As Jiang Lan’s words were spoken, it wasn’t just Yuan Guihua whose expression changed drastically—Qin Yuehan’s face also paled.
“How does the head of the family know?” Yuan Guihua knelt on the ground, slightly raising her head to look at Jiang Lan.
But she saw Jiang Lan’s strikingly beautiful face suddenly curl into a cold sneer.
“Hmph, you acted so brazenly—how could I not know?” Jiang Lan said, then kicked Yuan Guihua squarely in the chest.
Jiang Lan’s kick was fierce and swift. Yuan Guihua, a woman past her prime, immediately collapsed to the ground, clutching her chest as she spat out a mouthful of blood.
Qin Yuehan was startled by Jiang Lan’s action, a flicker of shock crossing his refined features.
During this time, the Jiang Lan he had seen was gentle, considerate, and attentive.
But at this moment, Jiang Lan standing in the pharmacy was like a drawn bowstring, brimming with intent to harm.
As Yuan Guihua lay sprawled on the ground, the apprentice kneeling nearby was already terrified out of his wits.
“Spare me, head of the family!” the apprentice cried loudly, kneeling and kowtowing frantically.
Jiang Lan did not speak. Instead, she looked at Yuan Guihua, who was clutching her chest and staring back, and said in a tone laced with mockery, “You, a mere house slave, dare to speak of the young master in such a manner? Who gave you the audacity?”
The apprentice’s pleas for mercy grew more urgent and loud. Since the pharmacy was open for business, a crowd had already gathered at the entrance.
In fact, when Jiang Lan helped Qin Yuehan down from the carriage, she had already caught the attention of the neighboring shop owners.
After all, along the entire street of shops, only the pharmacy had a young master who was a man.
Naturally, this piqued the curiosity of those around.
Now, quite a crowd had gathered at the pharmacy’s entrance. Some of the bolder shop owners were practically itching to step inside and watch the commotion.
When they saw the usually arrogant Yuan Guihua in such a pitiful state—clutching her chest and collapsed on the ground—their eyes gleamed with excitement.
Jiang Lan, of course, knew that a crowd had gathered behind her. But since her purpose in coming was to stand up for Qin Yuehan, she didn’t mind others watching.
“Spare me, head of the family! This servant has always been loyal to the Qin family, without a trace of selfish intent!” Yuan Guihua no longer dared to show the contempt she had earlier. She knelt and kowtowed heavily several times, putting all her effort into it.
“Is that so?” Jiang Lan asked, her tone slightly rising with a hint of derision.
Then she slowly walked toward Yuan Guihua.
As Jiang Lan approached unhurriedly, a drop of cold sweat trickled down Yuan Guihua’s forehead, and the back of her clothes was already soaked through.
“Yes, this servant is utterly loyal,” Yuan Guihua declared, her voice firm and resolute, not daring to show any sign of weakness.
“Your loyalty is to the Qin family—what does that have to do with me, Jiang Lan?” Jiang Lan said, then lightly pressed the tip of her shoe against the top of Yuan Guihua’s head.
Though Jiang Lan’s foot seemed to exert only a light pressure, Yuan Guihua felt as if a mountain were crushing down on her.
“This servant… this servant…” Yuan Guihua tried to defend herself, but as Jiang Lan’s foot pressed down harder, her body bent forward until her cheek was pressed against the floor.
At this moment, Jiang Lan’s beauty was at its most striking, and the aura around her was formidable, making others afraid to approach.
The onlookers at the entrance had long fallen into stunned silence.
Qin Yuehan sat to the side, his hands unconsciously tightening on the armrests, his peach blossom eyes filled with complex emotions.
“Yuan Guihua, a dog should behave like a dog, and a slave should behave like a slave. When a slave becomes audacious, it’s often time for them to die,” Jiang Lan spoke, then lifted her foot and pressed it lightly against Yuan Guihua’s cheek.
The pain of her cheek being stepped on and the humiliation of being trampled filled Yuan Guihua with intense hatred.
She wanted to struggle, but when she heard Jiang Lan’s next words, her body froze abruptly.
“I heard your sister Yuan Lanhua gave birth to a daughter, said to have the bearing of a scholar and the talent to govern a manor,” Jiang Lan said.
Yuan Guihua’s heart turned cold with sudden dread, a flicker of fear in her eyes.
She had already sold herself into slavery, and her children would never escape slave status in this lifetime. Her niece was the last hope of their Yuan family.
“Head of the family, I was wrong. I beg you to be magnanimous and spare my sister and her family,” Yuan Guihua pleaded.
Hearing this, a flash of anger crossed Jiang Lan’s eyes as she looked down at the sobbing Yuan Guihua.
Remembering how Qin Yuehan had been mocked and insulted by her after his family’s downfall, she found no room for magnanimity.
Jiang Lan observed Yuan Guihua’s foolish appearance as she knelt begging for mercy.
Recalling how she’d once said Qin Yuehan wasn’t even fit to be a concubine for her niece.
She wanted her dead.
From where he sat, Qin Yuehan could clearly see the expression on Jiang Lan’s face.
He didn’t understand why Jiang Lan was being so ruthless to Yuan Guihua, whom she was meeting for the first time.
“According to our dynasty’s 365 laws, when a house slave betrays their master and steals over fifty taels of silver, their family shares the punishment. Yuan Guihua, look at this,” Jiang Lan said, her voice now calm and leisurely.
Jiang Lan took a document from her sleeve and threw it before Yuan Guihua. The paper bore a bright red seal that looked startling.
Yuan Guihua picked it up, and upon seeing the accounts recorded there, her expression changed dramatically. She frantically tore the paper to pieces and stuffed them into her mouth.
“You didn’t think I only had one copy, did you?” Jiang Lan didn’t stop her, waiting until she had swallowed most of it before speaking again.
Hearing this, Yuan Guihua felt her soul shatter. Ignoring her pain, she crawled on her knees toward Jiang Lan, reaching out to clutch her legs in supplication.
But Jiang Lan kicked her away again, causing her to spit blood and collapse in a heap.
The people standing at the entrance were completely subdued by Jiang Lan’s series of actions.
Watching Yuan Guihua reduced to a pathetic mess in public, they showed no sympathy, only contempt.
The apprentice kneeling nearby had long been terrified by the scene, to the point where…
Seeing the apprentice in such a state, Jiang Lan frowned slightly and said to Qin Zhong standing beside Qin Yuehan, “Qin Zhong, help your Lord upstairs.”
As Jiang Lan finished speaking, Yuan Guihua seemed to find a lifeline, her eyes bursting with hopeful light as she looked at Jiang Lan.
But how could Jiang Lan let her have her way?
She crouched down halfway, gripping Yuan Guihua’s throat, and whispered in her ear, “If you don’t want them to die too, keep quiet.”
Jiang Lan’s voice was gentle now, but the threat in her words was unmistakable to Yuan Guihua.
Meanwhile, the people at the door couldn’t help whispering to each other, “Is this Physician Qin’s wife?”
“Yes, is she always this formidable?”
“I noticed she’s been carefully protecting Doctor Qin ever since she came in.”
“Wasn’t it said that Doctor Qin isn’t favored?”
The whispers at the door were not quiet at all, and all of them fell into Jiang Lan’s ears.
“009, does Qin Yuehan also know that they talk about him like this behind his back?” Jiang Lan asked in her mind.
[Of course he does. After all, Qin Yuehan is just a man. He can’t do anything about being gossiped about, so he naturally has to pretend he hasn’t heard it.] System 009 spoke up, sounding quite angry.