Chaрtеr 14: Zhаоzhаo, Let Mе Givе You a Кiss
“Can’t figurе оut hоw I knеw аbоut the filthу, dеsрiсable thоughts in your heart?”
Yun Zhаоzhaо’s еуеs сurved intо сrеscents аs shе smiled, hеr exprеssion livеly and chаrming. Hеr voiсе rose with а tone of сhееrful, аdorablе smugnеss.
Вut in Рei Yuzhen’s еyеs, she seеmed utterlу terrifying!
[Нow does shе knоw?]
[It’s imрossiblе fоr her to know! I’vе nevеr tоld anyоne…]
Yun Zhaоzhaо snоrtеd lightly, thеn grabbed Рei Yuzhen’s hаir аnd liftеd her head as if it were a ball. “I’ll tеll уou! My pаrеnts have beсоme immortals in the heavens!”
“With their blessings, I know everything—nothing escapes me!”
“Your malicious little schemes can’t hide from my all-seeing eyes!”
Yun Zhaozhao was furious!
A woman’s reputation was of utmost importance. Being slandered not only meant ruin but also social death. More fragile girls might not survive—just like the character in the story who jumped off a cliff and died.
She wasn’t that fragile!
But Pei Yuzhen’s slander was downright malicious! Utterly wicked!
She had to teach her a lesson!
Yun Zhaozhao grabbed her hair again and shoved her head forcefully into the decorative water vat. Pei Yuzhen cried out in terror, “I was wrong! I won’t dare again!”
“Yun Zhaozhao, Sister Zhaozhao, please spare me! Waaah—”
Only then did Yun Zhaozhao release her, deliberately putting on a fierce tone to warn her: “Pei Yuzhen, don’t mess with me! You can’t afford the consequences!”
Pei Yuzhen’s legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the ground. Her hair and the upper half of her clothes were soaked, her makeup smeared and ruined. She trembled as she cried, looking utterly pitiful.
Yun Zhaozhao wasn’t buying it: “Still crying?”
Pei Yuzhen was so frightened she let out a hiccup. Afraid Yun Zhaozhao would shove her into the vat again, she didn’t dare cry anymore.
“Wow—”
Xiao Shuyue stared, dumbfounded, looking at Yun Zhaozhao with awe and giving her a thumbs-up. [Zhaozhao… she’s so fierce! That was awesome!]
Hearing her inner thoughts, Yun Zhaozhao’s cheeks flushed slightly. She clenched her fist, cleared her throat, and called out to her: “Xiao Shuyue, let go of Pei Yuzhu. She’s about to pass out from being smothered!”
Only then did Xiao Shuyue snap back to reality and release Pei Yuzhu.
Pei Yuzhu’s face had turned red from suffocation. She pounded her chest, gasping for air. Once she caught her breath, she immediately shouted, “Yun Zhaozhao, you bullied Pei Yuzhen. I’m going back to tell Grandmother! The engagement is off—definitely off!”
“Yun Zhaozhao, just wait to be driven out of the capital!”
Yun Zhaozhao crossed her arms and took a step toward her. Pei Yuzhu immediately panicked, scrambling backward on the ground.
“What a coward!”
Yun Zhaozhao didn’t hold back, mocking her openly: “Call off the engagement? Pei Yuzhu, you don’t have the final say! Even the Duke’s estate can’t decide this!”
Pei Yuzhu was indignant, racking her brains for a retort.
Just then, Yun Zhaozhao crouched down in front of her. Pei Yuzhu immediately cowered, shutting her mouth for fear of being hit.
“Pei Yuzhu, did you bring the things I gave you?”
“…I, I don’t remember what they were!” Pei Yuzhu shamelessly tried to play dumb.
[I won’t return them! Even if I’m beaten to death, I won’t return them!]
[Once they’re given to me, they’re mine!]
Yun Zhaozhao realized that mind-reading was no less useful than brute force! With mind-reading, all the demons and monsters were exposed!
Playing dumb, huh?
Yun Zhaozhao stood up: “Bi Zhu, bring paper and a brush!”
Soon, Bi Zhu brought the paper and brush. Yun Zhaozhao ordered Pei Yuzhu, “Get up! I’ll dictate, and you write!”
Pei Yuzhu continued pretending: “My hands are shaking. I can’t write.”
“I’ll do it!” Xiao Shuyue saw through the trick. Without another word, she supported Yun Zhaozhao! She would write!Yun Zhaozhao began settling accounts from the beginning: “Pei Yuzhu, when you first called me sister-in-law, you took the flower-thread pearl hairpin from my dressing box. The second time you called me sister-in-law, you begged me to buy you the silver-gilded kingfisher-feather necklace and two bolts of fabric.”
“The third time you called me sister-in-law, you wanted the white jade openwork floral-and-bird-patterned sachet. The fourth time…”
Yun Zhaozhao had been clever since childhood, with a photographic memory.
She listed each item one by one, neither more nor less, calculating everything clearly and distinctly.
“Actually, if you hadn’t called me sister-in-law but genuinely treated me as a friend, I wouldn’t have asked for these things back. But you and Zhu Yingying deliberately treated me like a fool, and even called me an ingrate!”
Just thinking about it made Yun Zhaozhao sick!
Her sincerity had been fed to dogs!
“I absolutely must get them back!”
Pei Yuzhu’s face turned deathly pale, her regret so deep it turned her insides green.
But it wasn’t because she realized her mistake!
Instead, her inner thoughts were still shifting blame: 【Who on earth leaked that I treated her like a fool…!】
【It’s all Zhu Yingying’s fault. Why did she have to call her an ingrate and provoke Yun Zhaozhao…】
“Pei Yuzhu, stop pretending to be dead! Come here and sign this acknowledgment!”
Yun Zhaozhao dragged Pei Yuzhu over and pressed her forcefully onto the table. “You have three days to return my things! Otherwise, I’ll report you to the authorities for deceiving my feelings and swindling my money!”
“Yun Zhaozhao, do you have to be so petty? I gave you things too!”
“What did you give me?”
Pei Yuzhu flushed red with anxiety, struggling for a long time before remembering: “I treated you to osmanthus cakes! And sweet oil pastries!”
Yun Zhaozhao laughed in anger. “I was the one who paid for those!”
Pei Yuzhu remembered—whenever she was with Yun Zhaozhao, she never spent a single copper coin.
All she had to do was sweetly call her “sister-in-law,” and Yun Zhaozhao would cheerfully and generously take out her purse to pay!
For a moment, Pei Yuzhu felt regret.
【Not even my parents were this generous…】
【Yun Zhaozhao… truly treated me very well! Without Yun Zhaozhao, who else would spend money on me for shopping?】
Pei Yhu’s eyes reddened as she looked regretfully at Yun Zhaozhao: “I was wrong…”
“Pah! Pei Yuzhu, you’re truly shameless!”
Xiao Shuyue interrupted her. “You’d better return everything to Zhaozhao! Otherwise, at the flower-viewing party in two days, I’ll publicly read this list! Let all the noble ladies of the capital see your deceitful face!”
Pei Yuzhu immediately jumped in panic. “No! I’ll return them!”
【If the noble ladies’ circle finds out, I’ll never be able to marry!】
Reluctantly, Pei Yuzhu signed the acknowledgment, promising to return everything within three days.
“Yun Zhaozhao, sister-in-law, I’ll return everything to you. Can you forgive me? I was egged on by Zhu Yingying! She was the one who called you a fool and an ingrate, not me!”
“Bi Zhu, see the guests out!”
Yun Zhaozhao wouldn’t be fooled again. She directly chased Pei Yuzhu and Pei Yuzhen out!
When they arrived, they had wanted to make Yun Zhaozhao cry!
In the end, they were the ones who cried the hardest!
Serves them right!
Xiao Shuyue cupped her face in her hands, smiling brightly as she looked at Yun Zhaozhao: “Zhaozhao, so you’re a little rich girl too! You were just too naive and too easy to fool.”
“That was before! The me now will never be deceived again!” Yun Zhaozhao straightened her back proudly—she had two great advantages!
Xiao Shuyue suddenly rushed over and hugged her.
“Zhaozhao, I heard everything! You’re an all-knowing, all-seeing fairy! Guess what I’m thinking in my heart?”
【If Zhaozhao’s parents became immortals, then she must be a fairy!】
【If I kiss a fairy, can I get a little bit of her immortal aura?】
Yun Zhaozhao’s face flushed bright red in an instant.Both ashamed and eager, she reached out to push Xiao Shuyue away. “Don’t kiss me! Women shouldn’t be too intimate with each other!”
“Wow—Zhaozhao, you really know it, you really are a fairy!”
Xiao Shuyue, lively and bold, deliberately teased her: “Zhaozhao, let me give you a kiss! Mua~”
Suddenly!
A bone-chilling cold surged in, so intense it made Xiao Shuyue shiver uncontrollably! It felt as if the King of Hell himself was watching her!
Xiao Shuyue looked toward the door in terror, meeting a pair of eyes as sharp and cold as ice blades.
A voice, frigid as ancient ice, commanded: “Let go of my cousin!”