"Your Highness should know where to draw the line when throwing a tantrum," the elderly matriarch of the Li family, Chen Yun's mother - in - law, rushed over in a hurry. Seeing her second daughter - in - law beaten speechless and her second son kneeling on the ground, she instinctively glared fiercely at Li Chengyu and Chen Yun, and said maliciously, "Your Highness is clearly trying to humiliate our Li family!"
"Really?"
Shen Mingzhu looked at Chen Yun's mother - in - law with a half - smile, "And what do you think you're doing? Do you think you're in a position to lecture me, given my status?"
Chen Yun's mother - in - law had been spoiled. In this family, the eldest son, the eldest daughter - in - law, and the other sisters - in - law had always pandered to her. As a result, her actions had become more and more extreme. Eventually, she felt it was unfair that her second son didn't inherit a title, and only poor Li Chengyu, along with his wife Chen Yun, had to endure her grievances.
Looking at the imposing aura around Shen Mingzhu, Chen Yun's mother - in - law turned pale. She rolled her eyes and said to Li Chengyu, "Look at you. As an elder brother, you just watch your younger brother being wronged."
Shen Mingzhu let out a sneer. Seeing Li Chengyu's expression growing darker and a hint of embarrassment appearing on Chen Yun's face, she took a deep breath to suppress her anger.
She leaned close to Chen Yun's ear and said softly, "What do you want to do? Do your parents know about the situation in the Li family? Or have you said nothing?"
A look of helplessness flashed in Chen Yun's eyes as she shook her head at Shen Mingzhu.
She and Li Chengyu were deeply in love, but her parents had taken a fancy to another young master. So, there had been quite a stir over this marriage for a while.
How could Chen Yun possibly tell her parents about what had happened to her after marriage?
"Fine. Then I'll take you away. If you don't want to go home, you can come with me."
However, upon hearing this, Chen Yun suddenly fell silent. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "This... wait a bit."
Shen Mingzhu sighed inwardly.
Seeing the two whispering to each other, Li Chengyu instinctively felt something was wrong.
Before he could say a word, he heard Shen Mingzhu say indifferently, "But you've reminded me. The second young master of the Li family also offended me earlier."
Everyone stared at her in disbelief. The next moment, Shen Mingzhu's soft voice came, "Since that's the case, ten strokes of the rod for him too."
"You—"
Chen Yun's mother - in - law let out a shrill scream and rushed forward to stop it, but unexpectedly, Li Chengyu stepped forward to block her and said in a low voice, "Mother, that's the Princess Royal."
Chen Yun's mother - in - law didn't care. She pressured Chen Yun, who was standing beside Shen Mingzhu, and said, "Was it you? Did you tell the Princess, which is why she's treating my son like this!"
Seeing the tone in which she spoke to Chen Yun, Shen Mingzhu's anger flared even more.
Chen Yun's face turned pale as she glanced at Li Chengyu.
Caught in the middle, Li Chengyu only felt embarrassed. Especially when his wife looked at him with tears in her eyes, it made him even more upset.
"Mother!" Li Chengyu looked at his mother and said in a low voice, "It was he who offended the Princess today. How can I say anything?"
Slap—
In a fit of anger, Chen Yun's mother - in - law slapped her son across the face.
Li Chengyu turned his face away and stood there stunned. He reached out his hand in disbelief, not knowing what to do. He stared blankly into the eyes of his pregnant and red - eyed wife in the distance.
"You..."
Only after she had struck did Chen Yun's mother - in - law realize that she might have been too pushy. So, her arrogance subsided for a moment. But when she saw that her second son was being held with a hand over his mouth and was about to be beaten on a chair, she suddenly came to her senses and said to Li Chengyu, "Think of a way quickly and save your younger brother!"
Li Chengyu stood there blankly, covering his face.
The onlookers around didn't dare to watch anymore and quickly took their leave. Soon, only Shen Mingzhu, the Li family members, and the cold - faced Chen Yun beside her remained.
Seeing that Li Chengyu didn't move, Chen Yun's mother - in - law got even more anxious. She rushed forward and said, "Let go! My son is a member of the Li family! Li Chengyu! Chen Yun! What are you standing there for?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she was pulled away by the guards and maids on the side. She watched helplessly as her precious son was beaten, and her eyes instantly turned red.
"You!"
Regardless of Shen Mingzhu's status, she even pointed at her and scolded, "No wonder you can't even keep a good - for - nothing like Xie Lang. Even after you're married, you just watch him go philandering."
"Who could like someone as aggressive as you!"
Xie Lang, who had just arrived and was suddenly blamed, thought, "..."
Just as Shen Mingzhu was about to speak, she heard a familiar voice.
"What's this you're saying, Matriarch Li?"
Xie Lang raised his eyebrows. Although he had rushed over in a hurry, the look of a good - for - nothing on his face was almost overflowing, which made Shen Mingzhu's eyebrows twitch.
Fine. She could just watch. It seemed that Xie Lang was going to put on another show.
She gave Xie Lang an approving look.
Seeing that Shen Mingzhu was okay, Xie Lang relaxed a bit. He casually "snapped" open his fan, fanned it a few times, and then said slowly, "How could I go philandering? With the Princess around, how could I possibly have such thoughts?"
Xie Lang had no idea how this huge baseless accusation had been thrown at him. So, he walked towards Shen Mingzhu, stood beside her, and said, "What's going on here? How did things turn out like this in just a short while?"
As he spoke, he handed the fan in his hand to Shen Mingzhu.
[I just went to get a fan. I'm so angry!!!]
[Thank goodness Shen Mingzhu doesn't seem to believe it.]
Hearing this, Shen Mingzhu felt relieved and showed a relaxed expression. She said to Xie Lang, "It should be those two sisters from the Qu family who did this."
Xie Lang felt as if he had been choked. He swallowed hard and then turned to look at the Matriarch Li again. "Why don't you explain? Otherwise, aren't you just wronging me for no reason?"
The Matriarch Li had only heard the rumors. Hearing this, she was startled but still forced herself to maintain her composure. She said to Li Chengyu, "Heir! Why don't you explain properly? Outsiders are bullying our Li family!"
Li Chengyu let out a low laugh and looked at his mother. "Who's the outsider? Me?"
"What did you say!"
"Please forgive my mother and younger siblings for their rudeness today," Li Chengyu said with a large palm print on his face.
"No need," Shen Mingzhu said, seeing Li Chengyu's expression. She didn't want to push him too far. "I'll take Chen Yun away first. You handle these matters properly and then come to pick her up."
Hearing this, Li Chengyu was stunned and instinctively looked at his wife.
Chen Yun felt sad, but she didn't want Shen Mingzhu, who was so busy, to have to worry about her. So, a look of determination flashed in her eyes. She said to Shen Mingzhu, "Thank you, Your Highness. You go back first. I'll stay today and come to see you in a few days."
Shen Mingzhu knew Chen Yun's capabilities. Hearing this, she sighed. Looking at the farce in front of her, she felt uneasy.
"Your Highness, please rest assured," Li Chengyu stepped forward and said to Shen Mingzhu, "I'll protect Yunyun."
Then, he turned to the guards and maids in the Li Mansion and said, "Take the second young master and the second young mistress back. Then take the Matriarch to the front hall and send someone to call my father."
Seeing this, Shen Mingzhu instinctively glanced at Xie Lang.