Chapter 13

“What sister? I’ve been married into the Chen family for twenty years and didn’t even know there was a young lady here! Where did this filthy beggar come from? Get out of my courtyard immediately!” The spirited, plump woman stood in the yard with hands on her hips, pointing at Chen Xiu’e and her husband while scolding them.

Li Mianyu and Yan Shi had just arrived at the gate when they heard this. Li Mianyu lifted her chin and glanced at Yan Shi.

Without waiting for orders, Yan Shi had already kicked the door open with a swift strike.

Li Mianyu watched as her shadow guard kicked the door flying inward. Zhu Dacheng reacted swiftly, dodging around Chen Xiu’e, and the door struck the woman squarely in the face.

“Bang!” The woman staggered backward two steps and fell to the ground, stunned for a moment before screaming in pain.

“Mother!” “Zhaodi!” Several people in the yard cried out in confusion, rushing to the woman on the ground then turning to look at the newcomers at the gate.

Li Mianyu’s expression turned cold as she slowly stepped inside. Her delicate, beautiful face carried an air of authority. The young shadow guard stepped back slightly; his handsome face grew even colder, lips pressed into a straight line, his dark eyes deep and sharp like a dangerous leopard cat, scanning the group slowly.

The two of them entered silently, their presence so imposing it stunned everyone inside, including Chen Xiu’e and Zhu Dacheng.

Li Mianyu surveyed the people in the yard, recalling what Chen Xiu’e had told her, and fixed her gaze on the dark-skinned middle-aged man.

“You, Chen Gaozhu, married twenty years ago. Half a year after marriage, Chen Xiu’e sold herself to save her mother and left home. You are the eldest brother, yet you don’t even recognize your own sister? Could it be that age has clouded your sight?”

She then looked at the plump woman lying on the ground with a hint of curiosity.

“You, wife of Chen Gaozhu, had been in the Chen household for half a year before Chen Xiu’e left. How could you not have seen her? Look at your corpulent figure, your towering flesh—yet your blindness is so severe. Did nature bestow all its blessings on your body but deliberately omit these two eyes?”

Li Mianyu’s gaze shifted to the two seemingly young individuals, one dark-faced and burly, the other pale but with small eyes and a flat nose. She frowned.

“You two appear to be Chen Gaozhu’s children. When you were born, Chen Xiu’e had already left home. Now your aunt has come back and you doubt her—that’s human nature. Yet even strangers meeting for the first time should show respect. How can you behave like beasts, biting everyone you meet?”

Those in the yard were stunned. The plump woman on the ground had risen, leaning on her son, nose bleeding from the impact, her entire body trembling in anger.

“What yellow-haired girl is babbling nonsense? Why are you all staring? Aren’t you going to chase these beggars out?”

Li Mianyu paused briefly, cheeks flushing. She looked at Yan Shi beside her, troubled and aggrieved.

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