Ming Yulan thought that if she just endured He Xiang’s presence, life could still go on.
However, Du Xian’s actions during this period caused a faint unease in her heart. Her husband, who used to be forbearing and mild-mannered, always presenting a refined, cultured image before others, had undergone a drastic change since the Old Patriarch’s death. Perhaps suppressed for too long, or perhaps this was his true nature all along. With no one to restrain him now, he had suddenly switched faces overnight, abandoning his previous gentle and cultured demeanor.
This completely changed husband filled Ming Yulan with dread.
She knew this transformation meant that if he truly intended to usurp the Ming Family, he wouldn’t care about past respectability or future reputation. Forceful seizure was entirely possible.
Realizing this, Ming Yulan’s heart pounded heavily.
For a short while, things seemed relatively normal. Until one day, when she went to the accounting office to withdraw one hundred taels of silver. The head bookkeeper stammered hesitantly, “Madam… the Master has instructed that all future expenditures require his approval.”
Ming Yulan stood stunned on the spot for a long moment before recovering. Without a word, she left the bookkeeper and, with a tightly drawn face, rushed towards the Old Patriarch’s former courtyard.
Upon entering the courtyard, sounds of flirtatious laughter reached her ears. Ming Yulan, having endured this for some time, felt the suppression boil over. Now, she was practically an outsider in her own home. A sensation of her chest about to explode filled her.
She could no longer hold back. She ordered the two Senior Nursemaids behind her to break down the door.
With a loud bang, the door was forced open. Two people cuddling intimately on the soft couch were startled and sat up.
Seeing it was Ming Yulan, Du Xian let out a cold laugh and, without any attempt to hide, pulled He Xiang closer. He smirked smugly, “How does the Madam have time to visit my courtyard? Perhaps you wish to join in the fun?”
Ming Yulan spat, and the two Senior Nursemaids behind her also showed expressions of contempt.
“Du Xian, what is the meaning of this business with the accounting office?”
Du Xian pulled his face into a superficial, fake smile. “Madam, only the head of the household knows how costly firewood and rice are. Now, with the family’s expenses being large, if I don’t manage things, this family will be ruined. Since I’m managing it now, naturally you listen to me. What’s wrong with that?”
“Du Xian, this is the Ming Family! I am Ming Quan’s only daughter, the rightful heiress of the Ming Family! Needing your permission to take silver—what kind of colossal joke is that?”
“It seems Madam wants to remind me to change the plaque at the entrance of our home. Well, then, my management of this household would be fully justified,” Du Xian said, releasing He Xiang, standing up, and adjusting his sleeves casually. “In that case, let’s pick an auspicious day this month to get it done.”
Ming Yulan was immediately shocked. Her coming today was only to vent her anger. She knew how much her father had valued the Ming Family signboard!
And once Du Xian got his way, she would have absolutely no standing left in this household.
For a moment, blood surged in her chest, and she pointed at Du Xian, so furious she couldn’t utter a word.
Du Xian sneered. He called to the Errand Boy at the door, “Don’t you see the Madam is unwell? Quickly help her to a chair to rest.”
The Errand Boy rushed forward and forcefully seated Ming Yulan in a chair, restraining her.
Ming Yulan never imagined Du Xian would dare use force against her. She immediately panicked and started cursing loudly, “Du Xian, you Heartless Bastard! I’ll go get my uncles to judge this! The clan elders will surely expel you!”
Du Xian approached, bent down, and whispered close to her ear, lowering his voice. “Ming Yulan, do you think your uncles and grand-uncles will speak for you? Your Fifth Grand-Uncle owes debts everywhere; I just helped him clear them all. And your Seventh Grand-Uncle, Second Uncle, and Third Uncle—they’ve been waiting for your father to die for a long time. Three days after his death, they came blatantly demanding silver from me. As long as I agreed to their terms, they wouldn’t interfere in our family’s affairs. Among the rest, some are crippled, some dead. Who else do you think you can call upon to support you?”
Ming Yulan’s mind buzzed, and she shook her head, murmuring, “Impossible… impossible. Fifth Grand-Uncle and Seventh Grand-Uncle wouldn’t be like that. I don’t believe it.”
“Refuse to believe it all you want; you can go try and see,” Du Xian said, ignoring her further. He turned to the Errand Boy at the door and ordered, “Go summon the Eldest Miss. Today, we must straighten out the household’s affairs. From now on, this family can’t continue without rules and order as before.”
As the Errand Boy turned to leave, Du Xian called him back. “Bring that Ye Qiuniang and the other servants from the Eldest Miss’s courtyard as well.”
Hearing this, Ming Yulan’s face turned ghostly white. Du Xian’s threat from the other day echoed in her ears—the threat about Master Zhang of the Wanchang Granary in East City. It struck her like a thunderbolt, and her vision went black.
When the Errand Boy arrived, Ming Rou immediately sensed something was wrong. She quickly dispatched someone to notify several clan grand-uncles to come and preside over justice.
Only then did she, with Ye Qiuniang and the servants from her courtyard, arrive unhurriedly at the scene. Upon entering the room and seeing her mother pinned to a chair, she knew Du Xian was determined to tear off all pretense today.
The Ming Residence was about to change masters!
The servants knelt in rows on the ground. Ming Rou stood with her back straight, like a crane among chickens.
“Truly a daughter of mine, Du Xian. Even your bearing is superior to others.”
Seeing him lay hands on her mother, Ming Rou was already burning with anger. Her words were laced with sarcasm. “My bearing has nothing to do with you. The blood flowing in me is the Ming Family’s blood. My upbringing was taught by the Ming Family. I fail to see what credit you might have?”
Being talked back to so bluntly by his daughter, Du Xian’s face darkened. Ming Rou had never really respected him as a father. Now that he held power, his daughter was still being so defiant and disrespectful.
“Insolence! Is this how you speak to your father? Don’t you understand that a woman obeys her father at home and her husband after marriage?”
Ming Rou retorted sharply, “Father, you became the Ming Family’s Live-in Son-in-law, taking our Ming surname. The Marriage Certificate states it clearly. If anyone should be obeying, shouldn’t it be you?”
Du Xian, stung by the retort, flew into a rage. “At such a young age, you’re so ungrateful! Now that your mother is ill and confused, I am in charge of this household. From now on, I won’t tolerate your insolence!”
Suppressed by him, Ming Rou knew she had no chance of winning. Her lips were pressed tightly together. Looking at her mother restrained in the chair, she suppressed her anxiety and frequently glanced towards the door. Finally, she saw the Errand Boy sent earlier had returned, kneeling behind the crowd. When he met her gaze, he shook his head.
Ming Rou understood. She smiled bleakly. “Such a major upheaval, and not a single person from the clan dares to come. I expect you spent quite a bit of silver, didn’t you?”
“So what if I did? Money makes the devil turn the millstone. If you still wish to be your precious Eldest Miss, then obediently listen to me. Change your name to Du Rou. From now on, with fatherly love and daughterly filial piety, life won’t be any worse than before. Father will still treat you as his good daughter.”
“Or else—” Ming Rou’s eyes were cold.
Seeing his daughter still displaying a defiant, untamed expression in front of the servants, causing him to lose face, Du Xian felt his authority severely damaged. He gave a cold snort. “Master Zhao of the Wanchang Granary in East City is in need of a Ninth Concubine. He’s mentioned it to me several times; I haven’t yet responded.”
Ming Rou’s heart jolted in shock. She was only thirteen, still half a child. Before the Old Patriarch’s death, she never had to worry about anything. Except for matters related to Du Xian, her world had always been pure and beautiful. Now, hearing Du Xian’s words, she felt her stomach roil, wanting to vomit.
“My surname is Ming. To my death, it will be Ming.”
“Insolent— truly ungrateful!” Du Xian slammed his palm heavily on the table. “Liuzi, go notify Master Zhao of the Wanchang Granary to come to the Ming household tomorrow with betrothal gifts.”
“Du Xian— you dare!” Ming Yulan, who had been watching, could no longer hold back. She broke free from the two Errand Boys’ grasp, shot up from the chair, and lunged straight at Du Xian.
“If you dare harm a single hair on Rou’er’s head, I’ll fight you to the death!”
Ming Yulan pressed forward. Caught off guard, Du Xian was scratched twice on the face by her, leaving two bloody lines. He howled in pain, jumped back, and fiercely slapped Ming Yulan across the face.
With a loud smack—silence fell over the entire room.
Seeing her mother struck, how could Ming Rou endure it? Although she had always disliked her mother’s spineless nature, she was still her mother. And at a moment like this, she still tried to protect her. Ming Rou naturally couldn’t stand idly by.
But even with boundless courage, she was merely a delicate thirteen-year-old girl. With no one to support or aid her, her words carried no weight. Before she could take two steps forward, Errand Boys blocked her path.
Du Xian looked at his daughter, fiercely shielding Ming Yulan like a little leopard, her eyes blazing with anger. Behind her, Ming Yulan bore the clear red imprint of five fingers. He pulled his hand back resentfully. “Mother and daughter—neither of you is obedient. If I don’t show you some color, you’ll think my words are useless.”
Just as his words fell, a tender, coquettish voice sounded from nearby. “Cousin, I don’t like them. Drive them out.”
He Xiang’s eyes darted cunningly, fixed directly upon the mother-daughter pair, Ming Yulan and Ming Rou.
