"What happened?" Zhuang Qing frowned at the commotion in the covered walkway. A dense crowd had gathered there, and she could not make out what had happened.
The maid beside Azhu said in a panic, "Madam, the young miss-the young miss just hit a painter!"
Zhuang Qing's expression changed, and she hurried over.
On the covered walkway, the painter was still refusing to let the matter drop.
Clutching half his face, he glared venomously. "I always knew the general's household was a law unto itself. To think its young miss would slap someone at will! Do you take me for some blind, bumbling servant?"
Though her voice trembled, Azhu kept her expression cold. "I hit you. It has nothing to do with the general's household."
She did not know why she had hit the painter, either.
After hearing Tong Aning's thoughts, she had lost control of her hand. Besides, he deserved it!
The painter scoffed. "It seems you still don't understand, Miss Azhu. You now represent the general's household. Your fortunes have long been bound together: glory for one is glory for all, ruin for one is ruin for all."
Azhu trembled, almost losing her footing.
Tong Aning and Lou Yingyu hurried to steady her.
Lou Yingyu swept her gaze over the painter. "You know perfectly well why Azhu hit you!"
The painter said, "Miss Lou, surely you cannot run wild just because you are the prime minister's daughter."
"So what if I do?"
Lou Yingyu stepped forward and waved her fist. "Believe it or not, I'll beat you until you're crawling around looking for your teeth!"
The painter had probably heard of Lou Yingyu's temper. He backed away a step, visibly wary.
But his face still burned with pain. There was no way he could swallow this insult.
"The general's wife is here."
Everyone parted to make way. Zhuang Qing came to stand beside Azhu. Looking anxious, Azhu was just about to speak when Zhuang Qing shook her head and patted the back of her hand reassuringly.
She trusted Azhu not to hit anyone without a reason.
So the cause had to lie with this painter.
Zhuang Qing glanced at him. She remembered this painter. He had not originally been on the guest list for the family reunion banquet; he had come to the general's residence carrying a portrait of Azhu.
Finding the portrait extraordinarily lifelike, Meng Yu had wanted to buy it, but the painter refused payment. This put Meng Yu in a difficult position, as he never took anything from anyone for free.
Zhuang Qing had smoothed things over by inviting the painter to the family reunion banquet, settling the matter.
Had she known, she would never have invited this painter.
The painter's eyes lit up at the sight of Zhuang Qing. "Madam, you must see justice done for me!"
Zhuang Qing said gravely, "You were injured in my residence. Naturally, I will see justice done for you."
Azhu anxiously tugged at Zhuang Qing's hand.
Zhuang Qing's heart softened. This was the first time Azhu had initiated any contact with her since coming home.
Zhuang Qing reassured her, then looked at Tong Aning and Lou Yingyu. "Did both of you see what happened?"
Lou Yingyu and Tong Aning nodded.
Lou Yingyu said, "But..."
Lou Yingyu wanted to argue on Azhu's behalf, but her mind suddenly went blank. Oh no, those had been Aning's thoughts, not something she could simply tell everyone.
At that crucial moment, Tong Aning said, "Madam, I have met this painter once before. He excels at toying with people's feelings, painting with their hopes and suffering. Azhu is a tigress born to a military family. After hearing what I said, she could not help striking him."
[Host, you really are something.]
Tong Aning smiled. In any case, this painter was not getting away today!
The painter panicked. "You're lying! You officials are all shielding one another!"
Lou Yingyu's lips curled mockingly. He was even accusing them of officials shielding one another now. How laughable.
Unaffected, Tong Aning continued, "Madam, send someone to the back alley to find a young woman surnamed Bai, and everything will become clear."
Zhuang Qing glanced at the matron, who left to carry out the order.
The painter tried to speak again, but Zhuang Qing could not be bothered to listen to his nonsense. "Wait."
Did he think she did not know what he was planning? He merely wanted to blow this up until the general's household was riding a tiger it could not dismount. Then he could open his lion's maw and demand an exorbitant price, and the household would have to agree whether it wanted to or not.
He could dream on!
[Xixi, did you have me send them to find that young woman surnamed Bai because the painter deceived her?]
[No, the one he deceived was Miss Bai's close friend.]
[Then why not find her friend?]
[Host, the painter already dumped her friend's body down a well.]
Tong Aning's heart clenched.
Everyone present who could hear Tong Aning's thoughts moved a little farther away from the painter.
They had known he was a beast, but never imagined he was a murderer, too.
The painter had no idea what was happening.
For some reason, he felt a little agitated.
Even if that person came, words alone were no proof. Surely no one could know he had killed someone.
Miss Bai arrived.
The moment she saw the painter, she wanted to throw herself at him, devour his flesh, and drink his blood.
Zhuang Qing had people restrain her.
"This is the general's residence. I cannot allow you to commit violence here. But as long as you explain everything in full, I will see justice done for you."
Miss Bai's eyes were red.
She had arrived with her face covered. Now, with trembling hands, she removed her veil.
The well-bred young ladies present showed no surprise, but they could not help feeling sorry for her.
Miss Bai had lovely features, but a hideous scar on her right cheek had ruined it all.
Miss Bai said, "My friend and I were once the star courtesans of Spring Breeze House. We saved enough money to buy our freedom and purchased a house in the back alley, relying on each other to get by. This painter lived next door to us. At first, he set his sights on me, using honeyed words to offer to paint my portrait. The day before the sitting, I had an accident. I fell, and my right cheek happened to strike a stone, disfiguring me."
Miss Bai paused, then continued, "I knew perfectly well that a disfigured person was not suited to a portrait. But this painter then set his sights on my friend. He painted two portraits of her in all: one of her full of hope, about to find a worthy husband, and another of her plunged into the depths after that man abandoned her."
Merely listening to Miss Bai, they could feel the pain in every word. By comparison, the painter's loud cries of innocence seemed far less substantial.
Zhuang Qing asked, "Where is your friend?"
Miss Bai closed her eyes, and two trails of tears slid down her cheeks. "Gone. I suspect the painter killed her, but I have no proof."
She had gone to the authorities to accuse him and had someone write a formal complaint, all to no avail.
She could not even find her friend's body.
Yet a man like this had taken it upon himself to paint Azhu and come knocking at their door... Zhuang Qing's gaze sharpened. She walked up to the painter and demanded sternly, "What were you planning when you set your sights on my Azhu?"
Even now, the painter clung to the hope of getting away with it. "I wasn't planning anything."
[That had better be true.]
[He happened to see Azhu twice: once at the brokerage, when she was about to be bought, and once when she went out after returning to the general's residence. Astonished by how radiant she had become, he immediately painted her portrait.]
[But that wasn't enough for him. He wanted to see Azhu suffer, too, so he planned to repeat his old trick: win her heart, then cruelly abandon her. Instead, he got slapped by Azhu.]
Only one slap?
How could that possibly be enough!
Zhuang Qing sneered and gave the painter two more slaps.
After hitting him, she added, "Fetch two household guards. Beat him until he has only a breath left, then dump him at Jingzhao Prefecture."
The painter panicked. "Spare me! Spare me, madam..."
[Oh dear. Lord Cen is probably in for another headache.]
Author's note:
Darlings, take a look at my upcoming novel.
"The Palace Maid Is Eating Melon Again Today," another historical transmigration novel with audible thoughts. Here is the synopsis:
Qingtang transmigrated into a hugely popular palace intrigue novel. She was neither Consort Lin, whose favor already eclipsed the entire harem, nor Beauty Yu, who had just entered the palace and would one day become the new empress.
She was merely an ordinary palace maid-and the very maid Consort Lin sent to drug Beauty Yu, only to be discovered by Beauty Yu and put to death.
Just as Qingtang was racking her brains for a way to survive, her system arrived belatedly. Her only golden finger was eating melon.
Qingtang: ...
Fine. Having something was better than nothing. What if she managed to eat melon her way into a beautiful future?
Yet as she kept eating melon, Qingtang discovered that she had actually escaped her original ending.
*
Qingtang even caught a drama of brothers fighting over someone, and inwardly unleashed a torrent of complaints.
[Making me grind ink first thing in the morning-am I part of you two's play? You're still here fighting over someone's affections! Prince Jing is about to rebel!]
The emperor: !
Prince An: !
Perhaps they should deal with the rebellion first?
Upon learning that Consort Lin had poisoned Beauty Yu and Beauty Yu had poisoned her, Qingtang laughed in anger.
[Fine, fine, fine. You poison her, she poisons me, and all three of us go down together, leaving the empress to reap the fisherman's reward!]
Beauty Yu: !
Consort Lin: !
Perhaps they should make peace for now?
The emperor confessed his feelings to Qingtang.
Qingtang: ???
[Has this dog emperor taken the wrong medicine?]
The emperor: ..."Qingtang, are you displeased?"
Then the emperor watched as Qingtang, who was inwardly cursing him, smiled more brilliantly than the sunlight outside and said shyly, "Not at all. Being with Your Majesty is my good fortune."
At that moment, Qingtang's thoughts: [**** emperor ***]
The emperor: ...