Wind und Rauch

Kapitel 36

Strange! This young master seems to ignore Lei Shuangxue, who has the same face as Su Yuyin, yet his gaze keeps lingering on her. Has he noticed something? No, that can't be. He couldn't possibly know she was once Su Yuyin… Just then, a throat-clearing sound came from above. She looked up abruptly and found Ouyang Tianyun standing in front of her. She quickly stood up:

"Young Master, what are your orders?" She already knew he had the makings of a ghost, didn't she? She stood up respectfully, waiting for his instructions, but he just looked at her without saying a word for a long time. What was going on? "Young Master?" Shen Jie waved her hand in front of his eyes.

Ouyang Tianyun snapped out of his daze, still remaining silent, his intense gaze searching her as if trying to see right through her. Finally—"Who exactly are you?"

Huh? Shen Jie hadn't expected him to ask such a question at all, and for a moment she didn't know how to answer. She stared at him blankly.

"Tell me! Why are you so familiar with Green Jade Manor?" He had been watching her since the day she entered the manor. She knew the layout of the manor very well and didn't need anyone to guide her. This was impossible for a newcomer.

She was familiar with Green Jade Manor; she had lived there for half a year. Furthermore, before coming here, Lei Shuangxue had shown her a map of Green Jade Manor, telling her to memorize it, saying it would be useful later. She had glanced at it once after returning to her room and then discarded it. She knew without looking that… Oh no, how could she have forgotten that? She was a newcomer; how could she be so familiar with someone else's territory?

"Replying to Young Master, this servant...this servant met the Third Young Master before entering the manor. He learned that I was the eldest young mistress's dowry maid, and told me that Green Jade Manor was very large, fearing I would get lost, so he drew a simple map for me." This answer shouldn't be a problem, right? She could only pass the buck to Tianyu! Thank goodness, thank goodness, he was watching her for this reason, not because he realized she was "her," otherwise, things would be much more troublesome.

"Really?" Ouyang Tianyun looked at her with disbelief, his eyes filled with undisguised disappointment. Had he misjudged her? She wasn't "her," so why did her gaze and her presence make him feel "her"? Perhaps he missed "her" too much?

"Yes." Shen Jie nodded. He wouldn't go and confront Tian Yu, would he? "Young Master, if you have nothing else, please allow me to take my leave." The atmosphere was a little awkward; she had to slip away first.

"Go!" Ouyang Tianyun waved his hand and said, "Really not?"

Aunt Shen Jie bowed and left. She didn't want to stay a second longer. What if he got angry and wanted to slap her again? Wouldn't she be in trouble?

"That vile woman Li Lian'er dared to seduce Ouyang Tianyun! I'll kill her!" Lei Shuangxue's eyes flashed with malice. Could this be her purpose? It must be. She didn't understand, and she didn't know what kind of sorcery that demoness had used to make Ouyang Tianyun lose interest in this face.

"No. This is Green Jade Manor, not Lei Family Fortress. We can't just kill her like that," Lei Jun, dressed as a servant, objected. "Besides, Li Lian'er has already attracted Ouyang Tianyun's attention. If we kill her now, Ouyang Tianyun will definitely pursue us relentlessly. In the end, not only will we not be able to get the Void Dragon Sword, but we won't even be able to keep your position as the eldest young mistress." Women are just so brainless, only seeing what's in front of them.

"So what do we do now?" She couldn't let that wretched girl get away with it so easily.

“Perhaps… she still has something we can use…” Lei Jun pondered, a new plan forming in his mind. “Recently, I heard that Ouyang Tianyu, that spendthrift, wanted to borrow the Void Dragon Sword to play with. His old man naturally refused and even hid the sword. I reckon Ouyang Tianyu will definitely go find it himself…”

"What does this have to do with Li Lian'er?" Lei Shuangxue interrupted Lei Jun impatiently, now focused solely on getting Li Lian'er out of Ouyang Tianyun's sight.

"Can you let me finish what I have to say?" Lei Jun said irritably. What a stupid woman, no wonder she can't capture a man's heart. "Of course it's related. We can find an opportunity to arrange for her to be by Ouyang Tianyu's side, to keep an eye on Ouyang Tianyu and report any movements to us. This way, we can get rid of that woman and also give our actions another option. Why not?"

"That sounds good, but can you guarantee she'll listen to us?"

"With Xiaomin by your side, she will definitely listen to us obediently."

After they finished speaking, the two looked at each other and smiled, their smiles were extremely sinister. What they didn't know was that their conversation had been overheard by a third person.

"Father, I'm back!" Ouyang Tianyu waved his folding fan as he stepped into his own hall, greeting Master Ouyang with a smile.

When Master Ouyang, who was having a meal with everyone, saw his unfilial son appear, his smiling face immediately darkened. "You still know how to come home? I thought you died in the casino. I was even planning to send someone to collect your body first thing tomorrow morning."

Wow! That's really vicious! A father actually cursed his son to die? And he even collected the body!

"Father, you can't say that. Look, I'm back now." Ouyang Tianyu said with a smile. He knew that his father was angry and his tone was inevitably harsh. Besides, he had brought this upon himself, so he couldn't blame anyone else.

"Hmph!" Master Ouyang snorted coldly. This unfilial son of his would be driven to his death sooner or later!

"Oh dear! Master, don't be angry, don't be angry. It's not good for your health if you get angry." The first wife comforted the master, and then glanced smugly at the second wife next to her. See, her son is still more favored by the master.

Faced with the first wife's provocative gaze, the second wife, Liu, simply ate in silence, knowing that her son would not disappoint her.

“Yes, Father, Third Brother is still young and doesn’t understand things. He’ll settle down in a couple of years,” the second son, Ouyang Tianji, chimed in. What’s wrong with Tianyu this time? He’s been spending his days and nights in casinos and brothels, not only spending all his money but also secretly pawning valuables from the house. And just the other day, I heard he even had designs on the Void Dragon Sword. Sigh! No wonder Father is angry.

"Two more years? By then, he'll probably have squandered the entire Ouyang family." What sins did Ouyang Zhen commit in his past life to have such a son? "Ask him how much of the ten thousand taels of silver he gave him yesterday is left?"

Actually, there's no need to ask; everyone knows the answer. Ouyang Tianji looked at his younger brother, his eyes asking a question.

“Uh…I…” Ouyang Tianyu swallowed hard, glanced fearfully at Master Ouyang, and said with his head down, “That ten thousand taels…it’s all gone…and…and we still owe them eight thousand taels. They said tomorrow is the deadline.”

"What?!" Master Ouyang slammed his fist on the table in anger, pointing at Ouyang Tianyu's nose and cursing, "You unfilial son, you unfilial son!" Then he turned and left.

Standing behind Lei Shuangxue, Shen Jie was genuinely worried about Master Ouyang. She wondered if he had any health problems such as high blood pressure or heart disease. She looked at Ouyang Tianyu and said, "Aren't you going a bit too far?"

"I can't help it." Ouyang Tianyu returned a helpless look; how could he not wish for the same outcome?

"Alright, let's eat first. We'll go to the accounting office later to collect eight thousand taels of silver to pay off the debt," said Ouyang Tianyun, who hadn't spoken until now. Why was his third brother always so unambitious?

"Thank you, brother, thank you, brother." Ouyang Tianyu beamed with joy as he expressed his gratitude.

"This is the last time. If you gamble again, don't expect me to pay off your debts again, understand?" Ouyang Tianyun put on the air of an elder brother, but he also knew in his heart that this trick had never worked on his third brother.

"I understand, I understand." Ouyang Tianyu nodded hurriedly, but his eyes once again met those of Shen Jie behind Lei Shuangxue.

Why are you looking at me? Go eat your food!

Don't act rashly, just wait and see!

I've already seen it.

Lei Shuangxue noticed the exchange of glances between the two, and she knew her opportunity had arrived.

"Sister-in-law, the maid behind you is quite pretty. What's her name?" Ouyang Tianyu asked before Lei Shuangxue could speak.

"Her? Her name is Lian'er. She's quite diligent. If Third Brother likes her, why don't we let Lian'er serve him?"

"How can that be? I can't very well take someone else's love away, can I?" Ouyang Tianyu's lecherous eyes darted back and forth across Shen Jie's face.

"What love or not, she's just a maid," Lei Shuangxue waved her hand dismissively. "I'll have her pack up and move to Lanxuan to serve my third brother." How could she let such a good opportunity slip by?

"Then thank you, sister-in-law." Ouyang Tianyu bowed respectfully, his eyes inadvertently meeting Shen Jie's again.

What kind of show is this?

I'll tell you later.

Shen Jie couldn't help but roll her eyes. She really didn't know what Ouyang Tianyu was up to. Why did he bring her to his side? Was it to protect her? What about Lei Shuangxue?