When

choosing to negotiate, Xia Ling Mei’s imposing manner was certainly

astonis.h.i.+ng, each and every movement could pressure someone.

Wu s.h.i.+ had

already lost some of her lofty manners after experiencing that b.l.o.o.d.y spectacle

of oppression outside. This dest.i.tute person, a married woman with an

exaggerated opinion of her own abilities waited to enter the side hall after

the bloodstains had been washed away then, again started to look left and

right. Compared to the entrance where the servant had led her those ghostly

dense trees, here the maids seemed to lead her to enter a flouris.h.i.+ng blossom

spring garden, everyone was filled with anger and caution. They were alluring

and innocent, in such a dazzling pavilion they appeared lovely and moving, in a

moment diluting Wu s.h.i.+’s wariness. When she was escorted into the inner room,

she couldn’t help shake out her own chest, the corner of her eyes raised, again

returning to her brash expression, weighing each flower and tree in here, each

flower pot and each scenery, calculating how much these could be sold for, how

many gold mountains she can acc.u.mulate.

Xia Ling

Mei invited Wu s.h.i.+ to sit, Wu s.h.i.+ very casually and straightforwardly sat down

straddling the drum-shaped stool, one of her b.u.t.tocks nearly slipped off it,

rocking it twice before she could sit steadily.

Xia Ling

Mei again spoke: “Serve tea.”

“No need, I

have no patience for you, these people’s courtesy. I’ll tell you, I’ve come

here to split the family wealth, when I have the money I will buy myself good

food and drink, I have no need for your crocodile tears.”

Xia Ling

Mei raised her eyebrow, so this Wu s.h.i.+ is actually a straightforward person.

“Since this

is so, then does the madam have a token to proof your ident.i.ty?”

Wu s.h.i.+’s

eyes glared at her, pulling w.a.n.g Yun in front: “What token, this son is the

best proof. He is the old master’s own son.”

Xia Ling

Mei didn’t even look at w.a.n.g Yun, only asking Wu s.h.i.+: “The old master the madam

speaks of what is his surname? The birth data for astrological purposes? And what year, what month,

what date did he spend a l.u.s.tful night with the madam, resulting in this such an

honest and sincere brother?” Speaking, she swept her eyes over glimpsing at

w.a.n.g Yun, scaring the other person to quiver from head to toe, after shuddering

every pore stretched out, unexpectedly somewhat like the relaxation and

languidness after experiencing what he desired, he couldn’t help look and look

again at Xia Ling Mei, his expression slowly became impudent.

Xia Ling

Mei sneered: “Ask the old housekeeper to come here.”

Not long after,

the old housekeeper came into the house with two strong and robust youths

carrying two baskets of books.

That Wu s.h.i.+

already knew the w.a.n.g family would ask about old master w.a.n.g’s past, at once

she opened her mouth saying: “Humph, who doesn’t know my old master’s surname

is w.a.n.g. If his surname is something else why would I take my time to find you?

I’m telling you, my old master was born in the early years of Tian An, birthday at the start of the

seventh month on the seventh day at the beginning of the day. Fifteen years

after Tian An he met me, he said if I

gave him a healthy son, he would take me home to be a primary wife. Who was to

know that my waiting here and there yet the day never arrived, alone raising

his child to at last find out he had died much earlier, my suffering son…”

hugging 

w.a.n.g Yun crying her lungs out.

The old

person’s complexion in the house changed on the spot. Although the old master

of the w.a.n.g family had long pa.s.sed away of illness, yet it wasn’t even right for

outsiders to again and again use him to have a crying fit. The person who

should genuinely be crying sat at the main hall.

“May I

venture to ask this madam, you said my family’s master was born on the seventh

of the seventh month?”

Wu s.h.i.+

flung open a handkerchief: “Don’t tell me I don’t even remember when my

deceased man was born?”

The old

housekeeper appeared to be choking on air: “Then I can’t help myself, the

birthday you talk about does not match with my family’s master.”

Wu s.h.i.+

stared at him: “You’re talking nonsense. Everyone in the w.a.n.g family knows the

birthday of my man”

The old

housekeeper laughed: “Indeed, outsiders know the old master’s birthday, just

like how common people know when the current emperor was born. Every single

influential family, everybody has two birthdays. One is the date ten months

after their birth mother conceived them, and another is the actual date and

time they were born. After the divine ancestor of the emperor of Dayan was

cursed by witchcraft hundreds of years ago, regardless if their the imperial

family or the child of an influential family, after they are born they will

have two birth data, the date told to everyone is the day predicted, and the

actual birthday is only known by the biological parents. You say your master

was born on the seventh of the seventh month, then it doesn’t match with my

family’s old master. Naturally your son w.a.n.g Yun’s father also cannot be our

family’s old master.”

Witchcraft

always required the actual birth data of the person needed to be cursed,

sticking it on to a voodoo doll, everyday using needles to stab it, it would

make the person living but would rather be dead and mind unclear, gradually

weakening until death. Apart from that divine ancestor of the emperor who

suffered great harm back then, even the great Xia family, would also

meticulously conceal a child’s birthday, only the year and month were correct, sometimes

even the definite date is a little bit altered. Apart from the biological

parents and the midwife who personally delivered them and wet nurse, extremely

little people knew. Such a large influential family like the Xia family, the

midwife who delivered them were born in the family, naturally there was no

worry for information leak.

Xia family

acted in this way, w.a.n.g family too, therefore, Wu s.h.i.+ said everyone in the w.a.n.g

family knew the old master’s birthday, these words were reliable but also

unreliable. Perhaps w.a.n.g old master really didn’t tell her his birthday, maybe he

had picked up behind that person Wu s.h.i.+’s back that she simply did not know the

old master w.a.n.g’s birthday. If it was another mother of a small family, she may

not necessarily know the secrets hidden by the influential families. The sad

thing is, the Xia family was precisely good at genuinely and falsely deceive

people, they naturally understood these things.

Wu s.h.i.+

looked distracted for a moment, she suddenly sat on the ground crying loudly:

“G.o.dd.a.m.n, this old woman gave birth to a son for you, you actually didn’t even

tell me your birthday, your conscience has been eaten by a dog! Waste the time

I spent on raising your son, fine if you don’t marry me, you even support a

group of people to bully us orphan and widowed mother…” As she cried she kicked

the ground, moving about like a shrew, just like those times she had caused

trouble at the w.a.n.g residence main entrance. She was certain the w.a.n.g family

had a good reputation, unable to bear her hanging around, making such an

unreasonable scene.

Xia Ling

Mei coldly snorted, while drinking tea she asked unintentionally: “Is that

person who just had his four limbs cut off still alive?”

The old

housekeeper hurriedly lowered his head: “Reporting to the madam, before this

old servant arrived that person had already seized to breath.”

The sound

of Wu s.h.i.+’s weeping halted.

“He stopped

breathing so quickly? I only chopped off his arms and legs, and not chop off

his head, he died too quickly.”

The old

housekeeper said: “Indeed. His crimes actually didn’t deserve death, he only

stole things from the house to repay his gambling debts, all in all around

several hundred silvers. However, his worse mistake was to lie to the master.

If that person lies once it will become second nature, and committing outrages

by means of falsity pa.s.sing it off as genuine, he ought to die. Cutting off his

four limbs and excessive blood loss is regarded as nothing, he ought to have

been dragged out into the streets and hacked to pieces.”

Wu s.h.i.+’s

howling became stuck in her throat, a hiccup sounding out.

Xia Ling

Mei nodded her head, as if a single human life in the eyes of such an

influential family simply meant nothing. She turned her head to ask Wu s.h.i.+:

“What year did your family’s master meet you?”

Wu s.h.i.+

foolishly replied: “Sixteenth year of Tian

An.”

The old

housekeeper immediately made someone rummage through the pile of books moved

here to find the volume marking out the sixteenth year of Tian An, licking his fingers he flipped through the book saying:

“The year the old master turned fifteen he took part in the final exams at

Bailu academy, achieving seventh place. The first six months of that year he

was at the residence studying, he went out three times, he never left Beiding

City. On the seventh month he was betrothed to the old mistress, three months

later he was occupied with matters of taking over the official residence, he

simply did not go far away. On the ninth month the old master paid respect to

the crown prince’s greatest tutor at that time, becoming his disciple, helping

the teacher together to amend the

, continuously until the

eighteenth year of Tian An he took

the administrative test, entering the government as an official. Before and

after these four years, the old master never once left Beiding City.”

Xia Ling

Mei brushed away the maid’s ma.s.sage: “Since grandpa didn’t go far away at least

once, then this master w.a.n.g Yun from another part of the country is not

grandpa’s son?”

The corner

of the old housekeeper’s mouth twitched: “No. The books doc.u.ment every minute

detail of the old master from when he was born to his funeral recording every

words and actions, even if he ate more than one bowl of swallow’s nest congee

on a day it’s recorded, it can’t be wrong.”

Xia Ling

Mei again asked: “Then this madam and master w.a.n.g Yun has slandered a

government official of the previous dynasty, if it’s taken to the authorities…”

“In the

legal code of the Dayan, an ordinary person guilty of slandering an official of

the government is punishable by death. More serious circ.u.mstances, exterminate

three generations, public beheading at the south gate.”

Xia Ling

Mei asked Wu s.h.i.+: “May I venture to ask this madam, do you have any other

relatives? Three generations at least also includes your parents and children, are

you prepared for the whole family to be decapitated, dying without an intact

body?”

Wu s.h.i.+’s

complexion paled, pointing at Xia Ling Mei: “You, you…you’re speaking nonsense.

My family’s master, what sort of daughter-in-law did you find, she wants to

kill your woman and son, she’s…”

Xia Ling

Mei coldly said: “It looks as if this madam is determined to hang onto our w.a.n.g

family. Someone come, request an officer here, take these two people to the

jails. Old housekeeper, please go and organise things, we must make sure the

officers treat this incomparably honourable old madam properly, also…”

“Ma, Madam…may,

maybe we got, got it wrong.” w.a.n.g Yun who hadn’t opened his mouth at all

trembling with fear got up.

“Oh----“

“Yes, yes.

My master’s surname is indeed w.a.n.g, but may not definitely be, be this family…”

Xia Ling

Mei laughed happily looking at him, for quite some time before saying: “Really.

w.a.n.g family is a large and influential family, from top to bottom there might

not be a hundred but at least seventy, eighty masters with the surname w.a.n.g,

there are at least thirty of those who are pa.s.sed forty years old. Those are

not from our main branch, maybe the second branch, yes or no?”

“Yes,” w.a.n.g

Yun Feng shuddered, kneeling down, “Maybe it’s the second branch I cannot say

for sure.”

Xia Ling

Mei gazed at w.a.n.g Yun rather deep in thought: “That person in the second branch

back then was quite a romantic, besides the wives and concubines within the

residence, there’s also two other mistresses. All year round drinking alcohol

and appreciating flowers outside, he couldn’t avoid being presented one or two

beauties as a gift from close friends, a golden house to keep his mistress. Oh,

that’s right, when he was young, that old man had gone away travelling, going

to quite a few places.”

w.a.n.g Yun

covered in cold sweat, watching Xia Ling Mei almost give off a ray of light.

The mother and son had originally been picked to swindle w.a.n.g Yun Feng, at

first they didn’t plan on getting the greatest family wealth. However thinking

these great families were afraid of being humiliated, willing to use money to

cover a scandal. It encouraged the mother and son to at least demand more than

ten thousand silvers, and including the reward from the person behind the

scene, allowing the mother and son to live comfortably without distress. At

that time w.a.n.g Yun would buy a large house with that money, marry a delicately

pretty young lady, and pay to be a petty official to be a free and unfettered

official.

He didn’t

expect to be s.e.x-crazed, his mother Wu s.h.i.+ saw the better aspects of society,

her appet.i.te had increased, set on the w.a.n.g family, not letting go. But w.a.n.g

Yun was sweet talked by Xia Ling Mei into deterring, he couldn’t even distinguish

between east, west, south and north, only thinking this beauty’s voice was

pleasant to hear, whatever she wanted him to do he would willingly go and do

it, his head only knew how to nod.

Until

someone took them to another small courtyard outside, that was when he finally

returned to his senses. Why didn’t he begged the beauty to remain by her side

just now, even if it’s to serve her for a lifetime was also fine. That waist,

that face, and the tone she spoke made his bones weak.

Xia Ling

Mei scared those two people, in a moment she sent people to monitor them, use

an opponent’s own methods to obtain retribution, let the second branch of the

family also experience being hara.s.sed that even c.o.c.ks and dogs are not at

peace. These past days, she again went through the residence once, those who

ought to be beaten were beaten, those ought to be rewarded were rewarded, those

ought to be sold were sold, the old housekeeper genuinely and honestly handed

over the housekeeping duties into her hands. This was long ago ordered by w.a.n.g

Yun Feng, and was one of the methods in keeping Xia Ling Mei here.

See, if

you’re not at the residence, someone could just come up as they pleased to

cause trouble, the people inside are also in a hideous mess without anyone

controlling them, on your return, you corrected the household.

Again a few

days pa.s.sed, the weather gradually became cooler and refres.h.i.+ng, w.a.n.g Yun Feng

also returned home.