Chapter 12012: Requesting the Mistress's Punishment.

Teng Huang was certain, "Does Miss Yue'er like this purse?"

In the dimly lit carriage, Teng Huang's sudden voice startled Li Yue'er, causing her to instinctively clutch her purse tightly to her chest.

Li Yue'er, "Huh?"

Li Yue'er blinked, her eyes darting around, "I like the money in my purse."

Gamboge: "I don't believe it."

Li Yue'er, "..."

Li Yue'er turned to the side and stared silently at Teng Huang.

Taungo became smug. "If you like silver, you'll pour it out and count it, instead of touching your purse."

Li Yue'er's face flushed.

What does "touching around" mean?

The four words "serious" sounded so vivid and unserious coming from Gambo's mouth.

Taking advantage of the dim light so that Rattan Huang couldn't see her expression, Li Yue'er slowly retorted, "Who doesn't love money? Compared to money, a purse is worthless."

Gambo's voice was gentle and soothing, "Though the purse is worthless, it is a personal item of the mistress."

Her words made the purse in my palm feel incredibly hot.

Li Yue'er pretended not to understand, looking out through the gap in the car curtain, feigning to be busy, but her hands honestly clutched her purse tightly.

The carriage was parked in the backyard.

Li Yue'er and Teng Huang came down one after the other.

Teng Huang teased Li Yue'er, saying playfully, "I've finally escorted you back safely. I'm going to report back to the mistress now."

Li Yue'er's ears felt slightly hot, but she kept a blank face and didn't say a word.

After Teng Huang left, Li Yue'er nodded goodbye to Mu Ge and returned to her own courtyard.

An oil lamp was lit inside the room, and Xu Xinmei sat there with her arms crossed, as if she had caught her husband cheating, waiting for him to return.

Li Yue'er didn't even look at her, and prepared to wash her face and go to the kitchen to get her food.

Xu Xinmei had particularly sharp eyes, "Where did you get these new clothes?!"

Xu Xinmei's composure lasted only a breath. Seeing Li Yue'er remain silent, she jumped up instantly. They lived in the same room, were both concubines, and had never seen their mistress. Li Yue'er suddenly wearing such fine clothes was definitely suspicious!

Li Yue'er raised an eyebrow, lifted her dress with both hands, and deliberately walked around her. "Isn't it beautiful? It was a gift from my master."

She didn't say which master it was.

Misled by her vague words, Xu Xinmei assumed that Li Yue'er had already climbed into the master's bed before her. "You—"

Before I could say anything harsh, there was a gentle knock on the door.

Meng Xiaoxiao ran to open the door, tilting her head in confusion, "Huh?"

It is cinnabar.

This is the head maidservant of the mistress.

Xu Xinmei reluctantly shut her mouth, her eyes glaring fiercely at Li Yue'er.

Dansha took in the situation inside the room, curtsied to the three concubines, and said in a low voice, "The mistress has something to discuss with Miss Yue'er. I wonder if it would be convenient for you to do so?"

Li Yue'er went out under Xu Xinmei's suspicious gaze and Meng Xiaoxiao's bewildered gaze, following closely behind Dan Sha.

Not far ahead was the round gate of Songlan Hall. Dansha slowed her pace and asked softly, "After Miss Yue'er returned, did she go to see the mistress first?"

Li Yue'er shook her head, "No, I plan to go back and have dinner before going to see the mistress."

We can't expect her to work on an empty stomach; even the donkeys pulling the millstone in the backyard only work when they're well-fed.

Dansha didn't say anything more, but just glanced at her sideways.

Li Yue'er was completely confused.

The mistress called her over, but she herself was not in the room.

Hot water was prepared in the clean room. Dansha said, "Miss Yue'er has been busy all afternoon... Mistress is very clean, please take a bath first."

As soon as she said that, Li Yue'er understood what she meant, and her face flushed.

Compared to the shame she felt earlier, Li Yue'er only felt a little embarrassed at this moment.

As she sat in the wooden tub to wash herself, all she could think about were her mistress, the six taels of silver, and the plain blue purse.

Li Yue'er couldn't tell whether she felt gratitude or something else. She only felt a slight tremor in her heart when she held the purse. The gentle tremor was like the peonies in the courtyard quietly blooming at night.

Steam rose from the water, and Li Yue'er buried her face in it. When she looked up again, her face was flushed and her eyes were wet.

She changed into a new undergarment, which was her size.

Li Yue'er's eyes shone brightly, her teeth gently biting her lip as she tenderly lowered her head to touch it.

The fabric is the same as the fabric of the nightgown that the mistress often wore.

With the mistress absent, Li Yue'er dried her long hair while wearing her undergarments.

Just as she finished tucking her dried hair behind her ear, the mistress entered.

Li Yue'er unconsciously took a few steps toward the other party and gave a slight curtsy, "Mistress."

After washing up, the mistress went to the study and picked out a thin book. Now, she rolled it up, used the book's scroll to lift Li Yue'er's chin, and asked her gently, "How does it feel to be home?"

Great, it feels really good.

Li Yue'er looked at her mistress with gratitude.

Perhaps the room wasn't bright enough, or perhaps she was too happy this afternoon, which made Li Yue'er less observant and she didn't notice the slight change in her mistress's tone.

Qu Rong didn't go into the inner room, but instead sat down in a round chair by the round table in the outer room. "You should be happy. Not only did they allow you to go home, but they also gave you six taels of silver."

Only then did Li Yue'er realize something was slightly off. She pursed her lips and stared blankly at the mistress.

Her eyes were still bright, the gratitude and joy within them had not yet faded.

Under the gaze of those autumn-watery eyes, Qu Rong slightly raised her lips and said the remaining sentence with a hint of sarcasm, "Six taels of silver, after all, it only costs five taels to buy you in the manor."

The words weren't spoken very directly, but the meaning was already very clear.

Li Yue'er paused, her neck creaking as she turned, like an old door panel.

If she was in the warm, blossoming late spring just moments before, now it felt like she had suddenly fallen into a freezing winter cellar. Before she could even react, her heart was already trembling with cold.

She thought the mistress was spending six taels of silver to buy her back, but in reality it was just a "humiliating" reward she received casually.

He even deliberately had a higher net worth than hers by an ounce.

What a deliberate irony, saying she was bought cheaply by the mansion.

Li Yue'er's fingers clenched and unclenched repeatedly, her rounded nails almost digging into her flesh.

Li Yue'er took a deep breath, then knelt down again without hesitation, just like that night, kneeling at her mistress's feet, bowing her head, and whispering, "This servant thanks the mistress for the reward."

Her eyes were fixed on the floor tiles, but her vision was somewhat blurry.

The pain didn't seem to be in the palm of her hand that was being pinched so hard.

They helped her bring water, allowed her to go home, gave her new clothes, and gave her money.

The mistress was so good that Li Yue'er was a little delusional. Having just come from home, she was so sentimental that she actually fantasized about the mistress being her bedmate.

She was so overjoyed that she was blinded by the kindness shown to her and forgot the difference in their social status.

She is the master, and I am the servant.

This was Li Yue'er's first time serving as a maid and her first time being a concubine, and in her joy, she forgot the rules.

No wonder Dansha asked her earlier if she had seen the mistress first when she returned...

Li Yue'er bit her lip, suppressing all her feelings, "It was this servant who got carried away, please punish me, mistress."

Qu Rong looked down at her, her face devoid of any emotion. "She's gotten a little carried away."

Qu Rong's words were unclear; they weren't meant for herself or for Li Yue'er. They were like a wound being reopened, causing a slight pain mixed with a masochistic pleasure.

"If you are given a little favor, or a small reward that slips through your fingers, you will think that you like it, and you will forget your status and start to act according to your own will."

When the mistress exposed Li Yue'er's hidden thoughts, she was so embarrassed that her face turned pale and she swayed slightly. Tears welled up in her eyes and fell to the ground.

Qu Rong glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, her gaze sweeping over the dampness on the floor tiles, and said indifferently, "If you open your heart so easily and get bought off, you might as well get out of the Qu family tomorrow."

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Lady: Family, can I go to bed tonight? [crying emoji]

There's been so much going on this month! We're moving back to our hometown on the 26th, so I've been busy looking for a place, packing, and building up my writing bank. Otherwise, I would have updated extra chapters! [Please!]