“Hiss…”
The others also gasped in shock.
What had they just seen? Steward Zhou had actually been slapped by that woman—how dare she?!
The Chen family siblings also widened their eyes. Even though they knew their mother was formidable, they never expected her to be so fierce. That was the steward of Zhao Residence!
Chen Xingyue looked at Xiao Ying as if she were a madwoman, as though she were meeting her for the first time.
No, this wasn’t her mother. Her mother had always only dared to be tough at home and would never have the courage to do something like this.
“You… you cheap…”
Slap!
It took Steward Zhou a while to snap out of it. One side of his face was swollen high, and he was already gritting his teeth in hatred, unable to stop himself from cursing.
But another slap came, swelling the other side of his face and sending him spinning in place.
Chen Xingyun wanted to laugh but couldn’t help worrying. He had heard that Zhao Residence had dozens, even hundreds, of servants. Was their mother really not afraid?
“How much?”
Xiao Ying asked again, her face expressionless.
“You just wait…”
Slap!
“I asked you, how much?”
“You cheap woman, you’re asking for death…”
Slap!
“Someone, come…”
Slap!
After taking several slaps in a row, Steward Zhou was in so much pain that tears and snot flowed freely. His face had swollen into a pig’s head, and he finally didn’t dare to resist any longer.
He wanted this cheap woman dead—he wanted her to die!
The shopkeeper, Zhang Sheng, and the maids and servants finally snapped out of their daze, their faces pale with fear as they rushed forward to seize Xiao Ying.
This woman was crazy—she must be crazy. How dare she do something like this?!
Chen Xinghai and Chen Xingyun were also startled and wanted to step forward to help their mother.
But before those people could even get close, Xiao Ying kicked them one by one, sending them flying far away. They cried out in pain, “Aiyo!” and couldn’t get up for a long time.
Dealing with these ordinary people who had no fighting skills, Xiao Ying didn’t even need to use spiritual power. Her own strength was more than enough.
Her strength was at least equivalent to that of five grown men. A casual, light kick was enough to make these people suffer.
Steward Zhou was completely dumbfounded. What was wrong with this woman?
Seeing Xiao Ying fix her gaze on him again, he covered his face and retreated repeatedly, trembling like a sieve.
“Don’t come any closer. I’m telling you, this is Zhao Residence…”
“How much exactly?” Unexpectedly, Xiao Ying was still asking.
Steward Zhou felt a headache coming on, almost choking on his breath.
“Fi…” He held up five fingers, afraid of being beaten again, and quickly said, “Five taels, five taels!”
Xiao Ying finally stopped, her eyes filled with mockery.
“What a cheap skin—do you only feel comfortable after being beaten?”
Steward Zhou was so angry he rolled his eyes, wishing he could chop her into pieces, but he didn’t dare to retort.
The three Chen siblings secretly breathed a sigh of relief but couldn’t help worrying for their mother.
This was Zhao Residence, after all. Zhao Yuawai would definitely not let them off.
“What’s all this noise? What’s going on?”
Speak of the devil. The next moment, a sharp shout suddenly came from the courtyard, startling everyone.
Immediately after, a plump man in his early forties strode over, followed by a large group of maids and servants, as well as several tall, burly men.
It was none other than the master of Zhao Residence: Zhao Yuawai, Zhao Youcai.
“Mother…”
Chen Xingyun and the others immediately turned pale and stood behind Xiao Ying.
Chen Xingyue trembled even more in fear, her heart filled with despair. They were truly done for today.
Steward Zhou was overjoyed—the master had arrived!
Some servant must have tipped him off. The master had brought so many people; let’s see how that vicious woman could continue throwing her weight around now.
When the time came, he would personally slap her back, and he must smash her face to pieces, making her understand the consequences of causing trouble here!
“Master, you’ve finally come! It’s all my incompetence that disturbed you… sob… It’s truly because this vicious woman bullied me too much, beating me into such a state… sob… Please, Master, you must uphold justice for me!”
Steward Zhou cried with snot and tears streaming down his face, combined with his swollen, pig-like visage, making for a truly pitiful sight.
Zhao Yuanwai, however, was taken aback, scrutinizing him up and down for a long while, unable to believe his eyes.
“Gasp… Are you Zhou Fu?”
“Sob… Master, it is indeed me…”
Steward Zhou grew even more aggrieved and began pouring out his grievances.
“That vicious woman is simply too arrogant. She dared to assault me right here in the Zhao Residence—this shows she holds no respect for you, Master.”
“She said she came to redeem her daughter. I demanded ten times the compensation, just fifty taels of silver from her, and she beat me into this state because of it.”
“Master, please, you must uphold justice for me… sob…”
Zhao Yuanwai’s face hardened. He waved his hand dismissively and finally turned his gaze to Xiao Ying.
To his surprise, he found her to be merely a impoverished village woman, with a frail and slender frame. How could she possess such capability?
Hmph, regardless of what skills she might have, daring to come to the Zhao Residence to assault his steward and servants meant she held no regard for him, Zhao Youcai. She must pay the price.
“Who are you? Never mind, no matter who you are, since you dare to run wild in my Zhao Residence, don’t expect to leave alive.”
“Men! Beat this vicious woman to death with clubs!”
The fat on his body quivered slightly as he spoke. With a single command, he actually ordered Xiao Ying to be beaten to death—truly lawless and unprincipled.
Xiao Ying raised an eyebrow slightly. Just from the other’s arrogance, she could tell he had committed no shortage of evil deeds—no wonder he was mockingly called the Tyrant of Hongye Town.
“Step back a bit.”
She turned her head to instruct the children. There were quite a few people to deal with this time, and she was worried they might get accidentally injured.
“Mother, are you sure you don’t need our help?” Chen Xinghai’s eyes darkened.
“Not needed.” Xiao Ying lightly uttered three words.
Just then, seven or eight burly men surrounded her. Chen Xinghai quickly pulled his two sisters back, retreating to a corner.
“Beat her! Beat her to death!”
Steward Zhou sneered coldly, covering his face as he screamed loudly, feeling extremely gratified.
The burly men, each holding a long club, didn’t take Xiao Ying seriously at all. She was just a weak village woman from the mountains—using them to deal with her was simply overkill.
However, they dared not disobey Zhao Yuanwai’s orders. Several long clubs immediately swung toward Xiao Ying in unison.
The three Chen siblings grew extremely tense, their fists clenched tightly. Even Chen Xingyue showed a look of pity—that vicious woman would surely be beaten to death.
Yet, the imagined scenario did not unfold.
Instead, there was a series of dull thuds—”thump, thump, thump, thump”—as Xiao Ying moved as fast as lightning. In the blink of an eye, she had knocked all the burly men to the ground, leaving a large group lying there.
“Ah…”
“Ouch…”
Various cries of pain rose and fell, mournful and piercing.
This time, Xiao Ying had not held back. Although she hadn’t used any spiritual power, she had exerted at least fifty to sixty percent of her strength.
The burly men were left with either broken ribs or fractured legs. Even after recovering, they would never be able to continue in this line of work.
These men had followed Zhao Yuanwai in committing countless evil deeds. Though she couldn’t bring herself to kill them directly, she could at least deliver a harsh lesson.
As for Zhao Yuanwai and his companions, they stood utterly dumbstruck, their eyes wide with disbelief.