When Mammy Li heard the young palace maid report that everything was ready, she stepped out, beaming with joy. However, her expression froze when she saw Yao Yingying already seated in the carriage while Zhou Wei remained nowhere to be seen.
"Why hasn't His Highness come out yet?" Mammy Li asked Jinyi.
A smile spread across Jinyi's face. "His Highness is feeling rather unwell, I suppose."
Mammy Li’s expression darkened. She immediately shot cold, hostile looks at Jinyi and all the other people from Anguo. Clearly, she understood exactly why Zhou Wei was not coming.
Jinyi ignored her. She climbed into the carriage and served Yao Yingying some refreshments before she couldn't help but mutter, "Taking money without doing the work—there isn’t a single decent person in Dashang!"
Yao Yingying laughed. "If there were that many people willing to work for money, would we need to go to such great lengths?"
Jinyi knew that, of course, but she was simply incensed by the speed at which Mammy Li’s face had changed. And they hadn't even entered the palace yet.
Yao Yingying felt a bit drowsy and leaned back with languid indifference. "People who have no use, I prefer to dispose of directly."
Jinyi immediately agreed. Her policy here was simple: there were those she could talk to reasonably, and those she couldn't.
The carriage rolled smoothly along and stopped at the gates of the imperial palace. Jinyi stepped out, took a glance at the haughty Mammy Li, who had her nose stuck in the air, and offered a gentle smile before turning to report into the carriage: "Your Highness, they truly haven't prepared a palanquin."
Yao Yingying’s lazy voice drifted out. "Call me when the palanquin arrives."
If there was trouble to be had, there would be no end to it, and Yao Yingying would not give them the chance to discipline her. She would only rely on her status to bully others, arrogant and overbearing.
A hint of a smile touched the corners of Jinyi’s lips as she complied.
Mammy Li waited proudly for Jinyi to help Yao Yingying down, but after a while, she noticed Jinyi chatting with someone nearby instead.
Mammy Li frowned, strode forward, and demanded, looking down her nose at Jinyi, "Why hasn't the Princess Consort stepped down yet? Can you afford the consequences if she misses the time for her audience?!"
A friendly smile remained on Jinyi’s round face. "Shouldn't you be asking yourself that, Mammy?"
Mammy Li was immediately displeased. "Your Princess Consort refuses to leave the carriage—what does that have to do with me?!"
Jinyi was not intimidated by this accusatory tone. Instead, she looked at Mammy Li and asked leisurely, "Has Mammy Li not noticed that the palanquin for entering the palace hasn't arrived? Or perhaps, did you intentionally neglect to prepare one for the Princess Consort?"
Behind Jinyi’s question, many people from Anguo were glaring, their eyes filled with murderous intent.
Mammy Li was so startled she took several steps back. "Nonsense! How could I have done it on purpose!"
Suppressing her panic, Mammy Li recited the excuse she had prepared in advance: "The palanquins here in Dashang are first reserved for the ladies of the palace, and then for the princes and princesses to get to their studies. There simply aren't any available right now because the timing is off."
"Surely the Princess Consort wouldn't try to snatch a palanquin from young princes and princesses, would she?!"
Jinyi smiled slightly. "Then Mammy Li is mistaken."
"Our Princess Consort is physically frail; how could she possibly walk into the palace? Conversely, those princes and princesses are at an age where they are growing—a little exercise wouldn't hurt them. Mammy, you had better go and arrange it quickly. If the time for the audience with the Empress Dowager is missed, surely even you cannot bear the responsibility?!"
Jinyi returned the words to her.
Mammy Li’s eyes widened as she stared at Jinyi, sputtering "You..." for a long time, unable to finish her sentence.
This wasn't right!
In the past, whenever she disciplined noblewomen—or the primary and secondary wives of princes—who were out of favor with their husbands when they came to pay their respects, they all suffered in silence and walked into the palace. Why was it different with this Princess Jing?
Mammy Li couldn't fathom it. How could her methods, honed over decades, suddenly lose their effectiveness?
Seeing Mammy Li’s expression, Jinyi asked with a smile, "Why that look, Mammy? Are you still intending to shirk your duty and not call a palanquin for our Highness?"
Mammy Li was so incensed by Jinyi’s blunt exposure of her thoughts that her chest heaved, but she couldn't find a way to argue, and the stifling frustration caused her great discomfort. In all her years in the palace, she had been treated with respect everywhere—when had she ever been questioned like this, right to her face?
Jinyi’s round face still held that same smile. Looking at Mammy Li’s current state, she 'concernedly' asked:
"Why so angry, Mammy Li? Could it be that your tactics were exposed, and you’re now suffering from shame-induced rage? You really should take care of your health, Mammy. If you get this angry every time you see me, how many years do you think you have left?"
Mammy Li was truly blinded by rage now. Consumed by anger, she shouted, "Insolent! This is Dashang! It is not your Anguo—"
Jinyi asked lightly, "So, Mammy Li, are you saying that the marriage alliance between Anguo and Dashang has been dissolved by your decree? That we are people of Anguo, and our Princess Consort is an Anguo royal, and we no longer have any connection to your Dashang?"
Mammy Li was struck dumb, choked by a surge of heat in her chest and dizziness in her head. Having been treated with deference for decades, she didn't even know how to rebut this.
However, at this moment, Mammy Li wasn't actually thinking about calling a palanquin; she was wondering how to suppress the insolence of these little wretches!
There was a reason Mammy Li had been so useful to the Empress Dowager for so many years. Whenever she did these things, wasn't she always scolded by the Empress Dowager in public, only to be rewarded with gold and jewels in private?
Mammy Li glared at Jinyi. "Even if I go to call a palanquin now, it is already too late. The Empress Dowager, the Empress, and the ladies of the various palaces are all waiting. Are you saying your Princess is so lacking in manners that she isn't even willing to walk a few steps?!"
Jinyi laughed. "A few steps? Then the imperial palace of Dashang must be very small. But if it truly is that small, surely it wouldn't take even a quarter of an hour to call a palanquin? Why is it that Mammy Li keeps tangling with me, yet shows no sign of calling one?"
"It couldn't be that Mammy Li intends to use this matter to suppress our Princess Consort, intentionally making her late so the Empress Dowager will deal with us?"
Jinyi chuckled, though her tone turned icy in an instant. "If that is the case, Mammy Li is guilty of impeding official business and plotting against the Princess Consort—execute her immediately!"
Mammy Li froze for a second, then shouted, "Who dares?! I am a veteran who has served the Empress Dowager for decades! Even the Emperor must show me a shred of respect! You—"
A large blade in Duijin’s hand was already pressed against the back of Mammy Li’s neck.
But Mammy Li did not believe these people would truly kill her. How could this be? How could they dare to kill her? When had women ever dared to resort to violence in public during their quarrels? What about their reputation? Their social standing? If they committed murder, did they want to be despised by their husbands’ families and cast aside?
These were just threats to make her back down! These were all just tricks!
Mammy Li told herself this over and over, trying to convince herself they were just trying to force her to yield. But the next instant, she clearly felt the force of the blade pressing down—this was no lie!