Chapter 2848: Barging In

"What's going on? A fight?"

He Xiaoyue looked outside and saw a group of maids and servants clustering around a woman dressed in luxurious traditional clothing, charging angrily toward them. The salesgirl hurried to close the door, but a sturdy woman at the front was quick to react. She rushed forward in two or three steps, jammed her foot into the gap to block the door, squeezed half her body through, and peered inside. She immediately shouted, "Madam, I found her! She's right here!"

The door slammed open with a bang. Guo Xi'er screamed. Two sturdy women had already pinned Zhou Suniang to the ground, twisting her arms and hauling her upright. The luxuriously dressed woman strode in immediately after. She cast a swift, dismissive glance at the stunned He and Guo, snorted coldly, then turned to Zhou Suniang and slapped her hard across the face.

"I wondered where you'd run off to, you little slut. It turns out you took the Master's money to buy these bizarre clothes to seduce men! Kneel down! Taozhi, hit her!"

A maid smiled apologetically. "Madam, look, this is a public place..."

"Hit her!" The Madam's voice rose an octave.

At their mistress's command, the servants immediately rushed forward. Though they bore no weapons, the slaps rained down one after another, hands yanking at hair—within moments, a beauty like Zhou Suniang had been beaten until her cloud-like hair hung askew, blood ran from her mouth and nose, and she looked utterly ruined.

Still unsatisfied, the Madam noticed her servants using only their bare hands and holding back. Knowing they still had reservations, she roared again, "Beat her to death! If I see anyone not putting in effort, I'll reward her with forty strokes of the board when we get back!"

Now the servants dared not slack off. Fists and palms rained down on Zhou Suniang's body, drawing scream after scream. Fire blazed in the Madam's eyes—she had waited far too long for this day and couldn't wait a moment longer. Ever since the Master had bought this slut from the brothel five years ago, he had barely set foot in her room, making her gnash her teeth day and night, yet she had been helpless to do anything about it. If the Master hadn't gone to Jiangnan on business this time, she truly wouldn't have had the chance to move against Zhou Suniang.

Heaven has eyes—she had finally caught hold of evidence that the woman was stealing a man. If she didn't destroy this little bitch this time, she might as well throw herself into the Wenlan River!

He Xiaoyue hurried forward to intervene, but the Madam was blinded by rage and lashing out indiscriminately. Just as her fist was about to land on He Xiaoyue's face, a slender figure suddenly leaped forward. Bending her left knee while simultaneously pushing out with both hands, she struck solidly against the Madam's chest and shouted, "Halt!" It was Guo Xi'er, executing the "Chest Expansion Movement" from the Aromaschool broadcast calisthenics.

The Madam felt a pair of jade palms press against her chest. The force wasn't great, but it carried an indomitable courage and youthful vigor. She stumbled back several steps. Guo Xi'er withdrew her stance and stood firm, her feet planted steadily. Even the guards standing nearby couldn't help but secretly admire her skill.

"What do you think you're doing?" Guo Xi'er shouted sternly.

Everyone watched as the false Kun stepped in to confront them. Knowing it was time to stop, they quickly stepped aside, waiting for the outcome of this clash.

The Madam steadied herself after retreating two steps and regarded the two women before her coldly. Since coming to Lingao, she rarely went out, but she had heard from the steward before coming that these were the Kun's seamstresses and also the shop's managers. Looking at the two girls again, they both appeared to be young ladies. The one who had just pushed her was no more than sixteen, yet she showed her face in the shop all day long.

These Kun were indeed uncivilized overseas barbarians! Look at what they wore—not only were their necks exposed, but even their calves were laid bare. White belts cinched at their waists, making their figures look graceful, their legs long and buttocks perky. Instead of concealing their forms, they deliberately flaunted their curves for men to see! Shameless, lewd barbarians—no wonder that little bitch Zhou Suniang had taken to their ways!

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She couldn't help but say coldly, "Zhou Suniang has committed adultery and ruined my family's reputation. I am disciplining her. What does it have to do with you two young ladies? Please do not interfere."

"Disciplining? Who do you think you are to discipline someone here! Is this how you discipline people? Beating them to death? You..."

Guo Xi'er was so flustered and furious that her words became incoherent. He Xiaoyue held her back and simply sneered. "Madam, I have no interest in your relationship or grievances with our customer. However, Wanzi Pavilion is an enterprise belonging to the Planning Committee! You barged in here with your people without any justification—what do you intend? To start a rebellion?"

The word "rebellion" struck like a sedative; seventy percent of the Madam's anger vanished instantly. She remembered the Master saying that Wanzi Pavilion was opened by a Senator of the Australians, and that its customers were mostly people close to the Senators. How could she have impulsively barged into official Kun property? Fear suddenly gripped her heart, and she found herself at a loss for words.

Just as she stood there uncertain, her personal maid Taozhi jumped forward. "What do you know? We are catching a thief! Besides, what rule have we violated? We have studied Lingao's laws. Since coming in, we have merely struck this vixen a few times and done nothing else. Don't speak nonsense!"

"Still unrepentant? If you're not convinced, let's call the police! We can argue it out at the station!"

Just as the atmosphere grew tense again, someone suddenly called out, "Wait a moment!"

Everyone turned to look. A man dressed like a private advisor pushed the door open, beads of sweat still on his forehead. He appeared to be thirty or forty years old, not tall, with a genial smile on his face. Seeing Guo and He looking at him, he bowed deeply in the Kun manner. "Greetings to the two managers." Then he bowed to the Madam. "Madam, leave this to me."

Out of the corner of her eye, He Xiaoyue saw that Zhou Suniang had been helped to a table by two attendants. She signaled Guo Xi'er to watch over her and stepped forward. Upon the man's arrival, the corners of the Madam's mouth twitched. She turned her head slightly away and said nothing.

"I am Xia Zhongde, a steward of the Qu family." The man maintained his genial smile. "This is a long story. Please allow me to explain..."

Zhou Suniang was originally a "Yangzhou Thin Horse" whom Master Qu had bought for a hefty sum, and she had been greatly favored. But after coming to Lingao, Zhou Suniang's "heart had run wild." Relying on the Master's favor, she often disguised herself and went out secretly, doing unknown things. When questioned at home, she would prevaricate. Madam Qu had grown increasingly suspicious. This morning, she secretly searched Zhou Suniang's belongings and discovered a stack of letters proving secret correspondence with some other man. So she had brought the servants to "catch the adulteress."

"...Although the Senate advocates freedom of marriage and love, Zhou Suniang's secret correspondence with someone is suspected of destroying a marriage and family. Madam's action today is also intended to rectify morals and support the New Life Movement..."

Hearing Xia Zhongde's explanation, He Xiaoyue nearly exploded with anger. What kind of ridiculous explanation was this? "Rectify morals"? "Support the New Life Movement"? She retorted sharply, "Fine, fine—even if everything you say is true, one clause of the New Life Movement is 'Refusal of Concubinage.' The Qu family openly keeps concubines, yet you dare talk about supporting the New Life Movement?"

"About that, Miss may not be aware. Since arriving in Lingao, my Master has heeded the Senate's call, so Zhou Suniang is no longer the Master's concubine. Civilly, the relationship has been dissolved," Xia Zhongde explained without missing a beat.

"Since she is a free person, her romantic life is her own. How can it be 'adultery'?"

"Well, Ms. Zhou signed a 'Love Prohibition' contract with my Master's company. During the contract period, she does not have freedom of love or marriage. This is all in accordance with the laws of the Senate."

Xia Zhongde spoke in measured, unhurried tones, leaving He Xiaoyue momentarily speechless. She studied his face—seventy percent serious, thirty percent genial—when she suddenly heard a sneer. Turning around, she saw Zhou Suniang casting a sidelong glance at Xia Zhongde, her eyes full of both disdain and knowing. He Xiaoyue asked, "Is what he said true?"

"If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext." Zhou Suniang threw out the cold sentence and looked away.

Intuitively, He Xiaoyue sensed something was off, but Xia Zhongde's words were watertight. She couldn't very well meddle in someone else's family affairs. She gave a cold laugh and said nothing more.

"Don't think this is over," He Xiaoyue added, unwilling to let him gloss over matters so easily. She was determined to dampen the arrogance of these petty tyrants. "Whatever your justifications, you disrupted normal business operations. You will be dealt with according to the Public Security Act. The police have been called. Prepare to face the Public Order Court!"

Madam Qu's expression shifted. She suddenly grabbed Taozhi and slapped her twice—pa! pa!

"You reckless little slut! Who told you to talk nonsense in front of me? This mess is all because of you! Go accept your punishment!"

Taozhi's eyes reddened, her face full of disbelief. "Madam, this servant..."

But Madam Qu was all smiles now, as though she had become a different person. She beamed at He Xiaoyue. "Shopkeeper, we didn't intend to barge into Wanzi Pavilion. It was the careless servants leading the way who said only that Zhou Suniang was in the clothing store. If we have offended you, please forgive us, please forgive us... We will certainly come to apologize properly another day..."

Xia Zhongde piled on the smiles. "Yes, yes, we handled this poorly. We deserve criticism, we deserve criticism!" He studied the expressions of He Xiaoyue and Guo Xi'er and added, "Of course, Taozhi is not solely at fault. These people who charged through the door and spoke rudely also committed a serious offense. Naturally, they too must be severely punished." With that, his gaze swept over the servants. Two sturdy women immediately dropped to their knees, repeating, "We deserve to die" and "We shouldn't have violated the shop's rules."

Watching them bow and scrape like this—appearing as completely different people from their arrogant selves just moments before—He Xiaoyue felt none of the secret satisfaction she had imagined. Instead, she felt as nauseated as if she had swallowed a fly. It was this very habit of pushing all responsibility onto the powerless, making them accept punishments that their superiors should have borne.

In the past, she would have been relentless, insisting that Madam Qu herself receive a whipping. But having worked here for some time, she had learned a degree of discretion. Setting aside matters that couldn't be brought into the open, just fighting a public order lawsuit would consume half a day. Several Life Secretaries and important clients were coming this afternoon. She couldn't afford the delay.

(End of Chapter)