The position of the Princess Dowager's Mansion was already awkward. The two daughters didn't have any titles. Without the Princess Dowager, they were nothing.
And Yi Qing was well - known for being unreasonable. She had smashed the Princess Dowager's garden party, and the emperor had even bestowed that garden on her. Those who didn't know the truth must have had all sorts of thoughts.
"Get out!" Yi Qing found Qin Qian an eyesore.
Qin Qian left in a hurry. Seeing the people queuing up to send gifts to the General's Mansion at the door, she quickly covered her face and ran away.
Back then, when Xiao Jinghan returned in triumph but was punished by the emperor for his mistakes, hardly any of the powerful and noble in the capital came to visit. Now that the Yi family had slapped the Princess Dowager in the face, and the Princess Dowager had been imprisoned, everyone immediately saw the situation clearly. Taking advantage of the New Year, they all came to visit.
Yi Qing accepted all the gifts. Later, she would keep the ones she liked and directly sell the ones she didn't like for silver. Who would turn down money?
Just like this, the New Year came. Every household in the capital was decorated with lanterns and colored streamers. It was the first lively New Year since Yi Qing had traveled through time. But since she was not in a good physical condition, she didn't go out to join the fun.
Xue Miao'er went to celebrate the New Year with her father. He Tai and He Sitai were actually brothers. After they recognized each other, Xiao Jinghan gave He Tai a holiday to go home.
Jushuang and Gan Ermei also went home for the New Year. Ghost Master thought it was interesting and went out to play. There were actually fewer people in the General's Mansion than usual.
On New Year's Eve, there was a palace banquet. The queen had told Yi Qing to attend, so Yi Qing reluctantly entered the palace.
"The men and women will be seated separately later. If you feel uncomfortable, ask Ruo Hong to find me," Xiao Jinghan reminded.
"Okay." Yi Qing just came to go through the motions. She planned to say hello to the queen and then go back.
Seeing Yi Qing's nonchalant look, Xiao Jinghan originally wanted to remind her, but then thought better of it. Yi Qing wasn't stupid.
Mu Yu led Yi Qing to the back hall to see the queen. As soon as they got to the back hall, they were attracted by a commotion.
"Your daughter is just promiscuous. It's no secret that there are so many men around her," Mrs. Xie pointed at Mrs. Di.
Mrs. Di was not so much being held back by the crowd as being pressed down. She couldn't even lift her head.
"Your Xie family did such a dirty thing and actually blamed it on my daughter. Dare you say that your son didn't have anything to do with other women before he knew that Miss Yuan had a hidden illness? When Miss Yuan got sick, you said she had an affair with someone else and made a big fuss, almost forcing Miss Yuan to death," Mrs. Di struggled and said.
"Which young master doesn't have concubines? Dare your daughter swear to heaven that Miss Yuan was just sick and not pregnant?" Mrs. Xie looked quite relaxed.
"I dare!" Yi Qing walked up behind them.
Everyone was stunned for a moment. They didn't expect Yi Qing to come at this time.
Mu Yu looked helpless. She didn't expect Mrs. Xiao to encounter such a scene.
When Mrs. Xie saw Yi Qing coming, she tidied up her imperial - bestowed robe: "I wondered who it was. It's Mrs. Xiao."
"So what if it's me?" Yi Qing sized up Mrs. Xie. This was Lu Tianxun's aunt. Lu Tianxun was such a noble person, yet he had such an aunt.
"Qing'er," Mrs. Di called out.
Yi Qing looked over. The people holding her mother down were about her age. They should all be the daughters - in - law of noble families. She walked over slowly.
Ruo Hong saw her and quickly stood on one side to protect her. Mu Yu had a bad feeling and quickly went to report to the queen.
Seeing Yi Qing coming, those people slowly let go of Mrs. Di. They didn't know where to put the hands that had held Mrs. Di down.
Just when everyone didn't know what Yi Qing was going to do, Yi Qing slapped a noble lady in the face. Before others could react, she slapped one after another, hitting all the women who had held her mother down.
Yi Qing always believed in treating others as they treated her. Today, Mrs. Di had defended her, so she naturally wanted to make Mrs. Di look good.
"Presumptuous!" Mrs. Xie was so angry that her face turned red.
"Who is really being presumptuous?" Yi Qing slowly stood beside her mother. "My mother is a first - rank imperial - bestowed lady. She's not someone that just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can touch. Coincidentally, I'm also a first - rank imperial - bestowed lady. What's wrong with me hitting a few disrespectful women?"
The women who had been slapped were all the legitimate wives of noble families. Being called disrespectful women by Yi Qing, they were all indignant.
Mrs. Xie's eyes tightened. Only then did she realize that although Yi Qing was young, she was already a first - rank imperial - bestowed lady. According to her status, she was already on an equal footing with her.
"Mrs. Xiao has no respect for hierarchy. Don't you know the order of precedence?" Mrs. Xie scolded.
"I also know about those who are old but behave without dignity," Yi Qing looked at Mrs. Xie contemptuously.
This Mrs. Xie was from the Lu family. Why was Mrs. Lu so respected, while this Mrs. Xie became such a person after marrying into the Xie family?
"You..." This was the first time Mrs. Xie had met Yi Qing. She had only heard that Yi Qing was sharp - tongued. Before, when Yi Qing had caused a scene at the Princess Dowager's banquet, the Princess Dowager hadn't been able to do anything to her. She thought Yi Qing was just relying on Xiao Jinghan.
"A girl who grew up in the countryside really has no manners at all."
These words directly hurt Mrs. Di: "Lu, don't go too far."
Seeing that she had hurt Mrs. Di, Mrs. Xie became even more arrogant: "I'm just stating the facts. She not only grew up in the countryside but also gave birth to a child there. You tell me, a woman with a child, who knows how many men have been in her house to raise the child."
This time, before Yi Qing got angry, Mrs. Di directly got physical.
Only then did everyone remember that Mrs. Di was from a military family and had practiced martial arts since childhood.
Because she had practiced martial arts since childhood, she was a bit more rough than other noble ladies. When she grew up, she didn't have many friends and really wanted to fit into other people's circles. She always gave in when playing with others.
This also led to her falling in love with the despicable Yi Changxing.
It was said that a mother becomes strong for her child. Mrs. Di's character couldn't be changed overnight, but she wouldn't allow anyone to insult her daughter.
This time, no one dared to stop Mrs. Di. Mrs. Xie was beaten and ran around with her head in her hands, hiding behind others. Those people didn't want to get involved and quickly dodged.
Mrs. Xie ran in a hurry and directly rushed in front of the queen who had just arrived. She was blocked by the people beside the queen. Mrs. Di caught up and kicked her, directly knocking Mrs. Xie to the ground.
"Greetings to the queen," all the noble ladies quickly saluted when they saw the queen coming.
"Your Majesty..." Mrs. Xie also called out in a hurry.
She was the queen's mother. Although the queen wasn't very close to her after entering the palace, she couldn't ignore her at this time.
"That shrew Di has gone crazy. Please, Your Majesty, make a decision for me," Mrs. Xie knelt down on the ground.
The queen glanced at Mrs. Di and then at Yi Qing, who looked relaxed. Her mother was fighting with someone, yet she looked so relaxed?
"What on earth is going on?" the queen looked at them.
Everyone looked at each other and knelt there with their eyes downcast. They didn't know what the queen's attitude was, so no one dared to speak first.
"That shrew Di started fighting at the slightest provocation. I'm an old woman, and my bones are about to break," Mrs. Xie pointed at Mrs. Di.
Yi Qing narrowed her eyes. Since she wanted to break her bones so much, Yi Qing would grant her wish.