However, they had at least proven one thing: Mu Hansu seemed unable to obtain their news from Xiang Rui.
This made many things much easier.
Although the Prefect of Yuezhou City was also Mu Hansu's man, his attitude in handling matters was completely different from that of the previous Lord Zhang.
Lord Han was a man who valued his reputation. He smilingly welcomed Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi directly into his Prefect's mansion to stay.
Lord Han had someone lead Song Chaoyu to her quarters, and then said he had important matters to discuss with Mu Hansu, taking him to the study.
Song Chaoyu was tidying up her belongings in their residence, finding the side room to be quite well-prepared.
She paid no mind to anything else. While packing, she heard Tiaohong standing at the entrance of the courtyard, seemingly arguing with someone: "... Is this your prince's intention, or your master's intention? If you don't make it clear to me today, you're not getting through this door!"
Tiaohong was usually lively, but this was the first time Song Chaoyu had seen her so angry.
She looked at Qiuqing, who also shook her head, seemingly unaware of why Tiaohong was angry.
Hurrying to the courtyard entrance, Song Chaoyu saw Tiaohong blocking several maids and servants from the Han mansion who were carrying food boxes. Her fierce demeanor was quite unusual.
"What's going on?"
Song Chaoyu stepped forward and pulled Tiaohong.
Tiaohong pointed at the nose of the leading maid and said angrily, "This filthy thing! She actually said it was our prince's intention that the Princess Consort didn't need to attend the banquet. When I asked her if it was truly our prince's intention, she stammered and couldn't give a clear answer! They look down on the Princess Consort, but they don't need to use our prince's name! Unless they want to sow discord between the prince and the Princess Consort, only then will they be satisfied?"
Seeing that the maid kept her head down and didn't dare to speak, allowing Tiaohong to scold her, Song Chaoyu knew Tiaohong was telling the truth.
The people of the Han mansion were truly audacious.
Song Chaoyu stepped forward and gently lifted the lid of the leading maid's food box, discovering a dish that was already half-cold inside.
She sneered, "You say this was our prince's intention?"
"Yes... yes."
The maid hadn't expected Tiaohong to be so formidable.
Now, being suppressed by Song Chaoyu's imposing presence, she trembled before saying, "This servant doesn't know whose intention it was. They ordered me to deliver the food to the Princess Consort's room, so this servant did as instructed."
"Alright."
Song Chaoyu's lips curved slightly. "You can leave the food at the door. I'll go to the banquet in front now, there shouldn't be any problem, right?"
Saying this, Song Chaoyu was about to step out of the courtyard.
Unexpectedly, the maid was so bold as to block Song Chaoyu's path directly. "Princess Consort, please stay. You—"
"Slap—"
Before the maid could finish her words, Tiaohong, without a second word, slapped the maid across the face.
This slap stunned everyone.
The maid even more incredulously touched her cheek.
Tiaohong sneered, "What, do you intend to imprison our Princess Consort in this courtyard? What right do you have to block our Princess Consort's way? How much face do you think you've been given? Don't you want your head anymore?"
In someone else's residence, hitting another household's maid was considered somewhat overstepping.
But Song Chaoyu knew that Tiaohong had done nothing wrong.
Now, even the Prefect of the small Yuezhou looked down on her. If this was the case, her role as Princess Consort was truly uninteresting.
That maid was a steward in the Han mansion; even her masters had rarely punished her.
How could she tolerate being mocked and then slapped by a mere maid?
She immediately stood up and glared at Tiaohong, "You dare to hit me?! Do you want to fight me?!"
She shouted and lunged forward, but Tiaohong was not afraid at all. She directly rolled up her sleeves, "Come on! Who's afraid of whom! Even if you beat me to death today, I will never let you trap our Princess Consort here! A dignified Princess Consort, are you going to let them control you? How would we have the face to return to the capital?"
As she spoke, the usually steady Qiuqing also stepped forward and rolled up her sleeves!
This caused the maids and servants behind the Han mansion's maid to step forward one by one, putting on a show of fighting together.
Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control,
Song Chaoyu had only one thought in her mind: could the people behind her in the courtyard defeat the Han family people in front of them? If she had known, she would have asked Mu Changxi to give her more people.
"What are you doing?!"
Just as Song Chaoyu was thinking this, Lord Han's voice also appeared behind them.
The maids then moved aside. Song Chaoyu's eyes turned cold as she looked in the direction of the newcomers.
Lord Han and Lady Han walked in front, and Mu Changxi's wheelchair was pushed by Xiao Ruizhi towards them.
Mu Changxi's eyes held a hint of displeasure. Song Chaoyu clearly knew that he seemed to be angry.
Who... was he angry with?
Lord Han stepped forward with Lady Han, and the maid immediately knelt before them and began to cry, "Master, Mistress, they hit this servant!"
However, before Lord Han and Lady Han could speak, Tiaohong stepped forward and pointed at the maid, scolding, "I hit you! How dare you, as a mere maid, block our Princess Consort's path and prevent her from leaving. What right do you have? Don't just say you're going to tell your master and mistress. Even if you can sue me all the way to the capital, I'm not afraid of you! Whoever you want to judge the case, I'm not afraid!"
For some reason, Song Chaoyu felt that Tiaohong was like a protective mother hen.
And today, even Qiuqing was going to "make trouble" with Tiaohong, so she naturally had to be their strongest support.
Lord Han opened his mouth, unsure how to respond to Tiaohong.
Mu Changxi's gaze grew colder, and he looked at Lord Han, "Lord Han, Lady Han, what is the meaning of this? You held a banquet, not only did you not invite the Princess Consort, but someone even blocked her? Do you intend to imprison this Prince's Princess Consort in the small courtyard of your Prefect's mansion?"
"No, no, no, this subordinate dares not!"
Lord Han was so frightened that a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. "This is a misunderstanding, it must be a misunderstanding!"
He turned and glared at Lady Han, "Didn't I tell you that the Princess Consort was tired and to send the food over? How did things escalate to this point?"
Hearing them say this, it seemed they had done it for her own good?