Chapter 48 Trouble Her
Mid-spring is the most beautiful season in the capital.

The endless flat street had long been cleared of all traces of people. Today, the sage was on a tour, and every household had closed their doors for fear of offending the distinguished person.

The guards in shining armor walked in front, followed by sixteen magnificent and spacious carriages and bright yellow ceremonial guards that stretched for several miles.

Following closely behind the imperial carriage was the carriage from the Ningguo Duke's Mansion.

There were five carriages in total, three four-horse carriages carrying people, and two two-horse carriages carrying maids, servants, and luggage.

The wife of the Duke, the wife of the second wife, and the two ladies of the East Palace sat in the front carriage. Several young ladies from the East Palace sat in one, and Li Lanchun took the fifth and sixth young ladies and Qin Xiaoning to another.

Behind the Ningguo Mansion were the carriages of various prominent families and important officials of the imperial court.

There were so many luxury cars and a line of them that it was impossible to see the end.

The carriage rolled forward, heading straight for the palace on the outskirts of the city. The lively Sixth Girl stuck her head out of the window, chattering non-stop all the way.

When they were almost at the palace, Lu Ji rode over, raised his hand and pushed the Sixth Miss's head back into the carriage, and said to Li Lanchun, "When we get there, the eunuchs will come. You and your mother and aunts should go to the accommodation first to rest. There will be a palace banquet in the evening."

After giving the instructions, Lu Ji glanced at Qin Xiaoning who was sitting obediently beside him, then mounted his horse and left again.

When they arrived at the temporary palace, after the emperor and the imperial concubine's carriages slowly entered, a team of eunuchs came over, stopped in groups of three or four in front of each family's carriages, and led the female members into the inner palace.

This royal villa is solemn and majestic, with endless red brick and brown tile palaces. Every blade of grass and every tree is a rare species, lush and green, full of vitality.

Qin Xiaoning and Song Zhi were led into the palace by the eunuchs. Before they could pack their luggage, they heard a commotion outside. The Fourth Lady of the East Palace rushed in aggressively with a group of maids, ignoring the female officials' attempts to stop her.

"You bitch, you crippled my son, but you live a carefree life."

When the Fourth Lady saw Qin Xiaoning, she started cursing.

Seeing that the Fourth Madam had come with ill intentions, Songzhi quickly protected Qin Xiaoning and retorted to the Fourth Madam: "It was obviously the Seventh Young Master who was rude to our girl first. Madam, you are a bad parent, why do you have to embarrass others now?"

"You little rascal, where did you learn the rules? The master is talking here, you have no right to interrupt."

As she said this, the Fourth Lady raised her hand like a shrew and was about to hit someone, but Songzhi grabbed her wrist.

Although the pine branches look skinny, they have been working hard for many years and are much stronger than the fourth wife who has always lived a life of luxury.

The fourth lady was pinched so hard that it hurt. She bared her teeth and shouted, "You little bastard, are you going to rebel? I'll tell the steward and he will skin you alive."

Songzhi was not afraid at all, and retorted: "I am loyal to my master, what's wrong with that?"

As he said this, he increased the strength of the hand that was holding the Fourth Madam, who cried out in pain twice. She turned to the maid behind her and shouted, "Are you all blind? Take this little hoof off for me."

The Fourth Madam has a large number of people and power. If a fight breaks out, the only ones who will suffer are Qin Xiaoning and her servant.

Without waiting for the maid to respond, Qin Xiaoning stepped forward, glared at them, and said sternly to the group of servants brought by the Fourth Madam: "I'm sure you all know what happened to those servants around the Seventh Young Master who wanted to harm me. If you want to touch me, you should rub your heads first."

All the servants who followed Lu Qilang and bullied Qin Xiaoning were beaten to death by Lu Ji's order.

As soon as Qin Xiaoning said this, the servants behind the Fourth Madam, who were eager to try, hesitated. Seeing this, the Fourth Madam shouted at her people, "Who are you? You don't even listen to the words of my master. Are you looking for death?"

While cursing, she twisted her body, trying to break free from Songzhi's restraints. Songzhi was worried that she would harm Qin Xiaoning, so he struggled with her desperately. The two of them were pulling and tugging each other, and were making a mess, but there was a heavy scolding, and they were so scared that they let go of each other almost at the same time.

It was Lu Ji who arrived.

Seeing that he had taken the initiative, Songzhi replied, "My Lord, the fourth lady brought people to embarrass Miss Qin and beat me."

The fourth lady was timid when she saw Lu Ji. After hearing what Song Zhi said, she glared at her angrily and muttered, "It's obviously you who are rude, but you are just blaming others for what they have done."

"enough!"

Lu Ji was not going to indulge the Fourth Madam, so he stopped her in a deep voice and asked coldly, "This is my bedroom. How can Fourth Madam come in and embarrass me?"

"I"

The Fourth Madam had long wanted to tear Qin Xiaoning apart, but she regretted that she was protected by Lu Ji so closely that she had never had the chance. When she finally got the chance, she led her men to rush over without hesitation, but she never expected to meet Lu Ji again.

Seeing that the Fourth Madam was hesitant and unable to speak, Lu Ji was too lazy to argue with this shrew-like woman. He called the female official at the door in and said coldly: "Go report to the inner court and say that Zhang intended to commit a crime in the palace. Let the Jinyiwei arrest her and interrogate her."

When the fourth lady heard this, she was so frightened that her legs went limp. Fortunately, she was supported by the maid beside her so she did not collapse to the ground.

She was a person who only bullied the weak and feared the strong. She glanced at Lu Ji's cold face and did not dare to speak. It was the maid beside her who had the courage to plead: "My Lord, the Fourth Madam is your aunt. It's just a small dispute in the backyard. Why do you have to make such a fuss?"

The old woman was talking when Lu Ji kicked her without mercy. The old woman screamed like a pig being slaughtered and was kicked far away. She fell at the door of the hall with blood all over her face. Her head tilted and she fainted.

The fourth lady was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground, crying and begging, "Master, please spare my life, Master, please spare my life."

Lu Ji glanced down at her and said coldly, "If you want me to forgive you, you should know what to do."

As she spoke, she pointed at the Fourth Madam and shouted, "Go kowtow and apologize to Ah Ning."

The Fourth Madam looked at Lu Ji in panic, her face full of disbelief.

Asking her, the legal wife, to kowtow to a concubine, who is at least a junior, how could she keep her dignity?

Seeing that she refused, Lu Ji ordered Desheng at the door: "Drag Zhang and follow the palace maids to the inner court and hand her over to the Jinyiwei for disposal."

"Master Shizi"

The fourth lady wanted to cry out but didn't dare. She called out awkwardly, and when she saw Desheng really coming to get her, she just started throwing a tantrum and rolling around in the hall, acting like a shrew.

"What happened? Why did it become like this?"

The third lady almost trotted into the house, and when she saw the fourth lady throwing a tantrum, she was completely overwhelmed.

Glancing at the servants in the room, and seeing the old woman who was beaten to death at the door, Third Madam couldn't understand what was happening. She hurried forward and said to Lu Ji in a soft tone, "Erlang, your Fourth Aunt is a fool. Don't bother with her."

(End of this chapter)