Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

The morning sunlight streamed through the window and onto the dining table inside the room. Xiao Zhenwei finished his hearty breakfast with satisfaction. He put down his chopsticks, gently wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and then turned to Xiao Lan beside him, saying, "Lan'er, Grandpa is going out to practice some boxing to stretch my muscles." Before he finished speaking, he stood up and strode out of the room.

Watching Xiao Zhenwei's departing figure, Xiao Lan revealed a cold smile and muttered to herself, "Hmph, as expected, my grandfather is still as selfish as ever." Her eyes revealed a sense of dissatisfaction and helplessness.

Dingding, who had been serving Xiao Lan the whole time, heard Xiao Lan's words and couldn't help but lean forward curiously, blinking her big eyes as she asked, "Miss, what is egoism?"

Xiao Lan frowned slightly, replying somewhat impatiently, "Children shouldn't pry into adult matters! Knowing too much won't do you any good." She thought to herself that in her past life, she had kindly taught Yueji and Moli many novel and interesting things, but in the end, those things she had imparted as knowledge had become weapons that harmed her. Therefore, in this life, apart from Yue'er—the devoted maid who had always thought only of her in her past life—Xiao Lan didn't intend to teach all her skills to the other maids without reservation.

After tidying herself up, Xiao Lan said softly, "Dangdang, could you please go and see if Madam Hou has gotten up yet? If she has, please invite her to have her meal first, and then come to our main gate. Remember to tell her that our Xiao family is going to carry out family rules today, and we have specially invited her to come and observe the ceremony."

Dangdang accepted the order and left swiftly, her steps light as the wind. Not long after, she returned with Lady Hou. Lady Hou still looked somewhat tired, clearly having not slept well the previous night. However, surprisingly, despite this, her eyes shone brightly, her excitement almost impossible to conceal.

Before Xiao Lan could speak, Madam Hou, unable to contain her excitement, blurted out, "Miss Xiao, are you going to punish Xiao Dayi according to family law this time? To tell you the truth, I sent someone to the Prefect's Mansion early this morning to invite the Prefect to come and arrest him personally! I estimate that once you've finished your fight, the Prefect will be able to take him away immediately!" Although Madam Hou's eyes were bloodshot, her excitement was palpable, as if this were a momentous occasion.

After listening quietly to these words, Xiao Lan couldn't help but lower her head and silently calculate the time. Recalling the previous night, she and that Lady Hou had talked until late into the night, and they had only recently had breakfast. Based on this calculation, Lady Hou must have acted swiftly shortly after their conversation ended, sending someone to the Prefectural Governor's Mansion. Moreover, judging from the current situation, Lady Hou had clearly been waiting at the gate of the Prefectural Governor's Mansion, anticipating its opening, and then immediately found the relevant personnel to enter the mansion and invite these yamen runners to the Xiao family.

It's important to understand that it would be absolutely impossible for Lady Hou to accomplish something like this without spending a single penny of effort and money. However, the fact that she, a woman who had married far away to Xiwu Prefecture, could manage things so smoothly demonstrates that Lady Hou must be a shrewd and calculating person.

Thinking of this, Xiao Lan's lips curled up slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile. Then she turned to Dangdang beside her and said, "Madam Hou, look how early these yamen runners have arrived. You must have been up all night last night, unable to get any rest, right? Dangdang, quickly go and bring Madam Hou a comfortable recliner. We're going to have to carry out the family discipline properly later!" With that, Xiao Lan waved her hand gently, signaling Dangdang to hurry up and do her thing.

She herself stood steadily inside the spacious gate of the Xiao family mansion. It was still early, and there weren't many pedestrians on the street, but the Xiao family had already opened their gates, and a row of spirited servants stood neatly in formation. This sight naturally attracted the attention of some curious onlookers, who gathered around to ask what was happening.

Upon hearing that Xiao Dayi and Xiao Jinshi, these two wicked individuals, were to be punished, people instantly became excited and quickly gathered around, calling upon their friends and acquaintances. The news spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the city in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Lan stood in the center of the courtyard, waiting quietly. Time passed by, and after about fifteen minutes, she looked up and saw that the area outside the gate was packed with people, three or four layers deep, a veritable sea of ​​people, shoulder to shoulder.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Xiao Lan waved his hand lightly, signaling his men to bring over Xiao Jinshi, Qi Jing'an, and Xiao Dayi. Their actions yesterday had been exposed, and according to the law, they should be immediately imprisoned. However, Xiao Lan used the excuse that family matters were not yet settled and temporarily took them back to the Xiao family. Now, facing the angry gazes and pointing fingers of the crowd, these three usually arrogant and domineering individuals lowered their heads, their faces ashen.

Just yesterday, Xiao Lan personally brought those people back to the Xiao family. Surprisingly, she neither beat them, nor verbally abused them, nor even raised her voice in reprimand. Instead, she simply ordered them to be locked up in a small courtyard and given each of them a separate room.

Not only that, but every meal delivered was fragrant chicken soup and various tonics. Strangely, the amount of medicinal herbs added to this seemingly delicious chicken soup was astonishing! It turned out that Xiao Lan had specifically instructed her servants to add enough herbs to last ten days when simmering the chicken soup. When this pot of soup, brimming with herbs, was finally finished cooking, the entire kitchen was filled with an almost suffocatingly strong medicinal aroma.

Dangdang, who was in charge of cooking the soup, carefully brought the pot of dark, black broth to Xiao Lan for inspection. Looking at the bowl of ink-black soup, Xiao Lan felt a wave of nausea and almost vomited. But she quickly suppressed her discomfort and began to think. She recalled the time when her father, Xiao Daren, was poisoned by Xiao Jinshi. At that time, Xiao Daren was still young, and the dosage of medicine used was naturally negligible. Even if the dosage were increased several times now, it would probably only be equivalent to the dosage needed for an average adult. And now, she was preparing the soup for Xiao Jinshi and the others according to ten times the adult dosage! Therefore, it was no wonder the soup tasted terrible. Thinking of this, the corners of Xiao Lan's mouth curled up slightly, and she thought to herself, "Hmph, this time I'll make you taste the bitterness!"

However, Xiao Lan had already made up her mind. No matter how unbearable the food was, she would give it to the three men. After all, she wanted to avenge her father! Moreover, knowing full well that the soup was unpalatable, Xiao Lan specifically instructed her servants to remove all the chicken from it, and she hadn't even prepared any staple food. Her attitude was clear: drink it if you want, or go hungry! Not long after, the three men, dragging their exhausted bodies, finally arrived at the place after a long and arduous journey. Xiao Lan sat calmly and composedly in her chair, motionless like a statue. Her deep, pool-like eyes slowly scanned from left to right, finally settling on the three disheveled men before her.

The first thing to come into view was Xiao Jinshi. The woman who used to always be dressed in magnificent silks and satins, adorned with jewels, had now shed all her outward extravagance and vanity, wearing only a very ordinary, plain-colored undergarment. Her once meticulously cared-for, cascading, lustrous black hair, neglected all night, was now disheveled and haphazard, like a tangled mess piled haphazardly on her head.

Next, Xiao Lan's gaze fell upon Xiao Dayi and Qi Jing'an. Although they were relatively younger than Xiao Jinshi, the marks of time had mercilessly etched themselves on their faces, making them both approach forty. After the harrowing ordeal of the previous night, both of them looked utterly disheveled. Especially Xiao Jinshi; her usually eloquent mouth had been mercilessly slapped red and swollen by Xiao Lan's orders yesterday, leaving her unable to utter a complete sentence, only able to stare at Xiao Lan with eyes filled with resentment and terror.

Upon seeing Xiao Lan, Xiao Dayi, like a frightened bird, hurriedly stepped forward, his face full of flattery yet slightly fearful, and said, "Oh dear! My dear niece! Please don't misunderstand! Your father's matter has absolutely nothing to do with me! If you want to seek revenge, you should go to the old lady! Please don't come to me!" As he spoke, he hastily pointed a trembling finger at Xiao Jinshi, who was standing to the side.

Seeing this, Xiao Lan couldn't help but sneer inwardly. Xiao Dayi usually seemed quite imposing, but he turned out to be so cowardly and irresponsible when faced with trouble. And what about Xiao Jinshi? She had painstakingly schemed and plotted for most of her life, calculating and manipulating others at every turn, yet she never expected to give birth to such a useless son. Now that trouble had arisen, Xiao Dayi not only showed no gratitude, but also unhesitatingly pushed his own mother forward, attempting to make her take the blame.

Surprisingly, when Xiao Dayi ruthlessly pushed her forward, Xiao Jinshi's face didn't show much emotional fluctuation. Perhaps, firstly, she knew in her heart that the crimes she had committed were truly unforgivable, and even the most severe punishment of being torn to pieces would hardly atone for her sins; secondly, perhaps deep down she still harbored a sliver of maternal love and a spirit of sacrifice, thinking that as long as she stepped forward, obediently confessed her crimes, and accepted the punishment, she might be able to protect the safety of her two children.

However, with Xiao Lan's intelligence and decisiveness, how could she easily let Xiao Jin succeed? Xiao Lan slightly turned her head, parted her lips, and softly spoke to Xiao Dayi beside her: "Uncle, Xiao Jin's mistreatment of my father is indeed unrelated to you. However, today I am ordered to administer family discipline to you, and there is a reason for it. Lady Hou was in labor, and you took advantage of this opportunity to secretly abduct Lady Hou and her newborn daughter, replacing them with a son born to a prostitute. More importantly, this switched boy is not of Xiao family blood at all! Today, I am administering family discipline for two reasons: first, because you disregarded human ethics and morality, causing your own daughter's tragic death; and second, because you colluded with outsiders, attempting to deceive and confuse the pure bloodline of my Xiao family. Given these two grave crimes, I wonder whether you, Uncle, will admit to them or not?"

Although Xiao Lan's voice was soft and melodious, every word was clearly audible, as clear and pleasant as a nightingale's song. Among the onlookers outside the gate were many with exceptional hearing; they heard Xiao Lan's words clearly and relayed them word for word to the others who had also come to join the excitement. In this way, the news spread like wildfire. Before long, the area in front of the Xiao residence in Xiwu Prefecture was teeming with people, a bustling crowd of onlookers.

After Xiao Lan finished recounting Xiao Dayi's crimes one by one, she stared intently at him. He remained indifferent, offering no defense whatsoever. Seeing this, Xiao Lan's anger intensified. She turned to the guards beside her and coldly ordered, "Guards! Immediately administer the whipping! Give this villain a good thrashing!"

However, just as the guards were about to make their move, a figure rushed over. Everyone looked closely and saw it was Lady Hou. She quickly walked to Xiao Lan and then gave a deep, proper hand gesture.

Lady Hou raised her head, her eyes filled with tears and grief, and her voice trembled slightly as she said to Xiao Lan, "Miss Xiao, please forgive my intrusion, but I have a request to make. Would you allow me to personally carry out the whipping of this wicked man? I shouldn't be making such an unreasonable request, but since learning of my poor daughter's misfortune yesterday, I've tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is my daughter's lovely yet pitiful face. Since birth, she has never enjoyed even a moment of warmth and care from her family, and now she has suffered such a cruel fate, heartlessly pushed into the river, and her body has never been found... Waaah... I beg you, Miss Xiao! Let me avenge my daughter with my own hands!"