Shen Qianyu's face suddenly turned pale. She looked at the person who came in disbelief, then at her own hand, her face contorted with pain.
This man wearing a bronze mask actually broke her hand! She was, after all, a young lady from the Prime Minister's mansion; when had she ever suffered such pain!
Looking at Shen Qianyu, who had fainted from excessive pain, Shen Qianmo's eyes revealed a hint of coldness. "Still the kind of person who's all looks and no substance!"
"Miss, where did you go? Old Man Bi's medicine is really effective. The swelling went down in no time after I applied it." Qianqian smiled sweetly, her bright eyes sparkling with childlike innocence.
"I'll cripple Shen Qianyu's hands!" Shen Qianmo said calmly.
"Old Man Bi's medicine is almost gone. We'll have to 'borrow' some more from him in a couple of days." Shen Qianmo smiled with satisfaction as she watched the swelling on Qianqian's face slowly subside, a hint of slyness in her eyes.
It was called borrowing, but it was actually stealing. Old Man Bi was the owner of the Strange Doctor Manor, and his medical skills were superb. His medicine was very effective in treating both external and internal injuries. However, Old Man Bi loved money more than anything, so his medicine was often very expensive, and poor families could not afford it.
Ever since discovering the Strange Doctor's Manor, Shen Qianmo has frequently stolen medicine from it. She uses some herself, gives some to poor families, and has the Demon Palace's branch altars sell the rest to wealthy merchants at high prices to make money.
Old Man Bi deeply loathed Shen Qianmo, the cunning young master of the Demon Palace. Unfortunately, Shen Qianmo's martial arts were superb, and his lightness skill was unparalleled; Old Man Bi had never been able to catch him.
"Great! I can't wait to see Old Man Bi's expression!" Qianqian clapped her hands in agreement. Qianqian was involved in all the "bad things" Shen Qianmo did, and she was more than happy to be Shen Qianmo's accomplice.
People in the martial arts world all know that the Demon Palace Master has a pretty maidservant by his side, who is probably his confidante.
---Aside---
Please add it to your bookshelf if you like it!
Chapter Six: Shen Qianyu's Lament
"Chen Qianmo, come out here!" Yin Youlan's harsh voice, like that of a duck, came from outside. Shen Qianmo rubbed her ears impatiently.
"You come out here!" Just as Shen Qianmo was about to turn over and continue sleeping, Yin Youlan kicked open Shen Qianmo's door. Shen Qianmo sat up from the bed, a hint of anger flashing in her eyes.
Yin Youlan looked at Shen Qianmo with a flushed face, her expression one of wanting to tear Shen Qianmo to shreds. Shen Qianyu leaned against Yin Youlan, looking haggard, her hands wrapped in thick gauze.
Shen Qianmo looked at the mother and daughter with interest, a lazy smile on her lips. They were quite quick; they woke up on their own in less than half an hour, found a doctor, got bandaged up, and came with their mother to demand an explanation.
"It's so late, why is Second Madam in such a hurry to find Qianmo?" She raised an eyebrow at Yin Youlan, then slowly looked at Shen Qianyu. When Shen Qianyu's eyes met Shen Qianmo's, malice and resentment flashed in her eyes as she stared intently at Shen Qianmo.
"Qianmo! You've really gone too far! You actually had someone hurt your sister like this! You, you're simply an ill-mannered person!" Yin Youlan felt a pang of pain in her heart when she saw her daughter injured like this, and said to Shen Qianmo without any politeness.
"Second Aunt, don't blame Qianmo for not reminding you. The words 'lacking upbringing' are not to be used lightly. Are you implying that Father failed in his responsibility to educate Qianmo?!" Shen Qianmo's eyes remained unchanged, her face still carrying a lazy smile, and her words were calm and indifferent, yet there was an imposing aura within that calmness.
"What a sharp-tongued bastard! I'm not going to argue with you. Just tell me, you've got my Yu'er injured like this, what are you going to do about it?" Yin Youlan was outmaneuvered by Shen Qianmo, and her anger flared even more. Her expression changed, and she pointed at Shen Qianmo and cursed.
"Second Aunt, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. What evidence do you have to prove that Qianmo hurt Eldest Sister?! Just based on Eldest Sister's one-sided story?" Shen Qianmo looked at Shen Qianyu with a hint of disdain, then looked at Yin Youlan and smiled slightly.
"Yu'er has never done anything like this before! She's like this the moment you came back! Yu'er must have hit your maid during the day, and you're holding a grudge, so you sent someone to hurt my Yu'er! I'm going to tell the master!" Yin Youlan shouted aggressively at Shen Qianmo.
Shen Qianmo simply stared indifferently at Yin Youlan. In her previous life, she had been bullied quite a bit by this second aunt and eldest sister. In this life, she would get her revenge, bit by bit. She would make them taste the bitterness of being bullied.
“If Second Aunt insists on telling Father, there’s nothing Qianmo can do. Why don’t we take a gamble and see who Father will believe?” Shen Qianmo remained unmoved, her eyes calm, and a smile playing on her lips.
"You." Yin Youlan was speechless for a moment after being spoken to by Shen Qianmo, her face turning red with anger.
"Second Madam, you'd better take care of yourself. Don't faint in front of Qianmo's door and then shamelessly cling to her again." Shen Qianmo looked at Yin Youlan with a hint of mockery. Yin Youlan almost fainted when she heard this.
Although Yin Youlan is impulsive, she must understand the implications. If this matter escalates to Shen Lingyun's ears, they will be the ones who suffer.
Even without her mother, Shen Qianmo still had her maternal grandfather's support. The Minister of War held great power, and even the Prime Minister would not easily offend him. This was why, even though her mother had been dead for five years, her father had not yet officially recognized her as his wife.
This is probably why Shangguan Che ruthlessly poisoned her in his previous life. The power of the Prime Minister combined with that of the Minister of War was already enough to threaten the imperial authority; if an Empress were added, the consequences would be unimaginable. Therefore, killing her was the best option. It would not only weaken the power of the Prime Minister's faction but also break the alliance between the Minister of War and the Prime Minister.
"Shen Qianmo, we'll see! Don't let me catch you red-handed!" Yin Youlan said hatefully to Shen Qianmo, supporting the weak Shen Qianyu.
"Qianmo is just waiting for Second Madam to catch her red-handed! Second Madam, you'd better step up your game." Shen Qianmo looked at Yin Youlan with a mocking expression. All she could do was threaten like this. She didn't take someone like Yin Youlan, who was all brawn and no brains and only knew how to act fiercely, seriously.
"Mother, are we just going to let it go like this?" Shen Qianyu refused to listen. She had suffered such a great injustice and pain, and she was just going to let it go like this?
The doctor said it would take at least a hundred days for her hand to recover, but the banquet for all the princes and nobles would be held in a month. If her hand was still not healed, how could she win the favor of the princes and nobles?
"Yu'er, after all, we have no evidence!" Yin Youlan glared at Shen Qianmo resentfully while comforting her daughter with heartache.
"No evidence?! She must have sent someone to hurt me! Why can't I tell Father? Just because I'm born out of wedlock, does that mean I deserve to be bullied? It's all because of you, you useless thing! Why am I not Ling Ya's daughter!" Shen Qianyu, cornered, shoved Yin Youlan aside and looked at Shen Qianmo with a twisted expression.
"You bastard! What nonsense are you spouting?" Yin Youlan had never been able to surpass Ling Ya's aura, and she had always been resentful. Now, in front of Shen Qianmo, Shen Qianyu exposed her true colors, and she was naturally furious. She immediately slapped Shen Qianyu across the face.
Shen Qianyu's cheeks swelled up immediately, but seeing her mother's sad and angry expression, she dared not say anything more. She knew that she had spoken carelessly and hurt her mother's feelings, so she stopped talking and just cast a resentful look at Shen Qianmo.
Yin Youlan felt heartbroken even though she had hit her daughter. She gently hugged Shen Qianyu, lovingly stroked her daughter's hair, looked at her daughter's hand wrapped in gauze, and then cast a resentful and venomous gaze at Shen Qianmo.
Shen Qianmo was watching the mother and daughter bickering with amusement when she noticed them both casting venomous glances at her. She shrugged.
"Are you done arguing? If you are, go back and get some rest. I'm not going to keep you company." With a helpless and indifferent glance at the mother and daughter, and a disdainful smile on her face, Shen Qianmo went back to her courtyard on her own.
Outside the courtyard, Shen Qianyu and her mother stared at the woman with malevolent eyes, as if they wanted to tear her to pieces through the wall.
"Shen Qianmo, I'll make you wish you were never born!" Shen Qianyu roared fiercely at the courtyard. She would never forget the grudge of having her hand severed! One day, she would make Shen Qianmo pay the price!
"Yu'er, let's go back. Don't worry. Mother will avenge you!" Yin Youlan looked at the courtyard with resentment as she helped Shen Qianyu leave.
"Miss, is it resolved?" Qianqian saw Shen Qianmo return with a lazy expression and immediately went to greet her, looking at Shen Qianmo with a worried expression, afraid that her young lady had suffered a loss.
Seeing Qianqian's worried expression, Shen Qianmo couldn't help but smile. When had she ever suffered a loss? This little girl seemed to have no idea what she was worried about.
"I watched a good dog-eat-dog show. If I had known it would be this exciting, I would have taken you with me." Shen Qianmo shrugged indifferently, then collapsed onto the bed to continue catching up on sleep.
Seeing her young mistress fall asleep immediately, Qianqian looked helpless. Since the overnight carriage ride last night, her young mistress hadn't slept well at all, and after all that trouble, she was indeed exhausted.
---Aside---