Yu Xiang had assured Old Madam that she would hold back for a while and she did for four to five days. During this period, Yu Miao Qi stayed in her room honestly to nurse her injuries and dared not go out. When Lin Shi saw the four bloody nail marks on her face, she ran to the southern courtyard to look for Yu Xiang to settle the score but coincidentally met Yu Pin Yan who just came back from Yamen that her belly full of reproaches could not be vented out and could only leave in despair.
As Yu Xiang had indeed offended so many noble ladies that Chang Ya Fu entered the eyes of these people after deriving from this adversity and was invited to several parties where she made many friends.
Madam Chang was not idle either as she looked around to arrange other households for her daughter and finally chose the Di son of Lord Qi, the right deputy of Foreign Affairs Minister as her son-in-law. Although the other party is not as powerful as Yu Pin Yan, his appearance and character are very decent whom previous fiancee was also observing a period of mourning but unexpectedly died of an unforeseen illness when they were ready to tie the knot which actually enabled the Chang Family to seize such a good deal.
After being on tenterhooks and seeing that Yu Xiang had been silent for a few days, Chang Ya Fu's anxiety gradually calmed down. That's right, Yu Xiang has such a notorious reputation that it is simply logical for Yu Xiang to slander her that others will think she is taking revenge on herself no matter how she pleads her innocence, so who will believe her!
Those who are wicked are doomed for destruction, hence she would not be able to explain clearly even if she had a hundred mouths and if Yu Pin Yan still wants to get married in this life, he must send her out of the manor quickly. She is a broken-legged invalid whose temper is so explosive that who dares to want her except those lowly people who intend clinging to the Marquis' power?
In the early stage, one might still be able to live a few days of stable life marrying to such a person but once the other party gains power, won't Yu Xiang be chastised to death? It's such an extreme satisfaction thinking about it! Chang Ya Fu could not help laughing out loud as she sat in the swaying carriage.
"The gengtie[1] has been traded while the marriage agreement has been drawn, shouldn't you be happy now?" Madam Chang joked as she wrapped her arms around her daughter.
"Yes, it's finally a lucky break out of this extreme misfortune." Chang Ya Fu breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's also thanks to Yu Xiang's infamous reputation, otherwise I don't really know how to get over this marriage withdrawal." Madam Chang stroked her daughter's hair and laughed mockingly, "Yu Family only concerned with spoiling her to the sky. When Yu Pin Yan can't find a wife later, they ought to regret it."
"Exactly. Yu Pin Yan is already twenty one-two this year with no one to warm his bed, so let's just see how long he can restrain himself. Won't he nevertheless have to make a choice between a woman and his younger sister?" Chang Ya Fu really wants to know where Yu Pin Yan's bottom line is with Yu Xiang and how far he will be burdened by her.
Madam Chang waved her hand and laughed coldly, "Heck care what he chooses, it will anyhow be another hotchpotch good show. We just need to sit back and watch the show."
Yu Xiang had already arrived one step earlier when they gradually approached Duke Jingguo mansion. Many sturdy servants jumped down from five large carriages that came along. They then shouldered poles as they placed each and every one of the mahogany boxes in front of the mansion door.
Yu Xiang gave a meaningful glance to Liu Lu who immediately stepped forward and knocked on the door.
Hearing the movement, the gatekeeper opened a small gap and asked, "Who is it?"
"Tell your patriarch that the Third Young Miss of Marquis Yongle manor has come to visit."
"Third Young Miss of Marquis Yongle manor?" The gatekeeper's face changed dramatically when he heard this and shut the door with a bang as he shouted, "You wait, I'll report to Lord Duke!"
The feud between Duke Jingguo mansion and the Marquis Yongle manor had long been edited into countless versions and circulated within the mansion with Yu Xiang as one of the most despicable and shameless characters among them. What good turn of events could her visit be? The gatekeeper quickly ran to the front hall to report and got a verse of 'not see' from the Duke that he came back to dismiss Liu Lu through the gap of the door.
"Young Miss, they refuse to meet you? What should we do?" Liu Lu frowned.
"It's just good that they refused." Yu Xiang covered her mouth and smiled. She opened the mahogany box next to her then took out a porcelain vase and weighed it in her hand.
"Young Miss, you can't be thinking ... " Liu Lu gulped as a sense of ominous premonition rose in her heart.
"Tao Hong, smash it to the door. There are still many more after this where you can continue to smash them all for me and don't need to feel bad on my behalf!" Yu Xiang threw the vase to the enthusiastic Tao Hong then patted the packed to the brim mahogany box.
"Young Miss, I'll really smash it then!" Tao Hong smiled like a flower. She likes this kind of rough work the most.
"Stop the nonsense, you will be rewarded one tael for every smash. Smash it for me." Yu Xiang wielded her horse whip.
Before her words faltered, Tao Hong had already forcefully smashed it over. The loud and clear shattering sound caused the passersby to stop and watch one after another. When they realized that the troublemaker was Yu Xiang, they hastily retreated seven to eight meters away to avoid being involved.
Liu Lu covered her face, wishing she could pass out at once yet she had no choice but bracing herself and grabbed a pozi who was stomping a shoulder-pole as a display of strength while ordering in a low voice, "Quickly go to the Dragon Scale Guard Bureau and get the Marquis. Tell him that Young Miss is causing trouble again and will probably fight with Duke Jingguo mansion today!"
"Just fight then, what are you afraid of?" The pozi lowered her eyes.
"Are you muddle-headed? There are all sorts of people here. If Young Miss is hurt accidentally, we will all be waiting to be killed by the Marquis!" Liu Lu pinched her arm hard.
The pozi turned pale with fright that she carried the pole and went to the Dragon Scale Guard Bureau.
At the same time, Tao Hong had smashed five to six vases and a copper stove in a row, leaving the door of Duke Jingguo mansion with pockmarks and peeled off paint. As Duke Jingguo could not get entangled with a broken-leg little girl, he could only hide behind the door and listen to the commotion with the hope that they would quickly leave after finishing with the smashing.
After a few boxes of porcelain were smashed all over, there was no place to walk in front of the Duke Jingguo mansion.Yu Xiang had covered her face with a handkerchief to avoid being scratched by the fragments and only shouted in a clear loud voice once she saw Tao Hong shook her head at her, "Chang Ya Fu, do listen carefully. You yourself have behaved improper and unrestrained yet still framed it on me after withdrawing from the marriage. What's wrong with you to just easily take off your clothes and stick out your butt? The red mole on your left breast is almost stabbing my eyes blind! As I've the propriety of diction today, I will not expose your unsavory past which you should take for what it's worth and don't try trampling me as a stepping stone. While the betrothal gifts that you've returned have all been smashed by me to avoid dirtying up the space in my Marquis Yongle manor!" Once the words faltered, she waved her sleeve towards the group of servants, "Let's go."
The group lifted the empty mahogany boxes then turned and marched away grandly.
Before boarding the carriage, Yu Xiang turned around all of a sudden and added, "Chang Ya Fu, wear more clothes when you go out in the future to somehow cover the lasciviousness of your body! It's exactly not my scolding if you are to hang yourself to death but due to you yourself are ashamed to face others!"
Well, just a few condemn words prompted others dying to just drop death while another few more words hindered the path of attempted suicide. If Chang Ya Fu really hung herself, it would be precisely due to her own shamelessness which completely and utterly substantiated Yu Xiang's condemnation today.
The onlookers immediately made an uproar.
Duke Jingguo, who was hiding behind the door, almost passed out with anger, not to mention the mother and daughter of the Chang family who just happened to be back but alarmingly on tenterhooks and wept in each other's arms as they hid in the carriage not far away.
In any case, they just could not understand how Yu Xiang could do such a thing like raining curses in the street, which girl has such guts to do so? What benefit can she gain by cursing happily? Her reputation of being bold and ferocious could no longer be saved.
What is reputation? Can it be eaten? Yu Xiang curled her lips, merely feeling unprecedentedly content.
While the crowd was carrying the boxes onto the carriages, the door of Duke Jingguo mansion suddenly opened and Chang Qi rushed out with a sword in his hand as he stabbed towards Yu Xiang's vest without uttering a sound. Liu Lu hastily stepped forward to block yet heard a loud and clear clank sound where a fragmentary silver wielded the sword into pieces. With a livid face, Yu Pin Yan strode forward and the crowd scattered with a bang wherever he passed by. There were still people shouting in fear, "It's no good, the living King of Hell is here, run!"
Yu Pin Yan's reputation in Great Han can stop children crying at night. Yu Xiang was somewhat still palpitating but when she saw this, she covered her small mouth and burst out laughing then pounced into her elder brother's arms and jokingly said, "Elder Brother, can you see, we are the dual black and white sprites that everyone is afraid of!"
"Behave yourself a little! Do you know you almost got stabbed just now!" Yu Pin Yan threw her into the carriage, put the curtain down and smacked her buttocks angrily while his face was still livid as before.
Yu Xiang mumbled and begged for mercy as she dodged by arching her small butt around.
After smacking her five to six times, the strength gradually weakened then changed to kneading where Yu Pin Yan pinched her cheeks and admonished, "Find and tell Elder Brother beforehand whenever you drop by to make trouble in the future, you hear me? Hmm?"
"I hear you, I hear you." Yu Xiang carefully pulled his fingers away and secretly thought: 'As it turned out the feeling of being pinched on the cheeks is really unpleasant.'
Turning her over, Yu Pin Yan took her into his arms and bit the tip of her nose before getting out of the carriage and walked towards Chang Qi, who was restrained by a group of servants. In a state of panic, Duke Jingguo hurriedly stepped out of the small side door and rebuked in a threatening but cowardly at heart manner, "All Commander Yu, you are really bold that you have repeatedly struck a child."
"Lord Duke, you are bold too. Letting your son assassinate my defenseless and disabled sister. If he touches a hair on my younger sister's head today, I will cut him alive! I believe Lord Duke have long heard of my lynching method which is a total of 3600 cuts and no less." As he said that, he unsheathed the hilt of his sword while a layer of blood-red gradually tinged his pitch-dark eyes and the atmosphere became stiflingly frigid due to the killing intent he emitted.
Chang Qi was so scared that his face turned ashened and trembled. Duke Jingguo gritted his teeth and said, "Yu Pin Yan, is there still any king's law in your eyes? Qi'er did not even touch her!"
Seeing that everyone had scattered away, the mother and daughter of the Chang Family on the other side also used the handkerchiefs to cover their faces and quickly ran over. Chang Ya Fu squatted on the ground and cried bitterly as soon as she squeezed into the corner of the door while Madam Chang rushed over trying to pull her son out from under the shoulder-poles.
Yu Pin Yan got closer to Duke Jingguo's ear and briefly uttered a few words then flicked his sleeve and strode away. Only then did the servants dispersed.
Lying prone on the windowsill, Yu Xiang saw Duke Jingguo got frightened till his soul ceased to exist with big droplets of sweat trickling down. When her elder brother got into the carriage, she hurriedly asked, "What did you say to him? Look how scared he is."
Yu Pin Yan hugged her onto his lap and said in a low voice, "It's nothing, just a few confidential letters between him and Xu Mao are in my hands. This matter can be major or minor depending on how I feel."
"Then, is your mood good?" Grinning broadly, Yu Xiang went to touch the stubbles on his chin.
"You were almost stabbed by Chang Qi, tell me if my mood is good or not?" Yu Pin Yan's face immediately turned livid again.
Yu Xiang dared not utter another word and turned her head to nestle in his arms soberly. The two of them did not say anything until they reached the west-wing courtyard where Yu Pin Yan carried her onto the soft couch before exhorting again, "You will obediently stay home and not be allowed to go anywhere before jiji[1]." He pointed at Liu Lu, "Keep an eye on your master. If this Marquis knows that you take her out to make trouble, the caning punishment will be fifty staves then expulsion."
Liu Lu nodded repeatedly yet she criticized inwardly; 'It's obviously the master who has led us astray, how could it be us who brought her out to make trouble? You are so biased that your heart is in your armpit, Marquis!'