Volume 1, Chapter 27: She is going to bring ruin upon her entire family, too!

"Who gave you the audacity to lay a hand on my mother!" Ning Rongsheng stepped forward, raising his foot to kick Mother Wang.

Fortunately, Aunt Li reacted quickly; she tossed the person she was carrying onto her side, and the thick quilt perfectly blocked the kick.

"Ouch, my stomach!" Both women let go simultaneously. Mother Li, wrapped in the quilt, fell to the ground. The fall itself wasn't painful, but having been kicked by her own son, she wailed in agony, unable to straighten her body.

However, wrapped so tightly in the quilt, it mattered little whether she could straighten up or not. At this moment, Mother Li resembled an earthworm exposed to the summer sun—struggling and writhing, yet unable to escape. The onlookers in the manor, witnessing her wretched state, covered their mouths and giggled in secret.

"Mother!" Ning Rongsheng was fuming. He had put his full strength into that kick, intending to kill the malicious servant to vent his rage. Who would have thought he would end up kicking his own mother?

"Mother, are you alright?" Ning Rongsheng knelt down in a hurry, clawing at the quilt covering her. With one forceful pull, he sent Mother Li rolling right out of the bedding.

"Thud!"

Mother Li rolled twice and crashed into the edge of a flower bed, hitting her forehead. A red, swollen lump rose instantly! It looked even more ridiculous than a Maitreya Buddha in a temple.

After only half a day, Mother Li was dizzy from rage and battered by injuries. Rubbing her head, she spat toward Xie Shu, "You jinx! You came here on purpose to curse me!"

Exactly! Xie Shu was amused by her words. She hadn't just come to curse Mother Li; she had come to curse her entire family!

"Mother-in-law, your words are spot on." Xie Shu gave her a thumbs-up, feigning admiration. "No wonder everyone says you have a Buddha's nature; you could even foresee this! Truly impressive!"

Ning Rongsheng scrambled over. Seeing his mother rolling on the ground with disheveled hair, messy clothes, and mud on her face and hands, he lifted her up with a pained expression and leaned her against the flower bed.

Broken flowers and withered leaves were crushed even further beneath Mother Li’s weight. Just like this crumbling Marquis Cheng'en Mansion, rotten to the core.

"Sheng'er, she is trying to kill your mother! She wants me dead!" Mother Li regained her senses, tears streaming down her face. Now, even those lowly, brazen servants dared to lay hands on her!

"Just a moment ago, I was only sending you to He Shan Hall to recuperate. The one who kicked your stomach and wanted you dead wasn't that your dear Sheng'er?" Xie Shu looked innocent, shrugging her shoulders with a confused expression. "You really should blame your son for this!"

Mother Li rubbed her stomach as the cramping pain surged again. She muttered to herself for a long time, but couldn't come up with a single word to refute Xie Shu!

Seeing Xie Shu so triumphant, Ning Rongsheng’s anger grew. He was determined to show Xie Shu exactly what she was worth now that she had entered the Marquis Cheng'en Mansion!

"Someone! Seize her at once and lock her in Jing'an Hall!" Ning Rongsheng glanced around, barking orders at the household staff with a menacing air.

Jing'an Hall was the place in the Marquis's mansion specifically used for punishing servants. Upon hearing the name, the staff shivered with fear. Yet, after Ning Rongsheng's command, no one dared to move. Even the guards pulled back, pushing and shoving one another.

Ning Rongsheng’s gaze swept over them repeatedly. He roared, "Don't tell me you are all rebelling, too!"

Truly, this mansion was a house divided. A few guards huddled together, stealing glances at Xie Shu and whispering to one another. By the time they looked up again, the people from General Zhenyuan’s mansion had already drawn their swords and staves, ready for a fight at any moment. Ultimately, the guards lowered their heads and pretended not to hear.

Seeing this, Xie Shu laughed until her face ached. The Marquis's mansion had always been strapped for cash; Mother Li was so stingy that the servants' stipends grew smaller every year. If these people wanted to be fed and clothed, they had to embezzle from every minor task. Since the servants were disloyal, they naturally wouldn't risk their lives for their masters.

"Hahaha, haha." Xie Shu clutched her stomach, finding Ning Rongsheng even more ridiculous than a clown on stage.

After a moment of laughter, she clapped her hands and instructed Green Willow, "This is my first day here, and I must reward everyone handsomely. From today on, whoever is willing to work in my East Courtyard will receive two taels of silver."

"Me! My Lady, I work hard, I can do it!" Before the words had even finished echoing, a dusty little girl raised her hand and rushed forward.

Xie Shu looked over, a flash of surprise in her eyes! It was her! It was the kitchen maid from her previous life who had accidentally died after consuming poisoned soup meant for her, but had ended up saving her life!

"Green Willow." Xie Shu suppressed her surprise and called out softly. Green Willow took two taels of broken silver from her sleeve and handed them over. "Here, take this. From now on, you serve under our mistress."

With someone breaking the ice, the surrounding servants were tempted. A mere two taels of silver were enough to buy hearts—she really had Mother Li’s stinginess to thank for this.

However, just as a young servant raised his hand, Ning Rongsheng slapped him hard across the face, knocking him unconscious. Ning Rongsheng snatched a long sword from a guard, pointed the sharp blade at the crowd, and threatened with a flushed face, "Let's see who dares!"

The little kitchen maid was already protected behind Green Willow.

"Xie Shu, I am the Heir to Marquis Cheng'en! Matters in this mansion are decided by me!" To think that even the servants looked down on him now? Ning Rongsheng, like his mother, was dizzy with rage.

"Look at how the Heir speaks; surely it should be your father, the Marquis, who decides," Xie Shu looked at him with disdain, then turned to the servants and shouted, "Did you hear that? The Heir wants to inherit the title early, so hurry up and ask the Marquis to petition the Emperor!"

The servants shrank back like quails. Who would dare repeat such a thing? Even Ning Rongsheng wouldn't dare say it. His father was still alive! To rush the succession was to wish for his father's death.

Ning Rongsheng recalled the Marquis’s decisiveness earlier today and feared that his father had never been as mediocre and useless as he appeared. These words must never reach the Marquis's ears.

"Xie Shu, stop trying to sow discord!" Ning Rongsheng held the sword toward her, pointing and cursing wildly, "I have always respected my father! A shameless, vile person like you shall not destroy the peace of my Marquis Cheng'en Mansion!"

"Ning Rongsheng, but I married into this house precisely to turn your mansion upside down!" Xie Shu blinked her large, round eyes, looking entirely innocent, yet the words she spoke were enough to make a person drop dead from fury.