Xiao Wan abruptly came to a realization. She placed a hand over her mouth and her face turned bright red.
The Right Minister walked around the table and came to her side. âLittle Ninth?â
Xiao Wan was initially distracted but when she came to she was both embarra.s.sed and angry. âFather, daughter has something to do so Iâll be leaving first.â
Xiao Wan left as if she was fleeing from a disaster. The Right Minister was silent. Regardless of how intelligent he was, he still couldnât figure out what these two people were planning.
Xiao Wan ran the entire way back to the Ling Long Pavilion. She looked into the mirror and saw her face had turned as bright red as an over ripened tomato.
She took out the jade pendant from under her pillow. A purple colored jade was exceptionally rare, and on top of that, it was very l.u.s.trous and that only made it more rare. It was smooth and round as well as somewhat transparent.
As she remembered the words she said last night, she was filled with an urge to bite off her tongue. Really! She was so ashamed she could die!
She could only blame her own stupidity. As she thought about it, she realized that the person they were talking about had been him all along. Someone as wealthy as he was had both of the two princes trying to get on his good side so naturally why would he be afraid of them?
Xiao Wan stared dumbly at the mirror. She had never felt so embarra.s.sed before.
âMiss!â
Hong Xiu walked in. Xiao Wan promptly put away the jade pendant and recovered her composure.
âWhatâs the matter?â
âJust now when Hong Luan went outside, the madam saw her accidentally step on the Lord Ministerâs favorite orchid so she got hit ten times with a board. But then Hong Luanâs dirty mouth saidâŚâ
Hong Xiu paused. Xiao Wan raised her eyebrow, âWhat did she say?â
âHong Luan talked back to the madamâs wet nurse in front of everyone. She brought up that sheâs your servant girl and that you wouldnât let anyone touch her. Right now, sheâs still caught in a standoff in the garden. Quite a few elderly maidservants have gone over to watch the excitement. The madam is beyond furious.â
Hong Xiu was so anxious that she was even stamping her feet. Hong Luan was really remarkably stupid. How could she publically drag the missâs name through the mud?
Xiao Wan smiled coldly. âLetâs go take a look.â
When Xiao Wan rushed over to the garden, she immediately saw Hong Luan and her outstretched neck. She looked as haughty as a peac.o.c.k. Fan, who was standing at the side, was clearly enraged. She angrily pointed at Hong Luan.
âMadam, Miss Ninth has arrived.â Wet Nurse Qin, who was standing next to Fan, quietly said.
Fan followed her line of sight over and before she could open her mouth, Hong Luan pushed aside the crowd of people to stand behind Xiao Wan. She pitifully spoke.
âMiss, this servant girl didnât mean to do it.â
At the sight of Xiao Wan, Hong Luanâs expression changed completely and she looked not even half as imposing as she had just a moment ago. In her past life, she had also been like this. Xiao Wan was a straightforward person and she never looked beneath the surface of things. She would just rush headlong into situations and be deaf to all advice, stubbornly doing things her own way. However, it meant she had become a gullible lady who her subordinatesâ could always fall back on.
However, the current Xiao Wan was no longer like the Xiao Wan in the past. She gave Hong Luan an indifferent look and glanced at the Kaffir lily that had been stomped into the ground. In the Right Ministerâs spare time, wh
en he had nothing to attend to, he would occasionally plant flowers. Of those flowers, he would most often plant kaffir lilies.
And just like that, a pot of top-notch kaffir lillies had been destroyed. Xiao Wanâs expression turned even colder.
âWhatâs the matter?â
A shiver ran down Hong Luanâs body. The Ninth Miss had a bad temper, a stern look abruptly flashed across her eyes. Despite being so young, she already had a very imposing manner and, in that regard, she greatly resembled the Right Minister.
âMiss, it was not this servant girlâs mistake. It was Cai Ju. Cai Ju purposefully scared this servant girl so I accidentally stepped on the flowers.â
As Hong Luan spoke, she wiped away tears, acting just like she had been bullied by someone and looked truly pitiful.
Cai Ju was taken aback and rushed forward while waving her hands to explain, âIt wasnât like that, Madam. This servant girl really didnât do that. While Hong Luan was walking absentmindedly, she misstepped and fell over. Out of the goodness of my heart, I went over to help you up. How can you drag me into this and try to tarnish my name?â
âYouâre lying!â Hong Luan became more anxious as she listened to Cai Ju talk. She would never be able to take the responsibility for crushing the Lord Ministerâs flowers.
Xiao Wanâs brows furrowed. She walked over to look at the kaffir lily. The stems were all in a disarray and some petals were torn up while some had fallen onto the ground, been crushed into the dirt and were stained with mud. It was really quite a pity.
Xiao Wan stood up and faced Fan while she spoke, âMother, family affairs are under your purview. Regardless of right or wrong, the fact that fatherâs beloved flowers were crushed is a fact and someone must bear the blame. As for this careless servant girl who doesnât even know to repent, Little Ninth cannot bear the sight of her. Little Ninth will pa.s.s the responsibility of dealing with this person to mother then.â
âMiss! It really wasnât this servant girlâs fault. Miss, regardless of what happened this servant girl has served you for many years.â
Hong Luan didnât dare to trust her own ears. She had never imagined that Xiao Wan would actually cast her aside without a second thought.
Xiao Wan, clearly displeased, furrowed her brows and raised a corner of her red lips. âWhat is it? Do you think just because youâve served me for a few years that you can break the rules now? You clearly knew the kaffir lilies were here, but still insisted on walking over here. If we donât punish you, then who do we punish?â
Hong Luan was speechless. She had made a name for herself by being a troublemaker that didnât listen to reason. However, just this once Hong Luan found herself unable to offer a single word in retort.
That was right. The path had been so wide so how did she manage to trip?
Fan gave Xiao Wan a look. She chuckled appreciatively. âJust knowing that you empathize with motherâs dilemma makes me content. However, in the end, this maid servant did serve you for many years and youâve become used to relying on her. If you rashly dispatch her, I fear that you wonât be accustomed to her sudden absence.â
Hong Luan also wasnât stupid. These past few days Xiao Wan had been acting differently towards her and her treatment had been very lukewarm. Even if she entered the same room, Xiao Wan would avoid her. Hong Luan was positive that Xiao Wan was serious about getting rid of her.
Hong Luan collapsed into a kneeling position in front of Xiao Wan. âMiss, this maid servant realizes she made a mistake. I beg miss to punish me.â
Xiao Wan sneered, âNothing can be accomplished without rules and orders. How about this? You endure thirty hits by a board and then, after today, you will be demoted to the position of a third rank maidservant. After that, we can consider this matter settled.â
âMiss!â Xiao Huan was shocked. If she had to endure thirty strikes, that would mean sheâd be on bedrest for at least two months and to also be demoted to a third-ranked maid servant meant she wouldnât be able to hold her head up high again in the Ling Long pavilion.