Chapter 108 I'll tear your mouth apart!
"Mo Yan, my son, why are you running so fast? There are people from the Minister's mansion waiting for you to come and invite you over."
Mother Shen and her two sisters-in-law walked over quickly and immediately spotted Xiao Lingxi in the carriage.
Mother Shen's eyes widened instantly, trembling as she pointed a finger at Xiao Lingxi:
"It's you...you brat, how dare you pester my son?!"
Shen Moyan's two sisters-in-law also saw Xiao Lingxi, and their expressions immediately changed.
“My son, you are now a top scholar with a bright future. How can you get involved with a woman like that? It would be beneath your dignity.”
Shen Moyan was completely bewildered: "Mother, do you know Lingxi?"
Mentioning this made Mother Shen furious, and her two sisters-in-law chimed in.
“Uncle, Mother is right. With your status as the top scholar and your handsome appearance, what kind of noble ladies in the capital wouldn’t be eager for you to choose? Why do you have to find a woman like this?”
Sister-in-law Shen was not to be outdone: "What you said makes sense, sister-in-law. My brother-in-law is destined for great things and to become a high-ranking official. When choosing a wife, the most important thing is that she is sensible and filial to her mother-in-law. Even if her family is of high social standing, we Shen family cannot afford to have a wife who dares to talk back to her elders and doesn't know any manners. We don't want to bring back an ancestor who will only hinder your future."
The three women, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, went on and on, doing everything in their power to belittle Xiao Lingxi, portraying her as an unreasonable, disrespectful, and doomed woman who would ruin the family business. It was as if Shen Moyan would be cursed for eight lifetimes if he married her.
Xiao Lingxi had never been treated like this before in her entire life.
He immediately started to lash out.
"Shen Moyan? This is the 'well-educated and reasonable' family you speak of? Are you sure she's not some shrew who ran away from some remote mountain village?"
Xiao Lingxi's voice wasn't loud, but every word felt like a whip lashing across the faces of Shen's mother and daughter-in-law.
"I originally thought that your Shen family, though of humble origin, was at least a family that valued both farming and scholarship, and should know some manners. But what I've seen today has truly broadened my horizons! Your son hasn't even become a high-ranking official yet, and you, as his mother, dare to bark and bite wildly in the street with your daughter-in-law. What! Do you think that just because your son became the top scholar, the laws and regulations of the Great Zhou Dynasty no longer apply to your Shen family?"
Shen Moyan's face paled, realizing that her mother and sisters-in-law's words had been somewhat excessive.
“Lingxi, your mother and sister-in-law are new to the capital and don’t know the rules here yet, you…”
"If you don't know the rules, then go learn them. And you, I warned you before, don't keep pestering me. I only showed you some kindness out of pity, and you really think you're someone important? Now that you're dressed as a top scholar, you've forgotten the hypocrisy and selfishness in your bones?"
Shen Moyan was so shocked by these words that he took two steps back, his eyes filled with hurt and humiliation.
Seeing Xiao Lingxi humiliating her son like this, Shen's mother was so angry that she felt dizzy.
She bared her teeth and claws, about to pounce on him: "You little bitch, how dare you talk about my son like that! I'll tear your mouth apart!"
However, before they even reached the edge of the carriage, the guards of the Marquis's residence stepped forward and blocked them like an impregnable wall.
Seeing this, Su Xiaoyu ordered her subordinates, "Someone, go to the Jingzhao Yin's office immediately to report this! Tell them that the newly appointed top scholar, Shen Moyan, has allowed his family to run and insult the daughter of the Yongning Marquis in the street, intending to commit violence. Please, Your Excellency, send someone to uphold justice immediately!"
The words "Prefect of the Capital" and "Marquis of Yongning's Residence" completely stunned Shen's mother and daughter-in-law.
What happened?
Xiao Lingxi is just an ordinary noblewoman who dresses a little better, so how did she get involved with the Marquis's mansion?
Lin's mother was stunned for a long time before stiffly turning her head and asking Shen Moyan.
"My son, she...she is...?"
Shen Moyan's face was ashen. Under his mother's astonished and uncertain gaze, he struggled to close his eyes, then opened them again, his voice hoarse:
“Mother, this… is the second young lady of the Yongning Marquis’s mansion.”
Boom!!
The three women, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, were completely stunned, as if struck by lightning.
Shen's mother felt her vision go black and almost fainted.
She suddenly remembered that she had just said she was going to pounce on the person and tear their mouth apart... If she really touched a single hair on their head, would the Shen family still have a chance to survive?
"I caught up with you just now because I wanted to say a few words to Miss Lingxi alone, but you've misunderstood..." Shen Moyan explained.
The mother collapsed to the ground, and the three women realized that they had been blind to the truth and had kicked a hornet's nest.
The next second, as if suddenly remembering something, Mother Shen disregarded all pride and knelt down on the ground with a thud, begging Xiao Lingxi for mercy.
"Miss, please have mercy! We were just being cheeky, we deserve to die!"
Her two daughters-in-law also knelt down and begged for mercy: "Yes, yes, Miss, please spare our lives! We were blind and foolish, and we were just stupid country bumpkins who didn't know the rules and talked nonsense. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against us!"
"Please, please don't report this to the authorities!"
The three women, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, cried and kowtowed repeatedly.
Seeing this, Shen Moyan's face turned even uglier. He gritted his teeth and followed suit, kneeling down as well.
"Please, Miss, have mercy and forgive my mother and sister-in-law for their unintentional mistake. I, Shen, am willing to bear all the blame myself."
When Shen's mother saw that her son had knelt down, tears streamed down her face.
"Second Miss! It's all my fault, all because of my foul mouth. You can punish me as you please, I won't say a word. I just beg you to be merciful and spare my son!"
She was counting on Shen Moyan's academic success for the rest of her life; if it was ruined, his entire life would be over.
Not only that, the Shen family could no longer maintain its former glory.
Therefore, all Shen's mother can do now is to show weakness, play the victim, and try to gain the sympathy of passersby so that she can morally blackmail Xiao Lingxi.
Sure enough, the tearful performance by the three women—Mother Shen, Daughter-in-law, and Mother Shen—gradually attracted the attention of passersby.
Not knowing what was going on, the crowd saw an old woman with two young women and a young man kneeling on the ground, while the noble lady in the carriage remained indifferent. They couldn't help but point and whisper among themselves.
"What's going on? Isn't that the newly appointed top scholar? Why is he kneeling down in the street?"
"It seems that the top scholar's family members offended the young lady of the Marquis's mansion..."
"Sigh, even if it's a noble family, they should at least try to reason with us. Look how they've driven the old man to this..."
"The top scholar is a filial son; he took all the blame upon himself."
On the bus, Xiao Lingxi was furious when she heard these comments.
She was clearly the victim, being verbally abused by this family in the street, yet now she's being portrayed as a bully abusing her power?
She flung open the carriage curtain, pointed at the four people kneeling on the ground, her pretty face frosty: "You! Very well! Very well indeed!"
"You're trying to morally blackmail me, aren't you! So, you bumped into me in the street and insulted me, and if I don't let you off today, I'll be the one being unreasonable and abusing my power, and it'll be my fault?"
"So, do I have to personally help you up and apologize to you?!"
Shen Moyan lowered his head even further and cupped his hands, saying, "I dare not, Second Miss, please calm down. It's just that my mother is old and only wanted to protect me, so she spoke without thinking. I am at fault for everything. I am willing to accept any punishment. I only ask that you show leniency for them since they have already admitted their mistakes. I will be eternally grateful!"
Xiao Lingxi was furious at his seemingly submissive but actually aggressive attitude.
She was by nature easily angered, and her eyebrows immediately shot up.
"Very well! Very well! In that case, I will naturally grant your wish of 'filial piety'! Guards!"
Just as she was about to order the guards to seize Shen Moyan and hand him over to the Jingzhao Yin's office, her sleeve was gently tugged by Su Xiaoyu behind her.
Xiao Lingxi paused, looking at Su Xiaoyu with a puzzled expression.
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