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  Han saw the old master being so ruthless and extreme, the grievances, resentment, and panic that had been suppressed for a long time suddenly erupted like a volcanic explosion. Her eyes were red with rage as she shouted at the top of her lungs: "I'll protect her then! What's it to you? Beat me too! Kill us both together, that would be perfect, just what I wanted!"

  Li Jingxian pointed at the nearly crazy Han Shi and gritted his teeth: "This is simply unreasonable."

  Han's voice was filled with hatred as she said, "What's unbearable is that when nothing's wrong, you don't care, but now that something's happened, you want to beat and kill. Do you dare say that Mingzhu has fallen to this point without any responsibility? I'm telling Li Jingxian, if he dares to touch her again today, I, Han Qiuyue, will fight him to the end." She had seen through him - Li Jingxian was a thorough scoundrel, an unfeeling and heartless hypocrite. He had driven her to desperation, so what face could she save? It would all be over with just one blow.

  Mother Jiang was anxious in her heart. If Madam didn't persuade him a bit, how could he still argue with Master? Isn't this getting more and more out of hand?

  In front of so many servants, Li Jingxian felt that his dignity as the head of the family was severely challenged. Mingzhu had made such a big mistake, making him lose face and bringing shame to the Li family. How could he not be punished? Li Jingxian flew into a rage, pointing at several servants and shouting: "Take the lady away, beat her, beat her hard! I'll see who dares to stop me!"

  Mingzhu rolled down from the stool and hid in her mother's arms, looking at her father with a frightened expression, trembling: "Mother, save me..."

  The people present were all stunned and stared at Miss Mingzhu in surprise. Earlier, Miss Mingzhu had called the lady... mother?

  Han and Li Jingxian glared at each other, not even noticing what Mingzhu had shouted. Jiang Mama's sweat dripped down like beans as she hastily intervened: "Miss, it's no use calling for your mother now, your mother is far away in Chuzhou, you'd better hurry up and kowtow to Master and admit your mistake, that's the right thing to do."

  Mother Jiang's words awakened Mrs. Han, who hugged Mingzhu and wept: "My poor Mingzhu! If your father were still alive, why would you have to rely on others and suffer such humiliation?"

  Mingzhu suddenly became clever, not pretending, thinking of her father being near yet unable to recognize him, still having to be scolded by him. The kind of grievance that came from the heart made tears roll down and she cried out in a sad voice: "Father, how can you bear to abandon your daughter, leaving your daughter in this world with no one to care for her, no one to love her? Father, why don't you just take your daughter away?! Father..."

  Li Jingxian's anger was suppressed by the repeated cries of "Dad", and he felt a sense of guilt towards Mingzhu. Due to societal pressure, not only could he not acknowledge her as his daughter, but he also deliberately kept a cold distance from her. However, because of this consideration, he couldn't overly restrict Mingzhu, and Han Shi's excessive pampering led to Mingzhu's arrogance, resulting in today's humiliation. Thinking about the mocking gazes and sarcastic words of his colleagues, Li Jingxian's anger burned uncontrollably.

  Ming then anxiously looked towards the courtyard gate, wondering why Ruoyan had gone to invite her grandmother and still hadn't returned?

  "Don't cry and yell here, living in the Li family, your uncle is like a father to you. If you make a mistake, your uncle should discipline you." Li Jingxian steeled himself, if he continued to indulge Han Shi, Mingzhu would be ruined for life.

  "Are you all deaf? Are twenty slaps enough?" Li Jingxian's face sank, and he coldly shouted.

  No one dared to disobey the old master's orders, and besides, Miss Mingzhu was not very likable on a daily basis. The old master should teach her a lesson and make her remember it for a long time. Everyone rushed forward to pull apart the lady and Miss Mingzhu.

  Han's family held onto Mingzhu tightly, but how could they resist the strong and powerful man? Jiang Mama was afraid that Madame would get hurt, so she also went to help. For a moment, the courtyard was in chaos, only making Mingzhen anxious and stamping her feet.

  "Li Jingxian, you heartless scoundrel! Don't you ever think about how today's glory and wealth were obtained? We women have suffered for years for the sake of your future title and position. You keep saying you want to repay us, is this how you repay us...?" Madam Han burst out in a fit of rage.

  Mrs. Jiang was so frightened that her soul flew away, and she hurriedly covered the lady's mouth: "Madam, the master is in a fit of rage, you'd better say a few less words..."

  Li Jingxian's face turned blue and white with rage. How dare you speak nonsense? Are you tired of living?

  "Stop it, all of you...!" The old lady was supported by Ding Ruoyan and Zhu Ma as she came over, and when she saw the scene in the courtyard, she almost fainted from anger, wanting to hit each one of them.

  Ming let out a sigh of relief, fortunately, his grandmother had arrived. This situation, except for his grandmother, no one else could calm down.

  Everyone saw that the old lady had arrived and was busy with her hands, so she retreated to one side.

  Han and Mingzhu had been tugging at each other for so long, their clothes were disheveled, their hair was messy, their faces were covered in tears, and they sat on the ground, looking extremely wretched. The old lady looked at them, her breathing became uneven again, and she burst into another fit of violent coughing.

  Li Jingxian hastily stepped forward and bowed: "Mother, how did you come here?"

  The old lady glared over: "If I hadn't come, were you going to make a big scene and hurt someone before you'd stop?"

  Li Jingxian anxiously said: "I don't dare, Mingzhu is outside and has gotten into trouble. As her aunt's husband, I should discipline her for her own good, but Qiuyue she..."

  The old lady had already heard Rouyan's general account, and she understood in her heart that Mingzhu was indeed unreasonable. No wonder Jingxian got angry. What the officials most feared was damage to their reputation. Autumn Moon had always been fond of the two children and was particularly protective of them. It was no wonder that the two wanted to rush forward, but what kind of decency was it to make a scene in front of so many servants?

  The old lady hummed coldly: "You've beaten me before, you've scolded me before, can't you just stop now?"

  Li Jingxian hung his head and didn't speak. He didn't dare disobey his mother's words, but the more he thought about it, the more he hated Han Shi for being so unreasonable.

  The old lady's gaze shifted and fell on Mingzhu, who was crying in a mess. She let out a muffled sigh and said in a low voice, "Zhu Ma, please help Miss Biao down and ask for a doctor to take a look."

  The mother nodded and signaled the two maids to help Mingzhu down.

  "What happened today, no one is allowed to talk about it outside. Anyone who talks too much will be served with a board." The old lady sternly swept her eyes around and shouted: "What are you all standing there for? Don't you still have work to do?"

  In an instant, all the servants in the courtyard had left cleanly.

  The old lady looked at Jing Xian and then at Han Shi: "You two follow me into the house." She said, leaning on her cane and entering the embroidered pavilion.

  Mrs. Jiang helped the lady up and tidied her clothes and hair for her.

  Li Jingxian glared at Han Shi fiercely and followed him in.

  Han hesitated for a moment and followed him. Earlier, in the heat of the moment, he had lost his composure, but now that he thought about it, he couldn't help feeling a little scared.

  Only Ming Zhen and his wife were left in the courtyard.

  Ming then complained, "How come you're so late? I almost lost control just now."

  Ding Ruoyan, however, was lost in thought, pondering her mother-in-law's words. Her mother-in-law and father-in-law had said that their hometown was flooded many years ago, causing them to become separated, and her father-in-law had always believed that her mother-in-law had perished, which was why he had remarried to Ye Shi. But the way her mother-in-law questioned her father-in-law just now seemed to suggest that there was more to the story than met the eye.

  It was then that he saw Ding Ruo's pale face and thought she had been frightened, so he held her shoulders and said softly, "It's all right now, nothing's wrong. Go back and rest first, I'll keep watch here for a while."

  Ding Ruoyan nodded absent-mindedly and was supported by Hong Shuang as she walked out of the courtyard.

  Someone stood in the yard sighing: "Why hasn't Second Brother come down yet today? If Second Brother were here just now, he would certainly have a way to dissuade Father."

  The old lady sent all the servants away, a pair of angry eyes almost stared a hole in the two people, and finally decided to scold her son first.

  "Now you're a high-ranking official, your power is quite considerable...you can even lay hands on your own biological daughter."

  Li Jingxian hastily said: "The son is thinking of letting her remember a bit longer."

  "Shut up! Mingzhu was wrong and deserved to be punished, but there's a limit to punishment. She's a delicate girl, not one of those tough ones. If these few slaps were to hurt her badly, I'd feel heartbroken, this old woman would feel heartbroken."

  Li Jingxian didn't think he was wrong, and for Mingzhu's mistake, beating her twenty times was still considered light. Women are just too soft-hearted, a mother's kindness can spoil the child! In his heart, he wasn't convinced, but on the surface, he didn't dare show it, putting on an honest and fearful expression to show that he was willing to accept criticism.

  Han covered his face and burst into tears.

  The old lady finished scolding her son and shifted her target, coldly and harshly saying: "Autumn Moon, I've always thought you were someone who knew what was important, that these years haven't been easy, but today, you really opened my eyes."

  "Daughter-in-law was also in a hurry, you didn't see that the heavy board hit Mingzhu's body, and the child cried so hard that she almost stopped breathing. But Master still wouldn't give in. This hurt her son and pained her heart, how could daughter-in-law not be anxious?"

  "No matter how anxious you are, you should pay attention to the degree. The words I just said, if someone with a heart hears them and knows what the consequences will be? Can't persuade Jingxian, there's still me, this old lady at home! What's the hurry? At such an old age, why can't you calm down?"

  Han's tears fell even more, and she was also regretting in her heart!

  The old lady took a deep breath and softened her tone: "Don't keep bringing up the past, it's not like Rong Xian was in the wrong back then. He was also helpless, who made the Ye family so wealthy and powerful? It was that Ye Shi who shamelessly clung to Rong Xian, not Rong Xian intentionally abandoning us mother and son. These years have been difficult, but Rong Xian hasn't forgotten about us three, always taking care of us with kindness. Finally, after all the hardships, we're reunited as a family, and there are still many good days ahead. What's the point of constantly bringing up old grievances?"

  Mrs. Han couldn't help but think to herself: "My son isn't doing this out of necessity, but rather with careful calculation. No, these past few years, my son hasn't let us go hungry or without clothes. But if it weren't for my own abilities, the one sitting in the position of Shangshu's wife would still be that Ye woman. All of this is something I've earned myself, not something my son has given me out of kindness."

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