin stepped forward, picked up a handkerchief, and wiped away Madam Liu's smeared makeup, gently advising, "That little hussy has temporarily gained the upper hand, but it's a tremendously powerful hand she's gained. We cannot confront her directly; we must outwit her. Besides, didn't Master instruct you before going to court not to make trouble for her? If this matter escalates now, you won't benefit. Why not swallow your pride for now and welcome her in? Once she's inside the residence, won't she be at your mercy?"
"You mean, I should go and welcome her?"
"How could that be, Madam? Such a small matter, this old servant can go." Granny Qin said with a smile.
The steward wanted to protest, but he feared that if he said any more, he might be killed by Madam Liu now, whereas he had escaped Nan Shiying's wrath earlier. He wisely held his tongue.
"Madam, please calm your anger. This old servant will be back shortly." Granny Qin helped Madam Liu back into her room, comforted her a few more times, and then gracefully walked out. As she passed the steward, she glanced at him and sneered, "Let's go!"
The steward lowered his head. If he could, he truly wouldn't want to face Nan Shiying again, but now, he had no choice.
Granny Qin and the steward reached the门口 (ménkǒu - doorway). Her gaze swept over Nan Shiying, and as her eyes caught the pool of not-yet-dried blood in the middle of the road, the contempt in her eyes completely vanished, replaced by solemnity.
Before she had even stepped out of the gate, her voice preceded her.
"This old servant pays her respects to the Consort. May the Consort have boundless peace and good fortune."
Her resonant voice echoed throughout the street. A figure shot out from the Nan residence and knelt squarely before Nan Shiying.
She performed all the proper courtesies.
Nan Shiying looked at the old woman kneeling at her feet and broke into a brilliant smile. Seeing this smile, Xuan Yi instinctively took a step back. His gaze on the old woman deepened.
This one, she was likely in for trouble!
"I wondered who it was. Isn't this Granny Qin, Madam Liu's attendant? How is it, Granny Qin's legs have completely recovered? You can even bend them to curtsy? I thought Granny Qin's legs would never get better."