Jiang Lang strode quickly ahead.
Lin Qingrou rushed out, grabbed Jiang Lang's hand, and said anxiously, "Jiang Lang, please don't be impulsive. The head of the kitchens is one of Ding Yan's men. If you provoke him, you'll definitely be in trouble. It's not worth it for me."
Jiang Lang raised an eyebrow. "Your cousin Ding Yan?"
Lin Qingrou nodded. "Yes, he's very powerful."
Jiang Lang said, "His strength is not bad."
Lin Qingrou sighed softly. "So let's not provoke him. I just want you to be safe and sound. As long as you're safe, I can endure this grievance..."
Jiang Lang suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Caught off guard, Lin Qingrou almost bumped straight into his chest.
Jiang Lang looked at her intently and suddenly asked, "Do you know why you've always been bullied?"
Lin Qingrou was momentarily stunned. "It's because of my looks..."
Jiang Lang cut her off directly. "No, it's because of your weakness!"
"You think that's being kind?"
"You are dead wrong. Excessive kindness is weakness!"
"The good-natured are bullied, and gentle horses are ridden. If you aren't kind to yourself, why should others be kind to you?!"
"Being kind to yourself means protecting your own dignity first!"
Lin Qingrou's delicate body trembled slightly. Clearly, these words dealt a significant blow to her.
After a long while, she spoke up. "But I don't even have any cultivation..."
Jiang Lang's gaze remained fixed on her. "No, this has not a single damn thing to do with cultivation; it's about attitude."
"Even without cultivation, when someone bullies you, you should fight back instead of enduring it in silence. If you endure it once, there will be a second time, a third time, infinitely. They will realize that you are a coward, a spineless wretch who is easy to bully!"
Lin Qingrou clenched her fists.
Jiang Lang's expression softened. "I know, previously you were all alone and you were afraid. But it's different now—now you have me. You don't have to be afraid anymore, nor do you have to be cowardly."
"Even if I have no cultivation, even if I get beaten bloody, we must stand our ground and let everyone see that the two of us, husband and wife, are not mere ants to be manipulated at will!"
Lin Qingrou raised her head. Tears welled up in her eyes, but her gaze became exceptionally resolute, as if a raging fire was burning fiercely within.
Knowing her mindset had shifted, Jiang Lang offered a reassuring smile and gently wiped away her tears. "Remember, don't shed tears so easily in the future. It breaks my heart."
Lin Qingrou's cheeks flushed slightly as she nodded. "I understand."
Jiang Lang said, "Let's go."
He took Lin Qingrou's small hand and walked toward the kitchen.
The Lin Family was a large clan with numerous kitchen helpers, which was why a dedicated head steward position existed for the kitchens.
Without another word, Jiang Lang strode up and kicked open the kitchen doors.
Bang! Boom!
The loud crash startled the kitchen staff.
Jiang Lang stepped inside with a gloomy expression. "Where is Sun Jiye?"
Everyone's eyes turned instantly toward a heavy-set man holding a bone cleaver and hacking up a fat ox.
Crack!
The exceptionally hard ox skull was effortlessly cleaved in two by him.
Sun Jiye sneered sarcastically, "Oh, if it isn't the Lin Family's useless son-in-law? What brings you here today? Looking for scraps? I've already prepared it for you, right over there."
He casually gestured toward a broken basin placed next to a large yellow dog in the corner.
Jiang Lang glanced at it indifferently. "I don't recall offending you before. So who instigated you to target me?"
He wasn't an idiot. A kitchen steward who hadn't made things difficult for Lin Qingrou before, yet started tormenting her the moment he and she got married—he simply didn't believe no one was behind it.
Sun Jiye smirked. "I just plain despise useless trash."
Jiang Lang nodded. "Very well."
Before the last word had even faded, Jiang Lang appeared in front of Sun Jiye like a ghost.
Sun Jiye's expression shifted drastically!
He hadn't even seen how Jiang Lang moved!
Instinctively, he raised the bone cleaver in his hand and slashed fiercely at Jiang Lang!
Yet at that exact moment, a sharp pain erupted in his abdomen, instantly twisting his facial features.
A matchless, overwhelming force struck him hard enough to lift him off the ground, but his wrist was firmly caught by Jiang Lang, who yanked him right back down with brute force, sending a tearing pain through his right shoulder.
All around them, everyone was terrified out of their wits by the sudden turn of events and quickly retreated far away.
Crack!
Jiang Lang withdrew his hand and delivered a vicious slap across Sun Jiye's face, his expression extremely ferocious. "You dare touch my woman? Fuck your mother!"
Sun Jiye's already pig-like face instantly swelled several times over, spraying a mouthful of blood and knocking out all his teeth.
Next, Jiang Lang grabbed Sun Jiye's hand and slammed it down onto the chopping board, looking at Lin Qingrou. "Wife, which hand hit you?"
Lin Qingrou trembled as she said, "It... it's this one. Jiang... Jiang Lang, what are you trying to do?"
Jiang Lang's expression remained cold. "Chop it off."
Hearing those words, Sun Jiye turned pale with fright. "You... Jiang Lang, how dare you touch me? My big brother is Ding Yan, and when he comes back, he will never spare..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Lang picked up the bone cleaver and brought it down without a moment's hesitation!
"Ah!"
Sun Jiye's entire hand was severed at the wrist. Blood immediately spurted from his arm like a fountain, and he let out a heart-wrenching, agonizing scream.
With a cold expression, Jiang Lang picked up the severed hand and tossed it accurately into a boiling cauldron.
"My hand! My hand!" Sun Jiye's face was plastered with utter despair.
Reattaching a severed limb wasn't actually all that difficult, but once it was boiled, not even a celestial deity could help him.
At that moment, the entire place fell dead silent, standing frozen in place as if turned to stone.
Too ruthless!
Jiang Lang was simply too ruthless!
Lin Qingrou covered her small mouth in shock, completely speechless and somewhat terrified.
To be honest, she hadn't interacted with Jiang Lang very deeply before and had no idea what kind of person he truly was.
Now it was clear that Jiang Lang was absolute trouble, someone truly frightening.
Yet, his terrifying side was reserved exclusively for his enemies, while all his gentleness was given to her without reservation.
Clearly, Jiang Lang's promise to marry her came straight from his heart, not out of pity or anything else.
At that thought, an inexplicable warmth welled up in Lin Qingrou's heart.
At the same time, however, she felt a deep sense of inferiority.
How could her looks ever be worthy of Jiang Lang's tender affection?
While she was lost in thought, Jiang Lang had already walked over, gently taking her hand and leading her away from the kitchen.
Behind them came Sun Jiye's furiously crazed howl, "Jiang Lang! Three days from now, my big brother Ding Yan will be back! I swear, I'll make him hack you into ten thousand pieces!"