Cheng Jiao-niang was helped back into the room again. As a fool, she didn’t need to be involved in normal people’s affairs.
Cheng Jiao-niang sat behind the screen, leaning on a small table. Her wide robe spread out on the floor, her hair disheveled, and she remained quiet and expressionless. If someone looked over, they would surely sigh and say she really looked like a puppet doll.
But maybe not. Zhou Liu-lang glanced back at the hall.
“A fool,” he angrily pointed his finger, then looked at Second Master Cheng, “Will she lie?”
Second Master Cheng’s face stiffened as many people rushed in from outside.
“What happened?” First Madam Cheng and Second Madam Cheng hurriedly asked.
Zhou Liu-lang’s attendants also arrived, throwing things out of the kitchen with a flurry.
An empty rice jar, withered vegetables, and a half-dead fish floating in water.
In the courtyard, the maids and Ban Qin were all kneeling.
Zhou Liu-lang kicked over the rice jar in front of him, scaring First Madam Cheng and Second Madam Cheng, who had just entered the door, into dodging.
“You, I call you uncle, and this is how you treat my aunt’s orphaned daughter!” the young man shouted in a fit of rage. He reached for his waist, intending to draw his broadsword, but realized he wasn’t wearing it. Turning around, he kicked his attendant, “Bring me my broadsword!”
The Zhou family, known for their military background, were notoriously brutal, often resolving issues with their fists as part of their tradition. They believed that in his youthful impulsiveness, Zhou Liu-lang was ready to do anything at this moment.
First Madam Cheng urgently called for someone to restrain Zhou Liu-lang. “Liu-lang, let’s talk this over. What’s happening here?’ she asked.
”What’s happening?” Zhou Liu-lang snapped, gesturing towards the scattered items on the floor. “Is this how you treat my cousin? It’s one thing if it were an able-bodied person, but to let a mute, immobile person go hungry—aren’t you afraid of consequences?”
First Madam Cheng and Second Madam Cheng looked slightly flustered.
“What did you do?” First Master Cheng turned and demanded. The stewardesses and maids immediately knelt down.
“It’s my fault. I failed to care for Miss properly,” Ban Qin cried.
Initially trying to hold back tears, she found herself overwhelmed as she looked at the scattered remnants of food on the ground. Thoughts of the arduous journey home and the uncertainty upon arrival flooded her mind, especially the inexplicable slap she had received. Raising her head, she looked at the young man before her, who stood tall and resolute in the sunlight.
“If I can’t stand up for my cousin, I’m not worthy of being called a man!” he declared with bitterness in his voice.
Ban Qin’s tears fell freely.
“I’m useless,” she bowed down and cried bitterly on the ground.
First Madam Cheng began to grasp the situation. Angered to the core, she trembled. She blamed the maids for failing their jobs and Ban Qin for stirring up trouble intentionally. This kind of situation couldn’t have started today or yesterday—why didn’t she speak up earlier? Just moments ago, she was speaking so much over there. Why raise this issue now? What was she planning to do!
“It’s all my fault,” Second Madam Cheng spoke up.
Zhou Liu-lang looked at her with a cold, contemptuous smile.
“So you’re the stepmother? Truly disgraceful!” he said.
Second Madam Cheng turned pale. If these words spread, her reputation would be utterly ruined.
“Liu-lang, we haven’t yet clarified the situation. Don’t speak out of turn!” Second Master Cheng’s face tightened as he spoke sternly.
“Where there’s a stepmother, there’s a stepfather!” Zhou Liu-lang quickly turned to him with a cold smirk. “I merely talked about your second wife, and you’re already defensive. While my cousin suffers hunger and mistreatment, you act as if blind and mute!”
How disrespectful! This was no way for a junior to behave!
Second Master Cheng trembled with anger, feeling like arguing with someone who won’t listen to reason.
“I originally came to see if my cousin had safely arrived home. Surprisingly, the journey was uneventful, but upon arriving, things turned chaotic. As a young relative, I have no right to speak…” Zhou Liu-lang interrupted them, continuing with a derisive smile.
“You have no right to speak. It’s been your voice from the start to the end…” The Cheng family members silently thought.
“…I’ll return now and summon the elders from my family. Let them sit together and resolve this!” Zhou Liu-lang said, brushing his sleeves as he confidently walked out.
If a junior was already this audacious, would things go smoothly when the elders arrive? That’s unlikely!
First Master Cheng imagined a troupe of fierce warriors, kicking up dust and menacingly breaking through the gates of the Cheng residence.
“Hold on! What is there to discuss? When servants mistreat their masters, they must be expelled!” he declared, raising his brows sternly.
Zhou Liu-lang did not pause his steps.
“Qing-niang’s oversight requires reflection in the ancestral hall!” First Master Cheng gritted his teeth and added.
Upon hearing this, everyone in the courtyard was astonished, casting their eyes toward Second Madam Cheng.
Only then did Zhou Liu-lang halt his steps. Certainly! Here’s a rephrased version:
Second Madam Cheng nervously bit her lip, feeling the intense scrutiny from all sides, which left her feeling restless and uneasy.
Since her arrival, this was perhaps the first time she had faced such severe criticism, especially in front of the servants. How would she regain her place in the family after this?
“Yes,” she managed to say with a choked voice.
“Brother, this isn’t just about Qing-niang!” Second Master Cheng exclaimed urgently.
“Indeed, and it concerns you as well!’ First Master Cheng retorted, visibly frustrated that his brother was still defending his wife at this moment.
“Brother, Qing-niang isn’t in good health, and um… the child is being looked after by First Madam,” Second Master Cheng persisted, then lowered his head.
First Master Cheng looked completely bewildered.
First Madam Cheng let out a sigh.
Well, things have reached this point. Their reputation had completely tarnished.
“Yes, it’s my fault. It has nothing to do with Qing-niang,” she admitted, taking a few steps forward and offering a slight bow to Zhou Liu-lang. “Liu-lang, I do apologize.”
Zhou Liu-lang reciprocated the gesture.
“I don’t mind who’s at fault, but I hope such mistakes won’t happen again in the future,” he remarked. “Human bonds are precious; cherishing family ties is more meaningful than offering gruel and chanting prayers in front of a temple.”
This young man certainly knew how to speak.
Cheng Jiao-niang pursed her lips, glanced downward, and continued to sketch slowly on the table with her left hand.
She had already mastered the characters of this poem. Should she take this opportunity to request more books and paintings for additional practice?
The dwelling of a simpleton wasn’t a place for conversation. Soon, everyone hurriedly left. Shortly after, the maids served in this courtyard were dragged away, not given a chance to voice their complaints. Along with them, their families were also expelled from the Cheng residence. The atmosphere among all the servants turned icy, and when they glanced toward the simpleton’s dwelling, there was a noticeable sense of fear.
Word quickly spread throughout the Cheng family. Cheng Qi-niang, seated in Second Madam Cheng’s side room with her knees drawn up, appeared lost in thought.
“Don’t worry, Qi-niang,’ reassured the nursemaid. “First Madam and Second Madam haven’t actually gone to reflect in the ancestral hall. The Zhou family member has been reassured.”
Cheng Qi-niang still seemed somewhat absent-minded.
Cheng Si-niang, standing nearby, chimed in.
“Of course not,” she affirmed. “Auntie and Mother are the madams of our family. They wouldn’t possibly reflect for the sake of a younger relative. Even if the elders from the Zhou family were to come, it wouldn’t be permitted.”
The nursemaid nodded in agreement.
“You are correct,” she said with a smile.
Cheng Qi-niang lowered her hands and knelt down, snapping out of her thoughts.
“It’s nice to have a brother,” she suddenly remarked, her eyes brightening. “Having a brother like that is really nice.”
But then her expression turned wistful.
“It’s a shame I don’t have a brother like that,” she murmured softly.
For the first time, she felt a mix of admiration and frustration towards the fool.
To have such a brother, and he’s wasted on someone like that fool!
