When Shao Shang was pulled apart, her face had already taken several hits. She felt a burning pain on her cheeks, her eye seemed swollen from the blows, and there was even a small cut on her chin. Squinting at Yin Xu'e, she couldn't help but silently praise herself: her old skills hadn't rusted!
Amid the chaos, she vaguely caught sight of Yuan Shen's worried expression, while the young man named Lou Yao looked as if he'd been struck by lightning, his worldview thoroughly expanded. Yin Shi, who had rushed over in a fluster, was both furious and anxious, hopping mad. In the ensuing commotion, Shao Shang and the sobbing Yin Xu'e were both escorted to a side room in the Yin residence's rear hall, where Madam Yin, Madam Xiao, and Madam Wan with her daughter had just arrived.
Upon hearing the news, Madam Yin nearly stumbled down the steps in shock, hastily entrusting her hosting duties to her sister-in-law before rushing over. Madam Xiao appeared relatively composed, though her breathing was noticeably quicker. Though not directly involved, Madam Wan couldn't remain aloof, standing awkwardly unsure which side to take. Wan Qiqi, however, was determined to uphold righteousness!
Yin Shi quickly whispered the key details of the incident into her mother's ear, and Madam Yin breathed a sigh of relief.
Not many people had witnessed it—the two maidservants were household servants who could be controlled. As for Yuan Shen and Lou Yao, being men of good reputation, her husband could properly request their discretion to prevent gossip about young ladies brawling from spreading.
The only oddity was Yuan Shanjian's inexplicable enthusiasm about the matter. Had it not been for her eldest daughter's quick words to dissuade him, he might have followed them over. Even after being turned away, he lingered, repeatedly inquiring about their injuries—quite unlike her husband's description of him as "though young and accomplished, often by His Majesty's side, yet prudent in speech and conduct, maintaining his integrity." So perhaps everyone has their quirks—did Yuan Shanjian enjoy watching young girls fight?
As a mother with a daughter of marriageable age, Madam Yin had not been immune to the allure of Yuan Shanjian as a potential son-in-law. However, her husband had been skeptical, describing him as "seemingly indifferent but with hidden depths," likely to choose a wife's family with significant considerations—perhaps allying with an extremely powerful noble family or selecting the daughter of a renowned scholar far removed from court politics.
Madam Yin's interest in Yuan Shen had already cooled considerably, and after today's incident—where he witnessed her daughter assaulting a younger family friend—any remaining hopes were completely extinguished.
"Don't worry, sister. Few saw it, and this matter won't spread," Madam Yin reassured Madam Xiao, wiping her brow before turning to scold her daughter. "You wretched girl! As the elder and the host, how could you strike Young Lady Cheng? All your studies and etiquette lessons were for nothing! I'll tell your father about this, and we'll see how you're punished!"
Shao Shang inwardly chuckled: So parents in this era also called their children "wretched" when angry.
After berating her daughter, Madam Yin softened her tone toward Shao Shang. "My dear Shao Shang, you've suffered! Rest assured, Auntie will see justice done. Once today's banquet concludes, this wretched girl will taste the Family Law!"
Both girls, pulled apart from their fight, looked disheveled, but Shao Shang was clearly worse off—her face bruised and swollen like a pig's head, her collar stained with nose blood. In contrast, Yin Xu'e only had disheveled hair and smeared makeup, her face and hands unharmed. Coupled with the stark difference in their sizes—one tall and sturdy, the other young and delicate—the situation spoke for itself.Only Madam Xiao knew her daughter's temperament and capabilities. There were truly few in this world who could take advantage of her, so the real situation was likely not as it seemed. However, if they could muddle through like this, it wouldn’t be a bad outcome. She pretended to comfort Madam Yin magnanimously while instructing her personal Martial Maid to check on Shao Shang’s injuries.
Hearing the accusations flying her way, how could Yin Xu'e willingly accept the blame? She cried pitifully, tears and snot running down her face, repeatedly protesting her innocence. Yet she could produce neither witnesses nor evidence—truly, she was wronged to death! Just then, Shao Shang suddenly spoke up: "I was the one who hit Sister Xu'e first."
Yin Xu'e turned her head in stunned silence to look at Shao Shang.
At these words, everyone in the room was shocked.
Madam Yin felt a wave of relief, thinking that despite this young girl’s bad temper, she was at least honest—owning up to what she had done.
Madam Xiao, however, felt her heart sink. She looked at her daughter’s bruised face, yet so indifferent, and her emotions grew unusually complicated.
Wan Qiqi, standing nearby, grew anxious. Struggling to free herself from Madam Wan’s tight grip, she shouted, "Sister Shao Shang is the most reasonable person—she would never hit someone without cause! There must be a reason. Shao Shang, tell us, tell us now!"
This was exactly what Shao Shang had been waiting for. Inwardly, she cheered, What a good sister! Seizing the opportunity, she put on a stubborn expression and said, "She said I had no parents, no upbringing, that I could barely read a few characters, and was utterly uncouth!"
Yin Shi glanced sideways at Madam Xiao’s darkening expression and felt a headache coming on. Between beating a guest or hurling insults, she wasn’t sure which would harm her sister’s reputation less. She then looked at her stepmother, only to find Madam Yin frozen in place, her eyes brimming with tears.
This time, Yin Xu'e couldn’t cry innocence—because she had indeed said those things. But she desperately wanted to argue: Isn’t it the truth?! Is speaking the truth wrong?! Yet, seeing the grim expressions of the elders, she knew saying so would only make things worse.
Yin Shi stepped in to mediate, smiling awkwardly. "My sister just has a sharp tongue—she’s offended many people. This time, even if she misspoke—"
"Sister Xu'e didn’t misspeak. Every word she said was true." Shao Shang’s voice trembled with a sob, pitiful and heartrending. "It’s precisely because she spoke the truth—because I had no way to refute it—that I could only resort to violence..."
Wan Qiqi was furious, her blood boiling with rage.
She shoved Madam Wan’s restraining hands aside and leaped forward, pointing at Yin Xu'e. "You don’t strike the face, and you don’t expose someone’s sore spots! Was it because Sister Shao Shang was lazy or stupid that she didn’t study or learn proper manners? You always flaunt your refined upbringing from the Capital City’s noble households. Knowing someone’s hidden pain, you still pressed your advantage—is that your so-called upbringing?!"
Yin Xu'e was left speechless. This time, Wan Qiqi’s righteous tirade left her with no rebuttal. She could only keep screaming internally: But what I said was the truth, the truth!
Observing her expression, Shao Shang felt a twinge of pity. In this world, the most unspeakable things were often not lies or slander—but the truth.
By now, everyone except Madam Xiao exchanged glances, convinced they understood the situation—Yin Xu'e must have provoked first, and Cheng Shaoshang, being young and hot-tempered, lashed out in anger. Unfortunately, being smaller and weaker, she ended up getting beaten by Yin Xu'e. No matter how you looked at it, Shao Shang was the one who suffered.Wan Qiqi ignored her mother's meaningful glance and added fuel to the fire by recounting the entire incident involving the 'Bird's Nest Jujube' in one breath. She then added, "Aunt Yin, I don’t mean to stir trouble, but even Cheng Yang was bullied by her!"
Madam Yin looked heartbroken and murmured blankly, "Cheng Yang grew up in her maternal grandparents' home, also without her parents by her side."
Caught off guard by Madam Yin's reaction, Wan Qiqi paused before replying, "That's right!"
Seeing this, Madam Xiao turned away, covering her face with her sleeve as she wept. "It's all my fault. If only I hadn’t left Shao Shang behind back then, none of this would have happened..." Shao Shang silently praised Director Xiao's acting skills—flexible and adaptable, equally adept on the battlefield and the stage.
At this point, Madam Yin surprisingly regained her composure. She bowed formally to Madam Xiao and spoke methodically, "This is my failure in disciplining my daughter. Rest assured, I will give both children a proper resolution. Our families have just formed a bond today, and our spirits align. There will be plenty of time ahead. It wouldn’t be proper for you to leave the gathering now and invite gossip. Perhaps it’s best to have someone escort Shao Shang home to rest."
Madam Xiao, ever sharp, immediately noticed the odd look in Madam Yin’s eyes, sensing there was more to the story. However, since it involved another family’s private matters, she couldn’t press further. She promptly took her daughter and left.
Wan Qiqi, worried that her future sworn sister might be left with scars, abandoned her mother and hurried after them, chattering, "My family has excellent wound medicine—I’ll send someone to fetch it right away."
Once they were gone, Madam Yin staggered and collapsed onto the floor mat, tears streaming down her face, her expression unbearably sorrowful.
Yin Shi, who shared a close bond with her stepmother, was horrified. She knelt before Madam Yin in a panic, repeatedly asking, "Mother, Mother, what’s wrong?"
Madam Yin clutched a silk handkerchief, weeping silently.
Only Madam Wan knew of her past. She stepped forward and said gently, "A-Wan, it’s over. All of it is over. You... you now have a happy family and are a grandmother yourself. Your uncle and aunt in the afterlife would surely... surely..." Her voice trailed off as she too covered her face and wept softly.
Madam Yin wiped away her tears and walked over to her stunned daughter. Without hesitation, she raised her hand and delivered a resounding slap. Yin Xu'e’s cheek immediately flushed red, a testament to the force behind the blow.
"Mother!"
"A-Wan!"
—Yin Shi and Madam Wan exclaimed simultaneously.
Yin Xu'e was dumbfounded. Since birth, she had been doted on by her parents and cherished by her siblings. Never had she been struck or even scolded harshly. This was the first slap she had ever received, leaving her too shocked even to cry.
Madam Yin glared at her daughter and said coldly, "I, too, grew up without parents. Before the age of twelve, I had barely read a few books or learned many words. I, too, was crude and unrefined—unworthy to be your mother! From now on, don’t acknowledge me. I dare not accept it!"
Through her tear-blurred vision, Madam Yin recalled how she had once been like her daughter—raised in bliss, surrounded by a loving family. But in an instant, betrayal had shattered her world. She had watched helplessly as her father and brother were executed in the marketplace, while her mother, with her last breath, hid her in the Wan family before passing away soon after.
The trauma left her in a daze for years, but Madam Wan, like an elder sister, patiently cared for her until she finally regained her senses at the age of ten. Later, as circumstances changed and their enemies faced retribution, Madam Wan’s father dared to bring her out and send her to live with a distant uncle.Uncle and Aunt were both kind-hearted people who treated her as their own. Yet even so, in the middle of the night under the covers, the little girl still felt desolate and bewildered, missing her parents. Not to mention the countless times the girls who bullied her mocked her for being 'fatherless and motherless, with no upbringing.'
Neither Yin Shi nor Yin Xu'e had ever heard of this before, and for a moment, they were stunned.
Meanwhile, Lord Yin was entertaining guests in the front when a servant hurriedly informed him that his wife was weeping uncontrollably and unable to leave her bed. He rushed back to their quarters to check on her. Upon learning the reason, without a word, he also gave his youngest daughter a resounding slap. He first scolded her as an 'arrogant wretch who doesn’t know her place,' followed by a series of reprimands, hand strikes, and copying punishments—only missing the ancestral hall kneeling.
Yin Xu'e, who had lived a smooth and untroubled life for fifteen years, now received the full brunt of all these punishments in one go.
Compared to Yin Xu'e’s storm of misery, Shao Shang’s situation was like a gentle breeze and light rain.
Upon returning to the Cheng Residence, A Zhu was heartbroken to see Shao Shang’s face and head covered in injuries, silently shedding enough tears to fill a basin. But when she changed Shao Shang out of her dirty, torn clothes, she discovered that beneath the garments, there were very few actual wounds—her delicate skin was almost entirely unblemished.
"I told you, these injuries aren’t serious. I knew what I was doing," Shao Shang said cheerfully, patting A Zhu’s shoulder.
—Technique! That was the key! At first glance, that little Yin girl’s injuries might not seem severe, but Shao Shang knew she had struck hard. Even if this body lacked strength, she had made sure Yin Xu'e would feel discomfort whether sitting or lying down, and lose her appetite.
Especially that kick she’d delivered to Yin Xu'e’s leg and the pinches to her waist—the former followed the robust and seamless style of the Shaolin school, while the latter embodied the essence of Wudang’s gentle breeze technique. The sheer technical skill was off the charts. That little Yin girl would be in pain for at least three days—if she recovered a day sooner, Shao Shang would write her own name backward!
Shao Shang knew that once Madam Xiao returned, another tough battle awaited her. After washing up and enjoying a hearty lunch of vegetables and meat, she quickly went to bed for a nap. Wrapped in her fragrant quilt, she slept soundly all afternoon. When she woke, the sun was already setting, and she learned that the entire Cheng family had returned. Sure enough, A Zhu anxiously informed her that Madam Xiao wanted to see her in Nine Dapple Hall as soon as she woke up.
Shao Shang first took out the Small Target Mirror that her second brother, Cheng Song, had just given her. She examined herself left and right, marveling at the adorable pig-like face in the mirror and praising herself for achieving just the right effect this time.
Now, she felt even more confident.
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