Ren Yaoying now understood everything, feeling both shocked and furious.
Concubine Fang had repeatedly instructed Ren Yaoying to be generous to those serving her, never to vent her temper on subordinates casually, as only then could she win their loyalty. Ren Yaoying believed she had been fairly lenient with her attendants, never lacking in rewards on ordinary days. Yet she never expected that this senior maid, whom she had trusted and valued, would help Ren Yaohua scheme against her.
However, Ren Yaoying also realized this was not the time to lash out. Ren Yaohua had six people behind her, while she only had herself and a maid who had already defected. It was clear Ren Yaohua had come with ill intentions.
Ren Yaoying quickly assessed the situation, considering whether to cry out for help to draw others over. Ren Yaohua glanced coldly at Ren Yaoying’s maid, Ping’er. Ping’er bit her lip, lowered her eyes, and immediately stepped forward to cover Ren Yaoying’s mouth. At the same time, two matrons brought by Ren Yaohua rushed forward to seize Ren Yaoying, rendering her immobile.
Ren Yaoying widened her eyes, looking at Ping’er in disbelief, then at Ren Yaohua, who stood coldly and silently. She let out muffled sounds, then fiercely bit Ping’er’s hand, nearly tearing off a layer of skin from her palm. Ping’er almost cried out in pain, but a matron nearby pulled Ping’er’s hand away, swiftly stuffed her own handkerchief into Ren Yaoying’s mouth, firmly gagging her, and then covered it with her hand. Now Ren Yaoying was completely silenced.
Only then did Ren Yaohua walk up to Ren Yaoying, looking at her with a calm and indifferent expression.
Seeing Ren Yaohua like this, Ren Yaoying’s unease grew stronger.
Ren Yaoying had clashed with Ren Yaohua many times before. Each time, Ren Yaohua would fly into a rage, directly resorting to violence, as if she wanted to tear her apart. Concubine Fang had said that such a Ren Yaohua was nothing to fear. But now, Ren Yaoying felt Ren Yaohua was different from before, and this version of her was even more frightening than the one who would beat and scold her at the slightest provocation.
“You have no right to feel wronged. You are as foolish as a pig, but your maid is far cleverer than you—at least she knows how to read the situation,” Ren Yaohua said with a faint tone of mockery.
Ren Yaohua looked at Ren Yaoying as if she were a clown: “Ren Yaoying, I originally intended to let you off, but you were so bored with a good life that you insisted on stirring up trouble. Tell me, how should I repay you?”
Ren Yaoying’s face gradually paled. She wanted to speak, but Ren Yaohua had no intention of hearing her voice and gave her no chance to speak. Instead, she turned to her maid Xiangqin and asked, “You’re full of wicked ideas. Help me think of what Ninth Miss likes.”
If Ren Yaohua had said this to Wujing, the maid would not have taken it seriously. But Xiangqin immediately replied with a mischievous expression, “This servant thinks Ninth Miss has an inseparable bond with the latrine. She must surely like it.” As she spoke, this troublemaking maid cast a lewd glance toward the nearby privy.Ren Yaoying was so furious she nearly fainted. Her glare at Xiangqin was like a knife dipped in poison. If Xiangqin’s skin weren’t so thick, Ren Yaoying’s gaze alone could have scraped off a layer. Unfortunately, this girl’s greatest strength was her thick skin and resilience to beatings.
Ren Yaohua raised an eyebrow, seemingly seriously considering whether to follow Xiangqin’s suggestion and throw Ren Yaoying into the latrine.
During Ren Yaohua’s silence, Ren Yaoying was utterly tormented. That incident had dealt her a massive blow, and she still felt lingering fear.
Fortunately, Ren Yaohua finally shook her head and vetoed the idea. “What if she can’t get out? And the stench would disgrace our family.”
Xiangqin sighed regretfully, her expression full of disappointment.
Ren Yaohua thought for a moment, then beckoned an elderly servant behind her forward. “Don’t you keep some little creatures? Bring them out to play with Ninth Miss.”
The servant respectfully acknowledged the order, then pulled a small black lacquered wooden box from her sleeve and approached Ren Yaoying.
Trembling with fear, Ren Yaoying’s eyes darted around frantically. She looked pleadingly at Ren Yaohua, as if begging for mercy. Unfortunately, Ren Yaohua’s heart was hard as stone, her expression cold and indifferent.
The servant opened the box. Xiangqin stood on tiptoe to peek inside and was so frightened she nearly collapsed from weak legs. The box contained worms as thick as a child’s little finger, round and flat, wriggling incessantly.
Ren Yaoying glanced at them and would have collapsed to the ground if two servants weren’t holding her. Seeing the servant pick up one of the worms with bamboo tweezers, Ren Yaoying began struggling violently, throwing her head back as far as she could.
The servant whispered, “Apologies, Ninth Miss. These are blood leeches. They only suck blood; they won’t kill you.” Her words sounded like comfort but terrified Ren Yaoying so much she wished she could faint. Tears and snot streamed down her face, dirtying the hand of the servant covering her mouth.
In an unyielding tone, Ren Yaohua said calmly, “Feed it to her!”
The servant restraining her immediately removed the cloth from her mouth and clamped her jaw, preventing her from speaking or closing her mouth. Ren Yaoying bit the servant’s hand hard, drawing blood, but the servant remained expressionless, only tightening her grip.
The servant holding the blood leech with the tweezers quickly placed the horrifying creature into Ren Yaoying’s mouth. Ren Yaoying’s face twisted in extreme revulsion as she tried to spit it out, but the servant pinching her chin swiftly withdrew her hand and stuffed the cloth back into Ren Yaoying’s mouth, blocking it so she couldn’t spit anything out.
At that moment, several servants standing nearby suddenly caught a whiff of a foul odor. Looking down, they saw Ren Yaoying had been so terrified she’d wet herself, her skirt and shoes soaked in urine.
Xiangqin made a disgusted face, pinched her nose, and took a step back.Ren Yaohua turned a blind eye to Ren Yaoying's disheveled state. She walked slowly up to Ren Yaoying, watching her tremble coldly, then said calmly, "I won't hit you or scold you. From now on, whenever you upset me, I'll just feed you a 'delicious meal'."
Because I'm writing quite slowly, I only managed to write this much by the estimated time～〒_〒
This chapter is a bit short, but the next one will be longer～Please forgive me!
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