“Miss, is the food not to your taste?” Yundong asked, puzzled as she watched Song Yue hesitate to pick up her chopsticks.
Song Yue looked up and saw Nanny Yang staring at her, her gaze occasionally drifting to the food with a hint of urgency.
She smiled and stood up, walking over to Nanny Yang. “Nanny Yang, you were sent by Fu Qin to teach me etiquette. Please join me for the meal.”
“Third Miss, that would be improper,” Nanny Yang declined.
Song Yue put on an innocent expression. “But I don’t know the dining etiquette. What if Fu Qin tests me one day and I make a fool of myself?”
With that, Nanny Yang had no reason to refuse and reluctantly sat down. She picked up her chopsticks and gently placed a fresh bamboo shoot in her bowl. “Handle everything lightly, and never reach across the table to take food…”
Song Yue followed her instructions.
Nanny Yang continued to pick up and put down dishes, explaining the rules as she went, and Song Yue mimicked her every move.
Finally, Nanny Yang asked, “Why aren’t you eating, Miss?”
Song Yue looked at her like a curious child. “You haven’t taught me yet.”
Helpless, Nanny Yang forced herself to take a few bites.
Song Yue also ate a small, ladylike mouthful, refusing to take another bite.
By the time they were done, the food had long gone cold. Song Yue rubbed her stomach. “I can’t eat anymore.”
Nanny Yang was speechless. The dishes on the table had barely been touched.
“Are you dissatisfied with the food?” she asked.
“Not at all. It’s just that I’ve always eaten this little at the Villa, so I’m full.”
This explanation left Nanny Yang at a loss for words. Looking at Song Yue’s slender frame, she had no reason to doubt her. While Nanny Yang was still lost in thought, Song Yue instructed Yundong to summon the maids serving in Yuhan Courtyard.
Eight maids in total.
“Every grain is the fruit of hard labor; we must not waste it. You may finish these,” Song Yue declared, her chin lifted. It was customary for uneaten food to be shared with personal maids.
The maids exchanged uncertain glances.
Nanny Yang hesitated, but faced with Song Yue’s sincere expression, the words “that’s improper” stuck in her throat.
She had no doubt that if she dared to speak up, Song Yue would press her on how to handle the uneaten food.
Surely it couldn’t be thrown away?
That would be too wasteful.
“What, are you disobeying me?” Song Yue narrowed her eyes.
The eight maids instantly recalled the bloodshed from the previous night and quickly sat down, devouring the food on the table ravenously.
As maids, they rarely had the chance to eat such fine dishes. Though somewhat cold, the food was still delicious, and soon the table was cleared.
Only then did Song Yue smile. “That’s right. From now on, we share hardships and joys together. Follow me, and I won’t let you suffer.”
Ignoring Nanny Yang’s grim expression, Song Yue instructed Yundong, “Starting today, you will share a room with Nanny Yang.”
Yundong nodded.
She wanted to see how Yuan Fuling would explain it when every maid in the courtyard was diagnosed with a joyful pulse!
After the food was cleared, Song Yue excused herself to take a walk in the courtyard to aid digestion, with Yundong accompanying her. She couldn’t help but wonder: why would Nanny Yang want to harm her?
She didn’t recall ever offending Nanny Yang.
“Miss, Mama Wang and Nanny Yang are cousins. Could Nanny Yang be targeting you because of Mama Wang?” Yundong asked.
Song Yue suddenly understood.
No wonder Nanny Yang’s gaze held such resentment toward her.
Nanny Yang…
She looked up at the moonlight, thinking that continuing to be on guard like this was not a solution.
“Ling Yi,” she called.
Ling Yi appeared before her in a flash. “Miss.”
“Go get me some medicine—the kind that makes wounds fester. The more toxic, the better.”
Without hesitation, Ling Yi nodded and soon returned, handing the medicine to Song Yue. Clutching the medicine, Song Yue took advantage of the moonlight and swiftly made her way toward Ning’an Tang.
Following her memory from the day, she headed toward Mama Wang’s courtyard.
Standing hesitantly between two courtyards, unsure which one was the right one, she heard cursing coming from one of them.
Song Yue confirmed the direction.
She stood at the door, listening as Mama Wang cursed and swore at her.
A cold smile curled her lips. Such a person deserved nothing less than death.
Seizing the moment when a young maid left the room to fetch water, she pushed the door open and entered. Mama Wang had her back turned, muttering, “That wretched, lowly scum, daring to scheme against me—I’ll make her pay!”
“Is that so?” Song Yue sneered.
Mama Wang froze in shock, turning around in disbelief and staring at Song Yue with terror, as if she had seen a ghost.
Song Yue stepped closer to the bed.
“You… what do you want? I warn you, this is Grand Madam’s courtyard. If you come any closer, I’ll scream!”
Ignoring Mama Wang, Song Yue slapped her unconscious with a single blow. Then, she lifted Mama Wang’s back and poured the entire bottle of medicine onto her wound.
A sizzling sound filled the air as white smoke rose.
The wound instantly began to bleed and fester.
Before leaving, Song Yue glanced at Mama Wang’s right hand—the very hand that had slapped her dozens of times in her past life.
Her eyes fell on a pair of scissors in a nearby basket. Without hesitation, she picked them up and snipped off Mama Wang’s little finger.
Quietly, she returned to Yuhan Courtyard.
With Yundong’s help, she slipped back into her room and placed the remaining half bottle of medicine beside her dressing case, along with the bloodstained severed finger.
“Miss… miss,” Yundong stammered, too frightened to speak.
Song Yue calmly cleaned the blood from her hands. “Are you afraid?”
Yundong hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. “This servant is not afraid. Miss was forced to do this.”
She was growing fonder of this girl by the day.
After tonight, she would be able to retrieve Yundong’s family’s deed of servitude.
“Miss!”
It was Nanny Yang’s voice.
Yundong grew anxious, but Song Yue remained unperturbed, sitting down and lowering her head to read a book.
Nanny Yang pushed the door open and entered, immediately noticing a strange smell in the room. Following the source, she soon discovered the severed finger beside the dressing case. Horrified, she exclaimed, “How could such a thing be in Miss’s courtyard?”
“Nanny Yang, why don’t you take a closer look and see whose it is?” Song Yue replied without lifting her head.
Nanny Yang stared in disbelief, recognizing a crescent-shaped scar on the little finger—a mark Mama Wang had gotten from hot oil splashing on her hand in the kitchen.
“This is…” She couldn’t believe it. How could Song Yue have cut off Mama Wang’s finger?
Song Yue straightened up and extended two fingers. “Now you have two choices. First, pledge your loyalty to me, and I will let bygones be bygones. Second, say whatever you want, but I can guarantee you won’t live to see tomorrow!”
Nanny Yang’s breath hitched. Seeing the icy smile in Song Yue’s eyes, she felt a chill run down her spine. Her lips trembled, but she couldn’t utter a word.
After calming down, she felt that Song Yue was truly laughable.
A wild girl raised outside from a young age, ignorant of manners and speaking without restraint, merely receiving a bit more pity from the masters of the Duke of Jing’s Mansion out of sympathy.
Yet this girl still thought highly of herself.
As the sound of footsteps drew nearer, Song Yue lifted her chin: “Nanny Yang, time is running out for you.”
Bang!
Song Hengchuan kicked the door open, leading dozens of guards behind him, each holding a knife. He glared furiously at Song Yue: “Song Yue, how dare you sneak into Zu Mu’s courtyard to poison Mama Wang, leaving her half-dead? At such a young age, you are so vicious. Today, I will uphold justice on behalf of heaven.”
Song Yue showed not a trace of fear in her eyes. She slowly stood up and asked, “To catch a thief, you need evidence. Do you have any proof?”
These words made Nanny Yang frown deeply. Was Third Miss out of her mind? The evidence was right there on the table.
In the next moment, Song Hengchuan noticed the half-empty bottle of poison and the severed finger beside the jewelry box. Thinking he had caught her red-handed, he couldn’t hide his smugness as he said, “Isn’t this the evidence? Song Yue, you are not only malicious but also foolish.”
Song Hengchuan’s pent-up anger from the day could finally be unleashed. He commanded, “Men, seize Song Yue!”