Chu Qirui remembered that night when Wen Lingrao held a razor, pinned him to the chair, and bit by bit shaved his head completely bald.
This woman’s strength was terrifyingly great; he simply couldn’t break free.
After shaving it, she even held up a mirror for him to look at and asked, “Heir, does it look good?”
Look good, my ass!
Since then, he hadn’t dared to look in a mirror.
When going out, he had to wear a hat; when meeting people, he had to wrap his head in a turban. If he hadn’t been in such a rush today to find the clan elders to back him up, he wouldn’t have run outside with a head full of gauze.
Chu Qirui’s hand slid down from the top of his head, touched the wound on his forehead, and trembled again.
She was the one who inflicted that wound, too.
Smashed him with a vase, leaving his face covered in blood and forcing him to lie in bed for several days.
Looking at his appearance, Wen Lingrao smiled lightly.
“Has the Heir remembered?”
Chu Qirui didn’t speak, merely backing away.
Behind him were those clan elders, but right now the elders all had their backs to him, and none of them turned around to glance at him.
Wen Lingrao took a step forward.
Chu Qirui took another step back.
“The Heir just said he wants a divorce,” Wen Lingrao said unhurriedly. “Then I will also tell the Heir the truth. Wanting to divorce me isn’t impossible.”
Chu Qirui was stunned, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes.
“Really?”
“Really.” Wen Lingrao nodded, smiling very amiably. “Just one condition.”
Chu Qirui hurriedly asked, “What condition?”
Wen Lingrao looked at him, the corners of her lips curling up.
“If the Heir can fight a match with me and last for the time it takes an incense stick to burn without falling down, I will leave immediately on my own. You won’t even need to divorce me.”
Chu Qirui’s face instantly turned pale again.
A fight?
An incense stick’s time?
He remembered the scene in the courtyard that day, being pinned to the ground and pummeled by this woman. He hadn’t even lasted a single move before she beat him until he was searching for his teeth all over the floor.
When he was lying on the ground unable to get up, she stood to the side, looking down at him condescendingly, and asked, “Heir, do you still want to continue?”
Continue what?
At that time, he could barely even catch his breath.
“You—” Chu Qirui pointed at Wen Lingrao, his finger trembling like a sieve. “You push people too far!”
Wen Lingrao blinked, her face full of innocence. “How am I pushing you too far? I gave the Heir a chance. One stick of incense, and I’m not even asking you to win, just to hold on and not fall down. This condition is lenient enough, right?”
Chu Qirui was so choked up by her words that he couldn’t speak.
Lenient?
Lenient, my ass!
He couldn’t even last the blink of an eye, let alone the time it takes an incense stick to burn!
Seeing his appearance, the smile on Wen Lingrao’s face deepened.
“Is the Heir unwilling? Then forget it.” She sighed, looking very regretful. “I thought the Heir wanted to divorce me so badly, but it turns out his resolve is only to this extent.”
Chu Qirui’s face turned green and white in turns, as if a dyehouse had opened on it.
Those clan elders behind him finally turned their heads around.
Third Uncle, leaning on his walking stick, watched this scene with a very complex expression.
He had lived for most of his life; what kind of scene hadn’t he seen? But he truly had never seen a scene like today’s.
The Heir of their own clan was so frightened by the wife he had married into the family that his face was pale and he couldn’t even speak clearly.
What kind of nonsense was this?
A clan elder beside him muttered softly, “Why does this Lady Wen look even more formidable than we thought?”
Another clan elder also whispered, “More than formidable? Didn’t you see the Heir’s appearance? He looks like a mouse that’s met a cat.”
Third Uncle didn’t speak; he just looked at Chu Qirui, a trace of disappointment flashing in his eyes.
This child was too useless.
He had originally thought that even if Wen Lingrao was in the right, she was ultimately a woman. As long as the clan was a bit tougher, they could always suppress her. But looking at Chu Qirui’s cowardly state now, suppress what? It would be a blessing if they weren’t crushed to death by her.
Third Uncle’s beard trembled with anger, and the hand pointing at her was shaking. “Lady Wen! You dare to be disrespectful to your elders? Seeing the senior members of the clan and not bowing, yet daring to speak such arrogant words, do you have even the slightest bit of womanly virtue?”
Another clan elder chimed in from the side: “A woman who is so disrespectful to elders and doesn’t observe womanly virtues should be drowned in a pig basket according to our Chu family’s rules!”
“That’s right! Drown her in a pig basket!”
“Let her know the Chu family’s rules!”
Several clan elders echoed one after another, their voices louder than the last.
Listening to these words, a cold sneer curled the corners of Wen Lingrao’s mouth.
Drown her in a pig basket? Just based on these old fogeys?
Chu Qirui was hiding behind the clan elders, sticking out only half of his head. Seeing her look over, he shrank his neck back again, but his mouth wasn’t idle.
“Wen Lingrao!” he shouted, emboldening himself. “Are you still not going to kneel and confess your guilt? If you are willing to kneel and kowtow, and hand over your dowry to the public treasury, this Heir might just show mercy and not divorce you! Otherwise, today you will learn the rules of the Chu family!”
Hearing this, Wen Lingrao almost laughed out loud.
This man had truly written the word “coward” across his forehead.
Hiding behind others and not daring to come out, letting a bunch of old men stand up for him, talking as if she cherished the position of the Heir’s wife so much.
Right at this moment, a voice suddenly rang out in her mind.
[Ding— Detected that the host is encountering a group siege. Triggering the Drama Queen Life Quest.]
[Option 1: Kneel and beg for mercy, hand over the dowry, and exchange it for the Chu family’s forgiveness. Reward: Green Tea B Acting Skills +100, Punching Bag Persona +1.]
[Option 2: Face them head-on and show these old fogeys what true power is. Reward: Domineering Queen Acting Skills +200, Overpowered Protagonist Persona +1, Random Hidden Bonus Drop.]
Wen Lingrao rolled her eyes in her heart.
Did she even need to choose?
She decisively chose the second one.
The system voice in her mind rang out again:
[Ding— Host has selected Option 2. Please begin your performance.]
Wen Lingrao withdrew her thoughts, her gaze falling back onto the group of clan elders.
She lowered her eyes, looked at the ledger in her hand, and then—
Raised her hand and forcefully smashed the ledger at Third Uncle’s feet.
With a crisp smack, the ledger hit the ground, kicking up a bit of dust.
Startled by the sudden noise, Third Uncle took a step back, nearly stepping on the person behind him.
He looked down at the ledger by his feet, then looked up at Wen Lingrao, his old face flushing bright red.
“You… you…”
Wen Lingrao ignored him and took a step forward.
The clan elders subconsciously took a step back.
She took another step forward, and they took another step back.
Wen Lingrao continued walking forward step by step just like this, and the group of clan elders retreated step by step, until they could retreat no further.
Wen Lingrao stopped in front of Third Uncle.
She was nearly a head shorter than Third Uncle, but at this moment, with her chin slightly raised and her gaze looking down at his face, she somehow made everyone feel as though she towered above them all.
“Third Uncle. I’m going to ask you a few questions, so listen closely.”
Third Uncle opened his mouth to say something, but was so suppressed by her imposing aura that he couldn’t speak.
Wen Lingrao stared into his eyes and asked, word by word, “That ledger just now, did you see it clearly?”
Third Uncle’s mouth moved, but he made no sound.
Wen Lingrao asked again, “Do you think that ledger looks good?”
She paused, the corners of her lips curling into a faint, mocking smile: “Or do you think the Imperial Sword resting in my room looks better?”
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the several clan elders all changed.