Chapter 62 Betrayal

She is now just an ordinary girl, and apart from the few memories she has from her previous life, the only power she can mobilize is the few cats and dogs around her.

Moreover, many of his friends are still children.

Unless, of course, she is truly dependent on the eldest princess.

The eldest princess has already extended an olive branch to her; now all she has to do is seize this opportunity.

“Bihui, you’ve been focusing on recovering from your injuries these past few days. I will definitely seek justice for you and for myself regarding this matter.”

Xiao Yuxuan patted Bi Sui on the back, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

She walked out of Bihui's room alone and asked a passing maid:

Where is Chunwen?

In recent days, she has been busy going to the girls' school to pick up the six arts of a gentleman, and has neglected to discipline Chunwen, a servant who is destined to betray her master. Chunwen is very likely to be an accomplice in this incident.

Chunwen is on duty on odd-numbered days. If Chunwen hadn't abandoned her post today, Bihui wouldn't have been taken advantage of.

The young maid was a third-class maid in Lanting Pavilion. She was rarely questioned by the young lady herself, and when she was asked this question, her legs trembled and went weak.

"Sister Chunwen, she went to relieve herself, she'll be back soon."

Why look like a thief caught in the act when you're just going to relieve yourself? Xiao Yuxuan suppressed her dissatisfaction and said:

"Really? Go find her. If Chunwen doesn't come back within fifteen minutes, you and your sister Chunwen go to find Mother Li and wait for the matchmaker to come and take her away."

The Fifth Miss used to speak softly and gently to the servants. When she first returned to the manor, she didn't even know how to order the servants around. The maids were very apprehensive when serving her, and she almost had to do everything herself several times.

The maids were also snobbish; they naturally didn't take the fifth young lady seriously because she was so timid and lacked any air of authority.

But today, the Fifth Miss suddenly turned cold and scolded, and the little maid felt a pressure comparable to that of the master and mistress, and goosebumps rose all over her body.

Fifth Sister wasn't joking; her tone suggested she was truly capable of betraying them!

For some reason, the little maidservant remembered the two servants from the kitchen who had been kicked out of the manor by the Fifth Miss for delivering the wrong breakfast a while ago, and a chill ran down her spine for no apparent reason.

"Yes, this servant will go find Chunwen right away!"

She didn't dare to delay and quickly turned and walked in another direction.

A quarter of an hour later, Chunwen was covered in a light sweat from running, but was stopped by a grinning maid.

"The young lady has something to tell you inside, so please wait a moment, Sister Chunwen."

Chunwen could only wipe the sweat from her face and wait quietly under the eaves.

On her way here, she had imagined countless possible reactions from the Fifth Sister: perhaps she was saddened by Bi Sui's punishment, or angry that the Fourth Sister had wronged her, or perhaps she was upset that the Fifth Sister had abandoned her post. But none of them were like this—

She was told to hurry back, but when she arrived, she was only told to wait.

After a long while, Chunwen's legs were stiff from standing, Fifth Sister finally called her in. As soon as Chunwen entered the room, she hurriedly knelt down, crying out that she was guilty:

"Fifth Miss, please forgive me. I don't know why I ate something bad at noon. My stomach is upset, so I had to go to the toilet twice."

Xiao Yuxuan was drinking tea, and standing beside her were two unfamiliar young maids, both around thirteen or fourteen years old, yet each possessed an extraordinary air about them.

A tall, slender woman with a pointed oval face and a pair of bright eyes looked over, exuding an air of authority without anger.

The other one was rounder and cuter, with a smile on his lips and a pair of dimples, but for some reason, he reminded people of a smiling tiger.

Who are these two people? When did they come to serve Fifth Sister?

Xiao Yuxuan remained silent, and the two maids who clearly didn't look like they belonged to the Xiao household also stared at her quietly. Chunwen wiped the sweat from her forehead and continued to explain:

"I heard about Bihui's situation when I came. It's all my fault for being so weak. If Bihui hadn't helped me out for a while, I wouldn't have been taken advantage of by that hussy Caihe and gotten a beating. I'm willing to accept any punishment!"

Chunwen thought that by saying this and taking the blame upon herself, Xiao Yuxuan would soften her heart and be lenient with her, considering her sincere repentance.

But she was wrong.

Xiao Yuxuan put down her teacup and asked an unrelated question:

"Where were you at 1:15 AM, and what were you doing?"

Chunwen was taken aback, and subconsciously replied, "This servant has an upset stomach and is going to the outhouse..."

Receiving Xiao Yuxuan's gaze, the maid with phoenix eyes stepped forward and, without saying a word, forcefully slapped her across the face.

With a sharp "smack," Chunwen was knocked off her balance and fell to the ground in a sorry state.

"ah--"

"You lowly servant, you lie without even thinking in front of your master! You just said you had an upset stomach at noon, and now it's 9 am?"

Chunwen was shocked. Eating an upset stomach was obviously an excuse, but Bihui's incident happened in the afternoon, and she didn't immediately realize that the girl was asking about something that happened in the morning, so she blurted out the words without thinking.

Could it be that the young lady truly knows something, which is why she asked such a question?

A burning pain spread across her face. She dared not cover it with her hands, and crawled a few steps, dragging her knees, before hurriedly saying:

"It was my mistake. At 1:15 AM, I was supervising the maids tending to the flowers and plants in the courtyard. Fresh flowers were delivered from the flower shop and placed at the base of the wall outside Fifth Miss's bedroom—"

Xiao Yuxuan sighed, a disappointed expression on her face.

The maid with phoenix eyes sneered and continued:

"You ungrateful wretch! Your master gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it. You're clearly a traitor. You deserve to be beaten to death and thrown into a mass grave! Guards!"

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you! Fifth Miss, please have mercy and forgive me this time!"

Xiao Yuxuan lowered her eyes, looking at Chunwen on the ground pleading pitifully.

"Okay, go ahead."

"Actually, it was Sister Bitao from Baozhen Courtyard. She was off today, so she called me over to play mahjong for a while. I was so engrossed in playing that I neglected my duties. I was afraid of being scolded by Fifth Miss, so I dared not tell anyone. Please forgive me, Fifth Miss, please spare my life. I truly have not betrayed my mistress—"

Chunwen spoke very quickly, afraid that if she spoke too late, she would really be dragged out and beaten to death by that sullen-faced maid.

I thought we wouldn't need this excuse, but Fourth Sister and Caihe are truly prescient!

Sure enough, the Fifth Sister's expression softened slightly after hearing this.

"Since you've told the truth, it means you haven't completely lost your mind. You and Bihui are both first-class maids by my side, and I don't distrust either of you."

Xiao Yuxuan waved her hand, signaling Chunwen to get up.

“Now that Bihui is recovering from her injuries, the imperial physician said that she will not be able to get out of bed for at least ten days to half a month, and it will take at least a month to fully recover. These two girls were lent to me by the Princess out of pity, but you are the only one who has been by my side all this time.”

Chunwen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fifth Sister was indeed as soft-hearted as ever, and couldn't bear to really punish her.