Chapter 20 Tang Xiaoning is furious
Liu Yiyi did not seem discouraged at all by the setback she suffered in the last plum juice incident. On the contrary, her determination to "move mountains and rivers with sincerity" was tempered even more firmly in the silent torment.
She was no longer satisfied with simply delivering soup and food, or doing chores like laundry and mending.
They even began to obsessively try to weave their mark deeper into every inch of Li Minghua's life.
Early that morning, as the mist began to dissipate, Li Minghua concentrated on practicing a rather complex set of "Thirteen Forms of Flowing Clouds" in an open area of the courtyard.
The sword light flashed, sometimes as swift and unpredictable as a fleeting shadow; sometimes as continuous as a babbling brook.
She moved with the sword, her clothes fluttering as she darted and turned. Even in her daily morning training, the focused and concentrated energy gave her movements a flowing beauty and a powerful sense of strength.
The old gardener, who was pruning the flowers not far away, couldn't help but stop what he was doing, stroking his beard and silently praising the sight.
After several rounds of sword practice, her breathing remained steady and long, but fine beads of sweat quietly seeped from her fair and full forehead, reflecting a slight crystalline luster in the sunlight.
She had just finished her stance and stood still, her posture calm and composed, and was about to casually wipe the slight sweat from her forehead with her sleeve...
"Heroine! You're sweating!"
A figure, like a butterfly that had been waiting for a long time, swiftly emerged from the shadows behind the pillars.
Liu Yiyi had been silently watching from the corner for who knows how long. Now, her face was flushed with excitement and anticipation. She held a neatly folded, snow-white, crisp new handkerchief in both hands and handed it directly to Li Minghua, almost touching her nose.
The handkerchief exuded a strong, clean scent of soapberry, mixed with a deliberately artificial, cheap floral fragrance that was so strong it was almost pungent.
Liu Yiyi tilted her head back, her eyes shining brightly, filled with a fervent desire for praise, her voice sickeningly sweet: "Quickly wipe it with this! It's clean, I specially scented it with jasmine tea!"
The strong floral scent and the pressure of the sweat towel almost pressed against his face made Li Minghua instinctively furrow his brow.
Her body reacted faster than her mind; she abruptly took half a step back, creating a clear distance of rejection.
This almost invasive "care" was too intimate, like an invisible net suddenly tightening, making every muscle in her body tense up, and she felt a strong sense of discomfort and offense.
Yesterday's deliberate distinction regarding the sour plum drink was merely a trial; today, this handkerchief looming right in front of us is a blatant transgression.
“No need.” Her refusal was more decisive and colder than ever before, her voice firm and leaving no room for negotiation.
The usual helplessness in his eyes completely disappeared, replaced by a frozen sense of detachment.
Liu Yiyi's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, her fingertips trembling slightly from the force.
The carefully maintained sweet smile on her face froze instantly and then shattered quickly.
She stared incredulously at the clearly visible beads of sweat on Li Minghua's forehead, the traces she longed to get closer to and smooth away.
She looked down at the brand-new handkerchief in her hand, which she had poured countless efforts into and which was now fragrant with perfume.
A surge of immense resentment and an even stronger stubbornness welled up within her.
Instead of withdrawing her hand, she seemed to be ignited by the cold rejection, her eyes flashing with a desperate courage.
"Heroine, please don't stand on ceremony with Yiyi!" she cried out, almost sobbing, and took another step forward.
Holding the fragrant handkerchief, she recklessly raised her hand to wipe Li Minghua's forehead: "If you don't wipe your sweat, you'll easily catch a cold when the autumn wind blows..."
This sudden and completely disregard for personal boundaries triggered Li Minghua's vigilance as a martial artist.
This was no longer a sign of care for Li Minghua, but a blatant violation.
In a flash, all the muscles in her body tensed like iron, and with a flick of her wrist, she instinctively used the most basic blocking technique.
The movements were swift, precise, and decisive!
She controlled her strength well, aiming only to block and push away the overreaching wrist, without containing any internal force capable of injuring someone.
However, Liu Yiyi was already thin and delicate, and completely unprepared. When the martial artist pushed her with his strength, she felt as if her wrist had been clamped by an iron clamp, and a sharp pain followed.
"Ah—!" Liu Yiyi cried out in surprise, and staggered backward uncontrollably.
Just then, his foot tripped over a protruding pebble, and he was about to fall awkwardly onto the cold, hard bluestone slab.
The snow-white handkerchief in her hand, which held her infinite hopes, fell helplessly to the ground like a white butterfly with broken wings.
Just as Liu Yiyi thought she was about to fall and closed her eyes in terror...
"careful!"
His other hand darted out from the side, swiftly and steadily grabbing her arm, forcefully pulling her back from the brink of collapse.
It's Tang Xiaoning.
She had arrived in the courtyard at some point, her pale yellow dress shining brightly in the morning light, but the usual bright smile on her pretty face had vanished without a trace.
Her gloom and obvious anger were written all over her face; clearly, she had taken in the absurd scene just now.
She steadied the still-shaken Liu Yiyi, and before she could even take a good look at her pale face, she stepped forward and decisively stood in front of Li Minghua.
She used her imposing presence to block all possible sightlines and contact between Liu Yiyi and Li Minghua.
She faced Liu Yiyi directly, her beautiful peach blossom eyes burning with anger as she stared straight at her.
"Miss Liu!" Tang Xiaoning's voice wasn't loud, but it was as cold as an icicle falling from the eaves in the dead of winter, carrying a chill. "What are you doing?!"
Every word seemed to burst out from between his teeth.
Liu Yiyi trembled with fear at the pain in her arm and at Tang Xiaoning's almost murderous gaze.
Coupled with the lingering shock of almost falling, her eyes instantly reddened, and large tears welled up unexpectedly, swirling in her eyes as she looked at Li Minghua behind Tang Xiaoning with tearful eyes:
"I...I just wanted to wipe the sweat off the lady...I really didn't mean to...I just...just wanted to help..."
Her voice choked and trembled, filled with helplessness and grievance.
The old gardener, who was pruning the flowers not far away, was already dumbfounded, and forgot to move his scissors.
"Wiping sweat?" Tang Xiaoning was so angry at her weak and feeble explanation that she almost laughed.
She snorted and bent over, her movements revealing undisguised disgust.
She picked up a dusty, sweaty handkerchief from the ground with the tips of two fingers, as if weighing something extremely dirty, and threw it at her.
“Miss Liu,” she drawled, her voice growing even colder, “let me ask you—”
Her gaze swept over Liu Yiyi's entire body: "Is Minghua missing an arm or a leg, or is she a three-year-old child whose intelligence has not yet developed?"
Even something as simple as wiping sweat requires your personal intervention?
"Do I really have to use your pungent, headache-inducing handkerchief?!"
She pressed on relentlessly, bombarding Liu Yiyi with a series of sharp, sarcastic, and logically clear questions.
"I...I didn't mean that..." Liu Yiyi was speechless after being asked that question. Holding the handkerchief, her face turned pale and then red. She could only look at Li Minghua with even more helplessness.
Her voice was broken and choked with sobs: "Heroine, you know me... I just wanted to repay your great kindness... Yiyi meant no harm..."
"Repay?!" Tang Xiaoning interrupted her sharply, taking another step closer.
The young lady, who was usually spoiled and lively and seemed naive, was now exuding a suffocating aura of oppression.
She threw the handkerchief hard at Liu Yiyi's feet, raising a cloud of dust.
"Liu Yiyi, listen carefully!" Her voice was not loud, but every word was like a hammer blow. "There are a thousand ways to repay a debt of gratitude. What kind of work in the manor is short of manpower?"
You can do whatever you want in the kitchen, sweeping, or washing!
But this absolutely does not include clinging on like an unremovable plaster!
This absolutely does not include harassing others or violating their boundaries without any sense of propriety!
Her gaze was piercing, directly targeting Liu Yiyi's tear-streaked eyes: "Minghua has a good temper and won't stoop to your level, but you, on the other hand, are pushing your luck! Open your eyes and look at what you've done!"
She pointed a finger sharply at him: "Serving food and drinks, bringing tea and water, doing laundry and mending on your own initiative, and now it's even worse, you're even forcing your hand to wipe my sweat?!"
Tang Xiaoning took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling slightly, and her words were even more shocking, ruthlessly tearing away the last veil of pretense:
"What's next? Should we 'naturally' help her change her clothes and serve her a bath?!"
These words were like the sharpest dagger, bluntly, cruelly, and mercilessly dissecting all of Liu Yiyi's supposedly hidden thoughts!
Liu Yiyi's face instantly drained of all color, turning as pale as paper.
Her lips trembled violently, but she couldn't utter a single word.
The tears that had been building up for so long could no longer be held back. They burst forth like a flood, rolling down her pale cheeks and splashing onto the white handkerchief on the ground, leaving dark water stains.
Her body swayed precariously, her slender shoulders convulsing violently, and she covered her mouth tightly with both hands, letting out a suppressed whimper.
In the morning light, her frail figure appeared particularly desolate and helpless.
Xiao Cui, who had been peeking from behind the door, gasped and instinctively covered her mouth. The bamboo winnowing basket in her hand fell to the ground with a clatter, scattering the dried osmanthus flowers all over the ground.
Li Minghua stood quietly one step behind Tang Xiaoning. From this angle, she could clearly see Tang Xiaoning's slender back, which was taut and straight.
A few strands of her jet-black hair, having broken free from the hairpin's restraint due to her earlier excitement, stood unruly by her temples, trembling slightly with her rapid breathing, much like a cat with its fur standing on end in anger.
Liu Yiyi's slender figure finally disappeared behind the moon gate, but the suppressed sobs seemed to still linger in the air.
Li Minghua's feelings were somewhat complicated.
She was indeed deeply offended by Liu Yiyi's overstepping actions just now, and the instinctive resistance of a martial artist left her wrists still slightly taut.
But seeing Tang Xiaoning raise all her sharp points for her, so fiercely, even aggressively, driving Liu Yiyi away, a strange thought inexplicably arose in her mind... that it seemed unnecessary to make the scene so embarrassing.
Especially when she saw Liu Yiyi's pale, paper-white, and swaying appearance at the end, she let out a barely audible sigh.
She instinctively reached out, her fingertips gently pinching the corner of Tang Xiaoning's wide sleeve, trying to pull her back half a step, and called out in a low voice, "Xiaoning..."
The gesture carried a hint of dissuasion, but it was decisively rejected.
"Don't speak!" Tang Xiaoning didn't turn her head, and even used her arm slightly to steady herself, preventing Li Minghua from pulling her even slightly.
She still glared fiercely in the direction of the moon gate where Liu Yiyi had disappeared, like a little animal guarding its food, as if the annoying aura of the enemy still lingered there.
Her chest was still heaving slightly, clearly still angry: "I'm going to make this clear today! Liu Yiyi, listen up!"
She raised her voice and declared to the air, her tone sharp with lingering anger: "Minghua is my bodyguard, someone I, Tang Xiaoning, personally invited back!"
She prefers peace and quiet and hates being surrounded by people fawning over her.
Your so-called 'good intentions' are nothing but a burden, a nuisance, and an inescapable nuisance to her! Can't you see that? Or are you pretending not to?!
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