Who knows how those people from the Blazing Sun Palace would react… As if recalling something terrifying, Xiaobai unconsciously rubbed her arms. To this day, she still couldn’t understand why A Cai would fall for the junior sister from the Blazing Sun Palace. Perhaps this was what they called unique taste.
From this perspective alone, Ming Tianguang really didn’t seem like someone from the Blazing Sun Palace at all.
Without delay, she had the servants bring Ming Tianguang back to the guest room. Xiaobai then directly ordered Yinyuan and her lover to be dragged over.
Whether by coincidence or design, the place she chose wasn’t far from Young Master Ming’s guest room. With the acute hearing of a martial artist, he could easily observe this “family affair.”
Yinyuan’s condition wasn’t actually too bad. Perhaps it was out of consideration that she had once been the young mistress’s most favored maid, her status even surpassing that of Shang Yu, who had accompanied the young mistress since childhood. After all, the young mistress was still a girl and naturally preferred the company of other girls over boys.
Yinyuan had followed the young mistress since she was ten years old. At that time, the young mistress was just a little toddler who had recently been weaned, stumbling around in a bright red robe. Then, foolishly stepping on the hem of her own robe, she fell face-first with a thud. So when Yinyuan arrived with the steward, she almost immediately couldn’t help but curl the corners of her mouth, feeling incredibly fortunate to have the chance to serve such a jade-like doll.
However, the next moment, she saw that adorable-looking little lucky doll viciously bite the boy who had rushed forward to help her, biting him until he bled profusely. It took several servants to barely pull her away. She was supposed to be a pampered young mistress, yet she was as savage and frenzied as a wild beast.
Even later, Yinyuan couldn’t clearly say whether she had been more afraid of the young mistress, who was as mad as a wild beast, or of Shang Yu, who had been bitten until he bled profusely yet still held back tears to comfort the young mistress.
Yinyuan wasn’t born into the household. She had seen the outside world. At least until she was eight, she had been the daughter of an official’s family, with an elegant name. But later, she lost everything, even her name, which the capricious young mistress casually changed to the vulgar “Yinyuanbao,” just like that crude Western Region slave, making it utterly ridiculous.
So she knew that the problem lay with the Shang family, and she had to leave this place, had to escape this terrifying cage. She couldn’t deceive herself like the other maids. They had never served the young mistress up close and didn’t know how terrifying she could be. Yinyuan had spent countless sleepless nights, closing her eyes only to see the young mistress’s whip descending.
Actually, she was quite lucky because every time the young mistress lashed out, Shang Yu would do his best to shield the others, coaxing the young mistress to vent her anger on him instead. Despite being such a young child, he was mature and reliable enough to earn the servants’ respect. Even when Yinyuan took advantage of the young mistress’s good mood to coax her into releasing her indenture contract, Shang Yu had guessed her intentions.
He didn’t specifically stop her, only coldly reminded her, “Be careful. Although the Old Madam’s eyesight is poor, she is not a fool.”
Yet no one could have anticipated that in the end, it was Yinyuan who acted foolishly. While merely accompanying the young lady on an outing, she took a fancy to a poor scholar who had failed the imperial exams. Not only did she naively give him her purity in advance, but she also, as if possessed, stole the young lady’s personal jade pendant. The two of them were utterly foolish—before fleeing, they greedily attempted to exchange the pendant for silver notes at a bank. They nearly succeeded.
After all, Yinyuan was the young lady’s most favored maid. No one expected her to commit such a foolish act. However, unlike Shang Yu and other servants who grew up alongside the young lady, Yinyuan was unaware of the pendant’s significance. It was a piece of Ice Soul Cold Jade that the master had painstakingly obtained after bringing the young lady home. Although its efficacy had diminished as the young lady grew older, it still served to temper her fiery temper.
Now that the pendant was taken, it was like releasing a ferocious beast from its chains. Yinyuan and her lover didn’t even make it out of the bank’s doors before the furious young lady arrived with her entourage to block their escape. The young lady immediately kicked the scholar surnamed Jiang, sending him flying over ten meters and rolling far away. He crashed through the bank’s doors, breaking several bones on the spot.
But that wasn’t all. The young lady brandished her whip and began lashing him, striking him left and right until he was on the brink of death. If Yinyuan hadn’t desperately thrown herself over him, and if the young lady hadn’t shown some restraint out of consideration for her, the scholar would have been beaten to death on the spot.
Perhaps only Yinyuan could make the young lady hesitate. Yet, the more the anger was suppressed and accumulated, the more violently it erupted. In the end, the young lady could no longer see anyone else. If Ming Tianguang hadn’t blocked that final whip, it would have ended with two corpses.
However, only Xiaobai knew that the original host had been so enraged by these two that she died on the spot. The personal jade pendant was shattered in the chaos, and its broken fragments were now useless.
In stark contrast to Yinyuan was Jiang Lang. If not for the physician from Liu-Sheng Hall specially summoned to keep him clinging to life, he would have perished long ago. But when he was brought forward, he was already breathing weakly, hanging by a thread.
Everyone knew that even if a divine physician from Medicine King Valley were to come personally, he could not be saved. Or rather, even if he survived, what difference would it make if he were bedridden for the rest of his life?
Everyone said that Yinyuan’s foolish actions were entirely the fault of this scholar. If he hadn’t seduced Yinyuan, how could she have betrayed the young lady? They placed all the blame on the scholar. Xiaobai scratched her chin, noticing the despair in Yinyuan’s eyes—a despair not directed at her lover, but at herself.
Xiaobai saw it clearly. Rather than Jiang Lang enticing Yinyuan, it was Yinyuan who needed someone like him. Whether it was Jiang Lang or someone else, as long as this person met her expectations, she would seize the opportunity at any cost to escape this fiery pit. As for going to the bank… it could only be said that she couldn’t bear to part with a life of wealth and luxury. Otherwise, the bag of gold leaves and box of jewelry she took would have been more than enough for them to live on.
Resting her chin on her hand, Xiaobai felt the body heating up uncontrollably again at the sight of Yinyuan, anger surging within her. She pulled out a silk handkerchief to cover her nose, preventing herself from becoming so agitated that her nose bled. With her other hand, she waved dismissively: “Wrap him up and throw him away.”
The one referred to here was naturally Jiang Lang, who was already on the verge of death. Yinyuan watched helplessly as the servants wrapped her lover in a straw mat. She opened her mouth but couldn’t even make a sound, only lowering her head weakly. After several days of calm reflection, she had already come to understand the inevitable outcome for both of them.
At some point, Ming Tianguang pushed open the door. Leaning against the wall, he seemed to want to say something, so Xiaobai cheerfully waved the candy in her hand at him. His lips moved slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.
“Now then—” Xiaobai tossed out her whip, but not toward Yinyuan. Instead, she threw it to Shang Yu. She seemed tired, wiping the blood trickling from her nose with a handkerchief as she coldly said, “You know what to do, right?”
The original owner’s voice was actually quite pleasant, carrying the crisp and youthful tone of her age. However, due to prolonged internal heat, especially after losing her personal jade pendant, it had become so gloomy and hoarse that it was chilling.
If this continued for a long time, it would likely leave lasting effects.
Shang Yu lowered his head, showing no sign of dissatisfaction. He handed the whip to Jin Yuan and calmly said, “Strike me ten times.”
Though it was only ten strikes, if delivered with this specially made whip and wielded by a strong man like Jin Yuan, even an adult would be half-dead, let alone an eleven-year-old boy.
Jin Yuan didn’t quite understand until he saw Xiaobai nod. Then, without hesitation, he decisively swung the whip.
In truth, Xiaobai had shown mercy. If she had taken action herself, enduring ten strikes would have surely sent Shang Yu to his grave. However, if he still wanted to stay by her side in the future, or even advance further to become a managing steward, he had no choice but to endure the whip.
Everyone knew that Yinyuan’s successful escape was not unrelated to him. As for the reason, perhaps it was due to their years of companionship, pity, sympathy, or maybe even affection. After all, boys of eleven or twelve already had a vague awareness of the opposite sex, and Yinyuan was indeed quite beautiful.
Children are actually the most appearance-conscious beings. If you’re good-looking, they’ll cling to you, but if you’re ugly, you might be subjected to some painfully honest childish remarks.
Over there, Ming Tianguang frowned deeply. Clearly, this sixteen-year-old youth felt confused and bewildered. As a righteous knight, he should have intervened, but the key point was that Shang Yu was clearly willing. He watched silently, initially focusing on Shang Yu, but later his gaze shifted to Xiaobai.
Was this really just a little girl? Or was it that in such high-ranking households, even children could be so cold-hearted?
This was someone who had served her closely, even grown up with her like childhood friends, yet she could… He couldn’t find the words to describe it, feeling that if he continued, he might utter some harsh criticisms.
This was simply a case of one willing to strike and the other willing to endure. He shouldn’t place all the blame on a child.
But Ming Tianguang didn’t return to his room. He forced himself to watch on, witnessing Shang Yu being whipped until his skin split and flesh tore, watching the boy with a bloodied back struggle to stand up. As his blood dripped, Xiaobai noticed that her nosebleed had stopped.
Waving her hand to dismiss the hidden guard who had been crouching behind her, applying ice to the back of her neck, she casually tossed aside the blood-stained handkerchief and said to Shang Yu, “As for Yinyuan’s matter, handle it according to the family rules as well.”
She walked straight away, a group of attendants hurriedly following behind. This time, no one dared to stop their “delicate” young mistress from riding Jin Yuan.
Only Shang Yu was left behind on the spot. Even Yinyuan had been dragged back to the dungeon. This overly precocious youth finally couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground. He gasped for breath but made no sound, instead crawling forward with great difficulty for a short distance.
He picked up the handkerchief that Xiaobai had casually discarded and carefully put it away.
Thus, Ming Tianguang understood something. He remained silent for a moment before finally asking, “Do you need me to help you up?”
“No,” replied this servant, who always put on a fawning and ingratiating demeanor in front of the young lady, coldly.
In the end, gritting his teeth, he slowly leaned against the wall and limped away. The servants who had been watching from afar, not daring to approach, hurried over to clean up what remained.
Only a pool of blood was left on the spot.
Author’s Note:
I thought I could drag this out for a few chapters, but in the end, the Yinyuan elopement incident was resolved cleanly and efficiently. Looking at it this way, I might even be able to write up to the apprenticeship arc before going VIP!
【Mini Theater】
Breakdown
Interview: Would you rather be hit by a carriage or kicked by Miss Xiaobai?
Ming Tianguang: …Can I not choose?
Alright, I get it. Please stop making up weird stuff. I’d rather be hit by a carriage than kicked by her, and please interview someone else next time—don’t come looking for me again!
The next day, reports and accompanying illustrations spread throughout the martial world about a certain famous young hero from the Blazing Sun Palace, Ming So-and-so, displaying a terrible attitude and insulting reporters, severely damaging his reputation.
Thank you all very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!