Mrs. Liu and Madam Linglong stood together and looked over. There was a kind of pride on Mrs. Liu's face that looked down on everything. She was like this whenever she attended such a big family banquet, because Mrs. Yuan seldom came out. Madam Linglong was Madam in name, but it was just a title. She was always a concubine, so when she stood here as the second wife of the Xia family, she had the posture of a hostess.
When she saw her daughter questioning Xia Zian, she put on a shallow smile, looked at the wound on Madam Linglong's forehead, and said to Xia Fang'er, "Fang'er, don't do it. Just give her a few words of advice."
What she was actually saying to Madam Linglong was, you see, you bullied Xia Zian and he was covered in injuries, one of them was disfigured and the other had a broken finger, but Xia Zian would not fight with them. After all, she was Xia Zian's second aunt and his legally married wife, which was different from her being a concubine.
Second Uncle Xia and Prime Minister Xia also looked over. Zi'an raised his head and when his eyes met Prime Minister Xia's face, he was stunned.
The face could be described as spectacular, with dark circles under the eyes, a crooked nose, a swollen mouth, and bruises on both sides of the cheeks. One could tell at a glance that they were caused by a punch.
The prime minister of the current dynasty was beaten up
Zi'an thought of what Xiao Tuo said and couldn't help but wonder inwardly, could it be that Xiao Tuo really hired someone to beat him up
Seeing that Zi'an didn't say anything, Xia Fang'er thought she was afraid, so she took a step forward, pointed at her nose and said, "You must apologize to Madam Linglong and Second Sister right now, otherwise I will break your legs today."
Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Xia's face darkened. He had always known the temperament of Liu's mother and daughter. They would not let go of the slightest thing and liked to show off their power. It might have been okay in the past, but today he could not let their little temper ruin things.
Especially since Xia Fang'er had been practicing martial arts since she was a child, even though her skills were just fancy moves, it would be bad if she got some new injuries and were seen by the guests present.
He said to Second Uncle Xia, "Go tell Fang'er that today is the old lady's good day, don't make trouble."
Second Uncle Xia didn't care. "Xia Zian's actions were too outrageous. Let Fang'er teach her a lesson."
"Nonsense, why not teach him a lesson? There will be many guests coming later, and this will not look good to outsiders."
Second Uncle Xia was muttering in his heart, this Prime Minister's Mansion has become so shameless now, and it's not the first time that they have been laughed at by the guests, so what's the big deal
However, due to his brother's authority, he could only scold, "Fang'er, stop talking!"
When Xia Fanger heard her father's scolding, she glared at Zi'an and said angrily, "I'll teach you a lesson later."
Seeing Xia Fang'er let Zi'an go like this, Xia Wan'er was not willing to do so. She smiled and said, "Forget it, I won't argue with her. Anyway, she always said that I was rude and uneducated, and I won't be able to find a good husband in the future."
What Xia Fang'er hated most was being called rude. After hearing Xia Wan'er's instigation, she flew into a rage on the spot. She ignored her father's rebuke, swung her fist and hit Zi'an with all her strength.
When Zi'an saw her fist moving slightly, he knew she was going to attack. She pretended to be frightened, pulled Xia Wan'er over, crouched and hid behind her, shouting, "Sister, save me!"
Seeing this, Xia Fang'er was unable to retract her fist in time. She lost all her strength but could not stand steadily. First, her fist landed on Xia Wan'er's chin, and then her whole body hit Xia Wan'er's body. They both fell to the ground together, and their postures were extremely ugly.
Zi'an seemed to be overly frightened, and she screamed, and ran over in a hurry to pull the two people up, but her foot "accidentally" stepped on the back of Xia Fang'er's hand, causing her to scream in pain with gritted teeth.
Zi'an stepped back hastily, but "accidentally" stepped on Xia Wan'er's calf. She staggered, lost her balance, and sat down on Xia Wan'er's head.
At Liu's instruction, the maid came forward and helped the three people up. Xia Wan'er and Xia Fang'er had their hair loose, their clothes were disheveled, and they looked dishevelled.
Zi'an seemed to be still frightened. Looking at Prime Minister Xia who was walking towards her quickly, his wonderful face still made her want to laugh out of place.
Prime Minister Xia stared at her. He saw the scene clearly. She seemed to be flustered on purpose.
However, she didn't do it, she didn't start the trouble, and she didn't even say a word. Even if she wanted to punish him, there had to be an excuse.
"Stop making trouble!" He could only vent his anger on Xia Fang'er and Xia Wan'er.
Xia Fang'er had always been afraid of her uncle. Seeing his gloomy face, she dared not speak out even though she felt very wronged.
At first, Liu just disliked Xia Zian, but after witnessing her cunningness with her own eyes, she hated her.
I couldn't swallow the fact that Fang'er was scolded by the Prime Minister.
"Forget it. No one in the mansion dares to mess with her now. Although the old lady doesn't like her, she can't do anything about it." Madam Linglong clearly wanted Liu not to bother with Zi'an, but she kept instigating her.
After hearing this, Liu had already made up her mind. She wanted to vent the old lady's anger. Not only could she please the old lady, but she could also help Fang'er get revenge.
Zi'an stood aside calmly, turning away from looking at these people's faces. She was tired of this kind of family struggle. They were obviously all relatives, but they were scheming and fighting with each other.
Aunt Cuiyu opened the door and said, "The old lady is already dressed. Please invite the Prime Minister and the Second Master to come in with their families."
Everyone filed in, with Zi'an walking at the end.
The old lady was dressed extremely luxuriously today, wearing a brand new black brocade outer gown embroidered with large golden chrysanthemums and auspicious longevity patterns. The cuffs were embroidered with evergreens, symbolizing eternal good fortune, longevity and health. The smooth, ironed satin embroidered with dark cloud patterns reflected the light slightly, like flowing water in a lake.
She had her hair combed into a high bun and adorned with a hairpin of eternal happiness. Her temples were slightly pulled down, and the hairpin was made of glittering enamel and silver. Her forehead was wrapped with a silver-and-kingfisher white jade eyebrow band, making her look extremely dignified and wealthy.
She looked up and saw Prime Minister Xia's face full of hurt, and couldn't help but frown and ask, "What's wrong with you?"
"It was a collision." Prime Minister Xia said vaguely.
Seeing so many people present, the old lady didn't want to ask and gave up.
After everyone congratulated him, the old lady looked at Zi'an and asked, "Where's your mother? Didn't you ask her to come as well?"
"To answer the old lady's question, my mother has eye problems, so she won't come over to avoid any bumps or injuries," Zi'an replied.
The old lady didn't look at her, but called Aunt Lanyu over in a stern voice, "What's wrong with you? Didn't I ask you to tell Madam to come over?"
Aunt Lan Yu replied, "Madam, I have followed your instructions and went to Xiazhi Garden to pass on the message, but the eldest lady did not allow me to see you at all, and said that you did not need to come because you had an eye disease."
"If you spread it again, it's disgraceful that as the mistress of the prime minister's mansion, you didn't even show up on my birthday?" the old lady shouted majestically.
Aunt Lan Yu responded: "Yes!"
She looked at Zi'an, with a sarcastic smile on her lips, and looked at Zi'an provocatively, as if to say, see, the arm can never be stronger than the thigh.
(End of this chapter)