Chapter 11 - Dignity

 Seeing that everyone in the room was looking at him, Li Fu came back to his senses and looked at his hand in disbelief. The prince got angry because someone disrespected the princess in the morning. He didn't know what the prince's attitude towards the princess was now. For a moment, he felt mixed emotions. He secretly glanced at Ye Chuyan and saw that she was lying on the bed with empty eyes, as if she couldn't hear the outside world, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to continue scolding Bai Zhi when a loud slap was heard on his face, and his ears were buzzing.

"This princess is not dead yet; it is not your turn as a slave to hit my people in front of me!"

Ye Chuyan stood up at some point. Her face was pale, but her eyes were bright. Her eyes swept around fiercely, making people want to retreat. Ye Chuyan, who was lying on the bed, was awakened by this slap. When her father and brother were tortured to death, their dignity was gone. What was the use of having a thin coffin? Her mother, sister-in-law, and other female members of the Ye family depended on her for survival.

These days, Bai Zhi tried her best to keep her alive, and now she swore to defend her to the death. What is she doing? Was she defeated by Zhao Yujiao's words?

Now she not only has to live well but also has to keep her position as a princess so that she can protect the rest of the people around her.

Although she was injured, she was a martial artist after all. The slap with which she used all her strength just now made half of Li Fu's face more swollen than Bai Zhi's, and there was a faint trace of blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.

Li Fu is nearly fifty years old this year. He has been a steward at the Qing Palace for half his life. He thinks he is highly respected. He usually treats himself as half the master of the Qing Palace, intentionally or unintentionally, and has never been beaten or scolded.

Since becoming the princess, Ye Chuyan has never been harsh on anyone. This is the first time she got angry and started a fight.

Everyone in the room was in an uproar for a while. Before everyone could react, Ye Chuyan turned around, looked at Zhao Yujiao sinisterly, and walked forward step by step. Zhao Yujiao's hair stood on end, and her scalp tingled at Ye Chuyan's biting eyes. She quickly slid her wheelchair back, "Sister, you...you...what do you want to do..."

Ye Chuyan raised the corner of her mouth, smiled strangely, raised her hand, and slapped Zhao Yujiao, almost rolling to the ground.

"This slap hits you for being ruthless and ungrateful to the Ye family. You come to me to add insult to injury when the Ye family is in trouble. I, Ye Chuyan, will no longer have any ties with you."

After saying that, she slapped her again with her backhand, and the action was neat and straightforward.

"This slap is to remind you not to provoke me in the future and not to be weird in front of me. As long as I, Ye Chuyan, am a concubine, you will never act wild in front of me!"

Zhao Yujiao covered her face and couldn't hold it anymore. She pointed at Ye Chuyan and trembled for a long time, "You...you...you..." Fear and anger made her speechless.

She didn't understand why Ye Chuyan was so strong, even though he was seriously injured and half dead. She looked around and saw that the servants were all stunned. Even Li Fu covered his face with horror. No one dared to step forward. At this moment, no one has helped her.

Ye Chuyan glared at Hongying again, "Push your master away!"

Hongying woke up as if in a dream. She rolled and crawled out of the servant who caught her and pushed Zhao Yujiao away in a hurry, as if there was a ghost chasing her from behind, pushing Zhao Yujiao to run faster and faster.

Li Fu finally reacted, knelt down, and kowtowed, "Princess, I lost my temper. I hope you will forgive me!"

Ye Chuyan raised her chin and whispered, "Oh, you still know I am the princess?"

Li Fu kowtowed like pounding garlic, "Princess, please forgive me. Please forgive me. I was anxious and hit Miss Baizhi by mistake."

Ye Chuyan looked down at Li Fu, who was kneeling on the ground; her voice was as cold as ice. "Remember, although the Ye family has fallen, I, Ye Chuyan, am still the princess!"

How could Li Fu dare to do it again? He kowtowed and admitted his mistake. It was not until his forehead was bleeding that Ye Chuyan let him get up. Then she asked Li Fu why he brought people here. Li Fu answered truthfully that he was ordered by the prince to send new servants and rare medicinal materials to the princess. After hearing this, Ye Chuyan's mouth curled slightly and sneered.

Pei Xiuyan was really good. After lifting the house arrest, he replaced all the servants in the courtyard with new ones. This was a trick to monitor her. He also ordered people to send him precious herbs. Such hypocritical behaviour was simply disgusting. Pei Xiuyan wanted to gain a good reputation externally, and continue to humiliate her internally after she recovered. Since Pei Xiuyan wanted to build a memorial archway, she would cooperate well.

She accepted all the slaves and medicinal materials as ordered. Since she married into the Qing Palace, she has always been accustomed to Bai Zhi's personal service and has rarely kept other maids in the house. So, she arranged all the new slaves in the yard, and reminded them: "Except Bai Zhi, no one else is allowed to enter the house without her permission."

The slaves were already stunned by Ye Chuyan's behaviour just now, and no one dared act rashly, and they all did their duties obediently. After everyone was arranged, Li Fu left; only Bai Zhi and Ye Chuyan were left in the room. Ye Chuyan couldn't hold on any longer, vomited a mouthful of blood, and leaned back. She had not recovered from her miscarriage and rib injuries, and she caught a cold at the execution ground, so her body was already weak, and she was completely a strong bow and crossbow just now.

Bai Zhi yelled, went up to support Ye Chuyan, and put Ye Chuyan on the bed. She wiped the blood from the corner of Ye Chuyan's mouth and sniffed hard to stop herself from crying.

"Princess, I don't deserve you to do this. We can't protect ourselves now. You offended Zhao Yujiao for me today and beat Li Fu. What will you do in the mansion in the future?"

Bai Zhi started to cry as she spoke.

"Princess, it's all because I don't have the ability. If I had martial arts, I would have killed Zhao Yujiao today, and no one would bully you anymore..."

Ye Chuyan was moved and wanted to laugh at Bai Zhi's words.

"Bai Zhi, don't blame yourself. I beat them today, not only for you but also for myself. If you really kill Zhao Yujiao, it will violate the law of the country, and I really can't protect you."

Bai Zhi had a twin sister, Bai Qi, who has served her since childhood. Later, Bai Qi died of illness, leaving Bai Zhi alone. At that time, she secretly swore in her heart that she must treat Bai Zhi well in this life.

She gently stroked Bai Zhi's face and asked, "Does it hurt?"

Bai Zhi wiped her tears and shook her head. "No." Following a master like the princess, she would be willing to die.

She was afraid that Ye Chuyan would feel sorry for her, so she quickly turned her head and wiped her tears.

"Princess, the prince sent a lot of precious medicinal materials, and I will go to boil medicine for you."

After saying that, she ran away.

Li Fu arranged everything and came out of Ye Chuyan's yard, covering his face all the way, his face as gloomy as water. He watched Pei Xiuyan grow up, and even Pei Xiuyan never hit him. Today, Ye Chuyan actually slapped him in the face in front of so many people. Very good, he will remember this account! As soon as he returned to his residence, a servant came to report.

"Housekeeper Miss Zhao cut her wrists and committed suicide. Fortunately, Miss Hongying found it in time and rescued her. Now she is crying and trying to die, and no one can stop her. Go and see her!"