Feng Jin woke up early in the morning and found that the two wooden swords in the box were gone. She immediately guessed that Ling Mo Han had taken them, as there was no one else it could have been.
Even if Da Bao and Er Bao wanted them, they wouldn't dare to take them directly. It must have been Ling Mo Han's doing.
She would settle the score with Ling Mo Han when he returned. How dare he do such a thing? If the children were spoiled any further, they would eventually be ruined.
During lunch, she saw Da Bao return covered in dirt. Feng Jin was furious when she saw him like this, almost grabbing him and spanking him soundly.
"Where have you been messing around to get yourself looking like this!"
He had just changed into clean clothes this morning, and within such a short time, he had become like this, with the edges of his clothes also torn.
"Look at what you've done, how did your clothes get a hole in them!"
Feng Jin's head ached with anger. How could she have given birth to such a child, who caused her worry all day long.
"Mother, I... I tripped and fell accidentally. It's nothing," Da Bao said nonchalantly. He had won against three opponents, so it didn't matter if his clothes were dirty or torn. The other three were even worse off, with their heads broken.
"Is that so?"
Feng Jin looked at Da Bao with doubt. Apart from his dirty and torn clothes, there were no visible injuries on his face or body. He didn't look like he had been in a fight, so maybe he had really just fallen.
Although she had her doubts, she had no concrete evidence, so she couldn't trouble Da Bao.
If she made a mistake, it would have a very bad psychological impact on Da Bao. She could only suppress the matter for now.
She didn't press further and simply asked Chu Qing to take Da Bao to change into clean clothes.
As soon as Feng Jin sat down and took a sip of soup, a servant rushed in.
"Young Madam... Young Madam... something's wrong..."
"What's all this rushing about? Speak properly, what is wrong? The sky hasn't fallen yet!"
The sky was perfectly fine, not falling. What was all this "something's wrong"?
"Young Madam, it's the wife of the Censor, the wife of the Minister of Justice, and the wife of the Minister of Revenue. They've arrived and say..."
Before the servant could finish speaking, the three ladies arrived, their faces filled with anger, each leading a child.
These children were all bleeding from their heads, looking truly miserable.
Feng Jin was startled by the scene and had no idea what had happened. Since they were guests, she first attended to them.
"Ladies, did you all plan to come together?"
The three were regular customers at Imperial Beauty Atelier, so Feng Jin knew them quite well.
However, seeing their expressions today, they didn't look like they were here to shop or to visit. Feng Jin immediately felt that the situation might be difficult to resolve.
"Alright, Madam Ling, we won't beat around the bush. Look at what your young master has done to my son!"
The speaker was Madam Wang, the wife of the Minister of Revenue. She was usually arrogant and domineering and never one to suffer a loss. She always had to get her share of the benefits.
Feng Jin usually disliked dealing with her the most. Now, they had come to her doorstep. Feng Jin glanced at the wound on the child's head, which indeed looked injured.
Without speaking to Madam Wang, Feng Jin bent down, pulled the child closer, and asked softly, "Tell me, how did you get the wound on your head?"
The child didn't answer immediately but first looked at Madam Wang.
"Useless thing, what did you just tell me? Just say it now!"
Madam Wang looked at her timid and shrinking child with disappointment, thinking, "How can he be so incompetent? He doesn't even know how to speak when he's out."
"Yes... yes..."
"Enough, you can't even say a word after so long."
Madam Wang angrily pulled the child back to her side and spoke on his behalf, "It was your son who hit him, and he hit these two as well. If you don't give us an explanation today, this matter will not be over!"
"He hit them too?"
Feng Jin asked uncertainly. Seeing the others nod in agreement, she began to believe it.
Combined with Da Bao's dirty appearance earlier, she suddenly felt that it was indeed possible.
Just as she was about to send someone to call Da Bao, he had already arrived.
Before Feng Jin could ask anything, Da Bao ran directly in front of the ladies. "What's wrong? Do you want to fight again? It seems I didn't beat you enough to teach you a lesson!"
Now they dared to bring people to his house to complain. It seemed he had hit them too lightly earlier and hadn't made them remember.
The three beaten children were now afraid of Da Bao. Seeing him again, they quickly shrunk back towards their mothers, afraid of being beaten by Da Bao again.
The situation now seemed to speak for itself. Feng Jin's expression darkened further. She had initially worried about wrongly accusing Da Bao and had intended to ask him carefully if he had done it. Now, there seemed to be nothing more to ask.
Feng Jin stepped forward and pulled the still arrogant Da Bao to her side, suppressing her anger and asking calmly, "Da Bao, did you really hit them?"
"Yes, I did. But they deserved it!"
Father said a man should stand by his actions. Since he hit them, he had nothing to deny.
If Mother was going to punish him for this, he would willingly accept the beating.
"Can you tell Mother why you hit them?"
She knew her son best. Da Bao would never hit them without a reason. There must be some hidden story. She wanted to find out clearly before deciding whether to punish Da Bao.
"He admitted it, what else do you need to ask? Or do you want to favor your own son? If you don't give us an explanation today, I will report this to His Majesty..."
Madam Wang shouted loudly, convinced that Feng Jin intended to favor her son. She immediately became indignant and was on the verge of cursing.
Her incessant shouting gave Feng Jin a headache, and her good temper was worn thin. She immediately shouted angrily, "Shut your mouth! This is not your house. If you keep blabbering nonsense, I'll have you thrown out. Don't be ungrateful and push your luck!"
Speaking to her kindly was to give her face. Did she really think she was easy to bully? If she said another word out of line, don't blame her for showing no mercy and having her beaten out with sticks.