I Am Not Your Yiyantang’s Tangke
She had originally thought Yu Shuwan would at least try to dodge, but she never expected her to stand perfectly straight.
Su Jintang had been blinded by rage earlier, and even when she struck, she held onto the thought that Yu Shuwan would dodge, so she had not held back at all.
Bloody marks suddenly appeared, quickly staining the surrounding fabric crimson.
Yu Shuwan looked at the somewhat stunned woman before her, feeling as if something had completely changed at this moment.
She had indeed returned through Rebirth, not wanting those who had harmed her in her past life to have it easy, and she truly hated Su Jintang.
But after these few strikes just now, she suddenly understood.
She did not truly hate only Su Jintang; in fact, she had also held some hope that after repeated setbacks, Su Jintang would come to realize that she was her daughter.
That was why Yu Shuwan had stubbornly tried to make Su Jintang notice her more.
But after these lashes from the thorn whip, Yu Shuwan had completely understood.
In Su Jintang’s eyes, no matter what she did, she would never be her daughter.
Yu Shuwan took a step forward and let out a light laugh. “Madam, you only gave birth to me but never raised me.
I’ve heard that the debt of birth is not as great as the debt of upbringing. I never had the chance to show filial piety to my foster mother, so I wanted to honor you properly.
I heard that back then, you held a three-day banquet in Jingcheng to celebrate my birth. Today, your three lashes with the thorn whip can be considered repayment for that.”
“What do you mean?”
Su Jintang frowned, her body trembling. “Are you trying to sever ties with me?”
“Madam, you already know the answer.”
Yu Shuwan said nonchalantly, “After all, in your heart, Yu Guiwan is your only daughter, isn’t she?”
She suddenly leaned closer to Su Jintang, her tone tinged with playfulness and malice. “Madam, I deliberately let that cat come over.
What a pity, though—the water was so deep. If she had chosen to jump when no one was around, she would have been completely dead.”
“You—it really was you!”
Su Jintang’s entire body turned cold.
How could she have given birth to such a cold-hearted, ruthless beast!
Almost without hesitation, the thorn whip came down heavily again. This time, however, Yu Shuwan moved, directly reaching out to tightly grasp the whip, her tone mocking.
“What identity are you using to hit me, hmm?
Is it the identity of the birth mother who mistook my identity and left me to be tortured and abused in the countryside for fourteen years, or the identity of Madam Su, who now seeks justice for her beloved daughter?”
She paid no mind to the wounds that oozed blood as soon as she moved, and with a forceful tug, she pulled the thorn whip into her own hand.
Yu Shuwan gently stroked the thorns on the whip with her fingertips. “Madam, instead of finding fault with me, why not go back and ask those servants who rushed over after her first fall into the water—who arranged for them?”
She had only stayed here to avoid worrying her grandmother and to sever the thin thread of affection between herself and Su Jintang.
Now that her goal was achieved, Yu Shuwan had no intention of lingering any longer and turned to head back to Changhong Yuan.
“Oh, right.”
Yu Shuwan suddenly stopped and turned to look at Madam Wen, revealing an innocent, harmless smile. “I remember—you are Yu Guiwan’s wet nurse.”
She turned and walked back. Madam Wen’s body had already begun to tremble.
This Second Young Lady who had just returned to the manor was truly too sinister!
She didn’t dare meet that gaze at all, her eyes darting wildly, her voice so faint it seemed it could be scattered by the wind. “Second Young Miss remembers correctly…”
“I never misremember people like you.”
Yu Shuwan’s words carried a pointed meaning.
People like her wouldn’t learn their lesson without being taught one.
As it happened, she had just the thing in her hand to make her remember.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Yu Shuwan brought the thorn whip in her hand down hard on Madam Wen’s body.
Madam Wen immediately let out a piercing scream and collapsed to the ground, the pain nearly knocking her unconscious.
She had just seen Yu Shuwan take several lashes as if nothing had happened, so how, how could it hurt this much!
As if she couldn’t feel the pain on her own body, Yu Shuwan continued to whip Madam Wen fiercely.
Madam Wen’s eyes were filled with terror and pleading as she dodged and wailed,
“I was wrong, Second Young Miss, this servant was wrong!
Please, have mercy on this servant!”
But Yu Shuwan seemed not to hear Madam Wen’s cries, her movements never faltering.
Madam Wen’s body trembled violently, beads of sweat the size of soybeans streaming down her forehead.
Su Jintang, standing to the side, was frozen in shock.
It was clear Yu Shuwan was venting her anger, and it was obvious whose anger it was!
Su Jintang even felt that if not for her own status, Yu Shuwan wouldn’t be beating Madam Wen now—it would be her!
Only when Madam Wen’s cries had weakened did Mama Chen snap out of it, rushing forward in a flash. “Second Young Miss!”
The thorn whip stopped less than an inch from Mama Chen’s face; she could even smell the thick scent of blood on it.
Mama Chen’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She instinctively held her breath, not daring to move.
Yu Shuwan narrowed her eyes and withdrew the thorn whip.
If nothing else, just for the words Mama Chen had spoken earlier in her defense, Yu Shuwan wouldn’t lay a hand on her.
“Second Young Miss, the Madam is your birth mother. There are no parents in this world who don’t love their children. She was just afraid for a moment that you might have been influenced into doing something wrong, which is why she got angry.”
Mama Chen’s legs trembled, her face as pale as paper, but her tone remained forcibly calm.
“Madam Wen is, after all, Eldest Young Miss’s wet nurse. If this reaches the Old Madam, it will surely anger her again.
Don’t you also care for the Old Madam? Please, be merciful and forgive her this once. Madam Wen knows she was wrong!”
Madam Wen, still crying on the ground and shouting in pain, hurriedly begged for mercy. “This servant just has a loose tongue, please, don’t hit me anymore…”
Yu Shuwan was truly striking with deadly force!
Su Jintang watched as Madam Wen, who had been so defiant just moments ago, now changed her tune, and she felt her own face couldn’t bear the shame. She angrily shouted, “Don’t beg for mercy!”
“Then what should she beg for?”
Yu Shuwan turned to her, taking a step forward. Su Jintang instinctively took a step back.
Seeing Su Jintang like this, Yu Shuwan suddenly burst into loud laughter.
She laughed heartily, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingertips. Watching Su Jintang’s face turn ashen inch by inch, her tone was filled with utter disdain.
“Could it be she should beg you?”
She turned around and casually tossed the thorn whip onto the ground.
On the pristine white pebbles, droplets of blood from the thorn whip splattered, starkly contrasting red against white, instantly drawing the eye.
Su Jintang stared at the thorn whip on the ground, her entire body trembling.
“Yu Shuwan, you’ve grown bold. Now you dare speak to me like this!”
“Madam Su, I am well aware of my own status—just a country girl from the countryside. And you?”
Yu Shuwan took a step forward, her eyes tinged with a faint red, a cold smile curling at the corners of her lips.
“Do you truly believe you are my mother?
You were the one who abandoned me for years, and now, after finding me again, you still wish to harm me!
You have spoken all the good and bad words, and while others may flatter you, do you truly think I am also one of your Yiyantang’s Tangke?”
“Second Miss…”
Mama Chen couldn’t help but speak up, but Yu Shuwan cast a cold glance her way.
“I haven’t struck you not because I dare not touch you, Mama Chen. Know your limits.”
A single warning silenced Mama Chen, who dared not say another word.
With that, Yu Shuwan turned and left directly.
The girl’s slender back was held straight and proud, and even from behind, she evoked an involuntary sense of pity.
Mama Chen’s back was drenched in cold sweat, and she finally let go of her tension, her legs trembling so much she could barely stand steady.
Shaking, she stepped forward to support Su Jintang, who murmured to herself, looking utterly heartbroken.
“I am her mother, after all. I am her mother!”
Mama Chen sighed inwardly.
Though Madam appeared pitiful, it was the Second Miss who was truly the one to be pitied!
…
Yu Shuwan paid no mind to the gazes of the servants watching her, making her way straight back to Changhong Yuan, where Zhi Qiu happened to be coming out.
She had intended to ask Yu Shuwan about the day’s events, but upon seeing her under the corridor, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of doubt.
Why had she changed into such an ugly outfit?
But as she drew closer, she realized it wasn’t a change of clothes at all—it was mottled scars!