Resentment and hatred

  Mrs. Xu arrived at Li Qianxue's residence, Bi Bo Yuan, and the little maid who was guarding the door immediately came over with a bounce, her lovely round face had two small dimples, looking very happy, with a hint of coquetry in her eyes, "How is it that you've come, ma'am? How can we trouble you to do such a thing? Is there anything you'd like to instruct us to do? Who would dare not run errands for you?" The little maid was extremely quick-witted, and her clear voice echoed throughout the courtyard.

  Mrs. Xu thought that she would soon be able to get rid of Miss Biao, this thorn in her side, and her mood suddenly improved. Looking at the little maid in front of her who was wearing a pale pink jacket with a peach-red lining, she felt that her eyebrows and eyes were also more pleasing to look at. A few smiles appeared on her face, and her attitude became even more gentle. "Is your mistress in? I have something to say to her!"

  The little girl nodded immediately, "Yes! She's resting inside! Mom, slow down, I'll open the curtain for you!" With a whoosh, she happily ran to the door and lifted the bamboo curtain with red silk embroidery of plum blossoms.

  Xiao Hong came out from inside with a smile, "What wind blew Mom here? Is there something going on with Old Lady?"

  Mrs. Xu didn't even give her a glance, and walked straight into the inner room. She turned around with a hint of a smile and said, "You go out for a while first, I have some important words to pass on to Miss Biao under the orders of Old Lady. Go ahead and close the door on your way out!" After that, she sat down on the embroidered stool with red satin and peony flowers without looking at her again.

  Xiao Hong listened and quickly turned around in her heart, immediately bowed her head and went out without saying a word, carefully closing the door behind her.

  At this time, Li Qianshuo, who was lying in the inner room, could no longer pretend to be asleep and had to get up to welcome her. From the bottom of her heart, she looked down on this old servant girl. Normally, she wouldn't even try to please her, let alone fawn all over her. What a joke! A slave like her would never be taken seriously by her master.

  Li Qianxue lazily got up and came to the outer room, sitting on the kang by the window, picked up a cup of tea and took a sip before casually asking: "What's the matter?"

  It seems that she has been lazy with herself, and her mother doesn't think there's anything wrong with it. There are only the two of them here, what's the point of pretending?

  Mrs. Xu didn't mind these things, she just stood up and calmly looked at her and said: "The old lady ordered me to send you back to the Li family tomorrow morning, it's not far from the Dragon Boat Festival, you haven't been home for more than two years, what reason is there for not being close to your own relatives? I'll send you back tomorrow morning!"

  Li Qianxue suddenly lifted her head and stared at Mrs. Xu in shock, the teacup in her hand clattering to the small table, her face disbelieving, and after a long time, she blushed with anger and shouted: "You this deceitful slave! How dare you say such things? My grandmother loves me the most, how could she possibly send me back to the Li family? You'd better be careful, don't think that just because I've lost my parents, you can bully me!" She was so angry that her whole body was trembling, pointing at Mrs. Xu's face with a sorrowful and indignant expression.

  Mrs. Xu sneered and taunted, "Miss Li, don't you forget that your surname is Li, not Yang. In the future, you will be married off from the Li family, not the Yang family. That is still your natal family, don't forget your roots! This was decided by the old lady. Do you think I'm just a servant who can casually fabricate things?"

  Li Qianxue's body trembled, desperately shaking her head, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't believe this fact. Just a moment ago, everything was fine! How could it suddenly change? Could it be...?

  She suddenly raised her head, staring at Mrs. Xu with a hateful gaze, and said in a hoarse voice: "It's you. It must be you who spoke ill of me in front of my grandmother. Is it?"

  Her scarlet eyes were filled with a venomous hatred, like a cold poisonous snake, as if it could pounce on her and bite her fiercely at any moment.

  "Miss, you can't even show respect to your own aunt, let alone us lowly servants. You don't even put the young ladies of the Yang family in your eyes, and yet you dare to provoke our Young Master. We can't tolerate you anymore! Prepare yourself well! The old lady told me to warn you: don't have any illusions about things that aren't meant for you. From start to finish, neither the Crown Prince nor the Duke had any intention of marrying you. Don't dream about it!" After finishing her words, she turned around and left without paying attention to Li Qianshuang's expression.

  Li Qianxue was stunned, feeling dizzy and disoriented. The only thing in her mind was the last sentence left by Mrs. Xu: "The Marquis and the Princess have never intended to marry me as their daughter-in-law, never!"

  After a dizziness, she only felt a sweetness in her throat, and a mouthful of blood flowed down from the corner of her mouth. Looking at the crimson in the palm of her hand, she suddenly smiled, as if the mandrake flower had bloomed, with a hint of mystery and seductive color, as if it had added a few more sinister beauty.

  As soon as Xiao Hong walked into the house, she found that her master had vomited blood. This was a sign of fire attacking the heart, and for a young person to vomit blood was an ominous sign! A thrill of excitement rose in her chest, and she tightly clenched her fist, forcing herself to suppress her joyful emotions. Silently, she muttered to herself: Mother, sister, just wait, I will definitely make Li Qianxue pay the price, I will definitely make her go down and apologize to you!

  Xiao Hong quickly walked two steps and rushed to Li Qianxue's side, supporting her swaying body, anxiously and worriedly exclaiming: "Oh no! Miss, why are you vomiting blood? Heaven! Someone come quick!"

  Li Qianxue hastily grabbed onto Xiao Hong's arm, her fingernails digging deep into the flesh, causing Xiao Hong to gasp in pain but dare not cry out. "Don't shout, I'm fine!" After spitting out a mouthful of blood, she suddenly felt a sense of relief wash over her, unlike the suffocating feeling she had been experiencing every day.

  "You go pack your things, we'll head back to the Li's house early tomorrow!" Li Qianshuo's voice was hoarse as she stared blankly at the door with a pale face full of despair.

  "What? Go back to Li's house?" Xiaohong was stunned for a long time and didn't react, how could she suddenly be told to go back, it had been almost three years since she last went back, why was this happening?

  Xiao Hong quickly reacted, remembering the stern face of Mrs. Xu, and suddenly realized that this was not acceptable for Miss Biao. Humph! She deserved it! Not only did she dare to frame the county lord's wife, but also didn't know her own weight. She was just an orphan girl, after all. Without even mentioning currying favor with others, she should have been low-key and cautious in getting along with her sisters. But instead, she offended everyone and still thought she was more noble than the Yang family's daughter. It's really unknown where she got the courage to offend everyone like that!

  You never leave yourself a way out when doing things, even your aunt is offended. She took good care of you when you were young, but now you humiliate her like this, what a heartless person!

  Although she felt extremely relieved in her heart, her face showed a look of pain and indignation. "Miss, what's going on? Wasn't everything fine this morning?"

  Li Qianxue's lips curled slightly, revealing a sarcastic smile. "I'm just a poor relative, after all. If I don't have any use value, won't I be driven away?"

  "What are we going to do?" Xiaohong also became worried, this master has offended everyone, if they go back to the Li's house, won't they be in for a scolding? She is the young lady and won't be affected, but I am just a maid, being bullied is unbearable.

  In my heart, I couldn't help but blame myself for having a bad fate and following a unlucky and inconsiderate master, causing me to suffer along with him!

  After some thought, he felt it was pointless and said in a low voice: "Let the slave go and pack up!"

  Li Qianxue opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end didn't say anything. She just hung her head and silently shed tears, with a look of being so sorrowful that she was at a loss for words.

  Yuewen heard the crying and shouting inside, thinking something had happened, rushed in hastily, only to find that the mistress was crying again! In her heart, she cursed her bad luck, but since the mistress was her superior, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing. So, she carefully approached and asked, "Miss, what's wrong? Was it because the servants didn't serve you well? Whoever it is, you can scold them if you want, and there's even someone in charge who can punish them! Don't keep it in your heart, don't cry until your eyes are ruined!"

  Li Qianxue's heart suddenly moved, and she thought to herself... She made up her mind, lifted her head, wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, and forced herself to say: "I'm fine, don't worry about me, sister! It's just that earlier Xu Mama said she would send me home for the Dragon Boat Festival, and I was worried that there wouldn't be anyone to take care of my grandmother." Her words were laced with a hint of unspoken meaning, and her eyes held a glimmer of hope and concern.

  The moon-marked eyebrows slightly furrowed, the expression unchanged as she chuckled twice, "Miss, don't worry, I've been serving the old master for over a decade, and there are also the young maids! How could we let the old lady suffer injustice? You can rest assured!" In her heart, she couldn't help but want to slap herself twice, how did she become so muddle-headed and climb up the pole, now it's good, she hasn't eaten such meat and caused a ruckus!

  Li Qianxue furrowed her delicate eyebrows, secretly worried in her heart, but still somewhat uneasy, hesitantly saying: "I'm still not at ease, the maidservants can't be as meticulous as Sun'er in attending to you! Why don't you go tell Mother Xu that I'll return after the Dragon Boat Festival?"

  The moon pattern was shocked, and her face changed suddenly. She quickly flashed away, took a deep breath, and said slowly: "Miss, it's better for you to say this, I'm just a second-class maid, can't even enter the door of Songhe Hall! The sisters inside won't listen to me either!"

  Li Qianxue's heart was filled with evil fire, but she couldn't help herself and could only palely wave her hand to let her go.

  The moonlight seemed to have gotten a bit more intense, and with a sudden burst of energy, she quickly turned around and rushed out the door without any hesitation, as if afraid that if she was late, she would be implicated. After exiting the room, she secretly looked back and shook her head, thinking to herself whether or not she should tell her stepmother, taking advantage of Miss Biao's return home to have me transferred out, even if it meant going to Third Young Mistress's courtyard, as long as it wasn't here, even the embroidery room would be better than this place!

  Li Qianxue tried to persuade her for a while, but Yuetan was unwilling to make an effort, and she had no way out. At this time, she realized that the people under Yang's house were actually very cunning. Although they seemed to be extremely respectful to her in their daily lives, they all had their own little tricks up their sleeves. When it came to a critical moment, one by one was even more slippery than a loach.

  It's really not willing to leave like this, or else go ask the county master? Afraid it won't work, just said something unpleasant earlier! Or tomorrow morning when I go to pay respects, cry a little, maybe the old lady will soften her heart and let me stay!

  Who wants to go back! Li's family is simple and unadorned everywhere, where can it compare with the wealth and luxury of Yang's family? The clothes, shoes, and socks for all four seasons are all high-quality, what conditions does Li's family have?! Besides, the blood in my body is also from the Yang family, why look down on people through the door crack?!