Chapter 433 - 435: Holy Wrath
Princess Anyang was like a bull calf, kicking without reason, and Noble Consort Guo, unprepared, staggered and nearly fell.
A hand reached out, steadying Noble Consort Guo and shielding her behind.
Feng Bailing sneered.
"Princess Anyang, you have quite the nerve to disrespect your superiors."
By now, Princess Anyang was fuming with rage, no longer able to care about decorum.
"She caused my sister's miscarriage; I'm avenging her. What's wrong with that?"
The Imperial Physician had arrived by then.
After checking the pulse, the Imperial Physician shook his head repeatedly.
"Princess Consort Mu has indeed ingested something wrong; the baby cannot be saved."
Mo Qianqian inhaled sharply.
"Could it be the ginkgo from earlier? Bai Ling, do you know something? You advised Princess Consort Mu not to eat it?"
Princess Anyang grew even angrier upon hearing this.
"You know medical skills; it must have been your doing. Feng Bailing, I'll fight you for this. Queen Mother, you must seek justice for me and my sister!"
Princess Anyang looked at Noble Princess Consort Xiao.
At this moment, Noble Princess Consort Xiao was secretly pleased. She had long been envious of Princess Consort Mu's child, but since Yan'er was to be wed into Prince Mu's Mansion, she couldn't act against Princess Consort Mu. Now, Princess Consort Mu had miscarried on her own, and it was caused by Noble Consort Guo, no less.
"Anyang, rest assured, you're avenging your sister. If there's any trouble, I'll cover for you with the Emperor."
Noble Princess Consort Xiao seized the opportunity to stir up trouble.
Princess Anyang grew bolder and called out to Mo Qianqian.
"Qianqian, help me teach her a lesson."
Princess Anyang and Mo Qianqian surrounded Feng Bailing, one in front and one behind.
Princess Anyang, the daughter of a military general, knew some martial arts.
She advanced with a sweeping leg kick while Mo Qianqian blocked Feng Bailing's retreat.
As she drew close, Feng Bailing sensed something amiss. She saw a glimmer on Mo Qianqian's forehead, a faint blue light – was that the Wenhua Seal?
Mo Qianqian had the beginnings of a Wenhua Seal on her forehead; it seemed her frequent visits to the Calligraphy and Painting Room were paying off. She might soon condense the Wenhua Seal.
Princess Anyang's movements suddenly quickened.
Feng Bailing furrowed her brows slightly.
Although Mo Qianqian's Wenhua Seal was only nascent, it seemed to already have an effect. Unlike Nalan Yan'er's Wenhua Seal, which specialized in the Blessing Technique, Mo Qianqian's seemed to lend some auxiliary power, enhancing Princess Anyang's martial skills.
"Noble Consort Guo, you go first."
Feng Bailing was concerned about Noble Consort Guo getting hurt by Princess Anyang's indiscriminate attacks.
"Nobody is leaving, return my child's life to me. I demand an audience with the Emperor; he must have you executed."
Princess Consort Mu was deathly pale, with venomous rage in her eyes.
Dugu Wu, Dongfang Li, and Dongfang Mosheng arrived just as Prince Mu did, all converging on the scene.
Seeing the chaos and the blood-covered Princess Consort Mu, both Dugu Wu and Dongfang Li were relieved.
They knew she wouldn't suffer a loss so easily.
"Gentlemen, quickly find a way to stop them."
Li Qing, the chief steward, was now panic-stricken.
Facing such revered figures in a fight, even the Imperial Army dared not intervene.
Just as Dugu Wu stepped forward, Prince Mu blocked him, fuming.
"Prince Wu, you're the deity of the Great Chu Army, dare you raise a hand to a woman? If you do, don't blame me and the Mu Family Army stationed outside the city for being unforgiving."
Before Dugu Wu could respond, Dongfang Li made his move with the speed of an arrow.
Prince Mu was secretly delighted. With his daughter and son-in-law, plus his goddaughter, they outnumbered Feng Bailing three to one. Feng Bailing was sure to be in trouble this time.
"Prince Mu, it seems you've gotten it wrong."
Despite being outnumbered three to one, Dugu Wu didn't seem to be worried.
Dugu Wu stepped forward to stop the fight, not to save Feng Bailing but out of fear that Feng Bailing, acting impulsively, would strike too hard.
Although Feng Bailing's fist and kick skills weren't great, one couldn't deny her variety of methods; even something like Chili Water could be enough to put Princess Anyang and Mo Qianqian in an unwinnable situation.
"Stop fighting!"
Seeing the three women tangled in a brawl, Dongfang Li moved forward to block Princess Anyang.
"Dongfang Li, get out of the way, I want to hit..."
Princess Anyang's hand was caught by Dongfang Li, and before she could finish speaking, her eyes widened as she took a punch from Feng Bailing.
"She hit me."
Princess Anyang was furious, yet Dongfang Li not only didn't let go of her hand but also stood in front of Feng Bailing, letting Princess Anyang's fists land on himself.
"Anyang, how could you strike the Emperor's son?"
Upon seeing her own son being hit, Noble Princess Consort Xiao couldn't contain her fury. Just as she stepped forward, the enraged Princess Anyang gave Noble Princess Consort Xiao a kick.
"Anyang, you shrew, how dare you strike my mother."
Dongfang Li became even angrier when he saw this, twisting Princess Anyang's arm.
"Prince Mu, if you don't help soon, your future son-in-law will beat your daughter to death."
Prince Mu turned his head and saw Dongfang Li hitting Princess Anyang, boiling with anger.
He shouted furiously and rushed forward, and this future family of four got entwined in a tussle.
"The Emperor has arrived, the Crown Prince has arrived."
The imperial garden was already in complete chaos at this moment.
Li Qing was sweating profusely, when finally Emperor Yongye and the Crown Prince arrived.
"What on earth are you all doing?"
Crown Prince Dongfang Yu stepped forward to stop them.
Emperor Yongye's face turned grim when he witnessed the scene before him.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor, please seek justice for my two daughters."
Prince Mu's face bore not only the marks from Dongfang Li's beating but also scratches from Noble Princess Consort Xiao, all claw marks.
The situation of Noble Princess Consort Xiao and her son was no better; Noble Princess Consort Xiao's hair was disheveled, and Dongfang Li's body and face were stamped with footprints.
Princess Anyang was in tears, and Princess Consort Mu, upon seeing Emperor Yongye, disregarded her own condition and struggled to crawl to Emperor Yongye's side.
"Your Majesty, you must stand up for your servant. Noble Consort Guo and Feng Bailing have poisoned me, causing my miscarriage."
Princess Consort Mu wept like rain mixed with pear blossoms.
"What exactly happened?"
Emperor Yongye said solemnly.
With nine princes already, he wasn't particularly concerned whether Princess Consort Mu's child was male or female, but he still needed to use Prince Mu, so he wanted Princess Consort Mu to give birth to this child.
"Allow your servant to report, all this is my fault."
Noble Consort Guo quickly knelt down and recounted the entire course of events.
After Noble Consort Guo had finished speaking, Emperor Yongye's face turned even more unpleasant while Crown Prince Dongfang Yu glanced at Feng Bailing and Noble Consort Guo.
"Father Emperor, there's something fishy about this matter. Those ginkgoes must be tainted. Your son wishes to thoroughly investigate this and find the real perpetrator."
Crown Prince Dongfang Yu also knew that Noble Consort Guo and Princess Consort Mu were Emperor Yongye's favored concubines. Last time, Noble Consort Guo had rejected the request of the Crown Princess Consort to learn painting, and Crown Prince Dongfang Yu found this an opportune moment to strike at Noble Consort Guo.
Upon hearing this, both Dugu Wu and Dongfang Mosheng slightly furrowed their brows.
They were about to speak as they moved, but Emperor Yongye let out a cold snort.
"Crown Prince, in your opinion, who is the real culprit?"
Before the Crown Prince had time to react, Emperor Yongye coldly said,
"Summon the guards!"