Chapter 125 She is not my biological daughter
Xiao Xuanwu desperately explained, "Officer, my third brother and sister-in-law stayed behind to deal with the bandits with Master Liao. They didn't run away, and they'll catch up with us soon."
Yan Wanshan said, "Master Liao said back then that he would only flee and not resist, so how could we let them deal with the bandits?"
Hearing this, Wu became bolder and continued to smear the eldest son's family, "Yes, sir, you must not believe their lies. These are all excuses. Now they say they stayed to resist the bandits, but later they'll say they were killed by the bandits, leaving no way to prove it."
Xiao Mingshu stepped forward and grasped her arm, saying excitedly, "Second Aunt, I also heard with my own ears that Master Liao's third cousin and his wife stayed behind with a few guards to deal with the bandits. They really didn't run away. You can't just slander people because of a conflict with the eldest branch of the family. They won't abandon the eldest aunts and will definitely come back."
Her mother, Zhang, pointed at her nose and cursed, "You wretched girl, you've eaten two meals from them and now you don't know who gave birth to you? I'll beat you to death, you traitor!"
Not content with just cursing, he pounced on her and slapped her.
"Slap! Slap!"
Xiao Mingshu received two slaps to the face, leaving several bloody scratches on her cheeks that stung painfully. The slaps continued to fall on her body, forcing her to fight back. She grabbed Zhang Shi's wildly waving hands and kicked her in the stomach with a loud "bang!"
Zhang clutched her stomach and lower back, wincing in pain. "What are you still doing there? Come here and beat that brat to death! How dare she lay a hand on her mother! You can't raise a child who isn't your own."
The women from the second and third wives attacked together, grabbing Xiao Mingshu's arms, while Wu pinched her arms and cheeks.
"ah!"
"How dare you call yourself a traitor?"
"I haven't eaten any of your food. You're the one who ate the noodles I bought and the noodles I made."
When Wu saw that she still dared to talk back, she grabbed her hair and slapped and hit her wildly, as if she wanted to vent all the anger she had suffered on the eldest son's wife on her.
Those around couldn't bear to watch and turned their heads away.
That's terrible!
Yang cried out, "Shu'er, second sister-in-law, please stop hitting her! Shu'er is still a child. Xuanjing, Hongying, you must let her go."
Xiao Xuanjing and Ye Hongying turned a deaf ear.
When they were beaten by the eldest son's family, why didn't anyone let them off the hook?
No matter how desperately Yang shouted, no one listened to her. Her anxious gaze turned to Uncle Xiao, who stood to the side, unmoved.
"Third brother, Shu'er is your daughter. She only said a few words and didn't do anything terribly wrong. What kind of skill is it for a group of you to gang up on a little girl like her? Our grudges have nothing to do with her. Let her go. If you have any problems, come at us."
As soon as Zhang was helped up, she rushed over and slapped Xiao Mingshu twice, then grabbed her ear and pushed her towards Yang. "As expected, they are blood relatives. Mother and daughter are of one heart. You can kneel down and take the whipping with them."
"Bang!"
Yang knelt down and moved to her side, shaking her head at her, "Shu'er, take care of yourself, don't worry about us."
Suddenly, Zhang dropped a bombshell: "Officer, Xiao Mingshu is the eldest son's daughter, while Xiuning is my biological daughter. I'm going to switch my daughters back, so the one who should be whipped is Xiao Mingshu, not Xiuning."
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. Was it a case of a cat replacing the prince?
Good heavens, the melodramatic plots from storybooks are actually happening around them.
Madam Yang thought Madam Zhang was just saying things out of anger. "Third sister-in-law, what nonsense are you talking about? No matter how much you hate Shu'er, you can't disown her. Thirty lashes will kill her. Do you want your own daughter to die?"
She refused to believe that the daughter she had raised for over a decade was not her biological child.
"She is not my biological daughter. To tell you the truth, we gave birth one after the other, and both were girls. My second sister-in-law gave me a suggestion: while you were asleep after giving birth, we should send the servants away and switch the two of them."
"Why did you do this? Whether you replace them or not, they are still young ladies of the Xiao family, living in luxury and never having to worry about food or clothing."
"In order for my biological daughter to enjoy wealth and honor in the first branch of the family, your son in the first branch is the son of the Prince of Zhenbei. Everyone praises him wherever he goes, and daughters of high-ranking families are vying to marry him. Meanwhile, the sons of our second and third branches are unknown and ignored by everyone. The difference in their treatment is like heaven and earth."
Wu was also filled with resentment. "Yes! That's right. My Jing'er is also a son of the Xiao family, no less than your eldest son. Your son is surrounded by glory, while my Jing'er is like a pearl covered in dust. How can I swallow this insult?"
How does it feel, my dear sister-in-law? You treat other people's daughters like treasures, while your own daughter is being abused right under your nose. Doesn't that make you feel incredibly good? Hahaha!!!
Madam Yang shook her head. "That's not how it is. They have the backing of the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion. As long as they have the ability and ambition, Yuanshan will give them the opportunity to realize their ambitions. It's their lack of ability that makes us, the children of the eldest branch, so why blame them for being outstanding?"
Xiao Xiuning's ears were ringing after learning about her background.
It wasn't until Ye Hongying came over and untied the rattan bindings from Xiao Mingshu's body that they were able to tie her up again.
She snapped out of her daze, gripped her hand tightly, and asked, "Sister Hongying, am I really not the eldest son's daughter? I..."
Most of her pride came from being the daughter of the Prince of Zhenbei, but now she was being told that she wasn't; her father was her good-for-nothing third uncle and her shrewish third aunt, whom she had always looked down upon.
It was something she couldn't accept.
Looking at Xiao Mingshu kneeling beside her, covered in wounds, Yang's tear-streaked face was filled with guilt and heartache. "Shu'er, I'm sorry. It's my fault for being so incompetent as to not be able to protect you. I let the bad guys succeed and made you suffer for more than ten years. It's all my fault..."
“Aunt... Mother, it's not your fault. They're the ones who are wrong. I'm so glad I'm your daughter, not theirs. I'm used to it. I'm not afraid of being beaten, really..."
"Shu'er, my daughter, I'm so sorry..."
Yang rushed over, pressing his upper body against hers and resting his chin on her thin shoulders. Because his hands were tied, he couldn't hug her, so this was the only way he could get close to her.
Xiao Xuanwu, standing to the side, had tears in his eyes as he watched this scene. "So, my cousin Ming Shu is actually my fourth sister. No wonder, no wonder I always feel so close to you when we talk..."
Yan Wanshan was already impatient. "Have you said enough? Guards, begin the torture!"
Yang said to the other guards, "Officers, Master Liao and the others haven't caught up yet. My Sanlang and Xue'er have been left in the dilapidated temple by him. Please be lenient for a few more hours. If they haven't returned before dark, it won't be too late to torture them."
The other people kneeling on the ground echoed, "Officer, our family members got separated last night when it got dark. We didn't run away. If you don't believe me, you can send someone to look for them, or we can go back and look for them ourselves."
"Yes, they might be on their way."
Although they were afraid of encountering bandits, if they didn't find their loved ones, their entire family would be whipped thirty times, demoted to slavery, and sent back to the capital to be sold off. They would never be able to turn their lives around.
"Officer, please be lenient and let us go find the person. If we can't find them, it's up to you to decide what to do with them."
Although Jun'er was small, his gaze and tone were firm: "Third Uncle and Third Aunt went to fight the bandits. They didn't run away, and they will be back soon."
Wu said, "Hmph! Come back? Maybe he'll be killed by the bandits by then. I heard that the bandits of Qingfeng Village kill without blinking an eye, burn, kill, loot, and commit all kinds of evil. They're definitely dead. As for Yun Zhaoxue, with her looks, she's probably been kidnapped to be the bandit's wife by now, hahaha."
"Impossible! My third brother and sister-in-law are highly skilled in martial arts. They are so powerful, they will definitely be fine."
Yan Wanshan immediately gave the order, "Move!"
The words had barely left his mouth when a voice suddenly interrupted, "Wait!"
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