MCSCPM -Chapter 32 I Will Never Let Her Off

The Yin Qingyue whom Prince Jing had been “constantly thinking about” stepped out of her room at this moment. Along the way, everyone she encountered looked at her as if they had seen a ghost.

In one room, a little maid hid inside and peered out. When she saw Yin Qingyue leave her room, her mouth fell open and stayed that way for a long time.

“Xing’er swore to us so confidently—looks like she was exaggerating after all. With Nanny Zhao’s temperament, even when we’ve done nothing wrong, she still tortures us. How could she possibly let that ugly woman off so easily?” the young mistress of the maid said angrily.

“It seems that ugly woman does get lucky sometimes. Usually Nanny Zhao loves tormenting her the most. This time she committed a crime enough to get her killed a thousand times, yet she’s completely fine!” the little maid said through clenched teeth.

The soundproofing in Luochen Courtyard was poor. Even though they spoke in low voices, Yin Qingyue heard every word.

But at the moment, she didn’t care what those people were saying. All she wanted was to tend properly to Mei’er’s injuries. As for Nanny Zhao—she had already etched that grudge into her heart.

Taking advantage of everyone’s inattention and under the cover of the guards, Yin Qingyue obtained some herbs. While the guards weren’t looking, she quickly stuffed some into her mouth, finally feeling a bit of strength return.

Afterward, she secretly ground more herbs and applied them to Mei’er’s wounds.

“Miss, don’t be sad. Mei’er doesn’t hurt,” Mei’er said quickly when she saw the gloom on Yin Qingyue’s face, trying to comfort her.

In Mei’er’s eyes, no matter how much pain she herself endured, she could not let her miss worry. Her miss was the legitimate eldest daughter of the Yin family—someone who should have lived in luxury, not a pitiful woman bullied by her concubine stepmother and stepsister.

Being forced into a hellish place like Luochen Courtyard was already miserable enough. To survive, her miss had to hide her beauty, only to be bullied constantly because of that ugly disguise.

Her miss’s life was already bitter—how could Mei’er allow her to feel even more sorrow because of her?

Hearing Mei’er’s words, Yin Qingyue paused, lifted her head, and looked at Mei’er. A cold, piercing light flickered in her eyes. “It’s all right, Mei’er. If it hurts, say so.”

She moved her hand away from Mei’er’s wounded fingers and gently touched her face instead, gazing calmly into her eyes. “Mei’er, remember this—no matter what injuries you or I suffer, promise me you won’t be sad, and you won’t cry. All right?”

Mei’er stared at Yin Qingyue blankly, not quite understanding what she meant.

Yin Qingyue tightened her grip on Mei’er’s hand and smiled faintly. “Tears are useless. Your sorrow only hurts those who care about you and delights your enemies. What we must do is smile no matter what we face. Don’t cry—but remember today’s suffering, and in the end, repay it tenfold, a hundredfold.”

Mei’er looked at Yin Qingyue in a daze, then her eyes suddenly lit up. “Miss, you’ve finally understood. If only you’d realized this earlier when you were still at home. But it’s not too late now. As long as you’re well, this servant can finally rest easy.”

Yin Qingyue smiled. “Mei’er, you don’t need to worry about me. Your miss is no longer someone they can afford to provoke. All you need to do now is heal properly and watch how your miss deals with them.”

Mei’er nodded, tears turning into a smile. “Miss, this servant will listen to you!”

Yin Qingyue lowered her head, a half-smile playing on her lips. Nanny Zhao, Xue Zhenyu, Xing’er—since they dared provoke her, they had better be prepared to bear her fury. She hoped those three wretches were strong enough to endure her step-by-step revenge; otherwise, it would be far too dull.

Meanwhile, in her own room, Nanny Zhao clutched her face and moaned in pain. “Oh, it hurts so badly…”

She truly hadn’t expected that ugly woman—ugly as she was—might actually belong to Prince Jing.

Nanny Zhao stamped her foot in frustration, regret written all over her face. Beihua’s national strength already surpassed Xize’s, and Prince Jing was a figure who could cover the sky with one hand in Beihua. She was just a lowly nanny—how could she dare touch someone connected to Prince Jing?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, clutching her face and groaning miserably.

At the same time, Xue Zhenyu was also seething with frustration. She clenched her sleeves tightly. “How could this happen? Why didn’t Nanny Zhao punish her? Why didn’t she kill her?!”

Her hatred boiled over. She herself had never committed any wrongdoing and had always given Nanny Zhao gifts whenever they met, yet Nanny Zhao still made things difficult for her every few days. And that Yin Qingyue—sneaking out of Luochen Courtyard multiple times and committing such a heinous offense—should have died a hundred times over. Yet Nanny Zhao let that ugly woman off so easily. Why?

Xue Zhenyu slammed her fist against the table again and again. “I’m young and beautiful, yet I’m bullied by Nanny Zhao. Yin Qingyue is so ugly she’s unbearable to look at, yet Nanny Zhao spares her again and again—why?!”

As Xing’er endured Xue Zhenyu’s fury, she mulled over what had happened earlier. That ugly woman had actually escaped Nanny Zhao’s wrath? How was that possible? Once someone entered Luochen Courtyard, it was practically falling into Nanny Zhao’s hands. So why hadn’t Nanny Zhao punished Yin Qingyue? Could it be that what the ugly woman said that night wasn’t mere bluster—but the truth?

Thinking of this, Xing’er’s face turned pale. If Yin Qingyue truly had such powerful backing, how could she have ended up in Luochen Courtyard—a place one could enter but never leave?

Just as she was pondering this, Xue Zhenyu’s furious voice rang out.

“Come on—go with me to find that ugly woman! Today, I’m going to teach her a proper lesson!”

Xing’er lowered her head and said nothing. Deep down, she didn’t want to go at all. That woman might be ugly, but she had a powerful patron. Even Nanny Zhao couldn’t afford to offend her—how could Xing’er?

Seeing Xing’er hesitate, Xue Zhenyu angrily slapped her across the face. “How dare you disobey me! Aren’t you afraid I’ll deal with you?!”

After being slapped, Xing’er lowered her head in grievance and said nothing. Since Xue Zhenyu insisted on courting disaster, there was nothing Xing’er could do but follow—such was the fate of a servant with a foolish mistress.

Xue Zhenyu stormed ahead, completely oblivious to the resentment in Xing’er’s eyes.

Xing’er complained silently in her heart. Xue Zhenyu was truly a brainless fool. Even Nanny Zhao had no solution—what could the two of them possibly accomplish by going there?

Meanwhile, Yin Qingyue was fully focused on Mei’er’s injuries. She mashed the herbs into a paste, tore one of her silk handkerchiefs into strips, and carefully wrapped Mei’er’s wounds. Then she continued grinding other herbs at the side.

“Miss, what are you doing?” Mei’er asked curiously as she watched her movements.

“For self-defense,” Yin Qingyue replied lightly, her hands never stopping.

She believed Mei’er’s injury was largely her own fault. Though Nanny Zhao’s deliberate harassment played a role, if she had left Mei’er something to defend herself with before leaving, Mei’er wouldn’t have been hurt so badly.

Having learned her lesson, Yin Qingyue vowed never again to leave Mei’er empty-handed in the courtyard.

Just as she was concentrating on grinding the herbs, Xue Zhenyu’s shout came from outside the door. “Yin Qingyue, you ugly woman! Get out here right now!”

Yin Qingyue’s hands paused. She straightened up and cast a cold glance toward the door, a faint sneer curling her lips.

There was a road to heaven you refuse to take, yet you insist on barging into hell. She’d been worrying about not finding an opportunity to deal with Xue Zhenyu—who would have thought this brainless fool would deliver herself to her doorstep?

Yin Qingyue glanced at the herbal juice in her hands, raised an eyebrow, and smiled with satisfaction.

Didn’t Xue Zhenyu pride herself on her beauty and look down on Yin Qingyue’s ugly disguise? Today, she would destroy that very pride.

“Miss, Miss Xue is here—what should we do?” Mei’er tugged at Yin Qingyue’s sleeve nervously, biting her lower lip in confusion.

“She came at just the right time. I was afraid she wouldn’t,” Yin Qingyue said with a crafty smile, her eyes full of lively cunning.

Seeing this expression made Mei’er worry even more. Her miss had already put on such an ugly disguise—so why were her eyes still so beautiful?

Yin Qingyue didn’t know what Mei’er was thinking. Seeing her frown, she assumed Mei’er was frightened, so she patted her hand reassuringly. “Don’t be afraid. Watch how your miss takes revenge for you.”

“Miss, that Miss Xue has always been domineering and hard to deal with. Maybe we should just let it go?” Mei’er was still worried. She didn’t want Yin Qingyue to take risks because of her.

“Mei’er, there’s a saying in this world: when patience reaches its limit, there’s no need to endure any longer.” Yin Qingyue smiled and turned to face her.

Her gaze gradually turned cold, yet the smile on her lips grew brighter. “Hasn’t your miss endured enough in the past? And what was the result? These shameless people—are they really worth enduring?”

She picked up the small bowl of herbal juice, poured it into a teacup, added some hot water, and stirred it thoroughly. After making sure it was well mixed, she put the lid on and smiled faintly.

Xue Zhenyu, Xing’er—do you know what kind of endings await those who scheme against Yin Qingyue? Just wait for your misfortune.

After shouting, Xue Zhenyu stood at Yin Qingyue’s door, waiting for her to come out. Unexpectedly, after a long while, the courtyard gate remained shut, and Yin Qingyue showed no response at all to her abuse.

Xue Zhenyu’s brows knit tighter and tighter. Just as she was about to tell Xing’er to smash the door, a mocking voice came from inside the courtyard.

“Whose shrew is this, yelling insults at my door?”

Enraged, Xue Zhenyu snapped back, “You ugly woman are the shrew everyone curses! You’re so ugly you can’t even be seen—what right do you have to scold me? You don’t deserve it!”

“I may be ugly, but at least I know manners—unlike some people who don’t even qualify as having any. I wonder who taught Miss Xue to stand at someone else’s courtyard gate, hurling insults, and still dare to call others shrews so righteously?” Yin Qingyue narrowed her eyes slightly in mockery as she opened the courtyard gate—but did not let them enter, instead leaning against the doorway to block the entrance.