Chapter 11: Grievance

Just as Lady Cui was contemplating how to pin the "offending a noble" label on Wang Heng, the mischievous eldest young master, Dalang, provided an assist.

He suddenly jumped down from the stone table and pointed a finger at Wang Heng: "Fatty, you just wait!"

Having said that, he ignored the affectionate-looking Grand Madam Cui and didn't even glance at Lady Cui, running off as if no one else were there.

Even with Grand Madam Cui’s deep cunning and acting skills, her smile stiffened for a moment in the face of such an unruly, bratty child.

Regardless of anything else, she was still Dalang’s elder.

A step-grandmother is still a grandmother; even if a grandson isn't respectful, he should at least have basic manners.

For instance, one should bow when seeing an elder.

And for instance, one should ask for permission from an elder before leaving.

Grand Madam Cui completely forgot that she played a significant role in Dalang becoming so unruly and outrageous.

If it weren't for her desperate "coddling" over the past two years, Dalang wouldn't be so disrespectful to his elders and lawless.

It was Lady Cui who, upon hearing Dalang’s words, immediately convicted Wang Heng.

She suddenly turned serious, looking coldly at Wang Heng: "Jiuniang, what did you do? To actually make Dalang so angry?"

Wang Heng blinked her large eyes. Her stepmother was truly impressive; she could actually tell that Dalang was angry.

After all, Wang Heng hadn't felt any anger from Dalang at all.

His "Fatty, you just wait" sounded more like an unyielding playmate who had suddenly thought of something and was eager to show it off to her.

The three words "you just wait" meant exactly what they said.

However, looking at Lady Cui’s cold, stern expression, it seemed "you just wait" had other implications.

Wang Heng muttered to herself but didn't say anything.

It was the wet nurse standing behind her who felt aggrieved for her young mistress.

The wet nurse knew this was not the time for her to speak out of turn.

Although she was the wet nurse to the young lady, she was still just a servant.

What right did a servant have to speak casually in front of the mistress?

Unless the mistress asked a question, speaking without permission was a breach of etiquette.

Lady Cui already looked upon them with disfavor; usually, the wet nurse and Baizhi were cautious and followed the rules, fearing they would give Lady Cui an excuse to punish them.

But, at this moment...

The wet nurse truly couldn't help it.

Their Jiuniang was being too wronged, too mistreated.

"Reporting to the Lady, Jiuniang did nothing!"

"Just now, the Grand Madam ordered tea and snacks to be prepared, and Jiuniang was obediently eating them here."

"...The Lou family’s Dalang climbed onto a pillar at some point and threw a bamboo basket full of toads onto the stone table—"

The wet nurse endured her fear of Lady Cui, stood firmly in front of Wang Heng, and slowly described what had happened, trying her best not to let her voice tremble.

Lady Cui didn't want to hear the wet nurse’s explanation at all.

Her "scheme" had finally succeeded, and she only wanted to finalize Wang Heng’s guilt as quickly as possible.

The one who started the trouble was definitely Dalang. As the niece of Grand Madam Cui, how could Lady Cui not know that Dalang was wild and unruly?

It was precisely because she knew that she had brought Jiuniang to the banquet after hearing that her aunt had arrived in Hedong with the Lou family’s dependents.

She had already made up her mind to let Dalang bully Wang Heng... the reason and the process didn't matter; the result would be that the two children had "clashed."

And as a "drag-along" whose biological mother had run off to be a concubine, how could Wang Heng’s status and value compare to the only son of the head of the Lou family?

As long as Dalang was unhappy, Wang Heng would be the culprit.

Wang Lin currently needed the support of the Lou family, so he would naturally know how to make the choice.

Besides, she, Lady Cui, wasn't trying to beat the little bastard to death; she just wanted Wang Lin to send her far away, and Wang Lin would know even better what to do.

Therefore, despite all the wet nurse said, Lady Cui didn't take in a single word.

She snorted coldly, "You lowly servant, how rude! How dare you interrupt in front of the mistress?"

"And what do you mean by saying all this? Are you trying to say it’s Dalang’s fault?"

"Dalang is General Lou’s only heir, and he is currently being personally raised by my aunt, the Lou family’s Grand Madam."

"Are you saying Dalang is bad? Are you accusing General Lou of failing to teach his son? Or are you questioning my aunt’s ability to raise children?"

This charge was even greater!

It dragged out the two most noble masters of the Lou family.

Never mind a servant like the wet nurse; even if Wang Lin were present, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.

*Thump!*

The wet nurse knelt down directly, kowtowing repeatedly: "I dare not! This servant dares not!"

When the wet nurse knelt, she used such force that her knees hit the solid bluestone floor with a loud thud.

Wang Heng stood to the side, and hearing the sound, she couldn't help but gasp: *It hurts! The wet nurse must be in so much pain!*

She had to help the wet nurse.

But—

Wang Heng lowered her eyelids and looked at her own chubby, short little hands. She was still just a child.

How could she contend with an adult?

Furthermore, Lady Cui was her mother; even if she was a stepmother, she had to be filial and respectful, and could never defy her.

Wang Heng was anxious, and her eyes began to dart around.

Then, she saw a colorful little thing—

"Ah! A toad!"

"Mother, a toad jumped onto your foot!"

Wang Heng looked blank and adorable, her voice soft and sweet.

But the content of her words—

"What? What toad?"

When Grand Madam Cui and Lady Cui’s party rushed into the pavilion, a dozen toads had already "escaped."

Most had jumped back into the pond with splashes, and a few others had hopped into the grass on the other side of the pavilion.

Therefore, Grand Madam Cui and Lady Cui hadn't seen the toads and hadn't been startled.

When the wet nurse reported it earlier, she had mentioned the toads, but Lady Cui hadn't listened to her, so she had "missed" it perfectly once again.

At this moment, hearing Wang Heng mention the toad again, Lady Cui still didn't react.

However, seeing Wang Heng’s wide eyes and her chubby finger pointing at... her own foot, she followed her gaze and looked down.

"Ah~~~"

Lady Cui let out a shrill scream.

As a noble daughter of a prestigious family, Lady Cui had been pampered since birth.

From elders to servants, everyone protected her extremely well.

Never mind toads or snakes; she had never even encountered a common bug.

Filthy, disgusting... Lady Cui knew such things existed, but she had only ever seen them from afar.

Like this, with a toad jumping directly onto her foot... Lady Cui rolled her eyes back and collapsed backward.

"Lady!"

"A-Yao!!"

The pavilion descended into a new round of chaos.

Wang Heng took advantage of the chaos to grab the wet nurse’s hand, putting on a pitiful expression as if she were also frightened: "Wet nurse, scared! Want a hug!"

Wet nurse:...

She was already dumbfounded, never expecting such a divine plot twist.

However, her Jiuniang being scared was also a big deal.

She couldn't care about kneeling anymore; she scrambled up and, gritting her teeth, picked Wang Heng up.

There was no help for it; Jiuniang was a bit chubby.

A five or six-year-old girl usually weighed about forty catties.

Their Jiuniang, on the other hand, was a full fifty-plus catties... uh, she should be nearly sixty catties!

The wet nurse gritted her teeth, silently comparing.

Compared to half a month ago when she picked up the bed-bound Jiuniang, she was much heavier.

She... had almost failed to lift her!

Gritting her teeth to hold her, she only felt a sharp pain in her waist—she had almost thrown it out.

Grand Madam Cui had a massive headache. It was clearly a plan to kill two birds with one stone, so why, in the end, was she the one angered by Dalang, and Lady Cui the one who fainted?

That fat girl, Wang Heng, was saying she was scared, yet she kept stuffing things into her mouth.

Grand Madam Cui’s temple twitched and twitched. Her impression of Wang Heng was very subtle—

This was probably the first little girl who hadn't cried after being tormented by Dalang.

To be fair, Dalang’s track record was truly brilliant.

The other young masters and young ladies of the Lou family (including the children born to Grand Madam Cui) had all been tormented by Dalang to the point of misery.

Some were even so frightened that they regarded Dalang as a fierce demon or a flood-dragon.

From afar, hearing "Dalang is coming," they would immediately flee to the side, fearing an encounter.

If they were unlucky enough to be "caught" by Dalang, they would immediately concede.

A ten-year-old uncle being bullied by Dalang into kneeling and calling him "Daddy"... that was not a rare occurrence in the Lou family!

Wang Heng, a little girl who looked dull and soft, hadn't even cried in front of Dalang?

...Forget it, whether she cried or not didn't matter.

What mattered was that she had indeed made Dalang say the words "you just wait."

A-Yao’s plan could be considered a success.

Grand Madam Cui decided that when A-Yao woke up, she would have a good talk with her.

As long as the person was sent away, there was no need to worry about the rest!

For example, that wet nurse—just a servant.

Once they reached the manor, it would be very easy to make the mistress and her servants die quietly.

There was no need for Lady Cui to do it herself.

There was no need for Lady Cui to show such an aggressive, ugly face.

...

An hour later, Wang Lin personally came to the manor to pick up Lady Cui’s party.

When Wang Lin wanted to project the image of a good husband, he really tried very hard.

His eyes were gentle, and his whole being radiated a sense of relaxation and indifference.

As if coming to pick up his wife was the most natural thing in the world.

However, this ease was shattered when he saw Lady Cui being carried out and Grand Madam Cui, whose complexion was not very good.

"My lady! What happened to you?"

Wang Lin hurried over anxiously.

"Husband, I have failed you. I couldn't look after Jiuniang well, and she has caused trouble!"

"What? Ji-Jiuniang caused trouble? What, what did she do?"

Wang Lin hurriedly looked at Wang Heng.

Wang Heng’s adorable, soft little face was filled with grievance: *I didn't do anything!*

"Dalang wanted to play with Jiuniang, but Jiuniang... sigh, she provoked Dalang into saying, 'Fatty, you just wait.'"

Lady Cui was very skilled at complaining, intentionally blurring certain points and then being evasive.

Yet, the details were all facts.

But Wang Lin was no fool.

He was already clever, and having served as a magistrate for over a month, dealing with local bullies and handling lawsuits every day, he was not only familiar with the art of sophistry and quibbling, but he was also an expert himself.

He looked at the posturing Lady Cui, then at his pitiful daughter, and he knew that today, A-Jiu must have been wronged!

It wasn't that she had angered the Lou family’s Dalang, but that the brat had bullied her!

As if to confirm Wang Lin’s judgment, Dalang, who had been missing for a long time, popped out from somewhere unknown.

He spotted Wang Heng in the wet nurse’s arms and shouted: "Fatty, catch!"

*Whoosh!*

A solid, emerald-green object drew a parabola in the air and landed precisely in Wang Heng’s arms.

"Ah~~~ Snake!!"

"Poisonous snake! That’s a green bamboo snake, it’s poisonous!"