Lord Ji, who had always prided himself on being a cultured and refined gentleman, had never encountered a young lady who swore so casually.
"You..." Lord Ji slammed his teacup down. "You are a disgrace to refinement. What kind of conduct is this?" He had intended to call Li Man'er ill-bred, but on second thought, her own father was sitting at the head of the table, so he decided to be more reserved.
Li Shu also felt his face was disgraced, deeming Li Man'er too vulgar and a shame to the Marquis's estate.
"Scoundrel, after only a few years in the Ning family, you've learned the ways of merchants, becoming base and vulgar, an embarrassment."
Li Man'er's slightly mocking smile suddenly straightened, and her gaze towards Li Shu turned as cold as ice.
"The ways of merchants? Base and vulgar? An embarrassment?" Li Man'er's triple question, each word chilling, was merely a repetition of Li Shu's own words. Yet, for some reason, Ji Zhongwen felt his scalp tingle and a chill spread through his body.
"When you married my mother, coveting her ten miles of dowry, why didn't you despise the Ning family as merchants? Why didn't you despise the Ning family for being vulgar? When your entire family forced my mother to her death, and then tried to force me, coveting my mother's dowry, why didn't you consider yourselves base? Your new wife, Madam Guo, shamelessly harmed the children left by the former madam, and you wanted to marry me off to her idiotic nephew, wanting her daughter to marry into the Princess's mansion in my stead. Why didn't I hear you call them an embarrassment?"
"You..."
"Every single thing, each and every one, it was your Li family that pushed things to the extreme. Now you find me vulgar and the Ning family to have the ways of merchants?"
Seeing Li Shu's face turn green and pale, Ji Zhongwen knew Li Man'er was telling the truth. It was likely the Li family had taken advantage of the Ning family's wealth for years, despising them as merchants on one hand, while constantly bullying Madam Ning and her daughter, and squandering their dowry. Truly...
Shameless.
Ji Zhongwen sat on pins and needles, fearing Li Shu would silence him permanently, perhaps having him beaten to death. He had heard the Li family's secrets.
Li Shu's complexion was already abnormal, but Li Man'er showed no signs of stopping. "Father, it is truly too late for you to despise my mother and me now. Years ago, the Marquis's estate was an empty shell. If it weren't for my mother's dowry filling the gaps, who knows what kind of lives you would be living now! And your worthless life, haven't I saved you three or four times? What? Don't you want it anymore? Do you want me to take it myself?"
Li Shu leaned forward fiercely, glaring at Li Man'er, gritting his teeth. "You dare to kill your father?"
Li Man'er took two steps forward. The surrounding guards immediately advanced, drawing their weapons, ready to apprehend Li Man'er if a single word led to a dispute.
"Kill my father? You think too highly of yourself. If you died like this, it would be too easy for you. You even want to drag me down with you, which is absolutely not allowed." Li Man'er rubbed her fingers together, a subtle movement unnoticed by anyone.
A faint, almost imperceptible bitter scent permeated the air.
"Marquis, Heaven sees everything you do. Retribution may be delayed, but it will come. You should be careful."
Li Shu's eyes were about to burst with rage. "Take her down."
As the guards on either side were about to move, a voice suddenly boomed from outside the door, "Hold!"
Li Shu looked up and saw people pushing the door open and entering. Xi Kaiyuan, Jia Er, and some men from the Iron Blood Camp also entered.
"What do you think you are doing? Are you rebelling?" Li Shu glared ferociously at Li Man'er, his heart filled with trepidation. In just a few days, she had managed to win over so many people. If this continued, what would happen?
"Marquis, the Eldest Daughter has earned military achievements. She has merit, not fault, and cannot be apprehended," Xi Kaiyuan advised. "Currently, the barbarian army is outside the city, and it is a time when we need capable people. Marquis, please be merciful and allow the Eldest Daughter to atone for her faults through further merits!"
"What fault do I have?" Li Man'er did not appreciate his words and raised her voice. "He is the one at fault." Although she did not elaborate on Li Shu's wrongdoings, her powerful words still slapped Li Shu hard across the face.
"You..."
"Eldest Daughter, please say less," Xi Kaiyuan tried to mediate, unwilling to see the father and daughter confront each other so fiercely. However, he underestimated Li Shu's hatred for Li Man'er and Li Man'er's determination to eliminate Li Shu.
Jia Er added, "Marquis, the Eldest Daughter possesses talent in warfare. She saved this subordinate on the city wall earlier, and then led the soldiers of the Iron Blood Camp in defending the city. Her achievements are remarkable. She single-handedly led over forty brothers to raid the barbarian camp, killing countless barbarians. Although the Xiao family's reinforcements later ensured the complete annihilation of the barbarians, our admiration for the Eldest Daughter's bravery is boundless."
Li Shu was almost choked to death. Trembling, he roared, "Are all of you trying to rebel? This is my daughter. I am disciplining my daughter. What business is it of yours?"
"Marquis, please calm your anger," Jia Er cupped his fists. "With the enemy at our gates, we should not let personal matters interfere."
"Cough, cough..." Li Shu was so enraged he couldn't speak for a moment, but his hands trembled incessantly. His health had been severely taxed over the past six months and had not fully recovered. His complexion was poor, his eye sockets sunken, making him look like a leaf in the wind, evoking pity.
"Marquis, are you alright?" Li Shu's guards all glared at Li Man'er with fierce eyes, as if they wanted to punch her down.
But Li Man'er paid them no mind and said, "If the Marquis is not feeling well, he should rest. Don't worry needlessly. Lord Ji, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but you are the supervising official. Can't you just do your job properly? For such a trivial matter, you disturb the Marquis's recovery and escalate the situation. What good will it do you? What is your intention?"
Ji Zhongwen nearly wet himself. A scholar arguing with a soldier, unable to explain himself clearly!
What did this have to do with him?
"I ask you, did you come to see the Marquis?"
Ji Zhongwen nodded honestly. It was indeed he who had come to see Li Shu, and many people had witnessed it, so he couldn't deny it.
"Did you ask the Marquis to summon me?"
Ji Zhongwen hesitated for a moment and then admitted it. Li Shu had sent the message through Zhang Jingwen, so that couldn't be denied either.
"Hmph, if you hadn't been so meddlesome, I wouldn't have come. In the end, isn't it all your fault?"
"You, you, I..." Ji Zhongwen pointed at Li Man'er, then at himself, feeling utterly wronged.
"Marquis, Marquis, say something?" Ji Zhongwen felt that only Li Shu could clarify the situation for him now.
Unfortunately, everyone's attention was focused on Li Man'er and Ji Zhongwen, and no one noticed Li Shu's hands trembling more and more violently. Drool trickled from the corner of his mouth. He made two grunting sounds, finally drawing everyone's attention.
Li Shu seemed to have truly suffered a stroke.