Chapter 882: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 882: Conflict (Part 3)
Mo Yan didn’t stay any longer and turned to get into her carriage, slowly driving away from the palace gates. Having learned from the earlier experience with the imperial examination results, she had already reserved a private room at the teahouse along the parade route the day before. Xiner and Zhen'er were already waiting there.
Upon arriving at the teahouse, a young waiter hurried over to take the horse, to the backyard to feed it some hay. Mo Yan thanked him and gave him a silver coin as a tip before heading towards the upstairs private room. Just as her foot touched the first step, a sudden force hit her left shoulder, causing her to stagger.
She almost fell down the stairs, but fortunately, her quick reflexes allowed her to grab the handrail just in time, steadying herself.
“Who dares block my path? Are you blind? If you are, stay at home! You’ve bumped into the wrong person. Do you think you can bear the consequences?” A girl, about eighteen or nineteen years old, glared at Mo Yan and began to scold her harshly, accusing her as if she were the wrongdoer.
Mo Yan furrowed her brow at the girl’s unreasonable attitude. She observed the girl’s appearance: she was dressed in a plain green silk dress, which, while ordinary in fabric, was something not often worn by common folk. From her crude speech and actions, Mo Yan could tell she was not from a well-off family, but rather from a household where the servants were rough and unpolished—she resembled Qiu Yue, a maid from the Lin family that Mo Yan had encountered in the fabric shop in the past. Given the girl’s boldness, Mo Yan surmised that she must be a maid from a wealthy family, and perhaps her mistress was having tea in one of the rooms upstairs.
Considering that her father might soon be arriving and not wanting to waste her time with someone so ill-mannered, Mo Yan cast a calm glance at the haughty maid and chose to ignore her. She turned and continued walking up the stairs.
To her surprise, the mere glance infuriated the green-dressed maid, who suddenly grabbed Mo Yan’s arm and shouted, “What kind of look is that? Stop right there!”
With a sharp yank, she tried to pull Mo Yan down the stairs.
“Let go!” Mo Yan’s eyes turned cold as she quickly yanked her arm away. Her strength was far superior to the maid’s, and in an instant, she flung the girl away with such force that the maid was sent crashing down onto the stairs.
“Ah—”
The maid cried out in pain as her face slammed into the steps, leaving a red, swollen bump right in the center, splitting her face symmetrically.
“Pfft!”
The crowd, observing the scene, couldn’t help but laugh at the maid’s comical appearance, but none stepped forward to help. Her earlier arrogant attitude had earned her no sympathy.
Ignoring the mockery from the crowd, the maid hurriedly touched her face, relieved when she found no blood and only pain. Still, she seethed with hatred for Mo Yan but was too afraid to confront her. Instead, she glared fiercely and spat, “You shameless wench, you’ll regret this! Just wait!”
With that, she quickly got up, stomped up the stairs, and paused at the corner, casting Mo Yan a cold smile before disappearing out of sight.
Mo Yan, feeling both frustrated and annoyed by the incident, was about to enter the private room to meet her younger sisters when the teahouse shopkeeper, who had been quietly watching the scene, cautiously approached her and smiled obsequiously. “Miss, that maid has quite a powerful background. She might be going to report to her mistress. If you don’t want to cause trouble, perhaps you should consider having tea elsewhere.”
Realizing this was the shopkeeper’s attempt to warn her, Mo Yan’s expression softened slightly. “Thank you for the reminder. But I’ve already made a reservation here, and I don’t wish to move to another place.”
With that, she turned and began walking up the stairs.
The shopkeeper, realizing he could not persuade her, quickly called over a waiter and instructed him, “Go upstairs and keep an eye out. If they start causing trouble, do your best to mediate. If things get out of hand, quickly clear away the teacups and snacks. We can’t let them destroy anything.”
“Understood, sir!” The waiter nodded and hurried upstairs with the tea set in hand.
When Mo Yan reached the door to the reserved private room, she could hear the sounds of her younger sisters laughing and playing inside, which made her smile. Just as she was about to push the door open, the door to the third room on the right suddenly flew open, and a group of people spilled out.
The green-dressed maid, her face still swollen with a red mark, spotted Mo Yan and immediately widened her eyes, pointing at her and shouting at a woman in luxurious clothing standing beside her, “Miss, it’s her! This filthy woman bumped into me and hurt me like this! Please help me! If you don’t, people will think you’re an easy target, and everyone will come and walk all over you!”
Mo Yan furrowed her brow and withdrew her hand from the door. Turning around, she faced the approaching woman. The woman’s attire shimmered with golden accessories—golden hairpins, hairpins, and decorative hair ornaments made her appear as though she were surrounded by gold. As she walked, the metallic clinking sounds echoed around her. Despite her thin, unkempt hair, the gold ornaments didn’t shift at all, indicating a well-maintained neck and clear familiarity with wearing such heavy adornments.
This woman, who was eager to avenge the maid, had no idea of Mo Yan’s silent mockery. Upon seeing Mo Yan’s youthful and beautiful face, she was filled with jealousy. Having always prided herself on her own looks, she now sought to destroy the face of this bold young girl, eager to teach her a lesson and show her the consequences of her actions.
[End of Chapter]
No comments: