Chapter 82: Asserting Authority In The Old Manor! As Long As I Have It, As Long As You Want It

Yan Liang’s movements were smooth as flowing clouds and water, without the slightest pause.

Even Qin Jiang, who stood beside her, was stunned.

He knew his means of revenge were a little insane, but he truly hadn’t anticipated the Young Mistress’s methods.

The Yan family old mansion, this lake, this whole pool of people… she could blow it up just like that?

Yan Qicheng had originally been struggling in the lake, but his strong will to survive forced him to somehow manage dog-paddling, and that shout was meant to denounce Qin Jiang.

To him, Qin Jiang was merely the Young Mistress’s temporary kept beau. Was he really able to compete with Yan Han, her biological elder brother, for a space in Yan Liang’s heart?

However, the slap in the face came that fast.

Everyone gaped in shock as the grenade with its pin pulled was precisely thrown by Yan Liang in Yan Qicheng’s direction.

Yan Qicheng dog-paddled like mad, struggling desperately to get away.

But how could human power outrun the force of a grenade?

Then, in the next moment.

Boom!! A single thunderous sound!

The old manor shook as if the earth moved. Even the pavilion where Qin Jiang and Yan Liang stood trembled.

Not to mention the two floundering acquaintances of the Young Mistress who were in the water.

At this point… they were probably no longer floundering.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

After throwing the grenade, Yan Liang immediately hugged Qin Jiang, delicately shrinking into his arms with an indescribable fragility. “Jiang… I’m a bit scared~”

Indeed, if Bai Chuchu had been in this situation, she would certainly have used this pose and this expression.

Yan Liang decided that… even if she couldn’t imitate everything, she could mimic seventy percent.

But Zhou Ning and the bodyguards just stared in shock at their Young Mistress’s ‘delicate and pitiful’ posture.

A collective row of question marks hovered over their heads.

This family was full of ridiculous characters!

This scene was comparable to scenes in classical literature, like ‘Lin Daiyu uprooting the willow’, ‘Xue Baochai beating down Zhen Guanxi’, ‘Lu Zhishen burying flowers’…

Terrifying beyond measure~~

Qin Jiang was mentally jolted for a moment, but being sensible he looped one arm around Yan Liang’s slim waist and pulled her closer, lowering his gaze to coo, “Yanyan, be good, don’t be afraid.”

“They’re all cooked… dead… uh, maybe half-dead I suppose…”

Qin Jiang comfortingly stroked the woman’s head. Strangely, his hand smoothing her hair trembled a little.

“Hmm, finally quiet.”

“Alright, whether alive or dead… haul everyone out.”

Yan Liang cast a glance at the waters still billowing with smoke, her expression unflinching as she gave orders.

Zhou Ning had to admit, the Young Mistress’s way of silencing people was still as manic as ever.

Qin Jiang… still needed a few more years of training to get there.

So the bodyguards who hadn’t jumped in earlier to retrieve the eldest young master and his cousin, Yan Qicheng, began a new round of salvage operations.

Soon, the bloodied and mangled Yan Qicheng was pulled up.

Shortly after, Yan Han, who had been some distance from the blast, was also retrieved.

Although he had only been stunned by the shockwave in the water, the several near-drowning incidents beforehand had left him so weak he barely had a breath left…

At this moment, he no longer had that lofty, condescending posture he once used toward Qin Jiang.

Everything was reversed.

Qin Jiang still wore his suit, and even stood with his delicate wife in his arms.

But Yan Han, with his crippled legs… looked utterly wretched.

Qin Jiang watched the contrast with wide eyes. Internally, he was elated.

The commotion in the garden was simply too big.

At first, Old Master Yan was still seated in the front hall, face sullen, drinking tea with the clan elders.

They planned to wait for Yan Liang to appear and properly scold her for hanging white silk at his birthday banquet—a grave act of sacrilege.

But before they had even sipped their first cup of hot tea.

They heard a huge explosion from within the mansion.

Rumble!!

The quake-like noise was impossible to ignore.

Old Master Yan’s face changed drastically and he hurriedly called out, “Quick, someone—what happened?”

“An outrage! This is the Yan family’s old manor—who dares… who dares to act up here?!”

The invited clan elders and aristocratic guests were likewise horrified.

This was the old manor that belonged to the Yan family, the most powerful and influential family of the capital. And from the sound, it was clearly an explosion.

If another family was behind this, they’d clearly be courting death.

But if this was an internal Yan family affair…

Then based on what they knew of the family, the only one who might dare make such a deadly scene was that fearless, monstrous Young Mistress.

Soon, the messenger rushed back.

“Don’t worry, Old Master. The Young Mistress set off firecrackers at the lake in the front courtyard.”

“The Young Mistress said it was a surprise to celebrate your longevity, but the Eldest Young Master and the Cousin Young Master seemed eager to present their gift too, so they were too close to the gunpowder, I mean, too close to the firecrackers.”

“And… they got blown up…”

The servant’s story grew more absurd as he went on. He began to stammer, barely keeping it together.

Old Master Yan understood in an instant.

It must be Yan Liang causing trouble again!

In the whole Yan family, only she could fearlessly make such a huge commotion.

But this was the Yan family old manor.

The Yan ancestors were all buried here.

Moreover, the ancestral hall was not far from the lake—Yan Liang’s action was utterly disrespectful to the ancestors!!

Old Master Yan could not sit still. After all, he was the highest-ranking elder in the Yan family, and Yan Liang was clearly showing she did not respect him.

If he did not punish her, he felt he’d truly be driven to the grave in a fit.

“Presumptuous! Utterly presumptuous!!”

“Does she really think such words can placate me? She’s cold-blooded, ruthless, a little monster—on such a joyous day, she even doesn’t spare her own brother…”

“I shall represent the ancestral hall and the Yan ancestors and teach her a good lesson!”

Old Master Yan finished his impassioned words, took up his dragon-patterned cane, and rose from his chair.

Although old, he still lived safely in the old mansion.

Naturally, it was because he was capable of a thing or two.

The clan elders muttered and began jointly reproaching Yan Liang for years of unfilial behavior.

The nobles whispered, all curious about what spectacle could have occurred in the front courtyard.

Even something like explosives had been used.

Soon, the group, led by Old Master Yan, marched toward the lake.

“Ah… why is there blood over there?”

“Gosh, isn’t that Second Master Yan? What’s wrong with his crotch…”

“Huh, why is his mouth puffed up?”

“Gosh… so much blood, so much blood—could he be dead?”

“Wow… big families sure have lots of corpses, I see piles by the lake and strays on the roadside.”

Old Master Yan hobbled closer with his cane. Upon seeing the familiar sandalwood beads on Yan Yufan’s wrist, his gaze faltered and tears wildly filled his eyes…

This… this was his second son!!

Old Master Yan’s steps trembled. He had three sons in total.

Now the eldest son was paralyzed from a stroke, the second’s fate was unknown, and the third son… missing!

These, he feared, were all thanks to Yan Liang.

“No… this is impossible!”

“Quick, help Second Master up and send him to the doctor!”

“Yan Liang, bring Yan Liang to me at once! I will not be lenient…”

Old Master Yan felt that if he endured any longer, he’d surely die of an angry fit.

He planted his cane hard and glared toward the lake.

The next moment, a graceful figure in professional attire came into view.

Yan Liang was seen walking over hand in hand with Qin Jiang, openly and grandly.

As if she had no awareness of the grave mistake she had made.

“Ah, Old Man Yan, what’s the matter with you?”

“Second… Second Uncle? What’s happened to him?”

Yan Liang gasped in mock surprise as horror and panic flickered in her eyes.

As if she had just discovered Second Uncle Yan was at death’s door.

“Yan Liang, look at the good deeds your little plaything has done! Now, as your grandfather, I order you… hand over that gigolo in your arms to atone for your Second Uncle!”

Old Master Yan roughly guessed whose handiwork this was.

Of course, he assumed it was done by one of Yan Liang’s subordinates.

Such ruthless means did not seem like something a pretty boy could pull off.

He wanted Qin Jiang.

From start to finish, because he couldn’t touch Yan Liang, he decided he would remove what she seemed to care about.

Even if that was just a thing that posed no threat to him!

“Tsk, Old Master, you jest.”

“My Jiang is simple and kind—he wouldn’t even kill an ant. How could he harm Second Uncle?”

Yan Liang’s beautiful eyes tilted, full of sharpness.

Then her red lips curled into a cold smile. “If you decided to investigate thoroughly, Old Master, wouldn’t you eventually conclude that I did it?’

Old Master Yan’s lips trembled. It was true that he wanted to say that outright.

But faced with this mad Yan Liang… he dared not press too hard.

“So, Yan Liang, tell me… was it you?”

“Look at the entire Yan family—who else would dare do this to your Second Uncle besides you?”

Old Master Yan was furious and beside himself.

“Well, if you really wanted to frame someone, you’ll never lack excuses.”

“Besides…even if I did it, so what?”

The woman tilted her head, full of provocation. What could the old man do to her?

Yan Liang arched a brow, utterly unflustered, even idly rubbing Qin Jiang’s palm playfully.

Qin Jiang wondered if he should admit his crimes.

“Yan Liang, go kneel at the ancestral hall right now. I will personally invoke family law and give you fifty lashes!”

Old Master Yan’s face flushed. Yan Liang’s arrogant manner nearly made him spit blood.

“Very well… Zhou Ning, carry Yan Yufan to the ancestral hall—Old Master will reward him fifty lashes.”

“Let’s all go together and witness whether the old man still has the strength to wield those fifty lashes.”

“Old man, fifty hits… not a single one less, okay?”

Yan Liang’s tone turned icy. Everyone could feel the oppressive aura she emanated.

No one dared defy her orders.

“Outrageous, outrageous!!”

“Yan Liang, you…”

Yan Liang’s gaze grew colder as she impatiently she gave Zhou Ning a look.

Zhou Ning expressionlessly crouched down, grabbed a handful of soil from the flowerbed, and stuffed it straight into Old Master Yan’s mouth.

“Old man, at your age… the earth is almost up to your neck. If you keep meddling, my Young Mistress won’t mind personally burying it up to your head~”

Zhou Ning lowered his head and spoke softly, but it was enough to make Old Master Yan’s blood run cold.

He had thought… that these past two years Yan Liang had kept him in the old manor out of some filial consideration.

He even believed she had treated him well to silence the clan elders.

He believed he was different from his eldest son.

That was why Yan Liang had kept him.

He thought he must have some leverage over Yan Liang, but now he dared not speculate further.

When this Young Mistress went mad… everyone was equal!

Qin Jiang watched as the dazed ‘dead fat pig’ Second Uncle Yan Yufan was casually hoisted up by the bodyguards.

He felt it necessary to confess to Yan Liang.

“Yanyan, actually Yan Yufan being half-dead… was my doing.”

Qin Jiang lowered his eyes. He felt he shouldn’t hide it from Yanyan.

“Mhm.”

“Jiang, you did very well.”

“What reward do you want?”

“As long as I have it, as long as you want it, it’s all yours!”