novelzi Chapter 176
Chapter 176
"You think we can just pretend nothing happened? When Li Shan did this, did she consider that you're her own brother, or that Aunt Wang is her birth mother?" Li Xia's words made Li Yao stumble backward and collapse onto the ground.
When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. Li Xia didn't need to say it; Li Yao understood. He walked back to Bingqing Courtyard, his spirit broken.
Aunt Wang, who had been listening by the door, scrambled up. "Yao, how did it go? Did you find your father?"
Li Yao didn't answer her. Instead, he turned to Qiu Chan and said, "Let me in." He wanted to ask Li Shan what exactly she had done.
"The young miss said not to let anyone in or out," Qiu Chan refused. Li Yao said nothing more. He turned and pushed the door; it was chained, with only a small gap. Adults couldn't get through, but Li Yao, being a child, could squeeze in.
"Yao, what are you doing? You can't come in!" Despite Aunt Wang's protests, Li Yao squeezed through. He lost a shoe but didn't stop to pick it up. With a tense face, he asked Aunt Wang, "Where's Li Shan?"
Frightened by Li Yao's demeanor, Aunt Wang stammered, "In my room."
Li Yao walked into Aunt Wang's bedroom and saw the unconscious Li Shan. Looking around, he spotted a teapot on the table. He reached out to test its temperature, then removed the lid and poured it directly onto Li Shan's face.
"Yao, what are you doing?!" Aunt Wang, who had followed him in, screamed at the sight and lunged forward to snatch the teapot from Li Yao. He wouldn't let go, still trying to pour more on Li Shan.
Li Shan woke up and, seeing the scene, grabbed a nearby teacup and smashed it on the ground. The shards cut Aunt Wang's hand.
Seeing Aunt Wang injured, Li Yao put down the teapot to check her wound.
"I'm fine," she said, turning to see Li Shan awake. She moved closer to examine her carefully. "How are you? Does your head hurt?"
"How could it not hurt after being hit? It's all because of that bitch Li Xia. I won't let her get away with this," Li Shan's face was contorted with rage, making Li Yao feel as if he was looking at a stranger. Was this really Li Shan? His own sister?
Suppressing his dismay, Li Yao tried to reason with her. "Sister, you need to control your temper."
"Just because you passed some exam, you think you can lecture me?" Li Shan's words were harsh.
Li Ming read the contents, then stepped forward and slapped Li Shan hard. "Unfilial daughter! Are you not satisfied until you've brought death to the entire Li family?"
Aunt Wang watched in confusion but moved to protect her daughter. She crawled forward on her knees, reaching out to grab Li Ming's robe. He kicked her away.
Li Yao hurried to support Aunt Wang, whispering in her ear, "Aunt, I beg you, don't say anything."
Li Shan stumbled back from the slap, steadying herself against a pillar. Holding her stricken cheek, she sneered, "If the Li family treats me unjustly, don't blame me for being disloyal."
Li Ming laughed bitterly at Li Shan's words, pointing at her. "The family treats you unjustly?"
This was the biggest joke Li Ming had ever heard. If Li Shan had done such a scandalous thing in any other family, they would have cut off her hair and sent her to a nunnery to live out her days in seclusion.
Everything the Li family had done for her, and now Li Shan saw it as unjust treatment. Li Ming was thoroughly disappointed in Li Shan.
Calming down, Li Ming looked at Li Shan. "Fine. From today on, I'll show you just how 'unjustly' the Li family can treat you. Come, take Li Shan away!"
"You can't do this to me! I'm a Zhao family wife!" Li Shan panicked as she saw the servants approach, shouting loudly. No one listened to her; the matrons dragged Li Shan away.
Aunt Wang bit her lip as she watched Li Shan being taken away. Li Ming looked down at her. "From today on, you are not to leave Bingqing Courtyard." Li Yao pulled Aunt Wang away from the Wild Goose Pavilion. Worried, she wanted to go to Luhua Courtyard to check on Li Shan.
Unable to dissuade her, Li Yao accompanied her to Luhua Courtyard. At the entrance, they could hear Li Shan inside, cursing the entire Li family, including Li Yao and Aunt Wang.
"Aunt, I promise I'll study hard and earn a good reputation for you. Don't worry about her anymore; she's not worth it," Li Yao said, his voice trembling with anger.
Aunt Wang looked at Li Yao, who was struggling to control his emotions, and embraced him, crying loudly. The last person in the Li family who cared about Li Shan had now been completely alienated by her actions.
Li Shan hadn't yet realized how serious it was to be thoroughly abandoned by her own family. She was still thinking about how she would surely impress everyone, unaware that upon her return, Mrs. Zhao had already arranged for someone to send her to a country estate on the outskirts of town.
Li Ming took Li Yao, Li Chou, and Li Guang to the study in the front courtyard to discuss who might have influenced Li Shan to behave this way. The Li family couldn't afford to be passive; they needed to identify their enemy and deal with them.