Before Xu Mingshu, the youngest male of the Xu family, could rush to Mingyu, Xu Mingye stepped in front of Mingyu and lifted him up by the collar. Xu Mingshu kicked and punched in the air, yelling, "You are all bad people! You eat and live in our house for free, and you bully my sister!"
Xu Mingye slapped Xu Mingshu on the head without any courtesy, and said to Hu with a squinting look: "Who taught you this? Your mother or your sister?"
Mrs. Hu was afraid that Xu Mingye might lose his balance and drop her beloved baby, so she said in a trembling voice, "Who knows, it was some servant who gossiped in front of Mingshu and he heard it. He is young and ignorant, so as his elder brother, don't bother with him."
Xu Changgong also quickly smiled and said, "Mingye, your brother is ignorant, put him down quickly, and your uncle will teach him a lesson later!"
Xu Changqian's face turned pale. Today was supposed to be the anniversary of his biological mother's death, but such an important day was ruined by a bunch of little beasts from the second wife's family. They even dared to bully his daughter!
Without waiting for Xu Changqian to say anything, Mingyu took Mingshu from Xu Mingye's hands, squatted down, pulled down his pants, put him on his knees, and slapped Mingshu's white butt without mercy.
The incident happened too suddenly. No one expected Mingyu to dare to attack Mingshu. Hu and Xu Changgong were so shocked that they stood there, forgetting that the one being beaten was their beloved son. A group of people looked at Mingyu in amazement.
For a moment, the only sounds in the room were Xu Mingshu's loud sobbing and Mingyu's merciless slaps. Xu Mingshu cried until his face was covered with tears and snot, and his voice was hoarse. He was the youngest child in the Xu family. He had been spoiled by adults since he was a child. No one had ever touched him since he was a child. Today, he was stripped of his pants and spanked in public. It was not only painful, but also scary and aggrieved.
Mingyu used all her strength to hit Xu Mingshu's fat butt, and asked viciously: "Do you still dare to talk nonsense?"
At first, Xu Mingshu scolded Mingyu for being shameless and bullying his sister. After being beaten several times, his white buttocks turned red, and he began to cry and said repeatedly: "I won't dare to do it again, I won't dare to do it again, I won't dare to do it again!"
Mrs. Hu was so distressed that she was about to go to grab her son, leaving her daughter who was still wiping tears. But Mrs. Li from the third room quickly grabbed her and said to Mrs. Hu with a look of deep sorrow: "Sister-in-law, if a child is disobedient, you have to be ruthless. Listen to what Ming Shugang said! If you don't care and let him talk nonsense outside, others will think that you and your second brother instigated it! They think that in our Xu family, our two families are only worthy of starving!"
Xu Changgong felt sorry for his son being beaten, but his niece was getting beaten and as a grown man he couldn't go over to stop her, so he was helpless and anxious.
It was not until Xu Mingshu cried and begged for mercy that Mingyu let him go and put him on the ground. Xu Mingshu didn't even bother to pull up his pants, but ran to Hu's side crying while holding his red and hot fat buttocks. He threw himself into Hu's arms and cried loudly.
Mingyu glanced coldly at Xu Mingshu who was still crying. Her eyes were full of ferocity, as if she would beat him up again if he cried again. Xu Mingshu, who was about to complain to his mother, felt frightened when he saw Mingyu's gaze. He immediately shrank behind Hu like a turtle, and even his crying became much quieter.
Mrs. Hu looked at her son's red buttocks with heartache, and tears were about to come out. However, seeing that the first wife's family looked unhappy and the third wife looked gloating, the curse that was about to come out turned into a tearful accusation of grievance. She looked at Mingyu and cried, "Although Mingshu is not your biological brother, you are still Mingshu's sister. How can you be so cruel as to hit your brother like this?"
"Second Aunt has a really bad memory!" Xu Mingye sneered, "Everyone saw it just now. It was Mingshu who rushed up first to hit Mingyu and even said rude words. What's the reason? Mingshu, as a younger brother, is more dignified than us, the older brothers and sisters. We can't control him if he wants to hit or scold him?"
Hu was so angry that she picked up Mingshu and stood up. However, Xu Mingye was a young official, so she didn't dare to say anything harsh. She just said tremblingly: "Nephew, please tell me honestly. I, your aunt, have been busy with your marriage, and you say this to me?"
It would have been better if she didn't mention this. Once she talked about this, Mrs. Xu couldn't help it. The original marriage with the Zhou family was called off. Although Mrs. Xu was dissatisfied, she always spoke reasonably. It was the Zhou family's fault for being picky, and it had nothing to do with Mrs. Hu. However, even at this point, Mrs. Hu still wanted to take credit for this matter, which really made her angry.
"I dare not trouble my second brother's wife!" Madam Xu sneered, "The girl you introduced is too precious. She looked down on our small yard and poor family without even a glimpse of our fate. She also looked down on us old couple for not making enough money. We can't afford to marry such a girl."
Mrs. Hu immediately shut her mouth in embarrassment.
During the meal, the two children from the second room hid far away from Mingyu. Xu Mingrui was angry, Xu Mingshu was afraid, and the two boys from the third room also quieted down. Seeing the three naughty children in the past now as well-behaved as three rabbits, Mingyu couldn't help but curl her lips secretly.
If a child is afraid of someone while growing up, the impression of fear will probably last for many years, just like a child is afraid of his father. Even when he grows up and his father is old, and his strength has long surpassed his father's, he still dare not resist his father's authority.
"What are you laughing at? Eat your meal quickly." Xu Mingye said in a low voice.
Mingyu barely touched her chopsticks, and whispered to Xu Mingye, "My hands hurt, I can't hold the chopsticks..."
Xu Mingshu was a boy of seven or eight years old. When Mingyu hit him, not only did he feel pain, but Mingyu's hands also felt pain. However, she pretended to be calm. Xu Mingye sighed and saw that Mingyu's originally white palms were now red. He rubbed Mingyu's head with his hand, feeling helpless and distressed. "You can just act tough. If you don't like the pain, you won't ask me to hit you!"
Mingyu chuckled. How could she let others do such a thing as venting her anger? It would take away so much fun!
During the meal break, Xu Changqian called Xu Changgong out alone. After a long while, the two came back one after another. Xu Changgong's face was alternating between blue and white, and he no longer looked as carefree as usual. Mingyu saw it all and guessed that her second uncle had been scolded a lot.
As soon as the meal was over, the Xu family went home. Xu Mingrui refused to ride in the same carriage with Mingyu, so Mingyu and Hu changed carriages, and the three families and three carriages returned to the Xu family in silence.
When they arrived at the Xu family, Xu Mingrui got off the carriage first, wiped her tears and ran to the courtyard of Old Lady Xu. How dare Xu Mingyu hit her?! She must ask her grandmother to seek justice for her. Her parents were afraid of the first wife, but she was not!
Before Xu Mingrui stepped into Old Lady Xu's yard, she was stopped by the maid guarding the door, who said that there was a distinguished guest inside. Xu Mingrui had to wait outside. Hu and Xu Changgong also rushed over behind her, holding Xu Mingshu.
After a while, there was a noise in the yard. Supported by her maid, Old Mrs. Xu, with a flattering smile on her wrinkled face, respectfully escorted the guests out of the yard.
When she saw the guest's face, Xu Mingrui was stunned and forgot to cry for a moment. She stood there with her makeup smudged by tears until the guest walked past her without even looking at her. Xu Changgong hurriedly went to greet him, carefully trying to please and flatter him, and walked out with the guest.
"Grandma, why is Lord Lu here?" Xu Mingrui didn't care to cry anymore, she grabbed Grandma Xu's hand and asked anxiously.
Old Mrs. Xu glanced at Xu Mingrui, who was crying like a cat. She had a flattering smile on her face when facing Lu Hao just now, but now her eyelids drooped immediately. She sighed helplessly and looked at Xu Mingrui with eyes full of regret and pity. Noticing that Lu Hao's figure had disappeared, she shook her head and sighed to Mrs. Hu: "Alas, our Mingrui is good in everything. How can she compare to you..." She pointed towards the yard of the main house, the meaning of which was self-evident.
"What's going on? What's going on?" Mrs. Hu was terrified, and she put aside the matter of complaining for the time being. Isn't it a good thing that Lu Hao came to their house? Why does the old lady sound like something is not going well
Old Madam Xu snorted, "It seems that Master Lu has taken a fancy to the maid in the old house. I guess he is discussing this matter in the old house now!"
Mrs. Hu felt as if struck by a bolt from the blue, and her head felt dizzy. Mingshu didn't see his mother pay attention to him for a long time, and he twisted his body to make a fuss. Mrs. Hu angrily slapped him hard on the head, and he ran away crying. However, his grandmother, mother and sister, who always loved him, ignored him this time.
"This... How is it possible?" Mrs. Hu's smile was uglier than crying. She wiped her face and asked, "Being a concubine, right? I think this is unlikely to work out. Big brother and big sister-in-law love Mingyu like nothing. How could they bear to treat a piece of stone as an agate?"
Xu Mingrui's heart, which originally still held a glimmer of hope, now completely sank. Her fingers twisted the handkerchief in her hand fiercely, and her face turned red, as if the sky had fallen down.
"Impossible, impossible. Last time the Prince of Qin came to propose marriage, didn't my elder brother and his wife refuse?" Mrs. Hu waved her hands repeatedly, almost incoherent. Why? Why did Lu Hao look down on her daughter who was still waiting to be married, and instead chose the divorced girl from the first wife's house? Isn't this a slap in Mingrui's face? A few days ago, she foolishly ran to ask the first wife why Lord Lu didn't come, but it turned out that the first wife was laughing at them!
"Hmph, can Prince Qin be compared with Lord Lu? The boss is not a fool!" Old Mrs. Xu was also full of indignation and said unhappily.
"Grandma, go talk to Lord Lu!" Xu Mingrui suddenly grabbed Old Lady Xu's sleeve, gritting her teeth, "She hooked up with Prince Qin and was still in contact with Marquis Anxi. If Lord Lu knew about this, he would definitely not want her!"
Old Madam Xu flew into a rage and slapped him in the face. "You're such a brainless person. I've taught you in vain!"