Tian Qing had been working on the flowers. She had just arrived at her new job, but there was nobody that took care of her. There were not many servants in this courtyard, and the majority were sent by the Yao family. They were usually busy with work and very rarely conversed. Tian Qing’s arrival caused the servants to become a bit confused; however, they were not too curious. Seeing that Tian Qing went to handle the flowers on her own, they did not pay her any mind. However, who knew that Fu Ya would suddenly walk over. Arriving next to Tian Qing, she raised her hand and slapped her across the face.
The servants did not know what this newly-arrived servant had done wrong to be hit so soon after arriving. As for Fu Ya, they had worked in this courtyard for such a long time, yet they had never seen Fu Ya get angry. They originally thought that she was a girl with a very good temper. It was only at this point that they found out that all masters were people that would hit others. It was just that she had never wanted to hit them.
Fu Ya’s slap completely dazed Tian Qing, and she stared blankly at Fu Ya. Only after a while, she asked: “Miss, why did you hit this servant?”
Slap!
Another slap smacked her across the face. Fu Ya used all of her strength and caused Tian Qing to fall to the ground. In the end, Tian Qing was a maidservant that had come out of the Wen Xuan Palace and would not be knocked unconscious by just a couple slaps. Although her status as a servant was clear, and she could not protect herself, she still asked Fu Ya: “Why does Miss hit me?”
Fu Ya squatted down and tightly pinched Tian Qing’s chin. Her current expression was like one belonging to a demon and it was frightening to look at. “You’re still calling me miss. I already told you that I am Lady Yao’s daughter. I am the young miss, yet you continue to call me miss. What exactly are you intending?”
Tian Qing quickly changed this: “It was all this servant’s mistake. It was this servant that had not gotten used to the situation and will not dare do it again. But… Young Miss hit me before this servant made a mistake. Why exactly was this?”
“Why?” Fu Ya fiercely said, “It’s just because you’re a servant! A servant being hit needs to ask their master why? Is this a rule that is taught by your Wen Xuan Palace? Could it be that when Princess Wen Xuan hits you, you need to ask her why? What an impudent servant, do you understand what it means to be a master and what it means to be a servant?” She let go and stood up to look down on her.
Tian Qing, however, shook her head and said in a serious tone: “Of course, this servant knows what it means to be a master and what it means to be a servant, but in the Wen Xuan Palace, there would never be anything like the insulting or beating of a servant for no reason at all. Regardless of whether it was the master, the princess or palace princess, they would not be like Young Miss in suddenly hitting someone. Even if a servant made a mistake, they would have someone specific take care of telling them where they had gone wrong. They would then hand down punishment according to the family rules. That’s why this servant just wants to ask, precisely what mistake was made?”
“Alright!” Fu Ya said, “You want to know, thus I will tell you. The things that you spoke of were the Wen Xuan Palace’s rules. If you want things to be like before, there is only one path back. If you insist on staying here, you will need to obey the rules of this courtyard. Here, the masters are your gods. If the master wants to hit you, there is nobody that has any right to ask too much. You’ve made my mother unhappy, so you should not hope to be happy!”
Tian Qing looked at Fu Ya and finally understand why Princess Wen Xuan had told her that she had to keep an eye on this person. It turned out that this person that had the exact same face as Imperial Daughter Ji An actually had such an ugly heart. For such a girl to be left at Lady Yao’s side, what exactly was she wanting to do? “In this courtyard, you are the young miss, but after you exit that gate, you aren’t anything.” Tian Qing sat on the ground and coldly snorted, “Don’t believe that because you have a face that looks like Imperial Daughter’s you can truly replace her. Miss Fu Ya, if you really want the best for Lady Yao, it would be best if you kept your own status in mind. Don’t acknowledge the things that should not be acknowledged. Don’t do things that you should not do. Like that, everyone will be grateful. Princess Wen Xuan already said that as long as you take good care of Lady Yao and don’t think about those worthless things, she will not mistreat you. But if you insist on continuing using imperial daughter’s identity, sooner or later… you will suffer retribution!”
When Tian Qing spoke, her voice was calm and did not contain any hatred, but the words that were spoken caused Fu Ya to go crazy. She loudly shouted: “Shut your mouth! You lowly slut, what nonsense are you spouting? I am Feng Yu Heng. I have not replaced anyone! My identity was given to me by my mother. My mother is the best proof there is! That Imperial Daughter Ji An is the fake, she is the fake!” Fu Ya spoke while loudly screaming. It seemed as though she had been extremely upset, “She caused the death of my parents and must return my parents. I don’t just want her mother, I also want her father. I am the real Feng Yu Heng. If you don’t believe it, go and ask Yao shi. See what she says! Listen to her tell you who is the real one and who is the fake one!”
Fu Ya was on the verge of mental collapse. She retrieved a branch and held it in her hand. It was like a whip, as it was fiercely whipped at Tian Qing’s body. While whipping, she shouted: “Kneel! A servant actually dares to dodge my whip? Kneel properly!”
Snap snap! One after another, the strikes landed on Tian Qing’s body. Although the clothes for mid-Autumn worn by servants were quite thick, they could not stop Fu Ya’s fierce strikes, which caused Tian Qing to grimace and grit her teeth to bear the pain.
At this time, the main gate of the courtyard was pushed open with a “bang.” Immediately following this, a voice spoke up, and it sounded as if it had come from the underworld. The sound caused Fu Ya to tremble, “Not everyone in the world that can use a whip can call themselves Feng Yu Heng. Fu Ya, if you want to use my name, you must live up to it. Also, your technique when whipping people is truly not too good. Come, come, come, this imperial daughter will teach you how a real whip should be used.”
After she said this, she stopped in front of Fu Ya and reached into her sleeve. A whip immediately appeared in her hand. With a whirl, the whip very impolitely began to slam into Fu Ya’s body, “Smack, smack, smack, smack.” One strike after another caused Fu Ya to fall to the ground then roll from a corner of the courtyard to the center. One pained scream came after another that went from loud to quiet. By the end, all that remained were groans. As for her clothes, they had also been completely torn, and blood gradually began to spread.
The servants were all dazed from the sight. Even the maidservant Tian Qing was frozen. In the past, she had heard about Feng Yu Heng’s fierce actions; however, she had never been able to see them for herself. Now, she was able to see it personally, and she was so shocked that she almost could not breathe.
So fierce! Everyone said that Imperial Daughter Ji An treated those close to her very well and bad people very poorly. Once she began her work, not a single person would be able to escape. It appeared that it was true.
“Feng Yu Heng!” Finally, Fu Ya used all of her strength to scream: “Why are you hitting me? You once used my name, and now it’s just me using your name. What makes it so undesirable? I gave up the lives of my entire family to help you and help Da Shun’s army, but you? Now, you repay me like this? My dad and mom died tragic deaths. Who should I seek to get revenge against for that? Feng Yu Heng, you have no conscience. You let me down! You let my dead dad and mom down!”
Screaming herself hoarse, the reply that she obtained from Feng Yu Heng was still that cold tone, “Stop using that sort of thing to act as moral coercion. This imperial daughter will not abide by it. Back then, you were willing to accept my request, and I did not force you. Of course, aside from gratitude, I also buried your parents and gave you a better life. But you did not live this better life, insisting on taking this path. So don’t blame me for getting angry and being merciless.”
Smack! Another strike landed, adding another bloody mark to Fu Ya’s body.
Finally, the commotion outside caught Yao shi’s attention. The doors to the hall were opened, and Yao shi staggered out. Upon seeing the situation before her, she nearly fainted. She let out a shrill scream and dove forward. Without caring that Feng Yu Heng’s whip was still moving, as if she had gone crazy, she dove onto Fu Ya’s body. At the same time, she loudly shouted: “A-Heng, A-Heng, what’s wrong? Why is there so much blood! A-Heng, don’t scare mother. There must not be anything wrong with you!”
Bitter tears fell onto Fu Ya’s body. Feng Yu Heng’s whip finally stopped moving; however, she looked at Yao shi in a bit of a daze. The memories of the body’s original owner appeared once more, as she saw the time when they had been chased out of the Feng family. In the carriage, Yao shi had also held her in this way while crying. In the mountain village in the Northwest, Yao shi would cry every time they met with any hardships. The tears would also fall on her body. It was the exact same scene as was before her. It was just that the person being held by Yao shi was no longer her. Instead, it was someone that looked exactly like her.
In that instant, Feng Yu Heng practically felt that Fu Ya really might be the original owner of this body. She even thought that if this really was the return of the body’s original owner, like that, of course, she would need to give way to her. Regardless of whether or not the things that she had earned later on had to be returned, at the very least, her mother had to be returned and her identity as Feng Yu Heng needed to be returned.
Fortunately, this disconnect only lasted for a moment, and she very quickly regained her clarity. Coldly looking at the mother and daughter before her, she knew that Fu Ya was not the body’s original owner. Instead, it was a stranger that did not have the slightest bit of blood relation. Yet this stranger currently insisted on becoming a stumbling block. She had also used this unique method to captivate her own mother. She could no longer accept it.
At this time, Fu Ya had also woken up. Realizing that Yao shi was holding her, for some reason, she actually curled her lips into a smile. She then used some strength and turned to look at Feng Yu Heng. With a pleading expression, she said: “Imperial daughter, it’s fine if you whip me to death, I just hope that mother is able to stay well. This was all my fault, but I am also doing it for mother’s sake. Mother’s body is weak. If I do not do as she likes, she will get sick! Imperial daughter, it was all my fault. I hope that you can forgive me!”
Fu Ya’s sudden pleas for mercy caused Feng Yu Heng to slightly furrow her brow. As expected, immediately following this, Yao shi’s voice could be heard: “You went too far!” Finally, Yao shi looked toward Feng Yu Heng with eyes filled with enmity and hatred. The small sliver of politeness that had once been there had now disappeared. At this time, Feng Yu Heng was completely and totally her enemy. She was the enemy that had hurt her daughter!
Yao shi went crazy. Standing up, she charged at Feng Yu Heng. Both of her hands wrapped tightly around her neck, as her face contorted into a vicious expression. “You, you actually dare to hit my A-Heng? You actually dare to hit my daughter? I must choke you to death today! I will kill you!”
Yao shi’s grip grew tighter and tighter. Seeing that Feng Yu Heng’s expression changed slightly, Xuan Tian Hua, who had come along, could no longer bear to watch and prepared to step forward to help.
But at this time, they heard Feng Yu Heng coldly say: “Yao shi, let go!”