TSWPF -Chapter 248 Beating Someone

A domineering son had already shown up—now a domineering mother followed right behind.

Li Qingling rolled her eyes, speechless. Sure enough, behind every spoiled brat stood a spoiled parent.

With a mother like this, how decent could the son possibly be?

She turned to look at the woman who had just entered. The woman was plump and round, her hair bristling with gold hairpins. Li Qingling’s lips twitched. This was practically the textbook image of a nouveau riche.

“Was it you, you little wretch, who bullied my son?” the woman snapped, glaring at Li Qingling with her sharp, inverted-triangle eyes. She looked her up and down, and when she saw Li Qingling’s plain clothing, disdain flickered across her face. “What—did you take a fancy to me and deliberately try to get my son’s attention?”

“…”

Three black lines slid down Li Qingling’s forehead. She truly admired this woman’s imagination.
“Madam, you’re overthinking it. I’m already married.” Her son was so fat he was practically a pig—he couldn’t even compare to one finger of her husband. How could she possibly fancy him?

Seeing Li Qingling’s attire, the woman thought exactly the same as her son: that Li Qingling was lying.

“My son is handsome and dashing. It’s nothing strange if you’ve taken a liking to him.”

“…”

Li Qingling was completely at a loss for words. “Madam, I’ll repeat it once more. I’m already married. It’s impossible for me to fancy your son.”

She felt this woman not only had terrible taste, but also something wrong with her head. She had said very solemnly that she was married—how could this woman still think she was trying to seduce her son?

With looks like that, she wouldn’t take him even if he were given to her for free. Seduce him? Impossible.

Truly—oddballs showed up every year, but this year there were especially many.

Li Qingling didn’t want to deal with the woman any longer. She turned back to the old man and told him they would proceed with the transfer immediately.

The old man didn’t want to delay either and nodded.

“Madam, young master, the shop is closed now. If there’s nothing else, please leave,” the old man said politely, glancing at the woman and the fat young man.

People usually rushed to curry favor with her—since when had anyone dared to chase her out? The woman glared at the old man unhappily and plopped herself down into a chair. “Shopping is tiring. I’ll just rest here for a bit.”

From her manner, it was as if resting here were some great honor she was bestowing.

Li Qingling was utterly speechless.

How had she run into such a bizarre person?

“Madam, we’re in a hurry with some business. If you want to sit, could you come back another day?” Li Qingling still wore a polite smile as she asked.

The woman shot her a sideways glance and couldn’t be bothered to answer. Instead, she turned to her son and asked what he was doing here.

The fat young man finally jumped in, rattling off the whole story in a rush.

As soon as he finished, the woman slapped the table with a loud bang. “Since my son likes it, then this shop belongs to him.” Without even asking the shop owner, she made the decision outright. “Old man, do you know the Duke’s Manor?”

The old man’s expression changed slightly. He nodded. The Duke’s Manor was the Empress’s natal family—who in the capital didn’t know that?

Seeing him nod, the woman lifted her chin smugly. “Then you know what to do.”

The old man quietly glanced at the woman and the fat young man. He knew the Duke’s Manor well enough, but he didn’t know what relation these two had to it.

“Madam, I’ve already agreed to sell this shop to the lady beside me. I can’t go back on my word and sell it to someone else.”
Even knowing she was from the Duke’s Manor, he still didn’t want to sell to her.

As soon as he finished speaking, the woman angrily slammed the table again. “You old bastard! What did you say? Say it again!” No one had ever dared contradict her like this.

Did this old man really not fear the Duke’s Manor?

The old man straightened his back and repeated what he had just said.

“Fine. I’d like to see who dares snatch a shop from the Duke’s Manor!” The woman’s gaze shifted from the old man to Li Qingling. This was clearly meant as a warning to her.

Li Qingling curled her lips. She’d grown up being scared of nothing. “May I ask, madam, what is your relationship with the Duke’s Manor?” Thanks to the old man’s recent explanations, she knew the Duke’s Manor was the Empress’s natal family. She just didn’t know what this woman’s exact standing was.

The woman lifted her chin even higher, practically looking at Li Qingling down her nose. “I am the Fifth Madam of the Duke’s Manor!”

The Fifth Madam?

Li Qingling thought for a moment before recalling that the Duke’s Fifth Master was a concubine-born son with little promise.

“Fifth Madam, the old gentleman has already sold this shop to me. That makes it mine now. Are you planning to ignore everyone else’s wishes and forcibly seize someone else’s property?”

“My son has taken a liking to this shop. Who would dare buy it?” The Fifth Madam made it clear—she intended to get the shop no matter what.

Hearing this, even Li Qingling—who rarely lost her temper—felt anger surge in her chest.

She gave a cold laugh. “Aren’t you afraid that behaving like this will disgrace the Empress?” With the Empress as their backing, the Duke’s Manor really had become unbearably arrogant.

She wanted to see whether this Fifth Madam truly feared nothing—whether she really dared snatch the shop from her hands.

As for backing? It wasn’t as though she had none. Who was afraid of whom?

“Impudent brat! How dare you slander the Empress so casually?” the Fifth Madam shouted angrily. “If I don’t teach you a lesson, you won’t know your place! Someone—slap her!”

Was everyone in the capital so good at twisting right and wrong? Li Qingling truly learned something new that day.

“Madam, when exactly did I slander the Empress? Medicine shouldn’t be taken recklessly—and words shouldn’t be spoken recklessly either.”

The Fifth Madam sneered and ignored her, simply waving her hand for the servants to move in.

With a loud rush, the servants surrounded Li Qingling and reached out to grab her.

Before Li Qingling could move, Zeng Tietou stepped in. He swatted their hands away and shielded Li Qingling behind him.

Li Qingling narrowed her eyes slightly and turned to look at the fat young man. Her sharp gaze made him jump, instantly recalling how she had pointed a crossbow at his neck earlier.

Terrified, he hid behind the Fifth Madam. Only after feeling safe did he point at Li Qingling.
“Mother, be careful of that wretched girl. She almost hurt me just now!”

“What?” the Fifth Madam cried out. She jumped up and examined her son from head to toe. Seeing he was unharmed, she finally relaxed. “Beat her properly for me!”

How dare she harm her precious son—she truly didn’t know the meaning of death.

At the command, the servants attacked Li Qingling and Zeng Tietou.

No matter how capable Li Qingling was, she couldn’t handle so many people alone.

She told Zeng Tietou not to worry about her and to protect himself—she could take care of herself.

But how could Zeng Tietou agree? She was his employer. If anything happened to her, what then?

No matter what, he had to protect her.

Seeing his determination, Li Qingling could only cooperate closely with him, minimizing their injuries.

Watching Li Qingling being beaten, the old man was frantic. Gritting his teeth, he rushed to the shop entrance and shouted loudly,
“The Duke’s Manor is beating people! The Duke’s Manor is bullying common folk!”

His voice rang out clearly, making passersby stop and gather at the shop entrance, pointing and whispering at the Fifth Madam and her group.

Seeing so many people, the Fifth Madam frowned and shot the old man a vicious glare.
“What are you looking at? Look again and I’ll beat you too!”

These lowly commoners—she could beat them if she wanted. Who would dare go to the Duke’s Manor to seek justice?

The onlookers retreated a few steps. Then someone in the crowd shouted, “The Duke’s Manor is really impressive—beating people in the street, openly disregarding the law!”

Once that was said, others began echoing it.

With the crowd stirred up, the situation started to spiral out of control.

Though foolish, the Fifth Madam wasn’t completely brainless. If this continued, it wouldn’t end well for her.

Grinding her teeth, she ordered the servants to stop.

They withdrew and returned to her side.

Protected by Zeng Tietou, Li Qingling hadn’t suffered much injury.

Zeng Tietou, however, had it worse—his face was bruised and purple.

Seeing this, Li Qingling’s anger completely exploded. “What? You think you can just leave after beating people?” Seeing the Fifth Madam preparing to go, she strode over and blocked her path. “Is this how the Duke’s Manor does things?”

“Move aside!” the Fifth Madam barked coldly.

Li Qingling glanced at her expressionlessly, then looked up at Zeng Tietou and told him directly to go beat the grievance drum.

Today, she was going to fight this Fifth Madam to the end. She would demand justice—for herself and for Zeng Tietou.

Zeng Tietou hesitated, worried about leaving Li Qingling alone.

“It’s fine. Go. I don’t believe that, in broad daylight and before so many people, they’d dare touch me again.”

Seeing her insistence, Zeng Tietou nodded and left.

When the Fifth Madam saw him really go, her brows knit tightly. She shouted again at Li Qingling, “You wretched girl—get out of the way!”

“Heh… I really don’t feel like moving. Today, I will get justice.”

Did she really think Li Qingling was someone easy to bully just because she hadn’t lost her temper?

The Fifth Madam ground her teeth and ordered the servants to shove Li Qingling aside.

Before they could touch her, Li Qingling shouted loudly, “They’re beating people! The Duke’s Manor is beating people!”

“Does the Duke’s Manor have any regard for the law? Daring to beat people in public!”

The onlookers immediately erupted in condemnation again.

With so many people backing Li Qingling, the Fifth Madam no longer dared to casually order another attack.

“Who’s got the guts to hurt my son?”