Yun Ziyao stumbled all the way to Jing’an Courtyard, where Madam Yun resided.
“Mother! Mother!”
Her voice was filled with panic and fear.
“Little Sister was pushed into the lake by Big Brother! Mother!”
Hearing the commotion, Madam Yun hurried out of the courtyard. Looking at Yun Ziyao’s pale face, she asked anxiously,
“Rao’er, what… what did you say? Don’t panic. Tell me slowly.”
Yun Ziyao looked frantic, her face deathly pale as she stammered,
“Big Brother… he pushed Little Sister into the river, and then he jumped in to save her… Mother, it’s so cold outside. Will Little Sister catch a chill? Please go check on her!”
Madam Yun’s expression changed.
“Doesn’t your brother dote on Jun’er the most? Why would he push her into the river?”
Yun Ziyao’s eyes darted nervously. Looking uneasy, she avoided Madam Yun’s gaze.
“I… I don’t know. Mother, I don’t know anything…”
Madam Yun turned and instructed her personal nanny.
“Nanny Zhou, take some people and go investigate immediately. No matter what happened, don’t let word of it spread.”
“Yes, Madam.”
After Nanny Zhou left, Madam Yun pulled Yun Ziyao into the room and dismissed everyone else.
“Ziyao, what exactly happened? Are you hiding something from me?”
“Ah!”
Yun Ziyao’s eyes reddened as she recoiled in pain, pulling back her arm. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Mother… it hurts…”
Madam Yun quickly released her hand.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she grabbed Yun Ziyao’s arm again.
The first thing she noticed was the rough, cracked skin on her hands.
She froze.
Could these still be the hands of a pampered noble young lady?
Lifting Yun Ziyao’s sleeve, Madam Yun saw the crisscrossing scars that covered her fair arm.
She stood there in shock.
Tears nearly burst from her eyes.
“Rao’er… how did you suffer such terrible injuries? What happened?”
Yun Ziyao lowered her head and shrank back, too frightened to speak.
Madam Yun quickly released her left arm and pulled up the sleeve on the right.
The sight was no better.
The entire arm was covered with wounds and scars.
Her heart ached so badly that tears streamed down her face.
“Rao’er, where did all these injuries come from? During these three years in the Laundry Bureau… were you treated like this?”
“The Crown Prince clearly said it would only be a small punishment and that he would secretly protect you. How could this happen? How could this happen…?”
Yun Ziyao withdrew her arm, lowering her eyes.
Like a frightened child, she whispered,
“Mother, I’m fine. I was willful. Whatever punishment I received was deserved. I don’t blame you or Father, and I don’t blame Little Sister either.”
“Even if she instructed the matrons in the Laundry Bureau to punish me properly, I deserved it.”
“In the future, I won’t compete with Little Sister for your affection. I won’t fight her for anything in this family.”
“I… I’ll be obedient.”
“Mother, I’ll be obedient.”
Choking with sobs, Madam Yun gripped her hand.
“Rao’er, my Rao’er… don’t be so afraid. You are my daughter. I will still love you as my own daughter.”
“Please… don’t say things like that.”
“Mother, my situation isn’t important.”
Yun Ziyao looked up at her with anxious eyes.
“The urgent matter is that Father absolutely must not find out that Big Brother has improper feelings toward Little Sister— Ah!”
She abruptly covered her mouth.
“I didn’t say anything. I don’t know anything!”
“Ziyao?”
Madam Yun’s face changed dramatically.
“What are you talking about? What did you just say? Improper feelings?”
“I was talking nonsense! I deserve to die!”
Yun Ziyao panicked, becoming completely incoherent.
She even raised her hand and slapped herself.
“I saw wrong! I heard wrong! Big Brother never said those things to Little Sister. He didn’t deliberately push her into the river. He wasn’t intentionally creating an opportunity to save her. I was mistaken…”
Before she could finish speaking, her vision suddenly darkened.
Without warning, she fainted.
“Rao’er!”
Madam Yun’s expression changed instantly as she caught her daughter.
“Rao’er! Rao’er!”
“Someone, come quickly! Fetch a physician! Get a physician here immediately!”
The two maids waiting outside rushed in. Seeing the eldest young lady unconscious, they hurried forward to help.
“Lay Rao’er on my bed,” Madam Yun ordered anxiously.
“And quickly find a skilled physician!”
The maids hurried off.
Madam Yun sat beside the bed.
Even unconscious, Yun Ziyao continued muttering deliriously.
“No… don’t hit me… I know I was wrong… don’t hit me! Please don’t hit me!”
Madam Yun covered her mouth.
It felt as if someone were squeezing her heart.
This was the precious daughter she had cherished in the palm of her hand for fourteen years.
How had she become so terrified?
Just what kind of suffering had she endured during those three years in the Laundry Bureau?
Sitting at the bedside, Madam Yun’s hands trembled as she carefully loosened Yun Ziyao’s clothing.
Every inch of exposed skin was covered with scars.
Large scars.
Small scars.
Countless scars.
The sight was unbearable.
Pain twisted through her chest.
Yun Ziyao’s lips trembled as she clutched the blanket anxiously.
“Big Brother… don’t… don’t hit me…”
“I didn’t hurt Little Sister… it wasn’t me…”
“Not me… not me…”
“Mother… Mother…”
A tear slid down the corner of her eye.
Fear filled every word of her delirious murmurs.
“Mother, don’t abandon me…”
“I won’t compete with Little Sister for your affection…”
“Please don’t abandon me…”
Hot tears rolled down her face one after another, silently telling the story of the hellish days she had endured.
Madam Yun held her hand tightly and wept uncontrollably.
“Rao’er… my Rao’er…”
“From now on, no one will bully you.”
“No one will ever bully you again…”
“Madam.”
Nanny Zhou returned.
She cast a sympathetic glance at the unconscious Yun Ziyao before lowering her voice.
“The eldest young master rescued the second young lady from the water. However, he appeared extremely angry. He kept cursing the eldest young lady.”
“He claimed the eldest young lady was vicious and had pushed both him and the second young lady into the river.”
“He also said…”
Nanny Zhou hesitated.
“He also said that after three years in the Laundry Bureau, the eldest young lady still hadn’t learned her lesson and should be sent back there for further punishment.”
“Utter nonsense!”
Madam Yun’s face turned green with rage.
She angrily pulled back Yun Ziyao’s sleeve.
“Nanny Zhou, look!”
“Look at what Rao’er has suffered all these years!”
“The Crown Prince promised it would only be a minor punishment. Does this look like a minor punishment to you?”
“Her body is covered in wounds!”
“I don’t know how she survived these three years!”
“She’s so weak she can barely stand. How could she possibly push a grown man like Yun Zexuan into a river?”
“Does he think he’s fooling ghosts?”
If Yun Zexuan had only claimed that Yun Ziyao pushed Yun Zijun into the water, there might have been a shred of credibility.
But Yun Zexuan was a fully grown man.
Not only was Rao’er physically weak—
After the suffering she had endured over the past three years, her health had likely been ruined.
How could she possibly have the strength to push him into a river?
It was utterly absurd.
Nanny Zhou lowered her eyes.
“The second young lady also claims that the eldest young lady kicked them both into the water.”
“She says the eldest young lady even held her underwater and tried to drown her.”
Madam Yun’s expression shifted.
“Did anyone witness it?”
Nanny Zhou slowly shook her head.
“The eldest young lady only returned from the Laundry Bureau last night. She fell asleep after dinner.”
“The maids who used to serve her were reassigned to the kitchen, and she currently has no attendants.”
“When the second young lady went to visit her, she didn’t bring any maids with her.”
“And the eldest young lady’s courtyard is rather secluded, so…”
“Nanny Zhou.”
Madam Yun suddenly interrupted her.
Her tone carried a deeper meaning.
“Jun’er has four personal maids attending her at all times.”
“If she went to see Ziyao…”
“Why didn’t she bring even one maid with her?”