Chapter 7
“Grandpa, have you lost your mind?”
Sheng Nuannuan stared at the old man kneeling on the floor, her face turning white with rage.
“She’s the one who bullied Baby! How can you kneel to her?”
“Silence!”
The old man glared at Sheng Nuannuan, fear and fury filling his eyes.
“Do you have any idea who she is, you suicidal fool?”
He swallowed and looked back at Mom with reverence.
“She is Her Majesty, Queen of the Gudela family. Years ago, the Sheng ancestors were displaced by war and our whole family was on the verge of extinction. Her Majesty took pity on us and signed a master-servant pact with our forefather. That was the only reason the Sheng line survived.”
As he spoke, he bowed his head humbly.
“Her Majesty has lived for centuries and possesses more enterprises than anyone could count.”
“The Sheng family’s holdings today are nothing more than a trifle she casually handed to her servants to manage.”
“What?”
The eldest Sheng brother’s pupils contracted.
As the family’s eldest son, he had known since childhood that the Shengs worshiped a mysterious figure.
Grandpa had warned him countless times that the family’s present status was entirely a gift from that great person.
He had always thought it was merely a legend invented to bind the family together.
But now he looked at the old man trembling on his knees, then at Mom idly swirling the wine in her glass.
His entire worldview collapsed.
“Grandpa, are you saying she is the true owner of the Sheng inheritance?”
Mom looked coldly at the trembling old man and sneered.
“So you still remember I’m your master. Have you seen what your granddaughter did to my daughter?”
“You should be grateful my daughter lives on vegetables. If she were any other member of the Gudela family, your grandsons would already be bloodless corpses.”
The old man shuddered, cold sweat soaking his back.
He looked at the still-whimpering Sheng Nuannuan with fury and kicked her behind the knee.
“You wretch! Kneel and apologize to the young mistress!”
Sheng Nuannuan slipped back into her Baby persona. She stiffened her neck and refused to bow.
“No! Grandpa said Baby is the noblest princess. Baby will never bow to her!”
Smack—
The old man’s slap left her ears ringing and a thin line of blood at the corner of her mouth.
“We’ve spoiled you beyond all reason! Are you trying to get the hundreds of remaining Sheng relatives killed?”
Sheng Nuannuan clutched her burning cheek and still refused to speak.
“Enough. Spare me the melodrama.”
Mom watched the farce with cold eyes.
“A real offense calls for a real punishment.”
She looked down at the old man as though pronouncing judgment.
“First, expel Sheng Nuannuan from the family immediately. From this day forward, she receives not a cent from the Shengs.”
“Second, I know your family has developed plenty of ventures over the years. You will surrender three quarters of the assets in your name as compensation to my daughter.”
“Third…”
Mom pointed at the eight Sheng brothers sitting on the floor.
“They will sign master-servant pacts with my daughter and obey her for all their lives and all the lives to come.”
Once such a pact was signed, a servant’s life, death, honor, and disgrace rested on a single word from their master.
Mom looked at me.
“Ella, what do you think?”
I nodded. Naturally, I had no objection.
The Shengs had killed my pollinating bats. From now on, they could be my servants and grow vegetables beneath the sun.
The old man’s heart sank at the demands.
He had been a servant himself. He knew exactly how painful it was to lose one’s dignity.
But he also knew he had no right to refuse. Drawing a deep breath, he said,
“I agree.”