Upon entering the Du family's living room, the third concubine sat lazily on the sofa. She had always been this languid; apart from Xu Keke glancing at her a few times, no one else paid any attention to her presence.

"What's wrong with Father? Why did you come back so suddenly? The dancing hasn't even started yet." Before Lin Meijuan could stop her, Du Shan, as usual, rushed to Du Bingtian's side, hooked her arm around his, and said coquettishly.

Lost in thought about Li Dakang becoming his eldest son-in-law, Du Bingtian had almost forgotten the embarrassment he'd suffered that day. Du Shan's words reminded him, and he shoved her away. Du Shan was thrown against the sofa armrest, her waist caught in the hardest bend, and she hissed in pain.

But at that moment, no one cared whether she was injured or not.

Du Bingtian's roar terrified them all. "Why? Ask your mother why. She poured hot tea on Old Madam Sun. Our family was... was asked to leave the banquet."

Du Bingtian never actually uttered the word "rush." ​​But everyone understood.

Surprisingly, Du Yuan reacted the most strongly, "Mom, why? Why did you spill the tea on Old Madam Sun? You didn't mean to, did you? No, you shouldn't have been so careless. How could you be so careless?"

Du Jue stepped forward and grabbed Du Yuan's arm. "Second sister, what are you doing? She is our mother. You have no right to question her like that."

"Hmph!" Du Bingtian sneered. "She didn't, but I did. Lin Meijuan, tell me, in front of your child, how could you accidentally spill all the tea on Old Madam Sun? If you can't serve people, don't get involved. You brought Liu Shi along because you were worried about being clumsy. She comes from a scholarly family and knows how to serve people. You, a tailor's daughter, can't even serve tea properly?"

Lin Meijuan's children were stunned; it was the first time they had ever heard their father mention their mother's background.

Lin Meijuan took a deep breath; she couldn't let Du Bingtian continue. Her background was a flaw she could never change. If she continued, she would have no place in this family.

Lin Meijuan looked aggrieved. "Master, it really wasn't my fault. I was serving tea to Madam Sun when Miss suddenly tripped me with her foot, causing me to fall forward with the tea. If you don't believe me, you can ask Second Madam. She's here too. Second Madam, please tell Master if this is true."

The second concubine wouldn't say another word now; needless to say, she had already wavered on the way here. It was because of what the master had said—that in his heart, her background had always been superior to Lin Meijuan's. Because of that, she could no longer side with the first wife.

The second concubine covered her mouth tightly, tears welling up in her eyes; if she opened her mouth, she would burst into tears.

Her silence was like a slap in the face to Lin Meijuan. She had never imagined that the second concubine would dare to openly defy her.

"Madam keeps saying that I tripped you, but why would I trip you?" Xu Keke's voice was cold, but it seemed to add fuel to the fire.

Seeing Lin Meijuan speechless, Du Bingtian also realized, "That's right, why did you take Ajin to see Old Madam Sun?"

"I..." Lin Meijuan regretted it. She had originally planned to wait until Madam Sun agreed before she could ask Du Bingtian for credit. She never expected it to turn out like this. If she had known, she should have told him sooner.

"You don't know, our mistress has always told Old Madam Sun that I'm healthy, obedient, and easy to train, almost to the point of saying I'm good at bearing children. I am, after all, the eldest daughter of the Du family. To go out and be treated like livestock, picked and chosen, is no different from pointing your finger at you and calling you an animal."

I don't quite understand. Does letting others bully me like this bring you honor, or does it make people look up to the Du family?

They laughed at me for growing up in the countryside. But I learned propriety and a sense of shame from my grandmother. She taught me that if you want others to respect you, you must first treat yourself as a human being.

If the Sun family is interested in marrying me, I have a father and a family to rely on. They can come and ask for my hand. I've never heard of any family offering their daughter away so eagerly.

The reason they kicked us out today is because we belittled ourselves too much.

My wife said I tripped you, and to be honest, I really wanted to.

Without saying a word, Du Bingtian slapped Lin Meijuan across the face. Startled and frightened, Lin Meijuan collapsed to the ground.

Lin Meijuan was stunned by the beating. She crawled to Du Bingtian's side, grabbed his trouser leg, and argued, "Master, don't listen to her. I'm doing this all for you. You've always wanted to be a director, haven't you? Director Chen is being transferred, and the Sun family has promised that if the marriage goes through, they will help you get things done."

Du Bingtian closed his eyes briefly; this woman had exposed all his shameful secrets today. Enraged and humiliated, Du Bingtian kicked Lin Meijuan away. He then strode forward, grabbed her collar, and lifted her up.

“My mother said back then that you came from a humble family and were not fit to be the mistress of the house. If it weren’t for your pregnancy and my desperate pleas, I wouldn’t have lost my mind and married such a lowly woman like you. You’ve ruined my life for so many years and I still can’t get my mother’s forgiveness. You slut.”

Du Bingtian raised his hand and slapped Lin Meijuan several more times without regard for the consequences.

Du Jue was stunned for a moment, but after realizing what was happening, she took a few steps forward and grabbed Du Bingtian's hand. "Father, Mother is at fault, but you can't lay a hand on her."

Du Bingtian was already bloodthirsty. He glared angrily at Du Jue, the father and son locked in a standoff, neither willing to give an inch.

Thinking of his son's excellent character and academic performance, he had always been his pride. Most importantly, because of his good relationship with the garrison, Mayor Hu treated him more warmly than others; otherwise, how could a powerless deputy director like him have won the mayor's favor?

Du Bingtian's eyes softened, but the situation had already reached this point.

"Oh, alright!" The third concubine stood up and walked over to the two of them. "We're all family. Don't take what people say seriously when they're angry. Especially father and son. This tension is too much; you'll only hurt their relationship further."

"Sir, look at you! People say you're most afraid of someone with such a good temper losing their temper. Please let go!"

The third concubine gave Du Bingtian a reproachful look, "Look how you've hurt Madam."

Du Bingtian, now with a way out, let go. As soon as he let go, Du Jue also loosened his grip.

Du Bingtian loosened his tie and was helped to sit down on the sofa by his third concubine.

Du Jue helped his mother up and onto the sofa, checking her injuries. Du Wei also came over, seemingly lost in thought, and stood beside Du Jue.

Du Shan and Du Yuan remained where they were, without moving an inch.

"I think I understand now. Whether it was an accident or the young lady tripped her, to put it bluntly, the Sun family is powerful and we can't afford to offend them. No matter how proud we are, we still have to survive first."

Let's think about how to apologize to the Sun family first. Seriously, sir, you really acted impulsively. How can you face anyone after beating your wife like this? I don't think that will work; we'll have to trouble Miss.

I'm afraid the young lady will have to make a trip to the Sun family to apologize.