Chapter 2: Angrily Beating Nanny Sun

"Miss, these medicines were specifically instructed by the Second Madam's people for me to decoct; they said they are good for your health..." Hearing her refuse to drink the medicine, Chun'er felt awkward.

"Are you no longer listening to my words?" Suppressing her swaying body, Wan Ling's eyes flashed with a sharp, angry light as she questioned Chun'er. She grabbed the medicine bowl sitting to the side and poured it directly onto the ground.

"I... Miss, Chun'er will go get the dregs. Miss, please..." Wan Ling rarely showed such a stern gaze and behavior; Chun'er was startled. After a pause, she turned and went out to bring a packet of the medicinal dregs to her.

"There really is something strange about this. Did my father know about this medicine?" As she opened the medicinal dregs, the herbs inside were indeed just those for strengthening the body and nourishing health. However, the white, silvery powder beneath the dregs, though only a tiny amount, caught her attention.

She hadn't expected these people to put a trace of mercury powder in her medicine. No wonder her body was getting weaker by the day and her muscles would occasionally tremble; this was clearly due to consuming mercury.

"Miss, these were also constantly instructed by the Master and the Second Madam to be given to me by the servants. Is there a problem with the medicine?"

Chun'er also sensed something was different. Seeing her cautiously inspecting the herbs, she asked in confusion.

"Chun'er, do not speak of this to anyone. In the future, just continue to decoct these medicines and bring them to me every day. Go eat something to line your stomach; I'm going out for a walk..."

Wan Ling looked at Chun'er cautiously as she gave these instructions. After speaking, she wrapped the medicinal dregs back up and walked out with slow steps.

"Third Young Lady, why have you come? Your health has only just improved, you should rest more. Don't you have your own rice and flour over there? Third Young Lady, you..."

Relying on her previous memories, Wan Ling went directly to her own small courtyard, San Niang's courtyard, which was adjacent to the large kitchen where the entire General's Mansion cooked and ate.

A Nanny standing to one side, briskly instructing others to wash and prepare vegetables, greeted Wan Ling politely upon seeing her enter. Seeing her walk straight toward the stove where chicken was being boiled, the Nanny stepped forward to block her. Seeing Wan Ling boldly lift the lid and pick up a plate of glistening, fragrant roasted whole chicken, the Nanny froze for a moment before instinctively reaching out to snatch it away.

"Nanny, there is so much roasted chicken. I have only just woken up from my injuries and need to replenish my nutrition. It wouldn't be too much to eat just this one chicken, would it? It smells so good, delicious, quite good..."

Seeing the Nanny reach for the roasted chicken on her plate, Wan Ling easily spun her body to dodge the interception. In the moment she turned, she grabbed a large chicken leg, eating even as she spoke.

"You... Third Young Lady, this is food meant for the Second Madam and the Eldest Young Lady. You had best put it down, or don't blame this old woman for being unkind..."

Seeing that she had not only taken the chicken but was also tearing into a leg on the spot, the Nanny's old face turned green with rage. With an unkind wave of her hand, two maidservants in green clothing followed her. Seeing Wan Ling only focused on eating with her head down, they couldn't help but warn her.

"Is that so? In that case, this Young Lady is determined to eat this chicken today. I'll even take these two dishes of food; what can you do to me..."

The Nanny's warning and the two approaching maids were met with Wan Ling's defiance. Having eaten some chicken, her energy had somewhat recovered. Although her legs were still weak, Wan Ling didn't take these people to heart.

Looking at a freshly prepared plate of tofu and a plate of steamed fish on the other side, she grabbed a basket nearby, placed the roasted chicken, the fish, and the tofu inside, and looked at them with an air of aloofness as she stepped toward the exit...

"A martial arts waste having enough to eat is already good enough, yet you want roasted chicken and steamed fish? I think you are purely asking for a beating! Get her..." Seeing her walk out carrying the basket like that, and remembering the instructions from the Second Madam and the Eldest Young Lady, the Nanny shouted coldly, ordering the two maids beside her to snatch the basket from Wan Ling's hands...

"Eek! Ah, sorry, my hand slipped. Hehe, I said I was determined to eat today's meal. If you don't want your old teeth knocked out, then come at me..."

As the two maids approached, Wan Ling gave a cold smile. While holding the basket with one hand and spinning, her long legs and fists followed through.

As she finished her movements and stood there intact, the two maids who had previously blocked her had been struck—one by a kick to the chin and the other by a punch to the face. The two retreated several steps; one had blood at the corner of her mouth, and the other had even lost several teeth...

"You! I don't believe a waste could suddenly gain such skill after just sleeping for a few days..." The Nanny saw that these two maids had some skill, yet they had been struck so easily that one was bleeding and the other had lost teeth. Her old face turned cold, and she rolled up her sleeves and lunged forward...

"If you don't believe it, you'll have to..." Seeing the Nanny lunging with rolled sleeves, Wan Ling's lips curled into a mocking smile. As the Nanny attacked, Wan Ling tilted her head to easily dodge the strike and followed up with a kick.

The Nanny's slightly plump body missed the strike and instead took a kick to the buttocks from Wan Ling, sending her stumbling to the side. Fortunately, the maid with the bleeding mouth managed to support her in time; otherwise, she would have crashed into the steamers holding the roasted chicken and various dishes. The kitchen scene would have become even more spectacular.

Pushing away the maid's support, the Nanny glared at the still-smiling Wan Ling. Her eyes flashed with disdain as she frowned and retorted. Then, with a sudden deep breath, she took a stance, her palms suddenly emitting a faint red light as she turned to strike at Wan Ling. "So what if your hands and feet are suddenly agile? This old woman doesn't believe you can suddenly gain Martial Qi after just one fall..."

"You..."

Seeing the red light before the Nanny's palms, Wan Ling instinctively leaned forward to dodge. At the same time, the onlookers in the kitchen cried out in alarm, "Martial Qi! Nanny Sun is using Martial Qi!"

Hearing the cries of the onlookers, Wan Ling narrowly stabilized her stance. Suddenly, she heard a crisp *crack* behind her. She turned her head and saw that a large, arm-thick branch of a tree in front of the door had snapped under the impact of Nanny Sun's red-light palm strike. She let out a sharp breath and became alert.

Seeing the triumphant and sinister smile on Nanny Sun's face after delivering that palm strike, Wan Ling slowly set her basket down by her feet. Just as Nanny Sun and the others thought she had put it down out of fear, Wan Ling suddenly moved. As she crouched to set the basket down, she casually grabbed a fallen tree branch and lunged forward. "So this is Martial Qi. It's nothing special..."

"Ugh! You... I..."

Before Nanny Sun could react, the branch in Wan Ling's hand had already pierced into her shoulder, and blood instantly stained her clothing. Between the pain in her shoulder and the slender hand that moved forward to squeeze her throat, Nanny Sun looked up to see Wan Ling watching her with a calm smile and eyes full of coldness. Only then did Nanny Sun realize she had been careless...

"I told you, anyone who blocks me will share the same fate. Yet you old woman insisted on stepping forward. You are welcome to keep fighting; let's see who strikes faster..."

Wan Ling spoke softly, noting the shock on Nanny Sun's face and the disbelief in her eyes. Noticing that even with a pierced shoulder, Nanny Sun still tried to move, she gave an unapologetic warning.

"I... this old servant was blind to greatness. Please, Third Young Lady, forgive me..." Wan Ling's ruthless strike and agile movements had not only shocked Nanny Sun, but the maids nearby no longer had the courage to step forward.

Between the pain of the branch in her shoulder and the small hand squeezing her throat, Nanny Sun's old face was filled with confusion, yet she fell to her knees with a "thud," offering a fawning, awkward smile and repeated apologies.

"At least you know how to behave. If there is a next time, I won't just stop at piercing your shoulder. I will cripple your hands and feet so you won't even be able to crawl..."

Seeing Nanny Sun and the other maids so shaken, Wan Ling gave a cold smile. Her pale lips moved close to the old woman's ear; though her voice was small, it was loud enough for everyone present to hear. With that, she delivered another kick, knocking Nanny Sun aside, turned, picked up her basket from the ground by the door, and walked away...

"Nanny Sun, are you alright? Nanny Sun, since when did this Third Young Lady become so skilled? This..."

***

A note to the readers

New author, new story. I am a newcomer, and I hope you all will like it and give me plenty of support!