Mu Xue's words were like adding fuel to the fire, and they were only fueling the fire in the Lin family's fire.
Lin's face was contorted with rage, and seeing Jiang Yanwan's heartbroken tears, she didn't even need to give her a look. Qin Ma had already walked up to Mu Xue with a dark expression and raised her hand to strike her.
"You idiot, are you tired of living!"
The slap landed just in mid-air, and as Qin Ma's pupils widened slightly, Lin Qingwan's cold and stern face appeared before her.
"What did Mu Xue say wrong that warrants a beating?"
Her voice struck Mu Xue's trembling heart like a muffled drum, and the little girl immediately couldn't hold back her tears.
This crying pained Lin Qingwan deeply. Because she wasn't Jiang Yanwan, even her maids were treated unfairly.
As she was a direct descendant of the Jiang family, Qin Ma dared not lay a hand on her, and her imposing manner weakened somewhat. "Miss Qingwan, Muxue has disobeyed Madam and deserves to die."
Lin Qingwan didn't want to continue the stalemate with her birth mother, but as it turned out, even if she backed down like a coward, her mother wouldn't appreciate it.
"She was just telling the truth, how is that disobeying her?"
"The matter was that Chunyu disregarded the rules of the manor first and then humiliated me. She struck first, and it was only natural for my maid to protect herself, yet she has to suffer the same punishment as the instigator."
Aunt Qin's expression grew increasingly grim. "Miss Qingwan..."
Lin Qingwan's chest heaved, and her facial features tightened again. "I thought it was my own ignorance that I shouldn't have taken Prince Jing's reward. But it turns out that Jiang Yanwan has never had a clear marriage agreement with the prince. If that's the case, why am I the one who shamelessly took her things?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Rong's mother kept giving her meaningful glances.
Lin Qingwan pretended not to see it. "Just because Jiang Yanwan is the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion, does everything she does right? Her maid hit my maid, and I have to apologize to her?"
"Mother's handling of this matter is not even fair. This Prime Minister's residence is better off without rules!"
"You bastard!" Lin's voice trembled as she strode up to Lin Qingwan, her gaze sharp and fierce, and slapped her hard across Lin Qingwan's thin cheek.
In that instant, all around were gasps of astonishment.
Lin Qingwan did not dodge, but instead gave a mocking laugh, which further provoked the Lin family.
"Madam, please calm down!" Rong Ma was extremely anxious. The relationship between the two was already tense, and Madam was indeed biased towards Miss Yan Wan. This slap would really be irreparable.
However, Lin showed no sign of stopping. The wind from the slap ruffled Lin Qingwan's hair at her temples, but she didn't even blink, her whole body filled with mockery and disappointment.
Just as Lin's fingers were about to touch Lin Qingwan's cheek, Jiang Su's voice fell coldly, "Wait."
Lin's burning gaze was awakened by her husband's voice, and she stopped moving in a jolt, ultimately not actually hitting Lin Qingwan's face.
But to everyone else, Lin Qingwan had already been beaten.
The moment Jiang Su appeared, the surrounding air seemed to freeze. His sharp, hawk-like gaze, as the head of all officials, swept over every corner, sending chills down one's spine.
Jiang Su had clearly learned the whole story. He suppressed his chill and first instructed Rong Ma to take good care of Lin Shi.
Then, pointing at Chunyu, he said in a deep voice, "Drag him out and beat him to death with sticks."
All the women shivered.
Jiang Yanwan wanted to speak but dared not. Just as Chunyu was about to cry for help, a servant covered her mouth and dragged her out.
When Lin Qingwan saw Jiang Su's gaze fall on Mu Xue, her breath caught in her throat, and she tried to block him.
Jiang Su seemed unable to recall Mu Xue's name. After a pause, he said, "You fought with someone, disregarding the rules of the inner quarters. But considering that you protected your master, drag her away and give her five strokes of the cane as punishment."
Mu Xue's eyes were filled with gratitude.
Lin Qingwan's tense nerves immediately relaxed, and her gaze towards Jiang Su became less wary and nervous. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but it seemed that her father's gaze was gentle when he looked at her.
But how could that be?
The courtyard gate was open, and Chunyu's screams grew louder and louder. Jiang Yanwan's already pale face became increasingly pale, and her breathing gradually became short.
Jiang Su summoned the two men to his study to kneel, while he himself comforted his wife in the inner room.
Lin's dissatisfaction was tinged with a woman's tenderness toward her husband, "Yan Wan's health hasn't fully recovered yet, how can she kneel for so long?"
Jiang Su said calmly, "Her maid was lawless and insulted the young lady of the Prime Minister's residence. She deserved to be beaten to death. As her mistress, Yan Wan should naturally be punished."
"As a mother, Madam cares about her health, but she cannot show favoritism to one over the other."
"I..." Lin didn't refute it in the end, "I'm doing this for their own good."
"I know."
These words stirred up a storm in the hearts of both Lin Qingwan and Jiang Yanwan.
Lin Qingwan knew very well that if her father hadn't appeared, she would have been slapped by her mother today. But she couldn't believe that Jiang Su had punished Chunyu so severely and made Jiang Yanwan kneel for most of the day, just like her.
Jiang Yanwan was even more nervous.
She could only accept being favored, because once things were handled fairly, blood ties would be the only thing she could never overcome against Lin Qingwan. Now, her worst fears had come true: her father cared about Lin Qingwan.
Aside from blood ties, Jiang Yanwan couldn't think of any other reason. If her father hadn't suddenly appeared, she would have utterly crushed Lin Qingwan today!
Jiang Su coaxed his wife out, his face revealing neither joy nor anger.
Feeling guilty, Jiang Yanwan couldn't help but bow her head and say, "Yanwan has caused Father worry."
Jiang Su said, "The fact that Chunyu dared to say something offensive to Qingwan shows that she has long felt wronged and resentful on your behalf."
"The gift was a reward from the Prince, so it must be elegant and refined no matter what."
These words made Jiang Yanwan feel ashamed, and her voice trembled with tears, "It's my fault for not disciplining her properly, Chunyu's death is not a pity."
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