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墨書 Inktalez
Yun Kexin, like everyone else, was stunned by the sudden situation. She believed it wasn't Yun Ran; such a scheme was beyond her imagination, and it was also a great disrespect. No matter how foolish Yun Ran was, she would never joke with her own life. Who could it be? Yun Kexin raised her head and cast her gaze towards Cloud City, who happened to lower his head to look at her. Fourth Uncle appeared shocked and confused, yet he remained calm and even indifferent.
"Fourth Uncle, let's go take a look," Yun Kexin said, shaking Cloud City's hand.
But Cloud City's feet seemed nailed to the ground, unwilling to move, his face showing numbness.
Yun Kexin had no choice but to go alone.
Yun Jinxiu was supported by Master and Second Master as he walked out from the brown-red rosewood Incense Table. Although he had not been particularly swift before, his steps were steady; now he trembled. Everyone in the hall held their breath, with only the sound of the night wind rustling through the flowers. Occasionally, a few crows flew over from the mountains, cawing loudly, adding a touch of gloom and eeriness to this unfortunate autumn night.
The autumn wind blew fiercely, disheveling Yun Jinxiu's head of silver hair. The white goat beard fluttered in the wind, candle flames flickered, casting shadows of his plump figure on the bluestone floor, revealing his frail form in old age.
"Fifth Young Lady, quickly tell Third Uncle," Yun Jinxiu stood before Yun Ran, bending slightly to bring his face closer, his voice hoarse as he said, "Who made you do this? Don't be afraid; Third Uncle won't blame you, but you must tell the truth."
"No one, no one," Yun Ran knelt on the ground, supporting herself with her arms on the floor, trembling as if she were suffering from chills and fever. Suddenly looking up with tears streaming down her face, she said, "Third Uncle, everything I said before was true. I bought the congratulatory gift and placed it in my room; I haven't touched it since. I don't know how it became—became—"
"A dead eagle," the words were choked back into Yun Jinxiu's throat by his anger and embarrassment.
"Was the congratulatory gift placed in your room?" Yun Jinxiu squinted his dim eyes and asked again.
"Yes."
"And no one else has gone in since?"
"No," Yun Ran answered fearfully, terrified of making a mistake with even one word.
She looked at the crowd surrounding her in three inner circles and three outer circles. Their faces showed disgust, disdain, sympathy, and pity, but not a single person stepped forward to speak for her. She felt increasingly isolated and helpless.
Yun Jinxiu coldly stared at the eight-year-old girl kneeling on the ground without an ounce of compassion or pity. Under his silently aggressive gaze, Yun Ran felt anxious, angry, and scared; she lowered her eyes and dared not look directly at him.
"Who accompanied you to buy the birthday gift?" Yun Jinxiu suddenly blurted out after a moment of silence.
"Yes..." Yun Ran's first reaction was almost to speak the truth about Fu Yihang.
But she didn't have the courage to do so, so she raised her head and directed her gaze towards Yun Kexin, wishing it were her instead. Unfortunately, she was grounded at home by Mother and couldn't step out of the front door. The children from the First House and Second House rarely interacted with her, and they would definitely be with their families. This "disaster" had not caused any chaos... Unable to find someone to take the blame, Yun Ran was sweating profusely.
"Hurry!" Yun Jinxiu shouted, stomping her foot with all her might. Immediately after, she coughed a few times.
"It was... it was her!" Yun Ran pointed a finger like a deadly blade at someone in the crowd, without a hint of hesitation. "The Substitute Concubine, she went with me!"
Dai Chun Ni had been released from house arrest two days before Yun Jinxiu's birthday. Coincidentally, she had also gone out with Yun Ran and Fu Yihang to buy birthday gifts.
Dai Chun Ni, who had previously been neglected and overlooked, became the center of attention—everyone's gaze converged on her. If it weren't for this incident, many people wouldn't even know that the Third House had a character known as the Substitute Concubine.
Dai Chun Ni was furious and glared at Yun Ran, saying, "Fifth Young Lady, for heaven's sake, when did I accompany you to buy gifts? One shouldn't slander others so baselessly; you might end up haunted by ghosts at night." She paused slightly and caught a glimpse of Fu Yihang out of the corner of her eye. Knowing Yun Ran's feelings for him, she raised an eyebrow and mockingly said, "Before your birthday, I did see Fifth Young Lady 'pairing up' with some young master from a noble family."
With Fu Yihang being an "outsider" in the Duke's Residence and also a "young master from a noble family," it wasn't hard for anyone to guess it was him. The members of the Fu Family, including Fu Lianyin, were taken aback; their palms began to sweat. Could this really be something Fu Yihang did? He wouldn't be so bold and reckless, nor would he be that foolish!
Fu Yueze and Wang Ling wanted to say a few words for their son and question Dai Chun Ni about what she meant. Just then, Yun Ran spoke slowly:
"Third Uncle, earlier it was just a slip of the tongue from Ran'er," Yun Ran had found a scapegoat and immediately calmed down. No longer panicking, she nodded her head and said, "It was indeed Brother Fu who accompanied me to buy gifts for you. However, I noticed that the Substitute Concubine was following me closely and sneaking around; I don't know what her intentions were."
"You lie!" Dai Chun Ni was anxious and took a few steps toward Yun Ran, pointing at her nose as she argued. "I went out to buy congratulatory gifts for the Three Old Lords! What? You can buy gifts but I can't? Although I'm just a concubine, I am still considered part of the Third House. If I can't even afford a gift, what face do we have left in front of the Three Elders and Third Madam?"
Yun Kexin sneered inwardly: she thought Dai Chun Ni had finally recognized the situation but was still so self-righteous and clever. Even at this moment, she didn't forget to curry favor with Yun Yang and Fu Lianyin, hoping they would speak up for her at a critical time. She really thought of herself as someone important!
"And what about your gift?" Yun Ran's expression remained calm and composed while her mind was filled with schemes—since she had already identified this scapegoat, there was no reason to let her off. "Show it!"
Dai Chun Ni froze; she hadn't bought any gifts or couldn't produce one that was presentable. The ones she could show were either too shabby or she couldn't afford them. She could only itch for an explanation later to the Master and Madam of the Third House but didn't expect that Yun Ran would seize this opportunity.
Seeing Dai Chun Ni unable to respond, the victorious joy on Yun Ran's face could not be concealed. That sweet smile in the dimly lit Duke's Residence looked eerie under the flickering candlelight; it resembled something out of hell itself—smiling in a way that sent chills down people's spines.
"I... I can't afford it..." Substitute Concubine lowered her head. Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, "I can't present anything cheap, and the expensive ones... I have no money to buy."
"No money?" Yun Ran had tears still on her face, yet she laughed wildly, a sight that reminded one of a madwoman, willing to dig up Dai Chun Ni's past misdeeds to achieve her goals. "Substitute Concubine, why don't you learn a few things from the years when Auntie was pregnant? You pocketed the money and spent it all on decorating your eternally aging face—"
"Fifth Young Lady, don't go too far!" Dai Chun Ni was publicly exposed, her anger flaring like fire as she shouted, "That was all in the past! I was confused for a moment and made mistakes. Thanks to the grace of Three Old Lords, I was spared from my Ancestral Family Law. How could I possibly repay kindness with malice?"
Dai Chun Ni argued back fiercely, her words sharp and confident, her posture straight. Unfortunately, she was met with the mocking smile of Fu Lianyin, which diminished her confidence significantly.
"Substitute Concubine, at this point, do you still want to deny it?" Yun Ran ignored Dai Chun Ni's defense and pressed on, "You can't afford Third Uncle's birthday gift and are worried about being questioned by Mother, Father. Afraid of losing face, you became envious of the gift I bought for Third Uncle. While I wasn't in the boudoir, you swapped it out for a Dead Eagle. Substitute Concubine, I have no grievances with you; why would you want to harm me?!" After finishing her words, Yun Ran couldn't help but cover her face and burst into tears.
Yun Kexin scoffed derisively: this Yun Ran truly lived up to being raised in the Third House. She had absorbed Fu Lianyin's dual-faced tactics, knowing how to hit where it hurts and create a scene with tears at critical moments to garner sympathy and achieve an "unexpected" effect. "Absolutely ridiculous!"
"Fifth Young Lady, you can't just slander me without basis," Dai Chun Ni retorted angrily, unable to endure any longer. Her voice pierced through the air as she said, "When I entered the Duke's Residence, it was Three Old Lords who took me into the Third House, allowing me the honor of serving the Three Elders and my sister. I couldn't be more grateful; how could I harbor resentment or even harm him? That's simply—"
"Preposterous!" Before she could finish her sentence, Yun Ran threw her hands down and pointed at Dai Chun Ni, cursing:
"Hmph, grateful? Who doesn't know that in the Third House, 'neither uncle cares nor grandmother loves'? Once you entered the Third House, you had no offspring and harbored deep resentment towards Mother, Father. Gradually, your hatred grew towards Third Uncle, because he was the one who brought you into the Third House. You always believed that if it weren't for him, you might have gone to a better family instead of suffering in the Third House of the Duke's Residence. Over time, you developed murderous intent towards him." After saying so much in one breath, Yun Ran felt parched. She paused to catch her breath and swallowed before continuing, "This birthday provided you with an opportunity; quietly replacing my congratulatory gift with a Dead Eagle, hoping that I would inadvertently cause Third Uncle's demise... Substitute Concubine, human hearts are made of flesh; how could you be so cruel? Did your conscience get eaten by dogs?"
"Fifth Young Lady, you...!" Dai Chun Ni was at a loss for words; she never expected that Yun Ran's tongue could cut like a knife.
Yun Kexin suddenly felt alarmed. Staring wide-eyed at the flushed face of Yun Ran, whose hair was disheveled as she scolded sharply, it hardly resembled what an eight-year-old girl should act like; it was no different from a shrew cursing in the streets! It showed just how terrifying the Third House could be; even a good person could turn into a vicious beast.
"Enough!" The veins on Yun Jinxiu's forehead bulged as he roared thunderously but exhausted all his strength and spat out blood. "Everyone shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Cough cough..."
"Third Uncle!" Yun Ci tightened his grip!
"Fifth Young Lady, you've gone too far; get down!" For once, Yun You put on an elder's stern face and scolded.
"Ran'er, return to your room now!" Yun Yang glared disapprovingly and said angrily, "Your father will talk to you later!" Then he turned to Dai Chun Ni: "Substitute Concubine, hurry up and get lost!"
Yun Ran pouted as she got up from the ground, feeling indignant on the surface but secretly overjoyed inside. She had cleverly saved Fu Yihang in a moment of crisis; surely her uncle and Aunt would look at her in a new light now. Daydreaming, she stole a glance at Fu Yihang, only to find his face filled with disdain and disgust, causing her inflated heart to deflate like a popped balloon.
Only Yun Kexin silently observed everything, as the heart-wrenching wails of Third Uncle Yun Jinxiu echoed in her ears: "Retribution! Retribution! Retribution—"
Yun Kexin had a gut feeling that Third Uncle's cries of "retribution" were not directed at Dai Chun Ni! However, her days at Duke's Residence were now over! And Third Uncle's retribution had already begun…
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