After everyone filed out, Mingxia found a corner and muttered curses under her breath indignantly.

"Look at her arrogant attitude. What's so great about her? She's just a concubine, yet she acts like a young mistress. She's just looking down on people."

Upon hearing this, Minghui almost covered her mouth, "Hey, you should keep your voice down. She's in power right now, so it's normal for her to be on top of us."

"Hmph, she thinks too highly of herself. To put it bluntly, Auntie is no different from a servant, except that she is a little higher up than us. Once the adults' novelty wears off, let's see how long she can keep up this act. When that happens, don't blame us for not giving her any face!"

Upon hearing this, Minghui snorted coldly, "That's true. The master has never been interested in women. Just look at the fate of all the concubines in the back courtyard. They're all discarded after three or five days. Since I entered the manor, I haven't seen a single one whose favor has lasted. Even the most beautiful Concubine Shao, wasn't she forgotten by the master?"

Mingxia felt much better after hearing this. "That makes sense. Although we are maids, we see the master every day, which is much better than those women who live like widows. I suppose You Shuyao is not far from that day either."

When the two women got excited, they huddled together and chuckled mischievously. In fact, they usually competed with each other and disliked one another, but now that they were facing a common enemy, You Shuyao, they naturally stood on the same side.

They thought they were being discreet, and although they deliberately lowered their voices, they didn't realize that You Shuyao had overheard every word they said.

You Shuyao couldn't help but sneer. She had long known that these two maids were two-faced and never genuinely served her. In front of her, they were just going through the motions and pretending. The moment they turned their backs, they would hurl insults at her, using the most vicious and degrading words against her.

But people can say whatever they want, and You Shuyao didn't want to pay any attention to what they were saying. However, these two were only superficially friendly, so she could take advantage of the opportunity to make them fight like dogs. Whether she would be able to see the adults every day after that was another matter.

What troubles her is the old nanny who is always around her and several servants in the courtyard. These people are watching her very closely, as if she were their own eyes, and from her observation, they all have a background in martial arts.

First, they walked silently; second, their breathing was steady and long; third, when the two old women were massaging her muscles and bones, they could pinpoint the acupoints very accurately, and their hands were full of strength. From these details, it is clear that they were martial artists.

Unless deliberately concealed, it will be discovered quickly. For example, in order to prevent others from noticing that she actually possessed internal energy, she secretly sealed her seven meridians and eight channels to prevent her internal energy from being detected. As long as it was sealed, her aura and meridians would be in the soft and peaceful state of an ordinary person.

Only after nightfall would she quietly release the acupoints, draw the bed curtains, and meditate for half an hour to unblock the meridians throughout her body and strengthen her spirit and protect her heart.

She had just chased everyone out of the room so she could meditate and gather her energy. Lowering the bed curtains, Shu Yao concealed herself in the darkness, sat up straight, held her breath, and took a deep breath. She then channeled her energy into her dantian, opening her Ren and Tong meridians, and silently began healing her injuries.

She thought that once she had dismissed everyone, she would no longer be disturbed, but little did she know that someone had bypassed her extremely keen hearing and was silently approaching her. Slowly... they reached out and lifted the bed curtains, revealing a beautiful figure and a delicate, charming face!

You Shuyao was circulating her qi to the Hehe acupoint, completing a small cycle. Her brows furrowed slightly due to the impact of the qi, but as her meridians gradually relaxed, her face regained its serene color, like Guanyin sitting in meditation on a lotus, her elegant and graceful appearance no less than that of a fairy.

A moment later, she felt a chill. She didn't know if it was because she was naturally too sensitive or too suspicious, but in any case... Shu Yao suddenly felt uneasy. She felt as if someone was watching her from the shadows, and that invisible gaze was roaming over her from head to toe, burning with intensity, leaving her nowhere to hide.

As the feeling grew stronger, Shu Yao was startled, her beautiful eyes snapping open as if she were waking from a nightmare.

The room was quiet, the bed curtains were naturally drawn without any sign of being opened, and her figure, meditating, remained hidden in the dim light. There was no one around, and no sound was heard. If you listened carefully, there was nothing but the anxious beating of her chest.

But she was still uneasy, so she slowly stretched out a hand... and lifted the bed curtains slightly, her sharp eyes gleaming as she carefully examined her surroundings, leaving no spot unchecked.

The door was closed tightly, just as the servant had left, and there was no unusual movement around. She finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat that had appeared on her forehead without her noticing, and laughed at herself for being so cowardly and suspicious.

Just as she was about to continue practicing her breathing techniques, a soft call came from outside...

"grown ups."

It was Minghui's voice, but those two simple words immediately made You Shuyao's heart, which had just settled down, jump back into her throat.

"Why are you all outside? Why aren't you serving the girl inside?" Huo Jingsha's voice was accusatory.

"Please forgive us, sir. The young lady said she was tired and wanted to rest by herself for a while, so she sent us all out. We were afraid of disturbing her, so we all stood outside to keep watch."

That's a really aggrieved statement. On the surface, they don't dare to neglect their master, but in private, they're subtly badmouthing him.

You Shuyao didn't care about their complaints, but she was concerned about Huo Jingsha's arrival. Shouldn't he be working in the office during the day? Why was he back at the manor?

She quickly composed herself, resealed her meridians, and concealed her inner strength. Before the door was pushed open, she had already drawn back the bed curtains, lay down with her back to the outside of the door, and pretended to be fast asleep.

As the man's steady footsteps drew closer, she felt herself completely enveloped in a shadow. Huo Jingsha was watching her, and watching her very closely.

Suddenly... the outer side of the bed sank slightly downwards, and he sat down beside her. She was trying her best to control her breathing and pulse, afraid that if she was too fast or too rapid, he would realize that she was awake.

Little did she know that the moment she opened her eyes this morning, someone immediately reported the news to Huo Jingsha, which is why he suddenly left his official duties to return to the mansion and appeared in her bedroom.

All Shu Yao knew was that she had been promoted from a servant to his concubine the moment she woke up. She really didn't want any open or covert contact with him, and she didn't want him to touch her, but she was also afraid that if she rejected him too obviously, she would anger him or arouse his suspicion.

Once he becomes suspicious, he will investigate thoroughly. Once he investigates thoroughly, he will find something. Once he finds something, she will surely die.

Therefore, she dared not take the risk, but she did not know how to face him as his concubine. Until she could come up with a better solution, she had no choice but to pretend to be asleep.

Fortunately, she was seriously injured, so it's believed that Huo Jingsha wouldn't be so eager as to force himself on her under these circumstances.