Wen Lingrao listened, finding it rather laughable.
Her gaze fell upon You Yuyan’s tear-streaked face.
Disgusting. It was like swallowing a fly.
She said nothing, clutching the bronze candle stand, and walked toward the door she had just kicked open.
Everyone watched her, unaware of what she was about to do.
Chu Qirui frowned, Old Madame Chu looked bewildered, and even You Yuyan’s crying ceased.
Wen Lingrao stood before the doorway, the candle stand in her right hand, her left hand resting gently on the door panel.
Then, she took a breath and pushed forward with her left palm!
A simple push.
“BOOM!!!”
With a thunderous sound, dust rained down from the ceiling!
The two wooden doors flew outward as if they were made of paper! One grazed the top of Chu Qirui’s head, smashing into a curio cabinet behind him with a crash, while the other flew diagonally, knocking over a chair.
Even You Yuyan was too scared to cry.
Everyone stared with wide eyes at the doors on the ground, then turned their gaze toward the doorway.
Was she even human?
Wen Lingrao brushed the dust off her hands and, still holding the candle stand, walked back inside.
She walked straight to You Yuyan. Terrified, the girl’s face had turned ghostly pale; her legs gave out and she was about to kneel, but Wen Lingrao blocked her with the candle stand.
“Why kneel? Who were you calling ‘sister’ just now?”
You Yuyan’s lips trembled, unable to utter a word.
“My mother, the Grand Princess of Chang’an, only gave birth to me,” Wen Lingrao said slowly. “My father, the Grand General of the Wei Kingdom, also has only one legitimate daughter. The Emperor is my cousin, and the Empress Dowager is my aunt. You,”
She leaned down slightly, whispering into You Yuyan’s ear: “A thing that crawled out of some unknown dirty hole, do you deserve to claim kinship with me? Do you deserve to call me ‘sister’?”
You Yuyan shuddered and slumped to the floor.
Wen Lingrao straightened up, ignored her, and turned to Old Madame Chu.
The Old Madame’s face turned leaden. She pointed at Wen Lingrao, trembling with rage: “You shrew! You dare to destroy the estate’s doors! Do you have no respect for your elders? Do you have no regard for family discipline?”
“Family discipline?” Wen Lingrao tilted her head, looking puzzled. “Mother-in-law, didn’t you just say you were going to punish me lightly? Why bring up family discipline again?”
She paused, as if suddenly realizing, “Oh, is it because I pushed the doors and frightened you? Or did I frighten that contributor of yours who might be carrying the Marquis’s bloodline?”
Her sarcasm was undisguised: “These two doors are quite heavy. It seems the Marquis’s estate indeed has a high threshold; no wonder any stray cat or dog dares to crawl inside and bark in the main hall.”
“Impudent!” Old Madame Chu had never been talked back to like this, especially not by a new daughter-in-law.
Everything went black before her eyes, and she shouted sternly: “Rebellion! This is pure rebellion! Someone! Take this savage woman down! Apply the family discipline immediately! Beat her to death, no questions asked!”
The coarse maids outside, who had been scared senseless just moments ago, were brought back to their senses by the Old Madame’s shout. But looking at the broken doors on the floor and the bronze candle stand in Wen Lingrao’s hand, they nudged each other, but no one dared to step forward first.
Wen Lingrao paid no attention to the servants.
Chu Qirui had also been stunned by the display of strength, but seeing Wen Lingrao look his way—especially seeing the candle stand—a chill ran through him.
Yet, with so many people watching, his mother and You Yuyan present, he could not show cowardice.
He forced himself to stay calm and blustered, “Wen Lingrao! Have you made enough trouble? Kneel and apologize to Mother at once! Otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?” Wen Lingrao interrupted, walking toward him step by step with the candle stand.
“Otherwise, I will write down exactly what you did last night and the little play you performed today bringing this woman into the house, and hang it in the busiest part of Zhuque Avenue? Or shall I take the ledger of my dowry, along with your family’s books detailing the deficits of these past years, and deliver them all to the Censorate?”
Wen Lingrao looked up at this husband in name—the man the original owner had loved to death.
“Chu Qirui,” she said his name softly, yet her gaze was bone-chillingly cold. “Tell me, on what grounds?”
Chu Qirui felt a shiver down his spine: “On the grounds that I am your husband! Because you married into the Chu family! You must follow the Chu family rules! You must listen to me!”
“Husband?” Wen Lingrao laughed softly, a sound that was somewhat unsettling.
As she laughed, she suddenly stopped.
Then, in the stunned gaze of everyone, she released the bronze candle stand.
It hit the floor with a “clang.”
Immediately following, her right hand swung up with lightning speed, striking Chu Qirui across the face with tremendous force!
“SLAP!!!”
Chu Qirui was sent flying backward like a discarded sack!
He collapsed on the floor, the left side of his face swelling up, the corner of his mouth split, and blood mixed with a few teeth spilled out.
His eyes rolled back, a rattling sound came from his throat, and he passed out cold.
Old Madame Chu’s mouth hung agape as she stared at her ruined son in the corner, pointing at Wen Lingrao, unable to string a coherent sentence together.
You Yuyan had long since lost her soul to terror; she rolled her eyes and fainted for real this time.
The maids were now all ghastly pale.
Wen Lingrao slowly retracted her hand and looked at her palm. It was slightly red and tingling. Divine strength was truly useful.
Old Madame Chu finally caught her breath and shrieked: “Quick! Help the Heir up! Get a doctor! Go fetch a doctor immediately!”
“You poisonous woman! You dare to kill your own husband! I’ll report you! I’ll go to the Shuntian Prefecture and sue you! I’ll go beat the Dengwen drum! Let the whole world see the kind of daughter the Wen family has raised!”
Wen Lingrao looked up and beckoned to Banxia, who was frozen in fear nearby.
“Young Lady…” Banxia’s voice was still trembling.
“Go to my dowry and bring me that purple sandalwood box wrapped in yellow cloth. You know where it is.”
Banxia paused, then nodded heavily: “This servant knows!”
It was one of her mistress’s most important dowry items, given personally by the Grand Princess, who had given strict instructions regarding it. She lifted her skirt and ran away at full speed.
Before long, Banxia returned, panting, carrying a box about three feet long.
It was carved with auspicious beasts and clouds, its corners reinforced with gilded bronze, and locked with a small copper padlock.
Everyone’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to the box. Old Madame Chu watched with a mix of fear and suspicion.
Wen Lingrao took the box and gently pressed her finger against the lock; it clicked open.
She lifted the lid.
The box was lined with bright yellow brocade, and lying upon it was a long, sheathed sword.
The hilt was wrapped in dark gold thread, the end inlaid with a smooth, round ruby.
Wen Lingrao reached out and gripped the hilt.
“Zheng—!”
The long sword left its sheath, its chilling aura biting.
Engraved clearly on the blade were two seal-script characters: “Shangfang”!
“The Shangfang Sword?!” the old steward cried out, his legs giving way, and he nearly collapsed to his knees.
Old Madame Chu’s pupils contracted: “Impossible… How could you have the Shangfang Sword?”
Wen Lingrao slowly drew the sword completely.
“When the late Emperor was on the throne, it was bestowed upon my grandfather to inspect the borders and supervise those who acted unlawfully.”
“Later, when my grandfather retired, this sword was returned to the inner treasury. When my mother married, the late Emperor issued a special decree bestowing this sword upon her to protect her household. When I married this time, Mother said that the Marquis’s estate is prestigious and she feared that, being young, I might suffer grievances, so she placed this sword in my dowry and granted me the authority to act first and report later if necessary.”
The Shangfang Sword represented Imperial power. Let alone their Marquis’s estate, even a Prince would have to treat seeing this sword as if he were seeing the Emperor himself!
Wen Lingrao carried the sword, walking step by step toward the grand armchair Old Madame Chu had been sitting in.
The servants who stood in her path scrambled away, crawling and tumbling as if they had seen a ghost.
Seeing Wen Lingrao walking over with the sword, Old Madame Chu was terrified and furious. She tried to stand up to stop her, but her legs were weak: “What do you think you are doing! That is my seat! Get down!”