BDSMST -Chapter 53 Wastrel Farmers — Ready for Battle!

Gu Xuan’s voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried the unrestrained fierceness unique to youth. His once gloomy eyes now burned like twin flames, shooting straight at the stunned Madam Wang.

Madam Wang was startled by his demeanor. She had never imagined that a mere half-grown boy could possess such an oppressive presence. Instinctively, she shrank back, her lips moving, yet no words came out.

“What’s wrong? Afraid to repeat it?” Gu Xuan stepped forward, stopping right at the table. Though not tall, he looked down at the seated Madam Wang with unmistakable dominance. “Slandering people behind their backs, but going mute when confronted? Is this the virtue of the capital’s noble ladies?”

His words were sharp and merciless, implicating every noblewoman present.

Madam Li’s face flushed the color of liver. She slammed her hand on the table and stood up, pointing at Gu Xuan as she shouted, “Insolence! Gu Xuan, is this how you speak to your elders? Has the Yongning Marquis Manor taught you nothing at all?!”

“Elders?” Wei Ziqian stepped forward as well, arms crossed, casting Madam Li a sideways glance with open ridicule. “Coming into someone else’s home to sneer at the host and hurl malicious slander—is that what elders do? If my father knew the Marchioness of Anyuan behaved like this, I doubt he’d ever step foot in the Anyuan Marquis Manor again.”

He invoked his father directly—the Duke of Zhenguo. The duke’s status far exceeded that of the Anyuan Marquis.

At the mention of the Duke of Zhenguo, Madam Li’s arrogance faltered. Still, she forced herself to retort, her tone blustering but hollow. “You… you ungrateful brats! We came out of kindness, afraid you’d be led astray by certain ill-intentioned people! And this is how you repay us?”

As she spoke, she shot Jiang Suisui a venomous glare, attempting to shift all blame onto her.

“Ill-intentioned?” Qian Duoduo let out a strange chuckle. Plump and squint-eyed when he smiled, his words nevertheless cut like blades. “If we’re talking about ill intentions, who compares to you? We work at sunrise and rest at sunset. Every bite we eat is earned with our own sweat. We’ve learned skills, strengthened our bodies, understood principles. That’s being led astray?”

He pointed at himself and then at his companions. “We’re doing great! A thousand times better than when we were in the capital, gambling on cockfights and wasting our days in drunken stupor! And all of this is thanks to Madam Jiang! What right do you have to point fingers at her?”

Li Rui, Zhao Lin, and all the former wastrels gathered around.

They wore no uniform—only half-worn coarse clothes, some with mud still clinging to their trouser hems. None carried weapons; a few still held the scrolls from class.

Yet as they loosely stood together, they formed an unbreakable wall, shielding Jiang Suisui behind them.

Each face bore the same fury and resolve.

On ordinary days, they might bicker over work points, quarrel over chores, or get scolded harshly by Gu Xuan for slacking off.

But at this moment, facing a common enemy, they were united like never before.

Because deep down, each of them was sincerely grateful to Jiang Suisui. She had given them a new life—one filled with meaning. They would never allow anyone to insult her with such filthy insinuations.

These former tyrants of the capital—now “wastrel farmers”—had bared their fangs.

Madam Li and her noblewomen were utterly flustered.

They had imagined a hundred scenarios in which they would humiliate Jiang Suisui. Not once had they envisioned being counterattacked by a group of “children.”

And these “children” each possessed formidable family backgrounds—the Duke of Zhenguo’s household, the Dingbei Marquis’s household… none of which the Anyuan Marquis Manor could easily afford to offend.

Not to mention, leading them was Gu Xuan—the treasured heir of the Yongning Marquis Manor.

If conflict truly erupted today and word spread back to the capital, it would be they who lost face. Their husbands would never risk offending so many powerful noble families over such a matter.

Inside her sleeve, Madam Li’s hand trembled violently. Caught between advancing and retreating, her face flushed deep red as she looked helplessly toward Jiang Suisui, who until now had remained silent.

She hoped this woman would step forward to smooth things over, offering everyone a way to step down gracefully.

Jiang Suisui did move.

She stepped out from behind the human wall.

First, she gently placed a hand on Gu Xuan’s tense shoulder.

The boy who moments ago resembled a furious young lion visibly calmed under her touch. He glanced back at her, worry in his eyes—but also unwavering determination that said, Don’t be afraid. I’m here.

Jiang Suisui gave him a reassuring smile.

Then she lifted her gaze toward the noblewomen, whose faces had turned pale.

The polite smile from before was gone. So was any trace of anger. In its place was a cold, steady indifference.

At last, she spoke. Her voice was calm and cool, yet carried clearly across the entire courtyard.

“Ladies, did you hear them?”

“My children,” she emphasized those two words deliberately, “are asking you to apologize for your earlier remarks.”