Qi Yuan never had the habit of taking out her anger on others.
Perhaps because in her previous life she had been a servant for so long, she deeply understood the hardships and difficulties servants faced.
Just like when in her past life she served as a bodyguard for Feng Caiwei, the young lady of the house.
Feng Caiwei once saw a squirrel fall to the ground injured and unable to climb back up a tree. She teared up and insisted on personally returning the squirrel to the tree.
That tree must have been several hundred years old—no few people could even wrap their arms around it. Its countless branches made Qi Yuan worried she might be in danger and she wanted to do it herself instead.
But Feng Caiwei frowned and calmly said, “How can that be? Doing good deeds must be done personally to be sincere. Guard Qi, someone like you who kills people without mercy wouldn’t understand.”
Qi Yuan fell silent and had no choice but to let Feng Caiwei climb the tree herself to return the squirrel.
Unexpectedly, Feng Caiwei slipped and fell from the tree.
She sprained her ankle badly; the doctor said it was a serious injury that would take at least four or five months to heal.
Xiao Yunting scolded Qi Yuan for failing to protect the young mistress.
She tried to explain her grievance—that she had tried to dissuade Feng Caiwei from risking herself, but Feng Caiwei didn’t listen.
Feng Caiwei said it was because Qi Yuan’s skills were not good enough, so even a weak girl like her could fall from a tree without being protected.
Eventually, Qi Yuan was sent away on a mission for several years.
Her past experience made it impossible for her not to sympathize with the people below her.
So when Baizhi was frightened nearly to death, Qi Yuan patted Baizhi ’s shoulder and asked rationally, “Where is Chen Xiu?”
Chen Xiu was the servant woman the Old Marquis had assigned to her to care for the dog.
Since Little Yellow arrived, Chen Xiu had been its caretaker.
Chen Xiu quickly arrived before Qi Yuan, kneeling and trembling in fear as she said, “Young Mistress, please forgive me… I… I have an eight-year-old child and a two-year-old daughter to care for…”
Qi Yuan interrupted, “Were you the one who took Little Yellow out for a walk?”
Chen Xiu choked back tears and replied, “Little Yellow can’t run free in our courtyard. It kept barking at the outside, wanting to go out… Seeing the weather wasn’t too cold, I thought I’d take it out for a walk.”
Qi Yuan nodded and sat down on a stone stool, then asked seriously, “How did the dog go missing?”
Chen Xiu replied, “I took Little Yellow to play in the garden. It knocked over a flower pot in the greenhouse. The greenhouse manager was a little angry, so I helped clean it up. But before I knew it, Little Yellow was gone.”
Chen Xiu was genuinely terrified and uncontrollably trembling.
Baizhi felt Chen Xiu’s story was all over the place and frowned: “What you’re saying is nonsense…”
Qi Yuan lowered her eyes: “Not nonsense. Baizhi, take someone to the greenhouse and ask the manager if anyone has seen my dog. Tell them this dog was given by a noble, and that I like it very much. Ask them to keep an eye out. Whoever finds and returns the dog will be rewarded one hundred taels of silver.”
One hundred taels!
Chen Xiu’s mouth dropped open, stunned.
The Young Mistress was really generous!
One hundred taels—how many common dogs could that buy?
Baizhi, without hesitation, went straight to the greenhouse and, as Qi Yuan instructed, told the greenhouse manager and the staff exactly what Qi Yuan said.
In an instant, the entire mansion knew Qi Yuan had lost her dog.
They also knew she was offering a hundred taels reward for finding it.
When the Old Marquis came home and heard this, he was furious: “This house isn’t that big! How can a dog go missing? Everyone get out there and find it!”
He still remembered the look on Qi Yuan’s face when she got the dog.
She obviously liked the dog very much.
If Qi Yuan liked it, he liked it too.
The Old Madam was also worried: “How could it just go missing? She only went out for a moment!”
She sent her own maids to both the greenhouse and the garden gate guards, saying if the dog was found, she would add another hundred taels of silver and also promote whoever found it.
When this news reached Madam Wang, she could only close her eyes in patience.
She didn’t know what kind of magic Qi Yuan had used on the Old Marquis and Old Madam to make them listen to her so obediently.
Such an absurd thing—she had never heard of anything like it!
Xu Mama sneered sarcastically: “I’ve never heard of anything like it! A common dog, left on the road no one would even glance at it. But because it belongs to the Young Mistress, it’s worth two hundred taels now! The whole mansion is out looking for a dog!”
Madam Wang slammed down her tea cup heavily, her tone darkening: “Let them go! If they want to look, let them look!”
She no longer cared for that daughter.
Better not see or hear anything and maybe live a few more years.
Xu Mama egged her on with more exaggeration: “Madam, you can’t say that! This isn’t just about looking for a dog! It’s a show of power! So everyone in this mansion knows the Young Mistress can’t be offended, that’s why it’s such a huge commotion!”
Madam Wang’s expression soured.
Xu Mama got even more excited: “Sigh, just a Young Mistress, but she’s acting like the title of this household will be hers someday. Our eldest young master has become so neglected. Now, I’m afraid the Young Mistress will become even more uncontrollable!”
This completely hit Madam Wang’s sore spot.
Indeed, Qi Yuan seemed to have become the real mistress of this Marquis residence.
But what kind of person was she?
She was arrogant, ignoring parents and brothers, not placing them in her eyes at all.
If she kept acting so arrogantly, there would truly be no place for her or her son in this mansion.
Besides, she was the legitimate mistress here—why should she have to please Qi Yuan and look at Qi Yuan’s face?
She bore her children, and yet had to look at the daughter’s expression?
Ridiculous! Absurd!
Madam Wang slammed the table: “Bring her here!”
Xu Mama smiled broadly and was about to leave.
Before she could step out the door, the curtain suddenly was thrown aside.
A cold wind blew in, making her shiver.
Xu Mama shivered as she stood firm, then saw Qi Yuan enter with a blank expression.
She instinctively took a step back.
After retreating, she straightened her back and sneered mockingly at Qi Yuan: “Oh, it’s the Young Mistress! If you hadn’t come, I was just about to invite you. I heard you’re causing such an uproar all over the Marquis residence looking for your dog. This is truly outrageous…”
Before she finished speaking, Qi Yuan suddenly reached out and slapped her hard across the face.
Everyone was stunned.
Xu Mama was Madam Wang’s wet nurse and, after marrying into the Marquis residence with Madam Wang, was her trusted confidante, well respected in the household.
Even Qi Jin and Qi Yunting had always treated Xu Mama with respect.
Who would have thought Qi Yuan would come in and slap someone right away?!
Want to show your support? Go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! Want to get early access to at least 10+ chapters in advance? Go to my Patreon to join now! :)
