Chapter 001 Family Law

As the late spring dusk approached, the pale gray sunset was gradually swallowed by the night.

When the last glimmer of light disappeared, Madam Qi finally lost her patience. Sitting upright in her red sourwood official hat chair, she glanced down at her granddaughter kneeling on the ground.

The delicate and timid face of her granddaughter seemed to be of a gentle temperament.

But Madam Qi knew clearly in her heart that this granddaughter, with a stubborn and unyielding nature, had never been obedient. It was truly exasperating...

She disdainfully averted her gaze and coldly asked, "Do you realize your mistake?"

The girl kneeling below straightened her back, meeting her grandmother's gaze with unwavering determination, and slowly said, "Granddaughter is not at fault! Granddaughter is wronged!"

Her voice was not loud, but her tone was resolute.

In Madam Qi's eyes, this was an act of ignorance. She sneered and angrily said, "Hit her! Hit her again!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Qi's confidante, Nurse Shen, quickly complied and raised the rattan cane in her hand.

With a "crack," the supple and resilient rattan cane, like a venomous snake awakening from hibernation, danced under the lamp, leaving a lingering shadow. It exuded a fierce and cruel aura.

Under the strike, the girl, Taiwei, was knocked to the ground by Nurse Shen.

Although the cane did not break the skin, the strikes felt like cutting knives on her body. The wounds on her back stung fiercely, almost causing her to lose her breath.

She struggled to breathe, trying to get up from the ground.

But soon, Nurse Shen's cane fell once again, leaving another red mark on her back. Nurse Shen was skilled in this, with precise and calculated strikes. The wounds had to be red, swollen, and painful, but without breaking the skin, bleeding, or leaving scars.

After three strikes, Nurse Shen paused.

Sitting at the head, Madam Qi asked again, "Xiaowu, tell me honestly, did you make a mistake or not?"

Taiwei lay there, tightly closing her eyes, her body trembling from the pain. Gritting her teeth, she managed to say, "Granddaughter is wronged!"

Her vision darkened, and a buzzing sound filled her ears.

The stones and bricks beneath her knees felt as cold as ice in the dead of winter, causing her knees to ache.

But she still insisted, "Granddaughter is not at fault!"

Her voice was resolute and unwavering.

"Not at fault! Not at fault!"

She hadn't done anything wrong, so why should she admit to it?

Why?

"Good! You're not at fault!" Madam Qi raised an eyebrow, her thin face filled with sharpness and anger. "Shen, continue to hit her, beat this troublemaker to death!"

"Madam, please, Madam," before the words had even finished, a woman in a green dress standing beside Madam Qi suddenly knelt down and pleaded with a tearful voice, "Xiaowu is still young and ignorant. She truly knows her mistake—"

Seeing her tearful plea, Madam Qi inexplicably felt a headache coming on.

She frowned and pressed her temple with her long fingers.

At that moment, another woman in a moon-white fairy skirt also knelt down on the ground.

Wiping her eyes, she cried, "Madam, Xiaowu is still a child... Fourth Sister is safe and sound now. Can't we just let this matter go?" After speaking, she turned to look at her own daughter with tearful eyes. "Fourth Sister, please, beg Madam to spare Xiaowu..."

"Enough!" Madam Qi interrupted.

Silence fell around them.

No one dared to speak.

Nurse Shen held the cane, looking down at her shoes.

Fourth Sister, Qi Mo, in a green shirt with damp black hair, sobbed softly, "Grandmother, spare Fifth Sister. It was my fault for using the fabric she liked to make clothes, and for making her angry..."

"Angry?" Madam Qi sneered twice. "She has the nerve to be angry! For such trivial matters, she wants her own sister's life. If this continues, she might as well take my life too. With evidence and witnesses, where is her injustice?"

The more Madam Qi spoke, the more she felt a fire burning inside her.

She beckoned Qi Mo over, pulled her close, and looked at her tenderly. "She is still a child, aren't you? You are only a month older than her, yet you are much more sensible. If I continue to indulge her today, it would not be helping her, but harming her."

With that, her face lost its gentle smile, and she looked down at Taiwei, who remained motionless on the ground, and ordered, "Hit her again, Shen!"

Nurse Shen raised the cane in response.

The cane whistled through the air and struck Taiwei's back fiercely.

In that split second, a hand firmly grasped the cane.

The hand, with delicate fingers, almost translucent in the lamplight, showed a tinge of bluish-white at the joints due to the force.

Nurse Shen furrowed her brow and tried to pull the cane back, but the hand holding the cane remained unmoved. She followed the hand's path and saw the face of Fifth Sister, Qi Taiwei.

The young girl's face, still with a hint of childishness, had grabbed the cane without a trace of color on her face.

Sweat beads the size of soybeans rolled down her smooth forehead.

Shocked, Nurse Shen raised her voice, "Fifth Sister!"

With the sound of her voice, the young girl with closed eyes slowly opened them.

Her irises were an unusual amber color, like precious jade, possessing a captivating purity and beauty.

For a moment, Madam Shen was taken aback.

But in the next moment, she realized that although Fifth Miss's eyes were beautiful, the expression within them was one of confusion.

It was as if... as if she suddenly didn't recognize herself...

Madam Shen hesitantly called out "Fifth Miss" again, but Taiwei turned her face away.

The commotion had already drawn the attention of everyone present, and they all turned to look at them.

Madam Shen held one end of the cane in her hand, while the other end was gripped by Taiwei.

Madam Shen felt embarrassed as she tried once again to retrieve the cane.

But Fifth Miss, with an unexpected strength, made it impossible for her to do so.

Madam Shen looked awkwardly towards the elderly Lady Qi at the head of the room.

Lady Qi, however, did not look at her.

Her gaze fell directly on Taiwei.

Fourth Miss, Qi Mo, and the others were also watching Taiwei.

And Taiwei, with her bewildered eyes, slowly looked at each person, then turned back to Madam Shen. With a sudden release of her hand, she suddenly bowed towards Lady Qi, respectfully and apologetically kowtowing.

With each kowtow, she spoke.

-"Grandmother, I was wrong."

-"I truly was wrong."

-"I shouldn't have caused trouble."

-"I shouldn't have been angry with Fourth Sister."

-"I shouldn't have pushed Fourth Sister into the water."

-"Grandmother, I truly realize my mistake..."