Chapter 129: Not the only one who knew how to dig

Penny fell into Nina’s tricks in her first life countless times. Even if she tried to fix it or clear the misunderstanding, mending it only worsened things. Thus, if she would be hated, she might as well give them reason too.

The only cons in this was that she would probably have to accept Professor Singh’s offer earlier than her target date.

SLAP!

Penny didn’t use all her strength to strike Nina, but she used enough to make Nina feel pain. To make the latter get a glimpse of how it truly felt like being slapped by someone else.

"Penny!" Allison gasped while Butler Jen panicked. Charles, on the other hand, was about to jump to shield Penny from his mother-in-law’s anger when Penny spoke at the same time Criselda yelled.

"You brat —!"

"Seventh rule of the Bennet Family: don’t pick a fight you cannot win." Despite her round eyes, one could feel the layer of frost sizzled as they coated them. "Otherwise, face consequences and bear responsibility. Nina, you’ve crossed the line for wanting me to fight your fight just because I’ve been lending you my notes. You’re the one who challenged our class president to beat her this semester."

"What?" Nina’s mind went blank. What was Penny saying? Nina didn’t challenge Lily to anything!

But then again, Nina was the one who mentioned the non-existent notes earlier. If she could lie and make up stories, others could too. It was just that since Penny was riding along her lies, Nina couldn’t bluntly deny them.

’You cunning pig!’ Nina ground her teeth secretly. ’How dare she say I challenged the top of our class?!’ — now, Nina had to fight for the top of their class, which was... impossible.

Did Nina think she was the only one who knew how to dig someone else’s grave?

Penny then faced Old Madam Roswald with the same coldness and authority that her father had displayed. She smiled politely and lowered her head.

"Old Madam Roswald, I sincerely apologize that it took me a while to clear this misunderstanding. Now, there’s no more misunderstanding. I did punish Nina for wrong behavior as per the Roswald’s rules, albeit a little late. I’ll do better next time."

Old Madam Roswald opened and closed her mouth, speechless.

For a second, everyone was taken aback, and they could only stare at Penny in shock. Did someone teach her about the old-generation family rules?

A smile turned up on Penny’s face as she slowly straightened her back.

After a moment, a satisfied smile turned up on Hugo’s face. "Penny, let’s go. Now, the adults need to discuss this."

"Dad, Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, we’ll be taking Penny first," Atlas excused politely before casting his fierce little sister a look. He didn’t say anything, but the way he slid his eyes told her to come with them quickly.

Slater darted his eyes between his brothers before his eyes fell on Nina. Observing her, he frowned.

"Nina, why are you acting as if you’ve been beaten to death?" did she know that Penny could do worse? "Next time, say things properly to avoid misunderstanding. If Penny pushed you intently, you wouldn’t just get a cut. Goodness. Look, everyone is fighting because you made a big deal out of a small cut!"

Penny gazed at her brothers in surprise.

One second ago, she was expecting to witness a change of attitude from them. It was like that before. But now, it seemed — no, it felt like they got her back today.

’Didn’t they believe Nina?’ Penny wondered. ’This is weird. This was not how they were supposed to react.’

While Penny was wondering why everyone was acting differently than expected, Hugo already went to her. He grabbed her wrist and faced the elders.

"We’ll excuse ourselves first," Hugo lowered his head and was about to turn around before his eyes landed on Nina. "Anyway, Nina, I hope you are reminded of the Bennet and Roswald Family rules. Don’t worry. No one will blame you if you lose the bet. Good luck."

After saying his piece, Hugo dragged Penny with him. Atlas cast his second brother a look when they walked past him.

"Apologies, Grandma. My second brother has been acting up and has been ill-mannered lately. Even I feel ashamed of him now," said Atlas before he followed his siblings.

Atlas said all those words, but they all sounded sarcastic. He didn’t even show any emotions as he turned his back on them and followed Hugo and Penny.

Slater, however, didn’t follow them but instead jumped to his grandmother’s side. "Grandma, don’t get angry anymore. This is a misunderstanding! A big misunderstanding! No more fighting!" he smiled sweetly as he hugged his grandmother’s arm.

"Nina, come on. Tell grandma it’s just a misunderstanding!" he urged. "And that you’re sorry for causing it."

"What?"

Slater frowned. "Come on! Grandma is already old and I hate to see her angry over a petty misunderstanding."

"Forget it!" Criselda clicked her tongue and waved a hand. "Now I feel like a joke! Hmp!"

"Grandma, you’re not a joke! You just did what you think is right!" Slater cooed. "And if it wasn’t a misunderstanding, it only shows that Grandma will bite anyone who lays a finger on her grandchildren! I feel reassured~!"

Old Mrs. Roswald stared at Slater before she felt her heart soften up. She ruffled her sweet grandchild’s hair, but still glared at the stubborn couple.

When her eyes landed on Haines, her lips curved down.

"Haines, what are you smiling about, hah?! Are you mocking me?!"

"Old Madam Roswald, I just thought Atlas and Penny share some similarities. There’s no way I would laugh at you since I know this was just a terrible misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? What she said..." Allison whispered, only to feel Charles’s hand squeeze her.

Charles cast her a look before he faced the elders. "Butler Jen, take Nina with you. Her hand already stopped bleeding, so there’s no need to call the doctor."

"Yes, Sir Charles." Butler Jen lowered his head. "Miss Nina, please come with me."

Seeing that no one was bringing up how Penny slapped her, Nina reluctantly moved toward Butler Jen. She followed him with the maid. Once they were gone, Charles’s expression turned solemn.

"Mom, Dad, I apologize for what happened. I respect you from the bottom of my heart, but Allison is my wife now. How we raise our children is up to us," he expressed in all seriousness. "One thing I can assure you of is that we might have not raised Penny, but I’m glad we didn’t."

Allison and Haines shifted their attention to Charles. Though Allison was puzzled, Haines understood.

Charles had seen through Nina and was very disappointed in himself. Because the child they raised proved she was capable of orchestrating something like this that could potentially disrupt the family harmony... permanently.

He continued in the same manner. "And one more thing, my daughter isn’t a pushover. If you don’t like her or see her practice the old generation family rules, that’s fine. I’ll give her all the love I can give because Penny is the daughter Allison and I prayed for. Please respect our household because next time, I will be ruthless to anyone who tries to hurt my family physically, verbally, and emotionally... that warning includes the rest of the Bennet Family and the Roswald Family."