256. The most useless waste
"Shut up!" Marquis Beiding abruptly interrupted Tao Wanbi. "If Yue'er says she's a good person, then she's a good person! If you dare to slander others or incite trouble again, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Jiang Xiyue's face also turned cold: "From today onwards, you will be confined to the manor. Without my permission, you are not allowed to step out of your room! If I find you causing trouble again, I will send you back immediately!"
Where should we send it back?
Tao Wanbi was taken aback.
[Of course, it's the original female lead's house! If you get sent back, the mission will be a complete failure!]
It was clearly an electronic voice, but the system managed to describe it as sounding like someone was gritting their teeth.
If you're really sent back, I'll make sure you suffer a terrible death.
Even if I perish with you, I will never let you die a quick and painless death. I will make you suffer endless torment and die a miserable death.
Tao Wanbi was frightened and dared not speak again. She could only lower her head, but she was still very dissatisfied.
She had clearly done as the system instructed, and Lin Fu's hands were clearly suspicious, but Marquis Beiding and Jiang Xiyue only believed the little dumpling's words and didn't take her words seriously at all!
Marquis Beiding then looked at the villagers and said in a deep voice, "That's enough for today. Lin Fuman has gone to Qiuhe City. If she can really cure the plague, it will be a blessing for all of us. If she can't, the government will handle it. It's not your place to cause trouble here. From now on, if anyone dares to slander others, don't blame me for dealing with them according to the law!"
The villagers dared not cause any more trouble and dispersed.
Soon only the people from the Marquis of Beiding's mansion and Tao Wanbi remained in the snow.
Jiang Xiyue picked up the little girl, tenderly brushed the snow off her, and carried her into her carriage: "Yue'er, are you cold? Shall we go home? Mother will have the kitchen make you some hot soup to warm you up."
The little dumpling nodded, but couldn't help looking in the direction of Qiuhe City, and whispered, "Dad, Mom, Sister Fufu will definitely cure the plague, right?"
Marquis Beiding stepped forward and shielded them from the cold wind, saying with certainty, "Yes, if Yue'er says she can, she definitely can. When she returns from Qiuhe City, I will personally thank her."
But the little girl's voice still carried a childish worry: "But, Mom, it's so far and so cold. What if we encounter bad people? Will Sister Fufu be in danger?"
Jiang Xiyue reached out and gently brushed the stray hairs from the little girl's ear, her voice exceptionally soft: "No, Sister Fufu has brought the big yellow dog. The dog can help scout the way, and the sled is sturdy, so nothing will happen."
In fact, Jiang Xiyue knew that with the heavy snow blocking the roads and the wilderness being inherently dangerous, it would be even more difficult for Lin Fuman to travel alone.
She felt that it was already a blessing that Lin Fuman was able to reach Qiuhe City safely.
As for curing the plague...
It's just the innocent expectation of a five-year-old child.
Even the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital were helpless against the plague, so what could they do about a child?
But she could never say these things in front of her little girl. She could only keep her worries to herself and comfort her daughter with gentle words.
Marquis Beiding also entered the carriage and sat opposite him, echoing, "Yue'er, your mother is right. Don't worry, there are post stations and towns along the way."
The little dumpling nodded its head, but the worry in its eyes still lingered.
She leaned against the car window, watching the snowflakes fluttering outside, and whispered, "I wish Yue'er could go to Qiuhe City with Sister Fufu."
"Silly child," Jiang Xiyue was startled upon hearing this, "No, you're too young, it's too dangerous on the road. Now you stay home obediently and wait for Sister Fufu and Brother Xie to come back, okay?"
As a mother, she couldn't possibly accept her child going to such a dangerous place alone.
Perhaps it was a bit selfish, but just thinking about that scene made her so panicked she felt like she was suffocating.
-
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the Marquis's residence.
The carriage stopped, and a servant's voice came from outside: "My lord, madam, the eldest son and the second son have arrived."
"Father! Mother! Sister!"
Lifting the carriage curtain, I saw Jin Qizhi and my second brother walking briskly towards me.
"Little sister, are you freezing?" Jin Qizhi got into the carriage first, draped the fox fur over the little girl, and touched her small hands. He was relieved to see that they were warm. "I heard you encountered some trouble outside the city. Did no one bully you?"
When the little girl saw her brother, her eyes were red, and she reached out to hug Jin Qizhi's arm: "Big brother, Sister Fufu went to Qiuhe City, and Yue'er is worried about her..."
Seeing this, Marquis Beiding gave his two sons a wink: "Qizhi, Lizhi, take your sister to play in the courtyard. Your mother and I have some things to attend to."
Jin Qizhi understood and took the little dumpling's hand: "Come on, let's build a snowman!"
The little girl was coaxed by her brothers. Although she was still a little worried, she obediently followed her parents after they said they had something to do.
After the children had gone some distance, the gentleness on Jiang Xiyue's face faded a little as she looked at Marquis Beiding: "Do you really think Lin Fuman will make it safely to Qiuhe City?"
Marquis Beiding sighed and shook his head: "It's hard to say. The heavy snow has blocked the roads, and there are too many variables. As for the medicine in her hands... well, let's just keep it to ourselves. Let's not let Yue'er know that we don't believe her, lest she be saddened."
He paused, his tone turning serious: "Leaving aside Lin Fu, we need to deal with Tao Wanbi properly."
-
"...You're truly the most useless piece of trash I've ever seen."
[With such a good opportunity, why didn't you just rush forward and grab or smash the bundle while the chaos was still there? What were you hesitating for?]
[How can you be so useless? You can't even handle a three-year-old. Not only did you fail to stop Lin Fuman, but you also got caught by the Marquis of Beiding's men. What can you do besides slack off? Useless trash.]
Tao Wanbi tried to defend herself: "I didn't mean to either... The Marquis of Beiding and his wife only believe Jin Lanyue and don't listen to me at all..."
"What are you saying?" Jiang Xiyue pushed open the door, her tone full of anger. "Tao Wanbi, you ran away from the manor without permission, slandered others, and incited the villagers to cause trouble. You still don't know you're wrong?"
Upon seeing Marquis Jiang Xiyue of Beiding, Tao Wanbi quickly scrambled out of bed and continued to stubbornly insist, "My lord, my wife, I did nothing wrong! I did all this for my sister's sake! Lin Fuman's origins are unknown, and she has been hiding her cloth bag and refusing to open it. I was worried that she was a bad person who would corrupt my sister and bring disaster to the Marquis of Beiding's mansion. I just wanted to protect my sister!"
"Protection?" Jiang Xiyue sneered. "Your so-called protection is nothing more than indiscriminately slandering others? It's about inciting villagers to attack a child?"
Marquis Beiding also said, "I kept you in the manor in the first place because of your father. But what have you done? You've repeatedly sown discord and committed all sorts of evil deeds. You say it's all for Yue'er's sake?"
Tao Wanbi opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
[Useless! Argue with them! Say you're worried about Princess Fukang being deceived, don't just stand there like a block of wood!]
But seeing the stern looks from Marquis Beiding and Jiang Xiyue, Tao Wanbi's confidence waned: "I...I was just worried about my sister...I didn't mean to..."
"Stop making excuses," Marquis Beiding said in a deep voice. "From today onwards, you will kneel in the ancestral hall and copy books to reflect on your actions and think about what is right and wrong, and what is proper conduct. If I find you causing trouble again, I will send you back immediately!"
Before she could explain further, two servants stepped forward and, one on each side, carried her toward the ancestral hall.
Tao Wanbi struggled, "I did nothing wrong! I did it all for the sake of the Marquis of Beiding's mansion!"
No one paid any attention to her explanation. The heavy wooden door of the ancestral hall was pushed open, and a smell of incense ash wafted out.
The servant pressed her down onto the prayer mat, then placed the writing brush, ink, paper, inkstone, and books on the low table beside her, and said in a deep voice, "Miss Tao, the Marquis has ordered that you are not allowed to get up or eat until you have finished copying it once. You should take care of yourself."
After saying that, he turned around and closed the door, leaving Tao Wanbi with the darkness and coldness of the ancestral hall.
Tao Wanbi knelt on the prayer mat, and her knees quickly felt a chill.
Looking at the neatly arranged ancestral tablets of the Marquis of Beiding on the offering table, and recalling the stern look in Marquis Jiang Xiyue's eyes just now, she felt both angry and resentful.
【You're truly useless. You can't even beat a three-year-old, and you were even punished by being made to copy books in the ancestral hall.】
"I didn't want this to happen either!" Tao Wanbi retorted. "It's the people from the Marquis of Beiding's mansion who are biased!"
[Favoritism?]
[It's because you're useless; otherwise, they would be favoring you right now.]
[With such a great opportunity, you just hid behind the scenes fanning the flames, and then got caught red-handed.]
What good are you, anyway? I'd be more useful binding a dog to my account than binding you.
[If I had known, I would have been better off bringing the original female lead with me. While the original female lead didn't have any redeeming qualities, you're even more utterly useless.]
Tao Wanbi was speechless after being rebuked, and could only grit her teeth, pick up a brush, and scribble haphazardly on the rice paper.
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