They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 266 Apology
Young Master Qi coughed politely, "Mingzhu, you acted impulsively. Blood ties are not something that can be easily severed. It's perfectly normal for me to greet them and show them hospitality. You shouldn't have acted rashly without asking first, which only caused a misunderstanding."

Zeng Mingzhu stared wide-eyed in disbelief: "."

So the Joker was actually herself?

Xu Zhichun: "Since Young Master Qi also said that Young Master Qi's wife caused a misunderstanding, and that Young Master Qi's wife hit and cursed people, shouldn't she give us an explanation?"

Liang Mingliang was pacing around his wife, feeling extremely distressed, and was quietly comforting her when he heard this. He immediately looked up and turned his head: "That's right, we have to get an explanation! Rushing up and attacking like that, what kind of person is that? Even the most shrewish and unreasonable old lady in our village wouldn't do that."

Zeng Mingzhu was so angry she nearly fell over: "You!"

How dare they compare her to those vulgar, low-class village women, and even try to belittle her!
"Why only criticize me? That little bitch—"

"Who are you scolding?"

Young Master Qi glanced at Zeng Mingzhu with displeasure, his brows furrowing slightly in disgust. He hadn't noticed before, but now he was increasingly aware that his wife wasn't as dignified, virtuous, gentle, and kind as she had initially appeared.

Zeng Mingzhu choked again—she didn't care about being questioned by Xu Zhichun; what truly upset her was her husband's attitude.

Zeng Mingzhu had to suppress her anger: "Is it my fault for speaking recklessly in anger? Didn't Zeng Xiaoyan lay a hand on me? She laid a hand on me more often than I did, so how do you explain that? You should give me an explanation."

Xu Zhichun: "That's not how you calculate things. You started it and then insulted and slandered me. Isn't it normal for others to fight back? Even if I only hit you once more, or even if I hit you ten more times, it's still my right. Who told you to attack me for no reason? There's a saying that's crude but true. What's it again? 'The one who starts it is the one who's despicable.'"

"How dare you scold me!"

"I'm clearly trying to reason with you."

Zeng Xiaoyan, filled with hatred, sneered, "Sister-in-law Zhichun, don't be like that. Some people don't even know what 'reason' means. We should just stand there obediently and let her hit and scold us without fighting back. That's what befits her status as the eldest daughter of the Zeng family and the young mistress of the Qi family."

Liang Mingliang was heartbroken: "How dare she! We don't eat her rice, what right does she have? Honey, I'm so sorry, it's my fault. If I had run faster, I could have stopped her from doing it."

Zeng Xiaoyan gave him a reproachful look, "Alright, I'm not blaming you."

It hurt a bit, but thankfully she didn't suffer any real harm.

I must say, when I slapped Zeng Mingzhu across the face twice, it felt incredibly satisfying.

She won 1-2—that's a perfectly acceptable way to console herself.

Zeng Mingzhu was overwhelmed by jealousy, anger, and frustration. Her chest burned with pain. Even this vile woman had someone who cared for her, while her husband sat calmly to the side, not even glancing at her, let alone offering any concern or comfort.

She was outshone by that bitch again!

"Husband, you...you're just going to watch them humiliate me? You're just going to watch?"

Zeng Xiaoyan: "Who humiliated you? Sister-in-law Zhichun is right, the one who starts it is despicable. Shouldn't Young Master Qi apologize?"

"Don't even think about it!"

"hehe!"

"Young Madam Qi is indeed impressive, and the Qi family has a truly fine family tradition."

Young Master Qi frowned and glanced at Zeng Mingzhu with displeasure. This glance pierced Zeng Mingzhu's heart, causing her excruciating pain once again.

Although Young Master Qi secretly resented his wife for being meddlesome, he couldn't really not protect her in front of outsiders.

“Even if Madam Zeng is wrong, she hit Liang’s Third Young Mistress three times—cough cough, she hit Liang’s Third Young Mistress once, and Liang’s Third Young Mistress hit her twice, so it’s even, don’t you all think?” Zeng Xiaoyan: “Fine, it’s even with me, but she also insulted Sister-in-law Zhichun. Shouldn’t she apologize to Sister-in-law Zhichun? Or does Young Master Qi think that having Sister-in-law Zhichun slap her would be enough to even things out?”

Liang Mingxuan: "If Madam Qi doesn't apologize, we'll have no choice but to go back and ask Master Zeng for his opinion."

Zeng Mingzhu was furious, "You dare?"

Liang Mingxuan glanced at her and looked away; whether she dared or not was not up to her.

Zeng Mingzhu's face darkened further. Her last visit to her parents' home had caused quite a stir, and her father was already very displeased, even scolding and blaming her. Although her eldest brother hadn't blamed her, he had subtly advised her to live a good life—listen to that, what kind of talk was that!

If they come knocking again, she's not worried about her mother being affected, but it's hard to say about her father and older brother.

Young Master Qi isn't exactly handsome either; no son-in-law would want to embarrass himself in front of his father-in-law's house.

Moreover, Young Master Qi was eager to curry favor with Xu Zhichun, so he immediately instructed Zeng Mingzhu: "That's true, Zeng, you acted impulsively. Why were you pulling on Madam Xu? Apologize to Madam Xu."

Zeng Mingzhu suddenly looked up, staring at her husband in disbelief.

Young Master Qi frowned: "Why are you looking at me like that? Apologize now."

Zeng Mingzhu didn't care about losing face anymore; tears rolled down her cheeks. "Fine, fine, you say that too! Xu family, it's my fault, I'm sorry! Are you satisfied now!"

Xu Zhichun: "You didn't apologize sincerely, so why ask me if I'm satisfied? Of course I'm not. But never mind! I hope that in the future, when Young Madam Qi sees us, she'll pretend she didn't see us, and we'll keep to ourselves. Also, Young Madam Qi, please keep an eye on your husband. Don't make any random claims of kinship or try to establish connections. We're from two different worlds. Mingxuan, Xiaoyan, let's go."

"Ok!"

"Humph!"

The group left together.

Young Master Qi gave Qi Tong a wink, and Qi Tong understood and quietly followed.

With no outsiders around, Zeng Mingzhu cried her heart out, sobbing and making accusations at the same time.

Young Master Qi said impatiently, "You still have the nerve to cry? The eldest daughter-in-law of the Qi family, throwing a tantrum in the street, what kind of behavior is that! I'm afraid Mother already knows, so you'd better think about how to explain it to her when you get back."

Zeng Mingzhu was taken aback, feeling a little uneasy. She explained, feeling wronged, "I just care too much about my husband. Those lowly people are the most shameless. I thought they were pestering my husband, that's why they—"

Young Master Qi sneered: "So you've completely abandoned all sense of shame?"

Zeng Mingzhu: "."

"Don't tell me. Explain it to Mother yourself. And this is a one-time exception. If it happens again, even if they'd rather let it go, I'll still hold you accountable!"

They ruined all his good plans.

Zeng Mingzhu bit her lip, and after a moment asked, "What are they doing here?"

Young Master Qi sneered, "How should I know? I was just asking when you started making a scene."

Zeng Mingzhu: "."

Xu Zhichun and Liang Mingxuan noticed Qi Tong following them almost simultaneously.

Xu Zhichun cursed inwardly: "You're a persistent ghost!"