"A counterfeit is being passed off as the real thing!" Ji Xiaoxiao stood up, intending to meet Hong Fu.

Ji Xiaoxiao went out and saw Hong Fu chatting happily with the rough old woman. Even Jixiang, who had just been crying and sobbing, was smiling from time to time.

"You really don't take my words to heart!" Ji Xiaoxiao exclaimed, but it was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, making Jixiang and the rough old woman jump in fright.

"Princess Consort." Apart from Hong Fu, everyone else bowed to Ji Xiaoxiao.

Ji Xiaoxiao's lips curled slightly. Without her saying anything, they remained motionless, not daring to even breathe.

Hong Fu felt sorry for their hard life, glared at Ji Xiaoxiao, and said, "Get up, all of you."

"But……?"

"No buts, get up when I tell you to," Hong Fu said firmly.

A soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier; if you can be a superior person, nobody wants to be a subordinate.

Since it was Hong Fu who told them to get up, why should they disobey her? They would reap the benefits, and Hong Fu would bear the consequences; why not?

Unaware that they had been tricked, Hong Fu saw them stand up and earnestly said, "You are human beings, and it is only natural for you to kneel before your parents and elders. But what right does Xu Fu have to accept your bow? She is nothing more than your slave owner who is a slave to you."

Hong Fu gave them a lecture, and then the artillery fire turned to target Ji Xiaoxiao.

"Xu Qi, don't you feel any remorse? You want to sell Jixiang cheaply, but Jixiang is a living, breathing person, not a beast that can be bought and sold at will." Her tone was sorrowful and filled with resentment.

If Hong Fu doesn't side with her own people, she successfully received auspicious tears from her eyes.

Ji Xiaoxiao glanced at Hong Fu with disdain, as if she were looking at a fool.

"You're still not convinced?" Hong Fu suddenly flew into a rage.

"Convinced? You're spouting nonsense. Why should I be convinced? Jixiang is my maidservant, bound by a death contract. I can beat her, scold her, kill her, sell her, or do whatever I want with her—it's all up to me." Ji Xiaoxiao continued, "Hongfu, as the concubine of the Prince Gong's heir, you shamelessly call yourself sisters and brothers with servants. Your shamelessness is your own business, but you've tarnished the Prince's family's century-old reputation. You deserve to die a thousand deaths."

"Reputation, fame, money, status—you people only ever think of yourselves, never putting yourselves in others' shoes to benefit the world."

Hong Fu felt sorry for the lower classes of this era. They were the ones who sacrificed the most for the country, yet they were also the ones who suffered the most. As a woman, she was powerless and her voice carried little weight. She wanted to change things, but she was powerless to do so and could only enjoy peace under the protection of men.

However, although she was powerless to change an entire nation, she could start with those around her. Today, she would teach this woman, a slave laborer, a lesson.

“Apologize to them now and beg for Ji Xiang’s forgiveness, and I can let you go.”

Ji Xiaoxiao smiled and pointed at Ji Xiang, saying, "You want me to apologize to them?"

"Yes," Hong Fu replied firmly.

Ji Xiaoxiao stepped forward, got close to Hong Fu's face, and looked at her carefully.

Hong Fu felt a chill run down her spine from Ji Xiaoxiao's gaze and couldn't help but take a step back.

"Apologize quickly, I don't have much time," Hong Fu said dryly, her tone sharp but her voice weak.

Ji Xiaoxiao shook her head and slapped Hong Fu across the face.

"If you can do it, do it instead of talking," Ji Xiaoxiao firmly believed that she could overcome all difficulties with sheer force.

"You're just a concubine, how dare you boss me around? Are you out of your mind?"

Ji Xiaoxiao shouted at the rough old woman, "Why aren't you dragging her away?"

Just moments ago, Ji Xiaoxiao was gloating, but after binding the young master's favored concubine, she felt a chill run through her body.

"Yes, yes, yes."

The old woman, no longer daring to outwardly comply but inwardly disobey, vanished in no time.

Having dealt with Ji Xiang, Ji Xiaoxiao then turned her attention to Hong Fu.

Even if Zhan Feiyang is a transmigrator, why would he bother with an ignorant child? Yet, Zhan Feiyang went and drowned the original owner's child with his own hands. Ji Xiaoxiao simply doesn't believe that Hong Fu had nothing to do with this.

Thus, the role that Hong Fu played in all of this is a question worth pondering.

Startled for a moment, Hong Fu recovered and shouted at the top of her lungs, "You hit me?"

Hong Fu covered her face, and just when Ji Xiaoxiao thought she was going to fight back, she ran away in a flash.

Ji Xiaoxiao stood at the back, watching the billowing dust, and couldn't help but chuckle.

But their joy was short-lived, as Zhan Feiyang arrived.

"Did you bully Hong Fu?" Zhan Feiyang was handsome and had an innate air of nobility.

Ji Xiaoxiao lay on the chaise lounge, smiling coldly, and occasionally fanning herself.

“If you think that a wife teaching a concubine the rules is bullying, then I did bully Hong Fu.”

Ji Xiaoxiao didn't say that she hit Hong Fu, but instead tried to excuse herself from another angle. It was common for a wife to teach her concubines, even among ordinary people.

Zhan Feiyang was speechless at Ji Xiaoxiao's words, and with an unfriendly expression, he took something out of his pocket.

"This is..." Ji Xiaoxiao was immediately unsettled upon seeing it, her body swaying precariously, and she almost fell to the ground.

---Aside---

Thank you everyone for your support!