Li Man'er spent half an hour on her makeup. First, she had someone use lily of the valley to scent her clothes, then she had someone comb her hair with jasmine-scented oil. Once she was finally ready, she disliked the anklets she had chosen and had someone find new ones that matched her outfit.
Yun Xiu was so anxious she was stomping her feet, but she dared not urge Li Man'er in the slightest. Given the young lady’s current status in the manor, who would dare say anything?
She only hoped that Madam Guo would be sensible and not make things too unpleasant by throwing her age around.
The young lady would not be swayed by such tactics.
“Sister Yun Xiu, you’ve been waiting. I’m ready. Shall we go?”
“Young lady, you speak too soon. We still have plenty of time.”
Li Man'er merely smiled and said nothing.
The scenery in the Iron Gallant Marquis’s manor was indeed beautiful. Li Man'er became interested and took her time walking towards the Pine Crane Hall, stopping here and there. She and her maids ambled along as if on a garden stroll.
Yun Xiu did not rush her, waiting patiently by her side, clearly a wise person.
“Miss, the sun is so fierce. Why don’t we hurry to the Old Madam’s place for a cup of tea?” Zi Yan saw Yun Xiu’s growing impatience and could only suppress a smile as she tried to ease the situation.
Li Man'er fanned herself with her small, flickering firefly fan. She thought that it was quite cool under the eaves. No matter how fierce the sun, it wouldn't scorch her. However, she also understood the principle of knowing when to stop, so she heeded Zi Yan’s advice. “You’re right. Let’s hurry then. Madam Guo is probably getting impatient.”
Yun Xiu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled gratefully at Zi Yan.
The group ambled along, and finally arrived at the Pine Crane Hall.
As soon as they entered the corridor, Li Man'er heard a voice from the side room, filled with immense indignation and booming with energy. “It’s not that I want to criticize the young lady, Sister, but her disposition is far too willful and reckless.”
The young maid lifting the curtain in the corridor suddenly looked like a quail, wishing she could shrink into a crack in the ground.
Li Man'er motioned for everyone to be quiet. She wanted to see what the old hag from the Guo family had to say.
A mistress and a few maids were openly eavesdropping.
Inside the room, Cui Shi’s voice was steady and strong. She seemed displeased with her concubine sister’s words. “Willful and reckless? She has the Marquis's manor as her backing, has the favor of Princess Wuyou, and relies on the Ning family like a great tree. What can she possibly lack? Even if she is a bit willful, as long as she doesn’t break the laws of the land, who can do anything to her?”
Madam Guo pouted. “Isn’t it because you spoil her? Don’t you see what time it is? She’s clearly trying to put me in my place, showing she doesn’t care about you.”
Hearing this, Li Man'er finally made her move. She strode towards the side room, crying as she went, and calling out, “Grandmother, Grandmother.”
The maids following her were all stunned. They thought, what’s gotten into the young lady? Why is she crying all of a sudden? Was she provoked by what Madam Guo said?
Yun Xiu felt even more uneasy and quickly followed her. She really didn’t know what was going on with this ancestor. She couldn’t possibly be crying just from hearing a few idle words, could she?
Cui Shi saw Li Man'er come in crying and had a feeling about what was happening. She quickly asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Who made Man'er upset?”
Li Man'er felt utterly disgusted. Ever since she learned from wet nurse Yu that Cui Shi was the culprit behind Ning Shi’s death, she had wanted to strangle this old hag every minute to avenge Ning Shi. But it wasn’t the right time yet. She had to make these people taste what it was like to lose everything.
Li Man'er covered her face with her sleeve and sobbed into Cui Shi’s embrace, “Grandmother, I had a nightmare again. I was so scared.”
Cui Shi was happy to play along. She immediately put on a stern face and angrily asked the maids following her, “What’s going on? How have you been serving the young lady?”
Zi Yan and Lu Yi also understood. The young lady wanted to put on a show with the Old Madam, using Madam Guo as a prop.
They quickly knelt down. “Old Madam, ever since the young lady returned from the Medicine King Temple, she hasn’t been able to eat or sleep properly. She sits alone and weeps when she has free time, and we can’t comfort her.”
Zi Yan’s words made Li Man'er inwardly pleased. Her shoulders twitched slightly. Others couldn't see her face, so they assumed she was crying.
Lu Yi quickly added, “To Old Madam, our young lady didn’t take her medicine at noon today, and her spirits have worsened.”
“Why didn’t you take your medicine?”
Li Man'er continued to cry, not speaking. Her weeping gave Madam Guo a headache.
She had come today to solve a problem, not to listen to Li Man'er cry.
Madam Guo reached out and rubbed her forehead, then winked at Granny Xu standing beside her. Granny Xu understood and quickly went to Cui Shi’s embrace to help Li Man'er up. “Young lady, please don’t cry. What will you do if you hurt yourself?”
This Granny Xu, relying on her position as Madam Guo’s confidante, had a somewhat condescending tone when speaking to younger people. Li Man'er did not tolerate her at all. She slapped Granny Xu squarely across the face.
The sharp slap startled everyone in the room.
Granny Xu covered her face, her eyes wide like copper bells. “You, how dare you hit someone?”
“I hit you! Who do you think you are? How dare you touch me with your dirty hands?” Li Man'er said, taking two steps forward. As if she hadn’t had enough, she kicked Granny Xu.
The kick wasn’t very strong, and although it knocked Granny Xu down, it didn't injure her internal organs. After all, she only wanted to slap Madam Guo in the face, not actually cause a death.
“Ouch.” Granny Xu bent over and then fell to the ground. “Oh, Old Madam, please avenge me!”
Li Man'er’s eyes seemed to reach the heavens. “You shameless old crone, how dare you call out? Who would come to save you, you shameless creature? You are full of malice, a black-hearted wench, and you want to drag others to hell with you. Oh, so your family members are people, but others are not? Look at who you are.”
Granny Xu got up from the ground, not daring to retort.
Madam Guo’s chest ached with anger. She pointed at Li Man'er. “This, this, this is simply lawless.” Her scolding, though without vulgarity, was not directed at Granny Xu but at her. One must consider the owner before hitting a dog; this was a direct humiliation.
“Old Madam, you think so too? Lawless!”
Madam Guo glanced at Cui Shi, but saw Cui Shi holding her teacup, lost in thought, as if asleep.
“Young lady, ever since you entered, you’ve been speaking sarcastically and hinting at others. Is this your upbringing, your manners? I am, at least, your elder. I had to be invited multiple times to see you, and after finally getting you here, you hit my servant. Is that not the same as hitting me?”
Seeing Madam Guo’s flustered face, Li Man'er suddenly smiled.
“Old Madam, you can’t stand it already? Truly worthy of being a concubine’s daughter from the Marquis of Zhennan’s manor. Such a noble and precious person!”
Madam Guo abruptly stood up. “What do you mean by that!”