Chapter 669: 279 Beating the Scum Man (Part 2)
A breeze came by, making the willow trees sway with the wind, like strands of green silk fluttering. A few willow branches brushed past Mingzhu, exceptionally beautiful. The birds on the trees seemed to be charmed by the scenery, chirping crisply, adding a touch of vivacity to the beautiful scene.
Ning Lixuan used to really detest Mingzhu, finding her vulgar and barbaric, but now the scenery seemed like a hand lightly touching his heart, a ticklish, numbing sensation, an indescribable comfort.
Mingzhu was rather impetuous and thought it was already good of her to wait for a minute. Seeing Ning Lixuan only staring at her without speaking, she immediately said with impatience, "Didn’t you have something to say? If so, say it quickly. I still have to grill fish."
The pleasant daydreams Ning Lixuan had were shattered by Mingzhu’s words, leaving nothing behind. He felt annoyed at himself for being momentarily bewitched, thinking that maybe she had changed, even though it was just an illusion. The saying goes that one can change their surroundings, but it’s hard to change their nature, and it seemed to be true in this case.
Ning Lixuan cleared his throat and said, "Mingzhu, my mother mentioned asking for your hand in marriage, do you know about that?" Ning Lixuan wanted to confirm in the shortest time that Mingzhu’s current happiness must be because she didn’t know that the Marquis’ household had rejected the proposal, or else she would surely be very upset now.
Mingzhu looked at Ning Lixuan as if he were insane. It turned out Xiang Wei wasn’t wrong—this guy really did come to make her marry him. Mingzhu laughed and said, "I naturally know about such a big matter. Don’t you know? Our horoscopes are incompatible, we would only hinder each other..."
Ning Lixuan didn’t wait for Mingzhu to finish speaking and hurriedly said, "Mingzhu, I’m not afraid of hindering..."
Mingzhu scoffed and said, "You’re not afraid, but I am. I don’t want to be hindered by you. Speak if you have something to say; if not, leave quickly. Don’t waste my time here."
Ning Lixuan felt like he’d been struck on the head with a cudgel, "Mingzhu, you weren’t like this before. Why?" Why did Luo Mingzhu seem to have become a completely different person?
Mingzhu didn’t want to dither with Ning Lixuan any longer; she felt like she was about to puke from all the acid building up in her stomach. She went straight to the point: "What exactly are you looking for me for?" How had she never realized before that he could be so pretentious? Indeed, as Yueyao had said, she had been blinded before.
Remembering what his mother had said, Ning Lixuan gathered his courage and spoke, "Mingzhu, I am willing to marry you. Tomorrow, I’ll have my mother propose to your household. What do you think?"
Mingzhu had already calmed herself down, but his words made her angry again. She suppressed her rage and said, "Didn’t you despise me greatly? Why would you still be willing to marry me?"
Ning Lixuan gazed at Mingzhu and said, "No, Mingzhu, I am willing to marry you."
Xiang Wei was disgusted to death. If he was going to pretend, at least make it convincing, "What do you mean ’willing’? You make it sound as if you’re being forced. Humph, our young lady is not desperate for marriage." Let’s see how long he can keep up this act!
Ning Lixuan’s eyebrows involuntarily furrowed, then he said, "Mingzhu, I want to marry you. I’ve always wanted to."
Mingzhu was so angered that she burst out laughing. Whose words were those, who said she was an evil woman, who said he would rather stay single his entire life than marry her? When one’s rage reached its peak, it turned into laughter, "You want to marry me, but do you like me?"
Ning Lixuan paused, took a deep breath, then said, "Like you, I’ve always liked you a lot, Mingzhu."
She couldn’t tolerate this any longer. Mingzhu was incensed to the point of exploding, kicking him fiercely. Rationality and composure were cast aside to Java—venting her anger came first.
Ning Lixuan did not expect Mingzhu to resort to violence and was knocked to the ground by her kick, falling and looking up at her with fear in his eyes.
Xiang Wei, thoroughly enjoying the sight, approached Mingzhu and said, "Miss, there’s no one else here, you can beat him up thoroughly to vent your anger. Over these years, he has treated you like a monkey, and if you don’t take this chance to get even, there may never be another opportunity like this again." If you don’t take advantage of a situation presented to you, you’re a fool!
Mingzhu was itching to do just that, having held in her anger for so long and finally having an outlet. She hesitated and said, "Is this alright? Won’t Yueyao scold me?"
Xiang Wei said gleefully, "Don’t worry, she won’t. If she does, I’ll defend you. Go on, no matter what, you have to get even."
Inflamed by Xiang Wei’s words, Mingzhu truly rushed over to Ning Lixuan. Ning Lixuan hadn’t anticipated Mingzhu’s violent reaction and said in alarm, "What are you going to do?"
Mingzhu cheerfully replied, "Didn’t you say I was rude and uncivilized, that I lacked manners? If I’m not at least a little rough, I would fail to live up to your judgment of me." After speaking, Mingzhu kicked him again.
Ning Lixuan tried to get up, but found his body completely sapped of strength. He looked at Mingzhu as if he had seen a ghost, "What have you done to me?"
Mingzhu didn’t care for that at all—she kicked him repeatedly and, feeling that wasn’t satisfying enough, began to stomp on him furiously.
As the pitiful cries echoed, Bai Yi said in a low voice, "Miss, should we go and try to stop it? If someone gets killed, it wouldn’t be proper."
Yueyao laughed, "Xi Yu didn’t even make a move, besides, the few slaps from Mingzhu wouldn’t take anyone’s life. Don’t bother about her, just order someone to prepare a meal! I’m starved." This type of person deserved a beating, thrashed until even his parents couldn’t recognize him, then see if he dares to come over and bother us again.
Bai Yi couldn’t resist saying, "Miss Yueyao, you must have been led astray by our Miss. You’re clearly gentle and agreeable, yet seeing Ning Lixuan getting tortured so miserably, you actually turn a blind eye. This truly sets a new low for me."
Yueyao smiled coyly.
Whether it was Xi Yu or Zhi Qin, along with all the servants who had followed, at this moment they all pretended to be blinded and deaf. They didn’t see Ning Lixuan’s pitiful state, nor did they hear his cries for help; they went on with their own business.
Ning Lixuan’s young servants wanted to come over, but they were blocked outside by the house servants. The crowd could only pace anxiously outside like ants on a hot pan. Among them, one was clever enough to dash off in search of help.
Mingzhu was genuinely angry just now, venting all her rage, focusing only on letting it out without caring where she was stomping. Finally, too exhausted to continue, she stopped, at which point even she was shocked at the sight of what she’d done to Ning Lixuan.
At this moment, Ning Lixuan’s face was swollen and red as a pig’s head, his Purple-Gold Crown askew, his hair full of grass. His clothes and accessories were scattered on the ground, either stamped with footprints or caked with mud. He was nothing like the elegant young man from before, now no different from a beggar.
Ning Lixuan’s eyes looked venomously at Mingzhu, filled with regret for listening to his mother and coming here. He should have never come; without this visit, he wouldn’t have endured such abuse. He would rather die than marry such a mad woman.
As Xiang Wei was about to speak, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps. Her face changed, and she grabbed Ning Lixuan and threw him into the water.
With a "plop," Ning Lixuan fell into the water. He cried out from within, "Help, help!"
No sooner had he spoken, than two people came running from afar. They jumped into the water and pulled Ning Lixuan out.
Both of them were Ning Lixuan’s servants, one of them angrily accused upon seeing his Heir Apparent’s miserable appearance, "You actually tried to harm our Heir Apparent!"
Upon hearing this, Mingzhu shivered, knowing that if this caused a scandal, it wouldn’t be good.
However, Xiang Wei calmly retorted, "Which eye of yours saw us harming your Heir Apparent? He jumped into the river himself to catch fish. What has that got to do with us? Speaking of which, your Heir is quite useless, isn’t he? The water wasn’t even waist-deep, and yet he was screaming for help, what life is there to save?" She had measured the depth of that water herself; it couldn’t drown anyone.
The other servant, with eyes reddened with anger, said, "You caused such harm to our Heir and still want to shirk responsibility. Just you wait, this matter won’t end here!"
Xiang Wei looked at Ning Lixuan, who was gasping for breath, walked over to him, and slapped him on the back. Ning Lixuan spat out a mouthful of water and gasped for air.
With a sneer, Xiang Wei said to Ning Lixuan, "Fine, we’ll wait for you to settle the score. When the time comes, let everyone in the Capital City know how your Heir Apparent can fall and have his face bruised and swollen, and how he can drown in waist-deep water, letting everyone know that your Heir Apparent is nothing but an incompetent pastry; actually, that’s not too bad."
By this time, Ning Lixuan had caught his breath. He could no longer afford to get back at Xiang Wei and yelled at his servants, "Help me back quickly." Although it was mid-May and not too cold to fear, he had been given a thorough beating and was aching all over.
The two servants hastily took Ning Lixuan away.
After Ning Lixuan and his servants had left, Yueyao came over.
Behind Yueyao was a young man, a head taller than Yueyao himself, dressed in a simple royal blue robe. The robe’s hem was embroidered with simple cloud patterns in silver thread, making the young man appear neat and clean. The youth had handsome features and a glowing aura.
Mingzhu, thinking back on the recent events, asked with caution, "Who are you?"
Yueyao replied with a smile, "Mingzhu, have you forgotten? We met Young Master Niu during our vacation at the manor. The mother of Young Master Niu has a dowry manor nearby, and we just happened to run into each other."
Niu Yanghui said with a smile, "Miss Luo, don’t misunderstand; Heir Ning’s people came to me asking for help, thinking they had met with an accident. I didn’t expect it to be a misunderstanding." Actually, he wasn’t blind; Ning Lixuan’s injuries were clearly inflicted by someone, and the footprints on his body were most likely the handiwork of Luo Mingzhu.
Mingzhu replied with a haughty tone, "Good to know it’s a misunderstanding. We here are all weak women, not good at hosting men from the outside. Please leave!"
Xiang Wei stifled a laugh, and even Yueyao couldn’t help but shake her head with a smile. Mingzhu really thought that the other party hadn’t seen anything, but actually, they were just playing dumb.