"Coming to fight, how does your Prince Yu Mansion wish to fight?"
Tong Huaqiong descended the stairs, taking one step at a time, stopping on the last two steps to look down at the arrogant maid.
The maid gave Tong Huaqiong a disdainful glance and asked, "And who are you?"
Manager Tang said, "This is Manager Tong, the owner of our Taohua Dessert."
The maid looked even more disdainful.
Seeing such an imposing air, she thought it was some imperial decree lady. She had said there wasn’t a lady in the whole Shengjing she didn’t know, but it turned out to be just the owner of Taohua Dessert.
Just a mere merchant.
Not worth fearing.
She heard Taohua Dessert came from Ningxiang Village, a rural lady with shallow knowledge, even knowing she’s from Prince Yu Mansion and still daring to question her.
The maid, too lazy to engage, raised her hand to signal the guards to storm the bakery in the backyard.
"He only got it half right. I am the owner of Taohua Dessert, a country lady personally titled by the Emperor, and the Grand Prince’s grandmother in the common folk," Tong Huaqiong walked down the steps, unloaded her titles forcefully.
No other way, Shengjing has too many officials, and a country lady is nothing, especially against a Commandery Princess, but the connection to the Grand Prince is intimidating enough.
Now, who in the whole Shengjing doesn’t know the grand ancestor ceremony the Old Emperor held to welcome back the Grand Prince.
That phrase "Zhao Yi’s return, hope for the state," although it pushed the Grand Prince into the limelight, also made officials from all over Shengjing realize how powerful the Grand Prince is.
Isn’t it all about bullying with power?
Tong Huaqiong wasn’t at all guilty, after all, Princess Ming Yue dared to snatch the chef from Taohua Dessert depending on her Prince Yu Mansion.
She leaned on the Grand Prince’s power without any guilt.
It’s just a battle of magic.
As expected, upon hearing about the Grand Prince’s grandmother in the common folk, the maid’s arrogance faded a bit. She initially wanted to have guards come in directly to snatch people but had to make them withdraw for now.
"Does your Commandery Princess fancy our Taohua Dessert’s Master Liu?" Tong Huaqiong asked.
This Princess Ming Yue really likes snatching things from others.
In the past life, she snatched people’s husbands, in this life, she snatches people’s employees.
Who knows what kind of mentality this is?
She’s a Commandery Princess, has everything, yet loves to snatch people away.
The maid raised her head arrogantly, snorted, thinking that this rural owner would send Master Liu obediently to Prince Yu Mansion if she had any sense, rather than questioning her here.
Manager He asked Manager Tang, "Manager Tang, does Master Sun voluntarily want to go to Prince Yu Mansion?"
She definitely doesn’t want to go; if she did, would Prince Yu Mansion still come to snatch people?
Manager Tang replied tactfully, "Master Sun was dispatched from Ning City to Shengjing to assist our bakery; she said she plans to return to Ning City in a few years."
Tong Huaqiong told the maid, "Master Sun isn’t going to Prince Yu Mansion. You tell Princess Ming Yue that forcing someone isn’t the action of a gentleman; surely the Commandery Princess understands this principle better than we rural folks."
Rejected directly by Tong Huaqiong, the maid’s face was hard to maintain.
The maid said arrogantly, "Our Commandery Princess took a fancy to your Taohua Dessert’s Master Liu to make pastries solely for the Commandery Princess in the mansion, which is her honor. Yet, she chooses to throw a tantrum and refuses to serve at our Prince Yu Mansion. Manager Tong, you must not understand Shengjing’s situation since you just arrived. You can find out who in all of Shengjing doesn’t want to serve our Prince Yu Mansion? Not just Shengjing, who in all of Dasheng dares to oppose Prince Yu Mansion."
What about the Grand Prince?
The Grand Prince equally needs the support of Prince Yu Mansion.
"If Master Sun doesn’t come with me today, I’m afraid she won’t have a place to stand in all of Dasheng tomorrow."
It seems Princess Ming Yue has thoroughly gone beyond boundaries.
The maid even dared to say such words.
No wonder Gu Jingzhe fell so swiftly in the previous life; his dear Yue Family’s Prince Yu Mansion was an accelerant indeed.
Who in all Dasheng dares to oppose Prince Yu Mansion, where does that place the Emperor?
Tong Huaqiong shouted, "I don’t need to find out to know who in all Shengjing doesn’t want to serve Prince Yu Mansion; our Emperor doesn’t wish."
The maid was stumped by Tong Huaqiong’s words, unable to find anything to refute for a while, especially since Tong Huaqiong didn’t give her a chance to speak.
"You talk casually about all of Shengjing and all Dasheng, anyone who doesn’t know might think the world belongs to your Prince Yu Mansion. Can you ask if Prince Yu dares to say this? Or does your Prince Yu Mansion feel that all of Dasheng is its own, that you would foster a maid who doesn’t know her limits, who even dares to tread the world under Prince Yu Mansion’s feet?"
Tong Huaqiong loudly addressed the Prince Yu Mansion guards approaching, "Under the Emperor’s eye, no wonder you barged in to snatch people recklessly. Turns out, your Prince Yu Mansion regards the world as its own possession, let alone a mere pastry chef?"
Tong Huaqiong’s aura was too intimidating, and the guards were too frightened to step forward.
They couldn’t figure out how it got related to rebellion.
The maid was even more dumbfounded.
Is this Manager Tong unable to understand human speech?
She wasn’t exaggerating; she only meant to highlight Prince Yu Mansion’s great favor from the Emperor.
What shocked both the guards and the maid even more was when Tong Huaqiong directly rushed to the entrance of Taohua Dessert and shouted onto the street, "Prince Yu Mansion is plotting rebellion."
They didn’t even get a chance to react.
This shout succeeded in attracting the whole street.
The passersby didn’t understand, shouldn’t Prince Yu Mansion be rebelling at the Imperial Palace? Why would they start at a pastry shop?
Once curiosity in people is piqued, unstoppable footsteps of those eager came rushing.
Even the patrolling Forbidden Army was drawn in.
"Who’s rebelling? Who’s rebelling? Come back," the maid was furious.
Tong Huaqiong paid no mind to the maid’s arguments and continued shouting on the street that Prince Yu Mansion is plotting rebellion.
Since it was destined to offend Prince Yu Mansion and Princess Ming Yue, might as well offend them entirely from the start.
After all, if she doesn’t offend now, later she might also offend them if she takes a liking to Gu Jingzhe.
"You are slandering!"
A young woman, dressed in elaborate attire, leaped from a luxurious carriage, storming angrily to Tong Huaqiong’s side.
This arrogant woman was Princess Ming Yue.
She had been shopping and sent her personal maid to Taohua Dessert to seize the pastry chef while she loitered in the cosmetics shop.
Upon hearing someone shouting Prince Yu Mansion’s plotting rebellion at the entrance of Taohua Dessert, she hastily jumped from the carriage and rushed over.
Tong Huaqiong said, "Are you the Commandery Princess who likes to snatch others’ things? Whether it’s slander or not isn’t for me to decide, but your maid did say the world belongs to your Prince Yu Mansion, everyone in Shengjing wishes to rely on Prince Yu Mansion, isn’t this plotting rebellion?"
"You...," Princess Ming Yue was enraged, pointing to the guards behind her, commanding, "Chop her for me."
Isn’t she just a manager of Taohua Dessert, killing her is like squashing an ant.
The guards, however, dared not move.
Princess Ming Yue was unaware that Tong Huaqiong is the Grand Prince’s grandmother in the common folk, but the guards knew, and they feared repercussions from the Old Emperor if they truly chopped her.
"Cut her, both of them, for me,"
Seeing the guards unmoving, Princess Ming Yue, infuriated, pulled out a sword to do it herself.
Gu Taohua snatched the sword and turned it against Princess Ming Yue, the sword edge straight to her throat.
"You dare point a sword at this Commandery Princess?"
Princess Ming Yue, accustomed to arrogance, never encountered anyone daring enough to confront her like this, and shouted, "Do you realize the weight of ’Princess Ming Yue’?"
Gu Taohua rolled her eyes, saying, "At least your weight isn’t heavier than mine. Not only do I dare point at you, but I also dare to cut you."
The cold sword tip brushed against Princess Ming Yue’s throat.
This lunatic, she really meant it.
Princess Ming Yue was terrified to her core.
"""