Chapter Twenty
ile taking one for herself.The three ate their buns with the wind blowing against them as they rode on horses, solving their lunch problem.After leaving Lan City, they encountered no obstacles. By eve...Volumes 1: Smiling Through Prosperity Chapter 20
Lǐ Yún was being dragged by Cǎi Lián, relying entirely on her for support and even resting her head on her shoulder.
"Miss, please walk properly. I can't move if you're like this. When will we be able to return to the courtyard" Cǎi Lián felt that Miss Lǐ had really changed. The previous Miss Lǐ would never drag her onto a horse and certainly wouldn’t hold her so closely, even though the weight was heavy, it made her heart sweet. If she hadn't been with Miss Lǐ all along, she might have thought someone else had taken her place. However, this kind of Miss Lǐ was very endearing.
"Hmm!" Lǐ Yún straightened a little but did not let go of Cǎi Lián.
Cǎi Lián felt more at ease and pulled Lǐ Yún to quicken their pace, the two bound together like a twist of shoestrings.
Although Lǐ Yún was drowsy, she still occasionally remembered the way as they turned corners. After walking for about ten minutes, they finally arrived at a courtyard where floral scents were wafting even before they got close. She sniffed and found that these flowers had a delicate fragrance like orchids; it seemed there were orchids planted in the yard.
"Finally here!" Cai Lian heaved a sigh of relief and wiped the fine beads of sweat off her forehead with the sleeve of her robe.
“Mm, you’ve worked hard. We can sleep now.” Li Yun felt that besides the fragrance of orchids, there was also a heavy scent of cosmetics, which made her frown involuntarily. She moved away from Cai Lian and sat up straight.
At this moment, a sharp female voice rang out from within her courtyard: "Oh! Little Sister, I was saying that after sending off Prince Jing today, are you willing to come back I thought you would keep him for a deep night conversation!"
The moment the words fell silent, several women emerged from the courtyard, all dressed in fine brocade and adorned with makeup and hairpins. Their faces were gentle and beautiful, but one woman's acerbic remarks and envious expression spoiled her beauty.
As soon as they stepped out, a heavy scent of cosmetics hit Li Yun’s nose.
Li Yun pinched her nostrils and thought that it was fortunate the body’s owner had poor taste but not to this extent. Otherwise, she would have been suffocated by all these perfumes on her first day back.
"Cloud Qianyue! What kind of expression is that!" Seeing Li Yun's disgusted look, the woman immediately flew into a rage.
Li Yun glanced at the few women; although she hadn't seen their faces earlier, hearing their voices told her they were those trouble-making women who went to Lord Cloud. It seemed they had suffered some kind of defeat with Lord Cloud and, unwilling to accept it, had come to her instead. She didn’t understand why these women still dared to seek trouble from her body, which was not easy to bully Women don't usually make things difficult for other women, so she couldn’t be bothered to argue. She waved dismissively and said, "Whatever you have to say can wait until tomorrow. I'm tired today."
The few women were taken aback simultaneously; the woman who had spoken earlier immediately displayed a look of disdain. "Cloud Qianyue! A woman like you, who is incapable of anything, actually dares to dream about marrying Prince Zhuo and now even dares to think that Young Master Jing will take notice of her This is ridiculous! Don’t you have any self-awareness You’ve been a complete fool when it comes to music, chess, calligraphy, painting, needlework, and etiquette from childhood. Even simple characters are beyond your grasp—how can the genius young master Jing possibly look after someone like you"
Li Yun thought that the owner of this body couldn’t even learn a few words! How stupid!
"Hmph! What does it matter if you know martial arts It’s just for show. Women must be well-versed in domestic etiquette and be virtuous and refined—look at yourself, what have you got The Prince Zhuo not liking you is his wisdom; don’t think that Young Master Jing helping you means he has a fancy for you. Don't delude yourself! Who is Young Master Jing He’s someone more talented and discerning than the prince."
"That's right! In this Heavenly Saint Kingdom, who could possibly make Young Master Jing take notice except not you. Miss Qin Yuning from the Chancellor’s Manor, Princess Qingwan in the palace, Second Miss Rong Linglan of the Honorable Prince's Manor, Little Duchess Cong Shuli of the Filial Prince's Manor, and Captain Wen Dajun’s fiancée and cousin, Wen Rusyan... which of these women aren’t top-notch beauties Look at yourself—how do you compare" another woman said.
"That's right! Haven't you caused enough trouble these years Father doesn't even bother to deal with your mess. If it weren't for Grandfather protecting you, you would have died several times already. Especially by shamelessly following behind Prince Regent's heels while he doesn’t even look at you, you've disgraced our Yun王府的臉都丟儘了。”另一個女子不甘落後，嘲諷道。“昨日你火燒瞭望春樓，死了好幾百人呢！群臣上書皇上請求懲罰你，我就不明白了，你怎麼用狐媚的手段魅惑了景世子和染小王爺幫你。如果不是他們二人出手，你還怎麼能回到雲王府？早就被關在刑部大牢等死去了。”另一位女子說道。
"That's right! Could it be that she learned some fox-mischief tricks from the women in the Spring View Building Otherwise, how did she manage to get both Lord Jing and Young Nobleman Rǎn to help her" The first woman who spoke earlier immediately stared intently at Li Yun upon hearing this comment. "Tell us! What fox-mischief trick did you use!"
“Damn!” A series of harsh criticisms chased away the thick sleepiness that had been enveloping Li Yun. She didn't get angry; instead, she admired how these women could speak endlessly to demean her without taking a breath. No wonder Old Lord Yun found them annoying! In her opinion, these women were just looking for trouble with nothing better to do, and deserved a good beating!
"That's right, tell us how you charmed Lord Jing and Young Nobleman Rǎn!" All the women stared intently at Li Yun.
Li Yun realized that this was likely their main purpose for coming today, and it seemed to be their greatest concern. Not only them, but probably countless people in the entire capital were still wondering why those two had helped her! But how could she know She wasn't a mind-reader of theirs.
"I don’t know!" Li Yun gave a straightforward answer, waving dismissively at them. "I want to sleep now. You should head back." It was late at night and they were wasting their time here with her.
"You... Yun Qianyue! Don't be so unappreciative!" The leading woman was furious.
"And if I am unappreciative, what's that to you" Li Yun's temper flared up. Was it really so hard for her to take a nap
"Sisters, this stubborn girl is getting bolder by the day. We should teach her a lesson today and let her know she can't be so presumptuous just because of the Old Regent's favor. Don't forget who the mistress of Cloud Princess Manor's inner quarters is!" The leading woman stepped forward and slapped towards Li Yun with a flick of her hand.
Mistress of Cloud Princess Manor's inner quarters This body’s mother seemed to have died long ago, so it clearly wasn’t referring to her mother. Looking at the hand that was about to hit her, Li Yun felt angry. 'Women shouldn't make life difficult for other women'—it was a meaningless phrase. Some women were just lowly; if she didn't teach them a lesson, they would never realize their own faults.
With this thought in mind, Li Yun’s eyes darkened and a cold aura seeped out from her body. Just as she was about to act, Cai Lian suddenly rushed forward from behind and stood in front of Li Yun. There was a sharp crackling sound as the woman slapped Cai Lian instead; Cai Lian staggered but still managed to protect Li Yun.
"Cai Lian!" Li Yun was startled and reached out to steady Cai Lian.
"Miss! The old王爺 hasn't gone to sleep yet! If he knows you bullied Miss, the old王爺 definitely won't spare you."
The woman disregarded her warning and said, "Get lost, you slut!" Her hand hadn't hit Cloud Qianyue but it stung as if she had been struck. She was even angrier now, lifting her skirt to kick Cai Lian.
Li Yun thought that a shrew could only be this much. She hadn’t expected Cai Lian to block the blow for her just now and wasn't about to let it happen again. She reached out and pulled Cai Lian away, angrily saying, "Are you done yet Don't think I'll put up with your nonsense!"
The woman was furious too. "You damn brat! Do you really think that having Grandpa backing you up makes you fearless He’s sick now and has no time to deal with this dead brat. Today, I have to teach you a lesson."
Li Yun dodged her kick while holding Cai Lian, instantly grabbing the woman's swinging wrist. She squeezed tightly; the woman let out a blood-curdling scream in pain.
Li Yun snorted coldly and didn’t even look at the woman’s pale face as she increased the force on her hand. She never used her hands lightly; when she did, it would leave someone with a lifelong lesson. Today, she intended to break this woman's wrist so that every time she saw her damaged wrist, she would remember her. She wouldn’t dare trouble Li Yun ever again. Anyway, she had some idea now—although the old王爺 favored Cloud Qianyue, it seemed that making a place for herself in the Cloud王府 wasn't easy. There must be another influential figure behind the scenes supporting these women! Today, she would first punish these small fries and see who this powerful person is!5; at that time, he was very well-behaved. Did you feel something for him at that time…"Yun Qianyue was speechless: "Rong Jing, this is ancient history! Let’s not eat old grudges anymore""No way! This...