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Qin Yanshu regained his senses and quickly spoke up to plead, “Grandmother, please forgive Ning this once for my sake. She was just too shocked yesterday, that’s why—”
“Yanshu, no matter how good you are to her, she won’t appreciate it.” Old Lady Shen looked at Shen Ning with disdain, “A woman who can’t even protect her own chastity, living is just a waste of food. In my opinion, it’s better to just die with a white silk rope.”
Shen Ning’s eyes were cold and stern, “If bandits came to the Shen family in the middle of the night, could grandmother protect the entire family by herself? If not, wouldn’t grandmother’s life also be a waste of food?”
“Shen Ning, you’re being insolent!”
“Monster! Monster!” Old Lady Shen was so angry that she trembled all over, lifting her cane to hit Shen Ning, “How could the Shen family raise such an unfilial beast? Kneel down, I said kneel down!”
Shen Ning grabbed Old Lady Shen’s cane, a flash of killing intent in her eyes, “With the Shen family’s morals like this, it’s only natural to raise beasts.”
“Shen Ning, what exactly are you trying to do?” Shen Yunlin’s face was fuming as he turned and roared, “What are you all standing there for? Tie her up, now, with ropes!”
The two sturdy maids no longer hesitated, taking the ropes they had prepared in advance and reaching out to put them over Shen Ning’s head.
Shen Ning unexpectedly let go of Old Lady Shen’s cane, paying no heed to the other’s stumble and near fall.
“Be careful, grandmother.” Shen Shian supported Old Lady Shen, looking at Shen Ning in disbelief, “You’re rebelling! Shen Ning, are you rebelling?”
Shen Ning had no time to listen to his roars. She grabbed the ropes the maids were trying to put on her and, with a burst of brute force, pulled the maids so hard that they couldn’t stop themselves from crashing forward, “Ah!”
Shen Ning then flipped her wrist, skillfully wrapping the ropes around them and quickly circling them several times, instantly binding the two maids tightly.
“Eldest Miss, what are you doing? Let me go!” The two maids were so frightened that their faces turned pale, struggling in vain, only to find themselves bound even tighter, “Madam! Madam, save us! Madam—”
From Old Lady Shen to Shen Yunlin and his wife, to Shen Shian, the entire Shen family was dumbfounded, watching the scene before them in disbelief, almost thinking that Shen Ning had been possessed.
How dare she?
How dare she do such a thing?
“Shen Ning…” Old Lady Shen trembled as she pointed at her, so angry that she felt dizzy, “Rebellion, rebellion, you’re simply rebelling! Yunlin, Yunlin, quickly drag her out and beat her to death with sticks, now, drag her out! Beat her to death with sticks!”
Shen Ning pushed the two maids forward, her eyes narrowing slightly as she targeted Shen Shian, who was closest to her. Like lightning, she grabbed his hair and brutally pulled him over.
“Shen Ning!” Shen Shian grimaced in pain, instinctively struggling, “What are you doing? Let go of me!”
“Shen Ning, what do you think you’re doing?” Mrs. Shen was frightened, her face pale, “He’s your elder brother, let him go, quickly let him go…”
“Eldest sister, eldest sister! Please don’t act rashly…” Shen Yan stammered, “Elder brother has always been the kindest to you, don’t be rash…”
“Shen Ning, if you dare to harm a single hair on your elder brother’s head, I will cut you into a thousand pieces!” Shen Yunlin’s eyes were grim and cold, a murderous aura in his gaze, “Let him go now!”
Shen Ning held the ropes controlling the two maids in one hand and tightly gripped Shen Shian’s hair in the other, her voice cold and indifferent, “My decision to return home yesterday was a mistake. After the incident, I should have found a cliff and jumped off to end it all!”
Qin Yanshu’s pupils contracted, “Shen Ning, don’t say that. It wasn’t your fault! Really, it wasn’t your fault…”
“Instead of choosing to jump off a cliff, I returned to the Shen family, which was the most foolish decision of my life.” Shen Ning’s voice was icy as she coldly surveyed the so-called family members present, “Since it was a wrong decision, it should be corrected immediately.”
Old Lady Shen’s face was as still as water, her expression so grim it was as if she wanted to eat Shen Ning alive, “What exactly are you trying to do?”
“I don’t want to do anything.” Shen Ning’s eyes fixed on Shen Yunlin, her attitude firm and unyielding, “Prepare a horse and a thousand taels of silver notes for me at dawn. I will leave the Shen family. From now on, consider this daughter as dead. We will be strangers to each other, never to meet again in life or death.”
“You’re dreaming!” Old Lady Shen said sinisterly, “Even if you die, you will die in the Shen family!”
“I’ll give you two hours to think about it.” Shen Ning spoke coldly, as if she hadn’t heard her words, “If you don’t agree to my demands by dawn, I can’t guarantee what will happen to Shen Shian.”
“Shen Ning—”
“Get out.” Shen Ning’s gaze was cold as she suddenly wrapped the rope around Shian’s neck, immediately choking him and making it difficult for him to breathe, “All of you, get out.”
“Shen Ning!” Mrs. Shen cried out in panic, her face turning pale with fright, “Ning, he’s your elder brother, don’t hurt him, please don’t hurt him, we’ll go out right now—”
Shen Ning’s eyes were pitch-black and profound, like a cold abyss, so chilling that it sent shivers down one’s spine.
The old lady was so angry that she ground her teeth, wishing she could devour Shen Ning alive.
But Shen Shian was in her hands, and no matter how much she hated her, she could only endure for now, “Shen Ning, if you dare to harm a single hair on Shian’s head, I’ll make you wish you were dead!”
After leaving this harsh threat, she finally reluctantly signaled Shen Yunlin and the others to withdraw temporarily.
“Eldest sister…” Shen Yan cried until her eyes were red, sobbing as she walked out, “Elder brother is innocent, you… please don’t hurt him…”
Shen Ning watched her pretentious act with cold eyes.
When the room was left with only Qin Yanshu and Shen Ning, the air seemed to quiet down in an instant.
Qin Yanshu’s hands tightened slightly, and his heart inexplicably felt uneasy.
He didn’t know if Shen Ning’s drastic change in temperament was due to the shock she had suffered, or if it was the result of her disillusionment and disappointment with her family.
But he knew in his heart that he didn’t want to see her like this.
The former Shen Ning was lively and cheerful, with bright and animated eyes, completely unlike the cold and heartless appearance before him.
He felt as if he was really about to lose the most important thing in his life, and the sense of panic and unease made his hands tremble uncontrollably at his sides.
“Ning.” He spoke gently, as if afraid of startling her, “I was wrong, I know I was wrong, don’t be angry. I… I’ll go back and tell my mother right now that I won’t withdraw the engagement. I’ll still marry you as my wife, I’ll definitely marry you as my main wife. Ning, you… will you believe me? Ning…”
“Are you very eager to see Shen Shian die in front of you?” Shen Ning’s lips curled up slightly, but her gaze was piercingly cold, “Or perhaps you’d like to see me weeping and grateful, giving you a kowtow?”
Qin Yanshu quickly shook his head, flustered and at a loss, “I didn’t mean that, Ning, I didn’t mean that…”
“Get out.” Shen Ning closed her eyes briefly, her voice icy, “Say one more word of nonsense, and I’ll have you collect Shen Shian’s corpse.”
Qin Yanshu spoke gloomily, “Ning, I truly care for you. If it weren’t for my mother’s strong opposition, I wouldn’t have done this…”
“You’re not worthy of me.” Shen Ning’s tone was indifferent, her voice cold to the extreme, “Get out.”
Qin Yanshu stiffened, looking down in despair, “The Shen family can no longer tolerate a daughter who has lost her chastity, and no other noble son will marry you as his main wife. Ning, I hope you’ll consider this carefully.”
With that, he turned and left.