High-class Spring Joy

Upon hearing this, Qingyuan understood immediately: "Whatever you say, Mother, I have no money. Not only do I have no money to give, but I'm also taking with me the money Mother promised to save for me!"

"What?!" Li's voice suddenly rose several octaves: "What do you need so much money for?!"

"I want to buy my freedom."

Madam Li immediately panicked: "How could I have given birth to such a stupid thing like you? The Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion is a place that so many people would kill to get into. Everyone knows that you are the Fifth Young Master's childhood sweetheart. Even if you are not his wife in the future, you will at least be his concubine. You are the concubine of the Zhenguo Marquis's son. Moreover, you have been with the Fifth Young Master for ten years. He must treat you differently."

"Mother knows that I am going to marry Chu Jingyu. I've blocked Chu Jingyu's wonderful marriage. Do you think Madam Dou will let me off the hook?"

Qingyuan asked in return, and had already begun searching the house.

Li was speechless for a moment, then rushed forward to stop her: "No matter what, you can't just redeem yourself like that! You should at least discuss it with your mother first! How can you make the decision alone?"

Qingyuan sneered: "Back then, when Mother sold me into the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion for ten taels of silver, wasn't it all Mother who made the decision?"

Li kept trying to stop Qingyuan, and when she saw Qingyuan pull out the small box, she grabbed Qingyuan's arm.

The hand had just been kicked by Chu Jingyu, and Li Shi's grab was much stronger. Qing Yuan felt the pain, her hand trembled, and the wooden box fell to the ground, spilling out several pieces of loose silver.

Like being struck on the head, Qingyuan's hopes were ruthlessly shattered.

Qingyuan stared intently at Li Shi: "Is this all that's left? After all these years, is this all that's left??"

Caught red-handed by Qingyuan, Li Shi couldn't be arrogant anymore and felt quite guilty: "It's just... I couldn't resist playing a few rounds a few days ago... I swear, I swear it was just a momentary itch, I will never do it again!"

She had spent the last ten years as a slave in the Zhenguo Marquis's mansion, saving up a meager amount of silver, which had now turned into these few loose coins.

"You're so stupid!! You didn't learn your lesson even after the casino chopped off your own finger!" Qingyuan's eyes turned red with anger, and she was so unsteady that she had to lean on the table next to her to keep herself steady.

Gone…

Over the years, she's lost everything...

A wave of despair washed over me. After a long silence, my sister's words echoed in my mind—

Ah He, no matter what, when, or where, never give up hope. As long as you're alive, there's always a chance.

Qingyuan wiped away her tears: "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have trusted you in the first place!"

Qingyuan picked up the loose silver coins, which added up to no more than two or three taels. "If you continue gambling, even if I had mountains of gold and silver, it would be a drop in the ocean. These few taels of silver are for Mother and my younger brother. From today onwards, I won't bring back a single copper coin!"

After saying that, Qingyuan turned to leave in anger, just as she heard Li's cries:

"Qingmei, look at this!! This is your good sister, she's become so cold-blooded, abandoning us, a widow and her children, and watching us starve to death! Qingmei, if only you were still here..."

She turned her head and saw that Li was indeed throwing a tantrum on the ground, raising her hands high and then slapping them on the ground, crying and wailing.

Qingyuan interrupted coldly: "If my sister were still here, you wouldn't dare to bully me in the slightest."

From a young age, Qingyuan was raised by her older sister because her mother doted on her younger brother. Her sister taught her to read and embroider. She didn't know much, but at least she wasn't completely clueless.

The older sister was the most protective of Qingyuan, and often stood up for her when arguing with Li Shi.

With those words, Li was rendered speechless and could only watch helplessly as Qingyuan left.

-

Every time Jiang Qingge comes, Qingyuan is the one who suffers. She does it on purpose, and Qingyuan knows it.

Jiang Qingge was a daughter of an official, while Qingyuan was just a maid who had been sold into the household. Even if Qingyuan pleaded her case to the heavens, no one could help her seek justice.

As soon as Qingyuan returned to the Zhenguo Marquis's residence, someone came and said that Miss Jiang wanted to drink the tea she brewed, and Chu Jingyu specially asked her to come and serve her.

The Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion is a mansion of high status and nobility, and the residence is grand and luxurious. Behind the rockery and path in the back garden is a sizable lake.

As Qingyuan crossed the path, she saw a man and a woman embracing intimately in the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

The woman seemed to be crying bitterly, and the man bent down and whispered words of comfort.

Everyone in the manor said that Chu Jingyu was cold and indifferent, without any tenderness, so he was more familiar with Qingyuan.

Voila.

Even the coldest young master has a tender side; it's not that he can't say nice things, he just doesn't want to give them to her.

Qingyuan steadied herself, and was about to continue walking with the tray when she heard a whooshing sound—

"Snapped!"

A whip, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, lashed out at Qingyuan's back. She was caught off guard and fell to her knees, the tray toppling over beside her. A burning pain surged through her back.

She frowned and looked up.

A girl dressed in a pale yellow riding outfit, about twelve or thirteen years old, walked over with her chin held high: "So it's you, this lowly maid, who dared to try and steal my future brother-in-law?"

Jiang Qingyun, the second daughter of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and Jiang Qingge's biological younger sister, is extremely spoiled.

Qingyuan thought to herself, but didn't show it on her face: "This servant is just a maid, I don't know why Miss Jiang said that, perhaps you have misunderstood."

"Ha, a misunderstanding? You really think I'm so easily fooled? I've already questioned the servants in the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence!"

Jiang Qingyun toyed with the whip in her hand, glanced down at Qingyuan, and when she saw Qingyuan open her mouth to speak, she chuckled:

"Don't bother with any rules. Brother Jingyu said that from now on, my sister and I can come and go as we please in the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion. Don't be shy; just treat this place as your own home. Besides... my sister has already broken off her engagement with that useless blind man, so her marriage to Brother Jingyu is just around the corner. As for you... you're just a lowly maid. Even if I beat you to death right now, Brother Jingyu wouldn't protect you in the slightest!"

Did she really think the Marquis of Zhenguo's mansion was some kind of wonderful place?

This young lady is indeed extremely naive.

Qingyuan curled her lips into a stiff, formal smile: "Second Miss is right. Then I wish both of you ladies will soon have your wishes fulfilled."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Qingyun's expression changed: "You dare to mock me?! How dare you!"

As he spoke, he raised the whip in his hand and lashed Qingyuan again.

"Snapped!"

The whip was extremely tough. Jiang Qingyun put all his strength into making things difficult for Qingyuan. In just two lashes, her clothes were torn off, and the purse hanging at her waist was whipped into the lake and sank immediately.