Zhao Jiaqi sneered, "Huangfu Xian has no official wife, so where does a Princess come from? You are merely his concubine, a mere mistress acting high and mighty here. Truly, you're a villager, accustomed to the tricks of the fox borrowing the tiger's might! You're just trying to aggrandize yourself."
Pinting's face, usually not so serious, nodded heavily, echoing her sister-in-law's words, "Mmm, pretending to be important, aggrandizing yourself, shameless!"
Since becoming a concubine, Fan Mingyue had never suffered such humiliation.
She stomped her feet in anger, pointing a finger at Pinting's nose and cursing, "You scoundrel, how dare you insult this... concubine, disrespecting the royal authority, seeking death!"
After finishing her tirade, Fan Mingyue still felt unsatisfied. Gritting her teeth, she said hatefully, "Slap her face. I won't call stop, you don't stop!"
Before the maids by her side could step forward, Zhao Jiaqi raised her hand and slapped Fan Mingyue back and forth, the sounds of the slaps echoing loudly.
"Presumptuous! I am the Princess Consort of Zhen Country, a Princess Consort of the highest rank. You fail to pay your respects to me and yet you speak such arrogant words, disrespecting me. You, a mere concubine, dare to call yourself 'Princess' in front of me. Who gave you the guts? Who gave you the authority!"
Fan Mingyue had never seen Zhao Jiaqi like this, and her face turned pale.
"I... I am Huangfu Xian's concubine. What's wrong with teaching a disrespectful woman a lesson?"
Pinting scoffed and stepped forward, sizing up Fan Mingyue with utter disdain. "I, a disrespectful woman? And you want to teach me a lesson? Has your brain gone haywire, or were you squeezed through a door frame?"
"I am a princess, born to the Grand Imperial Concubine. The嬷嬷 who educated me in the palace was a renowned governess from the Yun Kingdom. My father the Emperor once praised me. Yet, in the eyes of Prince Zhen's concubine, I have become this? It seems, Concubine, that you doubt my father the Emperor's words?"
It was at this moment that Fan Mingyue realized who she had offended!
Grand Imperial Concubine Yao Jingyun had only one daughter, and that was Princess Pinting.
The most favored princess of the Yun Kingdom, married to that scoundrel Fan Xudong. It made sense that she would call Zhao Jiaqi "sister-in-law."
However, she truly couldn't fathom why such a noble princess would be so close to a village woman. This was completely beyond her expectations.
Pinting watched as cold sweat trickled down Fan Mingyue's face, which was paler than paper. She sneered, looking at the flustered woman, but had no intention of letting her off the hook.
"A concubine dares to be so arrogant, insulting me and disrespecting royal authority? Who do you think you are? Let alone you having to bow to me, a princess. Even as the wife of the General of Cavalary, I do not need to bow to you, a concubine. A mere concubine, and you really think of yourself as a Princess Consort!"
Zhao Jiaqi watched from the side, thoroughly enjoying the show. It was the first time she had heard Pinting speak with such sharp sarcasm.
Pinting circled Fan Mingyue, her lips curved into a grin that seemed to reach her ears. "Sister-in-law is a village woman, but she is the legitimate wife and always acts with discretion. You, a concubine, dare to be so overbearing in front of a Princess Consort of the highest rank. Who gave you the courage?"
"Is it Huangfu Xian? Or is it your brother, who is a Minister of Works?"
Fan Mingyue was on the verge of tears. Sensing the dire situation, she quickly knelt and begged, "Your Highness the Princess, please be magnanimous. This lowly concubine truly did not intend to offend you. For the sake of Fan Xudong being this lowly concubine's brother, please spare me this once!"
Pinting pulled her skirt away from Fan Mingyue's grasp, disgusted, and tore off the part she had touched.
"This princess will not forgive you!"
Fan Mingyue had a flash of inspiration. "Please forgive me, sister-in-law. I will never dare to do it again!"
Zhao Jiaqi pulled Pinting, who was still wanting to scold, and gave her a look. She said to the person kneeling on the ground, "Get up. From now on, whenever this Princess Consort and the Princess appear, you must keep a distance of three feet away!"
Fan Mingyue nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, this lowly concubine understands!"
Zhao Jiaqi pulled Pinting along and they returned to the tent with the flower wreaths, leaving the mistress and her servants by the stream.
Even though Fan Mingyue glared at their retreating backs with the most venomous eyes, she dared not step forward to tear at them.
She could only swallow her anger, biting the bullet and enduring it!
Inside the tent, Pinting pouted, unhappy. She tugged on Zhao Jiaqi's sleeve and complained, "Sister-in-law, you're really something. I hadn't had enough fun yet. You don't know, when she heard I was a princess, her face turned so ugly!"
"It was the first time I've seen a face like a color palette, turning red, then white, then green. It was so amusing!"
Zhao Jiaqi poked Pinting's forehead and chided her playfully, "You were only concerned with having fun and didn't notice the other women watching from not far away. Regardless of anything else, Fan Mingyue is Fan Xudong's sister. As her sister-in-law, you've scolded her once, that's enough. If some people see this, they'll just gossip about us!"
Fan Mingyue came from a village, and so did she. Although their status was different now, their roots were in the village, and that couldn't be ignored.
It was then that Pinting realized that by scolding Fan Mingyue, she had also subtly disparaged her for being from a village, forgetting that her sister-in-law was also a village woman!
She felt very guilty and apologized to Zhao Jiaqi with remorse, "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry. I wasn't talking about you, I just... I didn't mean it like that!"
The more she explained, the more muddled it became. Pinting slumped onto a stool, her shoulders drooping in dejection.
"I know you didn't mean it that way. In front of outsiders, give Fan Mingyue a little face. Even though she's not proper, don't forget, in the eyes of outsiders, we are all members of the Fan family."
Pinting nodded heavily, indicating she understood. However, she still looked unhappy, annoyed with herself for speaking carelessly.
The small interlude by the stream ended peacefully, and neither of them gave it much thought.
However, it was later discussed by some of the officials' wives as a topic of conversation during their leisure time.
Staying in the tents outside the city, although well-equipped, Zhao Jiaqi still slept restlessly, always fearing that some insect would crawl into the tent. Once on the bed, it would be bad enough if it bit her arm or leg, but she was afraid it would crawl into her ear...
Hearing his wife express such worry, Fan Zehao actually stayed awake all night. He laughed and squeezed her fair, tender cheek.
"Silly girl, there are herbs inside and out of this tent, and medicine powder was also sprinkled outside. How could you possibly encounter those creatures? You're bolder than anyone when you want to be, and yet, these little bugs have scared you!"
"Get away from me. Laugh at me again, and I'll teach you a lesson!" She was uncharacteristically shy, and in her embarrassment, she kicked him off the bed.
She had a bold spirit, capable of killing a chicken or butchering a rabbit. But when it came to fear, it was always multi-legged centipedes. Seeing those long rows of legs... ugh, she could fill a basin with goosebumps.
The image was too vivid. She quickly pushed it out of her mind. Dressed and ready, Qiufen brought the washing water. The couple busied themselves for a while before having breakfast.
Fan Zehao was dressed in short attire, and without a doubt, he was heading into the mountains to hunt. Since the war, he had been entering the mountains countless times.
"Wife, do you want to go hunting later? Or should I take you with me!"