She knew that there were times when one should conceal one's strength and bide one's time.
However, for one to act foolishly was another matter altogether, and she did not wish to become Shen Jiayi and Shen Jiawei's sacrificial lamb when she met with Shen Feng the next day.
As she pondered about the problem that she would be confronted with at the imminent meeting, Shen Yanxiao narrowed her eyes, and a sly smile curled on her lips.
An idiot would also have advantages as an idiot!
...
If the twins allowed Shen Yanxiao to realize just how low her status was, then her understanding of that was refreshed once again.
It was still very early in the morning when two seventeen to eighteen-year-old servant maids kicked the door to her room open and forcibly lifted her from her bed while she was still asleep without the slightest hint of respect. It was as if she wasn't the seventh miss, but the lowest ranked servant in the family.
"She's already so old, but she still needs someone else to help her to wash and dress, acting like she's really a miss of the family." The servant maid with an exceptionally unkind face roughly stripped Shen Yanxiao off her unlined garment. Without a hint of tenderness and with an expression of extreme dissatisfaction on her face, she manhandled her into a set of clothes that were, at least, considered clean.
"If the Lord did not want to meet with her today, who would want to come and wait on her for no reason at all? Sometimes, I wonder about what the Lord was thinking when he decided to leave this idiot here in the estate. All she ever did was to bring shame to our Vermilion Bird Family." Another servant maid tugged on Shen Yanxiao's hair and casually brushed it.
It was a stretch to say that they were there to help her dress, and it was probably more accurate to say that they were there to torture her.
"I know right, and this is simply a waste of provisions. She had even caused such huge trouble this time, and I think that the Lord will not let her off so easily this time."
"It's better to get rid of such a disgrace as soon as possible. Did you know that the outsiders are all secretly treating this idiot as a joke, and there's no lack of mocking toward our estate."
The two servant maids grumbled incessantly as if they had no intention to stop.
Other than the Family Head, Shen Feng, who cared about the bloodline that Shen Yanxiao possessed, everyone else in the Vermilion Bird Family regarded her existence as a burden. They also wished for the idiot to meet an early end so that she could no longer taint the Vermilion Bird Family's sacred and inviolable position in the empire.
Words that were hard to digest entered Shen Yanxiao's ears in an endless stream. There was no change on the fourteen-year-old's face as she blinked her bright eyes in confusion and looked at the two disrespectful servant maids as if she did not understand a word of what they had said.
After a few long torturous moments, Shen Yanxiao was finally dressed. The two servant maids immediately grabbed her and walked her toward the Vermilion Bird Family's main house.
Shen Yanxiao allowed both of them to pull her clothes as they whisked her along, and she had no intention to resist. However, a crafty glint streaked across her confused eyes.
When they reached the entrance of the main house, the two servant maids immediately turned without looking back as they handed her over to the guard at the door.
None of them noticed the two palm-sized pouches that were shifted to a certain little girl's sleeves the instant the two servant maids turned to leave.
Shen Yanxiao quietly stuffed her first 'income' at that world into her bosom as she silently followed the guard with a taut expression into the main house.
As the entrance gates came down to shut after she stepped inside, two panicked shouts of 'Where's my purse?!' were heard before it was blocked off when the gates were shut entirely.