Chapter Twelve: I Can't Marry!
"Didn't your mother teach you that you should perform a grand ceremony when your elder sister returns home?!"
Wang Qingzhi grabbed a teacup from the table and smashed it at Li Yan's feet!
This scene left Li Yan somewhat bewildered, and she quickly glanced around the hall out of the corner of her eye.
Mother Zhang Yingying went to the temple to burn incense and has not returned, while elder brother Li Zhou has gone off to fool around somewhere again.
We are currently isolated and helpless; a head-on confrontation will only result in losses!
Seeing that Wang Qingzhi was truly angry, she immediately composed herself and said weakly, "Mother is right! Yan'er knows she was wrong."
Li Yan knelt down with a thud, but used the bowing posture to make a gesture to her personal maid, Bi Tao.
Bitao understood and quietly retreated outside the hall.
Wang Qingzhi suddenly chuckled, "You know you're wrong? Then, according to the family rules, give me twenty slaps."
Li Yan suddenly looked up: "Mother?!"
But Li Yan quickly felt relieved. The servants in the Li family were very good at changing their tune, and no one dared to hit her.
Wang Qingzhi coldly swept her gaze over the servants in the hall, her voice as cold as ice: "Why haven't you made a move yet?"
The maids and servants in the room kept their heads down, but their feet seemed to be nailed to the ground, and no one dared to move.
Who doesn't know that the Prime Minister dotes on the Second Miss the most?
If we really hit her today, she'll probably be sold to a brothel tomorrow!
Seeing this, a hint of smugness flashed in Li Yan's eyes, but she still feigned a pitiful expression: "Mother, Yan'er really knows she was wrong."
"Okay, very good."
"It seems the Li family has forgotten who the mistress of the house is."
Wang Qingzhi stood up and walked step by step toward Li Yan: "In that case, I, your wife, will personally teach you what manners are!"
Li Yan's face turned deathly pale.
Has Wang Qingzhi gone mad?! She's actually going to take action?!
"Wang Qingzhi! How dare you!"
A sharp shout rang out as Old Madam Li, Zhang Shufen, stormed into the hall, leaning on her cane. Her silver hair was neatly combed, but her old eyes glared viciously at Wang Qingzhi: "What kind of behavior is this, a dignified matriarch bullying a junior!"
Zhang Shufen grabbed Li Yan and pulled her behind her, pointing her cane directly at Li Bao'er: "And you, you wretched child! You've become a laughingstock in the entire capital, and you still have the nerve to come home and act all high and mighty?!"
Li Bao'er suddenly smiled.
Bao'er's voice was clear and bright, each word like a knife, "Grandmother, I don't blame you for your poor eyesight as you get old."
"But if you're not smart enough, you should stay in the Buddhist hall, eat vegetarian food, and chant Buddhist scriptures. Don't come out here and embarrass yourself!"
The servants in the hall gasped, and even Wang Qingzhi's eyes widened slightly.
The young lady has gone mad! How dare she publicly insult the old lady?!
Zhang Shufen's face turned a deep shade of liver, and she slammed her cane on the ground: "You wretched child! How dare you do this..."
Li Bao'er didn't give her a chance to speak, interrupting with a cold laugh: "What's wrong with me?"
"Oh, you just wait and see."
After saying that, Li Bao'er slowly rolled up her sleeves.
Amidst everyone's horrified gazes, she shoved Zhang Shufen, who was blocking Li Yan's way, aside.
"Slap! Slap!"
He slapped her twice across the face, making Li Yan's ears ring!
"The first slap is for your disrespect." Li Bao'er flicked her wrist.
"The second slap is for your slander against your elder sister."
Li Yan covered her face and collapsed to the ground, her carefully styled hair half-undone, her eyes filled with disbelief.
How dare Li Bao'er slap her in front of everyone?!
If the ruthlessness in Li Yan's eyes could materialize, she would have already hacked Li Bao'er to death with a flurry of blows.
Zhang Shufen trembled with rage: "This is outrageous! Guards! Seize this wretched creature!"
Only Li Yu sat to the side, eating grapes and watching the show, clapping her hands and exclaiming, "Sister, you're so cool!"
Just as chaos erupted inside the hall, a rapid sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from outside the mansion.
"Prime Minister, return to the residence!"
Li Xiangyuan strode into the front hall, still wearing his official robes, his brows still bearing the solemn air of someone convening a court meeting.
His gaze swept across the scene, and he saw the mess on the ground.
Li Yan collapsed to the ground, her hair disheveled, and her face bearing a bright red handprint.
The old lady, Zhang Shufen, was being supported by her maid; her face was ashen, and her chest was heaving violently.
Li Bao'er stood in the center, a cold smile playing on her lips.
"What kind of behavior is this!" Li Xiangyuan shouted sternly.
"A prestigious residence of the Prime Minister has turned into a scene like a street brawl, are you trying to make yourselves a laughingstock in the entire capital?!"
Upon seeing her father, Li Yan burst into tears: "Father! I'm innocent! My sister slapped me without even asking what happened!"
Zhang Shufen pointed at Li Bao'er with trembling hands: "This wretched child dares to insult her elders!"
Li Bao'er looked directly at Li Xiangyuan, neither humble nor arrogant: "Father, I am only teaching my younger sister the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children."
Li Xiangyuan's gaze swept over Li Bao'er with a gloomy expression, then glanced at the injury on Li Yan's face, weighing his options in his mind.
This daughter has never given him a moment's peace since she was little.
On the surface, they appear sickly and obedient, but deep down they are full of rebellious tendencies.
If he weren't in good health, he would have been driven to his death by her long ago.
Although Li Yan was born to the concubine Yingying and was not as beautiful as Li Bao'er, she was more considerate and won his heart.
Thinking back on what happened in the Imperial Study today, he realized that he had ultimately let down his eldest daughter.
Li Xiangyuan looked at his second daughter, who was sitting on the ground looking pitiful, with a serious expression: "Yan'er, you mustn't be rude to your elder sister."
Li Yan, who had been looking smug and waiting for Li Xiangyuan to teach Li Bao'er a lesson, looked up in disbelief at her father, who usually doted on her.
"Father?"
How is that possible?!
In the past, even a minor scrape would have resulted in Li Xiangyuan severely punishing the servants! Today, she was slapped in public, and her father actually turned around and reprimanded her?!
What's going on today? Have they all gone mad?
Li Bao'er raised an eyebrow slightly, her heart also churning with turmoil.
Has old man Li lost his mind? Why is he actually defending her today?
She had prepared eight hundred different ways to roast him until he had a heart attack, but he actually sided with her.
It's a trap! It's definitely a trap!
Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside the mansion.
"Imperial edict has arrived!"
A high-pitched voice rang out, and the eunuch delivering the imperial edict stepped in, carrying a bright yellow scroll, followed by a troop of imperial guards.
Everyone in the hall hurriedly knelt down, and even Li Xiangyuan had to suppress his anger and bow his head to listen to the decree.
The eunuch's gaze swept over Li Yan's swollen face, then over Li Bao'er's straight back, and he said with a half-smile:
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Li Bao'er, the eldest daughter of Prime Minister Li, is gentle, virtuous, talented, and of high moral character. She is hereby betrothed to Prince Jing, Mu Cenlin, and the wedding shall take place on a chosen date. So be it!"
The entire room fell silent.
Li Bao'er: "...?"
She is gentle and virtuous?
[Ahhh, this came so easily! Host, you can finally marry Prince Jing!] 001, this little cutie, suddenly appeared.
The 001 virtual image, a white dumpling, bounced around in Li Bao'er's mind, complete with its own flower-scattering effect: 【Marry him! Marry him!】
A vein throbbed on Li Bao'er's forehead: "Can you stop appearing out of nowhere all the time?"
The crowd knelt down, watching as Li Bao'er showed no reaction.
Li Xiangyuan panicked, fearing that his eldest daughter might say something if she didn't speak, so he quickly nudged Li Bao'er with his elbow.
He hissed angrily in a low voice, "Don't stand there like an idiot, accept the imperial decree!"
Wang Qingzhi was thrown into disarray by the sudden imperial edict. Seeing Li Xiangyuan's unperturbed expression, her heart sank. She knew Li Xiangyuan too well; the look in his eyes just now clearly indicated that he had known about this all along!
If it were an ordinary family, it wouldn't matter.
But that's Prince Jing! An unfavored, powerful military commander who kills without hesitation!
Who in the capital doesn't know about Prince Jing's terrible reputation?! What noble lady would dare to marry him?!
If her precious child marries into that family, wouldn't it be like a lamb being led to the slaughter?!
Wang Qingzhi made up her mind; she would rather risk her life than let Bao'er marry into a wolf's den.
Wang Qingzhi kowtowed deeply: "Your Majesty, please see the truth! My daughter is unruly and unfit for a noble family."
Li Yan lowered her head to hide her distorted smile, but inwardly she was overjoyed.
Li Bao'er deserved it!
That brutal madman should have snapped her neck on their wedding night!
"No!" Li Yu suddenly jumped up and grabbed Li Bao'er's sleeve.
"My sister can't get married!"
His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at the eunuch who was delivering the imperial decree: "That Prince Jing is twenty-three years old and still unmarried; he's clearly a homosexual!"
"..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com