FID – Chapter 1031

 Chapter 1031: Innocent Collateral—You Dare?

Sweeping aside the guards whose murderous intent had spilled over, Liu Zhiqiu let out a mocking snort and stepped back, placing his grandmother safely behind him. He did not act immediately, instead locking eyes with the noblewoman, his gaze full of derision.

  “What are you waiting for? Seize them!” Seeing that neither side was making a move, the noblewoman barked again, her face already darkening with cold fury.

  “You’re just a lady of a prominent family, but showing off so much authority. And you think you can just arrest anyone you like?” A calm voice sounded from outside the crowd.

  The crowd automatically parted, revealing a dignified, silver-haired elderly woman walking gracefully, cradling a young child in her arms. She was accompanied by another elderly maid, also holding a child.

  Her steps were unhurried, composed, and effortless, yet the natural nobility she radiated made anyone who glanced at her feel ashamed of themselves, their hearts instinctively bowing in humility.

  The silver-haired woman’s face showed no anger; she watched quietly, with serene composure. Yet her clear, piercing eyes carried an unspoken authority. A single glance from her could make someone tremble, unable to meet her gaze.

  This was someone of far higher status—and far greater wealth—than the noblewoman.

  Upon seeing her, the noblewoman visibly froze. The arrogance in her expression instinctively subsided; she no longer dared to act recklessly. Her instincts screamed that this elderly woman was someone far beyond her ability to provoke.

  The onlookers were stunned, endlessly speculating about the relationship between the silver-haired elderly woman and the two lowborn individuals.

  One was extraordinarily wealthy, the others utterly ordinary. They were clearly worlds apart. There should have been no connection between them, yet why was the elderly woman defending these two lowly people?

  “May I ask which noble family the matriarch belongs to?” The noblewoman instinctively lowered her brows in respect as she asked.

  “You’re not worthy to know,” came the calm reply, making the noblewoman’s face flush with embarrassment.

  Having long been flattered and fawned upon in high society, she had never experienced such humiliation. The other party offered no courtesy at all, stoking the noblewoman’s anger. Her expression hardened. “Matriarch, this matter has nothing to do with you. It is a conflict between me and these two lowborn people. You’d best not interfere, lest I involve the innocent!”

  “Involve the innocent? You dare?” The Empress Dowager stepped beside Grandma Liu, handing little Hongdou back to her, and taking from her the mugwort rice cake she had prepared. Then she turned her piercing gaze on the noblewoman. “Kneel and apologize, and this matter will be forgotten. This is your last chance. Otherwise, even if Vice Minister of Revenue Ding Jianian himself comes begging me in person, it won’t save a single scrap of your life!”

  The noblewoman’s face went deathly pale, her eyes trembling as she stared in disbelief at the Empress Dowager.

  She even knew her older brother’s name: Ding Jianian? She could clearly call out Vice Minister of Revenue Ding Jianian by name… “Who exactly are you?”

  She asked again. She didn’t dare hope the silver‑haired old woman would actually answer, but she never expected that kind of response.

“Granny, slap her,” the silver‑haired woman commanded. The simple word slap carried a force that allowed no defiance.

  “Yes, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager.”

  “…” E–Empress Dowager?!

  The nanny’s reply struck the crowd like a bolt of thunder, exploding instantly among the onlookers.

  The noblewoman and her maidservant both collapsed to the ground, legs turning to jelly.

  The Empress Dowager. The person before them was actually the Empress Dowager?!

They wanted to believe it was false. After all, no one had ever truly seen what the Empress Dowager looked like, but they also knew it was impossible for it to be a lie.

  Claiming to be a member of the Imperial Family in public was a capital crime that warranted extermination of one’s entire clan. 

Who would dare commit such treason just for the sake of pride? No one would. Which meant the person before them must be the real Empress Dowager.

The old maid handed the baby Badou to Liu Zhiqiu, then turned toward the collapsed noblewoman. When she raised her hand to slap, she showed no mercy.

  “Madam Ding, close with the Prefect’s wife? An elder brother serving as Minister of Revenue? And you believe your status surpasses that of the Prefect of Yunzhou’s own grandmother? More noble than the King’s Consort Liu Yusheng’s grandmother? More exalted than the King’s kin by marriage? You foolish little woman—laughable and ignorant! To strut around showing off just because you have a bit of family background, that is what it means to be courting death!”

  As the old maid slapped her, she scolded her as well, because she just wanted to scold her. How could anyone be allowed to insult someone the Empress Dowager was protecting?

Though the nanny didn’t use a single vulgar word, every sentence struck terror into the noblewoman. With each line she heard, her pupils widened a little more.

  The pain on her face couldn’t suppress the dread flooding her heart.

  The once arrogant and domineering Madam Ding’s nursemaid now lay trembling on the ground like a leaf in the wind, not daring to even breathe too loudly.

  Those words had already made it clear who the elderly woman they had bullied truly was.

  The Prefect’s grandmother, the Liu family’s matriarch, Elder Madam Liu! A person not even members of the imperial clan would dare to offend!

Compared to someone of imperial kinship, what status did their Madam Ding even have?

  At this point, they could no longer care about the humiliation of being shamed before the entire crowd. The only thought in their minds was: We’re finished.

  They had first offended the Liu family’s matriarch, and now they had angered the Empress Dowager herself. 

How could the Ding family ever hope to remain in Yunzhou after this? If the entire clan fell into ruin because of one petty quarrel, even their own family members would tear Madam Ding apart.

  The twenty guards Madam Ding had brought were already subdued by Qin Xiao’s men and forced to kneel.

  Those who assist tyranny deserve punishment.

  These men hadn’t struck yet only because they hadn’t gotten the chance.

  Today, they happened to run into Grandma Liu and the Empress Dowager. If the ones trampled had truly been ordinary commoners, their fate would have been painfully obvious.

  Losing their lives for no reason—who would speak up for their injustice?

  Judging from the ‘kill them on the spot’ order Madam Ding had given earlier, it was obvious this wasn’t the first time she had done something so cold‑blooded and ruthless.

  Hunt the wild goose every day, and eventually it pecks your eye. This was simply retribution.

  The slapping continued. Since the Empress Dowager hadn’t told the granny to stop, the old woman would not stop.

  Meanwhile, on the other side, the Empress Dowager had begun scolding Grandma Liu, her tone full of ‘hating iron for not becoming steel.’

  “Why did you bother talking so much to someone like her? I taught you long ago how to use your status when necessary, yet you still haven’t learned! You’re truly a block of rotten wood that cannot be carved!” 

“Look at what happened today. If Zhiqiu hadn’t been here, if we weren’t here, and you still refused to reveal your identity, do you know what the consequences would have been? You might not have lived to see tomorrow’s sun!. You might never see Badou and Hongdou again! Are you stupid?”

“Don’t keep saying you don’t want to dress in noble clothes because it makes you feel out of place. Different situations require different actions. Otherwise you let fools trample you for nothing. You really shame the Liu family. Seriously, you’ll be the death of me!”

  The Empress Dowager’s scolding was heard clearly by the surrounding townspeople, whose jaws dropped one after another.

  Everyone was still reeling from the revelation of her identity—and then they heard this.