The crisp sound of slaps echoed through the room.
Qian Rong was stunned.
Everyone else was too.
No one expected Ye Qiu, with his cheerful smile, to act so decisively.
But what shocked them more was that after slapping Qian Rong three times, Ye Qiu swiftly moved to Cao Chunmei and delivered another three slaps.
Slap!
Slap!
Slap!
In an instant, half of Cao Chunmei’s face swelled up.
Ye Qiu said coldly, “I’m a petty person. Insult me, and I’ll let it slide. Insult my mom, and you’re done.”
“You bastard, you dare hit me? I’ll fight you to the death!” Cao Chunmei lunged at Ye Qiu like a madwoman.
Ye Qiu sidestepped, letting her stumble past, then whispered in her ear, “If you don’t want me to spill the beans about the agreement, you’d better behave.”
Instantly, Cao Chunmei froze as if struck by a spell, her body rigid.
Only then did Qian Rong snap out of it, yelling at Ye Qiu, “You jerk, I’ll kill you…”
“Stop!”
Qian Duoduo burst out from the shadows, stepping in front of Ye Qiu and pointing at Qian Rong, “Show some respect to my cousin, or I won’t go easy on you.”
“Qian Duoduo, you’re actually calling this bastard your cousin? Have you lost your mind? Get out of my way!”
“Qian Rong, I’m telling you, with me here today, you won’t touch my cousin unless you step over my dead body.”
Qian Duoduo stood tall and righteous, determined to protect Ye Qiu.
“Duoduo’s finally grown up,” Qian Weidong thought, touched by the scene.
Little did he know, Qian Duoduo’s stance stemmed from witnessing Ye Qiu’s ruthlessness in the capital.
When Ye Qiu got fierce, he was scarier than a demon.
Qian Duoduo cursed inwardly at Cao Chunmei and Qian Rong—provoking this demon was a death wish.
“Qian Duoduo, are you moving or not?”
“I’ll count to three. If you don’t, I’ll beat you too.”
“One, two, three!”
Qian Rong shoved Qian Duoduo aside and swung around to kick Ye Qiu from the side.
“Rong’er, stop!”
Cao Chunmei quickly blocked her, scolding with a stern face, “In front of everyone, what are you doing? Have some decency!”
Qian Rong hadn’t expected Cao Chunmei to reprimand her. Stunned, she said, “Mom, are you brain-dead from his slaps…”
Slap!
Cao Chunmei landed a hard slap on Qian Rong’s face, “Watch your mouth.”
“Ye Qiu’s your cousin, not some bastard.”
“Speak out of line again, and I’ll slap you again.”
Qian Rong clutched her face, staring at Cao Chunmei in disbelief.
The others were equally shocked.
Cao Chunmei and Qian Rong were clearly a team—why, after Ye Qiu’s slaps, was Cao Chunmei defending him?
Had she been beaten into submission?
After a pause, Qian Rong shouted at Cao Chunmei, “Mom, he hit me! Why are you taking his side? Am I still your daughter?”
“Because you’re my daughter, I have to discipline you.”
“The Qian family’s a scholarly household—where are your manners?”
“Good thing no outsiders are here. If they saw this, they’d blame me for not raising you right.”
Cao Chunmei spoke while frantically signaling Qian Rong with her eyes.
Though Qian Rong wasn’t the sharpest, she caught her mother’s cue. Snorting, she pointed at Ye Qiu, “I’ll let it go today. Next time, we’re not done.”
That’s it?
Zhu Xuemiao, still enjoying the drama, hadn’t had her fill. She jumped in with fake concern, “Sister-in-law, does your face hurt?”
“Shut up!” Cao Chunmei snapped.
Zhu Xuemiao smirked, “Fine, I try to care, and you don’t appreciate it. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.”
“Ye Qiu, if I were you, I’d give them a few more slaps to teach them a lesson.”
“Mom, can you say less?” Qian Duoduo glared at Zhu Xuemiao.
“You ungrateful brat! After some time in the capital, you dare glare at your own mother? Think your wings are strong now?” Zhu Xuemiao grabbed Qian Duoduo’s ear and dragged him off.
After dealing with Cao Chunmei and her daughter, Ye Qiu turned to Qian Bowen, “Uncle, forgive my bluntness, but those who need discipline should be disciplined.”
“Otherwise, the Qian family’s century-old scholarly reputation might crumble.”
Then he addressed Zhang Jiuling, “Sorry, Elder Zhang, for making you witness this mess.”
“Ye Qiu, let me take you to see Old Qian,” Zhang Jiuling said.
“Alright.”
With that, Ye Qiu and the others headed to the inner courtyard.
Cao Chunmei and Qian Rong stayed put. Only after Ye Qiu’s group entered the inner courtyard did Qian Rong confront her mother.
“Mom, what was that? Why’d you stop me from hitting that bastard?”
“Ye Qiu knows about the agreement,” Cao Chunmei said.
Qian Rong replied, “When Qian Jinglan signed it, that bastard was home. Isn’t it normal he’d know?”
“I mean he knows we’re after the old man’s inheritance.”
“What?” Qian Rong asked, shocked, “How does that bastard know about this?”
“I don’t know how he found out. He just threatened me—if I don’t want him spilling the beans about the agreement, I’d better behave.” Cao Chunmei fumed, “A bastard, hitting me wasn’t enough—he’s threatening me now. Unbelievable!”
“Mom, what do we do next?”
“Let’s watch and wait.”
Qian Rong growled, “That bastard hit me. I can’t swallow this!”
“You think I can?” Cao Chunmei said, “I’m over fifty—when have I ever been hit?”
“And by a bastard, no less.”
“I’d tear him apart if I could.”
Qian Rong suggested, “Mom, how about I get someone to deal with him?”
“Not yet. Don’t act rashly.”
Cao Chunmei continued, “Our main goal now is to wait for the old man to die and secure the inheritance.”
“Once it’s ours, then we’ll settle with that bastard.”
Qian Rong suddenly recalled something, “Mom, what if that other thing gets out…”
“Shut up!”
Cao Chunmei’s face turned grave. She glanced around, then whispered, “Rong’er, bury that in your gut and never mention it again.”
“If it gets out, your dad won’t forgive us, the Qian family won’t, nor will the old man’s disciples.”
“We’d end up like Qian Jinglan twenty years ago—kicked out. Worse, we might spend the rest of our lives in prison.”
“So keep your mouth shut. Don’t ever speak of it, even if you’re dying!”
