Having read many inner-court drama novels, Gu Xingzhao couldn’t help but glance at Liang a few more times. She had seen Lu Youtiao before, who was extraordinarily beautiful, far surpassing the current Liang Concubine in appearance. Was Yang Fang blind to have discarded a pearl for a mere fish-eye?
Gu Xingzhao suddenly recalled a comment she had seen online: “A wife can’t compare to a concubine, and a concubine can’t compare to a secret affair. Men always love the thrill.” Tsk.
At that moment, Liang watched the maids beside Lu Youtiao begging for mercy, as if by doing so, she could picture Lu Youtiao herself humbly bowing before her. It seemed to give her a twisted sense of satisfaction.
Liang paced slowly toward the two kneeling maids, each step like a weight pressing down on their hearts. The atmosphere was suffocating.
One of the maids, unable to withstand the pressure, shivered. Her hand, lying on the ground, was stepped on by Liang Concubine’s raised foot.
The maid cried out in pain, her desperate pleas for mercy echoing throughout the courtyard.
Even Gu Xingzhao felt the sting in her own hand. She thought, “Yang Fang’s mistress is quite the ruthless one.”
The servants nearby heard the commotion and silently sympathized, but none dared to speak out.
Liang glared coldly at the people in the room, her lips curling into a sneer. “Remember well who the real master of this house is now!”
The other two maids in the room lowered their heads, their eyes avoiding hers, fearful that even a glance might incite her wrath and lead them to the same fate.
Liang’s expression gradually returned to calm. She withdrew her foot and, with a smug look, casually pulled a hairpin from her head and tossed it to the ground, as though she were throwing alms to a beggar. “Take this as a reward.”
The maid, whose hand had been trampled, wore an expression of agony, her eyes shut tight as tears welled up between her lashes.
The maid behind Liang scolded loudly, “Stop crying! You’re disturbing our lady’s peace! Hurry and get out of here!”
The other maid quickly picked up the hairpin from the ground, helped her injured companion, and hurriedly fled the room.
Liang cast a glance at the two maids serving her. “Why aren’t you preparing my meal?”
She lightly touched her slightly protruding belly. Yang Fang would coax her every day, once telling her not to offend the Lu family, and now that the Lu family had fallen, saying that he was about to be promoted and couldn’t afford to stir up gossip. Yet, he still hadn’t divorced Lu Youtiao.
Before, she hadn’t thought much of it, assuming that Yang Fang had only married Lu Youtiao for the power and influence of the Lu family, which would help his political career.
Back then, Yang Fang had promised her that once he climbed the political ladder, he would bring her into the house and raise her to the status of equal wife, on par with Lu Youtiao.
But two years had passed, and that day had yet to come.
Every day, she heard Yang Fang complain about Lu Youtiao—how she was difficult to please, extravagant, and hard to deal with. He claimed he didn’t even want to return home. She had assumed Lu Youtiao must have been plain and unattractive for Yang Fang to grow so weary of her.
She had always believed that Yang Fang would eventually bring her into the household. After all, their love had spanned many years—how could Lu Youtiao ever compare?
But everything changed one day when she happened to see Lu Youtiao in a clothing shop. She was stunned by Lu Youtiao’s beauty and realized that all of Yang Fang’s complaints had been lies to pacify her!
The memory of that encounter still made her gnash her teeth in frustration. If it weren’t for her pregnancy, she doubted Yang Fang would have brought her back at all.
And as for Lu Youtiao, Yang Fang had confined her to a room, refusing her food, and hadn’t allowed Liang to see her. For all Liang knew, Lu Youtiao might very well be starving to death by now.
Rubbing her belly, Liang let out a bitter laugh.
Gu Xingzhao followed the two maids as they left.
“That Liang is getting more vicious. She almost crushed your hand!” one maid grumbled.
The maid whose hand had been stepped on didn’t seem to care. “It’s nothing. That hairpin looks valuable. We can sell it and buy more medicine for the mistress.”
After all, it was just some pain and bruising. Before Liang arrived, life had been relatively smooth, but since then, they had been penniless and unable to see their mistress.
When Liang entered the household, her arrogance soared, and everyone in the estate fawned over her because of her pregnancy. This gave the maids an opportunity to sneak in to see their mistress occasionally and bring her food.
Liang’s temper was erratic, always resorting to violence. Yet, perhaps out of fear of losing favor, she would often hand out small sums of money afterward. Without that money, the maids wouldn’t have been able to slip out and buy medicine for their mistress.
Having discovered this method of earning money, they had deliberately volunteered to deliver food to Liang, hoping to provoke her.
But even with the medicine they had been able to obtain, their mistress’s condition hadn’t improved. Worse yet, they couldn’t bring a doctor to the estate, leaving them helpless as they watched her health decline.
Their hatred for Yang Fang ran deep, wishing they could cut him to pieces, but they were powerless to stop their mistress’s suffering.
Gu Xingzhao was momentarily stunned by the maids’ loyalty.
The maid, her tears unshed, pulled a steamed bun from her pocket and handed it to her companion. “You take this to the mistress. I’ll distract the guards.”
She had originally intended to bring the food herself, but with her injured hand, she didn’t want to worry her mistress.
Gu Xingzhao followed them to a dark courtyard, watching as one of the maids handed over some silver to the guards, while the other sneaked inside.
Inside the room, darkness enveloped everything. The maid, prepared, pulled out a small firestarter from her pocket and carefully lit the candle on the table, casting a faint glow around the room.
The maid quickly approached the bed, whispering, “Young Miss?”
There was no response from the person lying on the bed. The maid’s voice trembled with fear as she called out again, “Young Miss!”
She reached out and gently shook Lu Youtiao’s shoulder. Slowly, Lu Youtiao opened her eyes and saw her maid, “Qiu Yue… why have you come again?”
Her voice was so weak it was barely audible. Gu Xingzhao moved closer and saw, in the dim candlelight, how pale and frail Lu Youtiao had become.
She remembered seeing Lu Youtiao in better days, climbing trees with her siblings to pick fruit, getting scolded by Lu Qing, yet cheekily laughing and making playful excuses, which only made the old man both angry and amused.
How had someone so lively—once the eldest granddaughter of a Grand Chancellor, so beloved in the Lu family—ended up reduced to this frail, near-death state in the Yang household?
Gu Xingzhao’s heart filled with anger toward Yang Fang, vowing to hold him accountable for this cruelty!
Qiu Yue wiped away her tears as she helped Lu Youtiao sit up. She pulled a white steamed bun from her pocket, broke off a piece, and offered it to her mistress, “Please, Young miss, eat a little.”
Lu Youtiao opened her mouth, slowly chewing the bun. But it was too dry, and she struggled to swallow it.
Seeing this, Qiu Yue rushed to the table to fetch some water, only to find the teapot completely empty. Tears welled up as she began to panic.
Gu Xingzhao, unfamiliar with the Yang estate and unable to run to the modern world to fetch water, quickly called for the system, “System, give me a bottle of water!”
The system’s window popped up, and a voice responded, “Wa Haha purified water, 596 mL, priced at 799. Confirm purchase?”
Gu Xingzhao was furious. A bottle of water that normally costs two yuan—how dare the system charge me 799!?
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