Tang Yun's chest heaved, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Lin Qingwan, asking again and again, "Why did you kill it?"
She grabbed the bloodied cat with one hand; the cat's tongue was sticking out.
Lin Qingwan froze, her eyes filled with terror. "I...I didn't..."
"I saw it!" Tang Yun suddenly roared, "It's just a cat, it doesn't know anything!"
"Before you hate it, can you at least control your own children?"
"He climbed over the wall to play with my cat, so why should his hives be proven to be caused by the cat?"
Lin Qingwan forced herself to calm down, knowing that Tang Yun had misunderstood, but Tang Yun was almost irrational at the moment, and any explanation she gave would be in vain.
"Your Highness, please calm down. I've already told you about the rubella..."
Tang Yun, with his blood-stained hand, shoved her violently. Lin Qingwan almost lost her balance and was helped a few steps away by Mu Xue and Qiu Hong.
Tang Yun chased after him like a demon, "If it were your child who died today, could you remain calm?!"
"It's dead, it's already dead, and you still want me to calm down!"
"What do I owe you? It's you and the Crown Prince who owe me! Why are you treating me like this!"
Since that day when Tang Yun had a fuss with them in front of the palace gate and was scolded by her parents, she had been living a depressed and gloomy life in the East Palace for more than a month. Then, she had to kneel in the Warm Heart Pavilion for several days, and her knees were swollen. She had long since lost control of her emotions.
The cat's death before her eyes became the final mountain that crushed her.
She shouldn't have trusted Lin Qingwan! Her mother was right; the people in the palace have no hearts, their hearts are all rotten to the core.
She was just being stupid!
"Your Highness, please don't act rashly." The old woman was too late.
Tang Yun knew some martial arts, and Qiu Hong and Mu Xue were easily pushed away by her. Lin Qingwan's slender neck was instantly pinched between her fingers.
The tightening force made it difficult for Lin Qingwan to even breathe, let alone explain.
"Princess!"
"lady!"
Chaos reigned in the side hall, and no one dared to approach Tang Yun. The bloodied cat in her hand alone was enough to terrify anyone.
The commotion was so loud that the entire Eastern Palace heard it.
Feng'er woke up sleepily and saw that her mother was being choked by the Crown Princess. Forgetting her fear, she ran over and pushed Tang Yun's waist, shouting, "Bad woman, let go of my mother!"
"You're insane! How dare you touch my mother!"
Feng'er only noticed the cat in Tang Yun's hand after she finished speaking, and she trembled with fright.
Lin Qingwan said haltingly, "Qiu Hong Mu Xue, protect the young prince!"
Upon hearing this, Feng'er mustered her courage and tried to kick Tang Yun again, shouting, "Let go! Do you want to die?!"
The child spoke a bit harshly, but that was because Lin Qingwan was being choked. However, it sounded different to Tang Yun.
Want to die?
Did they kill her cat and then try to kill her too?
Tang Yun's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and Lin Qingwan instinctively felt something was wrong. She called out hoarsely, "Feng'er, get out of the way!"
No sooner had Tang Yun finished speaking than he kicked Feng'er in the chest as she lunged at him. Fortunately, Feng'er couldn't put any force into her knees, otherwise the kick might have caused serious injury.
Feng'er fell down, clutching her chest and coughing painfully, her face turning pale.
"Your Highness!"
"Feng'er!" Lin Qingwan's anger flared up as she stared directly at Tang Yun. "If you have a problem, take it out on me. Feng'er is still a child."
"I told you to come at me! I'll give you back my cat! Can you do that?!" Tang Yun pressed closer, and Lin Qingwan's body tensed even more, her hands gripping the hand at her throat tightly, trying to breathe in more fresh air.
"Your Highness, I didn't poison your cat. The eunuch said it wasn't feeling well today, so I came to check on it. The cat wanted me to hold it and feed it. I don't know how..."
Tang Yun wouldn't listen and insisted, "I saw it, it died in my hands!"
"You hated my cat the day the little prince got hives, but you have no proof. You want to wait for the crown prince to come back and complain so he can punish you, don't you!"
"You can't wait any longer. While I'm fulfilling my filial duties at Nuanxin Pavilion on behalf of the Crown Prince, you're already trying to kill my cat!"
"It wasn't me!" Lin Qingwan began to struggle. "Calm down. Even if you kill me, the cat won't come back to life."
"Let's calm down and investigate this matter... uh!"
She couldn't even finish her sentence; her throat tightened, and her face flushed red.
"If my cat doesn't survive, you'll have to go to hell and atone for its sins!"
"Let go of my mother!" Ignoring the pain in her body, Feng'er rushed forward again to protect Lin Qingwan.
Lin Qingwan's eyes welled up with tears.
Seeing the murderous intent on Tang Yun's face, she didn't know where she got the courage and strength to struggle desperately, and Tang Yun's fingernails scratched several bloody cuts on her neck.
But it wasn't too late. She pulled Feng'er into her arms and used her back to block Tang Yun's kick.
Lin Qingwan held her breath and covered Feng'er's eyes with her hand.
Tears welled up in Feng'er's eyes immediately.
She thought, no matter how painful it is, it can't be as painful as that kick from Jiang Zhenlin back then...
Shen Xu arrived just in time, pulling Lin Qingwan and Feng'er behind him like the wind, and raising his arm to block Tang Yun's kick.
Compared to him, Tang Yun's skills were nothing but fancy moves. Chen Xu channeled his internal energy into his arms, and Tang Yun, whose knees were already aching, was thrown back a great distance by the force of the internal energy.
The murderous aura emanating from her suddenly turned pale and weak, and she barely managed to stand up after bumping into the cabinet.
"Guard Shen, stop!" the old woman pleaded in a trembling voice, "She is the Crown Princess..."
Shen Xu's eyes were icy cold. "I am ordered to protect Madam Wan. No matter who it is, no one is allowed to touch Madam Wan."
The old woman kowtowed again, "It is understandable that the Crown Princess was anxious and impulsive because of the cat's death."
Tang Yun retorted sharply, "How dare you! I am the Crown Princess personally appointed by His Majesty, and I possess the Jade Seal and Golden Seal."
"She killed my cat, I want her to pay with her life!"
"Someone come here!"
Shen Xu frowned. "Let's see who dares to make a move!"
He pulled out the Crown Prince's token from his waist, but Lin Qingwan pressed down on his wrist. "Guard Shen. The cat did indeed die in my hands, so it's normal for the Crown Princess to be angry."
"Just investigate this matter thoroughly, don't escalate it to the Crown Prince."
Shen Xu's heart stirred; even at this moment, she could still put the Crown Prince first.
If he were to reveal the Crown Prince's token at this moment, it would be tantamount to the Crown Prince confronting Tang Yun. Not to mention that the Crown Prince has not yet returned to the capital, His Majesty is ill, and Vice Minister Tang is still attending to him outside.
If something happens at this time, what if...?
Shen Xu felt a wave of fear afterward.
Lin Qingwan paused for a moment and said to Tang Yun, "Even if I have to pay with my life, I have to wait for the Crown Prince to return. Before that, if the Crown Princess wants me to pay with my life, I'm afraid the Tang family cannot bear this responsibility."
"You think I'm afraid of you!" Tang Yun gritted his teeth.
"Of course the Crown Princess isn't afraid of me, but does she really intend to have everyone in the Vice Minister's residence die with me?"
Tang Yun certainly couldn't and wouldn't dare.
Back in the main house, Lin Qingwan asked Imperial Physician Wen to quickly check Feng'er's pulse. Apart from being a little frightened, he was fine.
Lin Qingwan breathed a sigh of relief and then asked, "How is Consort Su's foot?"
"It's just a sprain, I'll be fine after a few days of rest."
Lin Qingwan's expression grew cold.
It wasn't until late at night that Physician Zhu emerged from Nuanxin Pavilion. Upon learning of the matter, he immediately went to find Lin Qingwan.
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