Ling Nuan had moved as fast as she could.
She had only done a quick wash-up and hadn't done anything else. She indeed hadn't managed to arrive within fifteen minutes, but she was late by no more than a minute.
However, Mrs. Huo seized on this point.
"Don't you even have the most basic sense of time?" Mrs. Huo rolled her eyes disdainfully. "As expected of someone from a small family. You have no manners at all. I wonder how your parents raised you."
Huo Xiao covered her mouth and laughed beside her. "Mom, don't expect someone from a family like hers to have any manners. It's a miracle she can even stay alive with enough to eat."
"Moreover, she's so unlucky. Her father died early, and her mother is gone too. Tsk, tsk, tsk. She's like an orphan. It's normal for her to have no manners. Mom, you should just bear with her." As soon as Huo Xiao said this, she felt extremely satisfied.
After suffering so much at Ling Nuan's hands, it was finally her turn to get the better of Ling Nuan.
Ling Nuan was a very emotionally stable person, but her mother was her sore spot.
Especially when she saw this murderer, Huo Xiao, mentioning her mother so casually, Ling Nuan felt a fire burning inside her.
Without hesitation, she stepped forward. While Huo Xiao was still smiling, she grabbed Huo Xiao up from the sofa. Before Huo Xiao could even react, Ling Nuan slapped her hard on both sides of the face.
The two loud slaps echoed in the living room, startling everyone.
Mrs. Huo was stunned for a moment. When she came to her senses, she quickly got up, pushed Ling Nuan away, and pulled Huo Xiao to her side. Looking at Huo Xiao's slightly red face, she felt heartbroken.
"Xiaoxiao, does it hurt?" After saying that, she glared at Ling Nuan fiercely. "Ling Nuan, what do you think you're doing? This is the Huo family. It's not a place where you can act recklessly!"
Huo Xiao covered her face, her eyes red, looking at Ling Nuan in disbelief.
This was supposed to be her territory. Ling Nuan was supposed to be at a disadvantage. How dare she hit her? And in front of so many people!
To torture Ling Nuan, Huo Xiao had deliberately called many servants from the old mansion. But before she could do anything to Ling Nuan, she had been slapped in front of everyone.
This was unacceptable to Huo Xiao.
"Ling Nuan, I'm going to kill you!" Huo Xiao said viciously.
Ling Nuan sneered and said, "As an elder, when you encounter a disobedient and impolite junior, it's only natural to teach them a lesson. What's so surprising about that?" Then, Ling Nuan looked at Mrs. Huo. "I don't understand the family relationships in a wealthy family, but I know that excessive motherly love often spoils the child. If the second sister-in-law can't bring herself to do it, it's okay. I can do it on her behalf."
"Huo Xiao, watch your mouth in the future. No one will always indulge you." Ling Nuan said.
"Am I wrong? Aren't you just..."
Before Huo Xiao could finish, Ling Nuan interrupted coldly, "Do you want to repeat what you just said in front of Grandpa?"
Huo Xiao instantly fell silent.
"This is the old mansion. If we wake Grandpa up, no one here will have a good time." Ling Nuan wasn't going to be soft all the time.
Mrs. Huo and Huo Xiao looked ugly but didn't say anything else.
Everyone knew it well.
What could Mrs. Huo do to Ling Nuan? She was just acting on Grandpa Huo's orders, pretending to be powerful. But if they went too far and it got to Grandpa's ears, they wouldn't get any benefits either.
However, Mrs. Huo soon smiled.
She gently patted Huo Xiao's shoulder to comfort her, then looked at Ling Nuan.
Compared to her cold attitude before, there was now a smile on Mrs. Huo's face. "Ling Nuan, you're right. Xiaoxiao was wrong just now. As an elder, it's your duty to teach her a lesson. Although your method was a bit extreme, we appreciate your good intentions."
"Mom!" Hearing what Mrs. Huo said, Huo Xiao stamped her foot angrily.
While patting Huo Xiao's shoulder to comfort her, Mrs. Huo continued to say to Ling Nuan, "Let's just forget about this. The most important thing is what Dad told us to do."
Mrs. Huo got back to the point. "Xiaoxiao may have said something unpleasant, but there's one thing. Ling Nuan, you really should pay attention to your sense of time. You know, for a family like ours, time is very important. I hope you can remember this and don't make the same mistake again."
Ling Nuan didn't want to fall out with Mrs. Huo at this moment.
If things really got out of hand, Huo Linsheng and Grandpa Huo would be even angrier, and she would have even less chance of getting back to the company.
At this moment, Mrs. Huo was using what Grandpa had told them as a pretext and pretending to teach her a lesson. Ling Nuan really had nothing to say.
"Although it's your first offense, to make sure you remember, I still have to give you a small punishment. Ling Nuan, you don't have any objections, do you?" Mrs. Huo said with a smile.
This kind of smile that hides a knife and the soft way of dealing with things were much more effective than Huo Xiao's.
At least Ling Nuan couldn't say no at this moment.
"What do you want me to do, second sister-in-law?" Ling Nuan asked.
Mrs. Huo smiled and said, "Can you cook?"
Ling Nuan frowned. She didn't know what tricks Mrs. Huo was up to, so she didn't answer.
Mrs. Huo didn't need her answer and continued, "Well, you go to the kitchen and make a breakfast for Dad. It can also be a way for you to show your filial piety on Linsheng's behalf at home."
Ling Nuan became even more suspicious.
The other party wanted to punish her, but in the end, they asked her to go to the kitchen and make a breakfast for Grandpa Huo?
Ling Nuan could cook. Making a breakfast wasn't difficult for her, but there must be something fishy going on. She always felt that there was a problem behind this, but unfortunately, Ling Nuan couldn't refuse at this moment.
Especially when Mrs. Huo said with a smile, "You should also be hoping for a chance to show your filial piety to Dad, right?"
She even considered it from Ling Nuan's perspective. "You came back so suddenly this time. You must have made Dad angry, right? Dad is easy to coax. Maybe after you make this breakfast, he'll soften his heart and forgive you."
Ling Nuan was stuck in a difficult situation.
If she refused, and Mrs. Huo told Grandpa about it, what would that be like?
But if she agreed, there might still be something wrong.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Ling Nuan chose to face it head-on.
"Sure." Ling Nuan agreed.
So, the group moved to the kitchen.
Huo Xiao originally wanted to watch the fun, but was pushed out of the kitchen by Mrs. Huo. Only Mrs. Huo, Ling Nuan, and a cook who was in charge of making breakfast were left in the kitchen.
Mrs. Huo was extremely considerate. "Dad likes Chef Lin's cooking the most. With him here to help, there definitely won't be any mistakes."
In the following time, Ling Nuan made the breakfast. Chef Lin just occasionally reminded her about the heat. When it was almost done, the kitchen helper came back with the groceries.
Seeing that Ling Nuan was doing a good job, Chef Lin said with a smile, "Second Madam, Miss Ling, I'll go outside and help first."
Mrs. Huo smiled gently at Chef Lin. "Go ahead and do your work."
Not long after Chef Lin left, Ling Nuan served the cooked breakfast. Just as she finished, Mrs. Huo suddenly stepped forward and knocked the bowl to the ground.
With a loud "bang", it immediately caught the attention of those outside the kitchen.
Ling Nuan frowned and looked at Mrs. Huo.
Mrs. Huo immediately had red eyes and looked at Ling Nuan disappointedly. "Ling Nuan, I really wanted to help you out of good intentions. I just advised you to make a breakfast for Dad. How could you think that I look down on you and treat you like a servant? How could you think of me like this? Making a breakfast for Dad is not something embarrassing, is it?"