"Stop! All of you, stop—"
An old woman, flanked by a group of women, hurried over from the rear of the residence.
Others might have been intimidated by the old woman's authority.
But for Luo Tie and his companions, it was useless.
If his young master didn't dislike making things difficult for women, Luo Tie would have silenced the old woman himself.
Stop what, exactly?
The women surrounding the old woman cried out in alarm and rushed towards Hao Wei and his two brothers, seeing their miserable state.
Hao Wei's two brothers lay on the ground, battered by Luo Tie. Even with two or three women trying to drag them, they couldn't be moved.
Hao Wei himself was in better condition, as Yin Boxuan and his group had only inflicted external injuries with their fists.
The women wailed and cursed, but the old woman remained relatively composed.
"What do you think you are doing! Attacking and causing chaos in broad daylight, is there no law?"
Old Madam Hao, unconcerned with her grandsons, spotted Xie Jiang under the shade of a tree and strode menacingly towards her.
Luo Tie followed the old woman like a ghost, ready to make her intimately acquainted with the ground if she dared to make a move against his young master.
Luo Tie only saw enemies, with no distinction of gender, age, or seniority.
Old Madam Hao glared sharply at Xie Jiang, "You are the Marquis of Nanhai, Xie Jiang? Do you know where you are!"
Xie Jiang remained seated, showing no intention of rising. She smiled casually, "Isn't this the Hao family, known for producing pus-filled boils? I shouldn't have come to the wrong place, should I?"
Old Madam Hao said sternly, "Since you know this is the Hao residence, you should know the crime of trespassing into an official residence to commit violence and plunder!"
Although Xu Hengyi felt Xie Jiang's actions were a bit harsh, he was the first to step forward and defend her upon hearing the Hao family's old madam speak. "It was your Hao Wei who first trespassed into the Xie residence and threatened Xie Jiang! When Hao Wei attempted to murder someone at the Xie residence, why didn't Old Madam Hao ask Hao Wei what crime it was to trespass into a marquis's mansion and attempt assassination?"
Ruan Ziji scoffed, "How Hao Wei trespassed into the Xie residence is precisely how Xie Jiang will deal with your Hao family. Old Madam, don't think you can be unreasonable just because you are old!"
Old Madam Hao stared fixedly at Ruan Ziji and Xu Hengyi, saying fiercely, "Do the Marquis of An Yuan and the Duke of Wei know that Young Marquis Ruan and Young Master Xu San are following Xie Jiang and these bandits to commit violence at my residence today!"
"I didn't do anything. I just saw that your family's place was lively, so I came to take a look. Standing by and watching is not illegal, right? When Hao Wei went to the Xie residence to cause trouble, I was watching too, and Xie Jiang didn't accuse me of being in league with Hao Wei."
Xu Hengyi believed he was absolutely blameless in this matter. He hadn't done anything, and with formidable figures like Da Chui and Luo Tie present, there was no need for him to act.
"Old Madam, if you personally witnessed me doing anything, you can freely report me to my parents, or you can sue me at the Shuntian Prefecture or Dali Temple. I won't stop you even if you appeal to His Majesty."
Ruan Ziji's eyes held a natural ferocity, "But if you slander me with baseless accusations, you should tell your grandsons to be careful on their way home from school."
Han Zhao was about to say something about kicking Hao Wei a few times, but Old Madam Hao had already shifted her gaze back to Xie Jiang, not dwelling on Xu Hengyi and Ruan Ziji.
From the looks of Xu Hengyi and Ruan Ziji, they didn't seem to have been involved in the fight.
The group who had subdued their guards in the front courtyard were definitely not raised in aristocratic families.
Old Madam Hao suspected that Xie Jiang had deliberately involved Xu Hengyi and Ruan Ziji, intending to drag the Duke of Wei's mansion and the Marquis of An Yuan's mansion into the affair.
Old Madam Hao believed that although Xie Jiang was bold and reckless, she was not without reservations in opposing the Hao family.
"It was wrong of Young Wei to cause trouble at the Xie residence a few days ago, but as far as I know, he did not harm the Marquis of Nanhai in any way. On the contrary, Young Wei suffered injuries and pain, and the injury to his foot was personally inflicted by the Marquis of Nanhai. Does the Marquis of Nanhai believe this punishment is still insufficient!"
"We can understand the Marquis of Nanhai's anger, but since the Marquis of Nanhai has injured Young Wei to this extent, almost causing his foot to be permanently disabled, have we Hao family ever been aggressive!"
Xie Jiang leaned back leisurely against the chair, exuding an air of looking down on the world. "Hao Wei getting beaten is his own doing. He came to me himself asking to be beaten. Would heaven tolerate it if I didn't beat him?"
"As for Hao Wei not harming me at all, it's common knowledge that Hao Wei is a useless coward. Are you still proud of that?"
"Old Madam, since you know your unfilial grandson did wrong, don't you understand that mistakes must be paid for?"
Old Madam Hao said, "Isn't Hao Wei being injured to that extent paying the price!"
Xie Jiang couldn't help but laugh at this. "Hao Wei trespassed into the Xie residence to kill me. Getting beaten is his own fault. What kind of price is that? Old Madam, your standards for your grandsons are truly low. But I am not your family's ancestor, why should I indulge you?"
"Originally, I sent Hao Wei to the Shuntian Prefecture yamen, intending to give him a chance to repent and start anew, but what did your Hao family do?"
"When your unfilial grandson makes a mistake, shouldn't the parents come forward to apologize?"
"If Hao Wei had offended Xu Hengyi and Ruan Ziji instead of me, I imagine your Hao family would have grovelingly begged for forgiveness by now, wouldn't you?"
"You ignore me because you think I am weak and can be bullied at will. Then today, when I come to your doorstep, what face do you have to be indignant?"
Yin Boxuan spat on the ground fiercely upon hearing Xie Jiang's words, as if to cheer her on.
Ruan Ziji crossed his arms and said sarcastically, "Don't you like to be a shrinking turtle? Then stay in your shell and be content. Why are you poking your head out now?"
Han Zhao's logic was simple and direct, "Hao Wei brought people to trespass into the Xie residence, so Xie Jiang brought people to trespass into the Hao residence. It's a fair exchange!"
Old Madam Hao was so enraged that her vision went black. "Even if the Marquis of Nanhai comes to my Hao family for revenge, you have already beaten and caused a commotion. Hao Wei did not bring people to plunder the Xie residence!"
"The Xie family was also a prominent aristocratic family in the Central Plains. After the Xie family has been adrift overseas for so many years, are their descendants acting like this any different from bandits and bullies? Can the Marquis of Jinghai rest in peace in heaven!"
"Old Madam, you should worry less about other people's family matters. Why not ask if the Hao family's ancestors for eighteen generations can rest in peace?"
Old Madam Hao cursed the Xie family, cursed the Marquis of Jinghai who had been dead for many years, and cursed the ancestors of the Xie family for eighteen generations.
Xie Jiang remained unmoved.
She wasn't truly a member of the Xie family, and the Marquis of Jinghai wasn't her ancestor.
Let her curse all she wanted.
Luo Tie and Xie Jiang's subordinates were also unmoved.
Although their young master was also surnamed Xie, he had no connection to the Marquis of Jinghai's Xie family; they just happened to share the same surname.
The heir of the Marquis of Jinghai was the eldest young master Xie Tangqing, who was nominally their young master's elder brother. In reality, the entire Xie clan served their young master.
Eldest Young Master Xie was fortunate to share the same surname as their young master.
"Old Madam, you speak as if Xie Jiang brought people to plunder your residence. The people from the Marquis of Nanhai's mansion are all here. Count them, not a single one is missing." Xu Hengyi pointed at Da Chui and the others in the courtyard.
The Marquis of Jinghai had been dead for so many years, and they still wanted to drag him out and curse him!
This was too much!
Xie Jiang actually restrained herself from kicking her, likely because the noble tradition of respecting elders and cherishing the young was ingrained in her, making her show restraint even towards someone as unreasonable as an elder.