Just Confront

With that, Su Yuexi led Sikong Jing into the courtyard.

When they reached the main hall, Mei Xiaofang had already emerged from her room, her face still dark with gloom.

This time, she naturally noticed Sikong Jing's presence and pointed directly at him, asking, "Are you that criminal?"

Sikong Jing's expression sank further. He loathed the word "criminal," as his charges had been forcibly fabricated by Yan Tianmo and Yan Ruyu. However, remembering Su Yuexi's instructions, he held his tongue and said, "Mother-in-law, I..."

"Stop. Do not call me mother-in-law; it disgusts me to hear it," Mei Xiaofang snapped, cutting him off.

Su Yuexi's face paled slightly. She reached out with her slender, jade-like hand to grip Sikong Jing's, as if offering a timid comfort.

At that moment, Mei Xiaofang looked at Su Yuexi and commanded, "Kneel."

Su Yuexi's entire body trembled, and her eyes reddened, but she prepared to sink to her knees. Suddenly, she felt the thick, large hand she was holding pull her back firmly, refusing to let her kneel.

"I said, kneel!"

Mei Xiaofang had not noticed Sikong Jing's subtle intervention, assuming instead that Su Yuexi was refusing to kneel out of defiance.

Biting her lip, Su Yuexi pulled her hand away with force and dropped to her knees with a thud.

"Someone, bring me a ruler."

At Mei Xiaofang's command, a servant brought over a ruler.

Clutching it in her hand, she flew into a rage and cursed at Su Yuexi, "I'll beat you to death, you jinx! I'll beat you to death, you monster! I'll beat you to death, you wretch who is going to be the death of your father!"

The ruler swung down hard toward Su Yuexi, who instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.

However, she felt no pain, even after a long moment.

A sudden panic gripped her heart. When she opened her eyes, she saw exactly what she had feared: her mother's hand was being held firmly by Sikong Jing.

It was over!

Now, her mother would surely be even more furious.

"Si—Sikong Jing, let go of Mother's hand quickly," Su Yuexi whispered instinctively.

Sikong Jing remained as immovable as a mountain. His eyes had turned icy, and a fire burned within his chest.

"Criminal, you dare stop me from disciplining my daughter?"

Mei Xiaofang exploded, her eyes brimming with raging fury as she gritted her teeth.

Sikong Jing closed his eyes for a moment, struggling to calm his spirit, but when he opened them, his gaze was resolute. "I'm sorry, Yuexi, but I cannot endure this."

As his voice fell, Sikong Jing glared at Mei Xiaofang with tiger-like eyes and spoke, word by word: "Yuexi is my wife first and your daughter second. Did you ask me before deciding to discipline her?"

They say that a married daughter is like spilled water.

In the Great Shang Dynasty, once a daughter was married off, she belonged to another family.

Therefore, Su Yuexi was now his woman.

Mei Xiaofang was well aware of this, but her eyes remained defiant. "She is going to be the death of her father, so I must discipline her."

"Yuexi did not ask Father-in-law to bring her back from the pig farm."

Sikong Jing retorted sharply, "Yuexi was brought back from the Su Clan Enforcement Hall by Father-in-law."

As his voice fell, Mei Xiaofang's fierce expression suddenly froze. "The Enforcement Hall?"

Releasing Mei Xiaofang's hand, Sikong Jing turned to face Su Yuexi. He reached out and pulled away her veil, revealing the half of her face that had been trampled by Aunt Dou, the blood still not fully congealed.

Su Yuexi gasped and covered her face, which was hideous enough to terrify anyone.

But Sikong Jing forcibly pulled her hands away. He did not fear her ugliness; he only cherished the person within.

Besides, he would soon reach the ninth level of the Bright Realm, and by then, Su Yuexi would bloom with the most radiant beauty.

He then took out the white handkerchief Su Yuexi had used to wipe his blood at the pig farm shack and gently dabbed at her face, saying, "A shrew named Aunt Dou caused this by trampling her into the dirt."

Mei Xiaofang's expression shifted, her gaze flickering as she asked, "What happened at the Enforcement Hall?"

"I killed that shrew."

Sikong Jing spoke in a deep tone, recounting the events from beginning to end, before suddenly standing up to look Mei Xiaofang in the eye.

"May I ask, Mother-in-law, where were you when that shrew was trampling Yuexi?"

"Where were you when Su Yun was insulting her? Where were you when Su Zhengtao was about to sentence her to a hundred strikes of the rod?"

"If Father-in-law hadn't happened to go to the pig farm to find her, you wouldn't need to be throwing a tantrum here—you would be collecting her corpse!"

Sikong Jing's voice was resonant and powerful, each word striking Mei Xiaofang like a blow.

Mei Xiaofang's mouth hung open, unable to utter a single word, her face turning shades of green, red, and white.

Suddenly, unable to bear his interrogation, she snapped, "That was still caused by you, you criminal! If you hadn't killed Aunt Dou, would Yuexi have been taken to the Enforcement Hall?"

Sikong Jing roared, "If you are determined to condemn someone, you will always find a pretext! Do you really think a mere servant would dare fabricate the story about the stolen pigs?"

Mei Xiaofang's expression stiffened further. She knew full well that this was Su Zhengtao's trap, intended to drive Yuexi's father to his grave.

"A mother should not despise her daughter for her looks."

"Yet you—calling her a jinx in one breath and a monster in the next. Is Yuexi even your own flesh and blood?"

Sikong Jing pressed his advantage, stepping forward with every word.