Little Pink Starfish

Granny Wang Shows Her Might

Madam Liu cast a glance at Jiang Yueniang, then let out a tearful laugh. “So now the Jiang family is run by just you siblings? My lord, husband, open your eyes and look at this!”

Her outcry opened the floodgates—these women, grieving for their children, now let loose all the fear, resentment, pain, and anger they’d been suppressing, all directed squarely at Jiang Yueniang and Jiang Zhuojun.

Amid the angry shouts and curses, Jiang Zhuojun remained expressionless—until one woman hurled an insult at Jiang Yueniang, calling her a discarded woman. That was when his expression finally changed. Jiang Yueniang, limping on one leg and leaning on a thick tree branch, walked to her brother’s side and shook her head. Speaking up now would only add fuel to the fire.

Having transmigrated into this world, Yu Xiaoxiao had never really experienced palace intrigue or inner-household drama firsthand. Seeing these women shouting and raging like mad at Jiang Zhuojun and his sister left her stunned. She turned to Gu Xinglang and asked, “How did things turn out like this?”

Gu Xinglang frowned slightly. He didn’t like what he was seeing either—but this was the Jiang family’s internal matter, and he couldn’t just butt in to defend Jiang Zhuojun.

The chief and his men wanted to speak up for justice, but Granny Wang’s glare made them all shut up.

“Even if Wenhai and the others die, your son will never be a real Jiang!” Madam Liu now turned her fury on little Bao.

“Hey, now you’re really crossing the line,” Yu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but speak up.

Madam Liu, overcome by despair and somewhat unhinged, heard Yu Xiaoxiao defending Jiang Yueniang and immediately snapped, “This is a Jiang family matter! Princess, you’re an outsider—it’s best you stay out of it.”

“I’m not—”

“Heh.” Yu Xiaoxiao had just gotten two words out when Granny Wang let out a cold laugh.

Gu Xinglang quickly tugged Yu Xiaoxiao’s hand—urging her to stop. Even the two of them together couldn’t outmatch Granny Wang in a verbal brawl.

Granny Wang gave the old Daoist in front of her a shove aside and marched to the fire. Standing tall, she looked down at Madam Liu, who was half-kneeling on the ground, and said, “If not for my princess, what Jiang clan would be left of you lot? You’re all slave convicts. If your master wants to give you a surname, fine. If not, calling you dogs or cats is already being generous. And here you are, acting like some noble lady from an aristocratic house?”

“You—” Madam Liu tried to respond.

Granny Wang didn’t give her a chance. “You keep saying General Jiang owes his second brother and the ancestors. But without him, would you even be alive today? When your husband strutted around as a legitimate young master, did you care about the grievances of his illegitimate little brother? You lived in luxury—now it’s time to suffer some hardship. Heaven has always been fair.”

Her words, while satisfying to Jiang Zhuojun, made him uneasy. He couldn’t let Granny Wang scold his sister-in-law like a naughty child. “Granny…” he called.

“General Jiang,” Granny Wang glanced at him, “These women still don’t see the truth. They’ll be trouble down the road. I may be an outsider, but since my princess saved you all, I won’t let her and the prince consort’s kindness be wasted.”

A woman beside Madam Liu sneered, “You’re just a slave.”

“Aren’t you slaves too?” Granny Wang sneered back, her gaze icy. “Just because you’re out of the slave market, you think you’re something else? I’ve got a clean background—unlike you, who’s a criminal slave.”

The woman’s face turned crimson.

“And all those things you said just now,” Granny Wang looked around at the women, face full of scorn, “I heard every single word. I heard how, back in the slave market of Taichang, while the Jiang siblings were being humiliated up front, you just knelt behind them without saying a word. Where was all this courage then? And now you’re yelling and blaming them? Did you ever think about how many blows they took for you? The men who died—if they could open their eyes and see what you’ve become, what would they think of your hearts?”

“Isn’t that enough?” the chief whispered to Yu Xiaoxiao, “Granny Wang’s gonna scold them to death.”

“I just realized,” Yu Xiaoxiao sighed, “Granny Wang’s always been really nice to me.”

The chief nodded earnestly. Compared to this, Granny Wang had been downright gentle before.

Yu Xiaoxiao said to Gu Xinglang, “Granny Wang is a good person.”

Gu Xinglang held his forehead.

“This nanny,” Granduncle Third finally couldn’t take it anymore, “They understand what you’re saying.”

“Understand?” Granny Wang scoffed. “Elder, I heard everything they said. I can’t help but feel it’s all such a shame—for Miss Jiang and General Jiang.”

Everyone…
Let’s be honest—if Madam Liu hadn’t been rude to the princess, would Granny Wang have stepped up like this?

Yu Xiaoxiao said, “Granny, that’s enough. Have a rest.”

Granny Wang asked, “Princess, did you know General Jiang before this?”

“No.”

“And the prince consort?” she turned to Gu Xinglang.

“We crossed paths on the battlefield,” Gu Xinglang replied.

“Family or relatives?”

“Neither,” he said. Enemy soldiers didn’t count as family, did they?

Granny Wang looked at the Jiang women and said, “Did you hear that? My princess and the prince consort have no ties to General Jiang—at most, my prince consort once fought him. Saving him was an act of kindness. As for saving you? That was just incidental. What do you mean by saying that they should have saved you? That it was their duty? Since when? If those four nephews can’t be saved, does General Jiang have to die to apologize?”

The women couldn’t lift their heads anymore under her scolding.

Granny Wang let out a cold laugh. “You love your children as if they’re your whole world—but the Jiang siblings weren’t born of parents too? Don’t talk to me about your old noble status. Even in the smallest clans, I’ve never seen a bunch of sisters-in-law gang up to scream at their younger sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Today’s been an eye-opener.”

These women had all married into the Jiang family’s legitimate sons, all from respectable backgrounds and once pampered in large households. They knew better. Their lashing out had been a moment of emotional collapse. Now, under Granny Wang’s fierce tongue and sharp sarcasm, they began to quietly sob, covering their faces.

Granny Wang felt that was enough and turned to Gu Xinglang. “Prince consort, it’s your turn to speak.”

“Huh?” Gu Xinglang hadn’t quite recovered.

Granny Wang fixed her eyes on him.

“Say what?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked.

Honestly, Granny Wang had lost a bit of respect for these two. Saving lives and still being insulted? Only these two fools could let that happen. “Prince consort?” Her thick eyebrows arched sharply. If she couldn’t count on her princess, fine—she was a woman. But if Gu Xinglang couldn’t step up either, how could this household survive?