She didn't know what story would come next, though. "I know," she murmured casually.

Yet, these simple words made Ah Jin even more agitated, her voice catching with emotion. "It's good that the Young Mistress knows.

Both the Concubine-Aunt and I worry for the Young Mistress.

Seeing you finally recovered and even coming out to accept the Old Madam's dying wishes brought the Concubine-Aunt and this servant such joy that we burn incense before the Buddha daily," she said.

Qi Yue managed a dry, forced smile, pulling at the corner of her mouth. "Let's not talk about the past; what matters most is the present, and the future," Ah Jin said, wiping her tears with a handkerchief and rallying her spirits. "Young Mistress, this servant must tell you, you absolutely cannot remain at odds with the Heir Apparent any longer.

It brings you no benefit whatsoever; it only pleases your enemies and pains those who care for you." This was a plea for reconciliation, and Qi Yue nodded. "Yes, I understand," she replied seriously. "The Heir Apparent, his temperament is rather peculiar," Ah Jin continued, letting out a sigh. "He wasn't like this when he was a child." A child? "You are younger than him," Qi Yue said, looking at Ah Jin's face, which seemed about the same age as A'Ru, and chuckled.

Ah Jin laughed as well. "I heard it from my parents.

Back then, they served under the Marchioness, and my mother even took care of the Heir Apparent for a time," she said with a smile.

The Marchioness mentioned must be the Elder Madam Xie, Qi Yue surmised. "Later, the Marchioness passed away.

The Heir Apparent was still small then, only six years old, knowing nothing.

The Old Madam instructed everyone to watch him closely.

But at the time of the burial, the Heir Apparent suddenly acted as if he had gone mad," Ah Jin went on.

Qi Yue fell silent.

Losing a mother was the deepest sorrow one could experience, let alone for a six-year-old child… This incident must have caused a psychological scar in the boy.

Ah Jin sighed again. "After that, the Heir Apparent changed entirely.

He stopped talking to people, refused to play, and always stayed by himself.

It wasn't until the Little Marchioness married in that he gradually improved, but his temperament remained fundamentally strange," she related.

Qi Yue nodded. "Therefore, Young Mistress, do not let this cause your heart to grow cold towards the Heir Apparent.

It’s not that he treats you specifically poorly; he is like this with many people.

Young Mistress, you are husband and wife.

As the saying goes, dripping water wears away stone; as long as you remain well, the Heir Apparent will eventually understand your feelings," Ah Jin pleaded earnestly, her expression full of concern. "Good, I understand," Qi Yue nodded, mirroring her earnest expression.

Fine, she decided.

Until she could leave this place, she would stop arguing with the Heir Apparent.

She would tolerate him, humor him—treat it as a nightmare.

All dreams must end eventually, and when she woke up, who cared who was who.

Ah Jin broke into a relieved smile.

Like Cai Qing, Ah Jin dared not linger and soon made a hurried departure.

Qi Yue then shared Ah Jin's words with A'Ru. "The Old Madam intentionally assigned A'Ru and me to you and Concubine Zhou respectively so that we would serve you well.

She is a steadfast girl, wholeheartedly obeying the words the Old Madam spoke back then," A'Ru sighed sentimentally. "You too," Qi Yue replied with a smile.

A'Ru was amused by her words and smiled in return.

The next day, as Qi Yue was washing up in preparation for breakfast, she heard a commotion outside—a clamor of shouting people and panicked horses. "Don't tell me another person with a story has arrived?" she mumbled through the crude toothbrush in her mouth. "Young Mistress! Young Mistress! The Heir Apparent is here!" two maids rushed in, shouting in alarm.

Qi Yue and A'Ru were overjoyed; what they had been thinking about had actually shown up at their doorstep.

As the maids entered, another young attendant hurried in behind them. "Young Mistress, the Heir Apparent instructed me to deliver a message to you," he announced loudly, his demeanor utterly devoid of respect.

Qi Yue, who had been about to step out to greet him, paused mid-motion. "The Heir Apparent says you, woman, are to stay inside your quarters and not come out.

He is taking his men out hunting and is merely stopping here to rest.

You, woman, are not to come out and spoil his mood, or else you won't even be able to remain here," the attendant delivered the message.

At this moment, he was acting as the Heir Apparent's voice, mimicking every word and expression perfectly.

A'Ru, Granny Kang, and the two maids turned deathly pale upon hearing this.

It was obvious that the attendant hadn't spoken such words out of madness; they were Chang Yunchéng’s, and he must have said them openly, without reservation, in front of everyone.

This was no longer mere dislike toward the Young Mistress; it was a blatant, brutal trampling upon her.

Tears streamed down A'Ru’s face as she instinctively covered her mouth, stifling her cry.

Qi Yue was momentarily stunned speechless by this torrent of verbal abuse.

Only when the attendant turned to leave did she snap back to her senses. "You stop right there," she commanded, her eyebrows sharply raised.

The attendant jumped, freezing in place.

A'Ru clutched Qi Yue's sleeve, shaking her head tearfully to stop her.

Qi Yue took several deep breaths, forcing a smile onto her face. "You go back and deliver a message from me to the Heir Apparent as well," she said, smiling sweetly.

The attendant hesitated, then lowered his head. "The Young Mistress may speak," he replied. "I have three words for him," Qi Yue grinned at him, holding out her hand: "Go, you, mother, earth." Chang Yunchéng’s attendants were all trained by him personally; thus, they acted and spoke with the same sharp efficiency as their master.

He conveyed Qi Yue’s message to the Heir Apparent, word for word.

Chang Yunchéng was sitting on the ground, wiping down a bow.

Around him, seven or eight men were either standing or seated on the ground, fiddling with various weapons and talking loudly.

The front courtyard was filled with noise. "What did she say?" Chang Yunchéng frowned, not hearing clearly. "Go you mother earth," the attendant repeated loudly.

The noise in the courtyard abruptly died down, and everyone turned to look their way. "Go, you, mother, earth?" Chang Yunchéng repeated, a sneer touching his lips. "Three words?" He scoffed. "Can't count." The attendant nodded in agreement, then, seeing Chang Yunchéng wave him off, cleverly retreated.

The courtyard soon resumed its clamor. "Hey, doesn't this phrase sound a little odd?" one man murmured to another. "Doesn't it sound familiar to you?" "Familiar?" the other man frowned, repeating the phrase a few times under his breath, then nodding. "It does seem a bit..." "Go to your mother's—" the first man repeated the phrase after mouthing it a few times, then suddenly blurted out the common curse.

The two men exchanged a look. "But 'mother' isn't the same as 'ma,' and 'earth' isn't the same as 'de'; they don't mean the same thing, do they?" the second man mused. "Ah, forget it.

Why are you thinking about such nonsense?" the other man shook his head dismissively after a moment of thought and turned back to comparing the weapons in their hands.

It was at this precise moment that Chang Yunchéng, who had been sitting on the ground, sprang up in one motion. "Bitch..." he muttered under his breath, striding toward the rear courtyard.

The others watched Chang Yunchéng’s figure disappear through the doorway into the back section, dumbfounded. "Wretched wench." Chang Yunchéng kicked the door open with one foot. "Are you cursing me?" Qi Yue, who had been watching A'Ru use a towel to cover her eyes, was startled by the sudden shout, as was A'Ru.

They both looked toward the man standing in the doorway.

He was dressed in crimson arrow-sleeved robes, cinched with a jade belt, his face shadowed with gloom as he glared at them. "Heir Apparent!" A'Ru cried out, a mix of shock and relief in her voice, her tone thick with the lingering effects of crying.

Qi Yue, however, scrutinized Chang Yunchéng from head to toe, her expression unreadable, hovering between a smile and something else entirely. "What does 'Go you mother earth' mean?" Chang Yunchéng demanded coldly, looking directly at her.

Qi Yue flashed him a grin. "Young Mistress, Young Mistress," A'Ru pleaded tearfully, shaking her head at Qi Yue with profound desperation.

Didn't she want to go back? To go back, she needed to bow her head and apologize.

Qi Yue stopped smiling, biting her lip to swallow the words forming on her tongue. "Heir Apparent, I was wrong," she gritted out, looking at Chang Yunchéng, forcing the words past her teeth with solemnity. "Heir Apparent, the Young Mistress regrets her actions day and night.

Heir Apparent, please calm your anger," A'Ru hurried to add, bowing her head repeatedly.

He knew it—this woman’s little tricks were all just to lure him here.

He cursed himself for taking the bait so easily.

Chang Yunchéng snorted coldly, said nothing, and turned to leave. "Heir Apparent, I know I was wrong! Please give me another chance!" Qi Yue quickly chased after him, calling out.

Chang Yunchéng had already reached the courtyard when he heard her.

He turned back, seeing the hopeful look in her eyes. "Remember this," he said, extending a hand and pointing at her. "My word stands.

Don't come out again to disgust me, or you will face consequences." Qi Yue stopped at the doorframe, watching the man stride away toward the message runners at the courtyard gate. "Go to your damn mother!" she finally spat out, cursing him.

A'Ru was still kneeling and crying inside the room. "Get up, stop crying.

I don't believe I can't go back just because of this scoundrel," Qi Yue said, pulling her to her feet. "Young Mistress, please don't defy the Heir Apparent.

Speak to him properly; there's no need to rush this in a single day or night," A'Ru advised, wiping her tears. "Give up hope, A'Ru.

If you speak kindly to a man like that, the heavens will strike you down," Qi Yue declared, sitting down angrily at the table. "Young Mistress, your cooking is excellent.

Why don't you go to the kitchen and prepare something for the Heir Apparent..." A'Ru suggested after a moment's thought.

Qi Yue scoffed, cutting her off. "Don't even think about it.

He isn't worthy," she stated.

Not long after, there was a commotion in the front, and Chang Yunchéng and his group departed.

As dusk settled, the manor returned to quiet, but this calm felt subtly different from before.

The harsh words the Heir Apparent had the attendant deliver to the Young Mistress had spread throughout the entire manor overnight.

Everyone in the estate was aware of the Young Mistress's presence here, but they hadn't realized the relationship between her and the Heir Apparent had deteriorated to such depths. "It seems the Young Mistress won't be able to return home," the maids murmured to each other with sighs. "What is the Young Mistress doing now?" they asked one another. "She must be hiding in her room crying," Granny Kang declared without hesitation. "She didn't even come out for dinner yesterday; A'Ru brought it to her." "She's better today.

I checked just now," said one maid, carrying a basin of laundry. "The Young Mistress ate dinner and then went for a walk in the rear courtyard to aid digestion." "Was she crying?" the others quickly inquired. "No, she was laughing," the maid replied. "Just forcing a smile," the others lamented, shaking their heads sadly.

A male servant squatting outside the courtyard gate, repairing a stool, had remained silent until now.

He paused his work, hoisted the stool onto his shoulder, and walked away.

No one paid him any mind, and even if they had, they wouldn't have given him a second thought.

Qi Yue plucked a pomegranate from a tree. "It's perfectly ripe," she laughed, squeezing it open, splashing juice onto her face and hands. "Oh, let me do that, Young Mistress!" A'Ru said anxiously. "This will never come out of the cloth." She hastily wiped at the stains with a handkerchief. "The joy of eating lies in participation.

If you do everything, what joy is left for me?" Qi Yue chuckled, then sat down beneath the tree, splitting half the fruit to give to A'Ru.

A'Ru didn't take it but instead pulled Qi Yue up. "It's getting cool now; don't sit on the ground like this.

I'll fetch a cushion for the Young Mistress," she said.

Qi Yue nodded and said, "Good." "And bring a bowl too.

We can peel a lot and stuff them into our mouths handful by handful," she laughed.

Handful by handful—what an indecent way to eat! A'Ru gave Qi Yue a mock-reproving glance and turned to leave.

As soon as A'Ru was gone, the smile slowly faded from Qi Yue's face.

She looked up at the sky and let out a heavy sigh.

Loneliness.

Perhaps soon, she would suffocate and die in the midst of it.

Footsteps sounded from behind her.

Qi Yue, assuming it was A'Ru returning, turned around, only to see an elderly male servant. "Young Mistress..." he stammered in alarm. "This old servant was merely tidying the courtyard; I hope I haven't disturbed you, Young Mistress." Qi Yue smiled slightly, recognizing him as one of the rougher laborers on the estate.

With the weather cooling, dead branches and fallen leaves had piled up significantly overnight. "It's fine; you carry on with your cleaning," she said, stepping away.

As she brushed past the old servant, before she had walked several paces, she heard the sound of rushing wind followed by sharp pain in her neck and shoulder.

A blow to the back of the head...

That was the last thought that flashed through Qi Yue's mind.

A'Ru, carrying the cushion and bowl toward the rear courtyard, stopped in her tracks and frowned when she heard a maid shout, "The Third Young Master is here!" Why was the Third Young Master here again, and at this time? Chang Yunqi walked straight toward her, noticing A'Ru's expression. "Sister-in-law..." he addressed her directly. "Are you alright?" "Thank you, Third Master.

The Young Mistress is fine," A'Ru replied, keeping her head lowered.

Fine, my foot, Chang Yunqi thought grimly, seeing the girl's eyes were red and swollen—her mistress couldn't be faring much better. "Where is the Young Mistress?" he asked. "She's in the rear courtyard," A'Ru replied.

Chang Yunqi’s expression shifted slightly. "Why did you leave her alone outside?" he scolded, frowning. "What if she thought of something rash..." If it had been before, A'Ru truly wouldn't have dared answer back, but now...

Without waiting for her reply, Chang Yunqi brushed past her and hurried toward the rear courtyard.

A'Ru quickly followed, reaching the courtyard gate moments later.

Before she could announce him, Chang Yunqi shouted loudly: "Yue Niang!" His voice was laced with sheer terror.

A'Ru shivered involuntarily.

Looking past Chang Yunqi, she saw a figure hanging from the old pomegranate tree nearby.

A'Ru felt her body go weak, and a muffled sound escaped her throat as she sank to the ground.

For the recommendation of Mu Shui You's Noble Lady, which is now available for purchase.

When a thought arises, there are ten thousand mountains and rivers; when a thought is extinguished, the sea turns to field and forest.

The instant Ye Nanxi awoke in the coffin, she saw a scene that would influence every choice she made from that point forward.

She had never encountered a man capable of delivering such an affectionate phrase in such a cold, ruthless manner.

Therefore, when faced with the prospect of returning to the grand estate of her husband's family, she refused without hesitation, though total mutual destruction was far from her desire.

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