Lou Pinshu narrowed those aged eyes and scrutinized Lou Xinrou carefully.
If he hadn’t confirmed that the person in front of him was truly his granddaughter, he might have suspected that his granddaughter was possessed by an evil spirit, to do such a malicious thing.
But where exactly was the problem? His teaching methods were clearly correct, so why would his granddaughter do such a thing?
Lou Pinshu grew increasingly angry as he thought about it, and he scolded,
"You still don’t know how to repent up to now! You still think it’s someone else’s fault? Lou Xinrou! I see that all my teachings were in vain! You have the gall to commit a crime like murder, and now do you still think it’s Qiao Jing’s fault in your heart? Haven’t you realized your own mistake?!"
Lou Xinrou was frightened by Lou Pinshu’s roar, her neck shrinking guiltily as she retorted stubbornly,
"It was indeed her fault! If she hadn’t stolen Brother Pei from me, none of this would have happened."
As soon as she finished speaking, she realized Lou Pinshu’s expression had turned even more somber, and knowing he was still angry, she cautiously said,
"Grandfather... please don’t be angry, I’ll accept being grounded for two months as punishment."
Lou Pinshu let out a cold laugh.
"Grounded? You think too simply of the matter."
Upon hearing Lou Pinshu’s words, everyone present was taken aback.
Lou Xinrou looked at Lou Pinshu with a puzzled expression, asking in confusion,
"Grandfather, what do you mean by this? Could it be that besides grounding me, there are other punishments?"
Lou Pinshu’s face was very serious as he dropped a bombshell that shocked everyone in the Lou Family to the core.
"No, I am planning to kick you out of the house, let you temper yourself properly in society, grind away your young lady’s temperament before you return! While outside, you can also learn to restrain yourself. If I don’t call for you, you are not to return to the Lou Family!"
After hearing this, Lou Xinrou sat rigidly on the sofa, the egg in her hand dropping and smashing on the floor.
Could it be a mistake?
Her grandfather was actually planning to kick her out of the house? Just because of the drug incident?
But the drugging didn’t even succeed, why should she be kicked out?!
Mr. Lou furrowed his brows, glancing at Lou Xinrou’s swollen cheeks, but remained silent.
Mrs. Lou, on the other hand, began to cry, her tears flowing freely as she quickly went to Lou Xinrou’s side. Looking at her daughter with a swollen face, she felt so pained that she took another hot egg and began rolling it on her daughter’s face.
"Dad, Qiao Jing and the others have left now, and not only has Xinrou been hit, but she was also struck by your cane several times, and just now she even kowtowed! Now you want to kick her out of the house, isn’t that going too far?"
She paused, fearful that Lou Pinshu really intended to cast out Lou Xinrou, and continued to plead,
"Xinrou has already apologized and admitted her wrongdoing, just grounding her and not letting her go out should be enough, after all, she is your own granddaughter!"
Lou Pinshu’s expression did not soften at all following this plea, and he stubbornly said,
"No! If I said I will kick her out, then I will kick her out, either send her to the countryside or abroad to cool off for a while before coming back!"
This incident was far too serious, and it couldn’t simply be resolved by grounding her, particularly since he had promised Divine Doctor Jing to deal with her according to the family law.
But when he established the family law, he had never imagined that someone in the family would do such a vicious thing, and so had not set a law for this kind of act.
As for the expulsion from the family, that was an idea he came up with on the spot, and a method he believed would be effectively punitive.
Mr. Lou found the situation growing stranger by the minute, his brows furrowed tightly.
It was only from Xinrou’s words just now that he found out, his father, who was very traditional and somewhat prideful, had actually poured tea for a junior.
This alone was strange enough to him, and another thing was, Xinrou had made mistakes before, but those were resolved with a scolding or confinement; it had never been as serious as today.
And his wife was right, Xinrou had apologized, had not only been hit but had also kowtowed. The next step should be confinement for punishment.
So why was the old man still so angry now? To the point of deciding to kick Xinrou out of the house? What was the reason?
Mrs. Lou was unwilling to accept it, immediately pulling Lou Xinrou into her arms.
"Dad, please don’t be angry, and please don’t kick Xinrou out of the house! She’s still young and doesn’t understand things. If she were to go to the countryside, how could she possibly survive? And abroad, unfamiliar with life there, what if something happened to her?"
As she saw the old man’s face growing darker, her heart became even more frightened, but for Lou Xinrou’s sake, she braved on speaking.
"No matter what, we can’t kick Xinrou out of the house! Otherwise, how about we compensate the Zhan Family with some money? If that’s not enough, we can apologize again and send some gifts."
Lou Xinrou nodded in agreement, then added:
"Grandfather, no matter what, Qiao Jing is still a country person at the end of the day. It’s just that she’s protected by the Zhan Family. Why bother kicking me out of the house for her? Moreover, there are companies collaborating with our family besides the Zhan Family."
Upon hearing Lou Xinrou’s words, Lou Pinshu’s fury intensified. He went straight to the tea table, picked up the purple clay teapot in the center, and without hesitation, smashed it towards Lou Xinrou’s feet.
With a "bang," the purple clay teapot shattered into pieces on the ground.
Shortly after, he scolded coldly.
"Everyone shut up! When I say kick out of the house, it means kick out of the house!"
This made Lou Xinrou and the others all close their mouths, not daring to utter another word.
This was the old man’s cherished purple clay teapot, which others were not even allowed to touch, passed down from three generations, with even a thick layer of tea patina.
The old man had always treasured it, and it was unexpected that in a fit of anger today, he had smashed it to pieces, showing how furious he was.
But it really shouldn’t be, was it necessary to smash the purple clay teapot just over Qiao Jing, especially since she was simply relying on the Zhan Family’s backing?
Lou Pinshu’s gaze fell on Lou Xinrou, and his deep and weathered voice resounded.
"Xinrou, do you know who that country person Qiao Jing you speak of actually is?"
Lou Xinrou shook her head in confusion and replied:
"Who is who? Isn’t Qiao Jing just a wild girl from the countryside? Could she possibly have some hidden identity? I don’t believe it."
Lou Pinshu sighed as he looked at the still unrepentant Lou Xinrou.
"There’s something I originally didn’t want to tell you, but if I don’t let you know, you alone could completely destroy the Lou family! And you will thoroughly offend Qiao Jing! By then, our Lou family might be ruined because of you!"
Mr. Lou and the others felt even more perplexed as they listened, exchanging glances.
Lou Xinrou asked doubtfully:
"Grandfather, what do you mean by this? Are you worried I have offended Qiao Jing and consequently the Zhan Family? But the Zhan Family can’t possibly go that far! At most, they would just cut ties with us."
Lou Pinshu shook his head, his tone gravely serious:
"No, just Qiao Jing alone is someone our Lou Family can’t afford to offend because—because she is Divine Doctor Jing!"