Chapter 24: Off the Charts

When Murong Ze arrived, he brought Song Tingting with him.

Song Tingting had a face covered in plasters. She awkwardly apologized to Zhuang Xiaoyu and even promised not to cause her trouble in the future.

Under the provocation of Zhuang Xiaoyu, Murong Ze took a strong stance for the first time, forcing the Song family to bow down. If it had been in the past, he would have likely tried to smooth things over, not wanting to offend the influential figures in the court. In fact, he had originally planned to coax Zhuang Xiaoyu into softening up. He even had it all planned out: first, win her over with gentle words, and if she wasn’t happy, he’d find another way to appease her.

Having acted decisively, Murong Ze felt pretty good about it. No wonder Zhuang Xiaoyu liked to talk like that; it was really quite satisfying.

“Xiaoyu, you see, she’s apologized to you. We’re not angry anymore, right? Can we not cancel the marriage now?”

“No.”

“Xiaoyu, do you feel that becoming a secondary consort is beneath you? Don’t worry, when you enter the palace, I will only treat you well. I don’t like Wei Ying either; she only cares about the Third Prince. As for us, we will be mutually affectionate…”

“Mutually affectionate? What a joke. Are you out of your mind?”

No, this matter still had to be handled by the emperor. This person was even more difficult to deal with than Murong Xiao.

Song Tingting couldn’t understand. Zhuang Xiaoyu had insulted him so much, so why was he still defending her?

“Second Prince, Zhuang Xiaoyu doesn’t even look at you. She said…”

“She said she must be blind to look at me. I know, I really don’t deserve her. I’ve wronged her. But you’re saying she’s bragging—that’s your fault. You need to apologize to her.”

“But I’m the one who got hurt!”

“You brought it on yourself. If you hadn’t insulted her, would she have slapped you?”

Even Song Yi, wanting to help his daughter defend herself, didn’t know how to begin.

Song Tingting had been humiliated and furious, cursing Zhuang Xiaoyu, cursing the Second Prince, and even cursing her own betrothed. The Second Prince had been protecting Zhuang Xiaoyu, while her betrothed did nothing.

“You’re just useless. How are you still a Deputy Minister of Justice? Your betrothed was bullied, and you can’t even do anything about it. Useless…”

Wen Quanzhou silently endured her cursing. The Second Prince’s protection of Zhuang Xiaoyu made sense because she was in the right. Song Tingting, however, had been spoiled by her father. She insulted others for being rude but was completely ignorant of her own lack of manners. If she had the guts to curse others, why didn’t she have the guts to strike back?

He was a Deputy Minister, a fourth-rank official, lower in rank than the military officials, so his betrothed often criticized him. When he gave her a piece of jewelry, she called it outdated. When he gave her clothes, she said the colors were too old-fashioned. Even when they had a meal together, she criticized him. Looking at other betrothed couples, there was always sweetness and affection, making him feel envious.

Wen Quanzhou had no background and had climbed up step by step with his real talents. Song Yi thought highly of him, believing that he had a promising future, which is why he allowed his daughter to marry him. But Song Tingting was never happy with the match, and while her parents were fine with it, she agreed only reluctantly. Wen Quanzhou treated her with respect, but as time passed, the couple’s conflicts grew.

In the past, she would only complain, but now she was outright cursing him. It was as if she thought her injuries had something to do with Wen Quanzhou.

“If Miss Song is unhappy with me as your betrothed, you can call off the engagement. Wen will never force it.”

He had come bearing gifts, having heard that her face had been hurt, and had rushed to see her, only to receive scolding and mockery.

“Wen Quanzhou, you’re not just useless, you’re a despicable and shameless coward! Do you think that because I’ve been disfigured, you can call off the engagement? You’re a bastard, useless.”

Mrs. Song hurried over when she heard about this. She had only been gone for a little while, and now her daughter had driven her betrothed away.

She thought Wen Quanzhou would come back to comfort her, but days passed, and he didn’t show up.

“If he dares to never come back, so be it. When I called him useless, he didn’t even dare to speak up. My betrothed was hurt, and he didn’t even dare make a sound. How is that not useless?”

Song Tingting never thought she was in the wrong. She apologized to Zhuang Xiaoyu because the Second Prince was bullying her into it.

Murong Ze, like a sticky plaster, would show up beside Zhuang Xiaoyu as soon as his official duties were finished, more dedicated than even Zhuang Xiaoyu’s maid, always able to find her no matter where she went.

Zhuang Xiaoyu had thrown him out several times, and even though her body ached from the falls, he would crawl back and lie there, like a stray dog. Even a flea-ridden dog was less persistent than him. Zhuang Xiaoyu pressed her forehead in frustration—how come no one mentioned that he was like a flea-ridden dog?

She really couldn’t bring herself to deal with him.

Finally, Zhuang Xiaoyu couldn’t tolerate this dogged plaster any longer. Full of rage, she stormed toward the Jinluan Hall.

The officials were dumbfounded, and the emperor was stunned. Old Zhuang almost fainted—this young lady couldn’t be controlled after all.

“Xiaoyu, why are you here? You didn’t even tell me you were coming.”

Murong Ze immediately greeted her with a smile. He knew exactly what she was about to do.

“I didn’t tell you? I’ve told you so many times already! You treat my words like the wind passing by your ears. Go away!”

“Xiaoyu, please speak properly. Don’t be impulsive. Father is not unreasonable.”

He was genuinely worried that Zhuang Xiaoyu might offend the emperor. The emperor wasn’t someone who could be reasoned with so easily—he could kill people.

The Fifth Prince seemed to be quite scared of Zhuang Xiaoyu.

“Your Majesty, I am here to cancel my engagement with your son. I don’t want someone like him. Our engagement is nullified. From now on, don’t let him bother me again, or I won’t be able to stop myself from killing him.”

“How dare you, Miss Zhuang! This is the Jinluan Hall! How dare you make trouble here?”

After ruling for so many years, the emperor’s authority couldn’t be trampled by a mere girl. He shouted angrily, “Guards, slap her!”

“Father, please calm down. It’s all my fault. I upset Xiaoyu, and that’s why she’s speaking without thinking.”

“Murong Ze, do you want to die? Who are you calling mad and crazy? You’re the one who’s always pretending to be crazy and foolish!”

“Your Highness, I’m trying to save you. Please stop.”

“I’m just informing you, not negotiating. The engagement between me and Murong Ze is nullified.”

“Alright, alright, understood, Father. Xiaoyu and I are not compatible. Please, Father, annul our engagement.”

“What have you been doing all this time?”

Zhuang Xiaoyu, furious, kicked him hard.

“Please, give me some face. There are so many people here!”

The emperor looked at their interaction and was so enraged that he almost wanted to strike them with the imperial seal. How had he ended up with a son worse than the previous one?

“You two, do you think this is a market? Do whatever you want? Guards, drag them both out, and give them forty slaps each as a lesson.”

That damned emperor, even his numbers were like his son’s—he only knew forty.

“The minister begs His Majesty to calm down. My daughter has always been rude; you know this. Please, Your Majesty, forgive her. Let me take her punishment.”

“No, no. Father-in-law, let me take the punishment for Xiaoyu. Just give me eighty slaps, and it will be fine.”

At this point, he still wanted to take the punishment for Zhuang Xiaoyu. The Fifth Prince truly cared deeply for Miss Zhuang.

Only Murong Xiao vaguely realized that Murong Ze must have been scared into submission by Zhuang Xiaoyu. Others didn’t know it, but he knew the true strength of Zhuang Xiaoyu. How pathetic, even if he couldn’t beat her, he shouldn’t be so servile.

“If you want to get slapped, I don’t care, but I don’t want to be slapped.”

Zhuang Xiaoyu showed no mercy.

“Alright, very good. Zhuang, you truly raised a good daughter. To dare cause such a scene in the Jinluan Hall. I’ve lived so long, and this is the first time I’ve seen such a sight. Guards…”

“Wait.” Zhuang Xiaoyu waved her hand, interrupting the emperor.

“Stop pretending. You’ll get struck by lightning pretending like that.”

Zhuang Xiaoyu walked towards the emperor, causing the eunuch by the emperor’s side to step forward to block her.

“Go aside, if I wanted to kill him, would I need to walk over here?”

She reached for the bag at her waist, feeling around for a while, and then took out a small iron plate.

Old Zhuang immediately recognized it. This was the piece they had picked up from under the table in the imperial garden last time, wasn’t it?

“Emperor of the Great Zhou, look at this thing before deciding whether to hit me.”

The emperor took the object from her, his body shaking.

Eighteen years ago, the spiritual leader of the Lingxu Sect had passed through the Great Zhou. He had asked the emperor to pray for the Great Zhou’s prosperity, and in return, the leader had asked for a promise—that if anyone came to him with this object in the future, the emperor would be obliged to grant their request unconditionally.

The emperor looked at the small iron token in his hand. It was inscribed with the character “Ling,” and it was the same one he had seen all those years ago.