Chapter 4: Forbidden Land

"You, get lost!" The girl in pink, who had been clamoring just a moment ago, looked at Xiao Min, who was staring at her older brother with a lovestruck expression, and scolded her with a look of utter disgust.

How noble was her brother? How could he be subjected to the lecherous gaze of such a lowly creature?

"Someone come here! Where have you all died off to?" Xiao Ruoxue roared indignantly, feeling a surge of anger as she looked at the eyesore of an ugly woman before her.

"Xue'er!" The handsome man affectionately ruffled the girl's waist-length hair. His soft, gentle voice was neither warm nor cold, yet it was very soothing to the ears. There wasn't the slightest change in his already handsome face.

Just then, two guards ran to the doorway. "Young Master, Miss!" They stood respectfully to the side, waiting for orders.

"Drag this woman out and gouge out her eyes!" His voice was extremely pleasant to hear, yet it made one's heart turn cold!

Xiao Min glanced at the courtyard entrance, which was now blocked by the handsome man. If she were to try and force her way out, it would likely be difficult.

She pondered for a moment, deciding that her only hope lay with this handsome man who seemed relatively normal.

She began to fantasize about those tropes in transmigration novels where the heroine always encounters a "hero saving the beauty." Xiao Min cast another expectant glance at the handsome man, then lowered her head in a somewhat suspicious manner.

If that action had been performed by Xiao Ruoxue, it would have naturally possessed a certain charm, but coming from Xiao Min, it made the guards standing nearby take three steps back.

What everyone else saw was a hideously ugly woman, with a fist-sized scar on her right cheek, making suggestive eyes at their young master in a coy, "playing hard to get" manner...

Seeing a woman like this, the onlookers almost vomited up the dinner they had eaten the night before!

Xiao Min, still harboring a glimmer of hope, looked expectantly at the handsome man who had suddenly appeared before her, hoping he would save her from this predicament.

Her little heart was already thumping like a frightened deer.

Although the two guards' expressions flickered, they showed no signs of panic. A moment later, they returned to normal and began walking slowly toward Xiao Min.

They cast sympathetic glances at Xiao Min; this woman actually dared to have designs on the young master—she truly must be tired of living.

"Since she is so ignorant of life and death as to provoke Xue'er to such anger, she truly deserves to die!"

The handsome man's unhurried voice was equally enchanting.

Xiao Min's heart skipped a beat! Looking at his face, which wore a smile that didn't reach his eyes, a bad premonition washed over her...

The man looked at Xiao Min, his eyes clearly filled with disgust, and then ordered the guards.

"And while you're at it, cripple her legs!" It was a seemingly casual remark, yet it was even more vicious.

Xiao Min had been waiting for the handsome man to put in a good word for her, but this sudden sentence felt like being thrown into an ice cellar; her entire body turned cold!

Looking at the siblings, both of whom were impossibly beautiful, Xiao Min finally understood what it meant to be "the more beautiful, the more poisonous!"

She cursed inwardly, "F*ck your mother! Not only do you want my eyes, but you also want my legs?"

Looking at the handsome man before her, she was so angry that her face turned black and her lungs felt like they were about to explode.

All that acting for nothing? She had been batting her eyelashes at him, and this was the result she got?

She could find an uncovered manhole cover even while rolling on the ground like a donkey; so she transmigrated, fine, but did they have to give her such a massive "welcome gift" right off the bat?

Xiao Min wished she could howl at the sky!

These eyes, these legs—how could she afford to lose them!

...

After all, she was a graduate of a police academy; Xiao Min's inner resolve was still quite strong!

Stealing a glance at the door, she made up her mind. As the two guards walked toward her, she looked at the arrogant girl in pink and shouted in feigned panic toward her feet, "Oh my god! A mouse, a mouse!"

She jumped as she yelled!

The sudden sound made everyone instinctively look where her small hand was pointing.

However, the girl in pink was not as frightened as she had imagined. She looked at Xiao Min with mockery, as if she had already seen through her intentions.

This—Xiao Min's face stiffened. She had truly underestimated her!

Her eyes darted around, and she lunged at the foul-tempered handsome man.

The handsome man was caught off guard and was knocked to the ground by Xiao Min with a "thud."

Their eyes met again. What Xiao Min saw in the man's eyes was disgust and anger, but more than that, a murderous intent capable of killing!

Everyone was stunned! They stared at the woman pinning the handsome man down, frozen in place, unable to snap out of it for a long time!

Xiao Min didn't have time to think. Taking advantage of the fact that the young lady and her maids hadn't reacted yet, she scrambled up and ran outside.

After the commotion in the room subsided, they realized the ugly woman had already run into the courtyard. The girl in pink clenched her small fists and said viciously, "Why haven't you caught her yet!" She stomped her feet in anger and roared at the two incompetent guards.

Her voice was so loud it nearly blew the roof off!

As a result, the situation turned into a group of people chasing Xiao Min.

Xiao Min had barely escaped the tiger's den and ran straight ahead, but she hadn't expected this place to be like a maze, twisting and turning until she was dizzy. Seeing the guards getting closer and closer, alarm bells rang in Xiao Min's heart.

By the flower pond, flowers were in full bloom. The early spring breeze blew warmly against one's face, feeling incredibly pleasant! Lin Suwan contentedly enjoyed the fruits of the calculated steps she had taken to reach this day. She picked up the fragrant tea the maid had just brewed and held it to her nose, sniffing it!

"Fragrant—truly fragrant!" she couldn't help but exclaim in praise.

She had climbed from a mere dancing girl to the status of the First Madam, a title everyone in the Prime Minister's residence used. Although that woman still existed, no one could shake her position in the residence anymore. This was what brought Lin Suwan the most satisfaction.

"Catch her, block her in front..." The noisy commotion made Lin Suwan, who had been in a wonderful mood, knit her beautiful brows!

She gently set down the exquisite teacup in her hand.

The maid beside her hurriedly bowed and stood to the side.

"Reporting to Madam, just now, while I was brewing tea, I seemed to hear a servant say that the ugly—woman that you and Madam Yue saved a few days ago has, for some reason, angered Miss Xue'er!"

Seeming to feel that something was off, the maid's voice trailed off at the end. After all, how could she guess the thoughts of the Madam?

The maid immediately fell silent.

Everyone knew that Miss Xue'er was the Madam's most beloved treasure; there was nothing she couldn't do if she set her mind to it! It was just unclear why someone as shrewd as the First Madam of the Prime Minister's residence would save a completely unrelated and even ugly-looking woman?

Lin Suwan pondered for a moment and shook her head helplessly.

"Sigh, this girl Xue'er!" Although she was middle-aged, with her exquisite makeup and fine silk robes, Lin Suwan was full of charm, her every gesture exuding the grace and dignity of a mistress of the house!

...