Matriarch Rules, Scumbag Begs - Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Birthday Joy

The silver hairpin still pressed against Lu Yan’s neck, not too deep, not too shallow, making him feel pain, unable to escape, and plunging him into boundless fear.

Forcing him to abandon the dignity of a high-ranking person, like a dog wagging its tail and begging for mercy, he trembled and said pleading words: “If you kill me, Pan Di won’t come back to life, and it will only bring trouble to yourself. If you let me go, I guarantee I won’t reveal your identity to anyone!”

His words were sincere, and his trembling eyes stared at Shen Qiuci timidly, “Give me a chance, I promise I’ll change! I’ll make amends to those women I’ve ruined and do my best to compensate them!”

Shen Qiuci’s face was expressionless, and a chilling aura emanated from her entire being, “Whether evil people can change for the better, I’m not interested. I only know that dead people will never do evil again.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the play outside reached its finale. Chun Ji’s clear and melodious voice sang, “This time, in the two armies’ battle, I won’t kill the traitor An Wang, I won’t return home!”

After this song ended, the gong and drum sounds gradually weakened.

Shen Qiuci looked at Lu Yan calmly, following the end of the play, “The song has ended. Your birthday is also coming to an end.”

Just as everything seemed to return to silence, Lu Yan suddenly shouted loudly: “Help! Help……”

“Hush.”

Shen Qiuci suddenly stabbed the silver hairpin into Lu Yan’s throat, and his cry for help lost its breath, turning into a hoarse gurgling sound. Shen Qiuci smiled as she watched Lu Yan’s contorted face and spoke in a gentle tone: “Eldest Young Master Lu, congratulations on your birthday joy.”

As she finished speaking, the hairpin stabbed deeper into his throat, then slashed upward, tearing open the flesh and leaving a deep bloody mark on Lu Yan’s neck. Blood spurted out from the wound, and Lu Yan struggled painfully on the ground, covering his neck with his hands.

Shen Qiuci slowly stood up, took a clean white handkerchief from the table, and wiped the blood off the silver hairpin. She then pinned it back into her hair bun.
She looked down at Lu Yan, her eyes calm.

Lu Yan’s mouth was wide open, trying to cry out for help, but all his breath escaped from the wound in his neck like a floodgate bursting open. The sound coming from his throat was barely audible, just like the desperate cries of the women he had taken advantage of, who had no one to turn to for help.

After a while, the play outside ended, and Lu Yan lay still in a pool of blood, his eyes wide open in horror. Shen Qiuci took out a white camellia flower from her bosom, sniffed it gently, and then carelessly tossed it into the pool of blood. The blood climbed up the stem, dyeing the pure white flower a vibrant red.

She stepped over Lu Yan’s corpse, her voice cold as she said, “Women in this world shouldn’t be humiliated and trampled by men like this.”
With that, she opened the door and walked out.

At the same time, in the courtyard.

After Chun Ji finished singing, she received thunderous applause from the audience. Amidst the noise, Madam Ning, who had stepped aside to catch her breath, returned to her seat.

Someone suddenly asked, “Where’s Brother Lu? Why hasn’t he come back yet?”
“Maybe he couldn’t handle the wine and passed out in some corner?”

Madam Ning couldn’t help but roll her eyes and muttered under her breath, “Someone like him is better off dead.”
Although her voice was soft, those at the same table heard her clearly. They exchanged nervous glances, not daring to provoke her, the “tiger,” and pretended not to hear, telling the maid to go find Lu Yan.

Madam Ning looked around and saw that Shen Qiuci hadn’t returned, so she said to Pei Yuanzhou, “Madam Pei has had a lot to drink and has been away for a while. I hope she hasn’t gotten into any trouble.”

Pei Yuanzhou was chatting with an official nearby and only reacted after hearing this. Shen Qiuci had indeed been gone for a long time. Normally, he wouldn’t care about her well-being, but today, Shen Qiuci’s stunning appearance at the banquet had given him face, and he was reevaluating their relationship.

He thought to himself that if Shen Qiuci didn’t spend all her time on household chores and instead took some time to groom herself, she would look much better than Xue Yinshuang and have a more dignified presence…

With the wine coursing through his veins, Pei Yuanzhou felt a pang of regret and stood up, saying he would go find Shen Qiuci.

Ning Baichuan stopped him, “It might not be convenient for Brother Pei to go.”

Pei Yuanzhou hesitated, realizing that in a high-ranking household like the Minister’s mansion, men and women have separate areas, and it wouldn’t be proper for him to go there.

Just as he was wondering what to do, Madam Ning spoke up, “I’m sitting here getting annoyed anyway; I might as well go find Miss Shen.” With that, she stood up and headed towards the inner courtyard.

As she walked past the rockery, she heard a faint humming sound coming from behind it. She walked over and saw Shen Qiuci leaning against the rockery, sitting on the ground, surrounded by a strong smell of wine.

Madam Ning quickly helped Shen Qiuci up, “Madam Pei, are you alright?”
Shen Qiuci was drunk and spoke indistinctly, “Thank… thank you…”

Madam Ning was furious and muttered, “Your husband doesn’t seem to care about you at all; he just lets other men pour wine for you without intervening. What kind of man is he? I don’t know what you see in him…”

As she complained, she carefully supported Shen Qiuci and walked her back.

Pei Yuanzhou saw Madam Ning supporting the drunk Shen Qiuci and quickly went over to greet them. He asked Shen Qiuci how she was doing, but Madam Ning interrupted, “She’s drunk; what can she possibly say?”

Pei Yuanzhou wrapped Shen Qiuci in his cloak and heard her murmuring in discomfort, her thin body shivering uncontrollably. For some reason, he felt a pang of heartache. He apologized to Ning Baichuan, “My wife is unwell; I’ll have to take her home. Please say hello to Brother Lu for me.”

The Ning family and the Shen family have a long history of friendship. Ning Baichuan knew Shen Qiuci’s family and offered to let them use the Ning family’s carriage to go home, “Since you didn’t bring your carriage, let our driver escort you home so Madam Pei doesn’t catch a cold.”

Pei Yuanzhou thanked him profusely and supported Shen Qiuci as they walked out.

Just as they took a couple of steps, a piercing scream echoed from behind. “Ahhh!!!”

The courtyard fell silent, and everyone turned to look. The maid who had been sent to find Lu Yan stumbled out of the inner courtyard, her face pale, and shouted, “The eldest young master… the eldest young master has been killed!”