Chapter 5: Beating Her, I Feel Dirty

Although Lan Yu was a civil official, his martial arts skills were extremely high, ranking fifth in the Shangyun Kingdom. No one had expected that Lan Yu's furious strike was easily intercepted by Lan Yanrou.

For a moment, the backyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion was as silent as death.

Lan Yanrou and Lan Yu locked eyes, both exuding an equally powerful aura.

Lan Yu's face was full of anger, while Lan Yanrou exuded a cold and frosty air that made it difficult to look directly at her.

She had martial arts skills?!

In shock, Lan Yu placed his hands behind his back and shook them forcefully. Although he didn't use his full strength, the palm strike still carried about sixty percent of his power. Despite Lan Yanrou's unchanged expression, his own hands were left numb from the impact.

Not only had she insulted him in front of so many people today, but she had also forced him back with a single palm strike.

Lan Yu's expression darkened as he angrily exclaimed, "Unfilial daughter, how could I, Lan Yu, have such a disobedient and unfilial daughter like you?!"

Lan Yanrou's face remained calm and her eyes carried a hint of mockery as she coldly retorted, "A filial child comes from a kind parent. If you are not kind, why should I be filial to you? You accuse me of being unfilial, but I don't want a father like you who is hypocritical and unrighteous!"

"You, you..." Lan Yu's hands trembled with anger, and his sharp eagle eyes seemed capable of killing with a glance. At this moment, Lan Yanrou would have been killed by Lan Yu's gaze if looks could kill.

However, Lan Yanrou remained unfazed, with a slight smirk on her lips. Her gaze only fueled Lan Yu's fury, and his voice almost turned into a roar, "If I were not kind, you would have starved to death long ago. I gave birth to you and raised you, but now, I have raised a monstrous debt!"

Gave birth to her and raised her!

Ridiculous! The daughter he had given birth to had just passed away, and as for raising her...

It was laughable to think about it. For so many years, she had lived a life even lower than the lowest servant in the Prime Minister's Mansion, surviving on stale bread and the leftovers of meager meals obtained through her mother's efforts. If she remembered correctly, most of the wealth in the Prime Minister's Mansion was earned by her birth mother through her hard work. Without her birth mother, how could Lan Yu, a poor man, have reached his current status?

Lan Yanrou was too lazy to continue arguing with Lan Yu about these past events. She only felt sadness for the deceased Lan Yanrou.

In her previous life, she was an orphan without parents. She never expected to encounter such a cheap father after crossing over here. It would have been better to have no father at all.

Although Lan Yanrou's expression remained unchanged, the man sitting on the tree branch furrowed his brows slightly. Suddenly, he felt that from her very core, there emanated a profound sense of desolation that a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl should not possess. This feeling made him tremble and filled him with pity for her fragile body.

Lan Yanrou was extremely repulsed by this gaze and narrowed her eyes, shooting him a sharp look as if to cut him with her gaze.

"Master, please calm down. Su Jin has been with Miss for so many years, and it's only natural for Miss to protect her maid. Please don't be angry!" The words of the Lady of the Mansion were quite eloquent, subtly telling Lan Yu that in Lan Yanrou's heart, he was not even as good as a servant.

"Smack!"

In a fit of rage, Lan Yu raised his hand to strike Lan Yanrou, but even with his strong martial arts skills, he failed to see how she managed to strike him. His raised hand landed on the face of the Lady of the Mansion beside him.

The force of Lan Yanrou's strike combined with Lan Yu's, causing the Lady of the Mansion to spin in place, her face marked with a deep red handprint. She felt a burning pain on her face and screamed, "How dare you hit me!?"

Lan Yanrou sneered coldly and disdainfully retorted, "Why wouldn't I dare? I hit you!"

With that, Lan Yanrou struck the Lady of the Mansion twice more, causing blood to trickle from the corner of her mouth.

"You... You dare to hit your mother..." Lan Yu's face turned red with anger, and he trembled all over.

Lan Yanrou seemed to ignore Lan Yu's words and glanced at Su Jin, saying, "Handkerchief."

Su Jin, who was shocked by her mistress's actions, heard Lan Yanrou's voice and raised her eyes, filled with tears. Her mistress had protected her in such a way, making her years of enduring humiliation and hardship worthwhile. Wiping her tears, Su Jin handed the handkerchief to Lan Yanrou.

Taking the handkerchief, Lan Yanrou wiped her hands and then threw the handkerchief on the ground, saying indifferently, "What's the big deal about hitting her? I don't want to dirty my hands!"

With a cold gaze fixed on Su Jin, she said, "Su Jin, do you realize your mistake? Even a clown like her makes me take action. What use do I have for you?"

Upon hearing this, Su Jin nodded vigorously. Over the years, in the Prime Minister's mansion, the lady of the house would often instruct a few maids to mistreat Miss and herself almost every day. The lady's daughter would also find various ways to abuse her and Miss. Today, Su Jin finally let out the resentment in her heart.

"I know I was wrong. If something like this happens again in the future, I won't trouble Miss to take action. I don't want those filthy faces to dirty Miss's noble hands."

As Su Jin spoke, the lady of the house became furious. The implication of her words was that she deserved to be beaten by a lowly servant.

"Lan Yanrou, you wretched woman! How dare you hit my mother! I'll make you pay for this today..."

Lan Yueyao covered her hand and, seeing her father and mother present, someone backing her up, she suddenly gathered her courage and rushed towards Lan Yanrou.

Lan Yanrou glanced at Su Jin and immediately understood. Without hesitation, Su Jin stepped forward and with two crisp slaps, directly interrupted Lan Yueyao's words.