Since they wouldn’t give it willingly, then they would take it by force.
The people of the Ye family’s second and third branches hardened their hearts, no longer caring about consequences. The first branch was full of the old, the weak, the sick, and the young. With so many of them, were they really afraid they couldn’t overpower them?
“I’ll go down and take a look,” Mu Mianmian said as she rose from his arms.
Ye Siming looked at her. “Don’t confront them head-on. Help this king down with you.”
“Your legs can’t get wet. It’s fine—I can handle this,” Mu Mianmian said, then jumped straight off the cart.
“Mu Mianmian, hand over the cart,” Ye Third Uncle demanded.
“On what grounds?” Mu Mianmian replied coldly. “I built this cart myself. What does it have to do with you?”
Her gaze was dark and sharp as she held a wooden stick in her hand. “If you want to take my things, then you’d better see whether you have the life to keep them.”
In the dark night, standing in the pouring rain, surrounded by a crowd, she looked small and delicate. Yet the aura erupting from her slight body made no one dare move rashly.
“What do you mean your things?” Ye Third Uncle sneered. “Since you married into the Ye family, you’re one of us. You and everything you own belong to the Ye family.”
“I am now the clan head of the Ye family,” Ye Second Uncle said coldly. “If I tell you to hand over the cart, you hand it over.”
Their eyes were bloodshot as they stared at her—and at the cart behind her.
“Father, don’t waste words on her. She’s a disaster star! If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t have ended up like this!”
“That’s right—beat her to death! Beat her to death!”
A crowd of people raised their clubs, shouting again and again.
“No! You’re not allowed to bully Mianmian!”
At that moment, Meiniang and Ye Siyun both ran down.
“Second Uncle, how can you be this shameless?” Ye Siyun shouted angrily. “The cart was made by Sister-in-law with her own hard work!”
“When we asked you for help, you refused. Now you come to steal our cart? You’ll suffer retribution for this!”
Meiniang held a stick and stood in front of Mu Mianmian, waving it threateningly. “You’re not allowed to hurt Mianmian!”
“Siyun, go get Commander Liu,” Ye Siming instructed his sister in a low voice.
Ye Siyun panicked but understood—only Liu Tao could suppress them now. She turned to run, but Shen Jia and the others blocked her.
“Don’t go. You think you can call for help? Not a chance!”
Shen Jia shoved her hard.
Ye Siyun fell into the mud, instantly filthy and disheveled.
“Ah-Yun!” Meiniang cried out, rushing over to help her up.
Mu Mianmian’s gaze turned ice-cold. She stepped forward and kicked Shen Jia hard in the stomach.
“Touch Ah-Yun again, and I’ll chop you to pieces!”
“Ah!”
“Mu Mianmian, how dare you hit me! I won’t let this go!” Shen Jia crawled out of the mud, eyes vicious as she lunged at her.
Ye Siran and the others swarmed forward as well.
“Beat the broom star to death!”
“Hurry—hold her down!”
But each person who rushed her was kicked flying. The stick in her hand never stopped moving—kicking while striking. Her body was small, and her moves weren’t the martial arts of this era, but every kick and every strike was fast and fierce, beating a group of men until they were scattered in defeat, howling in pain.
“Damn it! I’m going to kill this bitch!”
Several men were completely enraged now.
Alone, Mu Mianmian couldn’t hold out forever. In a moment of carelessness, she was pinned down.
Her whole body was pressed into the muddy water.
Her face was forced under the surface.
…
“Commander Liu, I beg you—please save us!”
Ye Siyun seized the chance to run and seek Liu Tao’s help. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed to him.
The soldiers watched as the once-proud and noble Ye family’s little commandery princess kowtowed before them. Some felt sympathy; others mocked her silently.
No one spoke.
Only the sound of rain hitting the ground filled the air.
Liu Tao leaned lazily against a large tree, looking down at the young princess and chuckling lightly.
“Little Commandery Princess, you should get up. It’s not that I won’t help you—this is your Ye family’s internal affair. I can step in once, but I can’t manage it for you forever.”
Ye Siyun wailed, continuing to kowtow. “I beg you! Second Uncle and the others have gone mad—they’re trying to kill my sister-in-law! If you don’t help us, we’ll all die!”
“I’m begging you…”
She pleaded over and over again, until her forehead split open and blood mixed with rain, flowing down her face.