"Wife, I want to eat meat” 《娘子，我要吃肉》Chapter 44

When choosing to negotiate, Xia Ling Mei’s imposing manner was certainly astonishing, each and every movement could pressure someone.

Wu Shi had already lost some of her lofty manners after experiencing that bloody spectacle of oppression outside. This destitute person, a married woman with an exaggerated opinion of her own abilities waited to enter the side hall after the bloodstains had been washed away then, again started to look left and right. Compared to the entrance where the servant had led her those ghostly dense trees, here the maids seemed to lead her to enter a flourishing blossom spring garden, everyone was filled with anger and caution. They were alluring and innocent, in such a dazzling pavilion they appeared lovely and moving, in a moment diluting Wu Shi’s wariness. When she was escorted into the inner room, she couldn’t help shake out her own chest, the corner of her eyes raised, again returning to her brash expression, weighing each flower and tree in here, each flower pot and each scenery, calculating how much these could be sold for, how many gold mountains she can accumulate.

Xia Ling Mei invited Wu Shi to sit, Wu Shi very casually and straightforwardly sat down straddling the drum-shaped stool, one of her buttocks nearly slipped off it, rocking it twice before she could sit steadily.

Xia Ling Mei again spoke: “Serve tea.”

“No need, I have no patience for you, these people’s courtesy. I’ll tell you, I’ve come here to split the family wealth, when I have the money I will buy myself good food and drink, I have no need for your crocodile tears.”

Xia Ling Mei raised her eyebrow, so this Wu Shi is actually a straightforward person.

“Since this is so, then does the madam have a token to proof your identity?”

Wu Shi’s eyes glared at her, pulling Wang Yun in front: “What token, this son is the best proof. He is the old master’s own son.”

Xia Ling Mei didn’t even look at Wang Yun, only asking Wu Shi: “The old master the madam speaks of what is his surname? The birth data for astrological purposes?[1] And what year, what month, what date did he spend a lustful night with the madam, resulting in this such an honest and sincere brother?” Speaking, she swept her eyes over glimpsing at Wang Yun, scaring the other person to quiver from head to toe, after shuddering every pore stretched out, unexpectedly somewhat like the relaxation and languidness after experiencing what he desired, he couldn’t help look and look again at Xia Ling Mei, his expression slowly became impudent.

Xia Ling Mei sneered: “Ask the old housekeeper to come here.”

Not long after, the old housekeeper came into the house with two strong and robust youths carrying two baskets of books.

That Wu Shi already knew the Wang family would ask about old master Wang’s past, at once she opened her mouth saying: “Humph, who doesn’t know my old master’s surname is Wang. If his surname is something else why would I take my time to find you? I’m telling you, my old master was born in the early years of Tian An, birthday at the start of the seventh month on the seventh day at the beginning of the day. Fifteen years after Tian An he met me, he said if I gave him a healthy son, he would take me home to be a primary wife. Who was to know that my waiting here and there yet the day never arrived, alone raising his child to at last find out he had died much earlier, my suffering son…” hugging 

Wang Yun crying her lungs out.

The old person’s complexion in the house changed on the spot. Although the old master of the Wang family had long passed away of illness, yet it wasn’t even right for outsiders to again and again use him to have a crying fit. The person who should genuinely be crying sat at the main hall.

“May I venture to ask this madam, you said my family’s master was born on the seventh of the seventh month?”

Wu Shi flung open a handkerchief: “Don’t tell me I don’t even remember when my deceased man was born?”

The old housekeeper appeared to be choking on air: “Then I can’t help myself, the birthday you talk about does not match with my family’s master.”

Wu Shi stared at him: “You’re talking nonsense. Everyone in the Wang family knows the birthday of my man”

The old housekeeper laughed: “Indeed, outsiders know the old master’s birthday, just like how common people know when the current emperor was born. Every single influential family, everybody has two birthdays. One is the date ten months after their birth mother conceived them, and another is the actual date and time they were born. After the divine ancestor of the emperor of Dayan was cursed by witchcraft hundreds of years ago, regardless if their the imperial family or the child of an influential family, after they are born they will have two birth data, the date told to everyone is the day predicted, and the actual birthday is only known by the biological parents. You say your master was born on the seventh of the seventh month, then it doesn’t match with my family’s old master. Naturally your son Wang Yun’s father also cannot be our family’s old master.”

Witchcraft always required the actual birth data of the person needed to be cursed, sticking it on to a voodoo doll, everyday using needles to stab it, it would make the person living but would rather be dead and mind unclear, gradually weakening until death. Apart from that divine ancestor of the emperor who suffered great harm back then, even the great Xia family, would also meticulously conceal a child’s birthday, only the year and month were correct, sometimes even the definite date is a little bit altered. Apart from the biological parents and the midwife who personally delivered them and wet nurse, extremely little people knew. Such a large influential family like the Xia family, the midwife who delivered them were born in the family, naturally there was no worry for information leak.

Xia family acted in this way, Wang family too, therefore, Wu Shi said everyone in the Wang family knew the old master’s birthday, these words were reliable but also unreliable. Perhaps Wang old master really didn’t tell her his birthday, maybe he had picked up behind that person Wu Shi’s back that she simply did not know the old master Wang’s birthday. If it was another mother of a small family, she may not necessarily know the secrets hidden by the influential families. The sad thing is, the Xia family was precisely good at genuinely and falsely deceive people, they naturally understood these things.

Wu Shi looked distracted for a moment, she suddenly sat on the ground crying loudly: “Goddamn, this old woman gave birth to a son for you, you actually didn’t even tell me your birthday, your conscience has been eaten by a dog! Waste the time I spent on raising your son, fine if you don’t marry me, you even support a group of people to bully us orphan and widowed mother…” As she cried she kicked the ground, moving about like a shrew, just like those times she had caused trouble at the Wang residence main entrance. She was certain the Wang family had a good reputation, unable to bear her hanging around, making such an unreasonable scene.

Xia Ling Mei coldly snorted, while drinking tea she asked unintentionally: “Is that person who just had his four limbs cut off still alive?”

The old housekeeper hurriedly lowered his head: “Reporting to the madam, before this old servant arrived that person had already seized to breath.”

The sound of Wu Shi’s weeping halted.

“He stopped breathing so quickly? I only chopped off his arms and legs, and not chop off his head, he died too quickly.”

The old housekeeper said: “Indeed. His crimes actually didn’t deserve death, he only stole things from the house to repay his gambling debts, all in all around several hundred silvers. However, his worse mistake was to lie to the master. If that person lies once it will become second nature, and committing outrages by means of falsity passing it off as genuine, he ought to die. Cutting off his four limbs and excessive blood loss is regarded as nothing, he ought to have been dragged out into the streets and hacked to pieces.”

Wu Shi’s howling became stuck in her throat, a hiccup sounding out.

Xia Ling Mei nodded her head, as if a single human life in the eyes of such an influential family simply meant nothing. She turned her head to ask Wu Shi: “What year did your family’s master meet you?”

Wu Shi foolishly replied: “Sixteenth year of Tian An.”

The old housekeeper immediately made someone rummage through the pile of books moved here to find the volume marking out the sixteenth year of Tian An, licking his fingers he flipped through the book saying: “The year the old master turned fifteen he took part in the final exams at Bailu academy, achieving seventh place. The first six months of that year he was at the residence studying, he went out three times, he never left Beiding City. On the seventh month he was betrothed to the old mistress, three months later he was occupied with matters of taking over the official residence, he simply did not go far away. On the ninth month the old master paid respect to the crown prince’s greatest tutor at that time, becoming his disciple, helping the teacher together to amend the <legal code>, continuously until the eighteenth year of Tian An he took the administrative test, entering the government as an official. Before and after these four years, the old master never once left Beiding City.”

Xia Ling Mei brushed away the maid’s massage: “Since grandpa didn’t go far away at least once, then this master Wang Yun from another part of the country is not grandpa’s son?”

The corner of the old housekeeper’s mouth twitched: “No. The books document every minute detail of the old master from when he was born to his funeral recording every words and actions, even if he ate more than one bowl of swallow’s nest congee on a day it’s recorded, it can’t be wrong.”

Xia Ling Mei again asked: “Then this madam and master Wang Yun has slandered a government official of the previous dynasty, if it’s taken to the authorities…”

“In the legal code of the Dayan, an ordinary person guilty of slandering an official of the government is punishable by death. More serious circumstances, exterminate three generations, public beheading at the south gate.”

Xia Ling Mei asked Wu Shi: “May I venture to ask this madam, do you have any other relatives? Three generations at least also includes your parents and children, are you prepared for the whole family to be decapitated, dying without an intact body?”

Wu Shi’s complexion paled, pointing at Xia Ling Mei: “You, you…you’re speaking nonsense. My family’s master, what sort of daughter-in-law did you find, she wants to kill your woman and son, she’s…”

Xia Ling Mei coldly said: “It looks as if this madam is determined to hang onto our Wang family. Someone come, request an officer here, take these two people to the jails. Old housekeeper, please go and organise things, we must make sure the officers treat this incomparably honourable old madam properly, also…”

“Ma, Madam…may, maybe we got, got it wrong.” Wang Yun who hadn’t opened his mouth at all trembling with fear got up.

“Oh----“

“Yes, yes. My master’s surname is indeed Wang, but may not definitely be, be this family…”

Xia Ling Mei laughed happily looking at him, for quite some time before saying: “Really. Wang family is a large and influential family, from top to bottom there might not be a hundred but at least seventy, eighty masters with the surname Wang, there are at least thirty of those who are passed forty years old. Those are not from our main branch, maybe the second branch, yes or no?”

“Yes,” Wang Yun Feng shuddered, kneeling down, “Maybe it’s the second branch I cannot say for sure.”

Xia Ling Mei gazed at Wang Yun rather deep in thought: “That person in the second branch back then was quite a romantic, besides the wives and concubines within the residence, there’s also two other mistresses. All year round drinking alcohol and appreciating flowers outside, he couldn’t avoid being presented one or two beauties as a gift from close friends, a golden house to keep his mistress. Oh, that’s right, when he was young, that old man had gone away travelling, going to quite a few places.”

Wang Yun covered in cold sweat, watching Xia Ling Mei almost give off a ray of light. The mother and son had originally been picked to swindle Wang Yun Feng, at first they didn’t plan on getting the greatest family wealth. However thinking these great families were afraid of being humiliated, willing to use money to cover a scandal. It encouraged the mother and son to at least demand more than ten thousand silvers, and including the reward from the person behind the scene, allowing the mother and son to live comfortably without distress. At that time Wang Yun would buy a large house with that money, marry a delicately pretty young lady, and pay to be a petty official to be a free and unfettered official.

He didn’t expect to be sex-crazed, his mother Wu Shi saw the better aspects of society, her appetite had increased, set on the Wang family, not letting go. But Wang Yun was sweet talked by Xia Ling Mei into deterring, he couldn’t even distinguish between east, west, south and north, only thinking this beauty’s voice was pleasant to hear, whatever she wanted him to do he would willingly go and do it, his head only knew how to nod.

Until someone took them to another small courtyard outside, that was when he finally returned to his senses. Why didn’t he begged the beauty to remain by her side just now, even if it’s to serve her for a lifetime was also fine. That waist, that face, and the tone she spoke made his bones weak.

Xia Ling Mei scared those two people, in a moment she sent people to monitor them, use an opponent’s own methods to obtain retribution, let the second branch of the family also experience being harassed that even cocks and dogs are not at peace. These past days, she again went through the residence once, those who ought to be beaten were beaten, those ought to be rewarded were rewarded, those ought to be sold were sold, the old housekeeper genuinely and honestly handed over the housekeeping duties into her hands. This was long ago ordered by Wang Yun Feng, and was one of the methods in keeping Xia Ling Mei here.

See, if you’re not at the residence, someone could just come up as they pleased to cause trouble, the people inside are also in a hideous mess without anyone controlling them, on your return, you corrected the household.

Again a few days passed, the weather gradually became cooler and refreshing, Wang Yun Feng also returned home.

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[1] Combined from year, month, day, hour, heavenly trunk and earthly branch.