Seguridad

Capítulo 8

"You! You! You!" Seeing everyone's reaction, Chen Xing felt he had lost face. He glared fiercely at Chen Xun, his face turning pale and then green. He couldn't breathe, and after managing to squeeze out a few words, he couldn't say anything more.

Although Chen Xie felt relieved, he still thought his third brother had been reckless. After all, Young Master Ma was a nobleman in the capital, and if he wasn't careful, such a person might hold a grudge, which could cause trouble later. However, when he noticed that Young Master Ma merely smiled calmly, seemingly unconcerned, he breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at his fourth brother, Chen Xie sighed inwardly. As the eldest brother, he couldn't let his fourth brother make a scene in front of Young Master Ma over such a trivial matter, ultimately embarrassing the Old Madam.

Chen Xie then came to the rescue, saying, "I think it's about time to pay our respects to the old lady on her birthday. Would you like to come along, Young Master Ma?"

Ma Mingyuan replied, "Brother Chen is absolutely right! Please!"

Chen Xie and Chen Che came out of the pavilion and politely asked Ma Mingyuan to go first. Ma Mingyuan did not stand on ceremony and went to the main hall first.

Chen Xing had recovered by this time. Seeing Chen Tu walk up to him as if to comfort him, he pushed him away and whispered, "Hurry up and follow, don't let the eldest and second eldest get the advantage!"

Chen Tu had no choice but to chase after him, while Chen Xing glared at Chen Xun and said, "Third brother, I didn't provoke you, why are you insulting me indirectly?"

Chen Xun picked at his ear, not even looking at him, and turned to look at the artificial hill outside the pavilion. "When did I insult you?"

Seeing that he didn't take it seriously, Chen Xing threatened, "What is that joke if not an insult? Is it saying I'm sycophantic and showing my ugly side? You can say whatever you want about me normally, but Young Master Ma is a nobleman. If you offend him, you won't have a good outcome!"

Chen Xun sneered, "You asked me to tell the joke, so I did! I don't like fruit, you can keep it for yourself!"

Seeing that he wasn't afraid, Chen Xing was furious. He cursed the third son for being sharp-tongued and difficult to deal with. He was filled with resentment and opened his mouth to curse: "Don't think that just because you were adopted by the third wife, you are a proper young master! You, you are just a lowly bastard born of a concubine!"

"What did you say?!" Chen Xun was furious. Forgetting that there was a little man behind him, he rushed out of the pavilion, grabbed Chen Xing by the collar, and started punching him.

Chen Xing panicked. He was usually so arrogant, but when it came to a real fight, he was still scared. He quickly covered his head with his hands, trying to dodge Chen Xun's fists, and shouted, "Why are you hitting me? I'm telling the truth. Everyone in the yard knows that it was because your aunt didn't like you that she gave you to your sixth aunt! It's so... Ah—ah—stop hitting me!"

A pig squealed loudly in the courtyard. Mu Qing stood in the pavilion dumbfounded. Third Brother wasn't Sixth Sister's biological son!

(Please vote and add to your collection~ hehe)

Chapter Nineteen: An Old Incident Triggered by a Fight

Seeing Chen Xing's pathetic, cowardly appearance, Chen Xun was even more furious. How could there be such a useless brother? He simply rolled up his sleeves, kicked his leg up, and his clothes fell into his hands. He casually tucked them into his waistband and continued to chase after Chen Xing, punching and kicking him.

"Murder! Murder..." Perhaps because Chen Xun was chasing him too hard, Chen Xing was exhausted. His howling grew fainter and fainter. He ran around outside the courtyard with his head in his hands. In his panic, his clothes were in disarray. The hem of his clothes was torn in several places by the sharp stones on the artificial hill. His right shoe was missing. His cloth socks were black and white. He was in a very sorry state.

Mu Qing stood motionless in the pavilion, pondering Chen Xing's words. Her third brother was her eldest uncle's illegitimate son, adopted by the eldest Liu's wife and given to the sixth aunt of the third branch, the youngest Liu's wife. It must be said, the eldest Liu's wife was quite shrewd; she eliminated a illegitimate son to contend for the inheritance, ensuring her sister's security and gratitude. And her eldest uncle, by giving up a son to inherit the third branch's property, was a win-win situation.

Third Brother probably already harbored resentment. In this era, the difference between a son born to a concubine and a son born to a legitimate wife is like heaven and earth. Now, Fourth Brother has poked that thorn a few more times. If it were him, he would also be furious and want to hit someone. However, to be fair, Fourth Brother is just being sarcastic and deserves to be taught a lesson. But today is the Old Madam's birthday banquet, and the commotion caused by Third and Fourth Brothers has disturbed the guests outside, causing the family to lose face. Third Brother will definitely be punished.

Mu Qing truly disliked Zhou's son, but she had a very good impression of her third brother, Chen Xun. Thinking of her gentle sixth aunt, Liu Shi, she couldn't just stand by and watch her third brother cause trouble. So she walked out of the pavilion and shouted at Chen Xun, "Third brother, third brother, stop fighting!"

Chen Xun was seething with anger; Chen Xing's words, "bastard," had truly reopened old wounds. Chen Xun's biological mother was a concubine bought by Chen Nian; she died in childbirth. When he was four, his sixth uncle passed away, leaving him childless. The old matriarch arranged for him to be adopted by Xiao Liu.

People say children don't remember things, but Chen Xun remembers vividly. He'll never forget the scorn he suffered in the eldest son's household. His mother, Madam Liu, saw him as a thorn in her side. To maintain her virtuous and gentle image in front of the Old Madam, she doted on him in public, but back in their own courtyard, she would pinch and twist him, practically wanting to kill him. Every time, she'd mutter the two words "bastard" under her breath…

"Bastard? Bastard?" Chen Xun gritted his teeth and uttered the two words repeatedly from his throat, filled with intense hatred. He couldn't help but increase the force of his blows, making Chen Xing gasp for breath.

Although Chen Xun and Chen Xing were the same age, both eleven, Chen Xing was spoiled by Zhou Shi and acted arrogantly in the courtyard, but outside he was just a paper tiger, unable to withstand even a poke of a finger. Chen Xun, on the other hand, had been abused since childhood and matured early. He usually didn't bother with Chen Xing, but today he could no longer tolerate it.

"Who's the bastard? Tell me, who's the bastard? Say it!" Chen Xun's fists rained down again. "You won't talk, huh? If you don't talk, I'll keep hitting you!"

Seeing this, Mu Qing became very anxious. "Third Brother, today is the Old Madam's birthday. If outsiders see our own grandchildren fighting, it will be a disgrace to the Old Madam. Stop it immediately!"

Chen Xun was furious and got carried away, wanting nothing more than to beat Chen Xing flat. He couldn't hear anything else and kept muttering, "Speak up, speak up, who is it? Who is it?"

Chen Xing couldn't take it anymore. He mumbled a couple of times, "I am! I am! You, you stop!" Then, his eyes rolled back, and he couldn't catch his breath and fainted.

Chen Xun showed no sign of stopping. Mu Qing knew something was wrong and rushed forward, grabbing Chen Xun's sleeve and pulling hard to stop his fist from falling. But she was only a six-year-old girl, no match for Chen Xun's strength. She was easily thrown aside and fell to the ground.

"Third brother, are you crazy! Do you want to beat fourth brother to death? Fine, go ahead and hit him. You'll lose your own life and leave sixth aunt all alone. You're such a filial son! What kind of man only knows how to solve his own problems with his fists? If you're so capable, go join the army and fight against foreign enemies!"

Mu Qing was also furious. Her palms, which were bracing against the ground, were burning. At first, she thought Chen Xun was too young and impulsive, but now, seeing Chen Xun acting like a madman and not caring about anything else, she didn't care that she was only six years old. She just wanted to scold him to wake him up and prevent him from causing even bigger trouble.

Hearing Mu Qing shout, Chen Xun suddenly woke up. Remembering Xiao Liu, his heart softened, and he loosened his grip, ceasing his attack. When he came to his senses, he saw Chen Xing lying unconscious on the ground. He felt he had caused trouble. Xiao Liu treated him like dirt, and this time he was going to implicate her. He felt a pang of regret.

"Oh! My Xing'er, what's wrong?"

Mu Qing and Chen Xun turned around at the same time and saw Zhou Shi, disregarding her image, rush over like a gust of wind and throw herself into Chen Xing's arms. Behind her, Xiao Liu Shi and Qian Shi also stepped forward, one to check on Chen Xun and the other to pick up Mu Qing.

"Qing'er!" Madam Qian asked anxiously, "Are you hurt?"

Mu Qing shook her head, "Qing'er is fine, Mother, don't worry!"

On the ground, Zhou was swaying wildly. Chen Xing coughed twice and woke up. The first thing he did when he saw Zhou was to burst into tears.

"Thank goodness, Xing'er, you're awake!" Zhou hugged Chen Xing and took out a handkerchief to wipe his face.

"Mother, he, he's going to beat me to death!" Chen Xing pointed weakly at Chen Xun, complaining to Zhou Shi. Chen Xun glared back at him fiercely, and Chen Xing immediately fell silent, nestled in Zhou Shi's arms, not daring to lift his head.

Seeing her son's state, Zhou stared intently at Chen Xun and Xiao Liu, and said sternly, "Sixth Sister-in-law, tell me, what kind of nonsense is this, your third brother beating my Xing'er like this?"

"Second sister-in-law, don't be angry. Young boys are impulsive, and it's inevitable that they'll fight occasionally." Little Liu was asking Chen Xun in a low voice if he was injured, but he didn't answer. Qian quickly came to his rescue.

“Fourth Sister, save your breath! Today is the Old Madam's birthday. Xing'er is injured; how can he go to wish her a happy birthday? Anyone with eyes can see that his Third Brother beat him to death. Otherwise, how could my Xing'er have fainted? Waaah—waaah—” Zhou Shi took back her handkerchief and began to wipe her tears. “Is there no justice in this world? He's even cruel to his own brothers…”

"What happened today was my fault, Xun'er. I apologize to my second sister-in-law. I will go to the old lady to beg for forgiveness and accept punishment later!" Seeing that Zhou was about to throw a tantrum, Xiao Liu curtsied and quickly apologized.

Chen Xun, standing to the side, protested, "Why is it my fault? It was Lao Si who was being rude, and I just couldn't help it..."

"You started it, so it's your fault!" The usually calm Liu suddenly reprimanded Chen Xun, who was speechless and lowered his head in embarrassment.

Zhou Shi thought the mother and son from the third wife were putting on an act, and said coldly, "Hmph, so what if they know a little bit of art? They can't even raise adopted children properly, what can they do? No wonder their husbands ran off with courtesans!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present changed their expressions.

(It snowed heavily today, more than ten centimeters thick~ It's so cold~~ I'm asking for pink votes and PK votes to warm me up, hehe~)

Chapter Twenty: Aftermath

The weather was fine when I woke up, but now the sky has darkened and the wind is damp, as if it is about to rain.

Outside the courtyard wall, a group of people stood silently around the artificial hill, the atmosphere chillingly cold. Occasionally, passing servants would peek over out of curiosity. But once they saw the group's posture, they hurriedly took a detour, each thinking to themselves, "Don't run into them and become their punching bag!"

As Chen Qizheng led Chen Qiwen and Chen Nian in from the outer courtyard, he heard Zhou Shi's sarcastic remarks about Xiao Liu Shi. He frowned and thought to himself, "This second daughter-in-law really has no brains. She dares to say such taboo things at this time. If this gets reported to my mother, even I, as her father-in-law, will get a scolding!"

"Second brother, what nonsense are you spouting?" Chen Qizheng shouted to stop him, but when he turned around, he saw his grandson Chen Xing still lying on the ground. "Fourth brother, what's wrong with you like this?"

When Zhou saw her father-in-law and uncle arrive, she helped Chen Xing up and then began to sob, every word filled with grievance. Every now and then, she would wave her handkerchief to wipe away the tears that seemed to be there but weren't, and look at Chen Qizheng with a resentful gaze.

"Xun'er, is what your second mother said true?"

"yes!"

"Why did you hit Xing'er?" Chen Qizheng was quite puzzled by Chen Xun's beating. This child had always acted prudently, so Xing'er must have angered him today.

“He slandered me! Tell me, tell me…” Chen Xun was still furious when he recalled Chen Xing’s harsh words earlier, but now that Chen Qi was asking him questions, he found it difficult to speak.

"Alright, you tell me yourself!"

"I, I..." Chen Xing covered his swollen cheek and uttered two words incoherently, but he dared not repeat what he had just said, for fear that if he did, he would be beaten by his grandfather again that night. He trembled and leaned against Zhou Shi.

"No matter what, you can't beat someone to death! Dad, you have to stand up for Xing'er in this matter!"

Seeing her son frightened, Zhou Shi became even more relentless in her pursuit. A daughter of an official's family, she had only married into the Chen family to secure a wealthy backer for her brother, expecting to be a favored wife. Instead, she found herself constantly suppressed by the eldest wife, Liu Shi, and always inferior to her in-laws. Even in the courtyard, she was overshadowed by the younger wife, Liu Shi, in front of the matriarch. Seeing her son beaten today, she was determined to seek justice no matter what.

Mu Qing nestled in Qian Shi's arms, turned her head to look at Zhou Shi's resentful and about-to-throw manner, rolled her eyes, and turned to ask Qian Shi in a very low voice, "Mother, Fourth Brother just called Third Brother a lowly child born of a concubine!"

Upon hearing this, Qian tightened her grip suddenly, causing Mu Qing some pain.

"Mother, what's wrong?"

"Qing'er, listen to your mother, you are not allowed to speak now!"

Mu Qing was confused, but since Madam Qian had spoken, she could only nod.

Chen Qizheng had a headache. To be honest, they were all his own grandsons, even though the adopted one was born out of wedlock. He was still his son's bloodline, and Zhou Shi wasn't someone to be trifled with. It was possible that the matter would escalate to her brother's hands. When he looked up and saw Mu Qing, he realized what was going on and hurriedly asked, "Qing'er, do you know why your third brother hit your fourth brother just now?"

Madam Qian secretly pinched Mu Qing's bottom, and Mu Qing almost cried out in pain, but dared not speak. Then she heard Madam Qian say, "Uncle, when I came here I asked, Qing'er was watching the sparrows outside and didn't hear anything! Just now she saw the boys fighting and was so scared that she cried! Oh, right, it seems that a maid came to report that the two boys were fighting. Why don't we find her and ask her?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhou quickly said, "Yes, she's a maidservant in the Old Madam's room, I think her name is Xiao Hong!"

Chen Qizheng also thought that Mu Qing, a six-year-old child, might not have heard anything when he was not focused, so he had someone call Xiao Hong over to find out the reason.

Xiao Hong arrived; she was one of the tea-grinding maids Mu Qing had seen in the backyard that day. She bowed to her masters and listened to the master's questions, her heart pounding with anxiety. She had witnessed the whole affair, but she wasn't the only one who had seen it; she was the one who relayed the message, and now she was dragged into it too. If she spoke out, it would definitely be Fourth Brother's fault, which would offend Second Mistress, and she feared her days would be numbered. If she didn't speak out, and Third Brother was punished, her conscience would be troubled. Besides, those words couldn't be uttered in front of everyone.

After thinking it over, Xiao Hong still didn't dare to say it. She stood there timidly and said, "I was far away at the time, but I saw the two young masters suddenly start fighting, so I rushed into the courtyard to look for them."

"Hmm? Do you need to think about that?" Chen Qizheng raised an eyebrow and asked in a deep voice, "Or are you hiding something?"

"No, I didn't!" Xiao Hong hurriedly shook her head. "I'm telling the truth."

"Oh! Since it's the truth, men, drag him away and give him twenty lashes!"

"Master, what I said is true! I wasn't the only one who saw it in the courtyard!" Upon hearing this, Xiao Hong's legs went weak and she knelt on the ground. Twenty strokes of the cane could be fatal.

"Who else?"

"I... I don't remember anyone else seeing it..." Xiao Hong was so frightened by Master Chen's imposing manner that she couldn't recover. Her mind went blank, and she couldn't remember if anyone else had heard Fourth Brother's words at the time.

"Since you saw the young masters fighting, why didn't you step in to stop them? Shouldn't you, a mere servant, have done the fighting?" Chen Qizheng's voice was extremely cold and stern, sending chills down one's spine. Even the younger generation watching nearby broke out in a cold sweat; such an aggressive demeanor would intimidate anyone, let alone a mere maid. Chen Xing, feeling guilty, stumbled and almost lost his balance, but fortunately, Zhou Shi supported him.

"This servant, this servant..." Xiao Hong stammered out two words before being lifted up by servants who appeared out of nowhere. Xiao Hong cried out in alarm, "This servant said that the Fourth Young Master said the Third Young Master is a lowly child born of a concubine! So..."

"Enough! You know nothing about what the master is asking you, drag her away and give her ten strokes of the cane!" Chen Qizheng interrupted Xiao Hong before she could finish speaking, then turned to Chen Xing and Zhou Shi and slowly asked, "Fourth Brother, do you know your mistake?"

Seeing his grandfather's ashen face, Chen Xing instinctively hid behind Zhou Shi. Zhou Shi quickly reached out and stopped Chen Xing behind her, saying, "Father, Xing'er is still young and speaks without thinking. Besides, is it necessary to let Third Brother beat him to death? You..."

"Shut up! A doting mother spoils her son! He spoke ill of his own brother today; who knows what kind of trouble he'll bring upon the whole family one day! Go back to the ancestral hall and reflect on your actions. No food for him today!"

“Father, how can Xing’er not go to the Old Madam’s birthday celebration?” Zhou Shi interrupted, but Chen Qizheng waved his hand to stop her. “You should also reflect on your actions. This happened so soon after the Second Son passed away. As the mother, you can’t shirk your responsibility! Alright, it’s time to pay respects at the birthday celebration! I’ll talk to the Old Madam!”

Chen Xing was helped back to his own courtyard by the servant he had just summoned. Although the matter was temporarily resolved, everyone's expressions were grim. Chen Xun had vented his anger, but Madam Liu was pale and seemed somewhat absent-minded as Chen Xun supported her. Madam Qian was expressionless, lost in thought. Madam Zhou wrung out her handkerchief, watched her son leave, bit her lip, and then turned to follow the others to the main hall in the central courtyard.

At this moment, Mu Qing's heart was pounding, and she couldn't calm down. She hadn't expected her two brothers' fight to escalate to this point. Her mother was trying to avoid trouble and offending either Zhou Shi or Xiao Liu Shi. Offending them meant creating a rift with the eldest or third branch of the family. Since returning home, she had never witnessed the methods these masters used to manage their subordinates. But seeing this scene today, she realized she had been too optimistic lately, forgetting that calm waters can't reveal their depths.

She stared at the pebbles paving the ground, lost in thought. Chen Qizheng was decisive and efficient, Chen Qiwen remained silent, Chen Nian was expressionless, and then there was the recently brought-up past of Xiao Liu Shi. Mu Qing couldn't understand it anymore. Now, she felt that Zhou Shi's arrogance, being so overt, actually revealed her true intentions more clearly. As for the others… she couldn't say for sure. And was Xiao Hong an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire, brought here by her mother, or perhaps Chen Xing's scapegoat? Who could say for sure?

Remembering Xiao Hong's piercing scream as she was dragged away and her mouth was immediately gagged, Mu Qing suddenly felt a pang of sadness. Then she thought, she wasn't a saint; how could she foresee everything? She only needed to remember that every step she took in this courtyard should be carefully chosen to avoid giving anyone a reason to speak out, until…

Mu Qing raised her head, glanced at the sky above, and silently recited, until the day she left...