The cold wind outside the house whistled past like the roar of a wild beast, mixed with the rustling sound of falling snow. Ling Qingwan lay face inward on the heated kang, with a heavy heart.
In my ears I could hear the little maid complaining as she fiddled with the charcoal fire.
"What kind of horrible weather is this? When it's not snowing it's freezing my bones, and when it's snowing it's cold and damp, like falling into an ice cave. I'm so annoyed!"
"Keep your voice down, the lady is still asleep!"
"Why would you be afraid of her? She's just a speck of dust, but Madam treats her like a pearl and lets her down in front of so many people! Madam will regret it when she sees the person!"
"But she is the true blood of the Hou Mansion. Although the one in the mansion is outstanding in every way among the noble ladies in Tokyo City, she is a fake after all."
"If the young lady and she stand together, who do you think people will say is real and who is fake? It doesn't matter who is real, the key is who looks real!"
"What are you all talking about here? You've disturbed the young lady's sleep. I'll skin you alive!" Nanny Park came in and scolded in a low voice with a cold face.
Hong Xiu stood up, pouted her lips and whispered: "I am not wrong."
"Hongxiu, don't forget your own identity just because you are around the eldest lady!" Nanny Park scolded with a cold face.
"Mammy, she is right. Why do you have to be so angry?" Ling Qingwan slowly stood up and leaned against the head of the bed with a calm expression.
Hong Xiu was not surprised to see her like this. She felt even more contemptuous and sneered, "Even a pheasant flying onto a tree can never become a phoenix!"
Seeing that she was getting more and more outrageous, Qiao'er reached out to pull her sleeve, but was violently pushed away.
Nanny Park's face turned cold and she was about to get angry when she was held down by a small hand covered with thick calluses.
She looked up and met Ling Qingwan's gaze, and her heart trembled for no reason. She only realized today that these calm eyes were too similar to those of the lady when she was young.
Ling Qingwan looked at Hong Xiu and asked, "Are you the lady or am I the lady?"
"Of course you are a young lady." Hongxiu said with a fake smile, "But I grew up in the Hou Mansion, so I am different from you."
She deliberately emphasized the latter part of the sentence and looked at Ling Qingwan with pride.
Normally, whenever she said this, Ling Qingwan would be sad and disappointed, but today, she seemed unable to hear the deeper meaning of it and nodded calmly.
"In that case, you should know what the punishment is for insulting and slandering the master?"
Hongxiu was stunned when she heard this. Ling Qingwan never used her status to bully others. Even if Nanny Pu wanted to punish them, she would stop her. Why was it different today
Looking at Ling Qingwan who was so calm and composed, she felt nervous for no reason.
Ling Qingwan couldn't wait for her answer, but she didn't force it. She turned around and asked Madam Pu: "Madam, do you know?"
"To answer the young lady's question, the price will be twenty and it will be sold out." Nanny Pu glanced at Hongxiu and said.
Ling Qingwan nodded: "After twenty strokes of the cane, you will be half dead, right? I won't punish you like this."
Hong Xiu breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could let go of her smugness, she heard Ling Qingwan say, "I'll punish you by making you stand under that crooked tree outside for an hour."
"Are you crazy? It's freezing and snowy outside. You will freeze to death if you stand there for an hour!" Hongxiu looked at her in disbelief.
"Snow and ice are good. It helps to cool down and clear your head." Ling Qingwan looked at Madam Park and asked with a smile, "Madam, don't you think so?"
When Nanny Park met her dark eyes, she couldn't help but feel happy. Her young lady was finally not so weak anymore!
She hurriedly said, "Miss, you are absolutely right. Hongxiu, why don't you go out?"
"Mammy!" Hongxiu looked at Mammy Park in surprise.
"Get out!" Nanny Park's face turned cold. "If the old lady and the mistress knew about this, it would not be as simple as standing in the corner!"
Madam is such a good talker, but she dared to refute the old lady for a young lady she had never met. If she knew what I did...
Hongxiu couldn't help but shiver, and then she felt scared. She didn't dare to say anything more, and she lifted the curtain and went out.
Nanny Pu also sent Qiao'er out, holding Ling Qingwan's hand and looking at her with satisfaction: "Young lady should be like this today. However, you don't need to do anything with those little hooves, just leave them to me."
Ling Qingwan smiled and said, "Some roads have to be walked by yourself."
Nanny Park looked down at her and saw that her face was full of forlornness. Through her eyes, she seemed to see an old person who had experienced many vicissitudes of life, which made her feel inexplicably distressed.
Then, she shook her head and laughed. The person in front of her was just a little girl who had lived freely in the countryside for fourteen years. She was afraid that her heart had grown old, so she saw everyone as old.
Ling Qingwan also looked at her carefully. Looking at her still young face, her heart warmed. Madam Pu was the most respected madam around her mother, and she always treated her as her own daughter. It was a pity that she was stupid and caused her to have a bad end.
From now on, she will treat her well.
After dinner, Nanny Pu helped Ling Qingwan wash and dress, and then applied a thick layer of jasmine cream all over her body before letting her go to bed.
Lying on the kang that was burning brightly, Ling Qingwan tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
In her previous life, she passed away with a heart full of hatred, and swore that if there was an afterlife, she would make those people pay with blood. When she opened her eyes again, she was back on the road where she was taken back to the Hou Mansion.
When she was found in her previous life, she was ecstatic and couldn't wait to see her biological parents. But when she returned home, she saw the person who had taken her place, high and mighty, without the bother of dressing up, and who acted like a fairy, which made her look humble and ashamed.
All the sisters in the mansion looked down on her, only Ling Chuchu smiled at her, taught her a lot, and helped her marry the man she loved. But when she was dying, she realized that it was just Ling Chuchu's conspiracy!
Ling Chuchu did all this to resolve the thorns in her mother and brother's hearts, and also gained the support of her grandparents, but she also hated them all! She first killed her mother, and then conspired with the newly crowned prince, and joined forces with the sanctimonious Ling Feng and his illegitimate son Ling Yun to strangle her grandparents!
Ling Chuchu framed her for assassinating him, so Song Zhiqing broke her legs and threw her into the courtyard. When she was dying, Ling Chuchu came to her bedside.
The smile on her lips was cold and mocking: "Your brother knew that the 50,000 White Tiger Army in Luoan City was to preserve his last bit of power, but when the emperor proposed that as long as he persuaded the White Tiger Army to serve the country, he would let you go home, he agreed even though he knew there might be a trick."
"He arrived at Luo'an City yesterday and was shot dead by the Right Prime Minister, your father-in-law, in front of 50,000 White Tiger soldiers. The White Tiger Army no longer had a master, and finally after the Emperor killed the Right Prime Minister, they were willing to submit to the court."
"The last person in this world who risked his life to protect you is also dead. Ling Qingwan, why haven't you died yet?"