RWNEFE -Chapter 64 How Could She Not Change!

The matriarch’s face darkened with displeasure. She had never liked this rebellious, unruly eldest granddaughter who followed no rules. Before, she had only tolerated her due to the presence of the imperial family members, pretending to be a kind grandmother and dutiful granddaughter. Now that the girl had been abandoned by the royal family, stripped of all titles, she still dared to be so arrogant?

That little wretch… today she would teach her what loyalty and filial piety truly meant.

“Impudent child! Every time I speak, you contradict me. Do you even respect your elders?” the matriarch scolded with fierce eyes.

Shen Lanxi’s eyes flashed with mockery. She had never imagined that after being reborn, the family she had cherished for two lifetimes would turn out this way. It made all the hatred and regret she had carried for years feel like a cruel joke.

“Lanxi, how have you become like this?” Madam Liu frowned, looking heartbroken.

That question was perfectly timed. Having lived another lifetime, she had spent every day replaying the past in her mind, thinking of ways to exact revenge, rescue her family, and imagining how her family might turn out.

Her method of coping with her longing for them was to remember every shared moment—their expressions, every gesture.

She could not stop herself from constantly thinking of revenge strategies.

When one analyzes a person’s words and actions to the extreme, many hidden truths beneath the surface are revealed.

She had once thought her family was harmonious and happy—all of it had been a lie!

How could she not change?

“Aunt, what have I become? I can’t see it myself, so why don’t you tell me?” Shen Lanxi’s cold eyes swept over her relatives.

Madam Liu panicked and quickly said: “You ride in a carriage while making the family run behind on foot. What do you call that?”

“You gorge yourself while letting the family go hungry and thirsty. How can you be so cruel?”

Shen Lanxi: “Was it me who denied you the carriage?”

“Was it me who made you starve?”

Shen Congyi’s face darkened. “Don’t twist the truth. You used to give food and drink to the family. Why don’t you do it now?”

Shen Lanxi replied coldly: “You yourselves angered the officers, who refused to let me deliver it. Yet you came to complain to me. Shouldn’t you reflect on why you made the officers angry?”

The matriarch roared: “You’re defiant! How dare you speak to your elders like that? How could the family raise such an unfilial, disobedient thing! If I had known you would be like this, I would have… I would have…”

“Would you have smothered me, strangled me, thrown me into a chamber pot to drown? My mother gave birth to me under the watch of the Empress Dowager. Would you dare?”

“Although my surname is Shen, I grew up under the Empress Dowager. Back then, why didn’t you recognize me as a Shen and bring me into the family?”

Shen Lanxi stared coldly at these so-called family members. “You know exactly why you came to me!”

“You know exactly what I’ll do if you push me too far!”

“Even if you didn’t come, I would find time to come to you!”

The matriarch was terrified. Her usual weapon—filial piety—was useless against this rebellious granddaughter.

For the first time, she realized that filial piety, a weapon that rarely failed, held no sway over this unorthodox granddaughter.

“You defiant, unfilial child! Shut your mouth! Sons of the second, third, and fourth branches, go slap her hard! Today, I will discipline this disrespectful disgrace properly!”

Madam Liu and Madam Miao didn’t dare step forward. Even combined, the three of them were not enough to withstand one strike from Shen Lanxi.

If it weren’t for the matriarch leading the charge, they wouldn’t have dared come at all.

“Mother, calm down. Lanxi is still a child.”

“Yes, Mother. Lanxi is young and doesn’t understand the plans we elders make for her.”

They were there to get money, not to make a scene. Honestly, they were in a difficult position themselves; even in Dongchuan, her commoner status made her more convenient to deal with. They couldn’t afford to offend her now.

“Mother, calm down. If you lose your temper, Lanxi will really be labeled defiant and unfilial!”

“Lanxi, quickly say something nice to your grandmother. She worries about you; that’s why she didn’t rest and came here to see you.”

Shen Lanxi stared coldly at these people, unmoved by the red and white-faced tactics of scolding and pleading.

“Don’t speak for her. Her father caused this trouble, bringing misfortune to our whole family. If the money isn’t given today, I will represent the Shen clan and expel her from the family!” the matriarch declared, her eyes cold. Once expelled, she would be rootless and have nothing to do with the Shens.

A defiant, unfilial child—she could no longer control her?

“Fine! You said it, I agree. From now on, I have nothing to do with the Shens. You may leave!” Shen Lanxi said decisively.

The matriarch was stunned.

She, a woman, didn’t understand that without the protection of the clan, a person could still be treated like a wild dog?

The three Shen brothers panicked. Weren’t they here for money? How did this suddenly become about expelling Lanxi? If Lanxi cuts ties, they have even less reason to be concerned about her.

Mother, how could you be so foolish?

“Mother, if you don’t know what to say, just don’t say anything!” Shen Congyi glared at her.

They had come while the eldest branch was away, not to have Shen Lanxi sever ties with them!

“Lanxi, your grandmother is upset seeing our family fall to this state. She’s trying to understand us juniors. Your youngest cousin is only three, and several other kids are very young. They recently suffered a severe illness, and your grandmother hasn’t slept, her lips are chapped. She worries, that’s why she came to you to get medicine, nothing more!” Shen Congyi tried to mediate.

Shen Lanxi’s gaze was cold as she said, “Fourth Uncle, I remember when we encountered the bandits, it was your branch’s children who shouted, handing over our eldest branch, right?”

Shen Congyi froze. His hands, hidden under wide sleeves, almost tore his palms.

He finally understood—his eldest branch’s daughter is a girl who never forgets a grudge. Days have passed, yet she still remembers. She’s ruthless and capable, unlike the foolish eldest son!

Shen Congyi turned to the illegitimate son and slapped him hard. With his strength, Shen Yuanzhan fell to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

“I’ll beat you, little brat! When the Shen family prospers, we all prosper; when we fall, we all fall. Our family’s glory rests on the eldest branch. Without your eldest uncle, who knows where you’d be?”

Shen Congyi’s words served a dual purpose: reminding Shen Lanxi she was a Shen, while currying her favor.

“Lanxi, that little brat was raised poorly and lacks manners. I’ve already disciplined him. If he speaks filthy words again, deal with him as you see fit!”

Shen Yuanzhan cowered, covering his face, backing away in fear.