"Su Yue! It's already noon, and you haven't cooked yet! Do you want to starve my mother and me to death? Get your lazy self to the kitchen and cook!"
Su Yue was embroidering her own handkerchief. Without lifting her head, she replied, "I'm not hungry."
Zhao Yuanyan gritted her teeth, pointing at Su Yue and unleashing a torrent of abuse: "You vicious little wretch! What's the meaning of that? You're not eating, but my mother and I are! Do you still think my brother is here to protect you? Let me tell you, you're just a lowly maidservant! Now, aren't you going to cook?"
Su Yue treated it as mere dog barking, paying no heed as she hummed a little tune and continued her embroidery.
Zhao Yuanyan stepped forward, reaching to snatch the cloth, grumbling, "You really think you're a young lady now, embroidering flowers! I'll let you embroider! I'll let you... Ah!! Su Yue, you wretch, you dare stab me! I'll fight you!"
Su Yue exclaimed, "Young Miss, be careful, that's a needle!" while simultaneously finding openings to stab Zhao Yuanyan.
"Ah! You've hurt me to death! Ah!"
"Young Miss, what's wrong?"
"Wretch!! Ah!"
Hearing the commotion, Mother Zhao rushed over, and upon seeing the situation, she yelled, "Stop at once!"
The two stopped.
Zhao Yuanyan immediately burst into loud sobs.
"Mother, this vicious little wretch used a needle to stab me! It hurts so much!"
Su Yue quickly said, "Madam, this servant was embroidering a handkerchief—it's for the Young Master. But the Young Miss tried to snatch it without a word, and she was accidentally pricked by the needle."
Mother Zhao, caring nothing for right or wrong and naturally biased towards her own daughter, reached out and slapped Su Yue.
"Slap!"
"You vicious little wretch, my Zhao family feeds you for nothing, and you dare to defy my daughter? Go kneel in the courtyard!"
Su Yue clutched her face, glaring at the mother and daughter with gritted teeth.
Good. They dared to hit her! One day, she would surely make their lives a living hell!
Zhao Yuanyan smugly lifted her chin. Remembering her hunger, she said to Mother Zhao, "Mother, she still has to cook! Let her cook first, then go kneel!"
Mother Zhao glared at Su Yue and barked, "Didn't you hear what the Young Miss said? Hurry up!"
Zhao Yuanyan sneered, "Still thinking my brother is here to protect you? You dared to lay hands on me. In this snowy weather, kneeling outside will freeze you to death!"
Su Yue glanced at the figure appearing in the courtyard, and her eyes lit up with delight.
Then, she immediately put on a distressed expression and said, "If you treat me like this, the Young Master will surely uphold justice for me."
Zhao Yuanyan scoffed, "My brother? I'm not afraid even if he comes back. Before, I wanted to rely on him to be the sister of a Top Scholar. But now, he can barely protect himself, and his reputation is ruined, so I'm not afraid of him. When I marry into a good family relying on my beauty, he might even have to rely on me!"
Mother Zhao thought the same thing. Now that her son was unreliable, her only hope was for her daughter to marry into a prominent family, so she could also enjoy a comfortable life.
"Don't even hope for that. My Zhao family doesn't support idlers. He's no longer some future Top Scholar, and he can't even afford a maidservant. You should be serving this Madam and the Young Miss now, not the Young Master."
Su Yue secretly glanced at the figure by the door whose face was dark with anger, suppressing the joy in her heart.
She stated firmly, "I am not your maidservant; I am the Young Master's maidservant! The Young Master did not cheat, the truth will surely be uncovered, and the Young Master will return soon! How cruel your hearts are! The Young Master is your own son, Madam, and your own brother, Young Miss! How can you disbelieve him so, and be so selfish?"
Zhao Yuanyan sneered, "Selfish? I went to the streets and asked around; this case might become a cold case, and he might be imprisoned for life. I advise you to give up on him."
Su Yue's eyes welled up with tears, and she said disbelievingly, "No! No, the Young Master will return. No matter how long it takes, I will wait for him! Even if it's for a lifetime!"
Mother Zhao and Zhao Yuanyan had no desire to say more to her.
"Go cook quickly, then go kneel in the courtyard!"
"I won't cook. I want to embroider a handkerchief for the Young Master. Once the handkerchief is finished, the Young Master will return..."
Zhao Yuanyan raised her hand to strike her face.
"You..."
"Enough!" Zhao Huai'an's furious roar came from the doorway.
Su Yue's eyes flashed with a hint of slyness, then she feigned an expression of surprise, tears welling in her eyes but not quite falling.
"You... Young Master? Is that really you? You're back? Yue'er knew it! You would surely return safely!"
Zhao Huai'an stepped forward, embracing Su Yue tightly, and cast a cold gaze upon his mother and sister.
"Huai... Huai'er? How did you come back?"
"Brother?"
Zhao Huai'an scoffed, "How did I come back? If I hadn't come back, how would I have known what my mother and sister truly thought of me?"
"Huai'er, listen to your mother..."
"Don't say another word! I've heard everything I needed to hear! There's no need for you to explain."
"Brother..."
"Get out!" Zhao Huai'an looked at Zhao Yuanyan with disgust.
Zhao Yuanyan's face was filled with disbelief.
"Brother, how could you..."
Zhao Huai'an cut her off, "I said, get out!"
Mother Zhao said coldly, "Huai'er, that's your own sister! How could you..."
Zhao Huai'an looked at Mother Zhao and said coldly, "Mother, you should also leave first."
Mother Zhao saw the cold glint in his eyes and felt a shiver of fear.
"Then... then you rest well. Yan'er and I will leave first."
Zhao Yuanyan said unwillingly, "Mother, my brother..."
Mother Zhao pulled her daughter and walked out, "Let's go, don't say anymore."
Once only Zhao Huai'an and Su Yue remained in the room, Su Yue began to sob softly.
Zhao Huai'an quickly lowered his head to look at her, asking cautiously, "Yue'er, what's wrong? Did they mistreat you?"
Su Yue shook her head, "No, it's just that seeing the Young Master return, Yue'er is happy."
When she looked up, he noticed the red handprint on her face.
Zhao Huai'an's heart ached as he gently stroked the spot, asking softly, "Does it hurt?"
Su Yue shook her head, "It doesn't hurt. With the Young Master here, Yue'er doesn't hurt at all."
Zhao Huai'an pulled her into his embrace, saying, "Yue'er, for this devotion you show me, I, Zhao Huai'an, swear that I will never fail you in this life!"
Su Yue's eyes flashed with a hint of triumph. She pulled herself out of his embrace and asked, "Young Master, how did you return? Did you suffer much? Do you have any injuries? Let me see quickly."
Zhao Huai'an held her hand, saying, "My injuries have all healed. It was the medicine sent by the Sixth Prince."
Su Yue's heart swelled with delight, but her eyes remained feignedly confused and puzzled, "The Sixth Prince?"
"Yue'er, we won't have to live a hard life anymore. The Sixth Prince thinks highly of me. Although I can no longer participate in the Imperial Examinations, by following the Sixth Prince, I will have a great future!"
Su Yue was also inwardly delighted. She never expected to be able to climb such a high branch!
She wondered if the Sixth Prince still remembered her.
He had even praised her beauty and given her a zither once.
If she could use Zhao Huai'an to climb to the Sixth Prince, she could finally compete with Su Li!
Thinking of all this, Su Yue trembled with excitement.
Zhao Huai'an, mistaking her excitement for joy on his behalf, leaned down and kissed her red lips.
🚨 Note : Consider to Support this Story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access +200 advance Chapters and To Support The Daily Update