"Slap!"
A resounding slap sent the Old Servant Woman's headdress askew.
"Hmm? Who said that?"
"Slap!"
By the time the fifth slap landed, the Old Servant Woman was swollen like a pig's head, reaching out to the Main Seat through tears and snot: "Second Miss, Second Miss, save me! This servant was only following your orders..."
Yun Pianpian's lips curled into a cold sneer, and the pale blue Spiritual Power within her body surged through her Meridians into her right leg. She lightly tapped the ground with her toe, delivering a seemingly casual kick—
"Whoosh!"
The Old Servant Woman's plump body flew out like a kite with a broken string, landing with a "thud" into the lotus pond, splashing water ten feet high. The withered lotus leaves swayed violently with the waves, startling a flock of resting water birds.
"The wicked servant falling into the water is quite fitting," Yun Pianpian clapped her hands and chuckled lightly, then turned to face the Main Seat.
The woman seated there wore a willow-green wide-sleeved Immortal-Leaving Dress, a light green Silk Ribbon fluttering lightly in the wind near her hair. From a distance, she resembled a meticulously painted beauty—if one ignored the Poison Quenching hatred in her eyes.
"Yun, Yun Pianpian?! Aren't you already..."
"Dead?" Yun Pianpian kicked away the Old Servant Woman at her feet, her Embroidered Shoes stepping over the mess on the ground. "What a pity, Second Younger Sister, King Yama says my lifespan isn't over—"
"And he refuses to take me!"
Yun Sheng slowly smoothed the wrinkles on her skirt, the bright red Crimson Nail Polish on her nails contrasting with the Cyan Porcelain Tea Cup. "Eldest Older Sister has quite a tough life; you couldn't even die after falling off a cliff, and you actually managed to return."
"However..."
She suddenly covered her mouth and chuckled lightly, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes.
"However, what?" Yun Pianpian approached step by step, her Embroidered Shoes crushing the scattered porcelain on the ground, making a crisp shattering sound. "You didn't expect me, the 'waste,' to come back alive? Do you believe—"
She suddenly leaned down, using her fingertip to lift Yun Sheng's chin: "That I could deal with you right now?"
Their breaths were inches apart. Yun Pianpian clearly saw the other party's pupils contract sharply, yet she still forced a calm demeanor.
"Remember this," she whispered close to Yun Sheng's ear, her voice cold as if quenched with ice, "Everything you inflicted upon me, I will return a thousandfold."
"Slap!"
A slap carrying Spiritual Power slammed down fiercely. Yun Sheng was flipped entirely off her seat, her disheveled hair hitting the pillar. Her left cheek swelled visibly, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
"Yun Pianpian! I will kill you!" Yun Sheng shrieked, trying to scramble up.
"Slap!"
A backhand slap followed immediately. This time, it knocked out two molars, spitting blood foam onto the green skirt, resembling a Red Plum Blossom blooming on snow.
"What 'you'?" Yun Pianpian straddled her, grabbing her collar and lifting her up. "Weren't you quite talkative just a moment ago?"
Looking at the pig's-head-swollen Yun Sheng on the ground, Yun Pianpian finally burst into hearty laughter: "So this is the legendary pig's head look!"
In modern society, she never dared to seek revenge so openly. But in this world where the strong prey on the weak—to hell with repaying malice with virtue!
"Precious Liu Ying~" She beckoned behind her, her voice sweet as honey. "Come and continue hitting her for me. If I don't make Yun Sheng go in standing up and come out horizontally today, my surname isn't Yun!"
"Yes!" Liu Ying had long been itching for a fight. Hearing this, she lunged forward, lifting Yun Sheng's collar as if carrying a small chick. Her fists descended with a whistling sound, and she even cheerfully counted with each strike: "Thanking Miss for the first punch! Thanking Miss for the second punch!"
Yun Pianpian deliberately did not let the Maidservant take her younger brother away. She wanted Xiao Wu to witness firsthand—if you are bullied, you must strike back tenfold, a hundredfold!
But when she turned around, she saw Xiao Wu groping the ground with both hands, stumbling toward the source of the sound. "Sister... Sister, are you alright?"
The youth called out anxiously, his eyes that should have been bright as Stars were currently veiled with a layer of ashen gloom.
Yun Pianpian felt struck by lightning.
She tremblingly helped her brother up, her fingertip accidentally brushing against the scar near his eye—it was clearly the mark left by a sharp weapon!
With a "crack," Yun Pianpian forcefully crushed the armrest of the chair.
In the distance, Liu Ying's counting continued: "Thanking Miss for the ninth punch!" accompanied by Yun Sheng's increasingly faint groans.
"Enough," Yun Pianpian suddenly spoke, gently shielding her brother in her arms. "Leave her one breath."
Her anger intensified. She trembled as she helped Yun Wu sit on a clean chair nearby, turning to ask the Maidservant beside her, "Tell me, what exactly happened to Young Master's eyes?"
The Maidservant, called Fang Hua, shrank beside the carved corridor pillar, her slender fingers tightly clutching the faded hem of her skirt. Her thin shoulders trembled incessantly, and tears rolled down like pearls from a broken string, soaking dark marks onto the Bluestone ground.
"Miss..." Fang Hua choked out, her voice so light it seemed a gust of wind could scatter it. "Since you suddenly disappeared three months ago, everyone in the residence said... said you met with misfortune while insisting on following Second Prince Your Highness to the hunt."
Saying this, she suddenly covered her mouth, her frail body hunched like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind.
"Young Master refused to believe it; he secretly ran to the Second Prince's residence to look for you..." Fang Hua's nails dug deeply into her palms. "When he returned... when he returned, he was covered in injuries..."
Her voice suddenly sharpened, "After that, Young Master's vision also started becoming blurry!"
Fang Hua suddenly dropped to her knees, her tear-streaked face looking up at Yun Pianpian. "This servant... this servant personally saw Young Master drink that bowl of medicine personally brought by the Third Madam before he left..."
A fire of intertwined pain and anger burst forth in her eyes. "But this servant is just a lowly maidservant; I have no proof..."
"It's the Second Prince again," Yun Pianpian squeezed out those words between her teeth, her eyes flashing with knife-like coldness.
The Original Owner in her memory had been willing to give up her status as the Duke's Residence's daughter for this fickle man, even going against her entire family. And that man had not only crushed her sincere heart into dust but now even targeted her young brother.
She lowered her gaze to Yun Wu, who was nestled in her arms. The youth's pale little face still bore tear stains, yet those eyes that should have been bright as Stars were now covered in a layer of gray mist, but he still tried to give her a docile smile.
"Sister, I'm fine..." Yun Wu groped for and held her hand; his fingertips were chillingly cold. Though he was trembling from the pain, he still comforted her softly: "It's good that Sister is back..."
Yun Pianpian's heart trembled violently, as if stabbed by a knife. What a good child! She wished she could slap her former self, but then she thought, this body was hers now. This conflicting emotion made her chest feel tight, almost suffocating her.
The sensation in her palm made her nose sting—her brother's hands were covered in fine scratches, some already scabbed over, others still showing a hideous redness. She tightly clasped that small hand, as if she could transmit all warmth and strength to him this way. Tears blurred her vision again; she abruptly raised her sleeve to wipe them away, the coarse fabric leaving faint red marks at the corners of her eyes.
This would be the last time she cried. She made a blood oath in her heart: from now on, no one who harmed Grandfather and her brother would escape!
At this moment, Liu Ying nimbly stood up from Yun Sheng, dusting off the non-existent dust on her skirt. She walked to Yun Pianpian's side, flexing her wrists, a look of satisfaction on her face, resembling a cat that had just finished a hearty meal.
"Does your hand hurt?" Yun Pianpian asked softly, her gaze falling on Liu Ying's slightly reddened knuckles.
Liu Ying's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she immediately shook her sleeves, proudly lifting her chin: "Miss, don't worry, this servant can eat two large steamed buns in one sitting!" She swung her fist, and as her sleeve flipped up, it revealed a sturdy forearm. "I still have this much strength; it's perfect for beating people!"
Yun Pianpian leaned languidly against the Main Seat, her slender fingers lightly tapping the armrest. A section of her snow-white boot tip was visible beneath her skirt as she casually crossed her legs, yet it inexplicably exuded a sharp sense of pressure.
She looked up and faintly commanded: "Fang Hua, take Young Master back to his room, and find a doctor to examine him thoroughly." Although her tone was light, it was unquestionable.
Fang Hua quickly responded, cautiously stepping forward, intending to help Yun Wu. But the youth slightly shook his head, his pale fingers gently clutching Yun Pianpian's skirt corner, lifting his face. His Eyelashes trembled slightly, and his voice was soft and gentle: "Sister, I really am fine..."
Yun Pianpian looked down at him. The youth's frail figure was like a green bamboo stalk broken by wind and rain, stubbornly refusing to fall, yet those eyes that should have been clear and bright were veiled with mist, stabbing her heart.
"Be good," she reached out and rubbed the top of Yun Wu's head; the touch of her palm was soft, like stroking a docile little animal. But immediately, her expression darkened—such a beautiful and well-behaved younger brother, treated this badly?
Unforgivable!
She withdrew her hand, her skirt fluttering as she stood up, her gaze coldly sweeping over the paralyzed Yun Sheng on the ground. This Second Miss, who had been so arrogant moments ago, now lay half-dead on the floor, lacking even the strength to wail.
Yun Pianpian let out a cold laugh, stepped over her, and walked straight toward the door.
Just as she stepped out of the courtyard gate, she heard rustling sounds coming from behind the rockery. She glanced sideways and saw the Old Servant Woman she had kicked into the pond earlier, sneaking and crouching behind a stone, her fat body wishing it could merge into the crack.
Hmph, this old thing is quite clever. When her Second Miss was getting beaten just now, she didn't dare utter a sound, but now she knows how to hide?
Yun Pianpian narrowed her eyes, recalling the Old Servant Woman's usual bullying demeanor and how she bossed Yun Wu around. Her anger flared instantly—her foot still faintly ached from that kick just now. This dead servant woman, with all her fat, was quite resilient?
The Old Servant Woman sensed her gaze, shivered all over, and turned to flee.
"Trying to run?"
Liu Ying had long seen through her mistress's thoughts. Her lips curved, and she darted out like the wind, grabbing the Old Servant Woman by the collar, raising her arm—
"Whoosh—Thud!"
A perfect parabola cut through the air, followed by splashing water; the pond gained another flailing drowned chicken.
Liu Ying clapped her hands and nodded in satisfaction. "Hmm, the entry posture this time was much more standard."
Yun Pianpian's lips curved slightly, the coldness in her eyes lingering, but now mixed with a sense of satisfaction.
This was only the beginning.