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The maid named Qingniao had already witnessed Qin Sang's skills and knew that if her mistress rushed over now, she would only be humiliated again. But if she intervened now, it would only escalate the situation. She could only sigh inwardly, apologize, and fly forward.
Qin Sang sighed, unsure if she could win. Her current rudimentary skills were enough to deal with a delicate young lady, but she was less confident against a martial arts maid.
Thinking this, Qingniao already struck out with her palm, aiming at her shoulder. It seemed that she only wanted to knock her back a little, not to hit her vital points.
She dodged to the side, but Qingniao spun her palm and struck her shoulder again. Qin Sang reached out to block it and reminded her, "It's one thing for your master to hit people randomly without knowing the situation, but if he really hurts me, you'll still have to prepare a straw mat when you get back."
The bluebird remained calm and its attack was not ruthless. Its intention was to repel her or give her a minor injury to appease its master and make her calm down.
Qin Sang noticed this and calmly began to counter her moves.
Between fights, they didn't forget to poach her boyfriend: "Miss, your mistress is tyrannical and domineering, she beats people up without any reason. If you stay with her, you'll end up wrapped in a straw mat one day. Why not consider coming with me? I guarantee I'll treat you better than she does! I'll find you a good husband and guarantee you a happy life with many children and grandchildren!"
"Stop spouting nonsense, you vile woman!" Princess Fangfei roared in fury. "Qingniao, if you believe her lies, I'll have my brother kill you as soon as we get back today! What are you dawdling for? Slap her in the face! Slap her across the face! Let her sharp tongue humiliate me!"
Qingniao frowned and quickened her movements. Qin Sang could only barely keep up, reacting to each move as it came.
The young ladies watched in stunned silence, clutching their handkerchiefs and retreating to the side, making way for each other, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
The two fought for a while without gaining the upper hand, until Lingding arrived with reinforcements.
Wang Huiwen and his wives rushed over in a panic. Qin Sang caught a glimpse of the scene and immediately stopped. Qingniao's palm strike to the shoulder was too slow to stop and knocked Qin Sang to the ground.
The bluebird was dumbfounded.
Princess Fangfei was secretly pleased for a moment, but when she saw many ladies arriving, she quickly composed herself, pretended to be gentle, obedient, and pitiful, and went over to greet the ladies and apologize.
"What happened?" The first to speak was a long-faced woman whose features bore a resemblance to Tan Wuyan. Her phoenix eyes swept sharply over Qingniao before looking at Qin Sang, who had fallen to the ground clutching her shoulder.
Lingding quickly went over to help the girl up, and cried out, "You're all bullying us! Our young lady was only delayed on the road and didn't change into the maid's clothes as the princess requested, and yet... she's being bullied here..."
Qin Sang thought to herself, "She truly is the girl who easily stole my second sister's husband back then. Her pitiful and sincere crying scene is truly heart-wrenching."
Lingding continued crying, "Madam, it seems the young lady's shoulder is dislocated!"
Qin Sang: "...??"
Wang Huiwen's face darkened, and he ordered the maid beside him, "Hurry up and help the young lady up! If anything happens to her, how am I supposed to explain this to the Prime Minister?!"
The maidservant quickly lowered her head and ran over to help.
Qin Sang was helped up, her right shoulder in a sling, looking quite aggravated.
Wang Huiwen then instructed another maid from the princess's residence: "Please go and fetch a physician..."
At this moment, the maid named Qingniao suddenly said, "Let me try. If the shoulder is just dislocated, it can be put back in place."
"Just take her back? How dare you!" Hearing the other party's nonchalant tone, Wang Huiwen finally found a pretext and flew into a rage: "Just now I clearly saw you injure my little daughter. I didn't punish you because I knew that Lady Wei De would definitely not let you off, but you..."
At this moment, Lady Wei interrupted Wang Huiwen abruptly: "Qingniao, step back." She then looked at Wang Huiwen and said, "Thank you, Madam, for your anger. Although my maid is highly skilled in martial arts, she always knows how to act and will not hurt people too much. Why don't you let her examine the injury of your young lady, so that it will not be delayed and become more serious?"
Wang Huiwen's face darkened further, and he sneered, "No need. I'm afraid this highly skilled maid might do something underhanded. If she leaves any hidden dangers, I won't be able to explain it. After all, the Prime Minister repeatedly instructed me to take good care of this girl."
Seeing that the two ladies were already at loggerheads, Wang Huiwen repeatedly brought up the Prime Minister, and finally one of the ladies who had come to watch the commotion came out to smooth things over.
“Everyone says boys are mischievous, but I didn’t expect the girls to be just as troublesome,” a round-faced lady patted Wang Huiwen’s arm. “Children often quarrel and argue, so don’t worry. Have the physician take a good look at her later. There shouldn’t be any major problems. Princess Fangfei has always been gentle and sensible, and she should know how to act.”
Upon hearing this, Princess Fangfei immediately feigned a pitiful and aggrieved expression, saying, "It was my fault. I shouldn't have let Qingniao stop her. We were talking about clothing at the banquet, and seeing that this new girl was dressed simply, I asked Lvxiu to bring her some extra clothes I had prepared. But she didn't return for a long time, and I thought she was lost, so I brought people out to look for her. I never expected... but she said I deliberately used a maid's clothes to humiliate her. Mother, Madam Xie, I didn't mean that, so I explained to her a few words. Who would have thought that she would be skilled in martial arts and... she attacked me so suddenly. I was so angry that I called Qingniao out. It was my fault. If I had been injured today, Mother wouldn't be so worried. I... I'm willing to go and apologize to Grandfather the Prime Minister in person..."
"..." Qin Sang almost wanted to applaud her, and immediately glanced at Lingding.
These two are truly evenly matched.
Just as they were about to speak, the physician rushed over, accompanied by a pretty girl in pink, who was none other than Xiahou Yuan, who had been secretly meeting with Bai Yiqing by the moon gate.
She lifted her skirt and stepped onto the corridor, raising her chin and saying loudly, "Tan Wuyan, stop pretending to be innocent. I know you too well. You're good at putting on an act in front of people and behind their backs. You must have bullied others first and then tried to frame others for striking first!"
The round-faced lady who had just tried to smooth things over quickly scolded, "Yuan'er! What do you know? What business is it of yours? Come here!"
Xiahou Yuan continued, "Oh, Mother, it's true! I just heard them saying that this Princess Fangfei will soon become the Princess of Ning'an. They said this girl is just a country bumpkin from a remote village. Isn't that bullying her with her power?!"
The ladies' expressions were quite interesting; some lowered their eyes to suppress laughter, some wiped their lips with handkerchiefs, and others frowned in unbearable pain.
Hearing this, Tan Wuyan looked at Xiahou Yuan with tears welling up in her eyes: "Sister, when have we ever said such despicable things about you? You... why are you slandering me with baseless accusations? Besides, marriage is a matter decided by elders, how can we women say such things, you..."
Xiahou Yuan said magnanimously, "Weren't you all talking about this just now? It wasn't me who brought it up! If you didn't say anything, how would I know you had ambitions to become the Princess Consort of Ning'an?"
At this moment, the physician had already treated Qin Sang's injuries, twisting and turning her slightly misaligned parts to straighten them.
Qin Sang let out a soft cry of pain, successfully diverting everyone's attention once again.
Wang Huiwen hurriedly stepped forward: "How is it?"
The physician stood up and said, "Fortunately, no bones or tendons were injured. However, you should still be careful from now on, since it is a sprained tendon. I will prescribe some medicine to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, both externally and internally. There should be no major problems."
"A sprained tendon?" Wang Huiwen exclaimed. "Will it leave any lasting effects?"
The physician cautiously replied, "As long as you take proper care of yourself, there will be no major problems."
"Alright," Lady Marquis Weide stepped forward, her demeanor still aloof. "Since the physician says so, then there's nothing to worry about. However, this matter is ultimately our fault. When we return, I will send someone to deliver some century-old ginseng and some precious blood-nourishing and qi-tonifying herbs to your residence as an apology. This matter is also a dispute between young ladies; let's go back and educate them properly, and let's leave it at that."
Wang Huiwen snorted coldly and had someone help Qin Sang away.
In fact, Qingniao didn't hit hard, and Qin Sang knew to avoid it, so her shoulder wasn't actually dislocated. But since Lingding had already cried and complained, she could only pretend to be weak and pitiful.
She even secretly winked at Princess Fangfei.
They're all faking it; who's worse than whom?
Tan Wuyan was so angry that her face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, but she really couldn't make a scene in front of her mother and the ladies, so she could only grit her teeth and bear it.
Qin Sang was taken away by Wang Huiwen and led to the bustling courtyard.
Wang Huiwen stared at her, hesitant to speak, wanting to ask what had just happened, but she herself had been a young girl, and these things were nothing more than verbal disputes. Besides, she had heard many stories about Tan Wuyan bullying others from Xie Wu, and knew that the other party must have started the trouble, so she didn't say anything, only reminding her to stay away from Tan Wuyan and his group.
Then, when asked if she wanted to go home to recuperate, Qin Sang shook her head and said that she was fine.
So Wang Huiwen didn't insist, but simply instructed the maid to take her to the stage to watch the play and not to run around anymore.
This gathering is so lively, with so many important people, Qin Sang hasn't had enough fun yet, and she hasn't even met Princess Yuan Zhao. It would be a pity to leave now.
She was led to the stage by a maid from the princess's residence. A few people were sitting sparsely under the stage, gathered in twos and threes, watching the play and chatting.
Qin Sang found a seat on the side and sat down, whereupon a maidservant served her fruit, tea, and snacks.
She was quite satisfied with the fight she had just witnessed, which had infuriated Tan Wuyan. She figured she had made a name for herself in one battle.
She ate pumpkin seeds for a while, watched the play with satisfaction, and then heard two women chatting in front of her.
It's like two newlywed daughters talking about how to adapt to their new environment, how to serve their mother-in-law, how to deal with their sister-in-law's difficult behavior, and how to help manage the household affairs.
Qin Sang found it interesting, so she moved closer and even joined in the conversation. The two young women couldn't help but laugh at her young age for being so interested in these things.
Qin Sang, however, felt that this matter was important, as it concerned her survival after marriage. The sooner she understood, the better she could prepare.
After listening for a while, a maid from the princess's residence suddenly came over and whispered something in Qin Sang's ear.
Qin Sang looked at her with some disbelief, but then said, "Lead the way."
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