Xiaoyun saw Tang Qingluo about to release her other hand and let out a loud cry as she lunged forward.
Tang Qingluo hadn’t actually intended to seriously hurt Xie Wenhan—she just wanted to teach the brat a lesson. Before Xiaoyun lunged, Tang Qingluo had already let go of Xie Wenhan.
With Xiaoyun’s sudden attack, Tang Qingluo was naturally knocked to the ground. Xiaoyun’s chin slammed directly into Tang Qingluo’s teeth, and blood instantly spurted out.
Xiaoyun gritted her teeth in pain, touched her hand, saw the blood, and screamed, swinging her fist at Tang Qingluo’s face.
Tang Qingluo hadn’t planned to do anything to Xiaoyun and had already been knocked down, her back aching.
But seeing Xiaoyun so relentless, even targeting her face to strike, it was clear she intended to ruin Tang Qingluo’s appearance. Would Tang Qingluo just let that slide?
Even a salted fish has some temper—when a rabbit is cornered, it bites.
Tang Qingluo caught Xiaoyun’s incoming fist, raised her head, and bit down mercilessly on Xiaoyun’s wrist.
“Ah—!” Another sharp scream tore from Xiaoyun’s mouth.
Taking advantage of Xiaoyun being distracted by the pain, Tang Qingluo flipped the situation and pinned Xiaoyun to the ground.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
She slapped her several times in quick succession.
Xiaoyun tried to fight back, grabbing Tang Qingluo’s hair and pulling hard.
Tang Qingluo’s scalp hurt from the tugging, and she bit down again, making Xiaoyun scream in pain.
Her hands didn’t stay idle either; her fists rained down on Xiaoyun’s body, leaving her unable to defend herself, only able to wail.
[Mission Complete: Reward—a dagger. Combat value +10. The dagger has been placed in your reward bag.]
What? Just beating up Xiaoyun completed the mission?
Ah, so she had misunderstood. The mission counted for beating up anyone. The system really was a good system.
But what was “combat value” for? Was it useful?
Tang Qingluo pondered this, resting her chin on her hand, when the voice in her head spoke again:
[New Mission Released: Win 10 fights. Reward: a repeating crossbow. Completion time: 3 days. Failure to complete within 3 days will result in lightning strike punishment.]
Win ten fights in three days? Simple—just beat Xiaoyun ten times and the mission would be complete.
Hehe—hehe—hehe—
Tang Qingluo’s face lit up with a radiant smile at the good news, and she raised her fists again.
[Host, note: Fighting the same person counts only once per day.]
Ah, so she couldn’t just “milk” one person—she had to fight ten different people?
Who should she beat next—the brat Xie Wenhan?
Tang Qingluo was planning whom to beat for the mission when Dayun, who had been silent until now, finally spoke:
“Xie Shi, Mei Shi, you two are useless! You just stand there watching your sister-in-law get pinned by a junior, and you don’t even help?”
Xie Shi was the wife of Xie Yizhi of the fifth branch, mother of Xie Wenzhe, the eighth young master, also in the prison.
Mei Shi was the wife of Xie Shunzhi of the sixth branch, mother of Xie Wenyu, the seventh young master, also in the prison.
Hearing their mother speak, Xie Shi and Mei Shi, though reluctant, still stepped in. After all, the fifth and sixth branches were from the same mother as the third branch—brothers of one blood—so they had to help.
What they didn’t expect was that once they moved, the Jiang family of the third branch and the Ruan family of the fourth branch followed suit.
Even the younger generation, to help their mothers, joined the fray.
Even the youngest, Tenth Miss Xie Wanxuan and Eleventh Miss Xie Wanning, teamed up to fight the brat Xie Wenhan.
By the time the brawl ended, everyone was bruised.
Unexpectedly, Tang Qingluo noticed that Sixth Miss Xie Wanying, who usually disliked her, had joined the fight this time. Even though her mother, Lady Wang, hadn’t acted, she had helped.
It seemed that this little girl, while not very pleasant, had a good heart.
[Mission Complete: Reward—a repeating crossbow. Combat value +100. The crossbow has been placed in your reward bag.]
Huh? She hadn’t fought ten people, so why was the mission complete?
Ah—she got it. The system counted the victories of others who helped her as hers.
Perfect! Tang Qingluo smiled, reaching for the osmanthus sugar steamed chestnut cake in her lap, but froze.
The cake had crumbled.
No matter—the pieces were still edible.
“Here, each helper gets a piece of cake.” Tang Qingluo distributed them from youngest to oldest.
The little ones were the cutest, so they got theirs first.
She couldn’t resist stroking Xie Wanning’s head. Seeing Tang Qingluo, the girl smiled sweetly and rubbed her hand.
Soft, smooth—Tang Qingluo couldn’t resist touching a few more times.
“You’ve been very good, Eleventh. Big sister is pleased. Here, this piece of cake is your reward.” Tang Qingluo placed a piece in Xie Wanning’s hands.
“Thank you, big sister,” Xie Wanning held it tightly.
Nearby, Xie Wanxuan smiled sweetly and pressed her head into Tang Qingluo’s hand.
“Big sister, I’ve been good too.”
“Of course, Little Tenth. Here’s your reward.” Tang Qingluo gave her a piece as well.
“I’ve been good too! Give me one piece… no, two pieces!” The brat Xie Wenhan, ever greedy, rushed over and pushed his head into Tang Qingluo’s palm.
Tang Qingluo moved away, annoyed.
Having learned her lesson earlier, the brat no longer rolled and threw tantrums, only stared eagerly at the cake.
But Tang Qingluo ignored him, moving to Sixth Miss Xie Wanying and handing her a piece.
Xie Wanying stared at the crumbled cake, surprised.
Normally, Tang Qingluo wouldn’t have shared with her, but now she had. It made her feel awkward.
“Thank you, big sister,” Xie Wanying said softly, blushing.
Seeing her flushed, embarrassed face, Tang Qingluo didn’t tease her and continued distributing the cakes.
“Here.”
Fifth young master Xie Wenrui of the third branch and fourth young master Xie Wenjin of the fourth branch each received a piece.
The last piece Tang Qingluo kept for herself, savoring its sweet, fragrant flavor.
Cough, cough—Dayun coughed a few times.
Her cough was timely; besides Tang Qingluo, none of the other children dared eat the cake.
The old witch was trying to cause trouble!
But this wasn’t the Guogong Manor, and the old bastard Ex-Master Xie wasn’t around.
Who was she afraid of?
“Eat! Don’t waste my effort as your big sister. Understand? A sister-in-law is like a mother—you should obey. Eat quickly, or I’ll think you’re rejecting the cake I gave. If you disrespect me, I’ll get angry. And when I get angry, I’m scary—you just saw, I’m pretty good at fighting.”
Hearing this, no one dared defy her.
They quickly ate the cakes, finishing them in no time.
Afterwards, they realized this cake was especially delicious—better than any they’d ever had.
And as for Dayun, though she was still coughing, no one paid her any attention.