"One should naturally be polite when among those with manners, but what is the point of discussing etiquette with those who have none? Mother, have you gone senile!" Lin Min shot back at Mu Mingli without restraint, angering Mu Mingli so much that her face turned somewhat ashen. She then pointed at Ning Yunhuan and declared:

"Why bother discussing etiquette with someone like this? Miss Ning, I hear you've already been kidnapped, and it was by that little pervert Dongfang Aoshi, wasn't it? What happened on that island, I believe you know clearly in your own heart. You are no longer worthy of being the wife of our Xiao Jiu. You should understand what 'a good match' means. Even if you want to be a Cinderella, you must first have a respectable background..."

"Are you insane?" Mu Mingli’s face was iron-gray, hating that her daughter insisted on digging up painful memories. She stood up, intending to pull Lin Min back. Lin Min had always been spoiled; in her maternal home, she was the only daughter, cherished so highly that her several older brothers deferred to her. After marriage, although Lan Xiu wasn't entirely subservient, he was excessively doting. When had she ever endured such humiliation? That she managed to hold back until now was already a great feat of restraint.

She violently swatted away Mu Mingli’s hand, ignoring her mother’s darkening expression, and pointed directly at Ning Yunhuan’s nose: "That's exactly right! Having no background means nothing. A sparrow will always be a sparrow; how dare it dream of soaring to become a phoenix? Now that the dream is shattered, shouldn't she wake up? Besides, who knows if her body is even clean now. What right does such a person have to stay in our Lin family? I find her repulsive!"

The hall instantly fell into a deathly silence. No one dared to pick up their chopsticks again. A thrill of excitement flashed in Tian Yuxin and Ye Ci's eyes. Without a second thought, Mu Mingli reached out and slapped Lin Min across the face!

"Have you gone mad?" Mu Mingli's expression was taut, her eyes revealing disappointment and coldness. She hadn't expected that after marrying into the Lan family and spending just a few years by Father Lan's side, her daughter would prove less receptive than the years of painstaking cultivation she herself had poured in. While Lin Min used to be arrogant and willful, she at least knew how to conduct herself. Seeing her like this now was simply unbelievable.

"Mother, have you gone mad? You’re hitting me for the sake of this outsider?" Lin Min was slapped in front of everyone. Mu Mingli, having always held a high position, rarely resorted to hitting people in public—it was far too unbecoming. Furthermore, even though Mu Mingli was furious with Lin Min, she was still her daughter, so she hadn't dared to strike with true force and cause public disgrace. Who knew that Lin Min, accustomed to being pampered since childhood and viewing Ning Yunhuan with extreme disdain, would explode? She firmly believed Ning Yunhuan must have been touched by Dongfang Aoshi on the Dragon Alliance island, which was why Ning Yunhuan didn't dare trouble her. This belief made her increasingly reckless. Seeing Mu Mingli stand by Ning Yunhuan now filled Lin Min with both anger and resentment. She sneered twice:

"I’m not mad. Tell her to pack her things and get out immediately! As for Lin Yi, who knows what kind of low-born bastard she is..." Before she could finish speaking, Mu Mingli swung her arm and landed another heavy slap, 'Smack!', right across Lin Min’s face.

This time, Mu Mingli struck in a fit of extreme rage, putting considerable force into it. Lin Min could no longer stand steadily. Her body lurched backward, bumping directly into the back of a chair. Being image-conscious, she was wearing heels at least twelve inches high. Losing her balance, her body pitched straight backward!

With a loud 'Clang!' the chair hit the floor, followed by a dull thud as her body landed on top of it. Lin Min’s face twisted in pain; clearly, the sharp edge of the chair digging into her slender waist felt terrible. Added to this shock of being struck so publicly by Mu Mingli, the faces of Tian Yuxin and Ye Ci—who usually fawned over her—now showed subtle, schadenfreude-tinged looks, as if genuinely surprised by Mu Mingli's action. This expression was unbearable for Lin Min. She sat on the floor clutching her face, unable to get up.

Mu Mingli coldly watched her daughter slump onto the floor in such disarray. Her skirt had ridden up, revealing her underpants; she looked genuinely pathetic. After all, she was the only daughter Mu Mingli had carried for ten months. Mu Mingli’s heart softened slightly, but her expression didn't ease. Staring at Lin Min, she said:

"You know your father’s temperament. If you keep causing trouble like this, don't bother coming back to the Lin family again. I want to see if you’ll restrain yourself once you lose the support of your maternal home." Although Father Lan had a hand in molding Lin Min into what she was, for a powerful figure like him, familial ties couldn't restrain him, and even the importance of his marriage likely couldn't outweigh power and profit. Any elder in Huaxia knew the Lin family’s standing. While Huaxia wasn't the world's best-developed nation at present, it certainly held the most potential, which was why Father Lan, with his sharp foresight in the early years, married Lin Min.

Lin Min represented the Lin family, but a dominant man like Father Lan would never tolerate his wife sitting as his equal, having the right to discuss matters with him. Therefore, he deliberately raised Lin Min this way, intending to gain her influence but prevent her from developing any improper ambitions.

Mu Mingli had observed Lin Min alongside her husband recently and harbored some resentment toward her son-in-law. However, Father Lan wasn't an ordinary man; he couldn't be manipulated easily. Furthermore, knowing her own daughter, Mu Mingli understood Lin Min's personality was spoiled and extremely bossy. Her upbringing had instilled in her the ingrained belief that she was a princess.

Even a marriage is a contest where someone must eventually yield for life to continue. If both parties are equally dominant, the marriage is bound to dissolve sooner or later. From Father Lan's perspective, his actions weren't entirely wrong. If there’s no tiger in the mountain, even a male and female pairing needs a manager. Given Lin Min's status, if she possessed further ambition, it would only become a complication for Father Lan. It was better to eliminate the threat entirely!

After observing the couple for a period and seeing that Lin Min’s temper had worsened rather than matured, Mu Mingli finally abandoned the idea of trying to pull her daughter back. The twenty years of her own tutelage had been subverted by Father Lan. Her personality was now set, and changing her would be difficult. It was better to let her be. As long as the Lin family existed, Lin Min would live comfortably, no matter how willful she was, dwelling in her own foolish world. For her, perhaps this was a form of happiness.

Setting aside these complex factors, Mu Mingli actually felt a degree of respect for Father Lan. To mold her daughter into such a state of utter foolishness was no small feat. The proud young mistress could now openly despise the poor, embrace the rich, and cause public upheavals, completely lacking the demeanor of a proper young lady. Raising such a woman wasn't something just anyone could achieve.

Mu Mingli suppressed the anger churning in her chest and even resolved to send some of the Lin family’s granddaughters to Father Lan for his disposal. Whichever granddaughter he took a disliking to, he could marry off, and guaranteed to give the new in-laws headaches!

"The young mistress is unwell. Take her to her room!" Mu Mingli stifled her surging fury, hating Father Lan for his coldness and lack of feeling, hating her husband and herself for being blind enough to marry their daughter to such a man, and most of all, angry at Lin Min for her own incompetence, allowing herself to be manipulated. Instead of feeling shame, she wore it like a badge of honor. To say she was surnamed Lin was an overstatement; she was more like Lin Qian, cast out of the Lin family. Now, lacking any ability, all she could do was shout and bluff. Seeing how similar they were, it was no wonder they got along so well!

"I'm not sick!" Hearing this, Lin Min started struggling violently, her eyes fixed on Ning Yunhuan, as if she wished she could tear a piece of flesh from her. "She’s the one who’s sick!" Lin Min was furious, but no matter what she said, the servants dragged her away.

Mu Mingli quickly calmed herself, smiling as she ordered a fresh set of dishes to be served. The floor was rapidly cleaned, and the hall regained its previous atmosphere of quiet tranquility. If Lin Min hadn't been removed, everyone might have thought the preceding scene was just a dream.

"Aunt, Minmin was just..." Seeing Mu Mingli’s immediate move toward reconciliation, Tian Yuxin was deeply dissatisfied. She now loathed Ning Yunhuan to the bone, arguably hating her more than the ungrateful Gu Yingxi who dared to embarrass her Jinyan. She hated Ning Yunhuan, this crow who thought herself a phoenix simply because she’d soared onto a high branch!

She dared to knock out several of her son's teeth—teeth that would never grow back naturally and required surgery to repair! She had allowed Ning Yunhuan to have Mu Jinyan’s teeth knocked out! Could repaired teeth ever compare to the original ones? Not to mention the suffering Mu Jinyan endured! Thinking of this, Tian Yuxin had countless times wished she could strangle Ning Yunhuan, but she dared not, and even Mu Shaohua had told her to endure.

Ning Yunhuan was Lan Jiu’s woman. Her own son was fortunately sent to the Lin family, and Uncle Lin Maoshan was acting bizarrely—instead of doting on his own grandchild, he cherished this unknown bastard as if he were precious, which in turn elevated a mere 'black chicken' like Ning Yunhuan to the status of a phoenix. Despite being nothing, she now dared to act presumptuously in front of Tian Yuxin. If Gu Yingxi dared to slight her, fine, but then to have her son’s teeth knocked out? Tian Yuxin’s heart had long yearned to kill her and had been searching for an opportunity. Now that Lin Min had created such a scene, Tian Yuxin saw no reason not to pour oil on the fire.

She saw Mu Mingli was severely angered. She reasoned that even though Lin Min had been struck, she was still her aunt’s only daughter. If it were her own son, she might be angry while hitting him, but she would surely regret it afterward. She guessed Mu Mingli felt similarly, so she seized the moment to speak, hoping to redirect Mu Mingli’s anger onto Ning Yunhuan; after all, her son’s revenge still needed to be exacted.

"Yes, Mother. You raised Minmin since childhood; you know her temperament. If there were no substance to it, why would she bring it up now? It's entirely possible someone was whispering behind her back, or..." Ye Ci glanced at Ning Yunhuan as she spoke, the implication clear.

Mu Mingli nearly applauded these two fools. Although Mu Jinyan’s actions were secretive, because Lan Lingyan had mentioned something to Lin Maoshan behind closed doors, Lin Maoshan had given her a gentle warning. The Lin couple had begun to harbor suspicion and wariness toward Mu Jinyan. Lin Maoshan was a shrewd man; if he hadn't suspected his younger relatives before, once suspicion took root, he found Mu Jinyan’s act of feigning idiocy quite strange.

The boy had never done anything indecently foolish, nor did he exhibit symptoms of severe dependency like drooling. Yet, because someone suggested he was foolish, everyone followed suit. Why would this Mu Jinyan pretend to be simple? The Mu family probably saw no reason, but Lin Maoshan thought further, considering the Mu family's ambitions and major moves over the years. When Mu Shaohua recently tried to place his son in the military, Lin Maoshan refused. The two families maintained surface harmony, but underlying mistrust had already developed. He couldn't help but become more vigilant, worrying that Mu Jinyan’s pretense of foolishness might not only be confined to the Mu family but could also be a springboard for even greater ambitions!

Although Mu Mingli shared the Mu surname, she had been married out for many years. As the saying goes, a married daughter is like spilled water. Since she had married into the Lin family, she naturally had to follow the Lin ways. Moreover, she and Lin Maoshan had raised children together. Whether viewed professionally or personally, the Lin family was far closer to her than the Mu family.

If she had the capacity to help the Mu family a little, fine, but the moment she considered that this brat Mu Jinyan might be eyeing Lin family assets, she felt deeply displeased. She understood where her priorities lay.

After Lin Maoshan adopted Lin Yi, the Mu family started schemes, thinking that since Lan Lingyan, their grandson, could be renamed Lin, perhaps they could also absorb the Lin family’s influence. They failed to consider that Lan Lingyan was, after all, the biological son of her daughter. No matter how good the Mu family was, they only called her 'Aunt,' not 'Mother'!

Regarding Ning Yunhuan’s recent kidnapping, since Lin Maoshan hinted that Mu Jinyan played a role, she naturally believed her husband. It was understandable that Lin Min knew about the kidnapping, but Ning Yunhuan had a persistent, bizarre feeling about it. On the surface, she remained composed, eating the tasteless meal. No one dared to leave.

Except for Ye Ci and Tian Yuxin, who were eating most painfully, the other two daughters-in-law of Mu Mingli looked equally awkward. Mu Mingli, however, remained quite calm. Once she put down her chopsticks, everyone sighed in relief. Tian Yuxin’s gaze fell upon Ning Yunhuan, clearly hoping she would quickly finish eating.

But because of Tian Yuxin’s recent attempt to kick her while she was down, Ning Yunhuan intentionally picked up several more mouthfuls of food before setting down her bowl and chopsticks. A servant immediately brought a warm towel soaked in lemon water for disinfection so she could wipe her hands. Tian Yuxin cursed inwardly before finally setting down her own utensils, forcing a smile:

"Aunt, it’s getting quite late. We wouldn't dare delay your rest..."

Mu Mingli ignored her, instead taking Ning Yunhuan’s hand: "Good child, I will give you an accounting for what happened today. As for your mother, consider her confused; don't hold it against her."

It was fortunate Lin Min wasn't present, or she would have been enraged to death! Regardless of her inner thoughts, Ning Yunhuan outwardly nodded and smiled obediently. Mu Mingli personally rose to see her out.

Everyone outside had already finished eating, and the dishes had been cleared. They were sitting nearby, smoking and talking. As Ning Yunhuan stepped out, Lan Lingyan stood up. He frowned slightly, looking his wife up and down. Seeing no unusual expression on her face, he pursed his lips and pulled her directly into his embrace.

Tian Yuxin was instantly displeased. She had suffered humiliation inside, and separated only by a wall, she was certain the others outside had heard everything. Now, Lan Lingyan was acting as if he were cherishing his wife, as if someone had bullied her. Annoyed by this display, Tian Yuxin forced a dry laugh:

"Little Jiu is truly a cherished wife; does she really think her Aunt Lanling or the others would bully her?"

Lan Ling Yan didn't even lift her head. "That's not necessarily true!"

These words made Tian Yuxin unable to raise her head, her expression slightly embarrassed. Mu Shaohua and the others had already heard the sound of a chair falling over from inside the hall. The living room was separated from the interior only by a glass door. Although the curtains were already drawn, the noise was still somewhat audible. Seeing the dishes being sent back out just now, how could they not understand that something had gone wrong inside? At this moment, seeing Tian Yuxin being the first to cause trouble, Mu Shaohua, despite not knowing exactly what had transpired within, felt a distinct sense of foreboding surge into his heart.

ps: A belated update... I'm striving to be off the IV drip by the day after tomorrow at the latest, so I will quickly stabilize the update schedule~~ RP