Matriarch Rules, Scumbag Begs - Chapter 26

Chapter 26 Buying Your Life

Dr. Xu looked at the bronze furnace with a beast’s head design that had shattered on the ground, its original shape now completely unrecognizable, and his heart skipped a beat.

How was this possible?
Shen Qiuci’s seemingly casual strike had managed to shatter the bronze furnace?
No, it wasn’t just shattered – it had exploded from the inside out due to the force of the pebble!
What kind of terrifying palm strength would it take to achieve that?

Even the former master of the Shen family, who had battled on the frontier for many years, didn’t possess such skill!
Dr. Xu looked up, his face filled with fear as he gazed at Shen Qiuci.

The flickering candlelight cast her in a mysterious shadow, making her seem unfathomable and intimidating. Shen Qiuci met his vacant gaze and asked coldly: “You were going to run, why didn’t you?”

Dr. Xu’s chest heaved violently as he stammered: “Y-you… how do you have such skills?”

Shen Qiuci didn’t respond to this question, instead asking: “I’m curious – now that you know my identity, why didn’t you tell Xue Yinshuang? That secret would be worth a considerable amount of profit from her.”

Dr. Xu was terrified, but under her pressure, he didn’t dare lie: “Telling her would only get me a one-time payment of silver, and then I’d have no leverage. But if I asked Madam Shen, she would be willing to give up anything to protect you.”

“Ha,” Shen Qiuci’s lips curled up slightly, her gaze lightly falling on his head: “Dr. Xu’s brain is indeed clever. But it’s unknown how much his son inherited from him.”

She slightly changed her expression and picked up another pebble from the pot, playing with it between her fingers: “But it’s okay. If we make a small hole in his head, it’ll be clear.”

“Don’t!” Dr. Xu shouted desperately: “Whatever you want, take it out on me, just don’t harm my son!”
“Why should you get to decide?”
Shen Qiuci glared at him, her voice stern: “Why can you kill my sister, but I can’t harm your son?”

“It’s my fault! I’m the one who wronged you!” Dr. Xu fell to his knees, repeatedly bowing his head to Shen Qiuci: “But my son doesn’t know anything, he’s only five years old! You can’t be so cruel!”

He crawled to Shen Qiuci’s feet, grasping at the hem of her clothes, pleading tearfully: “It’s all my fault! I’ll do whatever you want, I beg you, out of consideration for the ten years of master-servant relationship between us, please don’t harm my son!”

Shen Qiuci suddenly stood up, shaking off his hand: “You are wrong. But the person you should apologize to is not me.”

Her eyes were cold and disdainful as she looked down at Dr. Xu, who was as helpless as an ant: “Tell me, how much silver did Xue Yinshuang give you to kill my sister?”

Dr. Xu didn’t dare to look up at her, his voice trembling like a candle in the wind: “F-five hundred taels.”

Shen Qiuci paused.
Five hundred taels…
So a life was worth five hundred taels. She was silent for a moment before speaking slowly: “Didn’t you say you’d do anything for your son?”

She picked up the stack of silver notes on the table and weighed them lightly in her hand. Then, she suddenly tossed them into the air.

The candlelight in the hall danced across the flying silver notes, casting a dim yellow glow on them, like the paper money scattered in the wind during a funeral.

Shen Qiuci lowered her eyes, her gaze cold as she watched the silver notes fall onto Dr. Xu. The thick killing intent in her eyes was no longer concealed: “This is one thousand taels… I want to buy your life.”