"Young lady, how could we dare to deceive you! Everything we did was absolutely and completely according to your orders, you can see for yourself—"
Tong Su said, "So you're admitting that it was my sister who ordered you to bully me?"
"Of course not..."
The old women truly felt like they were suffering in silence, unable to express their bitterness or utter a single word.
Tong Suqing's clear gaze shifted and landed on Xiao Qingwan, whose face was ashen. She looked aggrieved and confused: "Sister, they lied to you like that, why aren't they punished?"
That Xiao Baishu!
How can you be so insensitive!
Xiao Qingwan's anger flared up even more, and she wanted nothing more than to storm off, but Xiao Baishu kept her there, demanding an explanation.
She couldn't just abandon Xiao Baishu and leave; that wretched girl still had cooking skills, and she couldn't stay in the Xiao household without this little bitch—
Xiao Qingwan's bright eyes blazed with fury, her fists clenched tightly beneath her sleeves. In a fit of rage, she kicked the kneeling old woman to the ground, her face icy as she coldly shouted:
"Guards! These wicked servants have dared to insult the Second Young Lady and defame her. According to the Xiao family rules, tie them up and give them thirty strokes of the cane!"
At his command, the guards who had followed him rushed forward and seized several old women.
The old women pleaded in terror, "Young lady, you can't—this is clearly you—"
"Gag them now!" Xiao Qingwan's chest heaved with anxiety as she roared furiously, "Force them to swallow a mute drug and take them out to be sold!"
The guard looked up in surprise: "...Young lady?"
Thirty strokes of the cane is a normal punishment, but forcing someone to use a drug to make them mute and then selling them off is going too far.
A ruthless glint flashed in Xiao Qingwan's eyes. She knew that her punishment was excessive and that it would damage her image as a "virtuous and kind young lady" in the Xiao family.
But she was even more afraid that these old women would tell the truth, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and take drastic measures, crippling her trusted confidante.
"Bai Shu, are you satisfied with your sister now? You should be willing to come back to the manor with your sister now, right?"
Tong Su obediently lowered her eyes and said, "Okay."
The old women were dragged away, and cries of pain echoed from outside the courtyard. Xiao Qingwan stared suspiciously at Tong Su's face, scrutinizing her closely.
Xiao Qingwan felt more and more uneasy the more she thought about it.
Thinking back on the previous conversation, I always had the feeling that Xiao Baishu was pressing me step by step, digging a pit for me, and then letting me jump into it.
But look at Xi Tongsu standing opposite her.
The fifteen-year-old girl stood slenderly in the cold wind, her coarse cloth clothes stained with dirt, but her pretty and delicate face was clean. However, with her head slightly lowered, she showed no spirit and appeared even more timid and silent.
impossible!
Xiao Qingwan denied it subconsciously.
When did Xiao Baishu develop such cunning that he could outmaneuver me?
It's probably because Xiao Baishu has been raised to be so dull-witted that he speaks recklessly without any sense of propriety, leading to the current situation...
Xiao Qingwan reassured herself, suppressed her doubts, turned around with a flick of her sleeve, and said, "Bai Shu, come with me."
"Okay, sister."
Tong Su nodded obediently and followed Xiao Qingwan into the carriage.
Watching Zhuangzi's receding figure, she raised her eyes and smiled slightly.
One is Xiao Qingwan, arrogant and conceited because of her rebirth; the other is Xiao Qingwan, timid, cowardly, and dull.
Who schemed against whom is anyone's guess.
She's incredibly good at playing dumb to outsmart others!
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