This is…

Nanny Yuan was stunned. She had never been to the Marquis Dingxi’s residence before – this was her first time. Apart from the Marchioness, she didn’t recognize anyone else.

The woman before her was truly a great beauty.

They all said that Marquis Dingxi was lustful and that the concubines and servants he kept were all stunning beauties.

So was this woman one of Marquis Dingxi’s beauties?

Chang Chunlan also heard this sound of laughter. She looked over with tear-blurred eyes. Somehow, seeing this woman’s smiling face, she felt her mind grow hot and her heart skip a beat…

“This lady…” After a moment of shock, Nanny Yuan came to her senses and looked over with a somewhat smiling expression. “I’m from the Liu family, the eldest miss’s in-laws…”

Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted.

“Steward!” Qi Yue suddenly called out loudly.

The steward, who had been hiding somewhere, immediately ran out.

“Are all the people in our household dead?” Qi Yue said with a dark expression as she looked at him.

The steward trembled – being as shrewd as he was, how could he not understand what this meant?

“Young Madam, this is… the Marquis ordered…” He hesitated and explained in a low voice.

Before he could finish speaking, he was spat at.

“Que Zhi.” She no longer looked at the steward and called out.

Que Zhi responded and walked toward Nanny Yuan with a smile.

“So this sister is the Young Madam…” Nanny Yuan had heard the steward’s form of address just now. Her face was full of surprise – surprised that this Young Madam was actually such a beauty. Then her expression turned disdainful. Oh, so this was that beggar Young Madam who was despised by the entire household…

Just as the disdain began to show on her face, she saw the pretty maid who had walked up to her raise her hand.

Slap! A crisp sound rang out.

Everyone on the ground was stunned. Apart from Chang Chunlan and Yan’er’s crying, there was no other sound.

Then came two more slaps – slap, slap.

Nanny Yuan finally came to her senses from the beating, covered her face, and let out a wail.

The young girls didn’t have much strength, but they still managed to make Nanny Yuan’s face turn purple and blue instantly.

“Consider yourself lucky.” Que Zhi looked at her own hands. The long nails she had originally cultivated had all been cut off because she needed to study medicine. Otherwise, these three slaps would definitely have drawn blood.

How could one be worthy of being someone’s maid if one beat people without drawing blood?

“You little hussy!” Nanny Yuan cried out in shock, anger, shame, and pain. “You little hussy! I…”

She raised her hand and swung it toward Que Zhi.

Que Zhi had already run several steps toward Qi Yue’s direction.

“Steward.” Qi Yue called out coldly. “Take a breath and let me have a look.”

This Young Madam’s way of speaking was really… interesting. She truly had the demeanor of our household’s young wastrel master…

The steward swallowed.

“Someone come!” he shouted while waving his hand.

Immediately there were answering voices, and seven or eight servants rushed out.

Qi Yue found it very strange how these people seemed to suddenly emerge from underground. Where had they all been hiding? To be unseen yet able to respond to summons at any time – it really wasn’t easy.

“Bold servant, how dare you offend our Young Madam! Throw her out!” the steward said with authority.

The servants responded in unison and surged toward Nanny Yuan and the others like fierce demons.

Wasn’t it said that this beggar daughter-in-law was worse than a servant in the household?

How was this anything like being worse than a servant? She was clearly more in charge than the Marquis himself!

“Young Madam, Young Madam.” Another nanny became anxious and quickly bowed. “We are from the young lady’s in-laws. We came specially to take the young lady back. The Marquis was also informed.”

The other servant women also hurriedly echoed her words.

Qi Yue, wrapped in her cloak, maintained the same posture throughout, her expression light with a faint smile.

“Is that so?” she said. “So you’re from my elder sister’s in-laws?”

Her gaze fell on Nanny Yuan, who was covering her face with an indignant expression.

“I thought kidnappers and thieves had entered our house.” Qi Yue smiled, looking at the maids on both sides and the steward. “But then I thought, no, that’s not right. Even kidnappers and thieves wouldn’t be so brazenly arrogant, acting as if all the people in our household were dead…”

The steward and servants felt their faces burn with shame from this slap and didn’t dare raise their heads.

The women from the Liu family finally reacted. Their expressions were also surprised. What? From the sound of it, was she going to stand up for justice?

“Young Madam, you’ve misunderstood. It was your Marquis who personally ordered the young lady to be beaten…” Nanny Yuan couldn’t help herself and stepped forward with a cold laugh.

“Misunderstood your head!” Qi Yue suddenly raised her voice, and her face lost its smile. She threw off her cloak and pointed at her with her hand. “What kind of thing are you! How dare you push and beat your own master?”

This sudden change of expression from the beauty stunned everyone.

Chang Chunlan stopped crying and looked at Qi Yue in disbelief.

She… what did she say?

“Beat someone? Hiding and beating so we can’t see and have to suffer in silence – that would be one thing. But to actually beat someone openly in our house in front of people! There’s no such way to bully people! Reasons? Misunderstandings? Stop wasting my time with nonsense! Our family’s young lady, no matter how bad she might be, has us to discipline her. When is it ever the turn of a servant to lay hands on her? Don’t even mention a servant woman – even if your Liu family’s old master came himself, let him try touching half a finger of our family’s young lady! This is truly unbearable! This is a slap in the face!” Qi Yue reached out and patted her own face, then looked at the steward. “When people have slapped us in the face like this, what are you all standing around for? Waiting for them to kick us too? Are you men or not?”

The steward and others came to their senses. The servants fiercely grabbed those servant women, one in each hand, and threw them toward the door, competing to prove that they were indeed men.

“Young Madam, Young Madam, you can’t do this…”

“Young Madam, we were sent by the old master to fetch someone. If you do this, don’t you want the young lady to return?”

Nanny Yuan was pushed down to the ground by a servant who was striving to prove himself. She had never been so humiliated in her life. She jumped up in anger and shouted.

“Find seven or eight people to escort these people back, and while you’re at it, ask the Liu family what they mean – whether this is servants bullying masters or something else. If our young lady did nothing wrong, then she’s suffered this humiliation for nothing, and we really can’t feel at ease letting her return. If there’s something inappropriate, please point it out so we can properly educate her and avoid bringing shame to our Marquis’s household at her in-laws’.” Qi Yue ignored them and turned to give instructions to the steward.

“Young Madam, rest assured. I’ll personally go to the Liu family to ask,” the steward said loudly.

Qi Yue looked at him with a half-smile.

“Oh my, Steward, you’re really brave. You’ve even scared me,” she said.

This sarcasm was well-delivered! The steward’s face burned with shame as he lowered his head, not daring to say half a word, watching as Qi Yue walked away.

“Why aren’t you quickly preparing the horses?” the steward shouted with full masculine vigor while straightening his fur coat.

Excellent! From now on, even when the Prince isn’t home, there would be a man to support the household…

The steward thought with satisfaction.

Here, Qi Yue helped Chang Chunlan to her feet and also reached out to help Yan’er up.

Before Chang Chunlan could speak, Yan’er threw herself into Qi Yue’s arms. Chang Chunlan was startled and hurriedly tried to pull her daughter away.

“Oh my precious one, look at you, you were frightened, weren’t you?” Qi Yue immediately crouched down to be at eye level with Yan’er, speaking with a face full of heartache. “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Auntie is here. If someone hits you, Auntie will hit them back.”

After all this crying and commotion, Yan’er’s face veil had already fallen off. Chang Chunlan watched as her daughter, who was despised by everyone, was held in the arms of the brightly dressed Young Madam. Snot and tears stained her sleeves, yet she didn’t mind at all, smiling and calling her “precious,” using a handkerchief to wipe her daughter’s face – that terrifying face…

Precious – she had never known that her daughter could be called that even once. Even if she died now, she wouldn’t have lived in vain…

Chang Chunlan covered her face and began to cry.

When they heard that Qi Yue had thrown out the Liu family’s people and stopped Chang Chunlan and Yan’er from leaving, soon everyone in the household knew. Apart from Madam Xie and the other masters who were shocked, the others had no particular reaction, because this Young Madam’s actions had already shocked them so many times that they had become numb to it.

“The Young Madam threw out the Liu family’s servant women…”

“Oh. Really?”

The servants’ question and answer were in bland tones. Perhaps for them, it would be shocking if the Young Madam didn’t do this.

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

In Madam Xie’s room, Madam Xie was in a towering rage, glaring at Qi Yue and shouting.

Marquis Dingxi sat to one side drinking tea.

“Lower your voice. Yueniang doesn’t know what’s going on,” he said hurriedly.

Such behavior! Madam Xie looked at Marquis Dingxi with indignation.

“A married daughter is like spilled water – she belongs to the Liu family. Returning without permission, staying beyond the allotted time – her in-laws have grounds to divorce her!” Madam Xie took a deep breath and continued glaring at Qi Yue. “What are your intentions? Do you think you’re helping your elder sister? You’re harming her! Have you gone mad from wanting to show off?”

“But they were beating people. Even a servant woman dared to treat elder sister that way. What kind of life must elder sister be living at home day to day?” Qi Yue said with an incredulous expression.

“Whatever kind of life she’s living, it’s her own life. It’s not your place to interfere. Now look what you’ve done – you’ve driven them away. What if the Liu family divorces her?” Madam Xie shouted angrily.

“Divorce her?” Qi Yue laughed. “My heavens, they still have the face to talk about divorce? If they don’t provide an explanation, they shouldn’t expect elder sister to return. What divorce? It’s not their turn to divorce anyone!”

Madam Xie was so angry she laughed, full of mockery.

“Marquis, do you hear what she’s saying? I’m not going to manage this matter. You can figure out how to explain to the Liu family yourselves,” she said with a cold laugh.

Marquis Dingxi reluctantly put down his teacup with a helpless expression.

“Yueniang, you shouldn’t have interfered in this matter.” He shook his head, then, afraid that Qi Yue might get angry, quickly continued, “It’s fine, don’t worry. I’ll have someone escort Chunlan back right away and say a few nice words. We’ll treat this as if it never happened.”

“Marquis, I’ve already sent the steward to the Liu family. As I said, if they don’t provide an explanation, they shouldn’t dream of taking elder sister back,” Qi Yue said.

At these words, Marquis Dingxi was also dumbfounded.

“When did that rascal leave? Why didn’t he tell me?” he couldn’t help but shout.

“Qi Yueniang, do you have any respect for your elders? Do you think you’re the one running this household?” Madam Xie shouted in shock and anger.

Marquis Dingxi paced back and forth anxiously, muttering “This is terrible, this is terrible.”

“That old man from the Liu family is still looking for an excuse to make trouble, and now we’ve handed it to him on a silver platter…” he murmured.

Madam Xie grabbed a teacup and threw it at her.

Qi Yue frowned and dodged it.

“What are you doing?” she asked Madam Xie.

Madam Xie was frustrated by her question.

“You’re asking me what I’m doing? What have you done?” she stood up and demanded angrily.

“I know what I’ve done.” Qi Yue looked at her calmly. “She’s the Liu family’s daughter-in-law, she’s a married daughter, but she’s not spilled water. As long as she bears the surname Chang for one day, she’s a person of the Chang family of Marquis Dingxi’s household. Since she’s a Chang family person, we are one family. What does it mean to be one family?”

She looked at Madam Xie and then at Marquis Dingxi.

“One family means that when you see a family member being bullied, you don’t ask for reasons, don’t ask for causes, don’t ask about right or wrong – you step out first to protect them.”

Outside in the corridor, all three young ladies were there. When they heard these words, Chang Chunlan’s tears, which had never stopped, fell even more like rain.

Family…

Could she really be family too…?

The Second Miss stood transfixed, feeling only a roaring in her head.

Family…

In her daze, she heard the crying nearby grow louder and turned to see that the Third Miss was also crying.

“Why are you crying?” she couldn’t help asking in a low voice.

The Third Miss shook her head, wiping her tears haphazardly with her handkerchief.

“I don’t know, I don’t know either. I just want to cry…” she sobbed.

So this was the kind of person she was…