Since returning to the old house, although Qin Liuxi had not been very warm or close to the family, she had maintained a surface-level peace and politeness. There was a sense of mutual probing and adjustment in their interactions.
But now, Qin Liuxi had shattered this facade of peaceful politeness, tearing off a layer to reveal the underlying discontent.
This new awareness was evident from the highest to the lowest ranks within the house. The younger members were somewhat alarmed, and when they looked at the expressions of the adults, they became even more uneasy.
Troublemakers like Sister Ming Yue and her siblings wondered if Qin Liuxi had lost her mind or if someone had stepped on her tail, causing her to bare her thorns, charging recklessly and pricking anyone who came near.
Bold ones like Qin Mingchun and Qin Mingbao thought to themselves that the elder sister indeed had a domineering and arrogant presence, with commendable abilities.
Indeed, in their eyes, only those with great abilities could afford to be arrogant and domineering; those without abilities, naturally, would have to cower like quails, just like them.
Mrs. Wang cursed Mrs. Xie and the others in her mind, thinking them fools. If they couldn’t speak well, they shouldn’t come out to blindly seek attention and irritate others. Was that to their benefit?
She then glanced at Old Mrs. Qin and saw a flicker of anger on her face, her wrinkles nearly squeezing together, which gave her a headache.
"Xixi, look at you. Your younger brothers and sisters don’t know any better and might speak out of line, but as their elder sister, a few pointers from you would be considered their good fortune. Why get angry about it?" Mrs. Wang chided, "Your harsh words might just scare them off from daring to speak to you in the future."
Qin Liuxi knew that Mrs. Wang could speak eloquently, and even now, her words implicitly pointed out the ignorance of the younger siblings, yet also seemed to be smoothing things over.
For Mrs. Wang, if it were any other day, Qin Liuxi would have given her the face and let it slide.
But today, on account of the old man’s situation, her heart was already displeased. Coupled with these individuals’ presumptuous admonishments, they were practically asking for a rebuke.
Qin Liuxi had no patience for indulging them.
"Mother. Your kindness, I’m afraid these ignorant ones cannot appreciate. Worse, they might blame you for being meddlesome." Qin Liuxi said, "I, for one, detest those who under the guise of ’doing it for my own good’ presume to instruct me. So let’s get the unpleasant words out now, to avoid future disputes."
"I don’t need your well-meaning intentions, nor do you possess the capability to be of any good to anyone. The Qin family is currently declining, and none of you are in a position to counsel others. Otherwise, you’re only inviting ridicule and embarrassment upon yourself. Take you, Qin Mingqi, have you mastered the classics? Do you only know how to study and eat without wondering where the Qin family’s fortune comes from and how it supports your education, clothing, and food? You don’t understand any of this, yet you dare to counsel me about a lady’s reputation? Remember, although you study saintly books, you are not a Saint; you’re just a commoner sustained by grains."
Qin Mingqi’s handsome face flushed with embarrassment, and he clenched his fists tightly.
"And you, Qin Ming Yue, what qualifies you to advise me? Do you have any wisdom to impart to your elder sister? Come, speak up now, I’m all ears."
Qin Ming Yue hadn’t expected Qin Liuxi to be so blunt and her face turned red with shame, tears welling up in her eyes.
Standing beside her, Qin Mingxin felt Qin Liuxi’s gaze land on her, and her scalp tingled. She instinctively hid behind her blood sister, not wanting to be called out.
Qin Liuxi’s gaze then shifted to Song Yu Yan and her sister, who were both looking down, fiddling with the ropes on their cloth garments, not daring to meet her eyes.
The two younger ones, however, were not afraid and boldly met her gaze. Qin Mingbao went as far as to say, "Elder sister is right in everything she says!"
Qin Mingchun thought to himself: What a sycophant.
He sneaked a glance at Qin Liuxi, pursed his lips, and said nothing.
The concubine used to say that when you can’t find the right words, it’s best to keep your mouth shut and play mute. Better to suffer a small loss than to get hit for speaking out of turn.
The current situation seemed exactly as the concubine had described.
Qin Liuxi snorted, glancing at the all-knowing meddler in the room. So you’re not talking now? Weren’t you very talkative just a moment ago?
Qin Mingyue was extremely embarrassed and looked at her younger brother: It feels like elder sister looks at us as if we’re troubles.
Qin Mingqi: Be bold, remove the feeling, she simply finds us troublesome.
Though that’s what he thought, he dared not hum a word about it.
Mrs. Wang and others watched as Qin Liuxi suppressed the younger ones, feeling amused yet with a slight sigh in their hearts.
If these youngsters could grow from this experience, might benefit from Qin Liuxi’s chaos into order, perhaps there wouldn’t be much to worry about for the Qin family’s generation.
A nest of strong eaglets.
A glimmer of hope arose in Mrs. Wang’s chest.
However, Mrs. Xie was in extreme distress, inwardly cursing her own children as useless, none of them able to hold their ground, all yielding to Qin Liuxi’s display of authority.
She instinctively looked at Old Mrs. Qin, whose eyes flickered uncertainly.
As Mrs. Xie wanted to say something, Qin Liuxi spoke up again.
"Why has everyone gone silent? If you don’t speak, I will take it as agreement." Qin Liuxi said indifferently, "From now on, when you wish to point fingers and make unwarranted comments about others, first consider if you have done right yourself. I don’t care about others, you can make comments as you like, but not about me! No one should even think about pointing fingers at my conduct, because you are not qualified to do so."
"Even if we clearly see you walking down a crooked path, should we also remain silent? Is this what siblings are for? Knowing it’s wrong but watching you do it anyway, is that the peace you want?" Old Mrs. Qin finally spoke up.
The crowd sighed in relief, the family matriarch had finally stepped in to lay down the law.
Mrs. Wang frowned: "Mother..."
"Let her speak for herself," Old Mrs. Qin said expressionlessly, glancing over.
Everyone held their breath, the standoff now was even more suffocating than before.
Qin Liuxi lowered her head in a smile, then lifted her eyes to meet Old Mrs. Qin’s, and said coolly, "Grandmother, wasn’t my fate already predetermined when I was five? Since it’s been decided, what else is there to say?"
The fate of this body was determined by the Qin family!
’The’ connection with the Qin family had been settled when she was five, what remained now were her own and ’hers’, because this physical body belonged to ’her’, thus she inherited these nominal family members and completed the cycle of karma.
But it ended there. She provided them shelter, food, and clothing without worry, protection was already more than enough. Anything more, like pulling one’s heart out or being as close as flesh and blood, was impossible.
Call her cold-blooded or indifferent, the fortune the Qin family people had now was merely left by ’her’ from the past.
Old Mrs. Qin’s heart skipped a beat, her complexion changing, and she found herself at a loss for words.
After a long while, she finally let out a dejected sigh, saying, "Enough, children, all of you go out. Eldest daughter-in-law, second daughter-in-law, the few of you stay behind."
The crowd exchanged glances but dared not provoke further displeasure, and after paying their respects, they withdrew.
Qin Liuxi proceeded as if nothing had happened, gracefully taking her leave without a backward glance.
Old Mrs. Qin watched her disappearing figure at the doorway, feeling a tightness in her heart and a wave of suffocation in her chest.