Chapter 696 - 254: Heavenly Punishment

Chapter 696: Chapter 254: Heavenly Punishment

Xu Shiniang was completely dumbfounded. So after all that, it was still his fault?

He laughed out of sheer anger. Pointing at Xu Su Ying, he said, "I needed to see Jing’s true abilities. Being an official is nothing like academic study. Father and I won’t live forever, and he will be the one carrying the Xu family on his shoulders in the future. If we don’t test his limits, how could we ever dare to pass the torch to him?"

Xu Su Ying stood with her hands on her hips and retorted aggressively, "I have no objections to you testing the child. But before you do, shouldn’t you at least equip him properly? He doesn’t have a single subordinate at his disposal, and his pocket money is practically non-existent. Without money or manpower, do you think he’s some kind of god? Did you expect him to just effortlessly repel his enemies?"

"I knew it," Xu Su Ying huffed angrily. "I was away from home for twenty years, and you all grew distant from me. Because of that, your affection for Jing and Qing’er is lacking, too. Why is my life so miserable? Why did I even return to this house? I might as well head straight back to Xinghuai Prefecture!"

Xu Shiniang felt his head pounding, feeling completely overwhelmed. At this moment, he truly wanted to drop dead just to prove his innocence.

He wondered how she could claim Jing had no manpower. He did. The moment he arrived at the estate, the family had assigned two manservants to attend to him. They even provided a dedicated carriage for his daily use, fully equipped with a driver and errand boys.

As for Jing’s monthly silver, it was matched exactly to what Yan Lin received. To show how much they valued their niece’s husband—and considering that as a man, he would inevitably have social obligations outside—Xu Shiniang had specifically instructed the servants to give Jing an extra three thousand taels of Silver on top of his first monthly silver, just to ensure he had ample funds to maneuver.

How could she say he was failing as an uncle? Yanhe currently received dozens of taels less in his monthly silver than Jing did, and he was Yanhe’s biological father! Xu Shiniang felt horribly wronged. Completely mentally and physically exhausted, he lost all desire to argue.

He waved his hand wearily. "Just go. I don’t want to see your face for a whole month."

"All right, I’ll take my leave then."

Xu Su Ying dusted herself off and prepared to slip away, but Old Sir Xu, who had been silent this entire time, suddenly spoke up. "Ying’er."

This time, it was Xu Su Ying’s turn to feel her scalp tingle with dread. Whenever her father called her with that exact tone, it never meant anything good. Dropping all attempts at bantering, Xu Su Ying obediently turned back around and stood at attention.

"Please don’t scold me. I know I was wrong, all right?" she said. "I didn’t want to intervene either, but Jing is entirely unfamiliar with the people and places here in the Capital City. I was terrified he might leave behind too many clues and fail to cover his tracks properly, which is why I snatched the task away from him. I promise, this will be the one and only time."

Pouting like a spoiled child, she added, "Jing has only just entered officialdom. You have to give him time to adapt. I took the fall for him this once, but if anything else happens after this, I’ll wash my hands of it entirely."

Old Sir Xu neither agreed nor disagreed. He simply offered a stern warning. "I did not pursue the matter the first time, and I can let things slide this time as well. However, there may be a first and second time, but there will never be a third. If there is a third time..."

"If there is a third time, you can punish me by making me kneel in the ancestral hall and taking thirty strikes of the cane! Does that sound fair?"

A sarcastic smirk appeared on Xu Shiniang’s face, seemingly mocking Xu Su Ying for actually stooping so low as to play the victim. She had certainly spent her fair share of time kneeling in the ancestral hall, but a caning? It was a laughable thought. From childhood to adulthood, their father had never even been able to bear speaking a harsh word to her. If he actually dared to order her caned, the old madam would tear the ancestral hall down to its foundations.

With that, the matter was finally and entirely put to rest. Beaming with joy, Xu Su Ying stood up and prepared to leave the hall.

Xu Shiniang hastily called out to stop her. "You still haven’t explained it! What on earth was that so-called Meteor?"

Xu Su Ying looked at her brother, then at her father, and chuckled mischievously. "Well, about that..."

The so-called Meteor was naturally not a real Meteor at all. However, the so-called meteorite was indeed a genuine meteorite. It was an item she had dug out from her storehouse. It wasn’t very large—just three pieces, each about the size of an adult’s palm.

That night, she had summoned the servants by her side, and the group headed to a residence situated not far from the embassy. She had only just purchased the property. It had no particular redeeming qualities save for one: there was an ancient ginkgo tree in the courtyard, and it was exceptionally tall and dense.

She had the men hide in the branches and handed them small crossbows equipped with thousand-mile eyes. Using pieces of the meteorite as "arrows" for the ammunition, she coated them in a layer of fuel that would completely burn away mid-flight.

The crossbows boasted tremendous firing power. If someone took a direct, precise hit, there was a ninety percent chance it would be fatal. Her calculations were spot on; three men had indeed died.

And good riddance. Before beating a dog, one must answer to its master. Since they had dared to bully Jing, they couldn’t blame her, as his mother, for stepping up to exact vengeance on his behalf.