The Slender Waist-Chapter 337 - 236 Acting Cheaply

Xiaoman was a domestic slave of the Feng Residence, harboring an innate fear toward the Feng family members, so the thought of her striking Feng Ying was unimaginable.

She froze, "Miss."

Feng Yun: "Do it!"

Xiaoman nervously looked at the young lady’s expression.

She wasn’t acting impulsively or on a whim; she was speaking very calmly, without a trace of anger on her face.

Xiaoman clenched her fingers, mustered her courage to step forward, and raised her hand.

"You dare!" Lady Chen hugged her daughter tightly and stepped back, watching Feng Jingteng in disbelief and the servants who were shocked as though in a dream; she screamed shrilly.

"Are you all dead?"

"Feng Jingteng, look at your daughter!"

Lady Chen clenched her teeth fiercely, glaring venomously at the people around her.

"Feng Shi Er Niang is being insubordinate; won’t any of you come to teach this disrespectful and unfilial thing a lesson for me..."

A group of servants stepped forward, blocking Xiaoman.

Both parties stood in the street, each supporting their own masters, tension brimming like drawn swords and ready crossbows.

Wen Xingsu saw that the situation was going to end badly, and Pei Jue had just entrusted him with the task of overseeing the security of the council hall. No matter what, Feng Jingteng was still an envoy, and Feng Ying was the lawfully wedded wife of Xiao Cheng. If they truly came to blows, it would look very bad.

"Ayun." He wanted to persuade Feng Yun.

"This is a personal grudge, elder brother." Feng Yun looked at Feng Ying, who was tearful in Lady Chen’s embrace, and the upward curve of her lips deepened, making her seem like an unbridled fox spirit.

"These two slaps are necessary. Otherwise, how will I manage my servants in the future?"

Wen Xingsu fell silent for a moment.

Lady Chen then cursed at him, "You miscreant, you can’t even protect your sister..."

After saying that, she let another heavy blow fall, "The Jin Army of Mingquan Town, to actually be manipulated by a woman of the house. Such grand rules of the Jin Court, I see it’s clearly not sincere in negotiating..."

Her shouting had an effect, drawing the Qi Army from the other side of the council hall.

The leader was none other than the veteran Xie Congguang.

The tragic death of Kou Shan on the Bingzhou battlefield filled Xie Congguang with immense resentment toward the Beiyong Army. His anger, already simmering, exploded when he saw the Feng family being bullied by soldiers from a Northern Yong province; he strode forward furiously and began to berate.

"What are you doing? Do you think there are no men in the Qi Army?"

Negotiations were the result of warfare, but enmity and casualties among soldiers were common during battles, making it easy for a small incident to provoke deep-seated hatred and fury. Lady Chen, short-sighted as she was, saw the Qi soldiers gathering in numbers and began to shout accusatory phrases like "The Jin Army hit my daughter" and "Too much bullying," provoking the Qi soldiers’ resentment.

Feng Ying was Xiao Cheng’s officially wedded wife.

To slap her face was to slap the Emperor’s face.

To slap the Emperor’s face was to slap the face of the people of Qi Country, slap the face of the Qi Army.

Under Lady Chen’s yelling, the conflict escalated rapidly.

The Qi Army became incensed, drawing their swords at the opposition.

The Northern Yong Army refused to back down as well, with the Imperial Guard Camp taking the lead, and patrolling soldiers also gathering upon hearing the commotion.

For a moment, the clanging of metal and ceaseless roars rendered the atmosphere explosively tense.

Xie Congguang, furiously like an enraged lion, shouted at the top of his voice.

"Dare to harm a lady of Qi Country, and I will have you torn to pieces."

Feng Yun: "Do you see the slap marks on her face? I did it."

With that, she let out a light laugh, "If you want to tear someone to pieces, come find me."

Xie Congguang had a volatile temper and Feng Yun’s provocation enraged him to the point where he fiercely drew his waist sword.

Feng Jingteng shivered with fear, and Feng quickly stepped forward to press down on his hand.

"General Xie, General Xie... please calm down, this is a domestic issue within our Feng Family. It’s just a misunderstanding, everyone’s misunderstood..."

Lady Chen looked at his unassertive appearance, grinding her teeth in anger.

"What misunderstanding? Look at Aying’s face, what has she turned it into?"

Feng Jingteng awkwardly met Xie Congguang’s hesitant cold gaze and whispered:

"General Xie, this is my eldest daughter, Shi’er Niang..."

Xie Congguang’s hand trembled slightly as he realized.

Back in Bingzhou City, he had only glimpsed her from a distance, and since Feng Yun had no direct interactions with him in Tai City, and it had been so many years ago, he had long forgotten what Feng Jingteng’s eldest daughter looked like.

But he had already made his statement and couldn’t back down.

"The affairs of the head of the house are none of my business, but..."

He swept a cold glance over the Northern Yong Army before him, his voice chilled.

"We’re here for tomorrow’s negotiations, yet today in the council hall, you make a bold move against the Qi envoy. Clearly, you have no regard for Qi Country. This disrespect might be bearable for the head of the house, but Xie cannot bear it!"

Feng Yun asked him, "When the family members of your honorable envoy from Qi Country are robbing in the street in front of my shop, where is your country’s sincerity?"

Lady Chen’s face turned livid, and she spat with disdain.

"That was originally my Feng Family’s property, what robbery are you talking about? General Xie, this woman is disrespectful, dishonoring her parents, and is habitually rude and disruptive. Go to Tai City and ask around, who doesn’t know of Feng Shi Er Niang’s obstinacy..."

Feng Yun replied indifferently, "Yes, the notorious reputation of Feng Shi Er Niang, all thanks to the favor of my stepmother."

Having said that, she immediately turned around and pointed straight at Feng Jingteng.

"In the third year of Yanping, the Beiyong Army breached five cities in succession, aiming at Andu, and stood at the city gates. The Prefectural Governor Feng Jingteng offered his daughter and sought surrender, abandoning 35,248 civilians in the city, and fled to Xinzhou with his relatives. Before leaving, the Prefectural Governor plundered the state treasury and set fire to the granary, resulting in countless deaths due to starvation in Andu, turning it into a veritable hell on earth... This matter is known to all in Andu, and everyone can stand witness!"

"And you," Feng Yun pointed at Lady Chen, "fully aware of my betrothal to Xiao San, yet you allowed your daughter, Feng Ying, to seduce my brother-in-law, conspired in secret, arranging to send me to the Jin Camp. Then you turned around and promised your daughter to Xiao San as his wife... The filthy deeds you’ve done behind the scenes, let’s not even mention them. Just take today, under the broad daylight, in this clear sky, you let your evil servants come to my door, robbing the property given by my husband’s family, simply shameless, vile, and despicable..."

She turned her head again, staring at Xie Congguang with a scattered smile.

"Feng Twelve has heard of General Xie’s righteousness, that your eyes can hardly tolerate a speck of dust. I dare ask General Xie, does such a shameless person of low integrity and despicableness deserve my filial piety? Does this kind of official, who secretly has a family yet bears a child with another and still preaches morality, deserve the support of Qi Country’s taxpayer’s money? Does a child born of adultery deserve to be the Empress of Qi Country, a model for all women?"

Xie Congguang was rendered speechless by her series of questions.

Feng Yun took another step forward, pointing at the Changmen Restaurant, sweeping her gaze over the silent crowd of onlookers.

"Feng Twelve asks General Xie again. This restaurant, these shops, should they belong to me, or to the Feng Family?"

Xie Congguang had long heard about the Feng Family’s matters.

He had never given it much thought, nor had he known that this young woman was Feng Shi Er Niang. His rush to defend Feng Jingteng was meant to preserve the face of the Qi Army, not to act as a thug for the Feng Family.

At a loss for words, Xie Congguang sheathed his sword, frowned as he glanced at Feng Jingteng, and cupped his fist saying:

"It is not appropriate for Xie to intervene in the private matters of your residence."

With that, he waved his hand to beckon his men.

"Let’s go!"

The Qi Army stepped back, but Ye Chuang and the others stood their ground.

Feng Yun sported a gentle smile without a change in her demeanor, looking at the onlookers.

"Fellow townspeople, judge for yourselves, should I have slapped them?"

"You should have!"

"You should have!"

The street erupted in shouts.

Lady Chen’s face had already turned pale, cursing something, but her voice was drowned out by the shouts filling the street.

Feng Ying’s face was even paler, the prints from Feng Yun’s earlier slap red and distinct.

"I empathize with my elder sister’s grievances. Those two slaps were truly deserved!" Feng Ying suddenly pushed Lady Chen aside and slowly walked toward Feng Yun.

In front of the entire street’s onlookers and both the Jin and Qi armies, she let the tears gleam in her eyes and fell to her knees weakly, looking up with incessant sobs.

"Forgive me for my foolishness, I had no idea before of the grievances my elder sister endured, and I was oblivious that the marriage I took pride in was built on my sister’s tears and blood..."

As she wept silently, she looked up at Feng Yun and closed her eyes.

"Sister, beat me, please. If two slaps can ease even one ten-thousandth of the humiliation you suffered in Andu, it would be worth it for Ayun..."

What a perfectly pure white lotus flower.

Feng Yun sneered.

So that’s how formidable Feng Ying was.

By withdrawing, she had driven a wedge between her and Pei Jue with just one sentence.

Saying that she had been wronged and humiliated in the Jin Camp was tantamount to framing her marriage with Pei Jue as one of coercion and force, unwilling and reluctant...

If she claimed that she had not suffered or been humiliated, her previous speech would fall flat, and it wouldn’t cause such disdain towards the Feng Family...

The eyes of the crowd were all fixed on the two young women in the street.

Hidden silently behind the crowd stood Pei Jue, and when Ye Chuang spotted him and was about to speak, he was stopped by Pei Jue’s stern look.

Ye Chuang swallowed his words.

Pei Jue remained silent, watching Feng Yun as if he were just another onlooker.

"Feng Ying, I will tear off your hypocritical mask," Feng Yun said softly, looking down at Feng Ying with a very low voice.

Feng Ying looked up to meet her gaze.

Those red and moist eyes were filled with pitiful sadness.

"My sister bears such grudges and is utterly wronged, it is only right that you should beat me..."

Feng Yun gently brushed the disheveled hair from her cheek, with a slight curve of her eyebrows.

With that smile, she bloomed like a mountain flower, stunningly beautiful.

Then, as the onlookers watched, such a dazzling young woman made an extremely pretty action, slapping Feng Ying’s face hard with her palm.

Wincing from pain, Feng Ying fell to the ground, covering her face.

Smack! Feng Yun stepped forward and backhanded her another slap.

Amid the sound of the slap, her voice was cool but pleasant.

"I hit you, not because I have suffered much humiliation. Ha, if I could have openly fought against you, Mrs. Feng, in Mingquan Town, how could I be humiliated? My husband has been extremely kind to me; would I dare to lay a hand on you without his support? I’m not only not humiliated, but I also feel quite proud. Thanks to the shameless act of Feng Jingteng’s offering his daughter, I’ve met a good man, and thanks to Xiao San’s refusal to marry, I was spared from jumping into the fire pit!"

Her words were unrestrained, and the sweetness that spilled from her eyes made any doubts from the crowd dissipate.

Feng Ying: "If Sister has found happiness, why do you... hate me so much?"

Feng Yun’s lips curled into a sneer, "Lady Chen has no shame, and the daughter she raised follows suit. I hit you simply to humiliate you, an unsophisticated and rough humiliation, that’s all."