Chapter Eleven: Injustice

While Madam Cui was plotting how to pin the blame of “offending a noble” on Wang Heng, the mischievous Dalang unexpectedly lent a hand.

Suddenly, he jumped down from the stone table, pointed a finger at Wang Heng, and declared, “Fat girl, just you wait!”

With that, he paid no heed to the affectionate Madam Dowager Cui, nor spared a glance at Madam Cui herself, but ran off as if no one else existed.

Even with all her deep scheming and masterful acting, the Dowager’s smile froze for a moment at the utter lack of manners from such a wild child.

After all, she was Dalang’s elder. A step-grandmother was still a grandmother; as a grandson, even if he wasn’t reverent, he ought to show basic respect.

For instance, he should bow when meeting his elders. Or, when leaving, he should ask for permission first.

Madam Dowager Cui had completely forgotten how much she herself contributed to Dalang’s unruliness and disregard for decorum with her recent years of indulgent doting. If not for her determined spoiling, Dalang would never have become so wild and lawless.

It was Madam Cui who, upon hearing Dalang’s words, immediately condemned Wang Heng.

Her expression suddenly turned stern and cold as she fixed her gaze on Wang Heng. “Jiunian, what have you done to make Dalang so angry?”

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

After all, Wang Heng hadn’t sensed a trace of anger from Dalang. His “Just you wait, fat girl” sounded more like a stubborn playmate who’d come up with something and was eager to show it off to her.

The words “just you wait” seemed to mean exactly what they said—nothing more.

Yet, judging by Madam Cui’s icy, severe expression, perhaps “just you wait” meant something else entirely.

Wang Heng wondered silently, but said nothing.

It was Nanny Fu, standing behind her, who felt wronged for her young mistress. Nanny Fu knew that this was not the moment for her to speak up. Though she was the little lady’s nursemaid, she was still a servant. In front of the mistress, a maid had no right to speak unless spoken to—otherwise, speaking out of turn was a breach of decorum.

Madam Cui already disliked their little group. Usually, Nanny Fu and Baizhi acted with utmost caution, fearing Madam Cui would seize on any misstep.

But now, Nanny Fu couldn’t hold back. Her young mistress was truly being wronged.

“Madam, with respect, Jiuniang has done nothing wrong!” Nanny Fu mustered her courage. “Just now, the Dowager ordered refreshments to be brought, and Jiuniang obediently stayed here to eat. Dalang must have climbed the pillar at some point and tossed a basket of toads onto the stone table—”

Suppressing her fear of Madam Cui, Nanny Fu stood firm before Wang Heng, struggling to keep her voice steady as she recounted what had happened.

But Madam Cui had no interest in her explanation. Her scheme had finally succeeded; all she wanted was to see Wang Heng’s guilt confirmed.

It was clear Dalang had started the commotion. As the Dowager’s own niece, Madam Cui knew full well how wild and untamable Dalang was.

Precisely because of this, she’d brought Jiuniang to the banquet upon hearing her aunt had arrived with the Lou family. She’d planned all along for Dalang to bully Wang Heng—the reasons or the process didn’t matter. The result would be two children “at odds.”

And Wang Heng, a girl whose own mother had run off to be someone’s concubine, could hardly compare in status or worth to the Lou family’s only son.

So long as Dalang was displeased, Wang Heng would be the scapegoat.

Right now, Wang Lin needed the Lou family’s support. He knew perfectly well what choice to make.

Besides, Madam Cui never intended to do the little wretch any real harm—just have Wang Lin send her far away. He would know what to do.

Therefore, no matter how much Nanny Fu said, Madam Cui didn’t listen to a word.

With a cold snort, she snapped, “Insolent maid! How dare you speak out of turn before your mistress?”

“And what is this supposed to mean? Are you claiming Dalang is at fault?”

“Dalang is General Lou’s only heir, and now he’s personally raised by my aunt, the Dowager. To say Dalang is at fault—is that an accusation that General Lou cannot teach his son, or that my aunt cannot raise a child?”

This was an even graver charge—dragging the most distinguished members of the Lou household into it.

Even Wang Lin himself could hardly withstand this, let alone a servant like Nanny Fu.

With a thud, Nanny Fu dropped to her knees and kowtowed repeatedly. “I dare not! I dare not!”

The force of her kneeling was so great that her knees landed hard on the stone floor with a resounding crack.

Standing to the side, Wang Heng winced at the sound—it must have hurt badly! Nanny Fu must be in pain!

She wanted to help Nanny Fu.

But—

Wang Heng looked down at her own chubby, stubby hands. She was still just a child.

How could she stand up to an adult?

Besides, Madam Cui was her mother—even if only a stepmother, she owed her respect and obedience, never defiance.

Wang Heng grew anxious; her eyes darted about.

Then she spotted a colorful little thing—

“Ah! A toad!”

“Mother, there’s a toad on your foot!”

Wang Heng’s voice was soft and childlike, her round face blank with innocence.

But what she said—

“What? Toad?” Madam Dowager Cui and Madam Cui had rushed into the pavilion so quickly that most of the toads had already “escaped.” Most had leapt back into the pond, with only a few hopping into the grass on the other side.

So, neither Madam Dowager Cui nor Madam Cui saw the toads and were not frightened.

When Nanny Fu had mentioned the toads earlier, Madam Cui had paid no attention, so that detail had been missed.

Now, hearing Wang Heng mention toads again, Madam Cui still didn’t react at first. But then she saw Wang Heng’s wide eyes and chubby finger pointing at her own foot, so she looked down.

“Ahhh—!”

Madam Cui let out a piercing scream.

As a noblewoman of an illustrious family, Madam Cui had been coddled from birth. From elders down to maids, everyone protected her.

She had never so much as touched a toad or a snake—she barely even saw bugs from afar.

Filthy and disgusting… she knew such things existed, but only at a distance.

But now, a toad had actually jumped onto her foot—Madam Cui’s eyes rolled back and she collapsed backward.

“Madam!”

“Ayao!”

The pavilion descended into fresh chaos.

Wang Heng, meanwhile, took advantage of the confusion to grab Nanny Fu’s hand, feigning fear. “Nanny Fu, I’m scared! Hold me!”

Nanny Fu was momentarily stunned by the turn of events.

Still, her young mistress was frightened, and that was important. She didn’t hesitate any longer, scrambling up and, gritting her teeth, hoisted Wang Heng into her arms.

But Wang Heng was rather heavy.

A girl of five or six usually weighed around forty pounds. But her Jiuniang already weighed over fifty—almost sixty!

Nanny Fu braced herself—compared to half a month ago, when she had to drag her mistress out of bed, she’d clearly gained weight.

She nearly failed to lift her! Even as she finally managed it, her back ached—she’d nearly thrown it out.

Madam Dowager Cui was left with a headache. What had seemed like a flawless plan, meant to kill two birds with one stone, had ended with herself angered and Madam Cui fainting.

Wang Heng, the “fat girl,” claimed to be scared, but kept popping food into her mouth.

Madam Dowager Cui’s temples twitched as she regarded Wang Heng with mixed feelings.

This must be the first little girl who, after Dalang’s mischief, hadn’t burst into tears.

Dalang’s record was infamous. All the other boys and girls of the Lou family—including Madam Dowager Cui’s own children—had been tormented by Dalang until they were miserable.

Some were so frightened they regarded Dalang as a monster.

At the mere rumor of Dalang’s arrival, they would flee, terrified of running into him.

If they were unlucky enough to be caught, they’d immediately surrender.

Even uncles in their teens had been bullied to the point of kneeling and calling him “Father.” In the Lou family, such things were hardly rare.

But Wang Heng, a chubby, soft little girl, didn’t even cry in front of Dalang?

Well, whether she cried or not was unimportant.

What mattered was that she had indeed provoked Dalang to utter those words: “Just you wait.”

Ayao’s plan had succeeded.

Madam Dowager Cui resolved to speak with her niece once she awoke. As long as the girl was sent away, the rest could be ignored.

As for Nanny Fu—just a servant. Once on the manor, it would be easy enough for a few servants to quietly disappear.

There was no need for Madam Cui to act the villain any longer.

…

An hour later, Wang Lin personally came to the estate to collect Madam Cui and her party.

When Wang Lin wished to present himself as a good husband, he truly made the effort.

His eyes were gentle, his whole manner relaxed and composed, as though picking up his wife was the most natural thing in the world.

But the illusion was shattered when he saw Madam Cui being carried out, and the Dowager’s ashen face.

“My lady! What’s wrong?”

Wang Lin hurried forward.

“Husband, I’m sorry… I failed to watch over Jiuniang—she’s caused trouble again!”

“What? Jiuniang got into trouble? What did she do?”

Wang Lin looked anxiously at Wang Heng.

Her chubby, innocent face was filled with grievance: I didn’t do anything!

“Dalang wanted to play with Jiuniang, but she… alas, she angered Dalang so much he said, ‘Fat girl, just you wait.’”

Madam Cui knew how to lodge a complaint—deliberately vague, picking and choosing her words so that every detail was technically true.

But Wang Lin was no fool.

He was clever by nature, and after more than a month as county magistrate, he dealt daily with local gentry and lawsuits.

He was thoroughly versed in the arts of sophistry and debate—indeed, he was a master himself.

He looked at the posturing Madam Cui, then at his pitiful daughter, and knew at once: today, his Ajiao had been wronged!

It wasn’t that she had angered Dalang, but that boy had bullied her!

As if to confirm Wang Lin’s suspicions, Dalang—who had been absent for some time—suddenly appeared again.

He fixed his gaze on Wang Heng in Nanny Fu’s arms and shouted, “Fat girl! Catch!”

With a whizz, a jade-green object arced through the air, landing squarely in Wang Heng’s arms.

“Aah! A snake!”

“A venomous snake! That’s a green bamboo viper—it’s poisonous!”