Chapter Ten: Qin Zhiyu, the Concubine's Daughter
Aunt An fell on the snowy ground and almost fainted. She screamed a few times and felt as if her whole body was falling apart.
"Master, Master—" she cried out in anguish, "Master, you must do me justice! Waaah... I, I don't want to live anymore, I can't go on living."
Aunt Liu and Granny Liu quickly went forward to help her up.
Seeing his beloved concubine crying pitifully, her face bruised and swollen from the fall, Qin Youming felt extremely distressed and furious, and roared at Qin Zhining.
"You bastard, how dare you lay a hand on your stepmother? Huh? You've gone too far, you shameful beast!"
"Oh, Mr. Qin, are you blind?" Qin Zhining rolled her eyes at him, her words hitting the nail on the head.
“Master Qin didn’t say he was a scoundrel or ashamed when he mistreated his own daughter, so how can I be a scoundrel and shameful when I live an honest life?”
And Aunt An, you schemed and plotted, but you probably didn't expect that I would be lucky enough to survive and come back alive, right? Aren't you disappointed?
Qin Youming, let me tell you, a concubine is just a concubine. Don't use her to insult me, and to insult the Qin family, which has stood for centuries.
Before the gates of the county magistrate's office were even closed, the sounds of arguing reached outside again, and the chatter among the onlookers grew even louder.
"So all the suffering Ah Ning endured was caused by this wicked woman!"
"With Magistrate Qin helping this vicious woman harm her daughter, it's unlikely he can act impartially even in the yamen!"
"You want to embezzle the first wife's dowry too? Could it be that the county magistrate instructed you to do so?"
Hearing the neighbors' gossip, Qin Youming was both shocked and furious. Pointing at Qin Zhining, he angrily rebuked, "You scoundrel, you beast! An Shi is already your mother, how dare you slander her like this?"
He raised his hand and slapped her across the face.
Qin Zhining dodged to the side, then precisely grabbed his wrist with her other hand, using her supernatural grappling technique, and said coldly, "She's my mother? Qin Youming, tell me, whose mother is she?"
Back then, for your sake and for the sake of the Qin family, my mother had to endure the pain in her heart and elevate her to the position of concubine.
She not only repaid my mother's kindness with gratitude, but also repaid kindness with enmity, repeatedly trying to kill me. Does such a vicious woman deserve to be called a mother?
"What kind of life have I been living in my ancestral home all these years? Do you really not see it, or do you simply not want to see it?"
Qin Youming's wrist was throbbing with pain, his face turning pale. Enraged, he shouted, "You unfilial daughter! I am your father, how dare you fight back?"
"Tch—Master Qin, you and your concubines all want me dead, why shouldn't I fight back?" Qin Zhining increased the force of her blows, her eyes as fierce as knives, and mocked.
"If I were to learn your viciousness, I would immediately break your hand. Then let's see if you can still approve official documents and pave the way for your precious son. Want to give it a try?"
Qin Youming froze, only then seeing the ruthlessness in his second daughter's eyes. She was no longer the timid girl she once was, nor did she show any dependence or affection for him. A sharp pain shot through his heart. "You—do you hate your father that much? Do you hate this family?"
Qin Zhining was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, "Oh, why does Mr. Qin speak in such a teasy manner?"
I almost lost my life, so isn't it right for me to hate you? If I'm slapped on the left cheek, do I have to offer my right cheek instead?
I, Qin Zhining, am not that spineless. Therefore, I don't cause trouble, but whoever messes with me, I will exact revenge!
Qin Youming was speechless for a long time before finally managing to stammer out, "Aren't you afraid of being condemned by the world as disobedient and unfilial?"
He closed his eyes and recalled those days.
He disliked his first wife, Xie Mingyuan, but he had no choice but to marry her for the sake of his future.
After marrying her, he resented her bearing his child, so he secretly fed her a contraceptive potion.
Feeling guilty for not being able to conceive, Xie Mingyuan gave him her maids Liu Hui and Qinghe to perform sedation.
An Qinghe proved to be a good mother, giving birth to a son and a daughter.
A year after her son Qin Chengxuan was born, Xie Mingyuan unexpectedly gave birth to Qin Zhining.
This displeased him greatly.
Therefore, after Xie Mingyuan died, he sent five-year-old Zhi Ning back to her ancestral home.
In fact, he had clearly instructed the old house to take good care of her.
But who would have thought that the old house would leave her in such a sorry state, and that she would be raised to be so ruthless.
Sigh... My parents and my brother and sister-in-law are so foolish. They don't even know how to beat someone who has been spoiled.
"Master Qin, don't label me with such serious accusations of being disobedient and unfilial all the time," Qin Zhining let go of his hand, patted his tattered clothes, and picked up the long bench.
“If your heart is righteous, how can your children be disobedient and unfilial? Also, let me remind you, Aunt An will always be just a concubine who is half master and half servant.”
"I can't stop you from remarrying, but if she wants to be the legal wife? Unless my mother's family approves, she can forget about being included in the legal wife's family genealogy!"
"You unfilial daughter!" Qin Youming glared angrily.
"I am an unfilial daughter, and what are you?" Qin Zhining retorted sarcastically, "Don't acknowledge me in front of outsiders, I'd be ashamed."
Which legitimate daughter isn't pampered and spoiled? Yet you mistreat the children of the first wife for the sake of your illegitimate children, and allow your concubine to covet my mother's dowry. Do you even deserve to be called a father?
Seeing her unruly and untamed nature, Qin Youming was so angry that he could only glare at Aunt An.
That good-for-nothing fool can't even control a little girl, making him look foolish in public.
Aunt An, however, paid no heed to his displeasure. Her heart was already being torn apart by the word "Aunt," as if she were suffocating.
Without the Xie family's approval and without being listed in the family genealogy, her dream of becoming a legal wife was ultimately shattered!
Ugh! Damn the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty! Why is it that when a man remarries, he needs the approval of his first wife's family?
Seeing that the two had been thwarted, Qin Zhining turned around with satisfaction, preparing to take Qin Xiaoxiao back to the woodshed in the back garden.
But after taking only two steps, he bumped into Qin Zhiyu, who was wearing a purple dress, rushing towards him.
Qin Zhiyu was sixteen or seventeen years old, a beautiful young woman who looked like she had been carefully pampered. Her features vaguely resembled Qin Youming's, but she also had the deliberate charm of Aunt An.
The purple silk dress she wore was made of fine material, with delicate lotus patterns embroidered on the hem, creating a stark contrast with Qin Zhining's patched old cotton-padded jacket.
Her jet-black hair was neatly combed, with a shimmering pearl hairpin tucked diagonally into her temple, looking quite familiar.
Small gold and jade earrings dangled from her earlobes, swaying gently as she spoke, every detail showcasing her noble status as the eldest daughter of a concubine.
But that air of arrogance was mixed with an undeniable stinginess.
Approaching from afar, upon seeing Qin Zhining, she quickly covered her nose with an embroidered handkerchief, her eyes and brows showing disgust, as if looking at her for even a moment would taint her eyes.
"Mom! Who are these two people? They smell awful."
The girl was quite beautiful, even when she didn't speak, but once she opened her mouth, her voice was sharp and arrogant, "Quickly tell someone to throw them out. Our family doesn't take in beggars."
Qin Zhining glanced at her, then suddenly stepped back to the doorway and called out loudly to the outside of the mansion, "You must be Qin Zhiyu, the illegitimate daughter of the county magistrate's family? Oh, sister, your new dress is really beautiful."
The fabric must be worth two taels of silver, right? I wonder if it was saved up from my monthly allowance of ten copper coins?
Qin Youming's expression changed drastically.
That brat, with her weird and sarcastic tone, she really doesn't want to keep the county magistrate's mansion in peace.
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