Chapter 113: Wouldn't Destroying You Be Easy?

Silence fell all around.

Everyone stared at Lu Ying in stunned disbelief. Madam Xiao could no longer maintain her forced smile; she abruptly rose to her feet, glaring fiercely at her.

In this world, every group has its own rules. For a wealthy and prestigious family like the Xiao household, the rule is clear: never show your true colors or lose face unless you have reached the very end, unless you are ready to deal a fatal blow.

Indeed, so many people, with their overt praise and covert jabs, their relentless pursuit and blockade, it was obvious to any bystander that Madam Xiao had instigated it all. Yet, in situations like this, ordinary people would usually feign ignorance.

Because once the truth is exposed, there’s no room left to maneuver or ease tensions. It might even force both sides into a deadly confrontation. Everyone here was influential—today’s enemy might be tomorrow’s ally. There was no need to escalate matters unnecessarily.

Thus, those living in such an environment grew accustomed to sarcasm and endurance, to striking from behind while smiling in front.

For someone like Lu Ying to strike back so openly and decisively was something only a fool would dare.

Yet Lu Ying looked every bit the clever one.

For a long moment, Madam Xiao’s labored breaths echoed loudly. This was the first time someone had blatantly fought back against her. She had grown used to controlling the narrative, and at this moment, she could no longer maintain the facade.

Squinting at Lu Ying, she sat down slowly, her face gradually softening into a calm smile again.

At her side, a young girl was the first to react. She rushed to Lu Ying, pointed at her sharply, and snapped, “How dare you speak to Madam Xiao like that?”

Lu Ying raised an eyebrow and replied calmly, “I dare.”

Leisurely, she pulled out the jade pendant she had originally intended to reveal only as a last resort. As she twirled the golden chain between her fingers, she lowered her head and spoke coldly and quietly, “Madam Xiao spends her days scheming and plotting. Those matters have nothing to do with me. But I knew you were a viper, and a viper once it shows its fangs won’t rest until it bites.”

At this, she smiled gently and placed the pendant deliberately before Madam Xiao, leaning in with eyes fixed, enunciating each word clearly: “Madam Xiao, do you still want to bite me now? The day you incited your lackeys to conspire with bandits to ambush A Yan and the others was when I ruined your plan... I know you bear a grudge. You wanted to see what kind of person I am today before moving against me. But you cannot touch me, nor are you worthy of doing so!”

Lu Ying’s words were deliberate and slow.

The room fell utterly silent.

One pair of eyes after another fixed on Lu Ying in disbelief, everyone holding their breath.

Finally, Madam Xiao’s face changed color, turning a dark, sullen shade. She stared in disbelief at the pendant—the dragon pattern engraved on it and the character “Jiang” etched clearly. The other young women, standing farther away, glimpsed the pendant but could not make out the details. By the time they noticed Madam Xiao’s grim expression and tried to look closely, Lu Ying had already withdrawn the pendant with a nonchalant air.

Madam Xiao continued to stare unblinkingly at Lu Ying. Despite her outward composure, her heart pounded violently, a sharp, metallic taste rising in her throat.

After a long while, she tried to regain her reason: It was impossible. This jade pendant could not be real!

She glanced again at Lu Ying. How could she know what she was thinking?

Madam Xiao truly harbored murderous intent toward Lu Ying. The matter was straightforward: Lu Ying had ruined her reputation, which was still clouded in suspicion; had caused her husband to lose his position; wherever she went, people whispered and pointed fingers. Those who disliked her constantly used this incident against her.

If Lu Ying had been a legitimate daughter of a powerful family, Madam Xiao would have hesitated. Burning with resentment, she might have used underhanded tactics to sully Lu Ying’s name, forced her into a bad marriage, or waited for the right moment to strike and vent her anger.

But Lu Ying was not from such a family. After some investigation, Madam Xiao found that Lu Ying associated with the Shang clan and A Jian, but lived with only one younger brother and often went out selling vegetables. Especially after seeing the calluses on Lu Ying’s fingers during their face-to-face encounter, Madam Xiao was certain the rumors about Lu Ying having gained a noble’s favor were nothing but laughable gossip. Otherwise, with that noble’s power, a mere glance would have ensured Lu Ying lived a life of privilege and refinement.

That glance alone had made Madam Xiao decide to move against Lu Ying. Handling her was easy—just find an opportunity to have her captured, then send her to a distant brothel or simply kill her and dump her in an unmarked grave.

Of course, this would wait until the storm passed, until no one mentioned the attempted ambush of those youths again, and no one suspected that Lu Ying had once offended Madam Xiao before stepping in.

She wanted these lowly pests, these peasants and commoners, to understand one truth: not everyone in this world could be crossed with impunity. If she had been forced into a passive position once, she would ensure Lu Ying was trampled underfoot for life.

This was Madam Xiao’s survival philosophy.

But she had not counted on Lu Ying seeing through her intentions, knowing she was about to make a move.

Nor had she expected that such a rustic girl would truly have connections with the same figure as that day.

As Madam Xiao’s face shifted through shades of green, black, and white, Lu Ying turned her head, smiling slightly as she passed by Xiao Yan.

“A Yan, didn’t you say you wanted to see your grandmother? Let’s go.”

With those words, her pace quickened.

Xiao Yan followed, dazed and stunned.

Watching them walk away, Madam Xiao suddenly thought, No, I can’t let her meet the old madam!

She hastened her voice and called out with a forced smile, “Hey, A Yan, why are you leaving so quickly? Hurry, bring A Yan and Lady Lu back here!”

But before she finished speaking, Lu Ying had already taken Xiao Yan by the hand and started running.

Running like this in such a place was highly inappropriate. Immediately, the surrounding maids all turned to stare at the two girls. Unconsciously, they had attracted everyone’s attention.

Madam Xiao’s face darkened.

The maids who were about to grab the two girls paused, then glanced at Madam Xiao.

Gritting her teeth, Madam Xiao thought: No, I can’t drag them back like this; it would attract too much attention.

She composed herself and urgently ordered, “Let’s also go pay respects to the old madam.”

After a few more strides, Lu Ying and Xiao Yan stopped behind an artificial hill. Lu Ying turned to the now-alert Xiao Yan and took out the jade pendant, handing it to her with serious words: “A Yan, take this jade pendant to show your grandmother and your father. Also, some of the maids in the small garden just now are your people, right? Call them over and have them repeat what I said.”

Xiao Yan’s eyes lit up, her voice trembling as she asked, “A Ying, you mean...?”

Lu Ying nodded coldly. “Yes. I, the owner of this pendant, say with my own mouth that it was your stepmother who ordered the ambush on that day! I want those hundreds of people, the owner of this pendant, and especially me, who possesses it, to get an explanation!”

In her mind, Lu Ying thought darkly: You want to kill me? I will kill you first!

When she had received the pendant just yesterday, Lu Ying had resolved never to reveal it unless absolutely necessary.

But she had never imagined encountering someone like Madam Xiao—a noblewoman accustomed to tyranny and cruelty! The murderous intent in those viper-like eyes was suffocating.

Lu Ying understood deeply: with some people, all the scheming and maneuvering was futile. The only way was to strike them down completely, fundamentally.

For Lu Ying, being forced to reveal the pendant was already a rare and desperate predicament.

Xiao Yan, having understood the gravity of the situation, nodded repeatedly, cheeks flushed with excitement. She looked at Lu Ying and suddenly asked, “A Ying, who should I approach first? Which of your uncles has the most influence? Or who is your clan leader? Find the person who lives in your courtyard and has some sway, tell him the matter immediately, and have him act at once.”

Lu Ying gave a final instruction: “Oh, and tell them I’m currently ‘playing a game’ with that noble. Once they have seen the pendant, bring it back to me quickly, and instruct them not to spread this outside.”

Xiao Yan nodded seriously. “Understood.”

Lu Ying waved her hand with a smile. “Then go handle it. I’ll head back and wait for your good news.”

“Alright.”

As Lu Ying walked away from the Xiao estate with measured steps, Madam Xiao hurried to the old madam’s room.

The old madam was taking her afternoon nap. Seeing she had arrived first, Madam Xiao felt slightly reassured. She pondered how to handle the matter while waiting for the old madam to wake.

Finally, when the old madam awoke, Madam Xiao immediately entered, attending to her with feigned silliness and playfulness to keep her amused, delaying any mention of the incident.

The matter was too grave; she still needed to think carefully about how to broach it.

But as time passed, Xiao Yan did not appear.

At this, Madam Xiao realized things were going badly and thought to withdraw.

Yet the old madam began reminiscing about an old matter, her mood lifting, making it impossible for Madam Xiao to leave.

By the time she finished speaking with the old madam, half an hour had passed. Just as Madam Xiao stepped out, she saw the heads of the third and fourth branches approaching rapidly.

“Third uncle, fourth uncle?” Madam Xiao greeted them from a distance, her face beaming with a smile.

The two men ignored her completely and strode past. As Madam Xiao’s heart pounded wildly, she heard the third uncle give an order: “Seize Madam Xiao!”

“What?” Madam Xiao was shocked, spinning around to rush at them. But the third uncle’s command came again: “Are you all deaf? Seize her and silence her!”

At that moment, the old madam exclaimed in alarm: “Third son, what’s going on? What are you doing to your eldest aunt?”

As she spoke, she shakily came out.

The fourth uncle quickly stepped forward to support her. After dismissing the nearby maids with a gesture, he gave the third uncle a look to handle Madam Xiao, then helped their mother back inside.