Free Web NovelChapter 76: Chapter 76
Chapter 76
The body exposed to the cold wind shivered slightly, prompting the taller figure to wrap her in his arms, allowing his warmth to shield the woman beside him from the chill. Even though the season was transitioning, the lingering cold still forced people to wear relatively thick clothing.
Yueqian was also dressed in a double-layered cloak. Such thick fabric shouldn’t let her feel the wind passing through—if only her little body hadn’t just rolled into the pond... She wouldn’t be standing here trembling, waiting for the warmth of a lantern.
She never thought that the moment she met the Qin family, her starting point would still be a confrontation between women? How tedious.
“Please wait a moment, Eldest Young Miss. I’m preparing warm water for you,” a servant’s shrill voice called out.
She was a middle-aged woman, served the second wife of the house and had come here with her Third Young Miss. Of course, her Third Young Miss was also drenched, but at least she had a cloak provided by her servants, keeping her from shivering too much.
Yueqian hadn’t brought any clothes with her, so after falling into the water, she had to endure the cold.
Ah... that’s what those people think!
The shivering body was just an act. Was she really cold? Perhaps just a little. She had taken a balancing pill as soon as she knew she would fall into the water.
Therefore, even if heavy snow were falling, it wouldn’t bother her skin. How could this minor prank affect her?
In fact, Yueqian could have avoided falling into the water, but why should she? Wouldn’t it be better to let everyone in the Qin family, and everyone else, believe what they wanted to believe?
This villainess would continue to make them feel ashamed forever!
“Are the Qin family’s servants always this slow? Do I need to order you to be flogged?!! You are just a servant, yet you just stand there watching me freeze because you’re not cold. How about you all get wet and see how it feels? Can you still stand there waiting then?” With that, the young villainess surged forward, grabbing the middle-aged servant with all her strength. freēwēbnovel.com
Her slender arm yanked at the other’s hair bun until it came undone, then she kicked the close maid of the secondary wife into the water.
“Ahhh!!” The servant screamed, her plump body struggling to stay afloat.
In this era, women had no knowledge of survival in water, and this applied even to servants. Moreover, this middle-aged servant had served the secondary wife since their previous family, meaning she wasn’t an ordinary commoner or a sold slave, but a personal attendant responsible for general upkeep. She didn’t have to scrape for food in rivers like Huan’er and her family.
With zero swimming skills and her advanced age, falling into the water was extremely dangerous.
“What are you doing?!” Before the drama could conclude, the next part of the main character continued the show.
Yueqian smirked wickedly before putting on a serious face as she turned to the owner of the voice. She feigned turning away as if she were a spoiled young miss, pouting her lips. If her skirt weren’t soaked, she would have stomped her foot.
“Father, it’s good you’re here. Who told these servants to be so bad at their job? Just fetching warm water, warm clothes, and lighting a fire to keep me warm—this servant dared to tell me to wait. You must flog them, Father.”
Yueqian showed no remorse for her actions, pointing around and including the servant of the secondary wife who was still calling for help from the water.
Her indifferent attitude infuriated the head of the Qin family greatly. His mustache twitched rapidly. The Qin Manor had some peace without her, but it was not even a day after they had met, she had already caused trouble!
“Someone, get her out of the water! And... you all, explain yourselves to me!” The head of the Qin family tried to calm his anger. freёweɓnovel.com
He looked at his two drenched daughters, not caring who might freeze to death. He just wanted to know what the hell had happened again.
"F... Father, I... It was Tingting’s fault," the beautiful third sister said.
She spoke with sorrow, feeling like she had been wronged, lowering her eyes to hide her pain. The distinct characteristic of this white lotus only made Yueqian’s sharp thorn rose seem even more vicious.
But the young villainess didn’t care. Did she desire a good reputation? The more there were characters who wanted to be victims like this, the more Yueqian enjoyed it. Just like the secondary wife’s servant who wanted to make her cold, provoking the villainess like her into a rage. Fine..., she would comply. Now what? Tomorrow, they might even catch a cold.
Since they wanted her to act evil, she satisfied them.
This Third Young Miss seemed to want to test her as well.
"Of course, it’s your fault! Just a daughter of a concubine, daring to walk so casually in front of me! I should have you flogged to death. It’s unfortunate your legs are too weak, a little walk and you fall, dragging me into the water with you! Hmph, if today wasn’t a good day for me and my husband to come pay respects to my parents... I’d order you to be flogged thirty times!"
Yueqian lashed out without caring about other’s feelings, displaying the authority of the eldest daughter of the family without holding back.
She indeed had the power she claimed. But what decent person would order their younger sister to be punished like a servant? Additionally, she called the secondary wife’s daughter a concubine’s child. Her wickedness was beyond control.
The Third Young Miss lowered her head, pretending to tremble with sorrow, but her slender hands clenched until they turned red, revealing her true feelings so clearly. Yet, many still played the fool as usual.
They only saw Yueqian as ruthless, even though her words were indisputable. By the rules, how could the daughter of a concubine roam freely?
Her presence here was especially strange. If she had come with her mother, it would make sense that she came all the way here to attend to the secondary wife. However, the secondary wife did not come because she knew her place as a second wife which was a concubine, understanding that she should not meddle too much.
The second thing was that on this day, the Third Young Miss knew that Yueqian would inevitably come to their accommodation. Instead of staying quietly out of sight, she came strutting around. Even if she said it was to invite someone for a walk, wasn’t it inappropriate to stroll around at a time like this?
Many guests had gathered at the manor, not just Yueqian. Even the princes and the Young General were here. It was unbelievable that this Third Young Miss was so naive as to come showing her beauty around like this.
However... in any situation involving Yueqian, no one cared who was right or wrong because they were prejudiced against her. All her actions were wrong, making the victim in this incident appear even more pitiable.
“Eldest Sister, I... I didn’t pull you into the water. It was... it was you...” The Third Young Miss stammered, but her words, taken as a whole, made it sound like Yueqian was falsely accusing her sister.
Mu Heng, who was listening, couldn’t help but furrow his thick brows. In front of so many people, including the servants, everyone should have seen who pulled whom and who started the trouble.
But why... in this situation, were the numerous servants silent, acting as if his wife was in the wrong?!
It was surprising that among the people of such a prominent family, it was so hard to find anyone sincere. Not only did the masters have to play roles, but the servants did as well. Seeing the depravity in the household, Mu Heng understood why his little wife didn’t want to return to the capital.
“What are you stammering about! Are you saying that I did it?! Everyone saw what happened, everyone knows. Now you’re trying to pin the blame on me?” Yueqian shouted, her face showing great anger.
The Third Young Miss lifted her face to look up before pretending to shrink back, trembling even more.
“I... It was me, Eldest Sister. Tingting apologizes to Eldest Sister,” she said, as if she didn’t want to admit it but felt compelled to speak because of Yueqian’s pressure. This made the head of the Qin family tell himself to calm down.
He felt a deep-seated hatred for Yueqian. She was the daughter who brought him the most shame. Even in front of so many people, she still dared to use her unprincipled authority to oppress her own sister.
She behaved like this even when she was at home, ...who would dare marry her then? In the future, people might say the Qin family raised their children too well, and her many younger sisters might not be able to marry off.
If rumors spread daily, the one who would ultimately be blamed would be him, the head of the family. The last time Yueqian caused a scandal, it was mentioned in the court meeting as well. People said that if he couldn’t even raise one child properly, how could he expect to instruct others?
Those words hurt him deeply. He had thought that exiling Yueqian was the right solution. Just one daughter, he didn’t care whether she lived or died. If she stayed and continued to commit ridiculous things, ruining their reputation, wouldn’t it be better not to have her as a daughter?
Unfortunately, even after exiling her, the people in the capital didn’t stop talking. Someone seemed to be behind the continued spread of rumors, severely damaging the Qin family’s reputation.
Yueqian’s mother had been punished by being confined for three months for raising her daughter poorly, but this didn’t improve the situation. Finally, a solution came to the Qin family.
When the Young General said he was willing to forgive Yueqian and plan to take her back as his principal wife, according to the promise. This was as if someone had parted an entire river to give the Qin family, who had been deep under the water, a chance.
If they could make Yueqian the Young General’s principal wife, they could argue that the two had feelings for each other. Yueqian’s steadfast love for the Young General caused her to err, but even before becoming the Young General’s wife, just the rumors had stopped the Qin family from being the subject of gossip.
Their only mistake was rashly deciding to punish their own daughter severely without asking questions or giving her a chance to defend herself. This turned out to be a good thing after all. So, without waiting for the Emperor to inquire, he, as the head of the Qin family, had to resolve this matter.
Married to a poor villager, so what? In the end, she would still become the principal wife of the Young General!
However, his optimistic thoughts vanished completely after meeting Yueqian, who threw a tantrum as soon as they saw each other.
“Let’s not leave the young lady to shiver here. Both Eldest Young Miss Qin and this Young Miss Qin should go change their clothes first, and then we can talk,” came a deep voice, full of kindness.
