General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

As expected of the Prime Minister's wife, her entourage is much larger than others when she goes out.

As soon as she spoke, six maids appeared behind her, forming a semi-encirclement as they approached Jiang Qiqi and her companions.

Zheng Lin'er moved a step forward, blocking the way.

"Lin'er, this pavilion is a bit crowded," Jiang Qiqi said.

“Yes, Miss,” Lin’er replied.

She reached out and grabbed the leftmost maid's jacket, pulled her to the right and swung her around 270 degrees, then threw her into the lotus pond next to her with a "plop."

The maids hesitated for a moment, looked at each other, and finally gritted their teeth and rushed forward together.

Then came—"plop—" x5.

It's said that precocious talent often leads to early death; it seems that this applies to lotus flowers as well.

"This..." The Prime Minister's wife watched as her maids were thrown into the water one by one, and the maid with brute strength was already walking towards her. She could no longer sit still and suddenly stood up.

But the Prime Minister's wife was actually overthinking it.

Lin'er is just a little strong, not a projectile. Given this lady's plump physique, unless the Second Prince's residence has siege catapults, she should be unable to reach the Lotus Pond.

"Madam Lü, how do you intend to teach me?" Jiang Qiqi finally stood up from her throne, but everyone wished she had never stood up.

She walked slowly past everyone with her hands behind her back, her aloof gaze sweeping over each person before finally stopping in front of the Prime Minister's wife, staring intently at her.

The Prime Minister's wife's imposing manner immediately diminished.

But with so many young ladies and ladies from prominent families watching, she couldn't afford to lose face.

The maidservant withdrew, and presumably no matter how unreasonable this wild girl was, she wouldn't dare to do anything to the Prime Minister's wife.

She straightened her back again: "You little slut, don't you know that you have to consider the owner before beating a dog? You dare to touch my people, you really don't know your place."

Jiang Qiqi found this spare ammunition for the catapult quite interesting.

She asked, "Why am I afraid to move?"

She looked at Lin'er, who picked up a stone about half the size of her palm from the ground and threw it into the pool with a "whoosh," hitting a maid who had just poked her head out of the water. Then she saw the maid pause for a moment, then slowly pull her head back into the water, leaving only a string of bubbles on the surface.

Jiang Qiqi shrugged: "I've already made a move, what are you going to do now?"

"Ha! What are you doing?" The Prime Minister's wife was furious at her arrogance and laughed instead. "You ignorant fool, do you know that I can strip your husband of his official hat and peacock feather with just a word!"

The opponent finally revealed their last card, but unfortunately, it had little effect on Jiang Qiqi.

But it's obvious that it applies to the group behind them.

Because the people who were just huddled together were now standing behind their esteemed Prime Minister's wife.

They started talking all at once, "convicting" Jiang Qiqi.

Woman A spoke: "Madam Prime Minister, this man's disrespect towards you shows a lack of proper upbringing. It seems his whole family has no respect for Your Excellency the Prime Minister." Woman A finished speaking.

Woman B spoke: "Madam, I believe we should first dismiss this girl's husband from his post, and then speak to the Minister of Personnel to have his character reassessed to see if he is suitable for an official position." Woman B finished speaking.

Miss A spoke up: "Madam, this person cannot be let off the hook either. Her insubordination is a grave act of disrespect and she should be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for punishment according to the law." Miss A finished speaking.

Miss B spoke: "Madam Prime Minister, in my humble opinion, she should compensate everyone present, especially you, for your emotional distress." Miss B finished speaking.

What new tricks does Jiang Qiqi think there are in this ancient world? It's all the same old stuff.

The Prime Minister's wife thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by people, and she listened to their suggestions, finding each one to be quite reasonable.

She looked at Jiang Qiqi outside the circle: "Did you hear that?"

Jiang Qiqi: "I heard it, I heard it with both ears."

"Now that you've heard it, what do you plan to do? If you kneel down now, apologize to me, and say some nice things, perhaps I'll consider being lenient with you."

Jiang Qiqi waved her hand: "Forget it, it's something they came up with with great effort, so I'll just use it reluctantly."

The Prime Minister's wife almost thought she had misheard; how could there be such a stupid person in the world?

"Fine, since you've said that, don't blame me for not giving you a chance."

She sat down comfortably again: "I, on behalf of my master, hereby announce the removal of your husband... What was your husband's name?"

"Shen Luo."

"Alright, remove Shen Luo from his post."

……

……

……

"How dare you use the title of General Zhenguo to mock me!"

Jiang Qiqi spread her little hands, looking completely innocent: "I didn't."

"You mean your husband shares the same name as the General Who Protects the Nation?"

Jiang Qiqi sat back down on the stool and encouraged her, "Keep guessing, you're very close to the truth."

...She remembered that she seemed to have heard Dandan mention a while ago that the Emperor had bestowed a marriage upon the General Who Protects the Nation.

The Prime Minister's wife suddenly went black...

"Lin'er," Jiang Qiqi pointed to the Prime Minister's wife, who was slumped in a chair, "wake her up."

"Xiang'er." She pointed to the only exit of the pavilion, "Go to the exit and wait for me."

"Yes, ma'am." Xiang'er skipped to the pavilion entrance. Her mistress wasn't telling her to wait for her; she was clearly telling her to guard the exit so no one could leave.

Lin'er's touch was indeed strong; with a gentle press on the philtrum, the Prime Minister's wife woke up.

She glanced at Jiang Qiqi sitting beside her, then at the people huddled together again. She moved her lips, but ultimately said nothing.

Jiang Qiqi placed her fingers on the wooden railing and tapped it repeatedly, causing the people in front of her to tremble with each tap.

"Gentlemen, how can you not bow to the General's wife, show no respect for your superiors, and even dare to threaten to dismiss my husband from his post as General of the State?"

A woman at the back of the crowd spoke first: "Madam General, I have been rude. Please forgive me."

Jiang Qiqi raised her eyelids and noticed that the person had been at the very back without saying a word, so she didn't say anything more.

Seeing this, the others also knelt down to admit their mistakes and beg the general's wife for forgiveness.

Jiang Qiqi remained silent. Seeing that there was no one standing on the field, she shifted her gaze to the Prime Minister's wife beside her.

When the Prime Minister's wife saw her looking over, she looked like an orange cat whose tail had been stepped on: "I am a first-rank noblewoman like you, so I don't need to bow to you!"

"Oh? How come I didn't know that Nanyue changed its system when it started? Now a second wife is qualified to be called a first-rank imperial consort?"

"This..." The Prime Minister's wife, who had been speaking so eloquently just moments before, suddenly fell silent.

After a long while, she stood up, walked to the front of the crowd, and knelt down: "I was unaware of the General's wife's identity and have offended her greatly. Please forgive me, Madam."

"Very well." Jiang Qiqi clapped her hands. "Since everyone has performed the greetings, it seems you are all very courteous. Madam Gao—"

Madam Gao, whose name was called, trembled: "General's wife, your humble servant is here."

"If I hadn't brought a maid who knows a little martial arts today, I'm afraid I would have been taught a lesson by Madam Gao."

Madam Gao kowtowed to the ground: "This humble woman deserves to die. This humble woman did not know that you are the general's wife."

“Ignorance is no excuse,” Jiang Qiqi said. “However, Madam Gao’s habit of slapping is not a good one; she should give it up.”

She glanced at Lin'er, who nodded and walked up to Madam Gao. "Slap, slap," she delivered two slaps to Madam Gao's face.

Hearing the loud voice, Jiang Qiqi nodded in satisfaction: "Madam Gao, I'm doing this out of kindness to help you break the habit of slapping yourself."

Madam Gao covered her rapidly swelling and reddened face: "Thank you, General's wife. I will follow your teachings."

"As for you," Jiang Qiqi pointed out a few people, "I just said that the ideas you gave to Madam Lü were all carefully thought out, so it would be a pity not to use them."

She pretended to ponder for a moment, then said, "How about this, you two can exchange these punishments. I'll make arrangements with the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice when we get back."

The one who was replaced by the punishment of dismissal was the wife of the newly appointed Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. She never imagined that she had only attended a flower-viewing banquet and said a few words to join in the fun, which would ruin her husband's political career.

She dared not blame Jiang Qiqi, and could only stare intently at the woman who had made the suggestion.

If it weren't for her, how could she have made such a terrible mistake!

Jiang Qiqi didn't pursue the matter further with the others, only saying a few words.

Finally, only the Prime Minister's wife remained. Jiang Qiqi looked at Lü Shuyi beside her.

Lu Shuyi spoke up at the right moment: "Madam General, my mother's only intention was to correct the bad habits of those who do not follow etiquette. She did not mean to offend anyone. Please forgive her for the sake of my father who is still bedridden."

Jiang Qiqi looked at Madam Lü kneeling on the ground. She was completely different from the arrogant and domineering Prime Minister's wife she had been just moments before.

"Very well," Jiang Qiqi said. "Since Miss Lü has said so, I will spare you this time for the sake of Prime Minister Lü."

“Mother,” Lü Shuyi nudged Madam Lü beside her, “Thank you.”

"I thank you for your magnanimity, General's wife." Madam Lü bowed her head in gratitude, her tone completely flat.

"Hmm." Jiang Qiqi stood up and stretched.

"Alright. We've been delayed for so long, the flower viewing banquet should be starting soon, right?" Jiang Qiqi said.