FID – Chapter 1032

Chapter 1032: Avenging Every Grievance—No Less Than the King of Nanling

Teaching the Liu family’s matriarch to bully others using her status? Was this really something spoken by the Empress Dowager, the very woman the people revered?

The expressions of the townspeople shifted wildly; Grandma Liu’s own expression changed again and again.

She knew the Empress Dowager was truly angered this time. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have scolded her in one breath like that, nearly jabbing a finger right at her nose.

Even her silver hair was trembling with fury…

Grandma Liu took a slight step back while holding Little Hongdou, just enough to avoid being directly scorched by the old lady’s rage. “I didn’t expect them to be so savage at first—opening their mouths and immediately talking about slapping people. I was already rolling up my sleeves to fight her! But that brat acted faster and shot through her hand, didn’t he? Don’t worry, I’m not that easy to bully. I’m strong! How could some lazy old hag possibly beat me in a fight?”

The Empress Dowager practically toppled over. “Oh, now you think you’re capable?! Didn’t you see the twenty guards standing beside her? You can beat one dog servant, so you think you can beat twenty dog servants as well? From now on, you’re not going out alone! The moment you do, you’re just waiting to be bullied!”

“I’ll make sure to keep a close watch on her from now on,” Grandpa Liu said, trembling with anger himself. “Otherwise she’ll keep running into these arrogant fools who throw their status around like a club. Bullying my old woman and showing off their connections all the time! If they’re so capable, why don’t they fly to the heavens?!”

He sucked in a shaky breath before continuing, “When we get home, I’m going to ask Liu Zhixia whether becoming a prefect has made him float off into the clouds. What kind of worthless people is he associating with?! I want to know exactly what piece of trash this Ding family is!”

He didn’t have any martial arts training. When he saw his wife in danger below, he couldn’t leap out the window like Zhiqiu. By the time he came running down, gasping for breath, the slapping had already begun, but even so, his anger didn’t subside.

They never used their status to bully others. If something happened, they would reason it out. For minor issues, they would compromise and let it go. 

Even if there was a small conflict, it was one thing to bully him—but you could not touch his family. Otherwise, it was forcing him to call in backup!

News of what was happening had reached the Ding residence.

When Ding Jiahua, the Ding family patriarch, rushed over, he happened to hear Grandpa Liu’s words. His vision went black, and he nearly collapsed on the spot.

Accompanying him was Ding Jianian. With the King absent from court and no major affairs in the capital, he had taken leave to visit his family, and he arrived just in time for this scene.

Seeing the silver-haired figure in the middle of the crowd, Ding Jianian was already flustered.

He pushed through the crowd, only to find that even General Qin Xiao was there. Ding Jianian immediately dropped to his knees. “Your servant Ding Jianian kowtows to the Empress Dowager, and pays respects to Chief Military Instructor Qin!”

Ding Jiahua, the patriarch, also fell to his knees, legs trembling.

His elder brother’s words confirmed the identities of the two figures before them.

Without even glancing at the noblewoman, whose face had been beaten beyond recognition, Ding Jiahua loudly pleaded for forgiveness. “It is this humble subject’s failure in discipline that allowed the household women to offend the Liu family’s matriarch and Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager. This subject begs Your Majesty and Madam to forgive us!”

“Begging Your Majesty and Madam for forgiveness!”

They truly were the Empress Dowager, and the Liu family’s matriarch… Beside them, Madam Ding went black in the face and fainted.

Only then did the Empress Dowager call back the old maid. As for the two kneeling on the ground, she didn’t even spare them a glance. “The Ding family women did not offend me, so it is not my place to forgive. They have offended Madam Liu. I will have someone notify Prefect Liu and the King of this matter. Whether they choose to forgive you or not, you will have to ask them yourselves.”

Lifting her skirts, the Empress Dowager stepped into the nearby carriage, accompanied by Grandma Liu and the old maid. “Zhiqiu, head to the dock. Don’t miss the ship’s departure. If you’re any later, you’ll reach Xinghua Village after dark.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.” The lingering edge of tension faded from him, and Liu Zhiqiu grinned as he jumped into the carriage. The horses galloped swiftly.

Another carriage followed closely behind.

Before mounting their horses, the group of guards led by Qin Xiao kicked the Ding family’s guards they had pinned to the ground, using just enough force to injure them without breaking bones.

How dare they assist tyranny!

As the carriage began to move, the townspeople, still shocked by the earlier scene, finally regained their senses. They quickly stepped aside, kneeling along both sides of the street and shouting loudly, “Farewell to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager! Long live Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand years!”

In the small area where the incident had occurred, the Ding family members either fainted or remained dazed, kneeling. Terror hung thickly around them.

The Empress Dowager had said she would inform Prefect Liu and also the King.

Perhaps they could plead for mercy from Lord Liu, but how could they hope to beg His Highness?

Who in the upper circles of Nanling do not know what kind of man he was? He was a merciless and vengeful monster!

Anyone who offended the things he cared about, even slightly, would be made to suffer as if their life were worse than death!

The previous Liu family in the capital, and the former Left Prime Minister’s household, were all cautionary examples!

“You wretched woman… you wretched woman!!” Suddenly springing to his feet, Ding Jiahua charged forward and viciously kicked the noblewoman, who was still unconscious on the ground, showing no mercy. He could hardly contain his hatred, as if he wanted to kill her on the spot. “You are going to destroy my Ding family! You are destroying my Ding family!”

The Ding family’s nursemaid cowered on the ground, her face colorless, trembling all over, too terrified to make a sound.

Earlier, Madam Ding had asked the young man who he was. If he had given his name then, things would never have escalated to this point.

The name Liu Zhiqiu was already famous in the upper circles; even every member of the Liu family was well-known in elite society and listed among the people you absolutely could not provoke.

Madam Ding had asked, yet the young man had refused to answer. Now it was clear that Liu Zhiqiu had done so intentionally.

He had deliberately escalated the situation, intending to plunge the Ding family into irreparable ruin, leaving them no chance to recover in time.

Just because she insulted Elder Madam Liu once, he was determined to bring the Ding family to such a state. In terms of avenging every grievance, Liu Zhiqiu was certainly no less ruthless than the King of Nanling!

No one from the Ding family dared intervene in their own fiasco.

After seeing the Empress Dowager off, the townspeople remained in a state of excitement, unable to calm themselves for a long time.

Who could have imagined that even the Empress Dowager herself would appear in their small town.

Looking back carefully, they realized it was really thanks to the Liu family that their provincial city had attracted several of the empire’s top figures.

For example: the King, the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and General Qin Xiao.

Because Qin Xiao had been the Grand General of Nanling, the common people always paid special attention to news about him.

After stepping down from the position of Grand General, he had stayed on in the capital to serve as Royal Chief Military Instructor, training military officers. This was a fact known to every citizen of the Nanling Kingdom, already widely spread.

So when Ding Jianian had just shouted ‘Chief Military Instructor Qin!’ it immediately caught the townspeople’s attention. 

Those quick to realize immediately understood: that was none other than the famed War God of Nanling—Qin Xiao!