Old Madam Su summoned Nanny Chen over. Before she could even say a word, she was startled by Nanny Chen’s battered appearance.
“Who did this to you? Who beat you into such a state?”
Nanny Chen’s face was swollen badly, and her speech was slurred. “This old servant was beaten by the eldest young lady.”
Old Madam Su frowned, assuming she meant Su Yanhuan.
“Nonsense! Huan’er is gentle, well-mannered, and dignified. She has never mistreated the servants. Why would she beat you?”
Nanny Chen burst into tears. “It wasn’t Miss Huan’er! This old servant means the eldest young lady—the jinx!”
“What eldest young lady? We only brought her back to save Ming’an. We never acknowledged her identity!”
Nanny Chen hurriedly explained, “Old Madam, please hear this old servant out. The eldest young lady is a complete lunatic…”
She recounted everything that had happened in the small mountain village, as well as the incident at the entrance of the marquis’s residence.
Old Madam Su was utterly shocked.
“That wretched girl is actually so arrogant and insolent? She even dares to hit her own father? That little wretch deserves to be struck by lightning! Where is she now?”
With Old Madam Su backing her up, Nanny Chen immediately straightened her back.
“She’s in the flower hall.”
Old Madam Su immediately led Nanny Chen and more than a dozen highly skilled guards toward the flower hall.
Meanwhile, at Tingxuan Courtyard, Xu Yuru had heard what happened in the front courtyard.
“What? That jinx beat the marquis? She even brazenly entered the marquis’s residence and acted as though she owned the place, ordering everyone around? And Old Madam is being extraordinarily lenient toward her, even ordering people to prepare a feast to welcome her?”
Xu Yuru thought she must have heard wrong. She exclaimed in disbelief, “How is that possible? The marquis knows martial arts. How could he lose to a nine-year-old child? And Old Madam—back then, that jinx injured her so badly that she became lame and still suffers from pain in her legs from time to time. She hates that little wretch more than anyone!”
Luyin, who had come to deliver the news, quickly replied, “Madam, not a single word of what this servant has said is false. Old Madam is still in the marquis’s room, while that jinx has already started eating in the flower hall. You can go and see for yourself.”
Xiaodie’s face was swollen and red.
“That jinx has two highly skilled fighters and a hungry wolf with her. She acts as though no one in the residence matters and beats people whenever she disagrees with them. So many of us couldn’t defeat her. Madam, when you go to see her, you’d better bring plenty of people. Otherwise, you might end up like the marquis and get a vicious beating from her too.”
“How dare she!”
Xu Yuru could not stand hearing such words. She angrily flung her sleeve.
“Although I am not her biological mother, I am still the legitimate wife of the marquis and her stepmother. Now that she has entered the marquis’s residence, she must respectfully address me as Mother. If she dares to strike her own mother, isn’t she afraid of being struck by lightning?”
Xiaodie muttered under her breath, “She even dares to beat the marquis, her own biological father.”
Xu Yuru shot her a cold glance, and Xiaodie immediately fell silent.
Xu Yuru turned to look at Su Ming’an on the bed and instructed the servants attending to him, “Take good care of the young master. Not one of you is allowed to leave his side, even for a single step. I’m going to deal with that little wretch myself.”
To be safe, she brought ten guards and six hidden guards from the marquis’s residence.
Before she had gone far, a clear, sweet voice rang out behind her.
“Mother, wait for me! I want to see that jinx too. She dared to hit Father, so I’m going to avenge him!”
Su Yanhuan came running over in a pink outfit, her hair styled into two neat buns and her appearance exquisitely put together. Two maids hurried after her.
Xu Yuru felt that something was strange about Shen Chuyun. Until she understood her opponent, she did not want her daughter getting involved.
Her daughter only knew a few superficial martial arts moves. She could perform sword dances well enough, but she was no match for anyone in a real fight. Her movements were all for show, and she had no real strength. One strike would be enough to knock her down.
However, Su Yanhuan insisted on going, so Xu Yuru had no choice but to let her come along.
After all, they had hidden guards protecting them. No matter how formidable that jinx was, she could never defeat the hidden guards.
The mother and daughter headed confidently toward the flower hall. Along the way, they met Old Madam Su, and the two groups joined forces to confront the jinx.
When they arrived outside the flower hall, Old Madam Su and the others were just about to step inside.
A chicken bone suddenly flew out of the hall, accompanied by an angry voice.
“What kind of Drunken Fragrant Chicken is this? Bah! It’s not even as good as the roast chicken I make myself! What kind of useless cook did the marquis’s residence hire? You can’t even cook a chicken properly! You’re fired! All of you are fired!”
The chicken bone struck Old Madam Su squarely in the forehead.
The pain made her stagger backward. If Xu Yuru, Nanny Chen, and the others had not rushed to support her, she would have fallen straight to the ground.
Seeing her grandmother struck by a chicken bone, Su Yanhuan was furious.
“Who dares to throw a chicken bone at my grandmother? Get out here!”
Whoosh!
Another chicken bone flew out and landed directly in her mouth.
Su Yanhuan nearly choked to death. With her maids’ help, she managed to remove the bone from her mouth. When she saw the parts that had already been chewed, she immediately felt nauseated. Grabbing a pillar, she began vomiting violently.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several more chicken bones and fish bones came flying out.
This time, the guards reacted quickly. They drew their swords to block the bones, then moved to the front to clear the way and protect Old Madam Su and the others as they entered the flower hall.
The first thing they saw was a sweet-looking, exquisitely pretty little girl sitting at a large round table, picking through the dishes with a critical eye.
She was still muttering curses under her breath.
“Didn’t you say I was the legitimate eldest daughter of the marquis’s household? Then why am I only allowed to eat this pig slop? Are you looking down on me, or did everyone in the marquis’s residence grow up eating this kind of disgusting pig feed?”
“Such a huge marquis’s residence, yet you can’t even serve a decent meal! What a disgrace!”
“Rotten chicken, rotten fish, rotten shrimp—not a single thing here is any good!”
The more she cursed, the angrier she became. She jumped straight off her chair and flipped the entire table over with one hand.
There was a large bowl of hot soup on the table. As the table flew through the air, the soup splashed everywhere, landing directly on Xu Yuru.
“Ah!” Xu Yuru let out a piercing scream as the boiling soup scalded her.
“Madam!”
The servants panicked and rushed forward to help her.
The entire scene descended into chaos.
Only then did Shen Chuyun notice that people had entered the flower hall. She put on an innocent expression.
“Oh dear! I didn’t know anyone was coming. I didn’t do it on purpose. The table was just too light. I gave it the gentlest little push, and it flew right over! And that hot soup—it was made by this cook. You wretched cook! Why did you make the soup so hot? Were you trying to scald that… Wait, who exactly got scalded?”
She turned to ask one of the servants, looking genuinely puzzled.
The servant stammered, “That… that is the principal wife of the marquis’s household.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Chuyun clapped her hands excitedly, her eyes lighting up.
“Oh! So you’re my stepmother!”
She hurried over, grabbed Xu Yuru’s hand, and shook it vigorously like an affectionate little girl.
“Stepmother, hello! I’m Shen Chuyun, the eldest young lady of the marquis’s residence. I really didn’t do it on purpose just now. It has nothing to do with me! It’s all the cook’s and the table’s fault. If you want to blame someone, blame the table and the cook!”
Xu Yuru was shaken so violently that she could barely keep her balance. Her feet slipped on the spilled soup, and with a loud thud, she fell flat on her back, all four limbs sprawled in the air.
The nanny and maids who had been helping to wipe her down also fell over, landing in equally undignified positions.
“Ah!”
Screams and cries of pain rang out one after another.
Shen Chuyun smiled innocently.
“Oh dear, how did you all fall? It has nothing to do with me. You simply failed to keep your balance!”
Inside, she was practically bursting with laughter. A little figure in her mind was cackling wildly.
Weren’t you the ones who called me a jinx, claiming that wherever I went, disaster followed? Fine! Then I’ll be a proper jinx and make sure every single one of you suffers the worst luck imaginable!
This jinx is going to bring calamity upon the Marquis of Anning’s household.
From this day forward, the Marquis of Anning’s residence can forget about ever knowing peace again!
Old Madam Su was already suffering from a headache from all the noise. When she saw Shen Chuyun’s sweet, obedient-looking smile, she became so furious that her vision blurred, and she nearly lost her balance.
“She really is a jinx! The moment she returns, disaster after disaster befalls our household! Beat her to death!” Old Madam Su roared, trembling with rage until even the wrinkles on her face seemed to quiver.