MCSCPM -Chapter 243 Looking for Trouble

Princess Chu Fengjiao, the Eldest Princess, was notorious within the palace for being sharp-tongued and willful. She had a straightforward temper and spoke bluntly, never flattering others or following trends. As a result, in the eyes of palace maids and eunuchs, she was a dangerous figure.

Lan Rao was a woman who placed great importance on propriety. Every word and action had to follow rules precisely, without the slightest lapse. Because of this, she found Chu Fengjiao extremely disagreeable—lacking manners and utterly devoid of the dignity expected of a royal princess.

“Princess,” Lan Rao said with displeasure, “why are you making such a commotion in my palace? Where is your sense of decorum?”

Chu Fengjiao, however, looked completely unconcerned—fearless of heaven or earth. She glanced around, not seeing Yin Qingyue anywhere, and loudly demanded, “Where is she?”

“What are you looking for?” Lan Rao asked.

“A beauty!” Chu Fengjiao replied. “The woman who danced with a sword at the flower-viewing banquet. I didn’t get a clear look that day, so I came especially today to take a proper look. Why isn’t she here? I heard she’s staying here!”

She paced back and forth in the main hall, still not seeing Yin Qingyue.

Seeing her like this, Lan Rao cursed inwardly—so ill-mannered.

“Princess, this is my palace. How can you shout like this and barge in with a whip? What do you take my palace for?”

“Noble Consort Lan, I’m not shouting—I’m looking for someone. Where is Yin Qingyue?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? There’s no one here you’re looking for. Leave at once.”

“How can there not be?” Chu Fengjiao puffed out her cheeks, completely ignoring Lan Rao’s expression.

Lan Rao was so angry her face turned green, but as a cultivated woman, she straightened her posture, assumed the bearing of a noble consort, and said sternly, “If you continue being so rude and reckless in my palace, I will discipline you on Consort Shu’s behalf.”

Chu Fengjiao, of course, wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. She didn’t even take her own mother seriously, let alone Lan Rao.

She flicked her whip back and sneered, “Noble Consort Lan, aren’t you mistaken? What right do you have to control me?” With great arrogance, she continued, “Everyone knows the Divine Physician is staying in your palace. I came to find her, not you.”

“You—”

“Noble Consort,” Chu Fengjiao went on, “I may have offended you just now, but surely you wouldn’t hide the Divine Physician and refuse to let me see her?”

With that, she ignored Lan Rao’s livid face and headed straight for the rear hall to look for Yin Qingyue.

“Guards! Stop her!” Lan Rao ordered sharply.

The palace maids and eunuchs rushed forward to block her. Chu Fengjiao rolled her eyes at Lan Rao, swung her whip, and sent them scattering to the sides. Flicking the whip triumphantly, she marched into the rear hall.

Lan Rao sighed heavily. Consort Shu, this is the daughter you raised—no respect for elders, no sense of rank.

Chu Fengjiao didn’t care in the least. Her arrogance was already well known throughout the palace—everyone knew to keep their distance when they saw her.

As soon as she reached the rear hall, she shouted loudly, “Where’s the beauty? Where is she?”

Her arrival startled Yin Qingyue. She stepped outside and asked Lian’er, “Who is it?”

Recognizing the voice of Princess Chu Fengjiao, Lian’er’s hands began to tremble. She said fearfully, “Miss Yin, it’s the Eldest Princess.”

“The Eldest Princess?”

Yin Qingyue thought carefully. Ding Ying had once said that Princess Chu Fengjiao was extremely willful and that it was best to stay far away if one encountered her. Just judging from her posture at the flower-viewing banquet, one could already guess her temperament.

As she was thinking this, Chu Fengjiao spotted her and immediately rushed over, looking her up and down. Seen up close, she was indeed beautiful—no wonder so many people were talking about her.

At that moment, a bright idea formed in Chu Fengjiao’s mind: she would find a concubine for her brother. Yin Qingyue was just perfect.

“You must be Yin Qingyue,” she said. “Indeed quite striking—your reputation isn’t undeserved.”

Yin Qingyue smiled and bowed slightly. “Qingyue greets the Eldest Princess.”

Then she asked, “May I ask what brings the Princess here?”

“I came to see you, of course,” Chu Fengjiao stepped closer, staring at her. “You really are beautiful. I’ve always considered myself the most beautiful woman under heaven, but seeing you, I must admit—you’re more beautiful than me.”

Those words left Yin Qingyue both amused and speechless.

Chu Fengjiao lifted her chin arrogantly and said bluntly, “How about this—why don’t you become my brother’s concubine? I mean Prince Yi. It’s far better than being hidden away in some private residence outside the capital. That’s much better than being a woman with no status, no title, and subject to gossip, isn’t it?”

Her words were shockingly blunt.

Yin Qingyue immediately felt countless black lines form on her forehead. She truly wanted to throw the words ‘children speak without restraint’ right back at her.

Lian’er, standing nearby, listened with eyes wide open, her jaw nearly dropping. How could the Eldest Princess speak like this?

But as a mere palace maid, she dared not show any emotion—being spared a slap was already a blessing.

After a long pause, Yin Qingyue said, “Princess, you overestimate me.”

“Don’t you want to be a concubine?” Chu Fengjiao pressed on, her words tinged with sarcasm.

Yin Qingyue treated her like an impolite child and didn’t bother arguing. Smiling, she said, “Princess, you made such a commotion just to say this? Perhaps you don’t know me well—forget being a concubine, even if it were the position of princess consort, Qingyue wouldn’t want it.”

“What?!” Chu Fengjiao was stunned. “Yin Qingyue, becoming my brother’s concubine would be your good fortune!”

“This good fortune,” Yin Qingyue replied calmly, “Qingyue is unable to accept.”

From start to finish, Yin Qingyue maintained her smile, leaving Chu Fengjiao with no excuse to explode in anger.

At this moment, Lan Rao finally caught up and saw Chu Fengjiao’s shocked expression—clearly holding back anger that hadn’t yet burst out.

Lan Rao stepped forward and stood in front of Yin Qingyue, saying directly, “Eldest Princess, have you caused enough trouble? If you continue like this, I’ll have someone summon Consort Shu to come see what kind of daughter she’s raised.”

Mentioning her mother made Chu Fengjiao falter—she wasn’t truly fearless. Her arrogance diminished slightly. She glanced at Yin Qingyue and muttered, “Titles matter most anyway. Letting her be Prince Yi’s concubine is already generous. If Prince Jing truly liked her, why wouldn’t he bring her openly into his residence? Hiding her outside the capital—what does that mean?”

Her muttering was heard by Lan Rao. She knew this arrangement was ordered by the emperor himself—Prince Jing was not allowed to bring the Divine Physician into his residence and could only let her stay outside the capital. Ultimately, Chu Jingcheng was a subject and Chu Helian was the sovereign. No matter how bold he was, that reality couldn’t be ignored.

“I’ll say this one last time,” Lan Rao said coldly. “This is not a place for you to shout and make trouble. Miss Yin is my honored guest. If you insult her again, I will not be polite.”

Hearing this, Chu Fengjiao shot her a sidelong glance and said, “Noble Consort, I don’t think she’s just your guest—I think she’s your benefactor.”

“What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? Don’t pretend you don’t know!”

Sure enough, the Eldest Princess was direct to a fault—she spoke without thinking. Put nicely, it was childish frankness; put bluntly, it was reckless speech.

Yin Qingyue sensed the tension rising. She knew exactly what Chu Fengjiao meant.

Stepping forward unhurriedly, she said, “Princess, I appreciate your kindness, but Qingyue truly prefers a quiet life. Living outside the capital is peaceful. If I were to enter a prince’s residence, where would any peace be found?”

Having said this much—and with Lan Rao present—Chu Fengjiao obviously couldn’t drag Yin Qingyue into a bridal sedan.

Yin Qingyue continued, “If this is all the Princess came to say, then please return.”

“Alright, alright, we won’t talk about that anymore,” Chu Fengjiao said, seeming somewhat forced to compromise. She quickly added, “I didn’t come today just for this. I heard Shangguan Jiaoran has suffered losses at your hands several times, and I don’t believe it.”

She pulled out her whip and smiled strangely. “What do you think of my whip? How does it compare to Shangguan Jiaoran’s?”

At that, Yin Qingyue immediately understood—she had come here to test her with the whip.

One Shangguan Jiaoran was already enough of a headache, and now there was Chu Fengjiao. Why were all the people connected to Prince Jing so… peculiar?

“Princess,” Yin Qingyue said, “you’re not planning to test that whip right now, are you?”

“Of course! If you can dodge it, I’ll be completely convinced. From then on, no matter what others say about you, I’ll consider you my friend. And if anyone dares say anything again, I’ll deal with them!” Her words revealed her bold and forthright nature.

Just as Ding Ying had said before—she might be willful, but her heart wasn’t bad.

Before Yin Qingyue or Lan Rao could stop her, Chu Fengjiao had already swung her whip toward Yin Qingyue.

“Take this whip from me!”

The whip lashed out. Lan Rao quickly dodged, and Yin Qingyue sidestepped as well.

Missing its target, Chu Fengjiao swung again. “Let me see just how capable you are!”

Yin Qingyue dodged and evaded, unwilling to fight back—she didn’t want to cause more trouble. But Chu Fengjiao was even more troublesome than Shangguan Jiaoran. She persisted, lashing out whip after whip, without showing the slightest fatigue.

“Yin Qingyue, stop dodging! If you really have skill, fight me properly! What kind of ability is this—just hiding and dodging?”

Those words didn’t provoke Yin Qingyue, but she was truly tired of dealing with her.

At last, she reached out, firmly caught the final whip, and with a sharp pull, snatched it from Chu Fengjiao’s hand.

The red whip slipped free and fell into Yin Qingyue’s grasp.

“Eldest Princess,” Yin Qingyue said with a hint of provocation, her patience exhausted, “are you convinced now? The whip is no longer in your hand—you wouldn’t use your bare hands, would you?”