The parents who had taken their children home spread the word about Su Xiaoning's good deeds far and wide, and her reputation began to rise again. People sang her praises, and rumors even circulated that "Su Xiaoning is the true saintess." Although this only spread among a small group of people, Qin Yunyun still found out about it.
Upon hearing this news, Qin Yunyun turned pale with anger and swept everything off the table.
"That bitch, now that she doesn't have the lucky koi mark anymore, she still wants to steal my title! I'll definitely teach her a lesson!"
She smashed all the fragile objects in the room like a madwoman. The maid who came to report the news dared not speak, but stood there trembling, not daring to dodge even if she was accidentally injured.
Seeing the maid's timid and hesitant appearance, Qin Yunyun's anger flared even more. Pointing to the door, she shouted sharply, "Get out of here! Don't stay here and annoy me! Oh, and call Fu Ruo over here!"
"Yes..." the maid replied meekly and quickly ran out, seemingly heading in the direction of Fu Ruo.
Qin Yunyun turned the entire house upside down. Only after smashing everything she could left did she sit down angrily. She touched her chest, but her heart was still pounding. The panic that had started the day before yesterday still lingered in her heart.
Two days ago, Su Qinghe ordered Ding Dazhuang to set fire to the Ninth Prince's mansion. This should have been a joyous occasion for Qin Yunyun, but for some reason, on the night of the arson, she felt a sharp pain in her heart, and an inexplicable sense of panic enveloped her entire being.
I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but the koi fish mark on the back of her hand seems to have faded a bit, turning grayish, as if it has been removed.
This matter is far too bizarre; we must discuss it with Fu Ruo…
As Qin Yunyun was lost in thought, there was a knock on the door, and Fu Ruo pushed the door open and entered.
What do you want from me?
"Listen to me, is this how it is..."
Qin Yunyun hurriedly told Fu Ruo about what had happened in the past few days and her inexplicable panic. Upon hearing this, Fu Ruo's expression immediately became much more serious.
She did some quick calculations, and her lips turned even paler, her brows furrowing.
Seeing her like this, Qin Yunyun felt uneasy: "What's wrong? Is something wrong with my koi fish mark? What should I do now...?"
"Don't worry, as long as the koi fish mark is still on your hands, nothing will happen." Fu Ruo regained her normal expression, her eyes sharp. "Remember when I told you to get rid of Su Xiaoning as soon as possible? This matter can't wait any longer, or I don't know what might happen."
This means that she is indeed not safe now.
Qin Yunyun was trembling with fear, her face was deathly pale, and her body was shaking slightly.
Fu Ruo glanced at her, but didn't say anything more, only leaving behind the words "Think it over carefully" before drifting away.
In the silent room, Qin Yunyun sat blankly, as if time had stood still.
She didn't know what method she could use to get rid of Su Xiaoning without anyone noticing, but just watching Su Xiaoning trample on her head was just too hateful... Maybe she should first ruin Su Xiaoning's reputation?
A hint of hatred flashed in Qin Yunyun's eyes, and she immediately came up with a plan.
...
There were too many parents coming to pick up their children, and some parents living outside the capital couldn't make it in time. Not all the children in the Prince's Mansion were picked up within a day. Su Xiaoning didn't care about these things and continued to take good care of the children and check the list.
One day, a middle-aged couple arrived at the gate of the Prince's Mansion. They didn't queue up and squeezed their way in, shouting loudly, "Where is my child? Hand over my child at once!"
"Your child won't get lost, please line up properly." Seeing the middle-aged couple's lack of manners, Ding Yi was a little unhappy and reached out to push them out.
To everyone's surprise, the middle-aged woman plopped down on the ground, pointed at him, and yelled, "Your master hasn't even spoken yet, and you, a servant, are already making plans? We've only come to ask for our child back, and you actually want to kick us out? This is outrageous!"
Her indiscriminate yelling made Ding Yi's face turn green. Ding Yi turned and glanced at Su Xiaoning, who frowned and waved for him to leave.
Thinking the parents were simply concerned, she quickly helped the middle-aged woman up from the ground and said softly, "Don't worry, the children are all here. Tell me your names, and I'll check for you."
"Hmph, that's more like it!" The middle-aged woman snorted and told the middle-aged man her name.
Despite their less-than-friendly attitude, Su Xiaoning didn't complain. She quickly checked the list based on the names they provided, but... she didn't see those two names on the list.
Su Xiaoning frowned and looked at the middle-aged man and woman, asking, "Are you sure you didn't get your names wrong? The records show that you don't have any missing children here."
"How can you talk like that? Do you think we would forget our own names?" The middle-aged woman remained arrogant. "You didn't collect all the information yourself, and you're just making things up because you don't want to hand over our child. You're really heartless."
The middle-aged man nodded repeatedly in agreement, and then shouted to the other parents, "Don't be fooled by this heartless woman! She doesn't really want to help us find our child! The real saintess is Madam Qin!"
Upon hearing Qin Yunyun's name, Su Xiaoning immediately realized that these two people were probably deliberately trying to cause trouble for Qin Yunyun.
Her gaze instantly turned cold, and she sneered, "Ridiculous! All this information of mine was collected with great effort. If you're not there, you're not there. How can you twist the truth? Here's what we'll do: we'll go through the names one by one. If in the end all the children are gone and none of your children are there, do you dare to come with me to see the authorities?"
"Tell me, do you dare or not!"
Su Xiaoning questioned them repeatedly, and the middle-aged man and woman were stunned, their momentum weakening considerably.
The other parents cast disdainful glances at the middle-aged man and woman, condemning them: "What are you doing here if there's no missing child? You're just causing trouble! Don't we know who Miss Su is? Don't think you can spread rumors like this!"
The missing children in the yard are real; they just want to get their children back as soon as possible. They are too grateful to Su Xiaoning to bother slandering her.
The middle-aged man and woman were at a loss, about to open their mouths to explain, when Ding Yi walked over with a dark face.
“You really have the nerve to cause trouble in the Prince’s mansion.”
Ding Yi showed no mercy, grabbing one of the middle-aged man and the other and throwing them out the door. The middle-aged man and woman were surrounded by condemnations; no matter how thick-skinned they were, they couldn't stay any longer and had no choice but to slink away in disgrace.
With the matter concluded, Su Xiaoning stopped worrying about it and focused on checking the remaining parents' names.
As for Qin Yunyun, who might be the instigator of this incident, Su Xiaoning didn't care; let her be jealous.
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