Under the crowd's shocked gaze madam Jiang headed for her daughter, who lay motionless in Qiu's arms and carefully carried her in a princess carry.
Qiu still immersed in grief was stunned momentarily when she felt the person lying in her arms long gone.
As she lifted her head to look around, her gaze landed on madam Jiang's desolate-looking retreating back. Qiu hurriedly got on her feet and chased after her.
Seeing that the drama was over the crowd parted leaving miserable Kang Bo lying on the ground after he had fainted from pain. No one paid him any attention. Most of them were cultivators and cultivators were basically heartless.
Everyone only had one sentence for Kang Bo-- 'You deserve it!'
Since, he was too weak to protect himself he couldn't others. Who asked him to leave his father's security and go looking for trouble?
Jiang Residence,
" Sister Niu, do you think big sister is alright?" Jiang Ying Mei asked in a soft voice looking a bit flustered.
" I hope so miss." Niu also looked anxious and didn't know how to comfort her little miss.
They felt it had been quite some time since they stood at the entrance waiting for madam Jiang's and Jiang Ying Yue's return. Due to their anxious heart, every moment felt like an hour to them. It was too torturous.
If they knew it would be like that then they would rather have insisted on following madam Jiang than waiting at the residence.
" Mother..." Jiang Ying Mei cried when she saw her mother returning while carrying her sister in her arms," Mother, what happened to big sister? "
As madam Nangong stepped through the entrance Jiang Ying Mei quickly ran forward to check on her sister.
" Big sister, big sister.....sister?!" Jiang Ying Mei cried anxiously when she saw her sister was not responding to her, then she looked at their mother with a questioning gaze, asking about her sister's situation only to realise their mother appeared strange.
Madam Nangong''s eyes were bleak, there was no light in them. Her heroic face which always held a gentle smile was stiff as wooden.
What happened??
It couldn't be...
Thinking of the possibility Jiang Ying Mei was heartbroken and began crying with all she had, standing behind her Niu also joined her as the duo hugged and wept miserably.
' Who am I? Where am I? Where is this place?' Jiang Ying Yue thought groggily, not yet willing to wake up.
Oh boy! She had been so tired after putting on that play that soon after she was carried by her mother she fell asleep. Anyway, she needed to pretend, so she just took nap. What was the big deal?
Now that she woke up and heard the voices of her sister and her maid, she realized they have reached home.
So, when her mother still stood near the entrance while carrying her, Jiang Ying Yue flipped out of her embrace and landed on the ground.
No one noticed her as she stretched her body and dusted her clothes.
Qiu, who had chased madly after madam Jiang saw all this when she just happened to step through the gate.
With mouth agape, she stared widely at the scene not daring to believe her eyes.
On one side Jiang Ying Mei and Niu hugged and cried terribly while on the other madam Jiang stood motionless like a wooden statue, her hands still hung in the mid-air.
" Oh, Qiu, ah you are here, go quickly prepare my bath water...I am so dirty!" Jiang Ying Yue frowned in displeasure as she used her long sleeves to dust off the dirt on her robe.
She had sat, crawled, rolled and even lay on the ground. No wonder she was so dirty.
But it couldn't be helped, to convince people she had to act convincingly. Being dirty was better than being thrashed and lying on the bed for a month. So, it was worth it.
Hearing such a familiar voice the three grief immersed people cocked their heads in shock. Their pitiful crying had long ceased as their eyeballs popped out of their sockets in shock.
This...what was going on??
Jiang Ying Yue also felt their gazes on her and greeted them cheerfully, " Hi, guys."
After which she turned and swaggered lazily towards her courtyard.
" Jiang Ying Yue, you.....you stinky brat, stand still." Madam Nangong came out of her stupor and realized the situation was angry that her chest hurt. Till now she felt her heart ache badly at the thought of losing her daughter. Now, she realized that her precious daughter had conned everyone including her mother. How could she not be angry?
" Eh.....mother wait, let me explain!" Jiang Ying Yue ran madly as madam Nangong chased after her, " Mother, forgive me! I just fell asleep and didn't get the chance to tell you!"
" Ahh....mother, don't use that stick that's too big.....and not that vase either, otherwise your precious daughter will die for sure."
Qiu, Niu and Jiang Ying Mei stood there and watched as madam Nangong chased Jiang Ying Yue throughout the residence as she hurled anything she found nearby at her daughter. However, none of them landed on the target. It was obvious that madam Nangonv was missing her target on purpose, she couldn't bear to lay a single finger on her daughter.
Although madam Nangong looked angry there was a subtle gentle smile that lingered at the corner of her mouth, her eyes filled with affection and doting.
" Our eldest miss has become now, don't you think so Qiu?" Niu asked feeling happy for their master.
"Mmm." Qiu nodded with a smile as she watched the trio of mother and daughters having fun. Yes, in time Jiang Ying Mei also joined in the fun. The three were giggling happily as they played around.
" Oh right, what happened today?" Niu asked curiously. She had seen how anxious was madam Jiang when she left the residence.
Seeing Niu extremely curious Qiu narrated everything in detail while expressing her surprise and shock.
" Woa..miss is so scheming!" Niu's mouth hung wide open, still in shock.
"Yes, she was so powerful, it was hard to believe." Qiu chuckled softly in amusement.
" You know, I think this is a good thing. In the past, our miss was always at disadvantage because of her hot temper and straightforward character. So, she never won against those scheming people. Now it's good." Qiu added.
****
At the far border of Burning Phoenix nation,
" General, I beg you to let me stay! Whether it's death or glory, I shall follow you!"
Inside a dimly lit tent, a burly figure of a man was kneeling in front of a tall man who was standing with his back faced.
" No, Xiao Jin, you are the only one who knows about the whereabouts of the Yue-Mei knights beside me. So, you must go and this is an order!" The tall man spoke in an authoritative voice, his voice pleasant and graceful.
" General, you know it's a trap then why must you do this? Let me handle the situation and you can go back to madam and your daughters. Won't you more assured if you protect them yourself?" Xiao Jin didn't give up and continued convincing Jiang Zemin.
Yes, the tall and graceful man was general Jiang, the formidable War God of the Burning Phoenix nation. And the man beside him was one of his closest subordinates.