Reborn in Each Other’s Bodies: A Mother and Daughter’s Deadly Revenge - Chapter 106

“First, you fail to distinguish between kin and outsider.

“Your own blood sister had a minor conflict with a thief who stole her nest, yet you all rushed to help the thief while threatening and showing hostility toward your real sister! Your attitude was appalling!

“As elder brothers, behaving like this—do you not deserve punishment?”

“Second, you have defied your father.

“The matter of Haitang Courtyard was already settled by your father’s punishment. For you to punish her further or cause her trouble shows disrespect toward your father and is an act of defiance and filial impiety.”

“Third, all of you were at fault in today’s incident. I am your mother, and I treat all my children equally. Since she is being punished, naturally, you should be punished too!”

Sheng Minmin spoke with clear logic and reason. After she finished, Qingtian and the ten matrons breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the Madame was clearly biased toward their young lady.

Sheng Mingjian listened, then lowered his eyes, making it impossible to discern his emotions.

Sheng Mingyi’s gaze deepened, lost in unknown thoughts.

Only Sheng Mingbo pressed his lips into a stubborn line, looking utterly wronged and on the verge of tears.

He spoke up again, somewhat defiantly, “But… little sister… Mingzhu was bullied so badly by her! She’s too malicious!”

Sheng Minmin looked at Huang Yaning, signaling her to explain herself.

Huang Yaning was silent for a moment, then rolled up her sleeves, revealing two slender forearms covered in scars of varying depths.

These injuries looked truly horrifying on a young girl. Someone gasped in shock.

Everyone looked at the newly returned young lady with immense sympathy.

Sheng Mingbo’s eyes also widened in shock.

“I was treated like livestock by the Feng family since I was a child, frequently beaten and punished for no reason. Several times, I was nearly beaten to death. There are many more scars like this on my body—

“If it weren’t for the kind-hearted villagers in Taohua Village, I might have been beaten to death, starved, or frozen to death long ago. I wouldn’t have survived until today—”

As Huang Yaning spoke, she remembered the suffering Minmin had endured, and tears began to fall freely.

Some of the servants also started wiping their eyes.

“I suffered so much because of Tao Niang and Sheng Mingzhu. Was it wrong for me to vent my anger by beating her up?”

Sheng Mingbo stammered, “But… you didn’t have to be so ruthless…”

Huang Yaning wiped the tears from her face and sneered, “How was I ruthless? Was I crueler than her entire family?

“And who knew she’d be so fragile? She should blame her own luck for being swapped into this mansion to live as a young lady.

“If not for her great fortune, she should have been doing farm work in Taohua Village. Farm girls are strong—how could someone like me, who’s had a bitter life, injure her so easily?”

Sheng Mingbo: “…”

Her words were so convoluted they made his head spin. He felt inexplicably angry but didn’t know how to refute her.

Some servants stifled their laughter, thinking this new young lady was indeed sharp-tongued and held grudges.

Beside them, the killing intent in Sheng Mingjian’s heart was almost uncontrollable.

Today, Mother had made it clear she was protecting that wild girl. Claiming to treat everyone equally was a joke—the servants weren’t fools.

Even if the wild girl received ten strokes, they would definitely be light taps. But his and Fifth Brother’s punishments would be different.

Moreover, letting the wild girl continue to win the servants’ sympathy and affection would only bring him harm, not benefit.

He took a deep breath, interrupting the atmosphere Huang Yaning had dominated in the room.

“Mother, I am willing to accept punishment!

“However, the servants of Lihua Courtyard dared to lay hands on their masters—they should be punished too!”

What nonsense!

Huang Yaning really wanted to shout this and slap Sheng Mingjian across the face.

Having lived two lives, she understood all too well how crucial it was to have the servants’ loyalty when living in the inner quarters.

If she had had a few loyal helpers in her previous life, she wouldn’t have ended up dying so miserably in the end…

Sheng Mingjian was playing his schemes well, but she would have to see if she agreed!

Huang Yaning knew she couldn’t leave any verbal loopholes now; otherwise, she’d just be giving Sheng Mingjian more ammunition.

She suppressed her anger and said, “Big Brother, what nonsense are you talking?

“You were the one who barged into the ancestral hall first. You were also the one who sent two servants to tie me up later—

“Even though I grew up in a village, I know men and women should maintain distance. You sent two male servants to tie me up… What were you thinking?

“If word got out, how could I ever show my face again?

“You were trying to force me to my death! That’s why I lost my temper and hit you in the heat of the moment—

“I was the one who hit you! It has nothing to do with them!

“If you insist on punishing my people, then let’s chop off both hands of those two wretched servants—”

Huang Yaning pointed at Gaoshan and Jingxing. The two were already pale as sheets, with beads of cold sweat dripping from their foreheads—

The other servants finally reacted. Indeed, too many things had happened in a very short time, and their minds had been too muddled.

The young master had indeed ordered his personal servants to tie up the young lady.

Thankfully, they hadn’t actually touched her. If the young lady had been tied up by two male servants, what would be left of her reputation if it got out…

To put it bluntly, wasn’t that no different from forcing her to her death?

Feeling the servants’ strange looks, Sheng Mingjian clenched his fists inside his sleeves, gritting his teeth so hard he feared he might spit blood.

He had wanted Mother to punish the servants of Lihua Courtyard for two reasons: first, to provoke the wild girl and seize leverage over her.

Second, he wanted to create discord between the wild girl and the servants, leaving her with no one to use in the future.

He never expected the wild girl to be so sharp-witted. Not only did she avoid his traps, but she also found a handle against him.

He had planned it all: during the chaos, he had Gaoshan and Jingxing seize the chance to tie up the wild girl.

These rough matrons rarely attended to the young lady closely. By the time they realized something was wrong, Gaoshan and Jingxing would have already succeeded.

And this wild girl, raised in the countryside, how would she know the strict rules regarding separation between men and women in wealthy families?

He never expected the wild girl to erupt with such fierce momentum, instead intimidating his men instead.

Now, all his schemes had failed, and the wild girl had turned the tables on him.

Sheng Minmin, sitting above and watching the drama, was utterly pleased inwardly, but on the surface, she pretended to be furious. She smoothly picked up a tribute pear from nearby and hurled it at Sheng Mingjian’s head.

“You wretched Sheng Mingjian, you beast!

“How dare you do such a thing to your own sister? Are you so eager for your real sister to die, just to make way for your fake sister?”

Sheng Mingbo hurriedly pleaded for mercy, “Mother, Big Brother must have been beside himself with anxiety! He didn’t mean to harm her—”

“Whether it was intentional is hard to say! After all, none of you like your real sister—you only like the impostor!”

This was almost nailing Sheng Mingjian to the pillar of shame for ruining his own sister’s reputation.

If this got out, Sheng Mingjian’s reputation would most likely be ruined. A sense of defeat washed over Sheng Mingjian.

“Mother, I really wasn’t in my right mind at the time…”

Who knows what resolve it took him? He forced an apologetic smile toward Huang Yaning.

“Little sister, I was wrong earlier. I apologize to you—”

Huang Yaning looked directly at his face. The apology on his surface seemed sincere, but the depths of his eyes were icy cold.

Her heart chilled. “Big Brother, I have a weak constitution and can’t withstand ten strokes. If you truly feel sorry, why don’t you take those ten strokes for me?”

The muscles on Sheng Mingjian’s face seemed to twitch before he said, “Fine. I’ll take the ten strokes for you, as my apology.”

Huang Yaning nodded faintly. “Thank you, Big Brother.”

In the end, Sheng Mingjian received thirty heavy strokes, and Sheng Mingbo received twenty.

Gaoshan and Jingxing each received forty heavy strokes. When they were carried away, the clothes on their backs were soaked through with blood.

Sheng Minmin ordered the house physician to tend to their injuries before returning to her own courtyard.

Qingtian and the matrons also helped Huang Yaning back to Lihua Courtyard.

After today’s events, all the servants of Lihua Courtyard were determined to follow Huang Yaning wholeheartedly!

Naturally, the events in the ancestral hall quickly spread throughout the Sheng residence.

Everyone had thought the three young masters were going to cause trouble for the new young lady, and that she would surely be the one to suffer.

Who could have guessed that in the end, it was the three young masters who came out worse?

The eldest and fifth young masters were beaten by the new young lady with a feather duster. Later, after the Madame arrived, both young masters were punished with paddle strokes.

In the end, all three young masters had to be carried out.

The eldest and fifth young masters were carried out face down, while the third young master coughed until he passed out and was carried away lying down.

It was said that the Madame was heartbroken over the discord between her children. She returned to Peony Courtyard, fell ill, and put out word that she needed rest and quiet.

When Concubine Bai in Qinglian Pavilion heard all this, she laughed so hard she could barely straighten up.

After this night, the status of Lihua Courtyard rose sharply.

But many undercurrents were swirling beneath the surface, invisible to ordinary people.