Qiao Nian moved with such speed that the way she lunged at Lin Yuan was as swift and fierce as when she had once pounced on those palace maids who bullied her. Lady Lin only saw a blur flash before her eyes, and by the time she reacted, Lin Yuan was already pinned beneath Qiao Nian.
"Ah!" Lin Yuan let out a loud scream, but the next instant, Qiao Nian covered her mouth.
Grandmother was still resting inside. She absolutely couldn't let Lin Yuan disturb Grandmother.
But she couldn't hold back the rage burning in her heart any longer!
While covering Lin Yuan's mouth with one hand, Qiao Nian also forcefully restrained her, preventing Lin Yuan from struggling.
With her other hand, she slapped Lin Yuan without the slightest mercy.
She had wanted to hit Lin Yuan for a long time.
But before, she had always been holding back.
She thought that although Lin Yuan was detestable and hateful, perhaps it was just her nature.
Lin Yuan shared the same blood as the other members of the Lin family. That was why they always protected her so much, and that was why Lin Yuan always put the interests of the Lin family first in everything.
Even though their actions had deeply hurt her, every time, Qiao Nian managed to suppress the urge to take action against Lin Yuan.
But today, she could no longer bear it.
Because Lin Yuan had touched her last bottom line!
"Slap!"
The crisp sound of the slap was heard, and tears instantly welled up in the corners of Lin Yuan's eyes.
Only then did Lady Lin finally react. She rushed forward and tried to pull Qiao Nian away. "Niannian! What are you doing? Let go of your sister quickly!"
However, Lady Lin's pulling was nothing to Qiao Nian.
Back in the Laundry Bureau, when she was riding on someone and hitting them, at least a dozen palace maids had come up to pull her.
Some of them grabbed her neck, and some pulled her hair, all hoping to make her get off the person.
But Qiao Nian had developed the ability to hold onto her target firmly. Once she set her eyes on someone, she would never let go easily!
After pulling for a few times, Lady Lin found that not only could she not move Qiao Nian, but Qiao Nian slapped Lin Yuan's face several more times, even harder.
Lady Lin was heartbroken. Lord Lin was even more anxious. He immediately shouted harshly at the maids around them, "Are you all blind? Why don't you come up and protect your young lady!"
This "young lady" naturally referred to Lin Yuan.
A group of maids rushed forward immediately. Just like those palace maids in the Laundry Bureau, they started pulling Qiao Nian.
But soon, Ningshuang led another group of maids to charge forward. "What are you doing? Let go of our young lady!"
The maids on both sides started tugging and tearing at each other, leaving Lady Lin and Lord Lin at a loss as to what to do.
Qiao Nian, however, seemed oblivious to everything. With her eyes fixed firmly on Lin Yuan, she continued to slap Lin Yuan's already swollen cheek one after another.
She wished she could break Lin Yuan's teeth, so that she could no longer spread rumors in front of Grandmother in the future!
The commotion in the courtyard eventually alerted the people inside the house.
When Nanny Su came out, she saw such a chaotic scene.
She immediately spotted Qiao Nian. Although Qiao Nian's hair bun had been pulled loose, she didn't seem to be at a disadvantage at all. So, Nanny Su just stared.
After all, the Old Lady's room was in the inner chamber, and she had taken medicine. The noise here couldn't possibly disturb the Old Lady.
But that Second Miss!
Nanny Su's gaze turned cold when she looked at Lin Yuan.
She had come almost as soon as it was dawn today, saying that she was worried about the Old Lady's health. Nanny Su had even thought that the Second Miss was a filial girl.
Who would have thought that as soon as she saw the Old Lady, she started crying and told the Old Lady all those dirty things, which made the Old Lady fall ill not long after!
She deserved a good beating to learn a lesson!
Nanny Su watched coldly. Suddenly, she saw Lady Lin run away.
Was she going to get help?
Just as she was thinking, unexpectedly, Lady Lin ran back.
But this time, she was holding a huge stone in her hand.
Nanny Su was shocked. Before she could react, she heard Lord Lin shout, "Madam, don't!"
But it was already too late.
The huge stone came crashing down on Qiao Nian's head.
Qiao Nian felt her mind go blank for a moment. She couldn't hear anything in her ears except a sharp, piercing ringing.
It was not until a drop of blood trickled down from the corner of her eye, followed by a second, a third...
That she finally reacted. She slowly raised her head and looked at Lady Lin beside her.
Lady Lin was also panicked. Meeting Qiao Nian's blood - stained eyes, she seemed to realize something and quickly threw away the stone in her hand.
"No, it's not like this, Niannian. Listen to Mother's explanation," Lady Lin's voice was trembling violently. "Mother, Mother just wanted you to stop. Mother didn't mean, didn't mean to hurt..."
"Bang!"
Qiao Nian's eyes went black, and she fell heavily to the ground.
Lord Lin was the first to react. "What are you all still standing there for? Go and find the mansion doctor! Hurry, carry the young lady into the house!"
Under Nanny Su's command, although the maids in the courtyard were flustered, they managed to carry Qiao Nian into the house.
Nanny Su also quickly turned around and entered. But before going in, she gave Lady Lin a deep look.
At this moment, Lady Lin was so frightened that she was at a loss. She was held in Lord Lin's arms.
Lin Yuan had also been helped up. One side of her face was swollen high, and blood was oozing from the corner of her mouth.
She walked to Lady Lin's side and sobbed, saying nothing.
But Lady Lin hugged her tightly and started wailing.
The three of them huddled together as if they were the ones who had been hurt the most in this incident.
But clearly, it was the Old Lady who had almost been angered to death, and it was the eldest young lady who had been hit until her head was bleeding!
Nanny Su's eyes ached from watching. In the end, she said nothing. She just let out a cold snort and went into the house.
After a stick of incense time, the mansion doctor finally finished bandaging Qiao Nian's wound and came out.
At this time, Lin Ye had also arrived. Seeing the mansion doctor, he quickly asked, "How is she? Is the injury serious?"
"Superficial injury. It's nothing serious," the mansion doctor replied indifferently.
Then, the four members of the Lin family all heaved a sigh of relief.
The mansion doctor originally thought they were worried about Qiao Nian's injury. But unexpectedly, Lin Yuan hugged Lady Lin while crying and said, "Mother, it's okay. You didn't kill anyone."
So, they were worried that Qiao Nian might be killed by the blow, and Lady Lin would be charged with murder.
The mansion doctor's eyes turned slightly cold.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard Lin Ye say, "Please also take a look at my sister."
He was naturally referring to Lin Yuan.
Compared to before, Lin Yuan's cheek was even more swollen. The five finger marks had even turned a bit bluish - purple.
It was evident how much force Qiao Nian had used.
The mansion doctor had heard about what had happened from Nanny Su. He then said indifferently, "Just apply some medicine." With that, he cupped his hands in salute and left with big steps.
This obvious act of refusing to examine Lin Yuan made Lin Ye angry. Pointing at the mansion doctor's back, he cursed in a low voice, "What kind of attitude is this? Does he think he's so great just because he's from Yaowang Valley?"
"Shut up!" Lord Lin shouted angrily and gave Lin Ye a fierce glare. "You're the one who caused all this trouble today. How dare you still shout like this!"
Although scolded, Lin Ye felt a bit aggrieved. He couldn't help but mutter softly, "I didn't tell Mother to kill Niannian either!"