Reborn in Each Other’s Bodies: A Mother and Daughter’s Deadly Revenge - Chapter 104

Outside the ancestral hall, the three legitimate sons of the Sheng household had gathered.

Sheng Mingyi had been carried over on a soft couch by servants.

His health had deteriorated significantly this year. He wanted to attend the academy, but his mother forbade it.

She insisted he recuperate fully first, sending him tonics regularly and confining him to his courtyard, forbidding him from going out.

The servants in his courtyard also attended to him with extreme care and rarely ventured out.

This meant Sheng Mingyi heard the news that “the younger sister he grew up with wasn’t his biological sister” very late.

The shock of it caused him to faint on the spot. It was chaos before he finally woke up.

When he came to and saw the grim expressions on the servants’ faces, he demanded answers sternly and was met with another piece of terrible news.

His younger sister had had her leg broken by that wild girl?! Her face and scalp were injured too…

And Father hadn’t beaten that wild girl? He just lightly punished her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall?

If he hadn’t had a ginseng slice under his tongue, he might have fainted again from the overwhelming agitation.

Sheng Mingyi was clever. Although Magistrate Jiang was still investigating, he could tell from his father and mother’s attitudes that the wild girl was undoubtedly the true Sheng legitimate daughter.

But was blood relation really that important?

To him, Mingzhu, whom he had watched grow up, was his younger sister.

He would not allow anyone to harm his Mingzhu, even if that person was his biological sister by blood.

So, he didn’t go to Haitang Courtyard to see his younger sister. Mingzhu loved beauty so much; she probably wouldn’t want him to see her in such a wretched state. His presence might upset her.

But if he went to teach that wild girl a painful lesson, Mingzhu would surely be delighted.

Therefore, Sheng Mingyi summoned all the servants from his courtyard and had them carry him to the ancestral hall.

He arrived just as his furious eldest and fifth brothers rushed over.

Standing guard outside the ancestral hall were Qingtian and over ten stout matrons.

These ten matrons were strong and sturdy, like small mountains of flesh. Sheng Mingjian and Sheng Mingbo had each brought only two personal attendants.

Although Sheng Mingyi had brought over a dozen people, his servants were no match for those ten matrons.

So, even though the three brothers had more people, they couldn’t force their way in immediately.

Lamps had already been lit inside the ancestral hall. Rows of candle flames filled the room with a soft, gentle light.

But in the center of the room, kneeling upright on a prayer cushion was Huang Yaning, her posture ramrod straight, emanating an icy chill.

Huang Yaning’s eyes were like two small knives, fixed on the ancestral tablets before her.

To an uninformed onlooker, it might seem as if the newly returned young lady wasn’t being punished by kneeling, but rather challenging the Sheng family ancestors.

The two elderly women who guarded the ancestral hall year-round were inwardly terrified of the new young lady.

But they also felt she was pitiable. They themselves had been children from poor families.

Just seeing the newly returned young lady’s tattered clothes, dry, yellowish hair, and rough skin told them she had suffered immensely outside. No wonder she sought trouble with the Sixth Young Miss upon her return.

If they were in her place, they’d want to tear the Sixth Young Miss apart too.

“What’s going on outside?” Huang Yaning asked, though she could guess who it was.

The women reported cautiously.
“Young Lady, the Eldest Young Master, the Third Young Master, and the Fifth Young Master are outside. They seem very angry and want to barge in—”

Huang Yaning slowly rose to her feet, a cold smile playing on her lips. She wanted to see her three “wonderful sons” too.

“Let them in.”

The two women exchanged a glance, seeing worry in each other’s eyes, but they were merely servants. Gritting their teeth, they went to open the door.

Shortly after, the door creaked open from the inside.

The impulsive Sheng Mingbo was the first to charge in. He saw a little girl of about seven or eight, who looked like a beggar, sitting in an official’s armchair before the ancestral tablets.

Her features strongly resembled their mother’s. Sheng Mingbo instantly understood this was his biological sister. A strange feeling rose in his heart.

But he immediately thought of his younger sister’s tragic state and found himself unable to like this blood sister at all.

“So you’re the country bumpkin? How dare you bully my younger sister? Who gave you the nerve?

“Listen up! Shave your head right now and go kneel by my younger sister’s bed, slapping yourself. Don’t stop until she wakes up and forgives you!”

Looking at her youngest son’s vicious expression, Huang Yaning felt a sense of surrealism, as if a lifetime had passed.

When his words registered, her fists clenched so tight her nails dug into her palms. She had an impulse to break Sheng Mingbo’s arms and legs.

“And if she wakes up and refuses to forgive me?” Huang Yaning forced the words out through gritted teeth.

Sheng Mingbo blurted out without thinking, “Then you never get up!

“You ruined my younger sister’s leg, made her a cripple! You should pay her back with both of your legs—”

His words sent Huang Yaning’s rage skyrocketing. She slammed her palm on the armrest and demanded furiously,
“She stole my identity! She stole my family! She made me live as a peasant girl, living like an animal for seven years! What will she use to compensate me?”

Sheng Mingbo had never considered these questions. Moreover, the little girl in the chair, when she lost her temper, vaguely reminded him of his mother’s past anger. He faltered, speechless.

Just then, Sheng Mingjian’s voice sounded from the doorway.
“How can you blame Mingzhu for what happened to you? Mingzhu was just an infant in swaddling clothes back then; she knew nothing about it.

“Mingzhu has been kind and likable since childhood. Her coming to our family proves she is a lucky star.

“And you, with your vicious methods and repulsive nature, ending up outside shows you have a bitter fate. Heaven destined you for this trial.

“If you want to blame anyone, blame your own bad luck!”

Sheng Mingjian’s eyes were icy, a cold, mocking twist to his lips.

Sheng Mingyi, who was being carried in, wore an expression full of disgust, clearly in complete agreement with Sheng Mingjian’s words.

Huang Yaning felt as if invisible, sharp daggers were stabbing into her body.

She wanted to scream her agony to the heavens.

So, in the hearts of these three ungrateful wretches, Sheng Mingzhu was naturally blessed. Her usurpation of Minmin’s life was the result of good fortune.

And her Minmin, who had everything stolen, could only blame her own inherently bitter fate?

What kind of bullshit, bandit logic was this?

From her previous dreams, Huang Yaning already knew these three ingrates had never treated Minmin as a sister.

But facing them directly now, she realized just how bad it actually was…

The three Sheng brothers not only didn’t treat Minmin as a blood sister, they treated her worse than a stranger.

Even the two old women guarding the hall had felt a sliver of sympathy for her, but these three…

She felt something trace a path down her cheek. Her fingers instinctively went to touch it. It was a tear. A scalding hot tear…

Simultaneously, an infinite feeling of desolate sorrow welled up inside her. Huang Yaning instinctively closed her eyes briefly, not wanting anyone to see through her inner thoughts.

“Gaoshan! Jingxing! Go tie her up! Take her to Haitang Courtyard to apologize to Mingzhu!” Sheng Mingjian issued the order.

This was the final straw for Huang Yaning. Her eyes snapped open, and she roared, “How dare you!”

Her eyes were full of frost and a kind of heart-palpitating madness, making Gaoshan and Jingxing hesitate to step forward.

“Sheng Mingjian, you are merely the Eldest Legitimate Son of the Sheng family! You are not yet the Master of this house! It is not your place to decide things here!

“Father only punished me to kneel in the ancestral hall. What gives you the audacity to try and inflict private punishment on me?”

Huang Yaning pointed at Sheng Mingjian and scolded. Having been the mistress of a household in her past life and even granted an honorary title before her death, she carried an imposing aura of authority that momentarily silenced any rebuttal.

“Qingtian! You and the matrons, tie those two up for me!”

Qingtian and the ten matrons had entered the ancestral hall right after the door opened. They had been fuming upon hearing the Young Masters’ words.

Qingtian, however, was somewhat hesitant. Tie up the Eldest Young Master and the Fifth Young Master? Such an audacious act was something she had never done before.

But the ten matrons were fearless. They remembered the Madame’s words clearly: unless the Young Lady ordered them to kill someone, they were to carry out any other command immediately.

So, upon hearing the Young Lady’s order, they rolled up their sleeves and stepped forward.

Seeing the matrons being so “proactive,” Qingtian gritted her teeth and charged forward too!