"How could she slap me? Don't I have two working hands to stop her from hitting me?" Bai Yue pointed out, waving one hand and wriggling her fingers. "See? They are working just fine."
That and Bai Hua had been so loud. How could no one come to see what was going on? They had been very close to her mother's place. Even if her mother didn't come herself, she would have sent a servant at the very least. And while the servant didn't have the authority to give orders to Bai Hua, they still had two legs and were loyal to the mistress of the manor. Seeing this, they would have gone back and reported fourth sister's actions to her mother.
In fact, no matter who came, Bai Hua sealed her fate the very moment she started screaming like a dying cat.
Liu'er didn't agree with Bai Yue and stared at her young miss' thin arms. Working hands? Please, these two arms clearly lacked strength! Even a chicken was stronger! Facing a healthy Bai Hua, her young miss was bound to be on the losing side. If it wasn't for Madam intervening, who knew what grievances her young miss would have suffered?
Thinking about the tragedy that almost took place, Liu'er's eyes reddened.
"Young miss, from now on, I will do my best to protect you!"
"Can you even protect yourself? Do you think you will be alright if my mother sees you after yesterday?"
"Young miss, don't worry about me! I will really protect you!" She opened her mouth and pointed at her canine teeth. "I was the best biter of my village when I was little. I even bit the slave trader who bought me!"
Hearing this, Bai Yue didn't know what to say. Even in her previous life, she never met someone like Liu'er.
"It's true! He even whipped me after that!" To prove her words, Liu'er pulled down the collar of her dress and showed the top of her back, revealing faint scars on her shoulders. "See?"
"Do you regret it now?" Bai Yue's tone was filled with curiosity. In spite of her peculiar personality, Liu'er was still a girl. This world treated women harshly and regarded scarred women as lesser beings with no possibility to be happy ever again.
The scars on Liu'er's body silently narrated a story that no one knew. It spoke of pain and endurance and tears and blood. Yet, to many people, they only meant that Liu'er' wasn't whole and beautiful. Her body was scarred and ugly.
"Never", Liu'er swore with a proud smile. "Young miss, why should I regret my war trophies? I get them because I dared to fight back. Shouldn't I be proud of them? Moreover, you haven't seen that man's arm, young miss. It's far worse than my back since I bit off a bit of flesh!"
Bai Yue reached for the girl's collar and straightened it with a soft smile.
"You are right, little tiger. Having those on your body, you ought to be proud." She stepped back. That girl might be a little silly sometimes, but she was definitely not stupid. "Don't forget your promise though. You need to take care of your body."
"I will, young miss. I promise I will. After all, I need to take care of you."
A warm feeling surged up in Bai Yue's heart. It seemed like she would never get tired of hearing these words.
...
Although it was morning, there was barely any light outside as the sun had yet to show itself. Only a tinge of red and orange colored the sky.
In the room illuminated by candles, Liu'er helped Bai Yue get dressed for the day and combed her hair into a high bun. The only jewel was a simple silver hairpin.
"Stay here today and practice your writing," Bai Yue told her once she was done.
"Now?" A slight pout unconsciously appeared on the girl's mouth as she patted her stomach discreetly. The sky might still be dark but she had already been up for quite some time.
"Yes, now. Don't forget that my mother is still angry with you."
Bai Yue was pleased with the results of the day before. However, it was still true that the whole scene happened partly because Liu'er forgot about the guests. Her mother would not be easy on Liu'er should she see her. It was better for the little maid to make herself scarce for a while.
"I will call for someone to bring breakfast," Bai Yue continued talking, "I need to go somewhere first though, so it might take a while. Go to the study and practice in the meantime."
Seeing the badly concealed reluctance in the girl's eyes, Bai Yue let out a low laugh. Really, give that girl a hand and she will want to take your whole head with it. Perhaps Liu'er wasn't even aware of this.
She grabbed an apple from a plate she kept on a shelf and threw it at Liu'er who managed to catch it clumsily.
"Thanks, young miss!" Liu'er cheered with a wide grin. She then quickly bit into the fresh and slightly acid flesh of the fruit, its delicious juice immediately gushing out into her mouth.
Where was the girl who was afraid of eating her young miss' breakfast before? Gone! Simply gone!
Good food tended to make people think less with their brains and more with their stomachs.
Bai Yue grinned and took a white coat out of her closet.
"Young miss, you are really going out alone now? It doesn't seem very proper. Let me go with you."
"No need, it is fine. What could happen to me in this house?"
"But young miss-"
"No, it is fine. Really. Now, eat your apple and practice your writing. I'm off."
She walked out and Liu'er followed her to the door.
"Young miss, where are you going?"
"To see a good show!"
Bai Yue was soon going to leave the Bai manor. Before that, she ought to entertain herself a little bit. She suffered so much in her previous life. Meanwhile, her family enjoyed plenty of benefits. Even after Ji Mo Zhen sat on the throne, he didn't touch the Bai family.
Instead, he only touched her.
...
Bai Yue made her way through the garden and turned a blind eye to the obvious stares of flabbergasted servants. Soon, she reached the ancestral hall.
It was still early in the morning and a blanket of fog had settled over the capital. In this cold and damp weather, few people wanted to be outside. Yet, there was a circle of people dressed in servant garbs around Concubine Xi and her maid.
The maid had spent the night with Concubine Xi, doing her best to endure the cold weather. In the end, her best wasn't enough. Her body had always been frail to begin with and she didn't even have thick clothes on her to keep the cold away. She fell asleep and stopped breathing.
Concubine Xi on the other hand was still alive and lying on the ground with her long hair fanning out around her head and her face paler than snow. Even her usually red lips lacked colors.
Next to her, on his knees with tears running down his cheeks, Bai Chen was begging in a trembling voice his concubine mother to wake up.
"Concubine mother, concubine mother, please wake up! Don't let your Chen'er alone in this world!"
He was holding her hand, blowing on it every once in a while as if it could warm her.
Bai Yue stilled, her brow pulled together. This was... unexpected.
She had never been close to her second brother. Years ago, he used to follow her around with a creepy smile until she was forced to hide behind Bai Rui. Then he grew up and became even creepier.
He was already an assistant in the Ministry of Rites and if he walked the same path as in her previous life, he would become the youngest minister in the last two hundred years. She never understood how he did it because, as far as she knew, he tended to act cowardly. Creepy and a coward, this usually didn't make the best combination to become a powerful minister.
"Concubine mother, what will I do if you die?" Bai Chen turned his bloodshot eyes to the servants around him. "Why aren't you calling for a doctor?!"
The servants around him didn't have a lot of authority but all of them understood that this result was what Madam Fu wanted. Bai Chen's future might look bright but in the end, he wasn't the one who paid their salary. Nor was he the one holding their life and death contract in his hands.
So, none of them dared to obey.
"Servant Dong, why aren't you going?" someone asked in a tiny voice.
Servant Dong, also known as Dong Li, was Bai Chen's manservant. He had already been scolded earlier by the fourth miss because of the fungus soup. And now they wanted him to bring back a doctor and ruin his master's play?
"Don't!" Bai Chen cried out, his fingers clinging onto his manservant's clothes. He raised his head, not forgetting to sniffle. "Concubine mother is dying. We can't hurt her more."
The people around were all confused. How could Dong Li leaving to get a doctor worsen Concubine Xi's state? It made no sense at all.
Dong Li pinched himself hard until his own eyes welled up. After this, his master better gives him a promotion!
"Young master! I understand!"
The other servants: You do?!
Bai Chen wiped off his face with Concubine Xi's long sleeve and then started sobbing quietly again.
"It is good that you do. Concubine mother loves me so much... She would be so sad if I was left somewhere without my servant."