Chapter 19: Silencing Her

"Ningning!"

A sharp exclamation drew out the second and third sisters-in-law, who were busy rummaging through Su Qiuxin’s room for money.

"Well, well, you little vixen! You’ve finally shown your face!"

As soon as Hua Dingyue caught sight of Hua Ning, her eyes blazed with fury and her face twisted into a hideous grimace. "I’m going to settle the score for what you did to me at the hospital today!"

With those words, Hua Dingyue raised her fan-sized palm and swung it toward Hua Ning.

"Slap!"

Before anyone could react, Hua Ning retaliated with two swift, resounding slaps of her own.

"Ahhh! You cursed jinx! You’re going to be the death of your own family! I’ll kill you!"

Stung once more, Hua Dingyue lost all reason. With bloodshot eyes and teeth bared, she lunged forward to attack. Hua Dingyun, standing behind her, was shocked; it was the first time she had seen Hua Ning act so boldly as to strike her aunt.

While she stood there stunned, Hua Ning had already seized Hua Dingyue by the hair and was raining slaps down upon her face again. As the second eldest sister, Hua Dingyun had never liked this younger sister of hers, but seeing her own flesh and blood being beaten by a niece made her feel even more incensed. She joined the fray.

"Ow!"

Before Hua Dingyun could even get close, Hua Ning kicked her squarely in the stomach. She let out a pained cry and flew backward, slamming into the wall.

"What... what is going on here?" Hua Dingxiang asked, covering her mouth, her eyes fixed in disbelief on the chaotic brawl unfolding in the main room.

It wasn't the first time Su Qiuxin had seen Hua Ning fight; she had witnessed her daughter strike her sister-in-law at the hospital, though she hadn't thought much of it at the time. But this was different. Hua Ning was pinning her aunt by the hair with effortless ease, delivering blow after blow to her face. The crisp, sharp sounds of the slaps left not only Hua Dingxiang pale with terror, but even Su Qiuxin was deeply shaken. Hua Ning’s combat prowess was simply staggering.

"Sister-in-law, quick, make Ningning stop! If she keeps hitting her like this, the third sister might actually die!" Despite her distaste for her sisters' behavior, Hua Dingxiang was, after all, the eldest, and she couldn't help but worry.

Pulled from her trance by Hua Dingxiang's cries, Su Qiuxin instinctively called out, "Ningning!"

Hua Ning had already heard Hua Dingxiang’s plea, and now that Su Qiuxin had spoken, she gave her mother face and stopped.

However, the moment she released Hua Dingyue’s hair, the woman, consumed by hatred, shoved her back. Before Hua Ning could find her footing, Hua Dingyue—determined to beat her to death—pounced on her, pinning her to the floor.

"Hah! You wretched little harlot! I’ve finally got you, haven't I? You’ve got some nerve, daring to hit me. Let’s see how you like it when I beat you to death!"

With a savage, triumphant grin, Hua Dingyue spat her threats and bared her teeth, aiming a strike at Hua Ning’s face—a face that, though not yet fully matured, already showed signs of stunning beauty.

Just as the palm, as large as her own face, was about to land, Hua Ning’s sharp ears picked up the sound of hurried footsteps outside the courtyard. Instead of resisting, she let the blow land on her delicate, freshly healed cheek.

After a thunderous ringing in her ears, Hua Ning turned her head, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Hua Dingyue looked at the handprint forming on Hua Ning’s rapidly swelling, reddened cheek and grinned with satisfaction, raising her hand to strike again.

"Third sister, stop!" Hua Dingxiang hadn't expected that even after getting her sister-in-law to intervene, her niece would end up on the receiving end of a brutal counter-attack.

"Bang!" The front door of the Hua house was thrown open.

"Hua Dingyue! What are you doing?"

Li Qingxi had barely reached the threshold when he saw Hua Dingyue sitting on top of Hua Ning, slapping her. He strode over, grabbed Hua Dingyue’s arm, and tried to pull her off. But Hua Dingyue had lost her mind, driven into a frenzy. No matter how hard Li Qingxi tugged, she wouldn't budge. Beneath her, Hua Ning let out muffled groans every time the woman’s weight shifted.

Seeing this, Li Qingxi dared not use more force. He turned his glare toward Hua Dingyun, who was sitting on the floor, and Hua Dingxiang, who stood beside Su Qiuxin. "Hua Dingxiang! Hua Dingyun! Are you two just going to stand there and watch your sister bully this girl?"

"Captain, it’s not that I don't want to pull her off, it’s just..." Hua Dingxiang’s gaze drifted to Hua Ning, pinned under her sister, and she found herself at a loss for words. After all, the memory of Hua Ning grabbing her sister’s hair and slapping her was still fresh in her mind.

"Captain, it’s not that I don't want to pull my sister away, it’s just that this niece of mine is too arrogant and unfilial! She’s a junior, and she dared to lay hands on us! My sister is only teaching her a lesson, which is exactly what she deserves!" Hua Dingyun glared venomously at Hua Ning, explaining herself to Li Qingxi with indignation.

Li Qingxi shook his head in disappointment. He had never expected that, with Zhongguo gone for less than half a month, these sisters would return to their maiden home to bully Hua Ning and her mother. Not only that, but they were twisting the truth and slandering the girl. Did they think he was a fool? Everyone in the village knew exactly what kind of person Hua Ning was.

"Hua Dingyun, Hua Dingyue, you are no longer members of the Xinan Brigade. As the brigade captain, I will not stand by and let you come here to bully people." Knowing that reasoning was useless, he took on his authoritative mantle. He called over two village women who had followed to watch the commotion and ordered them to pull Hua Dingyue off Hua Ning.

"Let go of me! I’m going to kill this jinx, this little money-pit!" Once pulled away, Hua Dingyue struggled, trying to break free to attack Hua Ning again, spewing a stream of foul and vicious curses.

"Shut her mouth!" Li Qingxi glared at her, then bent down to pull Hua Ning up. "Ning, what exactly is going on here?" He hadn't missed the slap marks on Hua Dingyue’s face, but he didn't believe for a second that Hua Ning would strike without cause, nor did he trust a word of Hua Dingyun’s account.

"Captain Uncle," Hua Ning’s eyes turned red, and tears welled up, trembling on the verge of falling. "I heard the villagers calling for me, saying my aunts had come home, so I hurried back." She glanced timidly toward Hua Dingyue.

"Don't look at her. Go on," Li Qingxi said, his voice softening as he blocked Hua Dingyue’s murderous glare with his own body.

Hua Ning wiped away a tear, her voice faint but her words clear. "Just as I reached the main room, I heard my aunt cursing my mother... cursing my mother... the things she said were so vile, I can't even bring myself to repeat them."

"I was so angry that I couldn't help myself, so I rushed in and, catching her off guard, slapped her once."

"Then... then my aunt just... it became what you saw when you walked in."

Hua Ning finished through sobs, then suddenly broke into a fit of hacking coughs. A moment later, a streak of bright, alarming blood spilled from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed in a faint.

"Ning!"

"Ningning!"