The Lord Chancellor, who had always kept women at a distance, suddenly brought home a strange woman. To say nothing of the servants in the estate, even the official households throughout the Capital treated the matter as idle gossip after dinner.
Yet, Pei Huaiyu had not set foot in this courtyard a single time for seven consecutive days.
The maidservants, who already harbored a bit of jealousy, had looked upon Ruan Jiaojiao with disfavor from the start, and now they grew even more insufferable.
Naturally, she was always assigned the most grueling tasks.
Whenever she performed them even slightly imperfectly, Nanny Wu would dock her dinner, making it an everyday occurrence for her to skip two meals out of three.
And now she had to fetch water.
Nanny Hu had ordered her to fill every single water bucket before sunset, or else she would go hungry again.
If she had to starve any longer, she was genuinely going to lose her mind!
"Ahhhhhhh—" Ruan Jiaojiao howled toward the heavens, struggling to lift the heavy water buckets as the rough wooden handles rubbed her slender fingers raw and sore.
The Prime Minister's Estate was vast.
It was so vast that fetching a single bucket of water required her to walk a tremendously long distance.
So vast that everything about it made her feel oppressed and suffocated.
Just then, a foot suddenly shot out from the side. Ruan Jiaojiao stumbled, and the buckets slipped from her hands.
Icy water poured down from overhead, freezing her in her tracks. The chill of early spring seeped through her soaked garments straight into her bones, and she could not help shivering.
Her entire body collapsed onto the ground like a drowned rat.
Immediately following this was the sound of laughter, led by Chunxing.
Chunxing was Nanny Hu's daughter. She was already in her twenties and still unmarried, for no other reason than that Nanny Hu stubbornly believed her daughter was destined to become a concubine in the Prime Minister's Estate, continuously putting off the young woman's marriage prospects until the present day.
At the same time, this was precisely why Nanny Hu targeted Ruan Jiaojiao at every turn.
A group of maidservants stood around laughing.
The servants who dared not court trouble cast sympathetic glances before hurrying away; after all, everyone knew Chunxing was the favorite daughter of Nanny Hu, the head housekeeper.
"Look at that, isn't this Ruan Jiaojiao? Taking that long just to fetch a few buckets of water—are you really hoping to become a mistress?"
"Exactly! And she doesn't even know her own weight."
"Lord Pei was merely toying with you to begin with. I thought you actually had some great skill."
Taunting gazes surrounded her on all sides, yet Ruan Jiaojiao did not utter a single extra word as she silently picked up the buckets.
Chunxing grew furious at the sight of her indifferent, ignoring attitude, and reached out a hand to grab her hair. "What are you putting on such high and mighty airs for?! Right now you're nothing more than—"
Before she knew it, however, her hand was counter-pressed by Ruan Jiaojiao.
Chunxing angrily tried to fight back, only to discover with shock that she could not move an inch. "What did you do to me?!"
Was she simply pinning her down?
Of course it wouldn't be that easy.
Ruan Jiaojiao forcefully dragged Chunxing toward the well, using a force so great that Chunxing let out a cry of pain!
"What on earth do you think you're doing?!"
"Someone go call for help! This woman has gone mad!"
The freezing stone edge of the well pressed tightly against Chunxing's neck.
When she saw the completely serious look on Ruan Jiaojiao's face, showing not a shred of hesitation, she finally began to panic, shouting anxiously at the trembling maidservants nearby to find someone to rescue her.
The maidservants who had been standing around laughing just moments before scattered in all directions.
Leaning close to Chunxing's ear, Ruan Jiaojiao lowered her voice to a whisper, every single word crystal clear: "Even if the person Pei Huaiyu brought back wasn't me, it still wouldn't be someone of your pathetic caliber." Her voice carried a biting chill, her breath brushing against Chunxing's ear. "Instead of targeting me at every turn, you'd be better off behaving yourself and keeping the peace. After all... I have no desire to go looking for trouble."
Chunxing's face instantly turned ashen.
The moss by the well was slick, and her body involuntarily leaned backward, the mouth of the well drawing perilously close.
She could feel Ruan Jiaojiao's hands trembling slightly—not out of fear, but from suppressed rage.
Chunxing's upper body was already suspended over the well opening. With the slightest exertion of force from Ruan Jiaojiao, she would plunge into the bottomless darkness. Her voice grew sharp with terror, nearly breaking: "I was wrong! I was wrong...!"
"Stop!"
A dignified voice rang out suddenly.
It was Nanny Hu.
Upon seeing her precious daughter pinned so ruthlessly against the well, her heart ached so fiercely she almost screamed.
"Ruan Jiaojiao, have you lost your mind? Let go of Chunxing this instant! Are you trying to rebel?!" Nanny Hu demanded sternly.
Nanny Hu was not the only one who had arrived.
Pei Huaiyu was there as well.
He stood in his long robes, his features as refined as a painting, yet his gaze was ice-cold as he watched the chaotic scene before him as if looking at a stranger.
Catching sight of the approaching Pei Huaiyu out of the corner of her eye, Chunxing clutched at him like a drowning straw and cried out, "My Lord, save me!"
To her surprise, Ruan Jiaojiao applied even more force.
Pei Huaiyu finally spoke in a chilling tone: "Ruan Jiaojiao, this is no place for you to act wildly."
Though she had not seen him for three days, the man remained as serene as a breeze and the bright moon, his mere presence impossible to ignore.
The moment Ruan Jiaojiao released her, Chunxing practically leaped up. Swamped by terror, she scrambled on hands and knees toward Pei Huaiyu to seek shelter.
"My Lord! Ruan Jiaojiao just now tried to murder this maid! Please discern the truth, My Lord, and mete out justice for this maid!"
Nanny Hu dropped to her knees as well, exuding a righteous air of ridding society of a menace. "Please discern the truth, My Lord. This wretch Ruan Jiaojiao is habitually lazy and derelict in her duties, and now she has grown so arrogant as to commit murder in broad daylight! Had My Lord not arrived in the nick of time, this maid's daughter would likely have already lost her life here! It is a blatant disregard for human life, and My Lord cannot let this go unpunished!"
Yet Pei Huaiyu chose to bypass all of them, looking down from on high at Ruan Jiaojiao, who showed no sign of repentance.
"Tell me what happened."
"Oh, Big Brother, you can't just judge a book by its cover. You know me—this little lady wouldn't even dare kill a chicken, so how could I dare murder someone?" Ruan Jiaojiao pitifully held out her hands, covered everywhere in wounds. "I really worked very hard. Look, my hands have turned into this."
"Heavens, if they're all covered in calluses, oh dear—if I accidentally snag a thread on Big Brother's clothes, don't ask me to pay for it."
The moment these reckless words left her mouth, the entire courtyard fell silent.
Who among those present did not fear the formidable Lord Chancellor?
Young though he might be, his resolute and decisive methods in official circles, where his word was law, were known even to three-year-old children.
Yet Ruan Jiaojiao showed not a shred of fear toward him, daring to crack such cheeky jokes even after causing such a massive uproar.
Pei Huaiyu frowned. "I am giving you one last chance to speak seriously."
Ruan Jiaojiao spread her hands. "She provoked me first. I didn't intend to kill her, I just wanted to teach her a lesson—who knew you'd rush over so quickly."
Hearing this, Chunxing angrily tried to retort, but before she could open her mouth, Pei Huaiyu spoke faster.
"That is merely your side of the story. Ruan Jiaojiao, the fact remains that you committed an act of violence on the spot."
"Furthermore, I am the master here and you are the servant. Upon seeing me, why do you not kneel?"
"You even dared to refer to yourself as 'I'. Do you know what kind of punishment awaits the dual crimes of showing disrespect to a superior and committing violence on the spot?"
The crime of showing disrespect to a superior was neither light nor heavy, but one thing was certain: Ruan Jiaojiao would not escape punishment.
Nanny Hu was overjoyed at the sight, certain the Chancellor was standing on their side. "My Lord, regardless of which of these two crimes is considered, Ruan Jiaojiao wouldn't be worth pitying even if she were beaten to death!"
All the other servants had their heads pressed flat against the ground, not daring to lift them, while those of slightly higher rank dropped to a half-kneel.
Yet Ruan Jiaojiao was the only one who dared to stand.
Such backbone was truly useless to her, which was why she could act spineless and drop to her knees whenever it suited her—but this time was different.
Even if you can't win a steamed bun, you have to fight for your pride!
Otherwise, her life would only become even harder after today.
"I am a commoner of good standing, not a registered bondservant. Even the Lord Chancellor cannot arbitrarily treat a law-abiding citizen—"
"Did I tell you to stand while speaking?"