Dai Yingsi, standing outside, found it both satisfying and infuriating to hear. Murong He was also wide-eyed. Shao Yunan’s audacity was somewhat known among certain circles in the capital, but witnessing it firsthand was a whole new level for Murong He. Seriously, within the official circles of the entire capital, no lady or daughter-in-law dared to act like this. Even those married couples weren’t this audacious.

Inside the room, Madam Wu covered her chest and shouted. “Quick, stop them!” If they left the Duke’s mansion, not only would they lose face, but they might also lose any chance they had left! Lady Wu Zheng hurriedly chased after them, while Shao Yunan’s group was intercepted by two women. Dai Yingsi immediately whispered, “It’s Wu Jian’s mother and daughter-in-law.”

At this point, Lady Wu Zheng caught up. The two women, however, dropped to their knees with a thud. Murong He, at a completely incongruous speed to his stature, picked up Jiang Moxi and swiftly moved to the side. Dai Yingsi also pulled Shao Yunan, attempting to avoid the situation. Shao Yunan pushed her aside, stood in the middle of the road, and let the two women kneel towards him. Little Gold growled in a low voice behind Shao Yunan.

Lady Wu Zheng insincerely inquired, “Why are you doing this, Lord Wang?” However, she made no move to stop them and even prevented the servants who followed from going forward. Jiang Moxi’s paternal grandmother, Lady Wu Jian, burst into tears. “Please, Lord Wang Shao, don’t take away my grandson…”

Dai Yingsi’s expression changed and she angrily retorted. “Lady Wu Jian, you can eat a meal messily, but you can’t speak nonsense. Everyone in the capital knows how you mistreated your daughter-in-law and grandson, driving them out of the house and even wishing for their deaths. Now, you come to slander Lord Wang Shao, saying he wants to take away your grandson. Aren’t you afraid that heaven might not tolerate such false accusations and strike you down with lightning!”

Lady Wu Jian’s face twitched. Kneeling behind her, Lady Wu Liu wiped her tears and cried. “Lord Wang Shao, it was just a moment of desperation for my mother-in-law. Those were all my faults. I was petty. Please, for the sake of my husband, who is about to pass away, let Moxi stay to give him some comfort. When my eldest son returns, I will apologize to him. I’m willing to demote myself to a concubine, as long as he doesn’t blame my mother-in-law and my husband anymore.”

“Hehe” Shao Yunan stepped forward. “I thought some people I saw in Xiushui Village were shameless enough. I could understand, after all, they are ‘commoners,’ uneducated, and uncultured, shameless as they are. Unexpectedly, even in the grand Duke’s mansion, I could witness such an eye-opener. It turns out shameless people know no distinction between high and low.”

Lady Wu Zheng said, “Lord Wang Shao, be cautious with your words! This is the Duke’s mansion.”

Shao Yunan retorted, “You’ve already reached such a shameless extent and yet you still have the nerve to say this is the Duke’s mansion?!” Shao Yunan pointed to the two kneeling women. “One shameless woman doesn’t speak of Moxi and Kangchen being no longer part of the Wu family, another shameless woman intends to share a man with Kangchen. Even villagers in the countryside wouldn’t stoop to such shamelessness. Are you still daring to say this is the Duke’s mansion?”

Even someone as aggressive as Madame Wang had no way to deal with Shao Yunan. Lady Wu Zheng, who was high and mighty, was nowhere near a match for Shao Yunan. Shao Yunan didn’t give her a chance to speak, pressing on. “They kneel in front of Moxi without caring about his life and still dare to call themselves his grandmother. I suspect they are intentionally trying to harm him! Since they love kneeling so much, I’ll make them kneel enough!”

Shao Yunan, furious, turned to Murong He. “Murong, they told me not to take Moxi away, as if I were kidnapping him. Does that count as slander?” Murong He, quick-witted, caught Shao Yunan’s implication and immediately replied. “Certainly, it does.”

“Do they have an imperial edict with them?”

“Of course not.”

Shao Yunan, in front of the astonished people of the Duke’s mansion, addressed Lady Wu Jian and Lady Wu Liu. “You slandered me for kidnapping Moxi. I may not understand the law, but I’ll go ask the Qiansui, what crime should someone be charged with for slandering a lord?!”

“Lord Wang Shao!” Lady Wu Zheng was panicking, reaching out to grab Shao Yunan, but he dodged her hand. Little Gold growled and rushed to Shao Yunan’s side. Lady Wu Zheng, terrified, screamed and sat on the ground.

“Outrageous!” The Old Lady Wu came out.

“Who are you calling outrageous?” Shao Yunan turned around. “Lord Wang Shao, this is the Duke’s mansion! Even if you don’t care about your own reputation, do you not care about the reputation of the Loyal and Brave Marquis, and the reputation of your two children?”

“You’re all the so-called ‘Duke’s mansion’ people, and you no longer care about the century-old reputation of the Wu family. Why should I care about mine? I haven’t kicked my daughter-in-law and grandson out of my house. I haven’t pushed my son to the edge. I haven’t turned white into black and black into white. I haven’t shamelessly shortened the lifespan of my juniors. Why should I care?” 

Shao Yunan stared at Old Lady Wu, his eyes burning with anger, and ruthlessly said, “I’ll make it clear today. If you want to keep Moxi, first see if my family’s divine beast agrees! See if I, Shao Yunan, agree! I’ll let the whole world judge whether it’s the Duke’s mansion that’s shameless or if it’s me, Shao Yunan, who’s unreasonable!”

Old Lady Wu was so angry she almost fainted. Jiang Moxi looked at these so-called relatives with cold eyes and tightly clenched his fists. Murong He patted Jiang Moxi. “Yunan, let’s go.”

Shao Yunan held Dai Yingsi’s arm and was about to leave. Wu Liu, not using her brain, shouted, “Stop them!”

“Who dares!” Murong He and Dai Yingsi sternly rebuked, and Wu Liu clearly realized her foolishness. She cowered behind Lady Wu Jian. Old Lady Wu, angry but trying to suppress her fury said, “She doesn’t understand and speaks without restraint. I hope Sir and Madam Lin won’t blame her. Lord Wang Shao brought Moxi to visit Jian today. Presumably, he knows Moxi can’t rest assured about his father. We want to keep Moxi in the hope that he can help Jian recover. It’s not about forcibly keeping Moxi; it’s a misunderstanding. Lady Wang was just anxious and confused.”

Wu Liu’s face was extremely embarrassed by Shao Yunan’s scolding. Old Lady Wu scolded her maid, “Hurry up and help Madam Wu and Madam Lin up! What are you all standing there for!” Several maids hurriedly stepped forward to help Lady Wu Wang and Lady Wu Liu up. Shao Yunan said, “Let’s go home! If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have come. It’s simply inauspicious!”

Lady Wu, panting, said, “Lord Wang Shao!”

Shao Yunan didn’t even turn his head and strode out. Even if Lady Wu hated him, she didn’t dare to truly send someone to block him. How could she have expected that Shao Yunan, who had just been granted the title of Marquis, would show so little regard for the dignity of their An Guogong Mansion, acting so arrogantly! Lady Wu was at a loss for what to do. If Shao Yunan were an ordinary person, she would have stopped him. But not to mention the people behind Shao Yunan, just with the identities of Murong He and Dai Yingsi, she didn’t dare and couldn’t stop them.

With Little Gold roaring ahead, Shao Yunan pulled Dai Yingsi, and Murong He carried Jiang Moxi. They reached the main gate without anyone daring to stop them. Lady Wu, assisted by Lady Wu Zheng, was still shouting to halt them. The main gate was tightly closed and a few servants stood in the way. Shao Yunan gave a direct order. “Little Gold, bite!”

Amidst screams, Shao Yunan rushed to the gate. Lady Wu, having no other options, shouted with hidden resentment, “Lord Wang Shao, do you really want to let things get out of control?! If it reaches the Thousand-Year Duke, I will still show respect! This is An Guogong Mansion! Allowing a fierce beast to attack in our An Guogong Mansion, I will still inquire about how Thousand-Year Duke will deal with it!”

Shao Yunan turned around. “You really have blurred vision. Just go and complain! I also want to ask the Thousand-Year Duke whether your An Guogong Mansion’s status is higher or is my Wang Mansion. Even if it’s a beast, it was given by the Emperor to save the Lord and the young master. Shouldn’t it be used?”

Lady Wu was so angry that she nearly fainted. “When did I imprison the Lord’s son!” Murong He said, “By not letting us out, aren’t you imprisoning the legitimate son?” Lady Wu, covering her chest, collapsed onto a maid. At this moment, there was a knock on the door from outside. Murong He’s eyes narrowed and he angrily scolded the servants of the An Guogong Mansion. “Why haven’t you opened the door yet!”

The servants, terrified by Little Gold’s blood-stained appearance, hastily went to lift the lock bar. The gate opened and Little Gold rushed to Murong He. Lady Wu Zheng, Lady Wu Wang, Lady Wu Liu, and Lady Wu, hearing the news, all felt their hearts sink. Shao Yunan instructed the person to stand up and said, “We’re leaving now.” Turning his head, he sneered. “Thanks for the ‘warm’ hospitality from the ladies of the An Guogong Mansion.” After that, ignoring the embarrassed faces of the servants, Shao Yunan stepped over the threshold of An Guogong Mansion and left with large strides.

Jiang Moxi, who was riding on Little Gold’s back, also turned to look. That look, however, made Lady Wu and Lady Wu Wang shiver. Lady Wu Wang couldn’t help but rub her eyes, suspecting that she had read it wrong. How could her idiot grandson have such eyes?

“Close the gate!” Lady Wu, unwilling, shouted. In front of the gate, many servants were lying on the ground groaning in pain, all bitten by Little Gold. This time, Shao Yunan had truly given An Guogong Mansion a slap in the face, making Lady Wu’s cheeks ache. Although An Guogong Mansion was not currently favored by the Emperor, it had never suffered such humiliation. Lady Wu felt like she couldn’t catch her breath and the crutch in her hand kept pounding heavily on the ground.

“This is truly going too far! Too far!”

The women of the Wu family were so infuriated by Shao Yunan that they felt like vomiting blood. Shao Yunan, who was angered to the point of vomiting blood, cursed. “These bastards! If they dare to do anything to Wu Jian, I’ll…” Shao Yunan, hugging Jiang Moxi, was about to continue when Dai Yingsi suddenly scolded. “They are simply not human! Wu Jian is the legitimate son of their Wu family!”

Murong He disdainfully said, “For the current An Guogong Mansion, the life of Wu Jian is not as valuable as your big brother and Moxi.” Shao Yunan hugged Jiang Moxi tightly. “Uncle Yunan will find a way to save your father!”

Jiang Moxi bit his lips tightly. With cold flames in his eyes, Shao Yunan forcibly opened his lips, wishing he could throw a hand grenade to explode those bastards in the An Mansion.

Edited by: Jaisland

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