Chapter 157

Chapter 157

Ma Pozi was kicked and fell flat on her back.

If this had happened in their village, she would’ve jumped up and headbutted Jiang Chun in the gut, sending her flying.

But she glanced at Jiang Chun's prominently rounded belly, which looked to be about eight or nine months pregnant, and then at her luxurious clothes and the pearls and jade adorning her hair.

Even the embroidered shoes that had kicked her were inlaid with pearls.

Ma Pozi, as foolish as she might be, realized that this young mistress was likely one of the madams of the Song family. If she dared to lay a hand on her, the consequences would be unimaginable.

If anything happened to Jiang Chun, she wouldn’t be able to compensate with ten lives!

So, she lay on the ground, clutching her forehead, and began to wail, "My head hurts! Look at this! A madam from the Song family hit someone!

Everyone, look! A madam from a big family actually hit someone!"

Before Jiang Chun could say a word, the crowd burst into laughter.

A man dressed in silk, his back slightly hunched, clearly a steward from one of the big families, chuckled, "Is it surprising that Madam Song hit someone? It would be strange if she went a day without hitting someone."

After all, she had even hit Princess Anyuan, who was deeply favored by the emperor.

Not only did she not receive any punishment, but Princess Anyuan was stripped of her title and hastily married off and sent out of the capital by Princess Xiangyang.

Had she stayed in the capital to continue opposing Madam Song, she might have lost her life.

This shows just how capable Madam Song is.

Now that the in-laws of Madam Song's second brother's wife have come to make a scene, the rest of the Song family didn’t show up but instead sent Madam Song to handle it. Clearly, they didn’t intend to let this matter rest peacefully.

When Jiang Chun came out, instead of immediately addressing the issue with Zhong Wenjin, she first pointed out the mistreatment of the daughter-in-law and granddaughter by Ma Pozi.

Most of the people in the crowd were servants from nearby big families, and many of them were stewards responsible for purchasing and running errands. They were all sharp-witted.

As she spoke, many of them wore thoughtful expressions.

At this point, Ma Pozi's attempt to garner sympathy was much less effective.

Jiang Chun waited until Ma Pozi had wailed for a while and her voice gradually quieted down before she said coolly, "You heartless creatures, you want to make your own daughter a prostitute just for some extra money.

My second sister-in-law risked her life to refuse, and in front of the clan elder, she severed ties with you and even paid you two old things your pension in advance—twenty taels of silver.

It was agreed that from then on, whether dead or alive, there would be no more contact. But now, like blood-sucking leeches, you want to come back and suck her dry because she married into a high-ranking family.

But this is par for the course for people like you, who’d sell out their own kin for a few coins and do anything despicable.

Today, I'm not asking about anything else. I'm only asking you this: Who told you about my second sister-in-law and encouraged you to come to the capital? And who brought you here?"

After a pause, she put on a stern face, cracked her wrists, and made her finger joints pop.

With a cold smile, she said, "If you confess honestly today, that's the end of it. But if you don't, I'll beat you into a cripple who can only crawl for the rest of your life!

Don't think that just because I'm pregnant, I can't deal with you. Even if there were ten or twenty of you useless people, I could handle it easily."

She took a few steps forward, stretched her foot under Ma Pozi, and then casually lifted it up.

With a laugh, she said, "Get lost!"

Then Ma Pozi's obese body flew through the air with a 'swoosh' and landed with a 'thud' in front of Zhong Liuzi and Zhong Cai.

The main streets of the Imperial City, where the rich and powerful lived, were all paved with bluestone, just like Osmanthus Lane where the Song family resided.

Ma Pozi was in such pain from the fall that she couldn't get up for a while.

With her arms crossed, Jiang Chun said coldly, "That was just the beginning. If you have any sense, you'll confess now, or I'll get serious!"

She could beat them up and have them thrown out of the city to solve the problem for now.

But Zhong Wenjin was her own daughter, and Jiang Chun didn't want her to be harassed repeatedly during her postpartum period by these people.

So she went straight for the jugular.

If she could extract the mastermind behind this, the third prince, from their mouths, all the better. That would give the Crown Prince a reason to impeach the third prince.

The third prince, to clear himself of suspicion, would definitely throw out a significant scapegoat.

This would not only strike a blow to the third prince's faction but also make these people disheartened.

After all, the third prince was so ruthless that next time, they might be the ones sacrificed as scapegoats.

It wouldn't matter if they didn't confess.

At least the third prince and his people would know that she had interrogated the Zhong family.

If the Zhong family came to make trouble again, she might interrogate them once more.

And she, Jiang Chun, had a reputation for being unbeatable in the Imperial City.

The third prince and his people would definitely worry that the Zhong family couldn't withstand her beatings and might spill the beans.

The third prince wouldn't meet the Zhong family himself, but he knew that if they talked, Song Shian could find a way to pin the blame on him, even without evidence.

As a precaution, they would have to eliminate the Zhong family.

Jiang Chun was using the third prince's own methods to eliminate the threat to Zhong Wenjin once and for all.

Gui Ye was clever and always bolder in her actions than Gui Zhi. Seeing this, she walked up to Jiang Chun and loudly advised, "Madam, why dirty your embroidered shoes dealing with such a shameless lowlife yourself?

Why not send someone to report this to the authorities and let the upright officials in the yamen handle the interrogation?"

Jiang Chun snorted and said with a cold laugh, "I'm doing this for the old woman's own good. If I interrogate her, at most I'll break her two legs.

But if we report this to the authorities and they arrest the whole family, the mastermind behind this will definitely have them all silenced immediately."

After a brief pause, she asked Gui Ye with a grin, "A miserable life is better than no life at all, wouldn't you agree?"

Gui Ye pretended to have a sudden realization, "Yes, if we report this, the person who instigated them to cause trouble for our Song family would definitely silence them to avoid exposure."

She then let out a demonic-like sound, "In that case, Madam can interrogate this old woman first. If she confesses, then all is well.

If she doesn't confess, Madam can break her two legs first, then report this to the authorities to have the whole family arrested."

Jiang Chun gave a knowing look and gave Gui Ye a thumbs up, "Your idea is quite good. If she doesn't confess, her life will be useless, and her whole family's lives will be useless. We might as well have the authorities arrest them and let the mastermind behind this take care of them.

After all, for the sake of my unborn child, I'd rather not dirty my hands with their blood."

As the mistress and her servant chatted and laughed, they decided on the plan to use someone else as a tool for murder. The old woman Ma and the others of the Zhong family turned pale with fear, trembling like sieves.

Lady Yang pulled Chong Sister into her arms, hugging her tightly.

Jiang Chun took a few steps forward, kicked the old woman Ma’s leg, and sneered, “Will you talk or not? If not, I’ll send you flying again.”

The old woman Ma, terrified, said, “What should I say? I’m just an illiterate countrywoman who gets a headache at the sight of strangers; how could I remember all these things?”

Seeing Jiang Chun’s foot moving toward her, clearly preparing to kick her again, she had a sudden flash of inspiration and shouted, “Although I don’t know, my husband does!

He’s the head of our household; everything has to be approved by him. Lady, ask him!”

What is this? Sacrificing a friend to save oneself? Or when disaster strikes, each bird flies off on its own?

“Is that so?” Jiang Chun chuckled, withdrew her foot from under the old woman Ma, and then slowly walked toward Zhong Liuzi.

Zhong Liuzi immediately burst into curses, “You stinking old woman, what nonsense are you spouting?

What do you mean ‘I know’? What do I know? I know nothing, don’t talk nonsense!

If you dare to speak more lies, I’ll beat your stinking mouth to pieces!”

The old woman Ma immediately started cursing back, “How am I lying? The person who came to our house was a gentleman. How could I, a woman, approach him? Wasn’t it you who received him?”

Zhong Liuzi, clearly more cunning than the old woman Ma, immediately denied it, “Don’t spout nonsense. What gentleman came to our house?

We only heard from passing merchants in town that our daughter married into a wealthy family, which is why we sold everything to gather travel money and came to the capital to seek her out.”

Jiang Chun didn’t bother listening to their bickering. While they might reveal some details, she wouldn’t achieve her goal without a specific name or a detailed description of the person.

Upon this, she sneered coldly: "Looks like you haven't been beaten enough!"

She stepped forward and kicked Zhong Liuzi, sending him flying several yards away, landing hard on the stone pavement with a loud "bang."

Though six months pregnant, Madam Jiang Chun was often tired, needing six to seven hours of sleep daily, and her legs and feet were noticeably swollen.

However, her strength was not affected.

Punishing these two cowards who wouldn’t dare fight back was no more strenuous than stretching—it wasn’t anything to worry about.

Madam Jiang Chun had gotten quite skilled at kicking people, and she controlled the force just enough to avoid breaking his limbs, though the pain was unavoidable.

Zhong Liuzi screamed in agony, "I’m dying! My arms and legs must be broken! Oh, it hurts so much!"

Zhong Cai rushed to Zhong Liuzi’s side, helping him up and asked anxiously, "Father, are you alright? Are your arms and legs really broken?"

Zhong Liuzi nodded frantically, "Yes, they’re definitely broken! I’m in so much pain, oh… it hurts so much!"

Feeling a surge of anger, Zhong Cai suddenly looked straight at Madam Jiang Chun.

He accused her loudly, "Just because you come from a noble family, does that give you the right to beat two defenseless old people without proof?"

Madam Jiang Chun looked at him and smiled. "Since you’re so devoted, why don’t you take their place and feel the beating yourself?

I, being such a devoted person, wouldn’t dream of stopping you from showing your filial piety."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Cai’s body began to shrink back.

As he shrank back, he ended up directly behind Zhong Liuzi.

"I’ve got three reasons to say no: I'm still young, I’m not as strong as my father, and I’m responsible for carrying on the Zhong family name. How can I take the beating meant for my parents?

If anything happens to me, it’ll be the end of the world for the Zhong family!

Madam Jiang sneered disdainfully. "If you’re going to be a coward, just be one. No need to pretend in front of me.

Having a selfish son like you is truly a blessing for your parents."

However, both Ma Pozi and Zhong Liuzi clearly thought Zhong Cai's approach was perfectly fine. Ma Pozi even pleaded on his behalf, "Madam, you can beat my husband all you want, but please don’t hurt my son.

He’s the last hope for the Zhong family. I’m depending on him to look after me when I’m old. If something happens to him, who will take care of me?"

In Ma Pozi’s eyes, her son was definitely more important than her husband.

Madam Jiang was amused. "Pension? How far ahead you’re thinking! If you don’t reveal the mastermind behind this today, you might not even survive.

And you’re thinking about your pension? You can worry about that in another life!"

Ma Pozi was left speechless, not daring to curse Madam Jiang for fear of getting beaten. But from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Yang Niangzi cowering in the corner with Chong Jier in her arms. Her anger flared up immediately.

She gritted her teeth and spat out curses. "It’s all your fault, you jinx! In the more than five years since you entered our family, all you’ve given birth to is just a daughter, Chong Jier. You couldn’t even birth a son!

If only you had given birth to a son, I wouldn’t be afraid even if her father was beaten to death.

You, this good-for-nothing who can’t bear a son, should have been kicked out long ago to fend for yourself, with no family to support you."

Madam Jiang’s eyes lit up, and she smiled. "It’s not too late to divorce her now."

She turned to Gui Ye and said, "Go to the outer courtyard and find any clerk to write a divorce agreement. Then bring it back and have Zhong Dalang sign and fingerprint it.

Make sure to specify in the document that their daughter, Chong Jier, will be placed under Yang Niangzi's care, and that she will cut all ties with the Zhong family, meaning Chong Jier will have no further relations with them."

Zhong Cai immediately shouted, "No, I won't divorce my wife. If I divorce Yang, where am I going to find another poor woman who doesn't require a dowry?"

Jiang Chun looked up at his crotch and snorted coldly, "If you don't divorce her, I'll kick you where it hurts and send you off to become a eunuch."

Zhong Cai, terrified, quickly covered his crotch and dared not say another word.

Jiang Chun snorted coldly through her nose, "You useless piece of shit!"

Yang Niangzi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly put Chong Jier down, knelt on the ground, and began to bang her head on the ground repeatedly.

Tears streaming down her face, she said, "Thank you, Madam! Thank you so much! You are like a reborn parent to me. I will pray for your long life and offer incense morning and night to honor you."

Chong Jier, a young girl, was not favored by her in-laws and husband. At home, she was either beaten or scolded every day and wasn't allowed to eat enough.

Her mother could only spare half of her own food for Chong Jier to eat.

But the food allocated by her mother-in-law was already very little, and even with the extra half, Chong Jier remained emaciated and malnourished, shorter than the other children her age in the village.

As for herself, due to constant hunger, she was emaciated and weak, making it impossible for her to conceive.

And if she couldn't conceive, she would be insulted and cursed by her in-laws and beaten by her husband.

She had long wanted to leave this family.

But her parents were dead, and there was no one in her family to help her. Even if she wanted out, there was no one to stand up for her.

On the way to the capital, she had already planned everything. She would take advantage of her in-laws' unfamiliarity with the city and find a chance to hide with Chong Jier, so they wouldn’t be able to find the two of them.

She had hands and feet and could earn money by washing clothes for others or doing some sewing and mending.

If push came to shove, she could even take up the job of collecting night soil door-to-door. She had a close friend whose husband’s family specialized in this trade.

Don’t underestimate this job—it’s dirty, exhausting, and often stigmatized, but it pays well. Her friend’s in-laws had managed to buy two properties in town and even sent their three sons to the academy.

Not to mention, they spent over ten taels a year just on tuition and stationery fees.

All of that came from collecting night soil.

Jiang Chun waved her hand dismissively. “No, I’m still alive. I don’t want to be treated like a dead ancestor. If you have the money, buy more food for your daughter to help her gain strength.”

Yang Niangzi was deeply moved and kowtowed to her again.

While waiting for the divorce papers, Jiang Chun continued to kick Zhong Liuzi. “Let’s see how tough your bones are and if they can withstand my powerful kick!”

Though Zhong Liuzi screamed loudly, he was a tough country man and had a high pain tolerance. He only howled but neither begged for mercy nor admitted defeat.

Jiang Chun rolled her eyes, took a step forward, and kicked to the side. She sent Zhong Cai, who was hiding behind Zhong Liuzi, flying through the air.

Zhong Cai let out a scream, “Ah!”

Ma Shi screamed, “Cai Ge!”

Zhong Liuzi shouted, “My son!”

Rolling on the ground in pain, Zhong Cai wailed loudly, “Ah… it hurts so much! My butt is killing me! It’s broken into eight pieces! Sigh… it hurts so much!”

Zhong Cai had been spoiled by Zhong Liuzi and Ma Shi since childhood. He was selfish, couldn’t endure any hardship, and spent money extravagantly.

Otherwise, with the Zhong family owning twenty acres of land, why would they need to run a brothel and have Zhong Wenjin sell herself to make money for them?

Ma Pozi was furious and yelled at Jiang Chun, “Why are you hitting my son? I already told you, the man of the house is in charge. If you want to ask something, ask him. The others don’t know anything!”

When it came to her own son, Zhong Liuzi didn’t refute this time and silently agreed with Ma Pozi’s statement.

Jiang Chun said with a smile, “Hitting the child hurts the parents' hearts. I don’t want to beat him either, but your mouths are just so tight.”

She walked slowly towards Zhong Cai, preparing to kick him again.

Unexpectedly, Zhong Cai mustered some courage, got up from the ground, and rushed towards Jiang Chun with fists swinging.

As if he was about to perform a wild, untrained attack.

Gui Ye hurriedly warned, “Miss, be careful!”

Jiang Chun dodged, quickly turned around, and kicked Zhong Cai hard in the butt.

Zhong Cai flew through the air and crashed onto the stone steps in front of the Song family’s house with a bang.

Two of his front teeth were knocked out, and blood from his gums and mouth, mixed with saliva, streamed down his chin.

Ma Pozi and Zhong Liuzi thought Zhong Cai had vomited blood from being beaten by Jiang Chun.

In their village, there was an old saying: “A young person who vomits blood won’t live long.” It meant that spitting up blood in youth could shorten one’s life.

Ma Pozi suddenly went berserk, ignoring the pain in her body as she pounced on Zhong Liuzi, raking her nails across his face.

She spat out curses, "You old dead man, why didn’t you confess earlier?

You kept hiding and staying silent, and now look, our only son, Zhong Cai, has been beaten to the point of vomiting blood!

He’s my only son. If anything happens to him, I’ll take you down with me!"

Mid-scratch, she abruptly stopped, panic setting in, and stumbled to Zhong Cai's side. She pulled out a filthy rag she usually used to wipe her nose and began cleaning the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Zhong Cai pushed her hand away in disgust and tried to get up from the ground. With slurred speech, he said fiercely, "Mother, get out of the way. Whether I live or die, I’m going to take on this violent woman who beats people left and right!

What Song family’s Eldest Madam? I think she’s just a shrew. She’s even more unreasonable and domineering than Wang Erlai’s wife in our village!"

Jiang Chun chuckled darkly and grabbed Zhong Cai by the back of his collar, hoisting him into the air without effort.

Zhong Cai, being of short stature—at most 165 cm, which was shorter than Jiang Chun’s 170 cm—started kicking his legs wildly, but his feet couldn’t touch the ground.

He then tried to reach out and grab Jiang Chun’s neck with both hands, but unsurprisingly, Jiang Chun easily restrained him with one hand.

Jiang Chun deliberately teased him and asked the onlookers with a smile, "Folks, this fellow actually wants to fight me to the death. Any ideas on how I should have some fun with him before offing him?

Should I hang him on the door beam of the Song family’s mansion? They say when people are hanged, their tongues stick out for half a meter. I’d love to see that.

Or should I tie big stones to his hands and feet and throw him into the river, watching him slowly sink and feed the turtles? That might be fun too.

Oh, right, I’ve never seen the death by a thousand cuts. Maybe I should tie him to the front gate and let the servants take turns cutting pieces of flesh off him for fun.

After all, the servants stand at the gate all day, and it must be boring. As the Eldest Madam, I should think of some entertainment for them, shouldn’t I?

Or maybe, for the sake of my unborn child, I should just snap his neck and put him out of his misery."

The Song family’s servants: “...”

No, no, guarding the gate isn’t boring at all. We don’t dare to ask for such "fun"!

The courage that Zhong Cai had mustered up quickly deflated like a punctured balloon, disappearing in an instant.

His legs stopped kicking, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted dead away.

Ma Pozi wailed, "Caige, what’s wrong with you, Caige? Did he scare you to death? Someone, quick, fetch a doctor! My son is dying!"

Jiang Chun showed a devilish smile, "It’s better if he’s dead. Saves me the trouble of thinking of ways to kill him."

With that, she casually threw him to the ground like discarded trash.

Zhong Liuzi could no longer bear it and quickly said, "I’ll talk! I’ll talk! A government official surnamed Cao told us that our daughter had climbed up to a high position and urged us to come to the capital to mooch off her. He was the one who sent people to bring us here."

Jiang Chun curled her lips in slight triumph and thought to herself, "Trying to fight me? You’re still too young!"

She snorted coldly and said, "Give me a detailed description of this person’s appearance, voice, and other characteristics.

The more detailed and useful your information, the quicker your son will get medical attention."