The servants scrambled to carry Sheng Mingjian back to his courtyard, then hurriedly summoned the household physician…
Huang Yaning watched from the sidelines, a mocking smile playing on her lips, feeling an immense wave of relief wash over her.
Once her mood lightened, she thought of Taoniang.
Come to think of it, earlier she’d been worried that Sheng Mingjian might pass the imperial exams, plus she’d found something a bit off about Minmin and the Soft Concubine and her son, so she’d been secretly investigating…
She simply hadn’t had the time to slip out of the manor to see Taoniang. Today was just perfect.
So, half an hour later, Jiaojiao—who’d been sitting in the alleyway, cracking sunflower seeds and gossiping with an old woman—saw the Sheng family carriage pull up.
Jiaojiao dashed over immediately.
“Our young lady is a miss of the Sheng family. She’s here today to see Taoniang—” Qingtian said sweetly to Jiaojiao.
The moment Jiaojiao laid eyes on Huang Yaning’s features, she knew this was her mistress’s own flesh-and-blood daughter—the one who’d been switched out by Taoniang as a child and had suffered years of hardship because of it.
Her attitude instantly became respectful. She grabbed the keys from her waist, unlocked the gate, and ushered them inside.
The courtyard was swept reasonably clean, but it looked empty and desolate—not a single potted plant or flower in sight.
To the right stood a fairly thick tree with an unknown name, its leaves already yellowed. Beneath it sat a stone table and stone stools.
A gust of wind drifted by, sending yellow leaves fluttering down—giving the whole place a bleak, lonely feel.
“Miss, Taoniang is paralyzed and mute now. She does everything—eating, drinking, and using the chamber pot—right in her bed. Her room is… well, I’m afraid it might offend your eyes, miss…”
Jiaojiao looked a little embarrassed.
She only wiped Taoniang down when she was in a good mood, and the bedding had never been changed—it was covered in filth and excrement.
Even she could barely stand stepping into that room now, let alone the Seventh Miss Sheng. She really didn’t want to subject her to the stench…
Qingtian noticed the smile tugging at the corners of her young lady’s lips and knew she was thoroughly pleased with Taoniang’s miserable state.
That wretched woman Taoniang had swapped the young lady at birth and made her suffer so much—dying ten times over wouldn’t be enough to atone for her sins!
Besides, Taoniang’s daughter Sheng Mingzhu had put the young lady through all kinds of torment in the past. Qingtian loathed both mother and daughter with a passion.
So, learning that Taoniang was living in squalor made Qingtian happy too.
Putting on a look of surprise, she asked,
“What’s your name? Don’t you bathe her or clean her up?”
Jiaojiao had worked in the pleasure quarters before and was skilled at reading people. She could tell these two had come to gloat over Taoniang’s misfortune, so she quickly replied,
“To answer you, miss, this servant’s name is Jiaojiao.
“You see, miss, right now there’s only me, a single servant, in this whole compound—but there are eight bedridden masters here…
“They all rely on me alone for their food, drink, and waste. And we don’t have much money in the house…
“During the day, I have to go out to earn money to buy rice and vegetables. I really don’t have the time to carefully tend to all eight masters…
“I can only manage to feed them some thin congee morning and evening, and when I have a spare moment, I give them a wipe-down…”
Huang Yaning, Qingtian, and the several older maidservants behind them all felt like laughing.
Jiaojiao had a rosy complexion and was neatly dressed—clearly well-fed and well-rested.
And they’d all just seen her with their own eyes—she’d had time to sit in the alleyway gossiping and cracking sunflower seeds with an old lady…
Yet here she was, lying through her teeth about not having time to care for Taoniang…
What a character!
Huang Yaning was now certain that Jiaojiao had likely been bought off by Minmin.
After all, apart from her, only Minmin hated Taoniang and the Feng family to the bone.
“Bring Taoniang out.”
Huang Yaning gave the order, clearly in a good mood.
Jiaojiao immediately led the way, and four maidservants followed.
Meanwhile, Qingtian wiped down the stone stool with her handkerchief, and Huang Yaning sat down.
Soon, the four maidservants carried Taoniang out.
To be honest, even Huang Yaning was a little taken aback when she saw her.
Her first impression was that Taoniang looked like a bamboo pole.
They said the four maidservants were “carrying” her, but it was more like they were just hoisting her up.
Taoniang’s face was so gaunt it was almost just skin over bone. Her eye sockets were deeply sunken, and her eyeballs bulged out—it was rather unsettling to look at.
Her second impression was just how filthy she was.
Her hair was a tangled mess, like a bird’s nest; her clothes were so caked with grime that you could barely make out the original pattern or color…
Finally, Huang Yaning caught the stench.
It was so overwhelmingly foul, it hit her right in the forehead, making her dizzy.
“Stop—”
Qingtian saw Huang Yaning’s brow furrow so deeply it could trap a fly, and quickly called out.
The maidservants halted immediately.
“Find some cloth and wrap her up—she reeks too much—”
Jiaojiao went and found a bedsheet. The two maidservants wrapped Taoniang up tightly from head to toe, and finally tied her to a chair.
Once tied up like that, the stench in the courtyard diminished considerably—just barely tolerable.
At this moment, Taoniang’s gaze wasn’t as vacant as usual, nor did it hold the terror from before.
Taoniang’s expression was pleading, tears welling up in her eyes.
Before long, two streams of tears rolled down her cheeks, and she opened her mouth to make “ah ah ah” sounds.
It was as if she were begging Huang Yaning to take pity on her and help her—
Or as if she were pleading for Huang Yaning to just let her go…
But how could Huang Yaning possibly let Taoniang off?
Just then, a man’s shouting came from another room.
“Miss, the Feng family are all in that room…”
“Bring them all out.”
Huang Yaning ordered.
The maidservants moved quickly and efficiently, soon carrying the Feng family members out one by one and tying them to chairs.
The Feng family looked just as miserable as Taoniang. If there was any difference, it was probably that they smelled even worse.
But that made sense—the whole Feng clan was crammed into one tiny room together, so the stench was bound to be stronger.
Aside from Old Lady Li, everyone in the Feng family could still speak.
They saw Huang Yaning and one by one started apologizing, begging for mercy, crying about their misery, and making a huge racket—the entire courtyard was filled with wailing and howling.
But maybe because they’d been eating too little and had no energy, or maybe because Huang Yaning hadn’t said a single word, eventually, after they were all neatly tied up in a row on their chairs, they stopped howling and just sat there panting heavily.
Huang Yaning admired the sight of the Feng family in their current state, and boundless joy and excitement surged within her.
“Everyone, long time no see!”
She greeted her enemies with a brilliant, beaming smile.
“Seventh Miss, I beg you—”
Little Mrs. Li’s eyes suddenly sparked with a glimmer of hope, and she pleaded hoarsely with all her might.
Her voice was already nearly gone from all the shouting earlier, so the ragged, desperate cries sounded rather strange.
“The one who swapped you out was Taoniang! If you want to kill someone or torture someone, go after her! It was all her fault—I didn’t know anything about it—
“Please let me go, I beg you—please send someone to take me back to my maiden family—
“I can’t go on living like this anymore—I’m begging you—”
Little Mrs. Li was a mess of tears and snot, sobbing uncontrollably.
