Volume 1 Chapter 21: Laughing at the Prosperous Splendor

  Li Yun took a firm and ruthless attitude, killing the chicken to scare the monkey, so she took action without any mercy.

  "Yun Qian Yue, you wretched woman! Let me go!" The young mistress cried out in pain.

  "Let go of Big Sister quickly! You dare to fight with Big Sister, if Father and Concubine Feng find out you hurt Big Sister, they will not forgive you." The woman beside her was scared and took a step back, no longer daring to come forward, shouting at Yun Shangyue.

  Their father is also her father? And Feng Ce Fei? Li Yun furrowed his brow. Is this the great Buddha that these women rely on?

  "The cloud is shallow, my father loves me the most. If he knew you hurt me, you'll be in trouble. My mother won't let you off either. You think Grandfather can live for a few more years?" The young lady's face turned pale, her hands felt a piercing pain that went straight to her heart, but she still relied on her backing and glared at Cloud Shallow Moon with anger, her eyes seeming to devour her. "You still don't let me go!"

  "You say Grandpa is old and won't die? I've remembered this! Even if you kill me today, you'll still have to bear with it." Li Yun heard this and coldly smiled. In this era, scolding elders is a great disrespect, right? That woman is in trouble.

  That young lady was shocked and lost her color, apparently also realizing that she had just spoken out of turn, but it was too late to take it back.

  Li Yun's eyes flashed with a cold light, and her hand suddenly exerted force. A crisp cracking sound was heard, and indeed, the elder sister's wrist bone was broken.

  "Miss, you can't! The king and Concubine Feng will punish you. Eldest Miss is Concubine Feng's own daughter..." Cai Lian reacted too late, rushing to hug Yun Shangyue, but it was already too late.

  That young lady let out a shrill cry and suddenly couldn't stand it anymore, fainting on the spot.

  Li Yun's hand loosened, and the young lady fell to the ground. She knew what she had done herself, a small fracture that could be reset, but from now on, she wouldn't be able to do any heavy labor. However, this young lady was born in the Cloud King's Manor, although she was an illegitimate child, whoever she married would either be rich or noble, what heavy labor would they have her do? This time, give her a small lesson, hoping that she would know better than to provoke her again.

  "Miss, you shouldn't have hurt the young lady. The prince is extremely fond of her and Concubine Feng won't let you off easily either! Although you're being protected by Old Master Wang now, in the future, you'll still have to listen to the prince and Concubine Feng!" Cai Lian looked like she was about to cry, hugging Li Yun's body as she trembled uncontrollably.

  Li Yun furrowed her brow. Thinking that the master of this body didn't seem to be doing well in the Cloud King's Palace either. Except for Old Master Wang, it seemed that she wasn't valued by her father, and her biological mother had passed away. Looking at these women, one could tell what kind of person Consort Feng was just from their arrogant attitude. She pushed aside Cai Lian, looking at her with a bad expression as she scolded: "What are you afraid of? It was she who first insulted Grandfather, I'm just teaching her a lesson on Grandfather's behalf. Even if Father and Consort Feng come, I have something to say."

  "Miss, could it be that you..." Cai Lian wanted to say something more, but thinking better of it, she didn't speak again. Although she had only been by Miss's side for half a year, she knew that despite Miss's glamorous appearance, her life was actually quite difficult. Old Master Wang couldn't cater to all her needs after all, and the schemes of Concubine Feng were truly formidable. Although Miss was skilled in martial arts, due to her concerns, she didn't dare to really fight back, and every time she would end up being bullied and hiding alone in her room, heartbroken. This time, Miss had really lost her temper! Although it felt good, Cai Lian couldn't help but worry involuntarily.

  "Yun Shallow Moon! You have a big nerve! You actually hurt Big Sister!" The crowd of women were all frightened by this scene. They had witnessed Li Yun take action with their own eyes. Moreover, it was quick and accurate, without any hesitation or softness, which was completely different from her usual self. Although she knew martial arts, she never dared to use them before. How did she dare now?

  "Yes, I hurt her! If you say one more word, that will be her fate now. Take advantage of me not wanting to take action again, roll as far as you can." Li Yun said coldly, looking at those women indifferently.

  In her previous life, she was an orphan and didn't receive any familial love. In this life, when she first met the eldest son of the Yun Wang Fu, although he only spoke one sentence that seemed indifferent, in reality, he helped her out, making her feel warmth. Later on, when she saw Old Master Yun again, she felt that despite his scolding and calling her a stinky girl, he was even more lovable, thinking that the Yun Wang Fu was truly a warm place. Unexpectedly, however, the women in the back courtyard were not like sisters at all, with no familial love to speak of in their eyes. Then what face did she have left? She wasn't some soft persimmon that could be bullied by anyone.

  "You..." The woman who had spoken earlier was about to say something else, but upon hearing this, she immediately became frightened and stopped talking.

  The rest of them also wanted to take the opportunity to severely slander Li Yun, but as soon as they touched her icy gaze, they swallowed their words back.

  Everyone looked at each other, and their eyes conveyed the same expression. Several young ladies who were close to the eldest sister immediately called over the servants beside them to drag the eldest sister out of the courtyard. One woman even threw down a sentence, "Yun Qianyue, you wait! You've hurt Eldest Sister, and you'll have good fruit to eat!"

  Li Yun hummed coldly and stopped paying attention, turning her head to face Cai Lian and waving her hand, "Close the door, go to sleep!"

  "Miss, do you want me to inform Old Master Wang? The master has been very good to the young mistress. Since the death of the princess, it's actually Concubine Feng who holds power in the inner courtyard of the mansion. Concubine Feng is the daughter of General Feng and the aunt of the current crown prince's concubine. She's not an easy person to get along with, and she's deeply favored by the master...” Cai Lian asked Li Yun with a quivering voice.

  Li Yun thought to herself, no wonder these women were so arrogant, no wonder the original owner of this body had endured them before. It turned out they were connected to that crown prince again. Her face darkened as she waved her hand, "No need, it's already late at night, Grandfather should be sleeping. We'll wash up and sleep too!"

  "Miss, it's possible that the young lady was taken back, and soon the prince and Concubine Feng will come looking for you. If not for Old Master Wang's support, Miss might be punished..." Cai Lian was anxious to the point of trembling all over her small body.

  "Come and find us if you dare! What are we afraid of? Old Master Wang is still alive, isn't he? Who in this mansion can surpass Grandfather? Even if they come, I won't bother with them." Li Yun saw that Cai Lian was still frightened out of her wits, so she sighed and patted her shoulder to comfort her: "Don't be afraid, they're busy treating the young mistress's hand tonight, they don't have time to look for trouble. Tomorrow morning I'll go to Grandfather's place to pay my respects, let's get a good night's sleep tonight."

  "Miss said so too, but I'm still worried. What if Concubine Feng really comes? What to do?" Cai Lian looked at Li Yun with a pitiful expression.

  What a coward! Is this body just used to enduring and never fighting back? Now that she's made a move, she's scared out of her wits? Li Yun didn't say another word, reached out and pulled Cai Lian along as they headed inside. "Let's go, first we'll put some medicine on your face, then we can sleep. Even if someone comes, don't be afraid. I'm here! No one will bully you again. Be good!"

  "Miss......" Cai Lian was crying and laughing at the same time. The miss treated her like a kitten, cooing over her! However, her fearful heart did indeed decrease somewhat.

  Li Yun took two steps, looked at the several doors in front of her, and remembered that Old Master Wang was in the middle house. Since this was her courtyard, it was likely that her room was also in the middle house. She pulled Cai Lian towards the middle house.

  "Miss is back! The slaves are here to pay their respects!" More than a dozen people, including old ladies and maidservants, emerged from the middle house and several houses on either side, each with pale faces and trembling as they came forward to pay their respects.

  Li Yun stopped in her tracks, furrowed her brow and sized up the dozen or so people. In ancient times, every large household had more than one servant attending to them. It seemed that these were all servants attending to this master of the house. Just now, despite the commotion in the courtyard, no one had come out. Her eyes flickered slightly as she silently and intently watched these people. Although it was already late at night, she could still clearly see the emotions on each person's face - some were afraid, some worried, some were gloating, while others were indifferent...

  "You, you, you, and you. Don't stay in this courtyard tomorrow, go wherever you like. And you, you, and the last one, I don't care what you used to do in this courtyard, from now on, all of you will follow me. The rest of you will work in this courtyard, don't appear in front of me unless it's necessary." Li Yun was someone who had been through thick and thin for over 20 years, and had developed a keen eye for observation. Now, without needing to say another word, she could tell what each person was thinking just by looking at their expressions. As soon as she finished speaking, she ignored the stunned looks on their faces and walked towards the house, lazily waving her hand. "Did you all hear me? Since you heard me, scatter!"

  "Miss, I've been serving you all along. How can you drive me away?" One of the servant girls immediately stepped forward and grabbed Li Yun's arm. The fat old face was full of incredulity.

  Li Yun furrowed her brow as she looked at her, this woman being the first person she had pointed out. She had just seen a hint of schadenfreude on her face. Although it was well hidden, it still couldn't escape her eyes.

  "Miss, the wet nurse has been with you since childhood..." Cai Lian couldn't bear it and didn't understand why Miss suddenly punished the people in the courtyard. However, it was a good thing that the few people Miss promoted were kind-hearted and had a good relationship with her. As for the others, she naturally knew that there were informants from various courtyards, but Miss didn't punish her, so she didn't dare say anything. But this wet nurse was someone Miss had always relied on, and Cai Lian couldn't understand why Miss suddenly wanted to drive her away today.

  "A snake swallowing an elephant, greed is not enough. You'd better take care of yourself from now on!" Li Yun glanced at the wet nurse wearing gold and silver, with a handful of bangles on her wrist, and snorted coldly. The owner of this body was easily deceived, but she wasn't. Was the wet nurse anything special? What she hated most were ancient wet nurses who thought they were something just because they had fed their masters a few mouthfuls of milk!