I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 961: Chapter 255: Rules

Miao Zhu heard the voice of the noblewoman and, struggling to suppress the fear in her heart, lifted her head.

Now, Miao Zhu finally saw the lady on the dais clearly. Legend had it that Tang Zhen was the most outstanding female martial artist of her generation in the Tang Clan; she was resolute and spirited, achieved remarkable feats for her family during her tender years, and had joined the second tier of the clan at a young age, ranking alongside the chieftain’s son.

However, the noblewoman on the dais, despite being stunningly beautiful, was clearly in her thirties or forties—hardly the wife of the second son that the rumors spoke of.

Perhaps noticing the confusion in Miao Zhu’s eyes, the maidservant behind the noblewoman who was fanning her scolded, “Withdraw that disrespectful gaze of yours! Before you stands the acting Sect Head of Jiejiang City, the rightful wife of the Tang Clan’s Martial Ancestor Tang Qian, and the birth mother of the young mistress. Dare to be disrespectful again, and I will gouge out those eyes of yours so you learn what filial piety and propriety mean!”

Terrified by such a spectacle, Miao Zhu, a mere servant, trembled all over and lowered her head, while the noblewoman on the dais cast a displeased glance at the maidservant behind her, “You are becoming more and more unruly!”

After issuing a light rebuke, the noblewoman then addressed the kneeling Miao Zhu below the dais, “I had you brought here today to see for myself the little demoness who has bewitched the second son into losing his senses. Looking at you now, you seem to be nothing more than a country girl, which is quite disappointing to me, madam.”

“Madam.” The fanning maidservant who had just been chastised giggled and said, “Miao Zhu is certainly no country girl, do not be deceived by the facade she presents. At such a young age she dares to climb into the young master’s bed, such cunning and manipulation is not something an ordinary country girl could match. If she is not dealt with, who knows how much she might harm the young miss in the future.”

Hearing this, Miao Zhu quickly confessed her wrong, “Madam, I wouldn’t dare, I just want to raise my child to adulthood, I have no other improper thoughts.”

“Climbing into your master’s bed is already the gravest impropriety a servant can have!”

Mrs. Ning’s tone turned chill, cutting off Miao Zhu’s confession, “According to the clan’s law of primogeniture, you somehow managed to deceive the clan elders and keep the child. Are you hoping to drive Tang Zhen away someday and become the legitimate wife of the second son?”

“That’s not true!” Miao Zhu, upon hearing this, shook with fright and cried out, “Please see the truth, madam, I have never thought such things, nor would I dare to act on them, I implore you to see the truth.”

“Dare or not, you have already done so!” Mrs. Ning said coldly, “A back house may tolerate a child born out of wedlock but cannot tolerate a scheming and deep-hearted concubine. Do you understand?”

“Madam…,” Miao Zhu, trembling uncontrollably with her teeth chattering, stuttered, “What… what… what does this… mean?”

“What the madam means is,” interjected the fierce elderly lady who had already stepped aside, with a sinister voice, “The second son’s concubine died in childbirth, leaving behind a motherless bastard child. Mistress Tang Zhen will treat him as her own, making it a beautiful story for the Tang Clan.”

Miao Zhu was startled and turned to look; the elderly lady from the shadows had somehow approached and was staring at her with a fierce gaze, “You said you only wanted to give birth to and raise your child, didn’t you? As a country girl, all your wealth depends on the favor of your masters. What would happen to your child if one day that favor ceased? Would he not resent, wondering why his birth mother was just a lowly concubine?”

“If he’s a boy, without resources, he will miss the best phase to strengthen his body, and even with great talent he will remain unnoticed, becoming a middling martial artist wasting his life.”

“If she’s a girl, a concubine-born illegitimate daughter, what use could she have besides being sent for alliance through marriage to a noble family?”

“And all this would happen just because their mother was a lowly and incompetent concubine, the stigma of their illegitimacy accompanying them for life!”

“But now, my lady has laid an opportunity before you. Simply nod, and your child will be regarded as the Tang Mansion’s own, growing up alongside the young master.”

“He will receive the best education, enjoy the finest resources. He will call Lady Tang Zhen ‘Mother,’ and she, in turn, will treat him as if he were her own flesh and blood. All these things you, a base maidservant, cannot give him. But now, with just a nod, all this can become reality!”

The elderly woman stretched out her withered and icy hand, her talon-like fingers gliding over Miao Zhu’s face, “Of course, you can also refuse. It’s nothing unusual for the child of a frail maidservant not to survive…”

Miao Zhu, who had been trembling with fear just moments ago, now grasped the old woman’s hand, her eyes filled with dread yet still she mustered her spirit, “Don’t! Don’t hurt the child, I agree to any condition!”

The fierce old woman furrowed her brow, pained by the weak woman’s tight grip—hard to believe this was the same little maid she had been dragging around.

The noblewoman sitting above motioned to a maidservant in front of her upon hearing Miao Zhu’s agreement. The girl, who had been peeling fruits, understood and stepped down in front of Miao Zhu, taking out a small bottle from her bosom and pouring out a bright red pill, presenting it to Miao Zhu.

“This is the Innate Vigor Pill.”

The maidservant held up the pill and earnestly explained to Miao Zhu, “Once you take this pill, the child in your womb will grow robustly, even healthier than offspring born to martial warriors. However, the nourishment of the fetus all comes from the mother’s body. This type of pill is a ferocious medicine even for ordinary martial cultivators, and all the more so for you. After taking this pill, your child will grow stronger by the day, while you will grow weaker. Come delivery day, the midwife will cut open your belly to take the child out, and that’s all there is to it.”

Giving birth is a life-and-death trial for most women, and for an average woman to take the Innate Vigor Pill is almost certainly fatal, but Miao Zhu seemed to have realized something. She tremblingly took the pill from the maidservant’s hand. Looking at the shiny red pill in her hand, the image of a child’s smiling face appeared before her eyes.

“Mother is useless, unable to give you a better life; being able to give you a healthy body is satisfaction enough for me!”

Closing her eyes and tilting her head back, Miao Zhu was about to swallow the pill in her hand when the door of the side hall was suddenly kicked open. A flood of sunlight poured into the hall, the dazzling light causing the maidservants inside to cry out in alarm.

Black-armored guards burst into the side hall, subdued the old woman and the maidservant, pressing them to the ground. A youthful yet furious female voice came from the doorway.

“Is this the Sect Head’s residence in Jiejiang City or the Tang Qian’s dwelling? Why would the Martial Ancestor’s concubine not go to the main hall but the side hall instead? Mother, can you give your daughter an explanation?”

Tang Zhen, belly swollen with child, went over to Miao Zhu, snatched the red pill from her hand, and crushed it into powder. She then looked up at the Ning Family matriarch with indignation and said,