Chapter 5, A Slap

Familiar sound

"Who is that?" Auntie An sneered, her gaze piercing.

Faintly, an unusual sound could be heard from beneath the window, resembling the noise of an object accidentally scraping against the wall, but it was overshadowed by Aunt An's heavy breathing. Feng Zhiwei's expression remained composed as she slightly tightened her fingers.

You actually destroyed the golden nest fruit offered to the princess

Aunt An raised her hand, also frozen, seemingly unable to believe that she had acted.

However, she ultimately arrived a step too late

Feng Zhiwei listened to the names of these ingredients that represented mountains of gold and silver, feeling secretly annoyed. Taking a deep breath, she said: "I only came to warm up the steamed buns, I didn't touch that."

The crisp sound of the palm making contact with the skin startled everyone, causing their eyebrows to twitch.

How should this be explained? Auntie An originally just wanted to make Feng Zhiwei a little uncomfortable, but upon noticing someone entering, she remained composed. Unexpectedly, it was the meal intended for Shaoning that was being moved. As the meal was about to be served, this truly caused a great disaster. She glared at Feng Zhiwei with resentment; if there was some pretext for her anger before, now it was truly a deep-seated hatred.

As the window was wide open, the steam dissipated, revealing a jade cup carefully covered with a silver filigree cover on the table. However, the silver cover was now turned to one side, and the jade cup was tilted, spilling a semi-solid, cheese-like substance all over the table. There were also several dark fingerprints around the edge of the jade cup, making it appear quite dirty and messy

After a while, a thin line of blood slowly blossomed from the corner of Feng Zhiwei's lips, strikingly beautiful yet mournful like a withered flower, causing the expressions of those present to change.

Feng Zhiwei came to a halt.

Suddenly, she took a deep breath, turned around, and quickly and steadily placed the steamed bun back into the pot

Feng Zhiwei was taken aback, quickly withdrawing her hand and springing to her feet. Ignoring the steaming bun, she grabbed it and stuffed it into her bosom. With a swift turn, she dashed towards the back window—just two steps away was the kitchen's rear window. The window was quite low, and beyond it lay a flowerbed with low shrubs. As long as she could get out to mhetushucom.com, she would find a way to escape. No matter what, she should not be here at this moment.

Feng Zhiwei raised her hand, gently pressing her fingertip against the corner of her lips, carefully examining the bloodstain on her fingertip, and then smiled.

However, she immediately steeled herself—if she was going to hit, then so be it; what could she do? To be honest, in the past, she had been well-behaved, never giving anyone a chance to catch her in the wrong, and there was no opportunity to teach her a lesson. Today, since the opportunity had presented itself, and she was in the right, why not strike? Could she really escape the grave sin of "stealing imperial property"? Moreover, she was, after all, a lady of the house, someone of status in this residence. What was there to fear in teaching a lesson to the daughter of a lowly woman of unknown origins?

She stood by the window, her gaze cast downward, and in an instant, a complex interplay of emotions—anger, helplessness, worry, and hatred—flitted across her face

Feng Zhiwei pinched her fingers again, but then she calmly said: "There are so many people in your kitchen, and they rushed over so quickly just now; anyone could have touched it..."

Miss Feng... wwwhetushucom.com... A middle-aged woman beside Aunt An spoke with a chilling tone, her face ashen, "This golden nest is indeed something the second young master painstakingly acquired from Great Yue at a high price; just one tael is worth thousands of gold. Moreover, it requires the secret method of nine steams and nine suns, combined with over ten exquisite ingredients such as snow mountain purple fungus, and throughout the process, only the expensive black stone wood can be used as fuel... Not to mention the cost and effort involved in making this one lamp, it is a unique treasure. Tomorrow, when the princess sends for the meal, what are we to offer in tribute?"

"Is it you?" The somewhat older woman looked at Feng Zhiwei, who was standing with her back to the window, her tone a mix of anger and surprise, yet a hint of smug satisfaction flickered in her eyes.

At this moment, she recalled that Feng Zhiwei was, after all, a young lady of status. Her mother was the legitimate mistress of this household, and it was said that her temper was quite fierce

It is now impossible to climb out of the window again. The faint, pained breaths beneath the window tell her that the one who has strayed cannot move anymore. If she climbs out, she too will be discovered, and at that time, it will be even more difficult to explain.

Feng Zhiwei inwardly cursed her bad luck—this was Aunt An, the one in charge of the kitchen. A widow who lost her husband years ago, she had long been hoping to share a bed with the influential Liu Guan Shi from the outer courtyard. However, Liu Guan Shi found her old face as wrinkled as an orange peel and was fixated on sleeping with the young Feng Zhiwei instead. As a result, the old woman had been looking at her with disdain for quite some time.

Feng Zhiwei only felt a buzzing in her head, followed by a tingling sensation on her face. Before the numbness faded, a sharp, burning pain surged in, accompanied by a slightly metallic sweetness in her mouth, and even her gums began to throb with pain.

What a fierce slap

Bang!

This thought was merely a fleeting one, and then Aunt An, without hesitation, pointed at Feng Zhiwei and shouted: "Arrest this audacious woman who has stolen the tribute! Deliver her to the lady for punishment!"

A profound silence

At this moment, the kitchen erupted into a clamor, as the steward and the cooks from outside rushed over

She had never intended to overstep, after all, Feng Zhiwei was nominally her superior. In the strictly hierarchical Tian Sheng Dynasty, defying one's superior was a grave disrespect. However, today was different; she was already anxious about the meal preparations for tomorrow. In a fit of anger, seeing this little minx so calm and composed only fueled her rage, causing her blood to rush and her mind to go blank. By the time she regained her senses, she found Feng Zhiwei's face already adorned with a myriad of colors.

Her hair was disheveled, a smile half-hidden and half-revealed among the dark strands, immersed in the lingering mist around her and the half-lit, half-shadowed corner. She appeared gentle yet eerie, exuding a contradictory chill that sent a shiver down the spine of Aunt An, who stood opposite her, staring intently.

The sweet fragrance in the air became even more intense, and Feng Zhiwei took a slight breath, feeling her heart sink a few more degrees. Although she did not know what this substance was, it was evident that it was undoubtedly a rare treasure

Aunt An's gaze quickly swept across the table, and suddenly her expression changed dramatically as she lunged forward

It was not that her reaction was slow, but rather that she had just rushed out and saw someone else also hastening in that direction. Climbing over the window ledge, they tumbled out, and perhaps due to excessive panic, they twisted their ankle upon landing, faintly hearing a cry of pain, "Ouch!"