Chapter 3: 3.第3章 好戏上演

“My child, who did this to you?”

Her fingertips trembled, wanting to reach out and touch Yun Qingwan, but seeing that her elegant attire had turned the color of mud, her hand froze mid-air.

A feeling of nausea rose in her stomach, forcing Madam Yun to cover her nose with a handkerchief.

Yun Tingruo shifted into a more comfortable position and continued to watch.

“Madam, please spare my life! I didn't mean to knock the Third Young Lady down! I didn't do it on purpose! Someone bumped into me, and that's why I hit the Third Young Lady!”

Xing Rao fell to her knees with a thud, her body shivering uncontrollably.

She looked like a fragile, helpless kapok flower.

With a slight movement of Madam Yun's hand, the old nanny beside her immediately stepped forward.

She delivered several crisp slaps to Xing Rao’s face. “You wench! How dare you look after the Young Lady like this? If anything happens to her, can your worthless life ever pay for it?”

“Yes, I am a lowly servant. Please, Auntie, considering how many years Xing Rao has served the Young Lady, please spare her!”

Xing Rao’s ears were ringing from the blows, but she didn't dare cry out in pain.

“Drag her out and throw her into the river in the eastern woods to feed the fish.”

Madam Yun spared Xing Rao a single glance, and her indifferent words caused the girl's face to pale instantly.

To feed the fish—one had to know that the river in the eastern woods was filled with incredibly ferocious fish. They looked small, but a single swarm could tear a person apart.

“Madam, Madam, I remember now! It was the Fourth Young Lady who bumped into me, which caused me to hit the Third Young Lady!”

Xing Rao gritted her teeth, attempting to divert the fire onto Yun Tingruo.

At the mention of the Fourth Young Lady, everyone's gaze shifted toward her instantly.

In the recent chaos, they had all forgotten the existence of this Fourth Young Lady.

Yun Tingruo’s eyes flickered. The original owner of this body was truly far too easy to bully.

“Fourth Young Lady, Lanxin.” Madam Yun turned her body, her beautiful eyes landing on Yun Tingruo.

The look of disgust deep within her eyes was seen clearly by Yun Tingruo.

Madam Yun, who always acted virtuous and was considered a model among the ladies of the capital, was nothing more than a wolf in sheep's clothing.

With a wave of her hand, a maid dressed in green servant's attire immediately stepped forward!

The maid, Lanxin, looked at Yun Tingruo with a face full of loathing, her expression quite unpleasant.

Though the Fourth Young Lady was foolish, she could be quite terrifying when she lost her temper.

Lanxin walked forward slowly, feeling a bit uneasy.

But what she found strange was that the Fourth Young Lady remained motionless, as if she had lost her soul.

When she met the Fourth Young Lady's eyes, her body felt as if it had been struck by electricity.

So, the Fourth Young Lady's eyes were actually this beautiful.

They were as deep as an elf under the moonlight.

However, whether it was her imagination or not, Lanxin felt as if she saw a starry sky, where brilliant stars and cold moonlight shimmered together.

The Fourth Young Lady's figure grew increasingly distant.

Yun Tingruo allowed a trace of a smile to curl on her lips, unnoticed.

The fish had taken the bait.

When Lanxin had walked toward her just now, Yun Tingruo had stared directly into her eyes, forcing the other girl to subconsciously meet her gaze.

The hypnosis had begun.

Her red lips moved slightly; to an outsider, it looked like nothing more than a twitch of the corner of her mouth.

But only Yun Tingruo knew that this was the beginning of controlling the other person's mind.

“Lanxin, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and grab her!”

Madam Yun's voice was cold. She waved her handkerchief, her exquisite nose wrinkled in distaste.

Lanxin, who was usually clever and quick-handed, seemed strangely stiff right now, her steps moving like a block of wood.

If she messed up Madam Yun's business, she would chop this lowly servant to pieces.

Madam Yun completely forgot that her own daughter, the Third Young Lady, was lying unconscious to the side, having fallen into the fish pond.

Her clothes were disheveled, and the hairpins in her hair were piled messily on her head like a bird's nest.

Those small cherry lips were currently swollen and purplish-black, like a frog's pout.

If she wasn't treated immediately, there was no telling what kind of lingering illness might result.

It was truly a pity that the wealthy young masters who admired her were not present to see her in this state.

By then, the Third Young Lady, known as the "Little Fairy," would inevitably become the laughingstock of the capital's tea-time gossip.

*Idiot!*

Yun Tingruo snorted inwardly, her eyes, which were like pools of clear water, narrowing slightly.

Suddenly, the previously stiff Lanxin leaped up.

To the astonishment of everyone, Lanxin's body acted as if possessed by madness.

She lunged straight at Madam Yun.

Her speed was as if she had been injected with chicken blood.

Madam Yun turned pale with fright. Having lived a life of luxury for years, she was nothing more than a "flowery pillow"—all show and no substance.

By the time the maids and nannies reacted...

Lanxin had already climbed onto Madam Yun, scratching and twisting, and began slapping Madam Yun's rounded buttocks with great force.

The continuous "slap, slap, slap" sounds made everyone gasp in shock.

But that wasn't what amazed them most.

What amazed them was that Madam Yun's face was flushed with a deep red, and she showed no intention of resisting, making small, fragmented sounds from her mouth.

Upon closer listening, many of the maids turned bright red with shame.

Yun Tingruo hadn't expected that this Madam Yun was actually a masochist.

The surroundings fell silent, save for the "humming" sounds coming from Madam Yun.

Yun Tingruo gave a ghostly smile. Although her face was covered in grime, her bright, clear eyes—surpassing even the stars—were enough to make people overlook the dirt and fall deeply for her!

Under the sunlight, another gaze that had been well-hidden also revealed itself due to a momentary lapse in concentration.

“Who is it?” Yun Tingruo whispered sharply.

Everyone was in a state of chaos right now; who would be paying attention to her movements?

Yun Tingruo's gaze flickered toward a large tree in the corner of the courtyard. Aside from seeing a dense tree with branches swaying gently in the breeze, she saw nothing.

She then shifted her gaze away. Feeling no killing intent from the person—neither friend nor foe—she treated them as if they were just a passerby.

Only then did she turn her attention back to the lively scene.

When Madam Yun's personal nanny snapped out of it, she immediately screamed, “What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and drag that little wench off!”

Soon, everyone worked together to pull Lanxin off Madam Yun.

Madam Yun's originally elegant and charming hairstyle had fallen apart; there was no longer any trace of the exquisite, classical beauty who looked like a willow in the wind.

Coming to her senses, she was both shocked and enraged.

She had actually displayed such an unseemly expression in front of everyone just now.

Her finger trembled as she pointed at Lanxin. “Take this little slut away! I will deal with her personally!”

Caught in the midst of being grabbed and pushed by the crowd, Lanxin suddenly regained her senses.

She looked at the disheveled Madam Yun in confusion. “Madam, what did I do wrong?”

*Poor child, you did nothing wrong; you were simply made the scapegoat.*

“Shut up!” Seeing Lanxin's bewildered expression, Madam Yun's chest heaved with rage.

This incident was a disgrace to her.

*Aaaaaaaah!*

With such a thing happening, how could she ever eat or sleep peacefully again?

Right now, Madam Yun's mind was filled only with Lanxin.

The Fourth Young Lady and everything else had long been cast aside.

Presumably, it wouldn't be long before the entire manor was filled with jokes about Madam Yun and the Third Young Lady.

Yun Tingruo inconspicuously withdrew the smile from her face. When she raised her head again, she had returned to her dazed and innocent appearance.

She watched as the maids helped Madam Yun and the Third Young Lady away.

Only then did she turn around, her eyes sweeping casually over the large tree in the corner before approaching Dong'er.

Seeing Dong'er's pale face and the tears welling in her worried eyes, a slight ripple formed in the heart of the assassin, Yun Tingruo.

From childhood until now, no one had ever cared for her like this.

Even though this maid was caring for the original owner of this body.

Yun Tingruo narrowed her eyes. It seemed the original owner and this maid must have had a very close relationship.