Taking the Opportunity to Slap Someone in the Face!

Blood was drawn.

This really caused quite a stir.

"Yun'er!" Upon hearing the noise, Madam Bu came out from another room and immediately let out a shrill scream when she saw her son with his face covered in blood.

She pounced on them like a mother animal protecting her cub, crying and cursing, "You heartless bastards! Why are you hitting my son! I'll fight you to the death!"

The junior officer impatiently shoved Bu aside, and the woman fell to the ground, wailing and crying loudly.

But this scene was witnessed by more servants of the Jia family who rushed to the scene after hearing the news.

Seeing outsiders committing violence outside the mansion, injuring the men of the family and pushing down the women, the crowd was immediately outraged.

"Rebellion! Rebellion! How dare they lay a hand on someone in the Rongguo Mansion!"

"Quickly report to Steward Lai! Report to Second Madam!"

"Surround them! Don't let these killers escape!"

Upon hearing this, the guards of the Jia family rushed over. With sticks firmly in their hands, the servants pointed and whispered, and in an instant, the small courtyard under the west corridor was completely surrounded.

Seeing that he had incurred the wrath of the crowd, the junior officer panicked and could only shout, his voice trembling with fear, "Do you intend to rebel? We are acting on orders from the Northern Garrison Command!"

But at that moment, to everyone's surprise, Jia Yun, who had been keeping his head down and covered in blood, suddenly let out a howl like a wounded cub.

Instead of seeking revenge on the junior officer who had hit him, he turned around and charged like a cannonball toward Jia Qiang, who was standing to the side with a gloating smile on his face!

"Jia Qiang! What grudge do I have against you! Why are you trying to harm me like this!" Jia Yun, as if possessed, lunged at Jia Qiang and slammed him to the ground. She straddled him and began punching him recklessly!

He had been holding back his anger for years, and his strength was indeed much greater after his resurrection. In just a few moments, he had left bloody marks on Jia Qiang's handsome face.

Jia Qiang, a simpleton, had long been pampered in the Ningguo Mansion and had never experienced such a scene before.

When the burning pain shot through his tender skin, coupled with Jia Yun's reckless behavior, he was so terrified that he burst into tears.

He struggled like a woman, pleading in a shrill voice, "Ah! Stop hitting me! Help! It wasn't me! I was wrong! Yun-ge'er, spare me!"

The situation has completely spiraled out of control!

"Quickly pull them apart! Quickly pull them apart!" Jia Qin was so frightened that she jumped up and down, but dared not step forward.

Doesn't he know the gravity of the situation? If I were to step forward, I'd probably get punched a few times myself.

Several strong servants rushed forward and, with great effort, dragged the enraged Jia Yun away from Jia Qiang.

Jia Yun, however, continued to struggle, his face covered in blood mixed with tears and anger. He pointed at Jia Qiang, who was slumped on the ground and sobbing, and cried out to Zhou Rui's wife, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

"Aunt Zhou! You must do justice for me! Jia Qiang falsely accused me of colluding with bandits and tried to kill me! These Imperial Guards beat me like this without even asking what happened! What's the point of me studying? What's the point of pursuing fame and fortune?"

"It would be better to just kill myself! What hope is there for us orphans and widows to survive in this Jia family?! Though I am a distant relative, I am still a legitimate great-grandson of the Jia family! How can I allow my own family to humiliate me like this! A mere banner officer dares to come and slap us in the face; if word gets out, will the Ning and Rong mansions still have any face in the capital?"

His tearful outburst, coupled with the blood-covered face, was utterly heartbreaking, moving all who heard it.

The junior officer on the other side was also greatly shocked when he heard this explanation. How could things have turned out this way?

Zhou Rui's wife was shocked to see the two in such a terrible state, and quickly tried to comfort them, saying, "Yun-ge'er, please don't be like this! Let's talk this out! What... what happened?"

Zhou Rui's gaze swept sternly over the Imperial Guard officer and the stunned, trembling Jia Qiang and Jia Qin.

Seeing that things had escalated, the junior officer forced himself to say, "Madam, we are just following orders. This person (referring to Jia Qiang) reported that Jia Yun is a suspect. We came to question her, but Jia Yun refused to cooperate and even talked back..."

"Where's the evidence?!" Jia Yun interrupted him hoarsely before he could finish speaking. He broke free from the servants who were pulling him and staggered to Zhou Rui's wife.

"Aunt Zhou, they keep saying I'm a suspect, but where's the evidence? Just based on Jia Qiang's baseless accusation? Yesterday, after leaving Zuixianlou, I went to Second Mistress's place. Then I went out to buy spices and delivered them directly to Second Mistress's courtyard! Second Mistress can testify for me! They don't believe me and insist on arresting me! They even hit me and shoved my mother! Is there no justice in this world?!"

He kept referring to her as "Second Madam," which brought up Wang Xifeng.

Zhou Rui's shrewdness and worldly wisdom were enough to make her understand the situation as soon as she heard that Wang Xifeng was involved.

She knew Wang Xifeng's temperament well; she was fiercely protective of her own and extremely strong-willed. How could she, as the Second Mistress of the Jia family, tolerate outsiders bullying her? Especially not someone who would lay a hand on her within the Jia household?

When she joked with outsiders, she would say, "This Miss Feng may be young, but she acts more like everyone else."

But Zhou Ruijia both respected and feared her. How could he not know Feng Lazi's methods and thoughts?

Zhou Rui's wife immediately frowned and said to the junior officer, "Sir, since Yun-ge'er says that our Second Mistress is a witness, this matter is probably a misunderstanding. Why don't you wait a moment, sir? I have already sent someone to invite the Second Mistress. If it is indeed our young master who has caused trouble, we will deal with it according to family rules. There is no need for you to take action."

The junior officer was now in a bind, cursing Jia Qiang and Jia Qin a thousand times in his heart, thinking he would find a way to get back at them someday, but for now he could only nod awkwardly.

Before long, a group of maids and wives escorted Wang Xifeng as she walked in.

Today she wore a bright red satin jacket embroidered with gold butterflies and flowers, over which was a five-colored silk embroidered dark blue and silver fox fur coat, and a jade-green crepe skirt sprinkled with flowers.

She was radiant and elegant, exuding a graceful and sophisticated air. Even before she arrived, her imposing presence and air of wealth enveloped the entire room.

Her walking posture was different from others; it was not straightforward, but rather carried a slight, graceful sway, as charming as a willow swaying in the wind.

Second Madam slightly raised her phoenix eyes, glancing over Jia Yun, whose face was covered in blood and who looked extremely miserable, then glancing at Jia Qiang, whose face was stained with blood but who was still crying, before finally fixing her gaze on the junior officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Those phoenix-shaped, triangular eyes, and beneath those willow-leaf eyebrows, were slowly parted lips that seemed to be smiling but weren't.

"Very well! What's going on here? In broad daylight, you've caused such a ruckus! Sir, what a display of official power! But where did you come from? Coming to our prefecture to arrest people—even your superiors wouldn't dare to be so presumptuous. Tell me, what's the reason for this?"

"It's a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding." Even the junior officer felt intimidated by such a god-like figure.

As Jia Yun was immersed in self-pity and indignation, he suddenly noticed that the light in front of him had dimmed.

He could only smell a familiar, rich scent that blended high-end cosmetics with a refreshing fragrance.

Jia Yun subconsciously looked up and happened to see Wang Xifeng walking closer.

Her hair was slightly loose, with a few strands of black hair hanging down beside her cheeks, which made her skin look even more radiant.

Those phoenix eyes shimmered, seemingly carrying a subtle hint of scrutiny and understanding.

Jia Yun's heart skipped a beat for no reason, and his face flushed. He hurriedly lowered his eyes, not daring to look any longer. But as his gaze fell, it inadvertently swept over the other person's figure.

The luxurious dress was well-tailored, but the languid posture made it appear somewhat loose, obscuring the waistline.

But as she walked, her plump, rounded buttocks outlined a breathtakingly full curve beneath the smooth crepe skirt, trembling slightly with each step, like a ripe peach, exuding a unique allure of a mature woman.

The intense visual impact of that fleeting glimpse, intertwined with his current feelings of humiliation and indignation, created an extremely strange and complex feeling, making him feel even more ashamed and wishing he could bury his head in the ground.

Zhou Rui's wife hurriedly stepped forward and whispered her reply.

After listening, Wang Xifeng's lips curled into a cold smile as she looked at the junior officer: "Oh? So it's about yesterday's incident. Yun-ge'er was in my courtyard at noon yesterday. Then I asked him to go out, and he painstakingly found me some borneol and musk. After that, I personally invited him to have a cup of tea and we talked for a while. What? Someone's son was beaten, and they've come to our Rongguo Mansion to investigate? And even resorted to violence?"

Her tone was calm and gentle, but her words carried a hidden barb that made the junior officer unable to lift his head.

"No, no! Please forgive me, Madam Lian! It was my rashness that led me to believe your slander!" The junior officer was sweating profusely, bowing repeatedly in apology. "Since Madam vouched for me, it must be a misunderstanding! I'll take my leave now!"

After saying that, the junior officer glared at Jia Qiang, then led his men and slunk away through the crowd.

Seeing that their patron had left, Jia Qiang and Jia Qin were so frightened that they shrank to the side and dared not utter a sound.

Why is this progress not what they expected?