Just as he finished receiving the plot, the door was pounded on loudly. At that moment, besides Hao Zheng, there was no one else there.

Xiang Wan arrived just in time, just before Hao Zheng defiled her. This gave her more room to maneuver.

The heat within her body grew increasingly intense, and Xiang Wan tried her best to suppress it. She then opened all the windows and activated the Frostbite Technique to resist the effects of the medicine.

"Open, open the door! Quick, open the door!"

Hao Zheng had drunk quite a bit and was tipsy, so his speech was not very fluent.

After waiting for a while, Xiang Wan's flushed face gradually subsided before she pulled open the door latch, leaving Hao Zheng to miss his target and fall to the ground.

When the young ladies and gentlemen of the Hao family needed to get up at night, they were always accompanied by their personal maids or servants. Xiang Wan looked behind him but did not see the servant named Shi Tou who was with him. Shi Tou was Granny Shi's grandson, who had been with Hao Zheng since childhood and was about the same age as Hao Zheng.

"How dare you! You actually fell and hurt me! And now, quickly help me up!"

Hao Zheng lay on the ground, motionless, his hand outstretched for help. Xiang Wan didn't care about any of that, coldly tossing out, "You're drunk," before delivering a swift chop to knock him unconscious, leaving him lying on the ground.

After searching the room, Xiang Wan found a flint and a kerosene lamp. She lit them, carried them outside, and called out, "Stone, Stone! Your young master is drunk, hurry up and help him back. Stone..."

That Granny Shi is no good person; she framed the original owner, and Shi Tou must have been involved too. She wanted to shout it out loud so that everyone in the manor could hear that this servant Shi Tou had neglected his duties, not staying by Hao Zheng's side at night, and letting him wander around drunk.

Xiang Wan's steps were slow, but her voice was quite loud. She wanted people to arrive later, and it would be best if Hao Zheng got seriously ill. That way, even if he wanted to do something bad, he wouldn't have the strength.

Half the mansion was awakened before hurried footsteps could be heard coming from the outer courtyard.

"Oh dear, Xiang Wan, stop shouting. If the masters are woken up, we servants will be in trouble."

"Stone, it's the middle of the night, where have you been instead of serving your young master?"

"Young Master asked me to fetch something, so I rushed over. Where did Young Master disappear to in the blink of an eye?"

"He's drunk, and you still dare to let him walk around the yard alone? Aren't you afraid he'll fall?"

"My dear sister, please tell me quickly, where is the young master? Consider it a favor I owe you, okay?"

“Look, he’s lying by the door.”

"Ouch!"

The stone darted away in a flash, as if some ferocious beast was chasing it.

Xiang Wan looked around and saw a figure flash by, disappearing in an instant.

It seems that things in this mansion are not as peaceful as they appear on the surface.

Shi Tou helped Hao Zheng leave. Xiang Wan went to the kitchen alone to boil a pot of water, brought it to her room, wiped herself down, changed her clothes, and then went to sleep.

The sound of the gong rang out. Looking up at the window, I saw that it was already dawn. As a maid, I couldn't get up later than the fifth watch. I had to wash up, clean, find a chance to eat, and serve my master when he got up.

After tidying up, Xiang Wan made her way to the innermost courtyard. Usually, she slept in the outer room of Hao Yuchun's bedroom, but when she wasn't feeling well or when Hao Yuchun told her to rest, she would return to the maid's designated quarters.

The older the original owner of this body grew, the more time Hao Yuchun allowed her to go home and rest. So, after being drugged, letting her go home to rest was perfectly normal to the original owner, and she didn't see anything wrong with it. On the contrary, she thought it was the young lady's consideration for her. No wonder no one spoke up for her or pleaded for her when she was in trouble; it was all because of jealousy!

Although both were servants in the Hao household, the original owner always enjoyed the best of everything, including more holidays than the average person. Those who outwardly treated her with utmost respect might have been secretly gossiping about her. She wasn't a young lady, yet her status was exceptional. To the other servants, she was something attainable, something they could trample into the mud. But to the masters, she was merely a servant, no matter how favored, just an object to be discarded without hesitation.

As she walked and pondered, Xiang Wan became increasingly cautious after clarifying her current identity and status. If Hao Yuchun had been acting in front of the original owner from the very beginning, then her intentions were far too deep.

Upon arriving at Hao Yuchun's room, the maid Lan'er, who was on night watch, respectfully greeted them.

"Shh, Sister Xiangwan, Miss hasn't woken up yet. It rained all night, and Miss tossed and turned all night before finally falling asleep."

Xiang Wan nodded, walked past Lan'er, pushed open the bedroom door, and went inside.

This Lan'er is obsessed with climbing the social ladder, but she can never surpass the original owner of this body. She's outwardly respectful to the original owner, but behind her back, she gossips and spread rumors—she does it all. The original owner disdains her and doesn't want to bother with her, but Xiang Wan has no intention of letting her off the hook. When the original owner was burned at the stake, Lan'er was the one who screamed the loudest.

Just before entering, Xiang Wan suddenly turned around and saw Lan'er's disgusted expression, which she hadn't had time to hide.

With a slight smile, Xiang Wan pretended not to notice and instructed, "It rained all night yesterday, and Miss is probably feeling damp. Go to the kitchen later and remind them to prepare some ginger soup to ward off the chill."

Lan'er nodded awkwardly. Xiang Wan looked up at the sky and said casually, "It's rained, why isn't the sky clearing up yet? Young Master drank so much yesterday and ran around everywhere. I wonder if he'll catch a cold."

After saying that, Xiang Wan didn't care what Lan'er thought, closed the door, and went to the inner room to wait for Hao Yuchun to get up.

If Lan'er were sensible, she would definitely try to curry favor with Hao Zheng. After what happened last night, it would be strange if Hao Zheng gave her a friendly look.

Hao Yuchun wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but she possessed the kind of allure that grew on you. She had a round face, a full forehead, well-defined eyebrows, long, thick eyelashes, a delicate nose, and full, beautifully shaped lips. Her long, black hair cascaded down to her waist, with wispy bangs framing her face. Even just looking at her sleeping face was a delightful experience. One could imagine the allure she would possess when she opened her bright eyes, revealing a pure and innocent expression, her pearly teeth peeking out from between her lips—enough to ignite a man's protective instincts and stir the urge to kiss her when they were alone together. Even a woman like Xiang Wan could think of such things; how could a man resist?

With a soft moan, Hao Yuchun slowly awoke, her eyelashes fluttering a few times, revealing the eyes that had left such a deep impression on the original owner of the body. Xiang Wan stepped forward and softly asked, "Miss, you're awake?"

Hao Yuchun looked at Xiang Wan, grabbed her hand and sat up, then started to burst into tears, unable to stop them.

Xiang Wan sighed, took her handkerchief from the bedside table, and wiped away the tears that wouldn't stop. Hao Yuchun grabbed her hand, choking back sobs, "Xiang Wan, why won't you call my name? Aren't we best friends? Are you angry with me? I... I didn't mean to. I didn't know that tea set couldn't be used to brew tea. I thought about it all night. If anything happens to you, I... I don't want to live anymore, sob sob..."