Madam Yun had not yet gone to bed when she heard a heated argument breaking out outside.
She looked up, but all she could see beyond the window was darkness.
Frowning, she stepped out of the side room.
“Nanny Zhou, what’s going on?”
Nanny Zhou turned and returned to Madam Yun’s side. After a moment’s hesitation, her expression grew complicated.
“Madam, a maid from Tingyu Pavilion has brought word… that the Second Miss was beaten.”
“The person who beat her was supposedly the Eldest Miss.”
“What?”
Madam Yun froze and instinctively turned toward the main house.
“Didn’t Ziyao go to sleep early? How could she have beaten anyone?”
Nanny Zhou also found the claim absurd.
“This old servant doesn’t know the details. It was the Second Miss’s personal maid, Chaolu, who came to report it. She insisted that I inform you immediately. She said the Second Miss’s face has been swollen from the beating.”
A change flashed across Madam Yun’s expression.
She was about to go investigate when something suddenly occurred to her.
Calmly, she said,
“Tell that maid to go back first. I’ll come shortly.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Madam Yun paused briefly before turning and heading toward the main residence instead.
The door opened.
The room was completely silent.
A single lamp burned in the inner chamber. The light was dim but sufficient to reveal a figure lying on the bed.
Walking to the bedside, Madam Yun lifted the bed curtains.
“Ziyao.”
Yun Ziyao jolted awake.
Like a frightened rabbit, she sat upright and curled herself into a trembling ball in the corner of the bed.
“Don’t hit me! I—I’ll go wash the clothes right away! Right away…”
In her panic, she didn’t even notice Madam Yun standing beside the bed. Flustered, she began searching frantically for her clothes.
“My… my clothes? Where are my clothes?”
“Ziyao.”
Madam Yun quickly sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand.
“Don’t be afraid. It’s me.”
“There’s no one else here. No one’s making you wash clothes.”
“Don’t be afraid…”
Yun Ziyao looked up blankly.
“Mother?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
Madam Yun’s voice was gentle and full of concern.
“I only came to see how you’re sleeping. I wondered whether you’d have trouble adjusting to a different bed.”
“Don’t be afraid. Everything is fine.”
Lowering her gaze, Yun Ziyao spoke obediently.
“Mother, today has felt like a dream.”
“I’ve eaten well, dressed well, and slept well.”
“I haven’t had trouble adjusting to the bed.”
“It’s just… I wake up easily.”
She smiled self-deprecatingly.
“Am I useless?”
Madam Yun shook her head, her heart twisting with pain.
“No.”
“This isn’t your fault.”
Ziyao’s body was so frail.
She was little more than skin and bones.
She looked as though a strong gust of wind could carry her away.
Could someone in such a condition really have slipped past all the maids and matrons of Jing’an Courtyard, crossed the estate unnoticed, reached Tingyu Pavilion, severely beaten Yun Zijun, then returned without a single person noticing and calmly lain back down in bed?
What a joke.
Did she have three heads and six arms?
Who was lying, and who was pretending to be weak and pitiful, wasn’t it obvious at a glance?
Madam Yun gently coaxed Yun Ziyao back beneath the covers.
“It’s alright. Go back to sleep.”
“I’ll give orders that no one is allowed to disturb you.”
Yun Ziyao nodded.
“Okay.”
“Mother should rest early too. Don’t overwork yourself.”
Madam Yun nodded.
Then she rose and left with Nanny Zhou.
Leaning against the headboard after they departed, Yun Ziyao lowered her eyes slightly.
A trace of mocking amusement flashed through them.
Yun Zijun.
So you like putting on an act?
I’m really looking forward to seeing your next performance.
As Madam Yun and Nanny Zhou left Jing’an Courtyard, she spoke while walking.
“Ziyao never left her room.”
Nanny Zhou nodded.
“Although there are fewer maids on night duty, the Eldest Miss is weak and walks slowly. It takes at least the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to walk from Jing’an Courtyard to Tingyu Pavilion.”
“There’s no way she could have been gone that long without anyone noticing.”
After a pause, she continued,
“Judging from Chaolu’s report, it sounded as though the Eldest Miss had only just beaten the Second Miss before Chaolu rushed over to complain.”
“Logically speaking, Chaolu should walk much faster than the Eldest Miss.”
“Yet by the time Chaolu arrived to report the matter, the Eldest Miss was already lying in bed and looked as though she had never left the room.”
Unless, of course, the Eldest Miss possessed the ability to fly through the heavens and burrow through the earth.
Madam Yun remained silent for a moment.
Then she said expressionlessly,
“Zijun was too impatient.”
She had shown only the slightest bit of kindness toward Ziyao, and Zijun could no longer sit still.
She had immediately rushed to frame Ziyao.
Did she really think Madam Yun was a fool?
Such a baseless trick was embarrassingly crude.
As they approached Tingyu Pavilion, Madam Yun could already hear loud sobbing from inside.
Her steps slowed.
For some reason, whenever she had heard Yun Zijun cry in the past, she had always felt at least some sympathy.
Now, all she felt was irritation.
“Second Miss, please stop crying,” Chaolu said softly.
“Madam will be here soon.”
Unfortunately, those words only made Yun Zijun cry harder.
Madam Yun crossed the courtyard and entered the room.
At once she saw Yun Zijun sprawled across the bed, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.
Suppressing her emotions, Madam Yun sat down beside her.
“Jun’er, what’s wrong?”
Chaolu and Chaoyang stood and bowed.
“Madam.”
Madam Yun’s gaze darkened.
She looked displeased as she stared at the two maids.
“So many incidents in a single day.”
“How exactly are the two of you serving the Second Miss?”
Their faces turned pale.
“Please forgive us, Madam.”
Yun Zijun slowly lifted her head.
On her fair cheeks were swollen handprints, already turning dark purple with bruising.
The corner of her mouth was split.
The sight was shocking.
Madam Yun and Nanny Zhou both visibly startled when they saw her injuries.
“Jun’er, your face—”
Crying, Yun Zijun threw herself into Madam Yun’s arms.
“Mother!”
Madam Yun frowned slightly and patted her shoulder.
Then she gave Nanny Zhou a meaningful look.
Nanny Zhou immediately walked over to Chaolu and Chaoyang and slapped each of them across the face.
“You little wretches!”
“As the Second Miss’s personal maids, you couldn’t even protect your own mistress?”
“What are you two good for?”
Yun Zijun froze.
She hurriedly looked toward the two maids before standing up.
“Nanny Zhou, it’s not Chaolu and Chaoyang’s fault—”
“Second Miss, you’re simply too kind.”
Nanny Zhou’s face was cold as she glared at the maids.
“Servants who fail to protect their master should be beaten to death!”
Panic flashed across Yun Zijun’s face.
She looked at Madam Yun.
“Mother…”
Madam Yun ignored the plea.
She ordered a maid to bring ointment, led Yun Zijun to a chair, and personally began applying medicine to her bruised face.
“Nanny Zhou.”
Her voice turned cold.
“Ask these two maids exactly how the Second Miss received these injuries.”
“If they dare tell even a single lie, tomorrow morning we’ll take their contracts and sell them off.”
Nanny Zhou stared at Chaolu and Chaoyang.
“You heard Madam.”
“Who hit the Second Miss?”
Yun Zijun instinctively spoke up.
“Mother, Chaolu and Chaoyang don’t know anything—”
“They are your personal maids.”
Madam Yun frowned.
“At least one of them should have been on duty tonight.”
“How could they not know?”
“Jun’er, you’re the master.”
“You don’t need to protect servants at every turn.”
“Your kindness will only encourage them to become lazy and careless.”
“Tonight, let Nanny Zhou properly teach them the rules.”
“I really don’t know anything!”
Chaoyang hurriedly defended herself.
“Tonight was Chaolu’s night watch duty.”
“I had just finished my work and was about to sleep when I heard the Second Miss shouting for help.”
“I immediately got dressed and ran over.”
“Please investigate, Madam! Please investigate, Nanny Zhou!”
Nanny Zhou asked coldly,
“When you arrived, did you see anyone else?”
Chaoyang shook her head frantically.
“Only the Second Miss and Chaolu were there.”
“I didn’t see anyone else.”
Nanny Zhou turned to Chaolu.
“And you?”
“I…”
Chaolu instinctively glanced at Yun Zijun before lowering her eyes.
Uneasily, she replied,
“The Second Miss said she wanted some time alone and ordered me to stay farther away.”
“So I waited outside the courtyard gate.”
“Then… then I suddenly heard the Second Miss shouting for someone…”