After dealing with Li Xiang, Li Ling turned to Wang Pozi and said, “Drive that girl who doesn’t know her place out of the mansion.”
Wang Pozi nodded and was about to take her leave when Li Xiang hurriedly stopped her. “Second Brother, this is all my fault. Please don’t punish Xing’er.”
Li Ling, seeing his younger brother still defending the maid, became even angrier. He impatiently waved his hand at Wang Pozi. “Drive her out, and in the future, anyone who doesn’t behave will be driven out of the mansion.”
“Second Brother, please, it’s all my fault. I beg you, don’t be hard on Xing’er,” Li Xiang pleaded, grabbing onto Wang Pozi.
Li Ling, feeling even more infuriated at his brother’s defense of the maid, pulled him away and scolded, “Look at how useless you are.”
“Second Brother, I beg you. If you want to punish or scold someone, direct it towards me. It’s really not her fault,” Li Xiang said, kneeling at Li Ling’s feet, his tears flowing uncontrollably.
Li Ling, filled with anger, pulled him up and shouted, “Look at how pathetic you are.”
“Second Brother, Xing’er has no family outside. If you drive her out, she will have no way to survive. I beg you,” Li Xiang pleaded, looking towards Jing Xiu with tear-filled eyes, his expression full of desperation.
He wanted his new sister-in-law to plead for his little lover.
Jing Xiu’s heart softened.
Jing Xiu looked at Li Ling and said, “Although the maid has made a mistake, her offense doesn’t warrant death. Since she has no family outside, driving her out would be pushing her into a desperate situation.”
Li Xiang, seeing his sister-in-law willing to help, looked at her gratefully with teary eyes.
“Let’s send her to the estate instead. In the future, she will not be allowed to return to the mansion,” Jing Xiu suggested.
Li Ling was angry at his brother’s incompetence, not necessarily at the maid herself. Seeing his wife speak up, he continued, “As you suggested, we will send her to the estate.” Then he looked at Li Xiang and added, “But you must promise me that you will never see her again.”
“Yes, yes, I promise,” Li Xiang nodded repeatedly.
“Go now,” Li Ling commanded.
Relieved that his little lover was finally safe, Li Xiang, forgetting his own impending hardship of going to the military camp, and the fact that he was about to have a strict teacher for his studies, felt a sense of relief.
As he reached the door, Li Xiang turned back and expressed his gratitude to Jing Xiu, “Thank you, sister-in-law.” Glancing at Li Ling’s cold face, he belatedly added, “And, and thank you, Second Brother.”
Seeing his disobedient younger brother leave, Li Ling glanced at Jing Xiu with resentment and said, “You certainly know how to handle things.”
Jing Xiu remained indifferent and walked to the dressing table to start removing her makeup, preparing to wash up.
Li Ling, seeing her nonchalant demeanor towards him, remembered their earlier disagreement.
His young wife was becoming more and more audacious in front of him!
“Did you study ‘The Duties of Women’ and ‘The Admonitions for Women’ when you were in seclusion?” Li Ling sat in a chair and looked at his wife, who had her back turned to him while removing her makeup.
Jing Xiu immediately understood his intentions and slowly turned around, replying, “Of course, I am familiar with them. Would you like me to recite them for you?”
Seeing her nonchalant expression, Li Ling became displeased and said, “Naturally, you understand that a woman should be gentle and obedient.”
“Mm, I know,” Jing Xiu responded lightly and turned back around to continue removing her makeup.
Li Ling clenched his fist and struck it against the cotton, feeling frustrated.
Seeing his young wife busy with her back turned to him, completely disregarding him, his anger flared up.
“Shen Shi, if you dare to be audacious again, don’t blame me for using disciplinary measures on you!”
Hearing Li Ling threaten to use disciplinary measures on her, Jing Xiu felt a sense of panic. He was her husband, and he had the authority to do so.
“You dare—” she pouted.
“Try me,” Li Ling replied with a cold expression.
Li Ling was not someone who knew how to cherish and respect women. If he really used disciplinary measures on her, he probably wouldn’t hold back.
Jing Xiu was indeed afraid, but she quickly regained her composure. This was their first conflict after their marriage, and she couldn’t back down. If she allowed herself to be intimidated and softened by him, she would end up following the same path as in her previous life, being suppressed by Li Ling.
With a man like Li Ling and his mindset, she had to control him!
Men shouldn’t be indulged!
Having made up her mind, Jing Xiu slowly turned around again, looking at Li Ling unabashedly, and replied, “May I ask, how have I been audacious? I have already clearly explained to you the reasons why I cannot accompany you to General Zhou’s mansion.”
She paused for a moment and continued, “In the rules of the Marquis’s mansion, there is no rule that states a wife must accompany her husband to social events or face punishment.”
She blinked her long eyelashes and looked at Li Ling with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. “If my husband wants to discipline me, he should provide a reasonable explanation.”
Li Ling was originally frustrated by his disobedient younger brother and became annoyed by his wife’s unruly behavior in front of him, which led him to mention using disciplinary measures on her.
It was just a scare tactic.
Seeing his wife speak confidently, Li Ling was momentarily at a loss for words. He didn’t know how to handle her anymore.
Li Ling softened his tone and argued, “A wife’s disobedience to her husband is considered immoral. You should learn the rules properly.”
According to the customs, a new bride should have her mother-in-law to establish rules and educate her. However, their situation in the mansion was unique. His princess mother didn’t even bother to take care of them, let alone have the spare time to educate a daughter-in-law.
Therefore, it was understandable that she might not be fully aware of the rules as a new bride.
Li Ling saw his wife remain silent and walked up to her, patiently advising, “You are my wife, and in the future, this household will be entrusted to you. As the lady of the house, you should set a good example for those under you and have proper etiquette and manners.”
“Here’s what we’ll do. In a few days, I will go to the ceremonial department in the palace and invite an etiquette tutor. They teach the palace concubines and princesses, so they naturally have a good grasp of etiquette. You can learn from them.”
Was he finding fault with her? Comparing her to the women in the palace?
Hmph! The person he considered to have good manners must be Qingluan, right?
Jing Xiu’s face darkened, and she suddenly turned around, her eyes filled with anger. She snapped at Li Ling, “If Young Master thinks the women in the palace understand etiquette so well, why didn’t you just marry a princess? Why did you have to marry me?”
Li Ling was taken aback by his wife’s outburst and her nonsensical words. He didn’t know what he had said wrong to anger her.
She just knew that he was thinking about Qingluan!
Jing Xiu saw him remain silent and felt a surge of frustration.
Seeing her face turning red with anger and her eyes becoming watery from her annoyance, Li Ling no longer had the desire to argue with her. He simply stood silently in front of her.
With anger still evident in Jing Xiu’s expression, Li Ling wore a troubled expression. Husband standing, wife sitting—unbeknownst to anyone outside, it seemed like the man had done something wrong and was being scolded harshly by his wife.
After a few moments of confrontation, Li Ling saw Jing Xiu’s slender shoulders trembling with anger. He awkwardly touched his nose and said, “If you don’t want to learn, I won’t force you. Why are you so angry?”
Jing Xiu ignored him and turned to face the bronze mirror, hurriedly removing the hairpins and jewelry from her hair.
Due to her anger, her hand lost its precision, and a bejeweled hairpin got tangled in her hair at the back. Jing Xiu became even more frustrated as she tried to remove it, but the more she struggled, the tighter it became, entwining with her hair.
Li Ling saw her struggling and wanted to help her remove the hairpin. But as he approached her, Jing Xiu became even more frustrated and forcefully pulled it, causing a few strands of hair to come loose along with the hairpin. However, the sharp tip of the hairpin accidentally scraped against Li Ling’s neck as he leaned forward.
Li Ling felt a sharp pain on his neck and couldn’t help but inhale sharply. Instinctively, he touched his neck and saw a trace of fresh blood on his hand.
Jing Xiu, no longer concerned about her anger, quickly stood up and looked at the injury on Li Ling’s neck. There was a half-foot-long cut caused by the hairpin, not deep but bleeding.
Li Ling could only give a helpless glance at his willful young wife.
Jing Xiu shrugged and smiled at his awkwardness, trying to find something to say. “Young Master has experienced countless battles and has seen the dangers of the battlefield, so this, this little injury shouldn’t be a problem.”
Could they be compared?
She had injured him, yet she was still nonchalantly smiling. Li Ling was so angry that he wanted to spank her.
With her delicate frame, she wouldn’t be able to withstand a slap from him, and he certainly wouldn’t want to hit her.
But she had truly angered him.
“You stubborn woman!”
Li Ling gritted his teeth and left the room in frustration.
Li Ling, feeling wronged: She has injured me to the point of bleeding, waaah–
Jing Xiu: Serves you right! Let’s see if you dare to be cruel to me in the future.
(End of this chapter)
The wife is truly…. Unbearable to watch. She has no conscience.