webnovelfull Chapter 426 Who Dares to Touch a Finger of His
Chapter 426 Who Dares to Touch a Finger of His
"boom!"
A muffled thud exploded on the bluestone pavement, and Xuanxiang threw the trembling Zhou Mingjian to the ground like a tattered sack.
Amidst the swirling dust, the once dashing young master of the Zhou family was now in a sorry state—his brocade robe was stained with mud, his hair was disheveled like a bird's nest, and there was still blood on the corner of his mouth.
"Ouch!"
Zhou Mingjian let out a cry of pain and curled up into a ball like a frightened quail.
His eyes were unfocused, his pupils reflecting immense fear, and his right hand was pressed tightly against his left ribs, clearly indicating that he had suffered a serious internal injury.
Several clear footprints were imprinted on his luxurious clothes, silently telling the story of the "treatment" he had previously suffered.
The others, unaware of what was happening, let out a series of low gasps of surprise.
"Jianming! My son!"
A piercing scream tore through the air.
Lu Yuxiu rushed off the chair, wearing a crimson brocade dress with gold hairpins jingling as she ran.
His once passable face was now filled with shock and anger, and his carefully drawn eyebrows were almost standing on end.
Lu Yuxiu rushed to her son's side, her bright red nail polish trembling as she traced the bloodstains at the corner of Zhou Mingjian's mouth: "Damn it! Who beat you like this? Tell your mother, and I'll get justice for you!"
Upon seeing his mother, Zhou Mingjian suddenly burst into a pig-like wail: "Mother! They're going to kill me! Save me!"
His voice was hoarse and broken, as if he had been crying and shouting for a long time.
"Who is it? Who dares to harm my son, Lu Yuxiu?"
Lu Yuxiu suddenly looked up, her gaze as sharp as a knife fixed on Xuan Ying.
The young man in black stood with his arms crossed, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips.
“It’s him!”
Zhou Mingjian pointed at Xuan Ying with trembling hands, then withdrew his fingers as if burned, and burrowed into his mother's arms like a frightened rabbit.
Enraged, Lu Yuxiu raised her nail-painted fingers and slapped Xuan Ying across the face: "You dog of a servant, how dare you hurt my son!"
A hint of mockery flashed in Xuan Ying's eyes.
Just as the slap was about to land, he moved slightly, his right hand flashing out like lightning, grabbing Zhou Mingjian by the back of his collar and pulling him up—"Slap!" The crisp sound of the slap echoed in the room.
"what!"
Zhou Mingjian let out a scream as his left cheek swelled up at a visible speed, revealing five bright red finger marks.
Lu Yuxiu was stunned. She looked at her numb hands and then at her son's swollen face, and for a moment she couldn't react to what had happened.
"My aunt has quite a bit of strength," Yuan Wanru chuckled, her face full of schadenfreude. "Zhou Jianming's screams were rather pitiful."
"Yuanshi——"
Lu Yuxiu was so angry that she trembled all over, and a few strands of her carefully styled hair fell out.
She suddenly changed her angle and swung her hand again with all her might: "I'll beat you to death, you bastard!"
A cold glint flashed in Xuan Ying's eyes. This time, he didn't even bother to dodge; he simply shifted his body slightly and loosened his grip—"Snap!"
Another resounding slap landed squarely on Zhou Mingjian's right cheek, the force so great that it knocked his head to the side, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
"Mother... please stop hitting me... it's me who's being beaten..."
Zhou Mingjian was crying and wailing, his cheeks were swollen so much that he looked like a steamed bun. Where was his usual dashing appearance?
Zhou Fang let out a suppressed laugh, while Yuan Wanru made no attempt to hide it, laughing out loud, "Well done!"
Lu Yuxiu then realized that she had hit her son's face twice. Overwhelmed with shame and anger, her face flushed red: "How dare you! I hit you, and you dared to dodge! Do you even want to work for the Lu family anymore?"
"You stand still and behave yourself!"
Xuan Ying sneered, "My master is the Crown Prince; the orders of others are none of my concern."
Yuan Wanru lightly covered her red lips with her slender white fingertips, her eyes sparkling with undisguised joy: "That's right, Xuan Ying is my husband's number one guard, and the safety of the manor cannot be separated from him."
"However, I witnessed my aunt's skill today; it's truly remarkable. It seems she loves my cousin deeply and is strict with him just as much."
She emphasized those six words, her long eyelashes trembling slightly with her soft laughter.
"That's right."
Zhou Fang, fanning herself with a round fan, chimed in, "Just two slaps, and Jianming's handsome face is swollen up like Pigsy from a New Year's painting."
She feigned surprise and covered her mouth with her fan, saying, "Sister, your strength is so great that even the butchers would be ashamed of themselves. Have you learned some kung fu while you were at your husband's house all these years?"
"It seems that your brother-in-law's concubines have been slapped quite a few times by you. You're so fierce, no wonder your brother-in-law doesn't like you."
Lu Yuxiu was examining her son's swollen and disfigured face when she heard this and abruptly turned her head, her bloodshot eyes almost bulging out of their sockets: "Zhou Fang! If you can't speak human language, sew your mouth shut!"
"Oh dear, is my little sister getting angry?"
Zhou Fang wasn't annoyed at all; instead, she laughed even harder, her fan whirring as she waved it. "I was just stating the facts, what are you getting angry about?"
"Shut up, all of you!"
Seeing her daughter and grandson being bullied like this, Old Madam Lu could no longer sit still: "Lu Jiangnian! This is your own cousin! Don't you have any respect for the law and family rules?!"
The old lady trembled with rage, her hand shaking as she pointed at Lu Jiangnian: "You wretched child! Don't you even care about blood ties? You've completely disgraced the Lu family!"
Zhou Fang chuckled calmly, "Madam, please calm down. Jiang Nian has always been very sensible in his actions."
She glanced meaningfully at Zhou Jianming, "If someone hadn't done something utterly unforgivable, things wouldn't have come to this."
"presumptuous!"
Old Madam Lu tossed a cup of tea toward Zhou Fang, nearly brushing against the hem of Zhou Fang's skirt. "No matter what, she's still family. Even if you break bones, they're still connected by tendons! Was it necessary to be so cruel in public? If word gets out, how will our Lu family ever face anyone again?"
Zhou Fang pursed her lips and said nothing more. She knew perfectly well that Zhou Jianming was no good at all.
These past few days, he's been wandering around the mansion, and whenever he sees a maid with a bit of looks, he'll make a move on her.
The Lu family has never had such a shameless person.
And that brat Lu Rong, she's so easily fooled, she was completely swayed by Zhou Jianming's sweet words.
If Zhou Jianming stays any longer, who knows what scandals the two of them might cause?
Although she disliked the concubine's daughters from her second wife's side, she couldn't just stand by and watch them disgrace the family and affect her son's marriage.
"My God—"
Lu Yuxiu suddenly collapsed to the ground, wailing loudly, her carefully styled hair falling apart. "Father! Open your eyes in heaven and see! Your daughter has no place in this Lu family anymore!"
She beat her chest and stamped her feet in frustration, kicking off one of her pearl-embroidered shoes.
Madam Lu was overcome with grief by Lu Yuxiu's crying and went forward to embrace her, weeping together.
"My poor daughter, it's all my fault for being useless and unable to protect you and Jianming."
"These bastards are probably hoping I die soon so I won't get in their way."
"Don't worry, I'll risk my old life today and I won't allow anyone to lay a finger on Jianming."