Chapter 13 Rouge Tiger Roar

When did she start to find her husband disgusting? In her dreams at night, Feng Ning often pondered this, often unable to find the truth. For years, rumors had been circulating that they were betrothed, devoid of love and estranged. But in reality, they had once been a harmonious couple, each one following the other. He taught her how to hold a brush and paint, and they smiled at each other while holding hands. She taught him how to ride, and they galloped through the countryside together. Kneeling before a bodhisattva, he clasped his hands together, praying devoutly for Feng Ning's prosperity and health.

This was short-lived, of course. In the third year of their marriage, a woman claiming to be her husband's mistress came to their house and demanded an explanation. Feng Ning couldn't stand it. Her father was a tiger on the battlefield, so she was naturally proud. A beast would never disdain food that was stained by other people's saliva, let alone this piece of meat that was being chewed by several people in turn. Qi Fengning found it disgusting and planned to just separate. But she had no choice. The relationship between husband and wife belonged only to the two of them, while the marriage between the two surnames belonged to the clan. Not to mention the elders of the clan, even her father, who regarded her as his jewel, had called in the gossips to persuade her to endure it. After all, since they were married, what could they do? It was normal for men to be a little affectionate. What's more, her husband had sworn in front of the elders of both clans that he would never take a concubine or have children outside. Under the whole sky, the only legitimate Madam Ji was Qi Fengning.

That night, Feng Ning lay beside her husband, breathing in his rotting, turbid odor. The thought of spending the rest of her life with him brought tears to her soft pillow. Years ago, Feng Ning's beloved sister-in-law had died in childbirth. In her grief, she worried about her future fertility. Now, she had resolved that a man like him was not worthy of the risk of her life bearing a child for him.

As her husband's fame in the art world grew, she easily heard about the affairs of the brothels, and without much effort, the couple inevitably engaged in another argument. It wasn't that her deep affection for her husband had turned her into a jealous tantrum; rather, she, ever proud, could not bear the thought of her private affairs becoming the subject of gossip. Gradually, she grew numb, but she also came to understand more: since some things couldn't be stopped, it was better to hold on to the power of money. As her husband's employer, Feng Ning maintained a tight control over the painting business, forbidding any covetousness. To this end, she was ruthless, eliminating many women who threw themselves at her, hoping to leverage her husband's profits and undermine her position. Sometimes, Feng Ning looked at the young women she had disciplined, realizing that some of them were unaware of the treacherous nature of human nature, and a certain compassion moved her.

Forget it, I pity her, but who will pity me? Thinking of this, Feng Ning's heart hardened again. Even if the girl had called her "Master's Wife" in a crisp voice, she would still beat her with the killing stick in the camp until her head was broken and bleeding, and she would flee in panic, not daring to set foot in Handan again.

Less than a year had passed since then, when her spy brought news that her husband had hooked up with another girl and rented her a house, which was talked about by people in the south. Feng Ning felt tired. She couldn't have a child anyway. The mountains and rivers in the south were high and far away, so it wouldn't bother her. She just let him be. But the messenger said that maybe the painting that the master took to the Bronze Sparrow Tower was to be given to that girl, and she immediately became uneasy. When her husband went to Yecheng with her, he said that since Feng Ning liked a prince's garden, he would get a painting of the Bronze Sparrow Tower and exchange it with the prince for the garden. Now such news came out? Could it be that the little girl was so beautiful that she was the reincarnation of Daji, and she had made the old pervert so confused that he forgot that he was her pet Pixiu?

I can tolerate stealing people, but I can't tolerate stealing money! There was no time to lose, Feng Ning quickly packed up her things and rushed to Jinling.

Yanru has been feeling a bit frustrated recently. Ji Mingxiu has been treating her with increasing indifference, and has been busy enjoying himself, leaving Yanru alone at home. She was already unhappy, and today she finally got up early and went to the academy to attend classes to relieve her boredom, but was pulled away by the teacher to be lectured. The teacher said that she was lax in her studies, had no respect for the rules, and was not serious about her schoolwork, wasting precious time. While she was scolding him, the teacher's wife jumped out and dragged her into hanging out with Ji Mingxiu, not caring about her reputation, saying that it was never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost, and they should break up as soon as possible. Yanru was so angry that she laughed. He had only taught her a few words, so why was he meddling in everything? The teacher was the teacher, so why did the teacher's wife have to butt in? Humph, the teacher's wife must be jealous of her! After all, before the Master passed the imperial examination, he was a poor scholar with only a few acres of land. His wife had suffered along with him, and she was jealous that Yanru, at such a young age, had a rich lover, a large house to live in, and a small maid to take care of her food and clothing. She was trying to force Yanru to part ways with Ji Mingxiu and live in poverty as well. Truly, a woman's heart is the most poisonous!

You stinky sister, you meddle in other people's business! Yanru was furious and kicked the gate hard on her way home to vent her anger. When it creaked open, she saw a crowd of people in the courtyard. Seven or eight strong men with faces as dark as iron were guarding the main hall. There was a nanny and a maid about seventeen or eighteen years old in the corridor, all of whom were unfamiliar faces. Seeing Yanru come in, the nanny said, "What are you doing there? Go and boil another pot of water, the lady's tea is cold."

"Madam? I am the madam of this house!" Yanru screamed, "Who are you and how dare you act so wildly in my house!"

"Oh? You're Madam? I didn't know there was a Madam Ji in this world." A woman in splendid attire walked out of the house. Her hair was decorated with gold thread and eight pearls, and her brows were fierce. "Excuse me, Madam, when did you receive the betrothal gifts? When did you enter the Ji Mansion's ancestral hall? Madam Zhao, you've been in the mansion longer than I have. Do you remember when this Madam entered our family?"

The maid sneered, "Madam, you're too particular about etiquette. How can such an unsightly creature be worthy of your address as 'Madam'? In my opinion, she's nothing more than a maidservant. You could just spend a few taels of silver and have this old servant come over and send her off. Why bother coming here in person?"

"Oh, Mother Zhao, you can't be so disrespectful." The woman in gorgeous clothes laughed. "Mother, can't you guess? This is the famous Goddess of Painting in Jinling City, a goddess."

After the woman finished speaking, everyone in the courtyard erupted in laughter. Even the most obtuse person could understand that this person was the Hedong Lion that Ji Mingxiu had been referring to, Madam Qi Fengning of the Ji Mansion. She was already suffocating, and this inexplicable outburst further fueled her anger. She hysterically called out to her usual servant, "Sixth! Where are you?! Get out here! Where have you been slacking off?"

As soon as the voice fell, a thirteen-year-old girl rushed out from the backyard, her hands dripping with water, and she timidly said: "Miss, I was busy in the back, I didn't know you were coming back." The servants of the other party were all showing off their power, while her own servants were timid. Yanru was furious and was about to attack Liu'er, but she heard a noise outside, and the horse was hastily reined in. Panic footsteps came from far away, and a sturdy figure rushed over the threshold. It turned out that Ji Mingxiu had just received the news and left Yun'er and rushed back, fearing that something might happen. Unfortunately, he was still one step behind, and the two women bumped into each other. He didn't dare to say anything else, and said with a flattering smile: "Sister! Why did you come here from Handan? You came all the way here without telling me, so that your husband could clean up the house in advance. Looking at the scene in the house, sister, let's go down the mountain and have a good meal at the restaurant, and let the brothers at home have a rest."

Qi Fengning said sarcastically, "Isn't it because they're afraid that if they come early and make such a big noise, they'll scare the goddess of painting in Master Ji's room back to heaven? How can I have the honor of catching a glimpse of the goddess then?"

Yanru finally waited for Ji Mingxiu to come. Now she had someone to support her and could have a good fight. She cried and said, "Xiu Lang! She bullied me! She bullied me!" But Ji Mingxiu gave her a look, and regardless of her tears, he asked his personal servant to cover her mouth and pull her aside, half-hugged Qi Fengning's arm and smiled.

"Xiu Lang? You're calling Xiu Lang so soon? Ji Mingxiu, you're quite dashing at your age. What's the matter? Are you short of money again? You want me to use the Qi family's killing stick again, and then draw a picture and sell it? Master, your last painting "He Chu Da Niangzi" was worth three hundred taels. Let me see—oh, although this girl is a goddess, she is not as beautiful as the last one. Master, our family probably won't make much money this time." Qi Fengning gritted her teeth, thinking of her husband's shamelessness. He drew a picture of her beating the concubine with a killing stick and sold it to satisfy the man's desire to see women fighting for him. She wanted to grind her husband and those women into ashes and have a good drink!

Yanru felt doubly humiliated by the sound. She was a goddess of painting, the embodiment of a worldly beauty that seemed like a dream. How could this shrew compare her to the vulgar women Ji Mingxiu had once been? And she was even saying she was inferior to those vulgar people! Suddenly, she mustered up immense strength, threw off the shackles of her personal servant, and screamed hysterically: "Bullshit! An old shrew with faded beauty, you dare say I'm not beautiful! You—woooo—" Before she could finish her words, the servant blocked her mouth again, forcing her to rage and glare.

"Bah! You vile little whore! My mother is a second-rank imperial consort, and you dare say that about her?" Qi Fengning was truly enraged. No matter how arrogant those scoundrels were before, they at least showed some superficial respect to her. Now, how dare this one get so arrogant? She shook off Ji Mingxiu's hand and yelled at the servant who was holding Yanru like a chicken, "Ji Mingxiu, you miscalculated. Using the Qi family's stick technique to beat her is simply a disgrace to our Qi Mansion. Wang'er, slap her in the face."

After all, she was still the apple of the Master's eye. Wang'er didn't dare to act, and just waited for the Master's order. Ji Mingxiu couldn't bear it, and advised: "Oh, sister, she's just an ignorant commoner girl, why are you getting angry with her? Sister, let's go down the mountain and have a drink~"

Before Qi Fengning could react, Yanru took advantage of Wang'er's lack of effort and started yelling, "Xiu Lang! I know you love me! Don't stop me! Old woman! Hedong Lion! Go ahead and hit me! You're hitting me because you're jealous of me! Jealous that I'm younger than you! Jealous that I'm Xiu Lang's painting goddess. Xiu Lang can paint when he sees me, but he gets bored when he sees you! Go ahead and hit me! Beat me to death so that Xiu Lang will never forget me!"

"You'd better shut up." Ji Mingxiu's temples were throbbing with pain. How could this stubborn You Yanru not understand that Feng Ning's family was not to be messed with, and his father-in-law and brother-in-law were both prominent figures in the court. He usually had to bend his knees to coax his wife, but You Yanru dared to confront him. She was as stupid as a pig! Qi Fengning rolled her eyes and smiled sinisterly: "Ah, why am I the Goddess of Painting? It turns out it's so I can watch you paint~ Miss You, right? You know, when you were still looking for milk to drink, he also painted a lot of portraits of me, so who am I? Master, do you think I am worthy of being called the Queen Mother of the West? Hahahahahaha." After laughing for a while, she said: "You want me to hit you? You want me to use torture? Who do you think you are? I don't want to. A thing like you is not worth humiliating for me, Qi Fengning, and I will lower myself to fight with you. Well, I'm hungry too, Mother Zhao, let's go down the mountain to eat something good. This broken house is very unlucky. I don't know who it is, but he treats it like a treasure."

"Hey!" Everyone stood up and followed Qi Fengning's steps, leaving in a large crowd. Wang'er let go of her hand, and Yan slumped to the ground like mud. Ji Mingxiu passed by, but didn't help her up. He just patted her shoulder and sighed softly, "Why are you fighting with her? You'll only be embarrassed." Then he put on his flattering smile again, called out, "Sister, sister, wait for me!" and walked out.

"Wuwuwu", Yanru fell to the ground. After the fight, her hair and clothes were disheveled like a beggar. She lay on the ground, crying helplessly and desperately.

"Wow, how come this good day is so short?"