The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 1)

Chapter 109 - The Punishment (Part 1)

Cui Yingshu had no idea how much Old Master Li knew about the matter, but it didn't stop him from feeling a deep disdain for the Li family at that moment.

He stood up abruptly, blocking in front of Song Chuyi, and gave Old Master Li a cold smile. "I've only heard that men shouldn't let women interrupt their discussions; I've never heard of a victim being silenced during a trial. The Li family sure has strict rules; our Cui family cannot compare!"

In terms of rules, who could outdo the four major families that had existed for centuries? Old Master Li's face turned purple as he waved his sleeve and scolded Old Lady Li, "Shut your mouth!"

However, Old Lady Li was not one to back down easily. She even abandoned Li Shi and stormed forward, grabbing Song Chuyi's sleeve and forcefully pulling her close, scratching and clawing at her.

Cui Yingshu was caught off guard and, by the time he reacted, he was furious but upbringing prevented him from striking a woman. His body trembled with rage.

"How much suffering has your mother endured for you?! You ungrateful child! You listen to a few coaxing words and team up with outsiders to harm your own mother... I'm going to punish you, unfilial daughter, for turning against the Song family!" Old Lady Li jabbed her finger hard into Song Chuyi's forehead, causing her to lean back repeatedly.

Old Lady Song was already startled and stood up in anger, saying, "What are you doing?!"

The First Lady supported Old Lady Song, showing her own discontent and disdain.

In that moment of chaos, only First Lady Cui reacted quickly, leaping at Old Lady Li like an eagle and fiercely grabbing her hair, yanking it back.

Old Lady Li felt her scalp tighten and tingle from the pull, forcing her to release Song Chuyi.

First Lady Cui seized the opportunity to kick Old Lady Li hard in the knee and then pushed her heavily to the ground.

The room fell into stunned silence, with only Old Lady Song repeatedly calling for Yulan to take Song Chuyi away. She personally checked her from head to toe, then looked at Old Lady Li with unrestrained anger. "You just mentioned rules, and now I'm really witnessing what the so-called great rules of the Li family are! Old Lady Li, have you forgotten? This isn't your Li family's parlor; this is our Marquis's residence! How can you justify attacking our girl in our home?!"

Old Lady Li had long since stopped fearing Old Lady Song. Upon hearing this, she laughed coldly as she leaned on the already-arrived First Lady Li for support and almost frantically retorted, "You speak well! My daughter is on the verge of being wronged to death, and I should still care about rules?! Everyone has seen how she's been treated since marrying in; she has cherished Cui family's children as if they were her own. How many people in this world can do that?! Yet, despite this, your heart is biased! Just because a few from the Cui family say that Jing Shu harmed Cui Shi, you actually believe it... I'm truly heartbroken for my daughter. After raising her for so many years, she ended up raising an ungrateful wolf!"

Old Lady Song was so furious that her heart trembled. With shaking fingers, she pointed at Old Lady Li, gritting her teeth in anger. "There's no need for you to mock me for being biased! If I were truly biased, I would have used all the wrongs of your precious daughter against her all these years!"

Song Chuyi had reached the end of her patience. Suddenly, she stepped past Old Lady Song to stand beside Old Master Song, coldly staring at Old Master Li. "Old Master, if you want evidence, I have it. However, with your lady making such a scene, no amount of evidence will survive her chaos. You can't expect to cover things up just by letting her make a fuss..."

First Lady Cui quickly glanced at Old Lady Li, inwardly cursing her as an old fox. She then raised her chin and took over Song Chuyi's words. "Otherwise, I might just have to go to the palace and file a complaint!"

Old Lady Li intended to stir up trouble to sweep the matter under the rug and wanted to see if the Cui family would take her bait.

Old Master Li couldn't help but stare at this little girl, whom he had never regarded highly before. After watching her for a while, and seeing no signs of fear on her face, he was secretly astonished. However, he could only cough a few times and forced himself to remain calm. "Since there is evidence, then bring it all forward."

Song Chuyi tucked her loose hair behind her ear and calmly waved at Nanny Huang.

Nanny Huang presented the testimonies signed by Li Gui and the others, along with Lian Yi's testimony and the testimonies from those ruffians pointing fingers at Li Gui.

Even the nuns from Qingliang Temple, who had watched over Song Yi and Li Shi back in the day, had signed testimonies as well.

The more Old Master Li looked, the colder his heart felt. In the end, he couldn't hold back his fury and swung his hand heavily, giving his daughter a hard slap.

"How dare you do something that shames the Li family name?!"

Li Shi turned her head from the blow, a clear handprint appearing instantly on her fair, jade-like face, quickly swelling up. She looked at Old Lady Li with despair, hoping her mother could save her from this dire situation.

First Lady Li coldly observed the scene, revealing an expression of anticipated disdain, casting a defiant glance at her husband beside her.

Old Lady Li rushed to shield her daughter, clinging to her husband with tears streaming down her face. "Enough! The testimonies could have been coerced under severe torture... With the power of the Cui family, what can't they do?! They are bullying our daughter..."

"No one is bullying your daughter!" Old Lady Song finally regained her composure and sneered at Old Lady Li. "On the contrary, she has been the one bullying Xiao Yi. With so much evidence right in front of you, if you don't believe it, do you really want to take this to the Emperor and clear it up there?!"

There was still a chance to resolve the situation; the Cui family didn't necessarily want to escalate things. It would be best to come up with a private solution to avoid making it a public spectacle and becoming a laughingstock in the capital.

Otherwise, if word got out that Li Shi had been involved with Song Yi before marriage and had even audaciously harmed Song Yi's original wife to secure the position of the legitimate wife, the Li family would be disgraced, and Song Yi and the Song household would also lose face.

Old Lady Li felt unjustly treated and wanted to argue further, but Old Master Li understood that the Cui family would not let this go easily. If they didn't make a clear stance today, the Cui family would indeed dare to file a complaint with the Emperor.

And if they filed a complaint... He felt cold sweat dripping down, realizing that his underarms were already soaked.

Song Chuyi knew that the true decision-maker in the Li family was still Old Master Li, so she turned to look at him. "If you and the old lady feel the evidence is insufficient, I have two witnesses here. I wonder if you would like to meet them as well?"

Old Lady Li snorted coldly, her tear-filled eyes gleaming with rage as she laughed sarcastically. "Yes, of course I want to see! Who are they?"

"The Crown Prince's son and the second son of Zhennan King, Ye Jingchuan." The corner of Song Chuyi's mouth curved into a deeper smile. "Since the old lady wants to see them, I will send someone to invite them."