A whip lashed across Qingzhi's arm and back.
The tail of the whip brushed past Gu Qiurong, tearing her outer garment to shreds.
"Qingzhi!"
Paying no heed to her own pain, Gu Qiurong looked at her with worried eyes and pulled her into an embrace. "Are you alright?"
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Qingzhi shook her head, her face pale. "Don't worry, Miss, I'm fine."
Truly arrogant, overbearing, and brainless.
Zhu Mingyu certainly had no idea; she thought she was standing up for Gu Lingwei, but in reality, Gu Lingwei merely regarded her as a pawn to be used.
When this incident spread later, Gu Lingwei pinned all the blame entirely on Zhu Mingyu, resulting in Zhu Mingyu being confined to her quarters by the Prince of Jingnan for three months.
Shielding Qingzhi, Gu Qiurong said coldly, "Right and wrong will be determined by those responsible for dispensing justice. Besides, this is a family matter of the Marquis Manor. Whether I should apologize or not is a decision for the Marquis and the Marquise to make, not for the Princess to meddle in. I would never have thought that Princess Mingli, an unmarried young lady, could stretch her hands so far as to interfere in other people's family affairs."
For an unmarried young lady, her reputation mattered more than anything else.
Even meddling in one's own family affairs could draw criticism, let alone those of an outsider.
Princess Mingli's face darkened instantly. "How dare you ruin my reputation?"
"Weiwei is someone under my protection! If you bully her, you are bullying me—!" With that, Princess Mingli raised her whip to strike Gu Qiurong again.
Gu Qiurong instinctively stepped in front of Qingzhi.
This time, however, the whip did not land on her. Chen Wenjin caught Princess Mingli's wrist. "Princess!"
There was a heavy tone in Chen Wenjin's voice. "After all, this is a family matter of the Marquis Manor. If word gets out that the Princess is publicly trying a young lady of the Marquis Manor in the street, it will do your reputation no good."
Gu Qiurong's eyelashes trembled slightly. It was just as she had expected: everyone in the Marquis Manor regarded their reputation as more important than the heavens.
Even Princess Mingli was not allowed to humiliate the Marquis Manor!
"Is the Marquise covering up for this base slave, Gu Qiurong?"
"She is not a base slave!" Chen Wenjin's eyes turned slightly red as she said angrily, "She is my daughter. If she hadn't been switched at birth and had her identity stolen when she was little, she would have been a noble lady of a prominent family—gentle, virtuous, and well-read..."
Princess Mingli certainly had not expected Chen Wenjin to protect Gu Qiurong like this.
She instinctively glanced sideways at Gu Lingwei and, sure enough, caught sight of her desolate and helpless gaze. The person she had regarded as her mother all her life was now defending a murderer right before her eyes.
If she were in her shoes, she would not be able to bear it either.
Princess Mingli's heart clenched. Unable to bear seeing her friend suffer such a grievance, she said sharply, "She lacks respect for her superiors and knows nothing of etiquette. Even if this is taken all the way to Crown Prince cousin, I am not the one who will be in the wrong."
"I implore the Princess, for my sake, to spare Rongrong..." Chen Wenjin did not want to make a scene; already, quite a few young ladies from noble families had gathered to watch the spectacle.
"Fine! If you want me to forgive her, make this lowly maid kneel before Weiwei, slap herself three times, and apologize to Weiwei for what she did!"
If such words were spoken by an elder of the Marquis Manor, it would be a matter of disciplining one's children, entirely proper and justified.
But for an outsider to demand such a thing of the Marquis Manor's own blood meant humiliating not only Gu Qiurong, but the very dignity of the Marquis Manor.
Chen Wenjin's face stiffened.
"Princess Mingli, this is a family matter of the Marquis Manor. Whatever decision the manor makes should be up to its elders, not you!"
Chen Wenjin knew Princess Mingli was trying to protect Gu Lingwei, but to trample on the dignity of the Marquis Manor for Gu Lingwei's sake—if word got out, how would the Marquis Manor ever maintain its footing in the capital?
Gu Lingwei was exceptionally sharp. Sensing what Chen Wenjin was thinking, she let tears fill her eyes, stepped forward, and grabbed Princess Mingli's wrist. "Princess, thank you for standing up for me, but this is a family matter after all. Please don't make things difficult for Mother."
Gu Lingwei's gaze was practically pleading.
Looking at Gu Lingwei's red-rimmed eyes, Princess Mingli felt an even deeper ache of heartache and sympathy.
Stamping her foot in anger, she raised her eyes to look at Chen Wenjin. "Fine! I can stay out of the Marquis Manor's family affairs!"
She continued, "But you are openly favoring your own flesh and blood while forcing Weiwei to stand aside and watch! The mother she has known all her life now has eyes only for that murderer! You raised Weiwei for all these years—how can your conscience bear it? How can you just sit back and indulge this murderer, letting her break Weiwei's heart like this?!"
"Since you say this is a family matter of the Marquis Manor, Marquise, you shall be the one to decide." Putting away her whip, Princess Mingli said through clenched teeth, "This lowly maid has been back for so long—has she ever formally apologized to Weiwei? You all think that because she spent three years in the imperial prison, everything can just be wiped clean, but what about the hurt Weiwei suffered? Who is going to make amends for that?"
Princess Mingli spoke with such absolute conviction.
Anyone unaware of the truth would have thought Gu Lingwei was the victim of a monstrous injustice.
Gu Lingwei lowered her eyelashes, refusing to look at Chen Wenjin. She only fidgeted anxiously with her fingers, wanting to stop Princess Mingli from saying more, and pulled her back. "Princess, please say no more. I am already content just to remain in the Marquis Manor. Being able to stay by my father and mother's side to show my filial piety is already the greatest blessing I could ask for..."
Her words practically tore Chen Wenjin's heart to shreds.
Her chest felt so tight it was about to burst. The daughter she had cherished like a precious pearl for so many years had been reduced to walking on eggshells like this—how could her heart not ache?
The crowd of onlookers grew larger by the moment.
Whenever there was a spectacle to watch, whether they were young ladies from noble houses or matrons of high-ranking families, none could resist coming over to nose around.
Hearing what had happened here from others, everyone's gaze toward Gu Qiurong turned to one of contempt and mockery.
"I heard she was raised as a foot-washing maid since childhood, completely lacking in manners and possessing a vicious heart. Even after being thrown into the imperial prison for three years, she shows no remorse and hasn't even offered a single word of apology to Fourth Young Miss Gu."
"I really don't understand what the Marquis Manor is thinking. Gu Lingwei is the model of a noble young lady in the entire capital. Even if she isn't of the Marquis Manor's blood, she was raised by them since she was a baby. Instead of protecting Gu Lingwei, they're sticking up for some vulgar, barbaric foot-washing maid..."
Hearing those words, Chen Wenjin's face flushed slightly. After all, she represented the Marquis Manor; as the mistress of the manor, she had to care for its reputation. Such taunts made her doubt herself—was she wrong to feel a mother's heartache for her own flesh and blood?
"Mother." Tears falling because of the surrounding gossip, Gu Lingwei clutched Chen Wenjin's arm. "Mother, the younger sister doesn't need to apologize to me. I don't care about these things. Please don't be angry, let's go back to the manor first."
She raised a hand to wipe away her tears. "I know Sister suffered in prison these past few years. After all, Sister is a piece of flesh torn from your own body, so it's only right that your heart aches for her. Princess Mingli was just worried about me for a moment; she meant no harm."
Even at a time like this, Gu Lingwei was still trying to spare Chen Wenjin's worries, which made Princess Mingli's blood boil.
"Weiwei, you are simply too sensible and too soft-hearted! You consider the Marquis Manor in everything you do, but when have they ever cared about your feelings?" Yanking Gu Lingwei back to her side, Princess Mingli fixed a sharp glare on Chen Wenjin. "Marquise, I am waiting for you to dispense justice for Weiwei. Say something, will you?!"