Reborn in Each Other’s Bodies: A Mother and Daughter’s Deadly Revenge - Chapter 124

All the servants in Haitang Courtyard saw that the masters of the house were divided over how to punish the Seventh Young Lady, and it seemed an argument was about to break out. Afraid of being caught in the crossfire, the servants didn’t dare listen any further.

They retreated outside the main gate early on and even closed the door behind them.

Now, only the immediate family members of the Sheng household remained in the courtyard.

Sheng Minmin faced her two “sons,” firmly stating her position.

“No matter what you say, I will not agree to send her to the White Lotus Convent!”

“If people can become docile after just a few months staying in that place, how can there not be something fishy going on?”

“If you insist on sending her there, unless you pack up Sheng Mingzhu and send her along too, I will absolutely not consent to it!”

“Mingzhu can’t go to a place like that—” said Sheng Mingjian.

“Why should Mingzhu be punished as well—” Sheng Mingyi chimed in immediately.

The two brothers were extremely tense.

To be honest, most officials and their families were shrewd people; many had long guessed that the nuns at the White Lotus Convent probably used some rough methods to discipline their guests.

They just didn’t know the methods were quite that depraved…

This was also why Sheng Minmin hadn’t previously considered sending Sheng Mingzhu to the White Lotus Convent to suffer.

Because the Sheng family would never agree to it!

Making such a suggestion would only needlessly expose her malice towards Sheng Mingzhu and arouse suspicion.

And today, she wouldn’t let Huang Yaning go to the White Lotus Convent either!

Huang Yaning was one of her major weapons, needed later to deal with Sheng Mingzhu!

She couldn’t let Sheng Mingjian disable this weapon so early!

She sharply questioned them: “Sheng Mingzhu cannot go, but your own blood sister can?”

Sheng Mingjian and Sheng Mingyi exchanged a glance. They were used to seeing their mother pay little attention to the wild girl, so they had thought sending her to the White Lotus Convent would be effortless this time.

They never expected their mother to be so protective of the wild girl, even to the point of being unreasonable for her sake!

But the brothers weren’t ones to give up easily. A look was all it took to understand each other’s silent signal.

Sheng Mingjian frowned. “Mother, how can this matter be dragged onto Mingzhu’s head?”

“Mingzhu hasn’t done anything wrong, yet she was forced to leave her family and go alone to White Horse Temple.”

He then pointed at Huang Yaning. “And she nearly beat Fifth Brother—her own elder brother—to death right here at home!”

“What she did today—even a three-year-old child picked randomly off the street would know the fault lies with her and that she must be severely punished!”

Sheng Mingyi let out a soft sigh, looking at Sheng Minmin with a seemingly wounded expression.

“Mother, I know you dote on Little Seven, but Fifth Brother is also your own son…”

“Fifth Brother is currently hoping you will ensure justice for him…”

One brother appealed to reason, the other to emotion; they were truly difficult to handle.

Sheng Minmin couldn’t act as if she completely disregarded “Sheng Mingbo’s” feelings either; that would be too suspicious.

She pretended to be conflicted, paused for a moment, and then spoke again as if compromising.

“Then… then there’s no need to make such a big production of sending her away for penitence!”

“Among siblings, occasional quarrels and fights are normal. It’s a family matter, and there’s really no need for it to spread outside…”

Quarrels?

Fights?

The brothers looked as if they were seeing their mother, who spouted such twisted logic, for the first time, utterly shocked.

“Mother, Fifth Brother was beaten until his skin split and flesh tore, he lost so much blood—how can that be considered a normal fight?”

“If you don’t punish the one responsible by sending her to a convent to reflect and suffer properly, it’s unfair to Little Five—”

Hearing the word ‘fairness’ come from Sheng Mingjian’s mouth was deeply ironic.

In both her past and present life, when had the actions of the Sheng family ever been fair or just?

Anger rose in Sheng Minmin’s heart, and she couldn’t help raising her voice.

“Don’t you talk to me about fairness!”

“What did she do wrong at birth to be swapped away?”

“She suffered so much all those years before—was that fair to her?”

“If you insist on sending her to the White Lotus Convent, my stance remains the same! Send Sheng Mingzhu along too, and exile Taoniang three thousand li away!”

“Otherwise, don’t speak to me about fairness!”

Sheng Mingjian and Sheng Mingyi were usually very good at masking their emotions, but now they were so angry they could no longer maintain their facades.

“Father, we beg you to ensure justice for Fifth Brother!”

They gave up reasoning with Sheng Minmin entirely and directly appealed to Sheng Yong for a ruling.

Sheng Yong’s face was dark and unreadable; one could only sense some displeasure, but his thoughts remained completely hidden.

Seeing that Sheng Yong didn’t speak immediately, Sheng Minmin pressed on.

“Master, they are all children of the Sheng family. We share both glory and disgrace!”

“If today’s events spread, it will harm everyone’s reputation. Since it damages our reputation, we simply shouldn’t let it spread!”

“If you don’t talk about it, and I don’t talk about it, how would outsiders ever find out?!”

“Little Seven was at fault, but we can punish her here at home just the same!”

The two brothers, Sheng Mingjian and Sheng Mingyi, never expected that their earlier tactic of using reputation to pressure their parents into punishing the wild girl…

Would now be used against them by their mother, using reputation to force them not to let the matter spread…

In the past, when their mother had disagreements with their father or with them, she usually conceded more often than not.

But today, in order to protect that wild girl, she was being so forceful!

And she was using every means at her disposal, going to great lengths!

With their mother’s attitude so resolute, their father probably wouldn’t punish the wild girl severely either…

The brothers were truly fuming inwardly, and they realized the wild girl held a much higher place in their mother’s heart than they had thought.

“Wife, the matter concerning Mingzhu was already settled conclusively. There’s no need to bring it up again in the future.”

Sheng Yong finally spoke. He then turned his gaze to Huang Yaning.

“What you did today was indeed excessive. I sentence you to choose a small courtyard for seclusion and self-reflection. You will adhere to a vegetarian diet and live in penitence for one year. Do you accept this punishment?”

Huang Yaning had already planned her retreat after beating Sheng Mingbo.

She knew she wouldn’t need to remain in “seclusion” for very long before being released.

“This daughter accepts the punishment,” she said.

Sheng Mingjian and his brother were utterly dissatisfied with this outcome, but there was nothing more they could do.

——-

Recently, Fulou in the capital became wildly popular.

If one asked why, it was probably because the storytelling master inside told tales that were too captivating.

The stories he told were precisely about the newly returned true daughter of the Sheng family and the events of her life in the countryside.

The life of the true young lady was truly “tragic beyond compare”!

The men in the capital weren’t particularly fond of listening to such pitiful stories about a young girl, but the women loved them.

One noble lady, after listening, soaked three handkerchiefs with her tears and immediately notified her close friends from her maiden days…

Then friend told friend, and soon the number of female customers at Fulou increased day by day.

The storytelling master repeated the tragic events of Sheng Seventh Young Lady’s life over and over.

The noblewomen of the capital never grew tired of it, coming daily to show their support, and often leaving Fulou with red-rimmed eyes.

Consequently, the rumors in the capital about the Sheng Seventh Young Lady being a “jinx” gradually died down, slowly transforming her into the “poor little thing” in everyone’s hearts.

Amidst this atmosphere, Fulou announced it would hold an auction.

All the items to be auctioned were from the courtyard of the Sheng family’s false daughter.