"Princess……"

Ah Cao's frail body was completely embraced by Sheng Lingwei. She was a small and thin bundle, which looked particularly pitiful.

At this moment, she had sheathed all her sharp edges and was obediently raising her head, looking at Sheng Lingwei with teary eyes. Her mouth was slightly open, as if she had a thousand words to say, but she could only call out to Sheng Lingwei once before she could say nothing more.

At that moment, she felt genuinely safe.

I want to cry, I really want to cry!

The princess's embrace is so warm, so very warm...

Sheng Lingwei suppressed her anger.

She reached out and patted Ah Cao's head, giving her an extremely gentle smile. "Good girl, from now on, you only need to live for yourself. As for the grievances you suffer, I will avenge them for you."

Ah Cao was deeply moved, and large tears streamed down her face.

After thinking for a moment, she said in a low voice, "Princess, thank you for standing up for me, but... they are my family after all. I just couldn't bear it anymore, so I thought of venting my grievances. I didn't really want them to pay the price."

She didn't want the princess to ruin her reputation by standing up for her.

Sheng Lingwei's face darkened, and her cold, terrifying gaze pierced the father and son.

"Hmph, I despise the idea of ​​favoring sons over daughters the most. If your parents disliked daughters so much, why did they give birth to you in the first place?"

Since I gave birth to you, I have a responsibility to treat you well, instead of favoring boys over girls and not treating you like a human being at all.

To put it nicely, they are sexist; to put it bluntly, they treat you like a free slave, beating and scolding you as a daily occurrence.

Furthermore, when your family was in danger, they were the first to push you out as a shield. People like them don't deserve to be called human beings, much less family.

Sheng Lingwei lost her temper for the first time in front of everyone, and no one around her dared to utter a sound.

Especially Ah Cao's father and her older brother, they wished they could bury their heads in the ground, completely unable to look Sheng Lingwei in the eye, and their whole bodies trembled involuntarily.

They had a premonition that if they spoke out, they would definitely suffer the consequences this time.

The princess said she wouldn't kill them, but they were bound to suffer a severe beating. What should they do? What should they do?

They don't want to be punished at all!

Besides, girls are just a money-losing proposition.

They didn't think they had done anything wrong.

Blame it on that wretched girl, Ah Cao. If she hadn't said those things in front of the princess, the father and son wouldn't have been in such an embarrassing situation.

Although Sheng Lingwei displayed an imposing aura, A Cao was not afraid and looked at Sheng Lingwei with eyes full of respect.

At that moment, she felt a warm feeling in her heart.

Who treats her well? Who treats her badly?

She can sense it directly.

Sheng Lingwei sighed and gently patted A-Cao's head. This little girl, after all, has a kind and gentle heart.

"Fine, for your sake, I'll spare them this time. At the same time, I'll personally sever all ties with you. Your unscrupulous family members, don't ever come near you again."

Ah Cao nodded with tears in her eyes, "Thank you, Princess, I am deeply grateful!"

"Waaah," she swore, "the princess is the best person in the world. How can I ever repay her kindness?"

Sheng Lingwei's sharp gaze suddenly fell on the father and son, and she coldly snorted, "Did you both hear what I just said?"

"Thump!"

Unable to withstand Sheng Lingwei's oppressive aura, the father and son's legs went weak, and they collapsed to their knees, trembling violently.

"Yes, Your Highness, we heard you."

Sheng Lingwei sneered, then gave a stern warning.

"You all need to remember this clearly: from this day forward, your family has no relation to A-Cao whatsoever. If you ever dare to approach A-Cao with kinship ties, don't blame me for being ruthless towards you."

The father and son broke out in a cold sweat and nodded frantically.

"Yes, yes, we promise not to get close to A-Cao, and we will not disturb her life again. Please rest assured, Princess."

But I was still unwilling to accept it!

Damn you, you little brat, why are you so lucky?

Well, Princess Chang Le is incredibly powerful; even if they had 120 times the courage, they wouldn't dare disobey her orders.

Sheng Lingwei then looked at the young and middle-aged men around her.

"As a woman, I despise the idea of ​​favoring sons over daughters. Listen up, all of you: if any family continues to favor sons over daughters, then you can expect me to personally come and greet you."

Furthermore, I have taken in these hundred-plus girls. If any of you dare to spread any bad rumors about them, don't blame me for sewing your mouths shut with needles.

"Hmph, especially your families. Remember to go back and give them a stern warning: if they don't take my orders seriously, you can try it yourself."

Clearly, Ah Cao's matter crossed Sheng Lingwei's bottom line.

What utter nonsense about favoring sons over daughters! If you've brought a child into the world, you should treat them well. If you can't be fair, then don't have so many children, lest they suffer as a result.

As a woman, Sheng Lingwei should naturally consider issues from a woman's perspective.

Upon hearing this, the five or six hundred young men felt a jolt in their hearts and dared not disregard Sheng Lingwei's words.

It seems they need to pay more attention to the girls in their household from now on, and can't treat them like before. If they lose the princess's favor, they'll be in big trouble.

Like Ah Cao, more than a hundred girls looked at Sheng Lingwei with eyes full of respect and gratitude, their eyes brimming with tears.

I felt a warm feeling in my heart.

The princess genuinely considers them her own people and is protecting them. I must say, it feels really good!

Still seething with anger, Sheng Lingwei didn't want to waste any more words with these people. She gave Yu Guangliang a look, then with a wave of her hand, she and more than a hundred girls vanished from everyone's sight in an instant.

This miraculous scene once again shocked the young adults, who were both terrified and uneasy, and their understanding of Sheng Lingwei reached a new level.

He vowed that once he returned to Xikou County, he would sternly warn his family what they should and should not say, because they, mere mortals, could not withstand the princess's wrath.

Even though they had given stern warnings to their families, some people just wouldn't believe it.

Although they submitted to Sheng Lingwei, they never truly believed she possessed such power because they hadn't witnessed it firsthand.

Besides, with the emperor far away, Sheng Lingwei couldn't control what they said.

So they began to discuss in private the girls who had been defiled by the Japanese pirates, and they got more and more excited as they talked.

However, less than half a day later, Yu Guangliang and his men came to their door and sewed their foul mouths shut with needles.

As for those families who favored sons over daughters and secretly abused their daughters, Yu Guangliang directly arrested the men, women, and children and gave them thirty lashes. At the same time, he cut off their supplies and stopped accepting their seafood.

He asked the abused girl whether she wanted to sever ties with her family and work for him, or whether she wanted to continue staying in the house.

These girls were quite resolute; they basically chose to sever ties with their families and resolutely follow Yu Guangliang in his work.

From then on, no one dared to disobey Sheng Lingwei's warning, nor did they dare to harbor any resentment.

There's no way around it; ability determines everything!