Wearing her husband's clothes, Xu Lingwan moved more easily, stepping on the maid's body and climbing up the wall with both hands.
The maid hesitated, then looked up and asked, "Miss, are we really going to climb over the wall and get out?"
Xu Lingwan rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Of course, didn't you hear what my second brother said? He's going to confine me until New Year's Eve. The New Year is the most lively time in the capital, and I don't want to stay in my room and not be able to go anywhere."
"Hurry up, someone's coming soon."
The maid worriedly said, "But if people find out that the young lady is not here, wouldn't that give us away?"
Xu Lingwan was anxious, but dared not raise her voice and attract the attention of the patrolling old woman. She lowered her voice and said, "Are you coming up or not? If you're not coming up, I'll go by myself."
The maid gritted her teeth and reached out her hand. Seeing this, Xu Lingwan smiled and pulled her up, helping her climb.
Li Shiyue, with her sharp eyes, spotted the two old women returning from one direction. Looking to her side, she picked up a stone, threw it at the north wall, and after it made a thud, quickly pulled herself back.
The two old women were alert; hearing the commotion, they rushed forward and asked, "Who's there?"
Xu Lingwan was concentrating on pulling her maid uphill when she was suddenly scolded. Caught off guard, she let go and was pulled down by her maid.
She fell straight down, her face contorted in pain as she clutched her ankle, crying out, "My foot! It hurts so much!"
Listening to Xu Lingwan's wails and the old woman's questioning through a wall, Li Shiyue did not linger. She took Chunling and walked around Shousong Hall, picking many plum blossoms before returning to Chengyu Pavilion.
Before even entering Chengyu Pavilion, a maid from Shousong Hall came to invite me, without saying what it was about.
"Perfect timing, I just picked some red plum blossoms, they're a beautiful sight to behold in the room."
Li Shiyue held a bunch of red plum blossoms in her hand, but she wasn't heading to Shousong Hall; she was heading to the ancestral hall. She had been at ease in the mansion for many days, but today was the day everyone was there—the mistress and empress of the fourth branch of the household, along with all the young men and women.
Li Shiyue walked straight in, bowed, and stood obediently beside Old Madam Xu.
Only then did they see Xu Lingwan kneeling in the center, still dressed as a servant, her eyes red and swollen, clutching her palms. Xu Yunci held a ruler in his hand, his expression serious, as gloomy as a dark cloud.
"Aren't you going to tell me?"
Xu Lingwan covered her hands and stopped crying: "I'll talk, I'll talk. I just wanted to go for a walk in the streets. The streets in the capital are the most lively at the end of the year. I just wanted to take a look and then I came back."
She bit her lip, her small face filled with resentment and fear as she stared at the ruler in Xu Yunci's hand.
However, her wearing her husband's clothes looked utterly inappropriate, like an unmarried young woman trying to climb over a wall. The Xu family had been the Duke's mansion for over a century, and such a family valued rules above all else, so it was no wonder they had opened an ancestral hall.
Xu Lingwan's palms had only recently recovered from swelling, so today's pain was doubled. Her ankle injury had also flared up, and even Madam Liu dared not plead for her today, only able to sit anxiously despite her worries.
Xu Yunci held the ruler firmly and struck again with swift, decisive strokes.
The ruler made a sharp "snap" as it struck the palm, causing Xu Lingwan to cry out in pain. She tried to back away with a cry of "Ah!" but fearing Xu Yunci's appearance, she dared not move, afraid that Xu Yunci would strike her again.
"It seems I've spoiled you too much. You dared to bribe a servant and climb over the wall to leave the mansion while wearing your master's clothes."
Xu Yunci's face was dark and undisguised. Xu Lingwan ignored the pain in her palm and grabbed Xu Yunci's robe: "Second brother, second brother, I was wrong, I was really wrong, please forgive me."
She's tried to climb over the wall before, and she's always succeeded, but today she actually got into the ancestral hall.
Her vision blurred with tears, Xu Lingwan suddenly spotted a splash of red beside Old Madam Xu. She stopped crying, pointed at Li Shiyue, and said angrily, "It must be you! You must have led them here!"
Li Shiyue, holding Hongmei, suddenly found her gaze fixed on herself. She lowered her eyes, her expression neither humble nor arrogant: "My cousin harbors resentment towards me, why would she need to frame me?"
Xu Lingwan seemed to have found an outlet for her anger, pointing at Li Shiyue: "You dare to say it wasn't you, otherwise how could I have failed today? It must be you! Besides, your Chengyu Pavilion is the closest, it must be you!"
"It is only you who holds a grudge against me for what I did before and is seeking revenge!"
"My tenth cousin's words make it sound like I'm the one who climbed over the wall."
Li Shiyue raised her eyes, her gaze calm: "This is my first time entering the manor, and I only figured out the area around Chengyu Pavilion. As for where my cousin climbed over the wall, how would I know? I arrived late and only overheard a few words, so I don't know what happened."
"My cousin is quick to blame me, but you can't just say things without evidence. If you're happy, then go ahead and say it."
Xu Lingwan was furious but had nowhere to vent her anger. Seeing Li Shiyue's red eyes, she became even more frustrated: "If it wasn't you, who else could it be? In the past, nothing ever happened."
It was her, of course.
Li Shiyue felt smug. If she hadn't accidentally learned about it in her previous life, she wouldn't have known the secret of the North Wall.
She did this on purpose. It's true that she wants a peaceful life, but she has no reason to be weak and bullied by others when someone keeps bullying her.
This was true of Meng Shi, Meng Zhuo, and even more so of Xu Lingwan. On her first day in the manor in her previous life, Xu Lingwan hit her on the head with a slingshot, and afterwards, every time she saw her, she would humiliate her even more.
However, given Li Shiyue's current pitiful act and her past experiences, no one would stand by Xu Lingwan's side.
"Nothing's ever happened before? It's clear you've been out more than once or twice." Zhou raised her hand to cover her mouth, her voice not loud, but everyone in the ancestral hall could hear her clearly.
Liu gripped the handle and stared at Zhou: "The lords haven't spoken yet, what's the rush, sister-in-law?"
Zhou met Liu's gaze, her eyes defiant: "Why are you in such a hurry, sister-in-law? Your sister-in-law hasn't said anything."
"alright!"
Yang's expression was not good either. After all, she was the matriarch of the clan, and as soon as she spoke, Liu and Zhou shut up.
"Thirty strokes of the cane. If you still don't learn your lesson, next time I'll have Wulang beat you with a wooden board one inch thick and five inches long. The punishment is comparable to a military rod. My dear family, I'll have the nanny hold you down and break your legs!"
Although Xu Yunci was strict with his younger siblings, he rarely spoke so harshly, which frightened Xu Lingwan so much that she kept shrinking back.
"If you make baseless accusations without evidence, you will be slapped if you do it again."
Xu Lingwan covered her hands and sobbed, nodding repeatedly, determined not to repeat the mistake.
One by one, everyone left, leaving Xu Lingwan alone to kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment for three days and three nights.
Li Shiyue helped Old Madam Xu, holding a red plum blossom in her arms. Old Madam Xu looked at it and asked, "Did you just pick this?"
Li Shiyue nodded: "Yes, there is a plum grove behind Chengyu Pavilion, but you have to go around to get there. I picked some buds that are about to bloom and put them in my grandmother's room. They will bloom in a few days."
Madam Xu smiled bitterly: "If Shi Niang were half as well-behaved as you, Er Lang wouldn't have punished her like this."
This is Xu Yunci's own business; he naturally has his own methods for disciplining his younger siblings.
Li Shiyue had no right to interfere, so she ignored Old Madam Xu's words and simply said, "My cousin is still young; she'll be fine when she grows up."
Madam Xu shook her head upon hearing this: "Never mind, we're separated by flesh and blood, and our hearts aren't even together."
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