"Hahaha—"
Leng Ruo Li watched the master and his two servants, laughing uncontrollably.
However, after Leng Ruo Shuang left Qingfeng Courtyard, she suddenly remembered something.
Leng Ruo Li originally had a very loyal personal maid named Xing'er, who was the same age as her.
Ever since Leng Ruo Li's wet nurse went missing, all her daily life affairs were managed by Xing'er.
Given the commotion in her room just now, she hadn't seen Xing'er appear, and she felt something was not quite right.
In the original owner's memory, this Xing'er was a diligent and loyal maid who protected her master.
If she were there, Leng Ruo Shuang wouldn't have been able to barge into her room and rummage through things so easily.
But strangely, Leng Ruo Li hadn't seen Xing'er since returning to the mansion last night.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she felt a sense of dread.
Leng Ruo Li bolted out of the room, anxiously arriving at Xing'er's door, and then knocked a few times.
"Xing'er, are you in there?"
There was no response from inside.
Immediately, Leng Ruo Li slammed on Xing'er's door.
"Xing'er, Xing'er, are you in the room? It's the eldest young lady."
Still, no response.
Leng Ruo Li pushed the door open and walked in.
Glancing around the room, Xing'er was not there.
Her room looked like it had been through a battle, in utter disarray.
Leng Ruo Li had a bad feeling that Xing'er might have been in trouble.
She quickly ran out of Qingfeng Courtyard and called out to a young maid in the general's mansion's back garden, asking anxiously.
"Miss, do you know where Xing'er from Qingfeng Courtyard has gone?"
The young maid looked at her in terror, backing away repeatedly, shaking her head.
"Eldest Young Lady, this servant has not seen Xing'er."
As she finished speaking, the young maid hurried away from her, as if Leng Ruo Li had the plague, avoiding her as much as possible.
This left her utterly bewildered.
Then, she stopped a young male servant, who, upon seeing her, retreated as if he had seen a ghost.
This left Leng Ruo Li speechless. Was she that scary?
Why were all these servants afraid of her?
Just as she was feeling dejected, a frail young maid emerged from a corner of the garden, timidly calling out to her.
"Eldest Young Lady, are you looking for Sister Xing'er? I know where she is now."
Upon hearing the young maid's words, Leng Ruo Li's eyes lit up, and she asked excitedly.
"Little girl, what you just said, is it true? Do you know where Xing'er is?"
The young maid nodded quickly, looking around mysteriously. After confirming no one else was nearby, she boldly said, "Eldest Young Lady, follow me."
Leng Ruo Li followed the young maid with half a doubt, taking many turns until they reached the door of a woodshed in the back courtyard.
"Eldest Young Lady, Sister Xing'er was locked in this woodshed by Aunt Liu."
As soon as the young maid finished speaking, she hurried away.
Before Leng Ruo Li could ask the young maid who had the key to the woodshed, she had vanished from her sight.
The small door of the woodshed before her was locked with a brand-new iron lock. She peered through the door crack and saw only darkness, unable to see anything.
"Xing'er, Xing'er, are you in there?"
Leng Ruo Li slammed on the woodshed door. The inside was silent, with no response.
However, this time Leng Ruo Li had a strong premonition that Xing'er was inside.
She suddenly remembered that when she was a secret agent in her previous life, for ease of mission execution, she had collected many tools in her system space. One of them was a master key that she hadn't used in years. She wondered if it would work on a lock made by ancient people.
She tried it casually, and with a "clang!", the lock on the door was opened.
Leng Ruo Li flung the door open and rushed in. As soon as she entered, she saw a frail girl curled up on the ground, motionless. Her messy hair covered her face, her entire body was dirty, and the bloodstains on her clothes had already dried.
She walked closer, crouched down, lifted the girl's hair, and took a closer look. Indeed, this girl was Xing'er.
Due to her profession, Leng Ruo Li quickly noticed Xing'er's abnormal complexion. She reached out and touched Xing'er's forehead. Good heavens, Xing'er really had a fever.
Looking at the person before her, Leng Ruo Li's nose suddenly felt sore, and her chest felt constricted.
She quickly picked up Xing'er's light body and rushed back to Qingfeng Courtyard.
In Qingfeng Courtyard, Leng Ruo Li quickly measured Xing'er's temperature, learned she had a high fever of 40 degrees, and immediately administered a dose of fever-reducing injection.
Afterward, Leng Ruo Li summoned two sweeping maids to help her tidy up the room, then asked them to go to the kitchen to boil two buckets of hot water. Leng Ruo Li personally bathed Xing'er.
As she carefully helped Xing'er shed her blood-stained clothes, new and old wounds on Xing'er's body immediately became apparent.
Especially the new wounds on her back, crisscrossed by scars, were incredibly obvious. It was clear at a glance that these were whip marks, and due to the lack of timely treatment, the wounds had festered.
Seeing the various wounds on Xing'er's body, Leng Ruo Li was reminded of the original owner's past suffering, and her eyes welled up with tears. Because of the original owner's weakness, this little maid had suffered so much for her.
Leng Ruo Li secretly vowed that she, reborn, would never let those who were good to her be bullied.
After bathing Xing'er, Leng Ruo Li immediately started an intravenous drip of glucose for Xing'er to replenish her energy, before beginning to treat her wounds.
Leng Ruo Li used her mind to retrieve medical disinfectant, anesthetic, anti-inflammatory drugs, a scalpel, gauze, a round needle, and other supplies from her portable system.
Then, she skillfully began to treat Xing'er's wounds.
First, Leng Ruo Li administered an anesthetic injection to Xing'er. Once the anesthetic took effect, she began to disinfect Xing'er's back wounds.
Next, she picked up the sharp scalpel to cut away the dead flesh from Xing'er's wounds, and then cleaned the pus from the wounds.
Then, she disinfected the wounds again.
Finally, she picked up the round needle to stitch up the wounds.
Yuhua Courtyard
After being frightened away from Qingfeng Courtyard, Leng Ruo Shuang tearfully arrived at Yuhua Courtyard.
"Mother, I was almost scared to death in Qingfeng Courtyard. That lowly Leng Ruo Li seems to have returned."
"If she's returned, she's returned. She won't be able to stir up any trouble. As for you, a young lady of the general's mansion, the foremost beauty in the capital, you're acting like a servant, shouting and making a scene within the mansion. How unbecoming."
The person speaking at this moment was Aunt Liu. She was elegantly tasting the freshly baked pastries that Steward Qin of the kitchen had just sent over.
Although Aunt Liu was over thirty, she was still graceful and charming, indicating her usual pampered lifestyle and excellent self-care.
Upon hearing Aunt Liu reprimand her, Leng Ruo Shuang's eyes immediately misted over, and she said with a wronged expression.
"Mother, if that lowly girl comes back alive, I won't have a chance to marry Prince Qing. Shuang'er has admired Prince Qing for many years and dreams of becoming the Crown Princess. Shuang'er doesn't want her to snatch my position as the Crown Princess."
Aunt Liu looked at her daughter's wronged expression and her heart immediately softened. She comforted her.
"Shuang'er, your mother will not let that lowly girl stand in the way of you becoming the Crown Princess. If we didn't manage to kill her this time, your mother has another poisonous scheme, which is..."
As Aunt Liu spoke, she suddenly lowered her voice and whispered into Leng Ruo Shuang's ear.
Afterward, both mother and daughter revealed a sinister smile.
"Alright, Shuang'er, don't be sad anymore. Eliminating that lowly girl will only require waiting for the right moment. Your mother will do everything she can to ensure you marry Prince Qing as his main consort."
"Yes, yes, thank you, Mother. Shuang'er understands."
After hearing Aunt Liu's words, Leng Ruo Shuang felt much more at ease. After all, her mother was the renowned "Female Zhuge" of the capital back in the day. She had complete faith in Aunt Liu's words.
Just as Leng Ruo Shuang was basking in her triumph, a voice suddenly brought her back to reality.
"Aunt Liu, this old servant just witnessed that lowly girl from Qingfeng Courtyard rescue Xing'er, who was locked in the woodshed in the back courtyard."
At this moment, the person who rushed into Yuhua Courtyard was Steward Qin of the mansion's kitchen.
In an instant, Steward Qin's plump body, panting heavily, ran up to Aunt Liu and her daughter, standing before them like a large barrel.
Leng Ruo Shuang glanced contemptuously at Steward Qin, thinking that being the steward of the general's mansion's kitchen must be a good job, otherwise, she would gain a pound every time she saw Steward Qin.
"Who told the lowly girl that the slut Xing'er was locked in the woodshed?" Aunt Liu asked coldly.
"It was a maid named Ling'er who stealthily led the lowly girl to the woodshed, allowing the lowly girl to rescue Xing'er. This scene was witnessed by this old servant."
"Then drag Ling'er out and give her twenty heavy boards, and then lock her in that woodshed and starve her for three days and three nights, as a warning to the servants in the mansion to know their place."
Upon hearing this, the servants in the room instantly changed their expressions.
"Mother, Liu Mama and Xiao Cui were in Qingfeng Courtyard earlier, and they were so scared that they abandoned Shuang'er and ran. Drag them out and give them twenty heavy boards each as well."
"They actually did such a thing? Guards, drag Liu Mama and Xiao Cui out and give them twenty heavy boards each."
Liu Mama and Xiao Cui were so terrified that they broke out in a cold sweat and immediately knelt down to beg for mercy.
"Aunt Liu, Second Young Lady, spare our lives, spare our lives. We dare not do it again. Please spare us this time."
Liu Mama and Xiao Cui begged abjectly, kowtowing repeatedly, but Aunt Liu and her daughter couldn't even be bothered to look at them.
"Hurry and call someone to drag these two sluts kneeling in my room out!" Aunt Liu ordered A Li, who was beside her.
"Yes, Aunt Liu."
A Li responded respectfully.
Not long after, several servants entered from outside and took Liu Mama and Xiao Cui away for their punishment.
After a while, Yuhua Courtyard became quiet again.
"Shuang'er, come, your mother will take you to Qingfeng Courtyard to take a look."