Family Punishment
“Guiwan!”
Su Jintang’s eyes widened in fury, her entire body lunging forward.
Mama Chen clung to her desperately, crying out in panic, “Someone, someone help!”
Yu Shuwan wore an expression of utter fear. “Why did she jump into the lake again when everything was fine?”
Could it be that the water was cooler?
Su Jintang turned her head and glared at her fiercely, her eyes bloodshot. “Yu Shuwan, if anything happens to Guiwan, I will kill you!”
“You’re mistaken.”
Yu Shuwan kindly reminded her, “You should say you’ll have me torn limb from limb.”
Her pupils were much darker than those of ordinary people, and when one met her gaze, it felt as though they could be drawn deep into the depths of her eyes.
Su Jintang’s body shuddered violently, and she took two steps back, muttering under her breath, “Madwoman, she’s absolutely mad!”
A madwoman?
In her previous life, Su Jintang had threatened more than once to tear her limb from limb. Although her own end had been death by fire, it was, in the end, a different path to the same outcome—she had died as Su Jintang wished.
Yu Shuwan glanced toward the center of the lake, where someone had already jumped in to rescue her.
To survive, one must first face death.
Yu Guiwan was as ruthless toward herself as ever.
This time, maids and elderly servants were nearby, and Yu Guiwan was pulled out before she could swallow much water.
She simply stared blankly at the sky, tears silently streaming down her face.
Su Jintang threw herself forward, weeping uncontrollably. “Silly child, you are the apple of your mother’s eye. If something happened to you, what would I do?”
“Mother, just let your daughter go…”
Yu Guiwan’s tears fell ceaselessly, and as if she could bear no more, she weakly closed her eyes.
Yu Shuwan merely stood to the side, watching, feeling little emotion.
Watching her own mother share a deep, mother-daughter bond with someone who had taken her place for years—this was a scene she had witnessed many times in her previous life, and by now, she was immune to it.
Grandmother Yu had also hurried over, and upon seeing the chaotic scene before her, she nearly fainted from anger.
Yu Shuwan quickly stepped forward, anxiously supporting her. “Grandmother, are you all right?”
“Call for a physician if needed! What are you all still doing here?”
Zhi Qiu patted Grandmother Yu’s back to soothe her while urgently giving orders.
Only then did Yu Shuwan feel a flicker of regret.
If she had known Grandmother would be this angry, she would have chosen a different method.
The family recognition banquet thus ended in haste and absurdity.
Yu Shuwan hadn’t even had time to change her clothes. She had just coaxed Grandmother Yu into drinking her medicine and falling asleep before quietly exiting the room when a sharp pain shot through her body.
“Ugh!”
A fine layer of sweat instantly broke out on Yu Shuwan’s forehead.
She spun around abruptly to face Su Jintang, who was holding a long, slender thorn whip.
The door was not yet fully closed, and Yu Shuwan could still hear Grandmother Yu’s coughing from inside.
She turned her head and continued closing the door gently.
The maids nearby dared not intervene.
Even though they knew this was improper, they also understood what had happened that day.
Who would have thought the Marquess’s wife, usually so gentle and graceful, could lose her temper so fiercely for the first time!
Yet, this Second Young Miss was truly admirable.
After all, the thorn whip was covered with tiny barbs. Apart from the muffled groan when she was caught off guard by the first strike, even as the lady now lashed out with all her might, this Second Young Miss did not utter a single sound.
Yu Shuwan closed the door and, in the moment she turned around, accurately caught the thorn whip covered in fine spikes with her bare hands.
Her expression was unnervingly calm for a fourteen-year-old girl.
“If there is anything, please do not disturb Grandmother’s rest.”
Yu Shuwan spoke each word deliberately, “Let’s step outside.”
Blood slowly trickled from her distinct knuckles, and the searing pain on her back made Yu Shuwan feel increasingly irritable.
Su Jintang tried to pull the thorn whip back but found it unmovable.
She sneered, “Are you afraid that once the Old Madam learns of these matters, she will also find you despicable and you will lose your backing in this household?”
“Think whatever you wish.”
Yu Shuwan gave a sharp tug, pulling Su Jintang unexpectedly close to her.
Their breaths mingled as Yu Shuwan whispered coldly, audible only to the two of them, “If you want to avenge her, come at me.”
Yu Shuwan released her grip, revealing a bloodied and mangled palm.
She didn’t even flinch, heading straight outside.
She stopped only when she reached a pavilion.
Su Jintang had been momentarily stunned but now regained her composure, her face darkening as she pushed aside Mama Chen. “If I don’t teach this rebellious daughter a lesson today, I fear she will become even more lawless in the future!”
Su Jintang strode forward, raising the thorn whip high, but Yu Shuwan suddenly turned around.
Her face, bearing a sixty to seventy percent resemblance to Su Jintang’s but younger and more delicate, held eyes so deep they seemed bottomless.
In those eyes, Su Jintang saw her own reflection and expression.
Fierce and terrifying.
Su Jintang froze, a ripple of emotion stirring within her.
This child had suffered so much because of their mistakes.
If Yu Shuwan were willing to admit her wrongdoing…
Yu Shuwan’s voice, devoid of any warmth, shattered all of Su Jintang’s illusions. “Madam Su, aren’t you here for revenge?”
Su Jintang laughed in anger, “Fine, fine! You rebellious girl, you can’t wait to torment me here, can you?”
“Madam, the Second Young Miss has just returned to the Houfu. It’s understandable that she isn’t aware of many things! She didn’t know the Eldest Young Miss is afraid of cats!”
Mama Chen, standing nearby, was frantic with worry. “Even if you’re angry now, please wait to hear what the Old Madam and Houye have to say. How can the Second Young Miss, who has just returned, endure private punishment?”
Mama Chen had cared for Su Jintang since childhood, truly treating her as her own child.
Now, with someone who looked so much like Su Jintang appearing, how could Mama Chen remain indifferent?
Madam Wen seized the opportunity to speak, “Mama Chen, aren’t you wasting the affection Madam has always shown you by saying such things? The Eldest Young Miss has never treated you poorly. How can you side with an outsider? This incident happened in front of everyone. Madam is the Second Young Miss’s birth mother—what’s wrong with teaching her a lesson?”
Still resentful over Yu Shuwan’s earlier humiliation of her, Madam Wen didn’t hesitate to retaliate now.
“Besides, even if the Eldest Young Miss is awake now, she’s already like a walking corpse. Doesn’t Mama Chen feel even a little heartache?”
Yu Shuwan glanced at Madam Wen, who immediately fell silent, guiltily averting her eyes and muttering,
“I didn’t say anything wrong…”
Su Jintang had merely been somewhat hesitant before, but now, spurred by Madam Wen’s words, she suddenly recalled the image of Yu Guiwan lying weakly on the bed, silently weeping.
The thorn whip in her hand finally came down heavily upon Yu Shuwan’s body.