“What!”
The moment Ziqing’s words fell, Madam Gu was the first to cry out in shock. She simply couldn’t comprehend what Ziqing meant. In all her years, she had never once heard of something so outrageous, so absurd!
She was about to speak when Gu Meiting, wild as a tigress, roared furiously, “Han Ziqing, dream on!”
“Han Ziqing, don’t push things too far! If it weren’t for Beiyue’s sake, I— I—! Whatever the case, there’s simply no such logic to this!”
Ziqing ignored them entirely and called out loudly, “Guxi, Shiliang, is the gate secured?”
The reply came not from just two voices but eight, young yet firm and resounding, ringing out loud and clear: “Secured!”
Ziqing stepped back and sat down beside Jun Beiyue, holding the Wuzheng upright, its head resting against her leg. Without hesitation, her bare hand swept across all the strings at once, the sound flowing swift and urgent, and in that same instant, several wind blades shot out from the strings, following the motion of her hand. Before anyone could recover, the guards standing in front of Gu Meiting all collapsed at once, blood bursting from their foreheads!
The Gu couple stood frozen in shock, while Gu Meiting and Gu Suying hastily retreated, backing away as far as they could, utterly terrified!
What kind of skill was this, Han Ziqing possessed!
The qin’s sound taking form, becoming wind blades—one strike, one kill!
“You… you!”
The Gu family head’s clasped hands behind his back trembled uncontrollably. This—this girl actually dared to strike first!
So young, and yet already able to conjure wind blades from the Wuzheng! Who had taught her this? And where had she even gotten hold of this Wuzheng!
Ziqing ignored their reactions entirely, fury blazing. “Bring Jiang Chen here!”
Before arriving on the island, she had only just learned to draw wind blades from the Wuzheng’s strings—wind blades channeled through the qin’s strings were naturally far more powerful than those flicked directly from a finger!
Though she’d only just worked out the technique and hadn’t yet unleashed the Wuzheng’s full power, she believed it was more than enough to protect herself and Beiyue.
The Gu family head’s internal energy was below thirty percent, and Madam Gu had lost hers entirely. Even with all the Gu family’s guards, she wasn’t afraid—worst case, both sides would suffer for it. Let it not be said the Gu couple had saved Jun Beiyue and she’d shown neither gratitude nor honor.
Before arriving on the island, her heart had been full of gratitude. She’d even considered that if Beiyue never woke, as his wife she would have a duty to shoulder the Gu family’s burdens herself—standing in for her father-in-law was only right, standing in for her husband even more so. When the year-end ranking battle for Liuxian Island’s rising talents came around, she’d resolved to take it on herself!
Though she didn’t cultivate Gu family internal energy, at the very least she could still produce the Gu family’s signature wind blades!
But the Gu family had disappointed her far too deeply!
She hadn’t wanted to fight, yet she’d been forced into it. If she didn’t clean house first, what use was it to maintain this family’s outward reputation, to preserve its standing so carefully?
It would only serve as a stepping stone for Gu Meiting and Jiang Chen—more bargaining chips for them to flaunt outside.
Even if it meant both sides suffering, she wouldn’t hesitate. Besides, if Gu Meiting had the Gu couple thoroughly cornered, then she would corner them just as thoroughly. If this dragged on, the family scandal would inevitably spread—let’s see who could hold out the longest!
In this entire affair, Gu Meiting was detestable, and the Gu couple even more so—but the true root of all this was Jiang Chen, who had been hiding, too cowardly to show his face, this entire time!
He’d had the audacity and ambition to marry into a prestigious family like the Gu’s, the ability to father a son—but not the ability to raise him. Fine, letting his wife and child live off his in-laws was one thing—but for him to move in and freeload himself as well!
Taking a step back, fine, let him freeload. As Madam Gu herself had said, one should help even a passing stranger in trouble—how much more so one’s own flesh and blood? Wealth, status, rank—none of it could be carried into death anyway, so what harm was there in sharing it with family?
Only, this family, far from showing any gratitude, had grown ever more brazen, freeloading with such audacity that they’d turned the tables entirely, acting as though they were the masters of the house, bullying the actual owners!
Taking ten thousand steps back, even that could be forgiven!
But now, after being publicly called a live-in husband, a coward, by name—as a man, Jiang Chen still lacked the courage to come forward and reason things out, lacked the dignity to step up and apologize for his wife’s behavior!
The word “coward” truly seemed to have been coined for him!
And yet, the most laughable thing of all was that this entire family—whether the Gu couple or Gu Meiting herself—still, even now, hadn’t thought to summon Jiang Chen at all!
So they wanted to protect his pride, did they? So afraid of wounding his self-respect, were they!
Today, she intended to make the Jiang couple understand this: a family’s dignity did not come from desperately concealing its scandals, from swallowing conflicts through sheer avoidance to preserve face—it came from letting others witness how the head of a household, the matriarch of a household, handled the difficulties every great family inevitably faced, and earning respect and admiration through that handling.
A person’s dignity is something they earn for themselves—not something built by wronging others, hurting others, or deceiving oneself!
“Bring Jiang Chen out here. Don’t make me say it a third time!” Ziqing’s voice rang out furiously once more, her patience wearing thin.
Madam Gu let out a sudden wail and dropped straight to her knees at Ziqing’s feet. “Qing’er, please don’t do this. If Jiang Chen were on the estate, he would have come already! He’s been busy down the mountain these past few days, he knows nothing about any of this!”
As she spoke, Madam Gu lifted her head at once, grasping Ziqing’s hand. “Qing’er, if you’re still not satisfied, if you won’t let Meiting off, then strike me instead—let me stand in for Jiang Chen! Go on, strike me!”
The Gu family head stepped forward as well. “Han Ziqing, if you insist on holding someone accountable, then fine, I’ll tell you—the responsibility lies entirely with me, the father. When a son fails to be taught properly, the father bears the blame. If that slap must be repaid, then let me be the one to take it!”
Things had come to this—Gu Meiting could be struck, but Jiang Chen absolutely could not!
If Jiang Chen had that kind of dignity, if he came forward to apologize, to take the slap himself, the Gu family would never protect him after this, not for a second.
But the crux of the matter was that Jiang Chen simply refused. And even if they dragged him here by force, how would they ever explain it to the Jiang family? It would surely become the talk of all Liuxian Island, and would surely mean divorcing Gu Meiting! Such a disgrace, the Gu family absolutely could not bear!
Even if the Gu family head himself knelt before Han Ziqing today, he would never allow that outcome to happen.
If Gu Meiting became a discarded wife, and relations with the Gu family had already soured this badly, where would that leave her, what could she possibly do?
The Gu family head did not kneel. Instead he stood upright, straight-backed, and said earnestly, “Han Ziqing, all of this is my fault. Strike me if that will ease your anger—how should I take it?”
At last, at this moment, Gu Meiting and Gu Suying rushed forward too. “Father… Mother!”
The two sisters, along with Madam Gu, all dropped to their knees before Ziqing together, clutching each other and weeping bitterly.
A moment ago, struggling free, Gu Suying had been the first to apologize—but now there was no trace of contrition in her, only endless cries of suffering, crying out on behalf of her parents.
“Father, Mother, why must you suffer so? Why is there no man to stand up for our Gu family!”
“Father, Mother, why won’t Beiyue wake up? You’ve done everything you possibly can—why doesn’t heaven see it!”
……
Gu Meiting, meanwhile, was truly frightened now. She knew perfectly well she had neither the standing nor the ability to drag her husband over to clean up this mess. She knew even better that Han Ziqing was more ruthless than she was, bolder than she was, willing to disregard the Gu family’s reputation entirely, willing to burn every bridge!
All she could do was apologize, admit fault.
“Han Ziqing, I was wrong, strike me!”
“Han Ziqing, my husband knows nothing about any of this, I’m the one who’s still down the mountain!”
“Strike me, hit me however you like, it was my fault!”
……
Ziqing looked coldly at this entire family, unable to help feeling a certain pity for them. The Gu estate’s gates were guarded so tightly—whether Jiang Chen had actually come or not, the Gu couple surely knew. They knew Jiang Chen’s character well enough; knowing she’d arrived and still not showing himself—Gu Meiting should have been able to guess as much!
And yet, even now, having come this far, they still refused to see reason!
Ziqing was resolute, yes, but resolute did not mean reckless, did not mean foolish. The elders of a great family were shrewder than old foxes.
Especially the old matriarch!
Even sobbing as though heaven and earth were collapsing, her mind remained sharp as ever—every single retreat still carefully calculated!
She could strike the guards, but she could not strike the Gu couple. She could argue loudly, curse furiously—if the Gu couple raised a hand against her, she could retaliate in kind. But now, this couple was begging her, “reasoning” with her once again!
If she struck the two elders now, she would be in the wrong regardless of the circumstances—it would undoubtedly become ammunition for the Gu couple to use against her in matters of reason and ethics going forward.
As for Gu Suying—an unmarried daughter, rightfully still a member of the Gu family, and older than Ziqing and Beiyue besides. Before her own marriage, the Gu estate was still her home. However far she pushed things, as long as it wasn’t a direct attack on Ziqing and Beiyue, the two of them had no authority to interfere with her—not until they formally took over as heads of the Gu family.
Madam Gu was still trying to set traps for her, and Gu Suying’s wailing carried hidden barbs in every word—unmistakably a deliberate attempt to provoke Ziqing!
But Ziqing was not so easily provoked.
She flung Madam Gu’s hand off harshly, and without even taking Beiyue with her, moved swiftly to the doorway. “If he won’t come, then this princess consort will go to the Jiang family herself!”
“No!” Gu Meiting cried out in alarm, turning to chase after her, only to trip and fall. Without even bothering to get up, she crawled forward instead.
Madam Gu and the Gu family head both rushed to Ziqing’s side at once. “You can’t, absolutely not!”
Ziqing scoffed coldly and stepped forward.
But at that very moment, the Gu family head finally shouted furiously, “Gu Meiting! Go bring Jiang Chen here to apologize and admit his fault, or else—or else—or else don’t call me your father anymore!”
The moment the words left his mouth, a sudden silence fell. All the crying stopped at once.
The corner of Ziqing’s mouth curved into a cold smile. She stopped where she was. She understood at once—once Gu Meiting was severed from the Gu family, all the family grievances would be settled, and she would have no more reason to go after the Jiang family.
Her conflict with Gu Meiting today would become purely a private matter.
Gu Meiting stood frozen in shock, turning to look at Madam Gu, who bit her lip, unable to say a word.
If Gu Meiting went to persuade Jiang Chen, that was one thing. But if the two elders themselves stepped in, that would be outright coercion!
They could no longer stall Han Ziqing—they had no choice but to force Gu Meiting’s hand, hoping only that she could convince Jiang Chen not to let this escalate any further!
“Are you going or not!” the Gu family head bellowed again, suddenly.
Gu Meiting went pale with fright and scrambled up at once. “I’ll go, I’ll go!”