As the hour of Hai (9-11 PM) approached, most of the people in Chong'an City had already fallen asleep, but in a certain residence in the backyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion, many lights were still lit. (ps: 10 PM)
Yan Li sat in the armchair, slowly sipping his tea.
The servants, carrying torches, surrounded several gates of Xinyue Pavilion, while the maids stood guard inside the courtyard to prevent any fools from ruining the young lady's plans.
The servants and maids who have come to surround this courtyard are all trustworthy and are veterans of the Prime Minister's residence, to ensure that today's events will not spread outside the residence and damage the Yan family's reputation.
The maids and servants guarding Xinyue Pavilion immediately knelt down upon seeing the young lady of the mansion and the group of people who followed her, not daring to struggle or resist in the slightest.
Their indentures were not actually in the hands of this second young lady; if they offended her, they would likely be sold off.
But once they knelt down, no one informed the master inside.
Wenxin and Dongkui, who were the maids, came out after hearing the commotion. When they saw this scene, they trembled all over and were so frightened that their legs went weak.
They were convinced that the previous incident had been exposed and the young lady had come to settle scores with them.
"Please spare us, Miss! Please spare us, Miss! It was all the Second Miss who forced us to do it!"
"We'll go explain to the master right away that it was the second young lady who framed you. Please, eldest young lady, spare our lives..."
They kept apologizing, crawled to Yan Li's feet, and tears welled up in their eyes.
But it was these two people who told her father that they had seen her push her good second sister into the water, and then they themselves slipped and fell in.
If it weren't for her father's belief in her character, she would truly be unable to clear her name.
Huixiang, the maid following behind Yan Li, quickly stepped forward to stop her, shoving her aside and sneering:
"Now you know how to cry? When you were taking the young lady's life, why didn't you think of this day?"
"Aunt Liu, take these to Granny Huang first thing tomorrow morning and have them sold."
"Replace a few honest servants with the Second Miss, so that when she does something foolish, the servants around her won't be unaware of the need to advise her."
The woman called Aunt Liu quickly looked up and glanced over, then responded.
Upon hearing this, Wenxin and Dongkui fainted, unable to imagine what kind of life they would lead after being sold off.
Meanwhile, several other nannies quickly arrived at Yan Jingzhi's room. One of them, holding a lamp, suddenly pulled back the bed curtains and brought the lamp close.
"It's the Second Miss."
As she finished speaking, Yan Jingzhi opened her eyes.
In the dim candlelight, she looked at the large face that suddenly appeared in front of her and instinctively wanted to scream.
But the head matron quickly covered her mouth, her eyes subtly revealing a hint of disapproval:
"Please behave yourself, Miss, and don't disturb the master and madam's rest."
Yan Jingzhi realized something was wrong and immediately began to shrink into the inner room of the bed, loudly scolding:
Who are you?
"Who let you in? Get out now!"
The head matron, Li Ma, straightened up, her old face turning cold, the dim candlelight flickering on her face:
"Second Miss, it is the Eldest Miss who has invited you. Please cooperate."
Yan Jingzhi was slightly startled, but inwardly she mocked Yan Li for being too impatient.
She hasn't even really made a move yet, and she's already making such a big fuss about causing trouble for her, isn't she afraid of being gossiped about?
Yan Jingzhi cleared her throat. "You should all go back and report. I don't want to see her..."
"If the young lady wants to see you, how dare you refuse?"
Before Yan Jingzhi could finish speaking, Li Ma coldly mocked:
"Moreover, the Second Miss has done such a disgraceful thing, she should be given an explanation."
Yan Jingzhi was completely stunned. She never expected that these people would come tonight not just to deliver a message, but to take her away directly.
This is her yard.
Is Yan Li trying to control everything?
But Li Ma didn't care about any of that. She waved her hand behind her and said, "Let's go!"
The maids behind them received the order and stepped forward without saying a word. They used their hands and feet to get the person off the bed and then tried to drag him out.
What are you trying to do?
"Let me go! Let me go! I am the second young lady of this manor. Who gave you permission to be so rude?"
Yan Jingzhi struggled forcefully and actually broke free. She quickly opened the door and tried to run outside to lure her own people into the courtyard.
"Help! Help! Someone is trying to harm the second young lady of the Prime Minister's residence! Help!"
The leading old woman spat viciously upon seeing this, "Follow them."
Yan Jingzhi was only wearing a white undergarment, her hair was draped behind her head, and she hurriedly put on her shoes and ran out.
She thought she was about to be saved, but to her surprise, there were already people guarding the courtyard. Her so-called "own people" were like weather vanes, not daring to look up at her at all.
The personal maid was lying on the ground, her fate unknown.
Seeing Yan Li sitting in her courtyard, Yan Jingzhi was startled and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"This is my yard. Who gave you permission to come in?"
She remembered that in the book, Yan's father doted on her, his illegitimate daughter, to an extreme degree. Even Yan Li, the legitimate daughter, couldn't compare to her, and he even suffered several times at her hands.
Now that she dares to do this, isn't she afraid of being punished by her father?
Thinking of this, Yan Jingzhi seemed less afraid. She was certain that even if Yan Li wanted to teach her a lesson today, he wouldn't dare to really hurt her.
Yan Li then put down her cup, slowly raised her eyes, and without answering Yan Jingzhi's question, simply gave the following instructions:
"Let's begin."
Before Yan Jingzhi could react to the meaning behind Yan Li's words, the old woman who had chased after her suddenly grabbed her and seized her.
Then I was forced onto a hard, long bench.
"Second Miss, please forgive me."
These old women do hard labor all year round, and they are very strong. It was only because of carelessness that she managed to escape once.
They said they were sorry, but they didn't know their own strength and quickly tied him up with hemp rope.
"Yan Li, what are you going to do?"
"Are you resorting to vigilante justice? What right do you have to hit me?"
"Your father knows he won't let you off the hook."
Upon hearing this, Yan Li shifted her gaze back to that side.
On the bench, Yan Jingzhi had a slightly pointed chin, dark and bright eyes beneath her eyebrows, and a slender waist. Upon closer inspection, she could indeed be described as a beauty.
She may be beautiful, but ultimately it's not her own body.
However, she quite liked her more 'frank' appearance.
Yan Li gently raised her hand, first waving to stop the servant who was about to administer the beating:
"It seems that Second Sister really doesn't remember what she did wrong?"
Perhaps it was Yan Li's overly calm demeanor that made Yan Jingzhi feel a little guilty. However, considering that she hadn't succeeded yet, she naturally didn't want to admit it. She shook her head and said, feigning composure:
"I don't know, but you can't use vigilante justice on me for no reason."
“If Father finds out, he won’t let you off the hook.”
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