After being slapped, Jiang Cen sat on the ground and started to cry. When he was out of breath, he pointed at Jiang Mengzhen and said, "Why don't you arrest them quickly?"
Hao Cheng quickly stepped forward to protect her husband: "The eldest brother is like a father. My husband is teaching his disobedient sister a lesson. Who dares to interfere?"
When Hao Cheng and Jiang Mengzhen came over, there were many people following them. Even if she didn't protect him, these people couldn't do anything to Jiang Mengzhen.
She didn't think too much about it, she just subconsciously stood in front of Jiang Mengzhen.
Jiang Mengzhen held her hand tightly, then remembered that this hand was used to catch the marbles thrown by Jiang Cen, so he subconsciously loosened his grip a little, leaving only his index finger clasped with hers, for fear of hurting Hao Cheng.
Jiang Cen is the young master of the mansion. Although Jiang Mengzhen is married, he is still the master, and the legitimate son.
What Hao Cheng said was not wrong. Jiang Mengzhen was the elder, and Jiang Cen was the first to hit them with marbles. As an older brother, he did have the right to discipline his disobedient sister.
For these reasons, her words seemed very effective. As soon as she finished speaking, the maids froze in their movements.
Jiang Mengzhen just glanced at those people calmly. The maids felt an inexplicable chill on their backs and unconsciously took two steps back.
Seeing that the servants had no reaction and were still afraid of the two men, Jiang Cen howled even louder. Even if the housekeeper wanted to comfort her, she couldn't comfort her master if he really started crying.
Zhang, who was in the inner house, heard the earth-shaking cry and came out. Knowing that her cheap stepson was coming back, she had intentionally left Jiang Mengzhen alone today, but when she heard her precious daughter crying, she hurried out.
As soon as he came out, he didn't bother to confront Jiang Mengzhen, but went to check on Jiang Cen's condition first. Of course, he saw the huge slap mark on her face at a glance.
Children's skin is relatively delicate. Jiang Cen's face was swollen after Jiang Mengzhen slapped her. In addition, she cried so hard that her tears and snot were running, and she looked as miserable as could be.
Zhang immediately glared at Jiang Mengzhen and asked the maid beside her: "Who hit Ah Cen just now?"
He didn't think about Jiang Mengzhen, but just thought that it was the maids and guards he brought with him who did it.
Jiang Cen pointed at Jiang Mengzhen and said, "Dad, he hit me! Help me beat him!"
Zhang was stunned for a moment, her eyes went straight through Jiang Mengzhen and stared at the guards behind him for a while. Not knowing who her daughter was referring to, she asked softly: "A Cen, tell me, who was the one who hit you just now?"
Jiang Cen covered his face with his hands and kept shedding tears, shouting: "It was that man, he beat me!"
Zhang's face turned stern again, and she said unhappily, "A Cen, be good and don't lie!"
Based on his understanding of Jiang Mengzhen, the latter would not do it himself. To put it bluntly, he and Jiang Cen were trash in Jiang Mengzhen's eyes. Beating Jiang Cen would dirty his hands. With servants around, he would definitely let others do it for him.
Jiang Cen really didn't lie this time, so she cried even harder. As she was crying and talking, she even hiccuped: "I didn't lie, he was the one who hit me!"
The butler next to her looked embarrassed: "Young Master really didn't lie, she was indeed hit in the face by the eldest master."
Zhang turned to Jiang Mengzhen, who took out another new handkerchief from his sleeve, wiped his hands, and handed it to the servant beside him to throw away.
After wiping his hands, he raised his head and met Zhang's face: "Don't be angry, I just found that the servants in this mansion were ignorant and didn't watch Ah Cen, allowing her to play marbles at the guests. It's also my fault. If it was another distinguished guest, I'm afraid my sister's life would be in danger. You are not in good health, so as your brother, I will discipline her."
Jiang Cen liked to play with slingshots, and Jiang Min loved her only daughter so much that she specially hired the best craftsman to make a slingshot for her using cow horns and marbles using gold so that she could play with it every day.
Zhang doted on her daughter even more. Seeing her wife like this, she would not try to stop her and just let Jiang Cen be happy.
On weekdays, if Jiang Cen hit a servant, Jiang Min would compensate the servant. Some servants who were only interested in money would stand there and let Jiang Cen do whatever she wanted.
He knew his daughter's personality best, and after hearing what Jiang Mengzhen said, he really felt that he was not right.
Zhang's face suddenly turned livid, but he was a son of an aristocratic family. It was impossible for aristocratic families to quarrel with each other like vulgar thugs in the market, spitting and pulling each other's hair.
Therefore, Zhang just smiled and said: "A Cen knows her limits. This slingshot doesn't hit bad people. You haven't come back for several years, so she naturally doesn't recognize you as her brother. I think she hit you because some bad person came in."
Jiang Min, who followed out later, saw her daughter's face was swollen and red from being slapped, and also scolded: "Even if she hit you, a child has so little strength, how much pain can it hurt when a golden bean hits you! What's more, she didn't hurt you at all. Have you ever thought that Ah Cen is only ten years old, and you still have no conscience to hurt her like this!"
A girl's face is naturally not as valuable as a man's, but a woman needs face and dignity. Jiang Mengzhen slapped Jiang Cen in front of so many servants and Hao Cheng, an outsider, and accused her of having no family education. Wasn't it just saying that she, as a mother, was not good at educating her daughter
Jiang Min originally felt guilty towards Jiang Mengzhen, but when her eldest son became more and more capable, which made her, as a mother, look useless, she felt uncomfortable. Later, Jiang Mengzhen became cold to her, and after getting married, he didn't come back for several years and didn't have a good face, so she disliked her eldest son even more.
Now that Jiang Mengzhen bullied her beloved little girl, she naturally had to stand up for Jiang Cen, but it was impossible for Jiang Cen to fight back against Jiang Mengzhen, so she just scolded: "Why don't you apologize to your sister quickly."
If Jiang Mengzhen really apologized, he would be the one who would be humiliated. Although it was just a matter of one sentence, he would lose face.
Hao Cheng didn't know what Jiang Mengzhen was thinking, so he just whispered to him, "Don't apologize. If it's inconvenient for you, I'll help you."
Women in this world are naturally stronger, and a ten-year-old girl is already quite strong. And Jiang Cen has been playing with slingshots for such a long time that even if he has poor talent, he can still figure out his own way.
When Hao Cheng received it, his palms were all red, and some of the thin skin was broken. Jiang Cen was aiming at the person's eyes at first, such a fragile place, if the marble really hit the person's eyes, it would probably blind him.
Behind every naughty child stands a naughty parent with strange logic. Hao Cheng found it incredible just listening to them.
She looked at Jiang Mengzhen's face, and it was obvious that he was extremely dissatisfied with Jiang Min's partiality. No wonder Jiang Mengzhen couldn't get along with his own mother. After all, he was a normal person, while the latter was a psychopath.
I knew Jiang Min was biased, but I didn't expect him to be such a jerk.
She paused and whispered: "If you feel uncomfortable, why don't we go back first?" If she hadn't taken into consideration that she was accompanying Jiang Mengzhen back home today and couldn't just turn around and leave, she would have pulled Jiang Mengzhen away long ago.
Jiang Mengzhen didn't say anything, but a layer of frost gathered on his beautiful face. When he looked at Hao Cheng, the frost melted a little. After listening to Hao Cheng's whisper, he just comforted her: "Don't worry, I know my limits."
Jiang Mengzhen did not fight back immediately, acting as if he was guilty. However, with his wife's support, Zhang's momentum suddenly rose.
He protected Jiang Cen like an old rooster protecting his cubs. His voice softened and his eyes became red. "Yes, no matter how bad Ah Cen is, she is still your sister. She is only ten years old and you are already twenty-eight. I know I treated you badly in the past. I admit that you blame me, but she is your sister. If she doesn't listen, you can just scold her. How can you be so cruel as to do such a thing!"
Zhang's performance was a perfect combination of singing and composing, as if Jiang Mengzhen had become an unforgivable sinner with just a few words. The servants around him were obviously well aware of Zhang's hidden meaning, and they cooperated very well, casting condemning and questioning looks at him.
Hao Cheng didn't like Zhang, but he had to admit that this man was quite capable. His attitude might not work for her, but it was very effective for a so-called mature woman like Jiang Min who was easily influenced and particularly liked to be gentle with women.
Jiang Cen next to him was young after all, and his IQ didn't seem to be enough. Seeing this scene, he forgot to cry. He hiccuped a few times and watched the adults perform while holding Zhang's sleeve.
Hao Cheng observed Jiang Mengzhen's expression anxiously, but the latter suddenly raised his lips and smiled slightly: "If she is really my sister, I will naturally tolerate her. But mother, don't you think that Ah Cen has become less and less like you after growing up for ten years?"
Hao Cheng widened his eyes. This wasn't going to be some explosive family ethics drama, was it
The underlying meaning of his words was clearly that Jiang Cen was not Jiang Min's biological daughter! She subconsciously compared the appearance of Jiang Cen and Jiang Min.
The conclusion is that they are indeed not very similar, and Jiang Cen and Zhang are not very similar either.
Jiang Min's expression changed immediately: "What do you mean by that?!"