Chapter 264 - 260: Crazy Man, Crazy Woman 24

Chapter 264: Chapter 260: Crazy Man, Crazy Woman 24

Wu Wenxuan leaned against the doorframe, his gaze glued to the delicate curves beneath Ji Xiaosong’s moon-white Ruqun.

"Well now, has a little beauty lost her way? To think that any riff-raff can just waltz into the main hall of the Vice Minister Mansion and take a seat..."

The words had barely left his mouth when the gray-clothed servant standing behind Ji Xiaosong flashed between them.

The man kept his head bowed in a show of deference, yet Wu Wenxuan’s outstretched hand felt as if it had slammed into a wall of solid steel. His wrist went numb from the impact.

"How audacious."

Ji Xiaosong lightly tapped her teacup. The crisp sound of celadon against yellow pearwood made Wu Wenxuan’s eyelid twitch.

Though she was looking up at him, the vermillion mole at the corner of her eye seemed as sharp as a blade pointed at his brow.

"When the second young master of the Wu Family sees his future matriarch, what are the proper courtesies?"

Stung by the word "matriarch," Wu Wenxuan sneered. Just as he was about to retort with a jeer, he saw eight guards silently surrounding them.

Their footsteps were so light that the bronze bells under the eaves didn’t even stir. The sabers at their waists vibrated faintly with each breath, as if thirsty to be unsheathed for blood.

"Second Brother!"

Wu Wenhao rushed over, tugging at his sleeve. "This is Eldest Brother’s fiancée..." he whispered.

A teacup lid shot past Wu Wenxuan’s ear and embedded itself more than three inches deep into the red-lacquered pillar behind him.

Ji Xiaosong stroked the jade bracelet on her wrist and chuckled at the two dumbstruck brothers. "I hear that according to the seventy-second article of the Wu Family’s ancestral teachings, he who offends the clan matriarch..."

She abruptly turned to the accounting robot holding the ledgers. "What is the penalty?"

"In response, Madam: he is to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days and copy the ’Family Precepts’ one hundred times."

Its mechanical voice had been modulated to sound old and hoarse. As the accountant bowed, a micro-scanner hidden in its sleeve finished analyzing every skeletal weak point in Wu Wenxuan’s body.

Enraged by the title "Madam," Wu Wenxuan raised his foot to kick over the tea table.

The gray-clothed servant, who had kept his head bowed this whole time, suddenly looked up. A faint blue light flashed in his pupils as he pointed a finger through the air at the back of Wu Wenxuan’s knee.

The force seemed impossibly light, yet Wu Wenxuan fell to his knees with a THUD, as if a thousand-pound weight had just been dropped onto his spine.

"Second Young Master, why the grand ceremony?"

Ji Xiaosong nonchalantly toyed with a few vibrant flowers, letting their juices splatter onto Wu Wenxuan’s luxurious brocade robe.

"What are you all standing around for? Escort the Second Young Master to the ancestral hall. And remember to swap the ’Family Precepts’ for the *Ritual Records*. After all..."

She leaned close to the pale-faced young man and whispered in a voice only he could hear, "A man who dares to lust after his own sister-in-law should probably learn a thing or two about common decency."

Four guards immediately hauled Wu Wenxuan to his feet.

They deliberately used the strength of ordinary fighters, but as they gripped his pressure points, they released a micro-current of electricity.

Wu Wenxuan broke out in a cold sweat from the pain. He tried to curse, but one of the guards clamped a hand over his mouth.

Just as Wu Chufeng stepped over the threshold into the main hall, he was met with a scene of chaos.

Wu Wenxuan was being restrained by four guards, his face ashen and dripping with cold sweat, muffled cries escaping his lips as he struggled to form a curse.

Ji Xiaosong stood off to the side, her expression detached, still clutching the juice-stained flowers.

Wu Wenhao cowered nearby, unable to meet anyone’s gaze.

"What is going on here?"

Wu Chufeng’s brows knitted together, his voice thick with displeasure.

Wu Wenhao opened his mouth as if to speak, but he swallowed the words back down. He simply lowered his head in a panic, not daring to meet his older brother’s eyes.

Just then, the accounting robot stepped forward, bowed slightly, and began to explain methodically in its modulated, aged voice:

"Reporting to you, my lord. The Second Young Master was verbally disrespectful and acted audaciously toward the future matriarch. Acting in accordance with the Wu Family’s ancestral teachings, the matriarch sentenced him to kneel in the ancestral hall and copy the *Ritual Records*. The Second Young Master refused to comply and then attempted to kick over the tea table, which is what led to this..."

This business about ancestral teachings was, of course, a complete fabrication by Ji Xiaosong.

The Wu Family had risen from peasant stock; they had no such ancestral teachings.

But if Ji Xiaosong said they existed now, then they existed.

Before the robot had even finished, Wu Chufeng’s face had turned livid. His eyes bulged with rage as he stared at Wu Wenxuan, looking as if he wanted to eat him alive.

"You... You actually did such a thing!"

Trembling with rage, Wu Chufeng rushed forward and landed a vicious punch squarely on Wu Wenxuan’s cheek.

Already restrained by the guards and unable to defend himself, Wu Wenxuan took the full force of the blow. Blood immediately spilled from the corner of his mouth, and his head snapped to the side, nearly knocking him unconscious.

But Wu Chufeng wasn’t finished. He lifted his leg and kicked Wu Wenxuan hard in the side.

Wu Wenxuan grunted in pain, his body curling up like a shrimp.

"I’ve let you get away with too much, but I never thought you’d become this lawless! How dare you offend even Song Song!"

Cursing, Wu Chufeng continued to rain down punches and kicks, each blow delivered with his full strength, as if trying to vent every last bit of his pent-up fury.

Just as Wu Wenxuan was about to be beaten half to death, Wu Daniu hurried onto the scene.

"Chu Feng, stop!"

Wu Daniu shouted himself hoarse, but by now Wu Chufeng was seeing red and completely ignored him.

Seeing this, Wu Daniu rushed over and wrapped his arms around Wu Chufeng, trying to stop the assault.

"Are you trying to kill your own brother?" Wu Daniu roared.

Restrained by Wu Daniu, Wu Chufeng’s chest was heaving as he gasped for breath, his eyes still fixed on Wu Wenxuan in a murderous glare.

"What’s the use in keeping scum like him around! If I don’t teach him a lesson today, who knows what kind of catastrophe he’ll cause in the future!"

Wu Wenxuan lay on the floor, his breathing shallow. His eyes were filled with terror and regret; he had never seen his older brother this enraged.

Wu Daniu looked from his son on the floor to the enraged Wu Chufeng, and for a moment, he was at a complete loss. The entire hall fell deathly silent.

Into the dead silence of the hall, Wang Cuihua’s shrill voice suddenly pierced the air. "What terrible karma is this!"

Her voice arrived before she did, and a moment later, she burst into the room like a storm.

Wang Cuihua’s eyes immediately fell upon Wu Wenxuan, lying weakly on the floor. Her eyes bulged, and the flesh on her face quivered with fury.

She shot to Wu Wenxuan’s side and dropped to her knees with a THUD. Clinging to him, she began to wail, her sobs heart-wrenching:

"Oh, my son! What have you done to deserve this! How could you be so cruel to him!"

Still crying, she turned to glare viciously at Wu Chufeng, pointing a trembling finger at him:

"You heartless monster! He’s your own brother! How could you beat him like this? Have you no sense of brotherly love?"

With that, she whipped her head toward Ji Xiaosong, her eyes practically shooting fire:

"And you, you little harlot! You just arrived and you’re already turning the house upside down! My son was just making a little joke, and you incited his older brother to beat him! What are you planning?"

Saying this, Wang Cuihua let go of Wu Wenxuan, scrambled to her feet, and lunged at Ji Xiaosong.

The nearby accounting robot and guards instantly stepped forward, shielding Ji Xiaosong.

Wang Cuihua lunged at empty air and nearly stumbled. Growing even more furious from the humiliation, she plopped down on the floor and began slapping the ground with both hands, wailing:

"I can’t go on like this! I don’t want to live! You’re all bullying us..."

Wu Daniu’s brow furrowed. Watching Wang Cuihua throw a tantrum, he was filled with helplessness and disgust. He bellowed:

"That’s enough! Cuihua, look at the state of you! Wenxuan made a terrible mistake and deserves to be punished!"

But Wang Cuihua was already lost in her frenzy, completely deaf to Wu Daniu’s words. She continued to wail and thrash on the floor, and the main hall descended into utter chaos. The already tense and oppressive atmosphere thickened, ready to ignite at the slightest spark.