Pain.

Piercing pain surged up from her legs in waves.

Xu Huanhuan was woken up by the pain.

Her cheeks burned and swelled, and the wound on her right leg throbbed with a dull ache. At the slightest movement, a tearing pain came from the wound.

Her pink ruqun was stained with dust and dirt, and the hem was worn out in several places.

Her injured leg hung limply on the ground, and the dried blood had formed a dark brown crust, clinging tightly to her skin.

She gasped sharply, propping herself up against the ground to try and sit up. Her hands touched a handful of damp, cold, messy grass, which drilled into her nose mixed with the smell of mildew and dust.

After the wave passed, she raised her head and looked around.

There were four mud walls with blackened plaster.

Firewood was piled in the corner, and a layer of messy grass was spread on the floor.

The only light came from the small window on the wall. The window was set very high, letting in a dim, yellowish daylight that illuminated the dust floating in the air.

The more she looked, the colder her heart became.

She recognized this place.

This was the firewood room where they had arranged to lock up Yu Wantang in the first place.

When choosing the place back then, the steward had taken many photos and sent them to them.

Complaining that the room wasn't dirty enough, she had even specifically asked people to remove the original bed board, leaving only the most tattered pile of grass.

She even had people make the window smaller.

Because the window was too big, Yu Wantang might be able to crawl out.

Now, the person locked inside had become her.

Xu Huanhuan tightly gripped her skirt hem and shifted her gaze to the side.

Chen Yu lay on the ground not far from her. The martial attire on his back had long been soaked through with blood, sticking to his skin and flesh. The crisscrossing whip marks revealed raw red flesh, stained with quite a bit of grass debris and dust.

His breathing was very weak, with more air going out than coming in.

Further to the side, Gu Yanshen was slumped over a pile of messy grass, his hands hanging limply.

The parts that had taken the beating were severely swollen, and any slight movement caused excruciating pain. His temples were covered in cold sweat, which dripped down his jaw.

Yu Wanzhou was huddled in the corner. His hair crown was long gone, and his hair was scattered all over his face.

His sapphire-blue brocade robe had been soaked in sweat and then dried by the sun, sticking wrinkled to his body.

A layer of dry skin had formed on his lips, his cheeks were sunburned and red, and his fingers twitched from time to time.

Three pampered, living people were currently no different from three salted fish.

Xu Huanhuan forced herself to stand up, but as soon as her injured leg touched the ground, her knees went soft.

She knelt on the ground in a sorry state. After recovering for a long time, she dragged her injured leg inch by inch to the door and patted it.

"Yu Wantang, let me out!"

Bang!

A wooden stick smashed against the door panel, making the door latch hum with vibrations.

"What are you yelling for!"

A servant's rough voice came in, "If you keep shouting, believe it or not, I'll go in and beat you up!"

The firewood room instantly fell silent.

Xu Huanhuan bit her lip, clutching her clothes tightly. The venom in her eyes was almost overflowing, but she truly didn't dare to shout again.

She could tell that the people outside truly dared to strike.

Once she got out, she would definitely break all these people's hands!

By evening, the other three gradually woke up.

"It's all my fault."

Xu Huanhuan raised her head.

Her small face was tear-stained like pear blossoms in the rain, and her swollen face paired with reddened eye sockets made her look exceptionally pitiful.

"Huanhuan, don't cry, it's not your fault."

Chen Yu moved slightly, and the wound on his back was pulled open. He gasped in a breath of cold air and heavily sprawled back down.

"I'm sorry..."

Her voice was shaking beyond recognition.

"It's all my fault..."

Xu Huanhuan bit her lip, and large tears fell down.

"I just wanted her temper to improve a bit. With that temper of hers, she's going to suffer a big loss in the future. If I hadn't come up with this idea, you guys wouldn't have..."

She reached out to touch the wound on Chen Yu's back, her fingertips shaking violently. Halfway there, she pulled her hand back and finally covered her face and cried.

"What nonsense are you talking!"

Chen Yu became anxious.

The more he talked, the angrier he became. His fists were clenched tightly, and he slammed the ground, which pulled at his wound again, making him grimace in pain.

"This matter, Yu Wantang went too far. It has nothing to do with you."

Gu Yanshen's throat was terribly hoarse, and his expression was as gloomy as water dripping.

"Your original intention was for her own good."

He said word by word, taking it for granted, "A temperament like hers needs to be honed. I didn't expect her to go from bad to worse now, becoming even more arrogant and domineering."

In his heart, finding someone to "discipline" his fiancée to make her gentle and obedient was originally a harmless matter.

It was Yu Wantang who didn't know what was good for her, which led to this state now.

"Brother Shen is right!"

Yu Wanzhou chimed in, "My sister throws a tantrum whenever things don't go her way. I think she's deliberately retaliating against us!"

"If you ask me, she's just jealous! Jealous that Sister Huanhuan is prettier and kinder than her, she can't stand seeing others do well!"

Xu Huanhuan lowered her eyes, concealing the fleeting triumph deep within them.

She just knew it.

As long as she softened her voice to admit her mistake and packaged herself as being "for the other's own good," these fools would always stand by her side.

She sniffed, her voice a bit softer: "Thank you for not blaming me."

...

As dusk fell, footsteps finally sounded outside the door.

Yu Wanzhou immediately perked up.

"Someone is coming!"

With a creak, the door of the firewood room was pushed open from the outside.

The Matron who had slapped Xu Huanhuan during the day walked slowly into the room carrying a wooden tray.

On the tray were four chipped coarse porcelain bowls, each containing half a bowl of thin congee.

Calling it congee, there were actually hardly a few grains of rice to be seen.

Yellowed vegetable leaves floated on the turbid congee water, and the rim of one bowl still had black stains left from who knows when.

As soon as the things were brought in, a sour and rotten smell spread out.

Yu Wanzhou's throat was already smoking with thirst. Smelling this stench, his stomach churned, and he covered his mouth and retched.

"What kind of garbage is this! Take it away quickly!"

"Garbage?"

The Matron sneered, "This is your dinner tonight!"

"We have to eat this kind of stuff that even pigs won't eat!"

Xu Huanhuan turned her face away with a look of disgust.

"Didn't you set the rules a couple of days ago? Disobedient maidservants can only eat leftover food and spoiled congee. These things were originally prepared by you. Naturally, you can eat them now."

Xu Huanhuan stared at that bowl of congee, her swollen face turning green and red.

These rules were all thought up by her.

At that time, she still felt it wasn't harsh enough, and specially asked the kitchen to let the leftover food turn sour before sending it over.

Gu Yanshen also spoke through gritted teeth, his voice extremely hoarse.

"Go tell Yu Wantang, if she releases us now, I can let go of what happened before. If this keeps making a fuss, it won't do anyone any good."

Matron Wang seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world.

When she was just dealt with by Yu Wantang, she was indeed scared to death. But seeing the miserable state of these few people, the slight fear in her heart had long turned into relief.

At least she was only shocked by electricity. Compared to these few on the ground, her waist didn't ache now, her legs didn't hurt either, and her whole body felt extremely comfortable.

She bent down and kicked the bowls towards them, the porcelain bowls scraping against the ground and making a harsh sound.

"Hold us accountable? Young Master Gu sure has a majestic presence."

She pouted.

"And you, even if you don't have a mirror, you should have some urine to look at yourself! Don't you know what kind of nobody you are? Miss Yu is someone you can just see whenever you want?"

After finishing, she turned and walked out of the firewood room, closing the door behind her.

Click!

The copper lock fell back into place.

...

In the main courtyard, the lights were brightly lit.

Steaming hot dishes were placed on the table. After taking a bath, Yu Wantang had changed into a clean set of clothes.

The steward stood beside the table, his waist bent very low.

After observing the whole day today, he finally understood completely.

This Miss Yu, looking like a weak and delicate young girl, had methods fiercer than anyone else.

"There is something I want you to handle."

The steward hurriedly acknowledged, "Please feel free to give your orders."

"Find a group of vagrants tomorrow."

The steward's eyelids twitched.

He waited for a long time, but didn't wait for the second half of the sentence, so he had to cautiously raise his head.

"Miss Yu, what are you looking for vagrants for?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. The more one knew, the faster one died.

Such a simple principle, how could he have suddenly forgotten it.

Yu Wantang, however, was not angry.

She looked at the pitch-black mountain shadows outside the window, a trace of a smile slowly curling up the corners of her lips, fathomless.

"I have great use for them."