Xue’er’s round head nuzzled against Ruan Mianmian’s chest, letting out cheerful cries as if it were acting coquettish.
Everyone stared in stunned disbelief. Moments ago, Xue’er had been listlessly sprawled out, but now it was full of energy. Ruan Mianmian had truly healed it—and in the blink of an eye, no less.
“Little one, how did you manage that?” Ruan Geng asked in astonishment, seeing how Xue’er’s vigor contrasted sharply with its earlier lethargy.
Ruan Mianmian said calmly, “It was nothing. I simply realigned the cat’s dislocated tailbone back into place.”
A little child possessing such skill—realigning a dislocated bone—was something none of them had ever heard of. For a moment, Ruan Geng, his wife, and Nanny Yun were all frozen in shock.
“Grandmother Ruan, he deliberately hurt Xue’er and then pretended to be the good guy.” Qin Ruolan knew she had to pin this on Ruan Mianmian, or all her scheming would have been for nothing.
Ruan Mianmian’s face darkened as she said coldly, “Are you saying I hurt the cat?”
Qin Ruolan seized on the strongest piece of evidence to counterattack: “Dare you say you didn’t touch Xue’er today? Don’t try to deny it—your bell is still hanging around its neck.”
“The bell was a gift I gave it.” A cold smile curled at the corner of Ruan Mianmian’s lips, and Qin Ruolan felt an inexplicable unease.
“Cats are very clever. Meow meow, you’re called Xue’er—what a lovely name.” As she spoke, Ruan Mianmian moved closer to Qin Ruolan.
Ruan Geng was just about to speak the truth when Ruan Mianmian suddenly raised her voice: “Qin Ruolan, why don’t you hold Xue’er?”
Qin Ruolan wanted to refuse, but Ruan Mianmian had already thrust Xue’er in front of her. Without time to think, she reached out and took it.
The perfectly docile Xue’er suddenly went berserk the moment Qin Ruolan held it, whipping its head around and biting her hand hard.
“Ah—!” Qin Ruolan shrieked, hurling Xue’er away with both hands.
It all happened so suddenly that no one in the room had time to react. They could only watch helplessly as Xue’er was tossed into the air, flipping a somersault before landing steadily on its feet at the doorway with agile grace.
At that very moment, Xiaoxi, whose hand had just been bandaged, stepped across the threshold, led by a maid from Anfu Hall.
Xue’er landed, turned its head, and saw her. It suddenly leaped half a zhang into the air, claws flailing wildly, and raked them across Xiaoxi’s face.
In an instant, Qin Ruolan’s wails mingled with Xiaoxi’s screams, echoing through the hall.
The culprit, Xue’er, however, scurried right back into Ruan Mianmian’s arms. A big white cat and a little child wore identical expressions, coldly watching the chaos before them.
The household physician arrived just in time. He quickly bandaged Qin Ruolan’s wound, then examined Xiaoxi’s face, left some ointment, and took his leave.
After the commotion subsided, Lao Houye and his wife sat upright in the central seats of honor, with Nanny Yun standing behind Old Madame Ruan. Chen Wanyu, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, sat in the first seat on the left with Qin Ruolan held in her embrace, while Ruan Mianmian sat in the first seat on the right.
Qin Ruolan clutched her hand, having stopped crying but still hiccupping intermittently, as if her injury were far more serious than it appeared.
Ruan Mianmian remained perfectly composed, sitting quietly with Xue’er in her arms. Two pairs of big eyes swiveled around, taking in the spectacle.
“Enough, stop crying.” Ruan Geng was growing impatient with the noise.
“Old Madame, Ruolan is quite badly hurt.” Chen Wanyu’s tone carried obvious, heavy displeasure.
Old Madame Ruan furrowed her brow slightly. “The physician has seen it. It’s not serious—just a bite from Xue’er.”
“No, it was him.” Qin Ruolan pointed at Ruan Mianmian. “He deliberately shoved Xue’er into my hands. It got frightened and bit me.”
Qin Ruolan, having suffered a loss, clung even more stubbornly to Ruan Mianmian. Ruan Geng wanted to speak up, but noticed the little child was calm and unhurried, which piqued his interest in watching a good show to see how he would handle it.
“Grandfather, Grandmother, animals have spirituality. Xue’er is very smart. It understands everything, even though it can’t speak, about who treats it well and who treats it poorly,” Ruan Mianmian said slowly.
As if truly understanding what Ruan Mianmian said, Xue’er meowed a few times in agreement.
Chen Wanyu’s face darkened as she accused, “Don’t change the subject. In front of everyone, we all saw you stuff Xue’er into Ruolan’s hands.”
Ruan Mianmian smiled slightly. Holding Xue’er, he jumped down from the chair and walked over to Nanny Yun, handing it to her.
Under the same circumstances, Xue’er glanced at Nanny Yun, then obediently let her hold it.
After passing Xue’er around and placing it into the hands of Ruan Geng and his wife respectively, Ruan Mianmian finally carried Xue’er back to his original seat. He grinned at Chen Wanyu.
Throughout the entire process, Ruan Mianmian hadn’t said a single word, yet the facts were laid out before everyone’s eyes. Chen Wanyu was instantly left speechless, able only to glare in frustration.
But Qin Ruolan refused to let it go: “Xiaoxi and I brought Xue’er back by force out of good intentions, but it didn’t understand. It’s normal for it to be hostile toward us.”
Old Madame Ruan nodded slightly. “What you said makes some sense.”
“If Ruan Mianmian hadn’t stuffed Xue’er into my hands, how could it have bitten me?”
“An accident. This was purely an accident.” Who doesn’t know how to lie through their teeth? Ruan Mianmian responded offhandedly.
Seeing this, Qin Ruolan knelt down. “Grandmother Ruan, you must stand up for me. Besides, he hurt Xue’er and should be punished too.”
“Splendid. Truly splendid.” Ruan Mianmian clapped his little hands in praise, though his tone carried mockery.
What other tricks did this little milk dumpling have up his sleeve? Ruan Geng knew perfectly well what had happened in the garden, and he was growing more and more curious.
“You said you saw with your own eyes that I hurt Xue’er—did you really see clearly?” Ruan Mianmian smiled strangely.
“Of course we saw clearly,” Qin Ruolan and Xiaoxi said with certainty.
Chen Wanyu added fuel to the fire: “Old Madame, forgive me for saying something unpleasant, but I think Mianmian lacks discipline. Third Sister-in-law comes from a low background and can’t teach anything good.”
Hearing this, Ruan Mianmian grew angry. He retorted without any courtesy: “Haha, Eldest Aunt comes from a high background and teaches well—that’s how she raised something like Qin Ruolan, who is vicious, hypocritical, and full of lies.”
“You’ve gone too far! Old Madame, did you hear that? This is his attitude toward his elders.” Chen Wanyu was furious.
Although he had gone a bit too far, Chen Wanyu was, after all, an elder. Old Madame Ruan was about to reprimand Ruan Mianmian when her hand was pressed down by Ruan Geng.
Looking at her old man in surprise, she saw him give her a meaningful glance, so Old Madame Ruan held back and watched to see how things would unfold.
“Nanny Yun, Xue’er is pure white all over. Was it clean before it went out for a stroll?” Ruan Mianmian turned and asked.
Seeing Ruan Mianmian’s serious expression, Nanny Yun couldn’t help but answer seriously.
“That’s right. Xue’er is bathed regularly. When I saw it under the corridor in the courtyard at noon, it was still pure white and clean.”
“So that means Xue’er only got dirty after it went out and came back injured?”
“The young master is right.”
“Grandfather, Grandmother, please take a close look.” Ruan Mianmian carried Xue’er and walked to the seats of Lao Houye and his wife.
Noticing Chen Wanyu and Qin Ruolan craning their necks to look, Ruan Mianmian deliberately blocked their line of sight with her small frame, then turned Xue’er over with both hands so it lay on its side.
A footprint! Near the area where Xue’er’s hind leg met its belly on the side, there was half a clear footprint. Though it was only half a footprint, it was clearly much larger than a three-year-old child’s foot.