The Return of the Seventh Young Lady-Chapter 75 - 74
Chapter 74
Cheng Manor
For the past month, Cheng Fuyuan had been confined to the ancestral hall by her father’s orders. Coupled with the heartbreak of her engagement annulment, Cheng Fuyuan had grown significantly thinner. Upon being released to rest in her quarters three days ago, she had done nothing but lie in bed, breathing as if she had given up on life.
Cheng Furen could only watch her daughter with a heavy heart. Previously, she had begged and pleaded with her husband, doing everything she could to persuade him to lift the confinement order, but to no avail. Seeing her daughter lying motionless on the bed with vacant eyes, like a lifeless body, brought her immense pain. No matter how much she tried to comfort and console her daughter, the latter would not listen at all...
Today was no different. Even though it was already afternoon, Cheng Fuyuan still lay on the bed, her empty eyes staring at the ceiling, her mind replaying the events over and over.
She had once been the eldest young miss of the Cheng family, the future fiancée of the third young master of the Gu family, envied by all. Every young miss in the capital flocked around her whenever she appeared. But all of that was gone...
Her reputation was completely ruined!
Not only that, but her engagement had also been annulled by the Gu family, causing widespread embarrassment throughout the capital. Just mentioning the name Cheng Fuyuan was enough to make people laugh at her!
How could she continue to live like this!?
Should she live on to bear this shame?
Heavens!
What kind of cruel joke was this!?
Cheng Fuyuan could only lament in her heart. For the past month, she had been unable to shake these thoughts from her mind. Tears of sorrow flowed from the corners of her eyes, dampening the strands of hair near her face. All she could do was to weep silently to ease the anguish in her heart.
In this capital, reputation was of utmost importance. Once lost, it was difficult to continue living in this pretentious high society. But now, Cheng Fuyuan no longer had a good reputation. All she could see ahead was a bleak future...
While Cheng Fuyuan was weeping silently, a servant suddenly came to report from the bedside. “Miss, there is a guest asking to see you.”
“.......”
Cheng Fuyuan remained motionless, not responding at all. The servant, flustered, didn’t know what to do next and tried to persuade her young miss once more.
"Miss, this time the guest is really important and has come specifically to see you. Won’t you come out and see them?"
Despite the servant’s attempts, there was still no response. Finally, she gave up and returned to the guest room to report to the young woman waiting there with a courteous demeanor.
"Eldest Young Miss Su, our young miss is really not able to receive guests right now."
"Is that so?" Su Baimiao calmly set her teacup down on the table and said unhurriedly with a gentle smile, "Then I will go see her myself."
"But..." Before the servant could object, Su Baimiao’s close maid stepped in to block her, allowing her young miss to proceed to the innermost bedroom of the quarters.
Upon entering the room, Su Baimiao closed the door behind her to prevent anyone outside from overhearing. Her cold eyes fell on the frail figure on the bed with disdain.
"I never expected that with just one push from the enemy, Eldest Young Miss Cheng would be unable to get back up."
The mocking tone caught Cheng Fuyuan’s attention. The frail figure, always losing in her own thoughts, flinched slightly but continued to lie still, not turning to look at the speaker.
"No wonder you lost to Meng Liting so easily..."
Su Baimiao continued to speak disdainfully as she walked over and sat on a daybed near the bed. This time her words struck a chord as it was like a sharp blade and a sharp spear piercing deeply into Cheng Fuyuan’s heart.
"I did not lose!"
"I did not lose to that wretched Liting!"
"I didn’t lose!"
Cheng Fuyuan screamed in fury, her frail body pushing herself up to look at the speaker with fierce eyes. When she saw who it was, her body froze for a moment, her face showing confusion.
"Su...Su Baimiao?"
"Hmph! Have you come to your senses now?" Su Baimiao scoffed in her throat, her voice dripping with mockery. Her eyes were filled with contempt as she looked at Cheng Fuyuan as if she were nothing more than worthless trash.
Cheng Fuyuan’s heart trembled as she sensed the disdain from the person in front of her. At the same time, she was puzzled. Was this really Su Baimiao, the woman known as a goddess? Although she didn’t know her well and had observed from afar, she had known that Su Baimiao was a gentle woman, a white lotus cherished by everyone. But the Su Baimiao before her now was completely different, like a different person entirely!
Moreover, why would Su Baimiao, the eldest young miss of the Left Side Chancellor and one of the three most powerful young misses, come to visit her in her room when they had never even met before?
Su Baimiao looked at Cheng Fuyuan’s questioning expression and cursed her stupidity internally. No wonder Meng Liting had dealt with her so easily!
If she didn’t need to extract secrets or information from Cheng Fuyuan to destroy Meng Liting, she would never think of conversing with such a fool.
"I won’t beat around the bush. I want to collaborate with you to destroy Meng Liting!" Su Baimiao stated directly, her beautiful face showing fierceness, making Cheng Fuyuan shrink back slightly. The cold gaze from the other party sent chills down her spine as she asked in a trembling voice.
"De...destroy Meng Liting?"
"That’s right. Since we share the same enemy, wouldn’t it be better for us to join forces?"
Cheng Fuyuan was quite surprised. She didn’t expect Su Baimiao to also be an enemy of Meng Liting. If she could have Su Baimiao as an ally, perhaps she might have a chance to bring Meng Liting down!
"And why would Young Miss Su be enemies with her?" Cheng Fuyuan didn’t forget to ask, wanting to be sure before agreeing to collaborate.
Su Baimiao smirked coldly, looking quite intimidating. "That woman dared to touch what she shouldn’t have..."
"Sometimes knowing less is better for oneself, have you ever heard that?" She raised her head to meet Cheng Fuyuan’s gaze with a dangerous look. Although her beautiful face still held a smile, it made Cheng Fuyuan’s heart sink immediately.
"So...so, what do you want me to do?"
Cheng Fuyuan quickly lowered her head to avoid the other’s gaze and asked in a flustered manner. Her heart still raced with fear from the earlier exchange. Her hands gripped the blanket tightly to calm herself.
"I want to know if Meng Liting has any weaknesses."
"Weaknesses?" Cheng Fuyuan repeated, thinking back to her past. Since childhood, she had bullied Meng Liting, often instilling fear and hitting her, but she had never paid close attention to any specific weaknesses. Thinking of an actual weakness was quite difficult.
Su Baimiao didn’t rush her, merely sitting with her arms crossed, waiting for Cheng Fuyuan to recall her memories. Her eyes glinted with disdain, and she smiled slyly. A fool like this was perfect as a pawn to be discarded later.
If she failed to eliminate Meng Liting, she could always blame everything on the foolish Cheng Fuyuan...
Lost in her thoughts, Cheng Fuyuan didn’t notice the dangerous intent of her new ally. She pondered for a long time before recalling something. When they were eight years old, she had once bullied Meng Liting by having a servant force-feed her five plates of peanut snacks. Although Meng Liting had vomited all the peanuts afterward, she soon experienced a burning pain on her body, breaking out in red rashes all over her body and suddenly falling unconscious for three days and nights.
When the doctor examined her, it was determined that Meng Liting was indeed allergic to peanuts. And it was quite severe. Even a small amount could cause her to lose consciousness and endanger her life!
Cheng Fuyuan’s eyes immediately lit up, a delighted smile appearing on her face. "I remember now, that wretched Liting’s weakness is peanuts!" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
"Peanuts?"
Su Baimiao raised her eyebrows in doubt. Cheng Fuyuan quickly explained in detail, "When she was a child, there was a time when Meng Liting accidentally ate peanut snacks. Even though she vomited them out, she still had a severe allergic reaction and lost consciousness for three days and nights."
"Later, the doctor who examined her said it was due to Meng Liting’s severe peanut allergy. Just a small amount could cause her to lose consciousness and potentially be life-threatening!"
Hearing this, Su Baimiao immediately understood, a wicked smile spreading across her beautiful face, her eyes gleaming with malice, making Cheng Fuyuan shiver.
If Meng Liting’s weakness was peanut allergy...then it would be easy to handle!
"You rest and recover well. In a few days, the Imperial Academy will reopen. You need to be prepared."
Having obtained the information she needed, Su Baimiao stood up and walked over to Cheng Fuyuan’s bed. She gently pushed her to lie down and covered her with a blanket.
"If you want to defeat your enemy, you must take care of yourself as best as you can first. When the enemy falls, you’ll have the strength to step on them." After saying this, Su Baimiao smiled gently, but to Cheng Fuyuan, it looked like the smile of a demon. She watched Su Baimiao’s back as she walked away quietly.
Once outside the room, Su Baimiao pulled out a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped her hands with a look of disgust. The smile on her face vanished, replaced by a cold expression.
"Return home!"
She instructed her maid with a calm voice before walking out of the quarters. Once she was in the carriage, she lifted the curtain and threw the handkerchief out without care, her eyes glinting with a mysterious light, making it hard for anyone to guess her thoughts...
Mu Manor
In Mu Qingxuan’s quiet back quarter, which was newly redecorated and expanded vastly, there was a small herb garden planted with some. In the garden, a little girl was sitting with her sleeves rolled up, diligently digging the soil. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat of the sun and her continuous effort.
Mu Yingying wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm before continuing to dig. Once she had dug deep enough, she placed the herb seeds she had prepared into the hole and covered them with soil.
"Ying’er, come take a break and have some snacks first,"
Mu Qingxuan called out to her little sister while carrying a tray of tea and sweets to place on the marble table under the tree. When Mu Yingying finally made her way to the wooden chair, she collapsed onto it, breathing heavily.
"Why do you always make things difficult for yourself? How are you holding up?"
Seeing her sister’s state, Mu Qingxuan couldn’t help but laugh as she chided her. She poured tea into a cup for the little girl to quench her thirst and used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off her sister’s forehead.
"It’s actually fun. At least I’m not having too much free time," Mu Yingying drank the tea in one gulp before replying with an adorable smile.
Lately, she had been feeling quite bored, so when she visited her sister’s quarters, she decided to find something to do. Coincidentally, Mu Qingxuan had been planting a new batch of herbs a few days ago, and Mu Yingying volunteered to help.
"What will you do next? In just three days, I’ll have to go back to the Imperial Academy, and our eldest brother is busy with official duties. Won’t you get bored?"
Mu Qingxuan picked up a wooden fan and fanned her little sister to cool her down. The longer she looked at her sister’s flushed cheeks, the more she wanted to pinch them.
Mu Yingying scrunched her nose slightly and replied, "It won’t be too bad. I’ll go talk to Uncle Wang now and then. I don’t think we’ll have peace for too long anyway."
From what they had experienced recently, even if they didn’t seek out the enemy, enemies would find them, causing constant chaos...
"You’re right. Then, if anything happens, don’t forget to tell us. We only have one little sister, and we can take care of you." Mu Qingxuan reached out to gently pat her sister’s head affectionately.
These past moments of being together brought her immense joy, so much that she dreaded the thought of separating again. However, with the Imperial Academy reopening soon, all the young misses in the capital who attended would have to go back to their studies. The academy exclusively admitted children of officials and royalty aged twelve and above, making it another high-society circle.
Mu Qingxuan had never been keen on studying there, but after Bai Lijun and her two daughters were exiled a year ago, her father shifted his expectations to her. He sent her to study at the Imperial Academy to bring honor to their family.
"I was thinking of managing some business matters with Uncle Wang and maybe training more in martial arts. I’ve become quite interested in archery lately. It might be useful in the future,"
Mu Yingying shared her thoughts. Currently, her martial arts skills had improved significantly, and she wanted to learn other combat techniques. Having more skills was like having a shield for future protection.
"That’s fine, but be careful and don’t get hurt," Mu Qingxuan warned her sister, concerned for her safety.
The two sisters chatted for a while longer before parting ways and returning to their respective quarters. When Mu Yingying arrived at her own residence, she took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and then reclined on her favorite daybed, feeling relaxed. She picked up a book nearby that she hadn’t finished reading and resumed her reading.
As she was engrossed in the book, a large pigeon flew in and perched on the windowsill beside her daybed. Mu Yingying looked up at the bird with surprise. When she noticed a small, rolled piece of paper tied to its leg, she reached out to untie the string and opened the scroll.
The small piece of paper had only one word written on it: ‘Safe.’
A small smile spread across her face. With just a quick glance, she immediately recognized the handwriting as Lu Jiu’s, informing her that he was safe and sound.
Knowing that he was alright, Mu Yingying felt a wave of relief wash over her, unlike anything she had felt in recent days. The strange anxiety that had been lingering in her heart, causing her to feel bored and have to seek distractions, dissipated entirely with that single word: ‘Safe.’
Mu Yingying gazed out at the vast sky beyond the window, lost in thought. She had no idea what Lu Jiu was doing at that moment but hoped with all her heart that he was safe. She trusted that someone as clever as him would never fall to his enemies...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read ‘The Return of the Seventh Young Lady’ before anyone else with more Chapters at http://www.jinovel.com/en
