"Tiān Tiān!" Ye Qingmei's face turned pale upon seeing Zhao Lu pinching Tiān Tiān's cheeks, and she lunged forward in a frenzy, trying to snatch her daughter back.
"Let go of my daughter, let go of my daughter!"
"Heh heh!" Zhao Lu, holding Tiān Tiān, retreated further away from Ye Qingmei, looking at her with mockery in her eyes and saying disdainfully,
"Either kneel before me, or watch your daughter suffer!"
"I'll kneel! I'll kneel!!" Ye Qingmei cried, immediately kneeling down and looking at Zhao Lu with utter humility, begging tearfully.
"Please, spare my daughter, she knows nothing, she's so young."
"Heh heh, you slut, you have no right to speak here, you're not worthy. From now on, you will obey me, or else." A vicious glint flashed in Zhao Lu's eyes. She gently stroked Tiān Tiān's face and continued,
"Or else, you'll watch your daughter get disfigured."
Ye Qingmei's face drained of all color. Tears streamed down her face as she lowered her head and pleaded repeatedly.
"I'll obey, I'll obey. As long as you don't harm my daughter, I'll do anything."
"Mom. Woo woo. Mom. I want mom!" Tiān Tiān cried out.
"Stop crying! You little bastard, you're so annoying!" Zhao Lu cursed at Tiān Tiān and then casually tossed her to a maid, telling her to take Tiān Tiān outside.
Ye Qingmei was about to speak when Zhao Lu interrupted her.
"Don't worry, as long as you behave, your daughter will be fine!"
Ye Qingmei gritted her teeth and could only kneel obediently.
"Qingmei, I'm sorry. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have stopped you from seeing Xiaotian before we came," Fang Yuan said guiltily. If she had told Li Xiaotian upon receiving the call, perhaps he would have stopped them.
Ye Qingmei remained silent, her mind entirely consumed with worry for her daughter Tiān Tiān, hoping the Zhao family wouldn't do anything excessive to a small child.
"Hmph! Tiancheng, carry out the family punishment!" Old Master Zhao snorted coldly and commanded after seeing Fang Yuan and Ye Qingmei both kneeling.
"Yes, Father!" Zhao Tiancheng waved his hand. Two servants, holding long whips, stepped behind Fang Yuan and Ye Qingmei.
"Crack! Crack!" The long whips struck Ye Qingmei and Fang Yuan fiercely, and they both let out screams of pain.
It was summer, and they were both wearing only one layer of clothing. The whips hitting their bodies were incredibly painful.
"Whip them harder!!" Old Master Zhao shouted.
The servants carrying out the family punishment redoubled their efforts. Within two or three lashes, bloodstains appeared on the backs of Ye Qingmei and Fang Yuan.
After a few minutes, both Fang Yuan and Ye Qingmei looked deathly pale and were extremely weak.
"Hmph! Now do you know how strict our Zhao family's rules are?" Old Master Zhao said with a cold laugh, then looked at Ye Qingmei and continued,
"Ye Qingmei, from this day forward, you are no longer a member of my Zhao family, and my Zhao family will never have a disobedient daughter like you! It's not up to you to leave my Zhao family; only when my Zhao family disowns you can you leave!"
"Hmph, just a country sparrow, you don't know the immensity of heaven and earth. You probably have no idea what you've lost," Zhao Lu said mockingly.
"Disobedient daughter, I, Zhao Tianlong, will pretend I never had a daughter like you!" Zhao Tianlong cursed, his heart filled with glee at the sight of Ye Qingmei's bloody wounds.
"Grandfather, Father, have him call that bastard Li Xiaotian and tell him to come here and die!!" Zhao Wuneng shouted from among the crowd, his face flushed red and his eyes filled with hatred.
He already knew that the Li family had joined forces with various other families to deal with Li Xiaotian, and that the God of War, Long Batian, would also be taking action. Thus, he eagerly anticipated Li Xiaotian kneeling before him and confessing his crimes.
"Have this disobedient daughter call Li Xiaotian!" Old Master Zhao commanded.
He had informed the Li family of Ye Qingmei's entry into the Zhao family the moment she joined. Presumably, the Li family's reinforcements and the God of War, Long Batian, should be on their way by now.
"Bitch, unlock my phone!" Zhao Lu snatched Ye Qingmei's phone, pulled Ye Qingmei's hand to unlock it, found Li Xiaotian's number, and dialed it directly.
Li Xiaotian was still reminiscing with Tian Fu, recounting his experiences over the years, which deeply troubled Tian Fu.
He simply couldn't imagine that Li Xiaotian, who was just a ten-year-old child at the time, had survived alone in the war-torn zone and, in just ten years, had established his own Dragon King Hall and ascended to the top of the world.
His phone rang. Seeing that it was Ye Qingmei, Li Xiaotian answered.
"Hello, wife, what's wrong? Still calling even though you're at the hotel?" Li Xiaotian asked with a smile.
"Heh heh, Li Xiaotian, you don't even know your wife ran away? You hide pretty deep! You made us search all night."
Zhao Lu sneered, her tone filled with mockery and provocation.
Li Xiaotian's expression immediately turned grim, and a chilling killing intent emanated from him. Ye Qingmei was in trouble!
"Who are you? Where are you? I hope you haven't done anything foolish!" Li Xiaotian said coldly.
"Tsk! You still don't know you're as good as dead?" Zhao Lu taunted.
"Xiaotian, Xiaotian! Xiaotian, don't come, run out of the capital quickly, they want to take revenge on you!! *Slap!* Bitch, who told you to speak? Hit her!"
Ye Qingmei's shouts suddenly erupted from the phone, followed by the sound of slaps and Zhao Lu's sharp, angry scolding.
*Boom!* A terrifying killing intent exploded from Li Xiaotian. He forcibly suppressed the rage in his heart and gritted his teeth, saying,
"What do you want? My life? Tell me where you are, and I'll come over right now!"
"Heh heh, you're quite sensible," Zhao Lu said with a cold laugh.
"The Zhao family! You've been here before. I advise you not to escape, or your wife and daughter might not have a good ending!"
"Alright! I'll be there immediately!" Li Xiaotian said in a deep voice, then hung up the phone.
"Long Yi!!" Li Xiaotian shouted, his eyes turning crimson. Long Yi instantly appeared in the room and, seeing Li Xiaotian's furious state, his heart skipped a beat.
"Big Brother, what's wrong?" Long Yi asked nervously.
Li Xiaotian gave Long Yi a cold glance, making Long Yi's scalp tingle.
"Qingmei left the hotel and was kidnapped. When did she leave?"
"What?" Long Yi's mind went blank. Ye Qingmei was kidnapped? The matriarch of the Dragon King Hall was kidnapped? On his turf!!
"Big Brother!" Long Yi was about to speak but was interrupted by Li Xiaotian's angry reprimand.
"Enough! Prepare the car, we're going to the Zhao family!" Li Xiaotian said, his eyes red.
Just as Li Xiaotian was preparing to leave, Tian Fu called out to him, saying quickly,
"Xiaotian, how do you plan to deal with the Zhao family?"
"The Zhao family? After tonight, there will be no Zhao family in the capital!" Li Xiaotian sneered.