Dong Mei was shocked, staring incredulously at Long Yue, thinking, has this woman gone mad?

This courtyard is so remote and desolate; how long has it been since it was last cleaned? The eaves, corners of the walls, the gaps between stools and chairs, are all covered with layers of cobwebs, topped with a thick layer of dust.

This dust is probably half an inch thick by now, isn’t it?

Such an environment, even if five or six people came to clean it, they would find it tiring. When she was chosen to come serve this so-called "Miss Wei," she was full of discontent!

And now, she was expected to clean it by herself?

What kind of joke is this!

Dong Mei kept a stern face and once again put on airs: "Miss, I am but one maid. How can I clean this entire yard?"

She forcefully suppressed her anger, thinking that she was giving Long Yue face, hoping that she wouldn’t push her any further; otherwise, she would surely make her regret it!

Long Yue slightly shifted her gaze, looking at her with an ambiguous smile: "One person? What’s wrong with one person? Can’t clean the courtyard alone? I’ve told you it’s a punishment. What, judging by your expression, you feel wronged?"

This series of questions from Long Yue left Dong Mei a bit dazed, staring at her in confusion. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

She saw the corners of Long Yue’s mouth tug into a playful smile, and suddenly realized she had been toyed with.

Damn it!

But she was a maid; how could she lose her temper at her master?

Holding her breath, she gritted her teeth: "I... I don’t feel wronged, just feel that it’s impossible for one person to finish all these tasks, and when the time comes, I won’t be able to tidy the yard or house in time, disturbing Miss’s rest."

With so much to do, if I can’t finish and you have nowhere to rest, don’t blame me, okay?

This was the underlying threat in Dong Mei’s words, which Long Yue merely smiled at.

She had seen such threats many times before and was long unbothered by them. She gently walked to the center of the courtyard, wiping a dusty, leaf-covered stone table.

Suddenly, her hand turned black.

Long Yue lightly clapped her hands, brushing off the dust, smilingly saying, "Isn’t this simple? Start by tidying Miss’s room, get everything inside and out tidy, then clean the courtyard. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?"

Oh my!

Yu Zhu and the other two servants exchanged looks; they had been in this household for years and understood the hidden hostility in the smile.

They were low-ranking maids transferred from other rooms, but Dong Mei was not; she was originally a second-ranking maid under Mrs. Wei, which is quite high, usually tasked with easy chores.

Now, to have her responsible alone for cleaning the entire courtyard felt strangely... satisfying?

The three stood there like wooden stakes, watching silently.

Dong Mei was so furious she nearly ground her silver teeth into dust!

Having used all her means to climb up in Mrs. Wei’s household to second-ranking maid status, she hadn’t done such menial labor in a long time. Yet now, she was to clean the courtyard and house.

This was humiliation!

Bare-faced humiliation!

"Hmm? What’s wrong? Still not moving?" Long Yue cast a casual glance at her. "If the master can’t get the servant to work, then who really is the master here? You?"

"Thud!"

Dong Mei knelt!

For some reason, when Long Yue’s calm, serene gaze fell on her, Dong Mei felt her heart lurch, as if being stared down by a fierce beast, her body trembling all over.

She couldn’t understand why; such terrifying fear she had only felt before when Madam was angry, yet now she felt it from this country girl.

Is this seeing ghosts?

Dong Mei did not understand that this was the kind of pressure from someone who had long stayed in power, bearing down on those beneath them!

"Forgive me, Miss! I... I will get to it right away!"

Dong Mei repeatedly knocked her head on the ground, even drawing blood from her forehead, then hurriedly stood up to start cleaning.

Long Yue quietly watched her leave and then turned towards Yu Zhu and the others.

"I know! Since Grandmother brought me back from the countryside, you all think I’m a wild girl from the countryside, ignorant, incompetent, with none of the grace of a noble miss, don’t you? So you think you can neglect me, look down on me, even step over me?"

As she spoke these words, Long Yue remained calm, seemingly devoid of anger in her eyes.

Indeed, she had nothing to be angry about!

People strive upward, water flows downward. Everybody loves to follow capable individuals; who wants to follow a master with no future?

She didn’t find their thoughts strange at all!

"We are all human; people have seven emotions and desires. What are desires? Ambition, greed, and lust, among others. Because you hold these thoughts, you strive harder, progress, and even go to the lengths of betraying your master for personal gain! This, I understand!"

Her glance swept over them, all of whom lowered their heads; that little maid called Yu Zhu wanted to speak but ultimately stayed silent.

Long Yue was satisfied; this speech had merely managed to intimidate them.

"You want to advance; I won’t hinder you. After all, blocking someone’s path to wealth is like killing their parents; who wants to be the villain? But!"

Long Yue suddenly raised her voice, emphasizing each word, "If any one of you seeks to climb ranks over this Miss’s dead body, then this Miss will make sure she knows, the most painful thing in this world isn’t death, but living a fate worse than death!"

This threatening speech further intimidated these people; the three all swiftly knelt down: "We (servants) will obey Miss’s orders!"

Carrying a bucket of water, Dong Mei ran breathlessly and just then saw this scene. She was stunned for a moment before also instinctively kneeling, inexplicably feeling a chill on her back.

Long Yue walked by without looking sideways and deliberately shifted her angle; "bang," the newly fetched water was kicked over.

The water spilled all over the kneeling Dong Mei; though it was already April, this place near the north had chilly weather, and as the north wind blew, Dong Mei shivered.

Yu Zhu, A cheng, and A yao dared not even glance at the disheveled Dong Mei, quickly lowering their heads and following Long Yue inside.

Then, they heard Long Yue’s voice from within, "All of you, go clean inside and out, quickly. This room is my boudoir; I still find it reassuring to clean it myself. Go now!"

Immediately, Dong Mei kneeling outside had ten thousand llamas galloping through her mind.

So Miss Wei actually never intended to have her sweep? Just now she was purely messing with her?

How exasperating, getting toyed with by a country bumpkin!

Dong Mei was so angry she was trembling, her breathing growing rapid. But then, the next sound from inside made her feel like she could faint!

"Yes, if Miss has any needs, feel free to command the maid."

Yu Zhu, you little traitorous wretch! We agreed to mess with Miss Wei together, all fed to the dogs now?

Dong Mei held resentment, stabbing a hundred voodoo dolls for Yu Zhu in her heart, stabbing her a hundred times over and over!