The carpet, adorned with elegant floral patterns, was so soft it seemed to cling to the soles of one's shoes, and every ornament in the living room was exquisitely crafted.
Cinderella's two stepsisters looked around the living room with envy.
Wow~ even the feet of the picture frame are made entirely of gold.
The older sister carefully took off the footrest and put it in her mouth to bite it. She looked at the all-gold footrest with delight, stroking it over and over. Her gaze fell on the other footrest that remained below the picture frame, and her eyes darted around.
She took off the other footrest and tucked it under her skirt. While nervously looking towards the stairs, she moved other ornaments on the table to cover the area where the footrest of the picture frame had been removed.
My younger sister sat on the sofa, eating one fresh, plump grape after another from the fruit bowl. Before long, she spat out a whole table full of grape skins.
Finally, she simply picked up the whole fruit platter, eating while thinking to herself, "Wow, it's been so long since I've had such fresh grapes."
To be honest, the mother was raising her two daughters and a younger sister who was a burden on her family. Their lives were not as easy as they seemed from their glamorous appearances.
They had already squandered most of the inheritance left by their stepfather. There was no other way; pretty dresses cost money, and jewelry cost even more.
They thought that after her mother married into the family, they would be able to live a life of comfort and security, but who would have thought that Cinderella's father would die so soon.
They could only hope that their mother would find a wealthy stepfather, or that they would marry a prince.
Thinking of His Highness the Prince, a smug smile appeared on the younger sister's face. She had a much better chance than her foolish older sister. She was so beautiful and younger; His Highness would definitely take a liking to her.
Thinking about the luxurious life of a princess after marrying the prince, the younger sister's smile widened, filled with confidence and a sense of certainty.
Finally, Miss Agatha, the owner of the house, came downstairs late.
She was so elegant, noble, and beautiful. She believed she had inherited her mother's beauty. Just moments before, she had been fantasizing about marrying a prince. But the moment she saw Xia Linyin, a strong sense of crisis filled her heart.
She wondered what her chances of being noticed by the prince would be if Miss Agatha also attended the banquet.
No! ! !
She would not allow anyone to stand in her way of becoming a princess!
Seeing her younger sister's face suddenly turn pale, Xia Linyin raised an eyebrow and put on a polite but distant smile. "I'm sorry I came down late and kept you waiting for a while."
Compared to Xia Linyin's stunning beauty, her older sister was more concerned about the pearl necklace with gems around Xia Linyin's neck, the sparkling diamond brooch on her chest, and the beautiful ruby ring on her hand. After scanning around, she swallowed hard.
“Miss Agatha, you are so beautiful, so beautiful it makes one envious,” the older sister said, staring intently at the ruby ring on Xia Linyin’s hand.
"Cough cough—" The younger sister coughed heavily and glared at her older sister.
The older sister quickly corrected herself, saying, "Oh no! She's so beautiful it's enviable!"
The older sister felt that the pure, flawless red gemstone ring possessed a magical power that made it impossible for her to look away. "Your ring, oh no! Your gloves are so beautiful."
Charlene smiled slightly in agreement and asked, "Did you come here today for Cinderella?"
That charming smile fueled the jealousy in her younger sister's heart even more.
“Yes, Miss Agatha, Cinderella has been with you for three days. Mother was worried and sent us to check on her.”
The younger sister stood up from the sofa. "I wonder if Miss Agatha's dress is finished yet? We've come today to pick up Cinderella. Mother misses her terribly after three days, and—"
The younger sister haughtily raised her chin. "Miss Agatha, the gold coins you've paid are no longer enough for Cinderella to continue making clothes for you. If you want Cinderella to continue making clothes for you, you'll have to pay more gold coins."
Looking at her arrogant younger sister, Xia Linyin gently touched the pearl necklace around her neck. Her eyes were deep and alluring, and no one could see what she was thinking through her beautiful eyes.
Thinking of the rumors circulating about Miss Agatha, the younger sister couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Charlene didn't say anything to her, but simply called out, "Cinderella—"
Cinderella, who was making clothes in the cubicle, opened the door, lowered her eyes and walked straight up to Charlene, calling out softly, "Miss Agatha."
This sound was filled with suppressed emotions.
When Cinderella's two older sisters saw Cinderella, they both frowned. Wasn't it rumored that Miss Agatha was extremely mean and liked to abuse and be harsh to her servants?
Cinderella doesn't seem to have been mistreated at all; her complexion is rosy, and she's even gained some weight.
"Is the dress finished?" Xia Linyin asked abruptly.
Sensing the unusual coldness in Charlene's voice, Cinderella paused for a moment, then clenched her fingers and said, "Not...not yet, Miss Agatha."
"What's going on? It's been three days and you still haven't finished a dress," Xia Linyin said, dissatisfied.
She looked at Cinderella's two sisters and said, "I paid her to make the dress, but she still hasn't finished it. I suspect she's slacking off and should be punished. You don't mind if I punish her, do you?"
Miss Agatha Christie was indeed as strict as rumored!
The two sisters thought of it at the same time.
However, they didn't mind punishing Cinderella at all; on the contrary, they felt a sense of schadenfreude.
"Ah! Miss Agatha, I didn't expect Cinderella couldn't even do this much. Punish her! Just don't take back the gold coins!" the sister said hurriedly.
Xia Linyin nodded indifferently, then took out a whip from a drawer in the table against the wall. As she took out the whip, she caught a glimpse of the portrait of the missing footstool out of the corner of her eye.
The half-meter-tall portrait, framed in a carved gold frame, was placed against the wall, but the two feet at the bottom had disappeared.
When she saw Xia Linyin walk towards the table, her older sister held her breath in tension, but when she saw that Xia Linyin was only carrying a whip, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Charlene cracked her whip and walked toward Cinderella, then lashed the whip at Cinderella's... sister behind her.
Cinderella didn't flinch, whether because she believed deep down that Miss Agatha, who would apply ointment and bake her cookies and cakes, wouldn't actually hit her, or whether she was unwilling to dodge even knowing Miss Agatha was going to hit her.
The younger sister never expected that Xia Linyin's whip would hit her.
Just as I was expecting Cinderella to be beaten and rolling on the ground begging for mercy, the whip grazed past her and then lashed out hard at her!
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