HBWMA -Chapter 210 Punishment

In the world of fame and power, most people bowed and scraped—but there must never be a member of the Shen family among them. That was something Shen Zhuang often taught them.

Shen Guiling couldn’t help it; he raised his eyes again to look at the girl beside him. She really was following that principle seriously.

Yao Ge had not expected Jiang Huashan to turn the tables like this. This banquet concerned the election of the council chairman and whether Shen Nian could return. Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Yao Ge reached out without hesitation to snatch the wine glass from Jiang Huashan’s hand.

“Shanshan, if you keep this up, don’t blame me for acting personally.”

Jiang Huashan had already been guarding against her. As soon as Yao Ge moved in, she gently rotated her wrist and loosened her fingers. The crystal wine glass fell straight to the ground.

With a sharp crash, it shattered, causing quite a commotion.

“You…”

“What about me?” Jiang Huashan caught Yao Ge’s wrist in reverse grip and leaned close to her ear. “The honor of a family is never the matter of one person—it is something every member must jointly defend. If Auntie can’t even understand this, how can Grandpa trust Uncle to continue holding the position of council chairman?”

Those words startled Yao Ge.

Before she could react, a group of men in suits walked out from the crowd. The leader was unusually tall—moving like a small mountain.

Mo Ran stepped forward to block them. “Who are you people?!”

The man casually brushed Mo Ran aside and strode aggressively to Jiang Huashan.

“Miss Jiang.”

“Zheng Song?” Yao Ge’s face finally showed real panic. “Why are you here?”

Jiang Huashan replied casually, “When I left home, I told Grandpa I was coming to Jinwan to play. He was worried I wouldn’t enjoy myself, so he sent Zheng Song over.”

It sounded casual—but Zheng Song was Shen Zhuang’s personal bodyguard, usually never leaving his side. Now he had appeared in Jinwan because of Jiang Huashan? Even Shen Lanxi might not receive such treatment.

Yao Ge forced herself to stay calm and broke free from Jiang Huashan’s grip.

“What exactly are you trying to do? I warn you, tonight’s banquet cannot be ruined—otherwise it will damage the Shen family’s reputation as well.”

Jiang Huashan looked relaxed. “Don’t worry, I know.”

Then she tilted her head toward Yan Meiting.

“Zheng Song, take Governor Yan out and make her drink the punishment wine.”

“?”

Yan Meiting froze in shock and turned toward Yao Ge. “Madam Shen!”

Yao Ge was equally stunned. “What punishment wine?”

Jiang Huashan’s eyes sparkled faintly with amusement.

“I already said it—if you refuse a toast, you drink a punishment toast. Governor Yan made her choice herself. Adults should be responsible for their own decisions. Zheng Song, what are you waiting for?”

“Yes.”

Zheng Song had the face of a born villain, half of it marked with a ghost-like tattoo. As he approached, Yan Meiting trembled in fear.

But she was still gambling—that in public, Jiang Huashan wouldn’t really dare.

Unfortunately for her, she was wrong.

Zheng Song lifted her like a chick. Yan Meiting screamed in terror, begging, “Miss Jiang, I’ll drink! I’ll drink!”

Jiang Huashan covered her ears. “So loud.”

Zheng Song immediately clamped her throat shut. Yan Meiting’s vision darkened and she could no longer make a sound.

The entire hall had already fallen silent. Yan Meiting was the governor of Jinwan—everyone knew her—but even she was being treated like nothing more than a helpless bird. Who would dare interfere?

Yao Ge’s expression twisted in anger. “How dare you? She is still the governor of Jinwan!”

Jiang Huashan replied lightly, “If she can’t finish the drink, she won’t be tomorrow.”

Then she smiled brightly at the officials.

“Everyone, Jinwan’s development in the future will depend on all of you. Grandpa cannot be here in Jinggang, so I’ll drink this toast on his behalf.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the officials all stood up at once. They hurriedly filled their glasses and raised them with both hands in fear and respect.

“Miss Shen is too kind.”

Most of them didn’t even know Jiang Huashan’s exact identity. But seeing her act so domineeringly—and even Yao Ge unable to control her—they assumed she must be the Shen family’s legitimate young lady.

Jiang Huashan didn’t correct them.

She turned to Shen Guiling and clinked glasses with him. “Cheers.”

She drank it in one go, her eyes slightly narrowing as she swallowed. The pink of her lips turned a bright berry red from the strawberry juice.

Shen Guiling lowered his gaze and drank the orange juice that rippled with faint waves. In that instant, he felt the entire mouth fill with a sweet and tangy citrus fragrance.

He didn’t like sour, and he didn’t like sweet either—but the mix of sour and sweet seemed to strike his taste buds all at once.

The brief disturbance at the banquet was eventually smoothed over. The event returned to its lively, harmonious atmosphere of music, dance, and casual conversation. The only difference was that no one dared to approach within three steps of Shen Guiling anymore. As for Jiang Huashan, it went even further—wherever she went, within a five-meter radius, no one dared stand near her except Shen Guiling.

Yao Ge stared at those two figures standing side by side—one tall, one short—and trembled with rage.

Mo Ran cautiously stepped forward and lowered her voice. “Madam, Mr. Bai has arrived.”

Yao Ge’s expression shifted slightly. “Where is he?”

“He was in the banquet hall just now, but he’s already gone back to his room.”

Yao Ge turned to look at Shen Guiling in the crowd. After thinking for a moment, she finally calmed down.

“Hmph. You think bringing some little lunatic here means I can’t do anything to you? How naive.” She stood up. “Let’s go meet this Mr. Bai.”

“Mm—why is this blueberry cake so sour? Yao Ge is so stingy. Can’t she hire a decent pastry chef?”

Jiang Huashan picked through the dessert table. After several attempts, she refused to touch anything except the strawberry-flavored items.

Shen Guiling casually scanned the crowd and happened to see Yao Ge leaving the banquet hall in a hurry with her assistant.

“Shen Guiling, do you like sour food?”

Shen Guiling withdrew his gaze lazily and, after a brief pause, asked instead, “Did you drink that glass of orange juice just now?”

Jiang Huashan stared at him. How did he guess that?

Her experience from both lives told her that drinks at banquets couldn’t be taken lightly. Since Yao Ge didn’t dare openly offend her yet, she assumed anything she could safely consume would be fine. So she deliberately took a sip of orange juice in front of Mo Ran—seeing that no one stopped her, she then switched the safe juice over to Shen Guiling.

“I didn’t drink it,” she immediately denied, afraid he would overthink it.

If she didn’t drink it, how would she know it was sour? She really couldn’t lie convincingly.

Shen Guiling didn’t expose her. Instead, he calmly returned to the first question. “I don’t like sour food.”

Jiang Huashan nodded and casually handed him a blueberry cupcake. “Here.”

“……”

Shen Guiling looked at her.

She pointed at the small bite mark on the cake. “Don’t worry, it’s clean. I just scooped a small bite with a spoon and didn’t touch the rest.”

Shen Guiling said, “The banquet won’t end anytime soon. Are you planning to taste everything first and then give it to me?”

And of course she just had to pick something sour.

“Huh?”

So he knew after all. Well, of course he did—Shen Guiling’s mind wasn’t something ordinary people could compare to.

Jiang Huashan put on an air of selfless righteousness. “Since you already know, good. I’m doing this to protect you.”

Shen Guiling lifted his eyes slightly. “Protect me, or protect the honor of the Shen family?”

Jiang Huashan frowned, looking a little awkward. “Boys shouldn’t be too smart. No one will want you if you’re too smart.”

With someone like Shen Guiling, any trick played in front of him would just be turned back on her. There was no sense of achievement at all.

Shen Guiling said, “One honor rises, and one loss affects all. You may allow others to bully me, but you would never allow anyone to step on my shoulders and trample the Shen family. So your protection has nothing to do with me—it’s only about the Shen family, right?”

Jiang Huashan glanced at him. Fine, whatever. Why say it out loud?

Shen Guiling smiled faintly. “You’re all the same.”

With that, he turned and left the banquet hall.

Jiang Huashan looked baffled. “What is with him? Did he eat gunpowder or something? He was just smiling while toasting that old woman, calling her ‘auntie,’ and now this attitude? I even helped him!”

Shen Guiling walked out of the banquet hall with a cold expression—but the moment he stepped outside, the anger on his face vanished without a trace.

He stood at the entrance for a moment. In the end, he still didn’t turn back. Instead, he headed toward the lounge area in the outer hall.