"Qiuyue, you stay by my side and are not allowed to leave without my permission. Dongxue, keep a close eye on the maids in Huacai Courtyard and Rouyu Courtyard, and inform me immediately if there is any unusual activity."
“Yes, Miss!” the three replied in unison.
Chuncao asked worriedly, "Miss, do you think someone is plotting against you?"
Ouyang Yue pursed her lips slightly: "It's always good to take precautions, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid of trouble! Alright, let's get ready to set the table. We have class this afternoon."
After having a meal, Ouyang Yue took a short rest before packing up and heading to the central courtyard to continue her afternoon lessons.
The gray-robed scholar they had encountered earlier was their teacher. Ouyang Yue nodded politely to him, while Ning Zhuangxue seemed somewhat embarrassed, her face flushing slightly, making her look even paler and adding a touch of embarrassment. Ouyang Hua's eyes flickered slightly, while Ouyang Rou couldn't help but glance at him a few more times.
Ning Zhuangxue was dressed in a gray long gown of ordinary material, but it couldn't hide his scholarly air and gentle demeanor. This demeanor aroused the tenderness of women. The maids who were listening to the lecture with Ouyang Yue and the other two couldn't help but blush, thinking to themselves that this teacher was really shy.
Compared to the sternness of Granny Ai in the morning, Ning Zhuangxue was not only good-looking, but also had a pleasant voice. He was also very patient when he spoke. Even when Ouyang Rou interrupted him several times, he did not get annoyed. Instead, he explained things very carefully, which immediately won Ouyang Rou's favor.
Even the reserved Ouyang Hua stared intently at Ning Zhuangxue several times. In contrast, Ouyang Yue remained remarkably calm, so calm that Ouyang Rou turned to look at her several times, but the latter acted as if she hadn't seen her at all.
"Alright, that's enough for today." The afternoon class also lasted two hours. Ning Zhuangxue quickly packed up his things and was then led by servants to a quiet little courtyard not far from the central academy.
"Congratulations, sir."
As soon as Ning Zhuangxue left, Ouyang Rou couldn't help but sigh, "Mr. Ning is so gentle, much better than Granny Ai!"
Ouyang Hua scolded, "Second sister, you mustn't talk nonsense. If Granny Ai hears this, she will definitely retaliate. But this Mr. Ning is indeed a gentle and refined person, don't you think, Third sister?"
Ouyang Yue looked at Ouyang Hua with a half-smile, making the latter's heart skip a beat: "Eldest and Second Sisters have reconciled after spending two days in the Buddhist hall, and they're practically on the same page now. But if you ask me, Second Sister, now that she's lost her virginity and that scoundrel Hong Yicheng publicly severed ties with her, is more than a match for a down-on-his-luck scholar like Ning Zhuangxue. I just wonder when Eldest Sister will lower her standards and take a fancy to such a down-on-his-luck scholar?"
"My dear sisters, please listen to my advice. Although this man is only one of us, we sisters are of one mind. We must not let him harm our sisterly bond. This is my honest advice; I hope you two will think it over carefully. Alas, love can lead one astray..." Ouyang Yue glanced at Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Yue, a hint of helplessness in her eyes, as if she had already foreseen the two of them becoming enemies over a man.
Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou were stunned. It wasn't until Ouyang Yue walked out that they realized they had been mocked by Ouyang Yue!
Ouyang Rou shouted angrily, "You bitch, stop right there!"
Ouyang Hua immediately stopped her, his eyes deepening: "Second sister, why are you in such a hurry? We didn't expect Ouyang Yue to take the bait so quickly. Don't forget, this is just bait we threw out."
Ouyang Rou smiled sinisterly: "You're right, I don't believe this fool won't fall for the second plan!"
Ouyang Hua's eyes flickered, then disappeared...
After returning to Mingyue Pavilion, Ouyang Yue immediately rushed to Dongxue, who was coming to greet her, and said, "We kept watch tonight, making sure to keep a close eye on who was moving around in both courtyards and where they were going!"
"Yes," Dongxue said confidently.
Ouyang Yue's lips curled slightly. Ever since she bumped into Ning Zhuangxue, she had sensed that something was wrong. Now it was just a matter of who would break the deadlock first!
☆、041, The Hand Beneath the Pool! (Please add to your favorites~)
The sun was shining brightly, and the weather was warm and pleasant.
In the schoolhouse in the General's Mansion, Granny Ai held a ruler in her hand, and anyone who did not do well would inevitably be punished by her.
Even Ouyang Hua, who was renowned for her excellent manners, suffered a lot at the hands of Granny Ai. In contrast, Ouyang Yue, who should have been tormented, had a very comfortable time during this period.
She could learn anything that Granny Ai taught her in no time. Even if Granny Ai wanted to cause trouble for her, she would often find herself vomiting and unable to find any fault with her.
As for Ouyang Rou, she suffered the most. Aunt Hong once spoke to Granny Ai about this, but Granny Ai said, "I only agreed to let you cause trouble for the Third Miss, but I didn't agree to let the other two young ladies make mistakes so that I, as their tutor, would not be held responsible."
His words clearly implied that he wanted her to go easy on him. Fine, give him the money!
Aunt Hong was so angry that she had a headache for two days. It was one thing if they didn't pay, but Granny Ai was really treating everyone the same this time. Ouyang Hua and Ouyang Rou were punished even more severely. Ouyang Rou was so angry that she went to Old Ning Shi. The latter shut her down with just one sentence: "Granny Ai is a teaching nanny, so her starting point is to do what's best for them. It's only right that she's strict."
Just like now, Ouyang Rou walked with a lithe and pale face, while Granny Ai beside her kept saying, "No, too fast, too slow, start over."
This is the fifth time today. It's only a few steps, yet I've walked it five times. I'm still not satisfied. I'm clearly just looking for trouble!
Ouyang Rou was filled with hatred. This Granny Ai was an ungrateful wretch, and an ungrateful wretch at that. Didn't her mother give her enough money back then? Now she was taking advantage of her like this. How hateful!
Thinking this to herself, Ouyang Rou immediately stepped to the side, and Granny Ai angrily said, "I have never taught anyone so stupid! Start over!"
"Smack!" After saying that, she slapped Ouyang Rou's buttocks hard with the ruler in her hand. Ouyang Rou cried out in pain and fell to the ground. She clenched her fists in anger, her shoulders trembled, her lips were tightly pursed, and her eyes were glaring at Granny Ai as if they were spitting fire!
Ouyang Yue watched from the side, a cold glint in her eyes. After spending time with her, she had also seen through Granny Ai's greedy nature. Moreover, after retiring from the palace, she traveled to various prestigious and noble families in the capital. While she might not be the top tutor in the capital, the families she visited were certainly not short of money.
It's fine if no precedent is set, but once a precedent is set and there's no follow-up to hand over the silver, these people are the most ruthless, forcing you to give up the silver. However, this doesn't mean that Aunt Hong can produce that much cash, so she's the one who's burdened her daughter, which is truly laughable!
Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out outside. The Ning family was a prominent family, and such a commotion was extremely rare. Something must have happened!
Ouyang Hua was startled: "Ling'er, go out and take a look quickly."
"Yes, Miss." Ouyang Hua's maid ran out, but didn't return for a while, and the noise outside only grew louder.
Ouyang Hua frowned: "What's going on? Ling'er has always been very clever by my side. What could have delayed her from coming back to report?" He then turned to Ouyang Rou and Ouyang Yue, saying worriedly, "The noise outside is really alarming. Sisters, I think I should take these two maids to check on things first. What do you think?"
Ouyang Rou hesitated for a moment: "This..." Ouyang Hua was referring to Xiang'er and Qiuyue, the maids who accompanied Ouyang Rou and Ouyang Yue respectively.
Ouyang Yue gave a half-smile and nodded: "I'll leave it to you, elder sister. I'm entrusting the person to you. Just don't lose him."
Ouyang Hua's heart skipped a beat. He squinted at Ouyang Yue, only to see her laughing carefree. He frowned slightly and said, "What are you saying, Third Sister? She's in the General's Mansion. How could she possibly be lost?"
Ouyang Rou naturally agreed, but the look she gave Ouyang Yue in the dark was filled with malice.
Ouyang Hua had left, but Granny Ai's teaching had to continue. However, not long after Ouyang Hua left, more screams rang out from outside: "Fire! Fire!"
"What!" Upon hearing this, Granny Ai, with her sharp ears, immediately jumped up and ran towards the school gate.
Ouyang Rou was stunned, then grabbed Ouyang Yue's arm tightly: "Fire! Third Sister, run! Otherwise, the fire will definitely spread and we'll all be dead!" With that, she pulled Ouyang Yue's arm and ran out quickly.
Ouyang Yue's lips curled slightly. If Ouyang Rou was truly afraid of being implicated, her first reaction would have been like Granny Ai's, instead of dragging her disliked younger sister away...
As they ran out, they found that there was hardly anyone outside the school, but the sounds that had been coming from earlier didn't seem to be far away.
Ouyang Yue suppressed her smile and remained silent the whole way. Ouyang Rou rushed her to the only riverbank in the General's Mansion, which was also a nice spot to enjoy the scenery. There was a flower bush next to it, and when the flowers bloomed, they were fragrant and the scenery was very beautiful.
“We’re safe here now. The fire won’t reach us no matter how hard it tries.” Ouyang Rou patted her chest, looking terrified. Ouyang Yue laughed out loud, “Second sister is really not smart enough. This little trick is no match for her.”
"What do you mean by that, Third Sister? What trickery?" Ouyang Rou asked, puzzled. Ouyang Yue shook her head and sighed. "Second Sister brought me here, surely not to escape. Why don't you just say it directly and let me think about it?"
"You...you've certainly become smarter!" Ouyang Rou narrowed her eyes, a meaningful smile playing on her lips. Her gaze swept across the room slightly. "But it's too late for you to know now!"
"Splash!" With that, Ouyang Rou took advantage of Ouyang Yue's distraction while she was talking to her, suddenly reached out and pushed her into the pool. Then she laughed arrogantly, "Ouyang Yue, you will never be able to beat me. Today I will make you cry!"
Ouyang Rou turned her head and looked back: "What are you standing there for? Come out now..." She was pointing to the flower bushes.
Just then, a gust of wind blew, scattering the flowers in disarray, but no one came out. Ouyang Rou frowned, wondering what was going on, when suddenly her foot sank. She turned around in shock and saw Ouyang Yue's head leap out of the pool, a devilish smile on his lips, one hand tightly gripping her ankle, his mouth uttering "Die."
Ouyang Rou felt a sudden lurch, and before she could even cry out, she fell into the pool with a "plop." Just then, a man arrived late, rushing over and seeing Ouyang Rou fall. He ran even faster.
When they arrived at the pool, they saw Ouyang Yue and Ouyang Rou struggling in their arms. The man exclaimed, "Third Miss, I've come to save you!"
The man leaped into the pool and swam toward Ouyang Yue. A cold, sharp light flashed in Ouyang Yue's eyes. This man was none other than the male scholar Ning Zhuangxue. So this was Ouyang Rou's wicked plan. As long as Ning Zhuangxue touched her in the pool, she would have no choice but to marry this down-on-his-luck scholar and ruin her future!
Ouyang Yue's lips curled into a smile, and she swiftly kicked out at Ning Zhuangxue's leg. Ning Zhuangxue's stance suddenly shifted, and he lunged directly at Ouyang Rou. Ouyang Rou immediately exclaimed in surprise, "No!"
At the same time, several people ran over: "Quick! Someone has fallen into the pool! Save them!"
☆、042、Intense Collision!
Upon hearing the sound, Ouyang Yue's smile became even more wicked. Looking at Ouyang Rou and Ning Zhuangxue, who were now entangled together because of her kick, she flicked her left wrist twice and kicked Ning Zhuangxue again.
Although there is some resistance in the water, as a special agent, she had undergone a lot of grueling and super-physical training in the water, so while it did have some impact on her, it wasn't a major issue.
Ning Zhuangxue was startled as his body suddenly turned sharply towards Ouyang Rou. A powerful force suddenly pushed his leg forward, causing his body to reflexively lean backward. Ning Zhuangxue's head was facing upward, and his heart tightened. Would he survive if he fell backward? As if heaven heard his words, another force pushed his leg, causing his body, which was about to be submerged in the water, to plunge forward.
However, Ning Zhuang was not in a hurry to be happy. He felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, followed by a powerful force that caused a dull pain in his chest and face, making him cry out in pain.
"ah!"
"ah!"
Two screams rang out at the same time, followed by two bursts of blood blooming in the air. But was that the end of it?
No, that's far from enough!
When Ning Zhuangxue lunged at her, Ouyang Rou wanted to push him away, but her movements were restricted underwater, and she couldn't simply decide not to. After becoming entangled with Ning Zhuangxue, she suddenly felt two hands on her shoulders. The sensation was terrifying and incredibly strong, pulling her backward and then shoving her forward violently.
Her vision blurred, then she felt a sharp pain in her chest and her nose started bleeding profusely, causing her to cry out in pain.
That wasn't all. The two kept leaning back and forward, then crashing into each other's chests with a "bang," their bodies swaying uncontrollably. They were dizzy from the impacts and let out unconscious screams.
When Ouyang Hua led his men to the edge of the pool, this was what they saw: Ouyang Rou and Ning Zhuangxue were embracing each other, making sounds that were like pain and groans. They looked like they were having sex in the wild!
Ouyang Hua's face flushed red instantly. The servants who had come with her were all dumbfounded and shocked beyond words. This second young lady was far too bold!
Although they had heard rumors of the Second Miss's somewhat indecent behavior, these were merely hearsay and nothing compared to the shock of seeing it with their own eyes. This was the kind of cunning tricks brothels use to please their clients, and the Second Miss's actions truly surpassed even those of prostitutes! They immediately began to look down on Ouyang Rou somewhat!
Ouyang Hua was furious. She never expected that her perfectly good plan would be completely ruined when she brought her people. Ning Zhuangxue, who was supposed to be obsessed with Ouyang Yue and ruin her reputation, was now doing such a despicable thing with Ouyang Rou! This was completely different from their original plan. Even someone as smart as her was stunned for a while before she came to her senses.
"Quickly! The Second Miss, the Third Miss, and the Master have fallen into the water! Quickly, call someone to go into the water and rescue them!"
"Young Miss, this servant cannot swim."
“Young Miss, this servant doesn’t know how either…” The servants behind her immediately shook their heads in refusal. Ouyang Hua snorted coldly: “You’re all useless. Hurry up and call someone who can swim to save them. If the Second and Third Young Misses are in trouble, none of you will get away with it!”
The servants immediately panicked and searched frantically. Just as the maids dispersed, four or five strong men rushed down the path. Judging from their attire, they were guards from the outer courtyard of the General's Mansion. When Ouyang Hua saw them, he immediately shouted, "Quick! The Second and Third Misses have fallen into the water! Go down and save them!"
However, at that moment, a figure rushed over even faster, jumped into the pool with a "plop," pulled Ouyang Yue up, and swam towards the edge of the pool. Seeing that Ouyang Yue was being rescued, the guards immediately jumped into the pool to rescue Ouyang Rou and Ning Zhuangxue. Ouyang Hua frowned deeply upon seeing this, his eyes darkening as he shouted, "What are you standing there for? How can a man let a woman go into the water to save someone? Hurry up and help! Quickly, save the Third Miss!"
The guard who was originally away from Ouyang Yue was stunned when he heard this, and then swam back towards Ouyang Yue. Dongxue slapped the guard with a "smack": "Get out of the way! How dare you touch the young lady's precious body? If you dare to take a step forward, I will take your life!" Dongxue's slap was quite powerful. Even though she couldn't use it in the water, it still made the guard's body tilt to the side. Dongxue took this opportunity to quickly swim towards the edge of the pool.
At this moment, Chuncao had already rushed over with the servants of Mingyue Pavilion. Seeing Dongxue reach the shore, she immediately ordered the servants to pull Ouyang Yue and Dongxue ashore and prepared thick clothes to wrap them up. Then she looked at Ouyang Hua with an unfriendly expression.
Water droplets rolled down Ouyang Yue's head and slid onto her cheeks, making her eyes appear exceptionally bright. A half-smile played on her lips, as if she had seen through all the jokes of the world, and Ouyang Hua was the one in that joke.
An unnamed anger immediately ignited in my heart!
"Second sister, what happened to you and third sister? I took some people back to look for you. I heard you came towards the garden. How did you both fall into the water?"
Ouyang Rou, who was still dizzy and in pain in her chest and face after being rescued, widened her eyes upon hearing this: "Third Sister rushed out of the school when she heard there was a fire in the inner courtyard, but who knew she would come here? I was worried, so I followed her. When I got here, I saw her arguing with the teacher. I went up to stop her and said a few words, but Third Sister actually pushed me into the pool! Third Sister, when did you become so cold-blooded, heartless, vicious, and despicable!"
When Ouyang Rouning was rescued from the water, her trousers were still on. Since she hadn't been in the water, she couldn't have done *that* kind of thing, and the servants simply lowered their heads. It was a pity that everyone here had seen the Second Miss being embraced by a man.
"Third Sister, you...you actually murdered your sister! How could you be so vicious!" Ouyang Hua was so frightened that she took several steps back, her face as white as snow. The servants who had followed her stared wide-eyed at Ouyang Yue. How could the Third Miss be so heartless?!
"How cruel the Third Miss is!"
"That's scary."
The maids began to whisper among themselves. At that moment, Ouyang Rou suddenly cried out in pain. Everyone looked over and saw that the hem of her skirt was stained with a lot of blood. A nosebleed could not possibly cause such a situation!
"Miss, what's wrong? Quickly go find the family physician!" Ouyang Rou's maid, Xiang'er, hugged Ouyang Rou and immediately shouted. Then, other maids ran out of the mansion to fetch a doctor.