Reborn in Each Other’s Bodies: A Mother and Daughter’s Deadly Revenge - Chapter 139

Sheng Mingzhu was preparing to leave for the banquet when she saw Xia Zhi return, her face pale and looking utterly distraught.

An involuntary feeling of disgust welled up inside Sheng Mingzhu.

“What’s wrong?” she asked with a slight frown, waving the other servants away.

She noticed the person opposite her seem to tremble, and a bad feeling instantly rose in her heart.

Then, she heard Xia Zhi’s faint, unsteady voice.

“Miss, this servant… I just discovered my younger sister in the estate— Feng Siya—

“She was sold to a broker by our family five years ago, and later… purchased into the mansion… She now serves the Third Young Master…

“Wuya is here too, currently in the Fifth Young Master’s courtyard…

“But according to her, no one in the estate knows they are from the Feng family…”

With each additional sentence, Sheng Mingzhu felt it harder to suppress the towering rage within her!

She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms.

Why?

Why did the Feng family always haunt her like relentless ghosts?

After Sheng Mingzhu learned her true identity, she had come to loathe every member of the Feng family except for Tao Niang. She especially detested Xia Zhi, who even bore a slight resemblance to her.

If others saw them together in the future, they would remember that wretched maid was her biological sister. She could only imagine the ridicule she would face. During her years at White Horse Temple, Sheng Mingzhu had actually considered secretly getting rid of Xia Zhi.

But that cunning girl seemed to have sensed it and was extremely careful not to give her any opportunity. Later, she gained her master’s favor, and her master told her that Xia Zhi’s fate was quite fortunate. Since she had come to her side and was connected by blood, it was better to keep her for now, as she might be useful in the future.

Her master also forbade her from harming any of the Feng family, saying that since they were connected by blood, any harm done to them could backlash onto her…

Sheng Mingzhu was somewhat unconvinced by this. What good fortune could someone as lowly as Xia Zhi possibly have? How could she ever be useful? And the rest of the Feng family were as lowly as dirt; she didn’t believe that killing them would truly cause her any harm.

But her master had given the order, and she didn’t dare disobey!

Her master seemed gentle, but in reality… was utterly terrifying.

Sheng Mingzhu didn’t want to anger her master in the slightest, which is why she had let Xia Zhi and the Feng family live all these years. Otherwise, just one word from her, and her senior brother would have long since helped her eliminate them.

Before returning to the mansion this time, her master had also instructed that no matter what happened, she must not conflict with anyone. If someone struck her left cheek, she was to offer the right…

The expression on her master’s face when she said this was no joke or mere advice—it was a command!

Because of this, even when the maid from Haitang Courtyard came to her door picking a fight, she could only swallow her anger! She had even allowed those two weeds to be planted in Furong Courtyard. Sheng Mingzhu felt she had been truly “turning the other cheek” and had done well enough…

She never expected an even more humiliating matter was waiting for her.

Besides Xia Zhi, there were actually two other Feng girls working in the estate.

Sheng Mingzhu could already imagine how others would look at her when the identities of those two sisters were exposed! Everyone would surely laugh at her, thinking one servant sister wasn’t enough, and now she had two more servant sisters… They would mock her for having a bunch of ‘family’ unfit for polite society…

At this moment, Sheng Mingzhu felt a deep sense of regret.

Back then, even if she couldn’t kill the Feng family, she shouldn’t have ignored them simply out of disgust. She should have locked the Feng family away, kept them under tight watch, to prevent them from coming out and embarrassing her!

But it was too late for regrets now. Sheng Mingzhu took large, heaving breaths, afraid she might vomit blood from sheer anger. Her hands remained clenched into fists, nails digging deeply into her palms.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her fingertip and realized she had snapped a nail clean off.

“Miss, are you alright—” Xia Zhi asked timidly, her heart in her throat. She wanted to step forward to help Sheng Mingzhu, but seeing the vicious, ghost-like malevolence in Sheng Mingzhu’s eyes, she only managed two steps before daring not to approach further.

In recent years, Sheng Mingzhu had grown increasingly scheming, and it had been a long, long time since Xia Zhi had seen such raw fury and venom on her face.

She quickly lowered her head, not daring to look anymore.

After a moment, she heard Sheng Mingzhu’s voice, still angry but seemingly much calmer.

“Aren’t you going to get over here and trim my nail? Do you want me to be embarrassed at the banquet?”

Xia Zhi then cautiously approached, carefully trimmed the broken nail, and fitted an exquisite fingertip guard over it before supporting her mistress out of the room.

Sheng Mingzhu left Furong Courtyard with Xia Zhi and Ji Xue. Sheng Minmin and Huang Yaning also received the news around the same time.

Only then did they leisurely make their way out.

The group arrived one after another at the main hall where the banquet was held. With a wave of Sheng Yong’s hand, the feast began. Everyone took their seats, with the five concubines at a smaller side table and the rest at the main table.

In the past, both Sheng Mingli and Sheng Mingshu used to sit at the concubines’ table. However, in recent years, the two had gained considerable favor from the Madam of the estate. Furthermore, both were now attending academy, and their studies were going very well, especially Sheng Mingshu, who was exceptionally gifted.

Consequently, Sheng Yong had also begun to pay more attention to these two sons, so for the past few years, they had been allowed to join the main table for meals.

Sheng Yong took his seat at the head of the table. Sheng Minmin sat to his left and pulled Huang Xianjing to sit beside her. The others then took their seats in order of age.

But with this seating arrangement, everyone noticed that the two young misses who were most at odds in the mansion were now seated next to each other.

Concubine Ruan, hidden in her sleeves, tightened her grip on her handkerchief. Her gaze barely left the main table.

In recent years, as her son Shuer had begun to distinguish himself at the academy, their status within the household had risen sharply. The Madam often sent gifts to Shuer and Lier and had even privately subsidized her with extra silver, urging her not to shortchange the children.

The Madam’s intentions were naturally good, and Concubine Ruan was immensely grateful.

But recently, the Master had also started giving her money from time to time. Concubine Ruan was somewhat afraid to accept the Master’s money and didn’t really want to. The Master was a man who never acted without personal gain in mind; his kindness towards Shuer surely came with expectations.

Moreover, the more the Master’s attention fell on Shuer, the deeper the Eldest Young Master’s dislike for him seemed to grow. She had heard that the Eldest Young Master was highly talented in literature, a rare scholar even within the Imperial Academy.

If the Eldest Young Master passed the provincial examination this year, he would proceed to the imperial examinations. Concubine Ruan truly hoped the Eldest Young Master would achieve outstanding results. That way, he might feel less threatened by her Shuer, or at least not as threatened… Thus, her Shuer would be safer.

But if the Eldest Young Master’s results were unsatisfactory… Concubine Ruan hardly dared imagine how dangerous Shuer’s situation could become!

And now the Sixth Young Miss had returned. The Seventh Young Miss was at odds with the Sixth; conflicts were bound to arise. Concubine Ruan was terribly afraid Shuer would get himself involved… Because, given Shuer’s gratitude towards the Madam, as long as the Seventh Young Miss wasn’t being completely unreasonable, he would undoubtedly side with her.

If that happened, Shuer would offend the Sixth Young Miss, which would essentially mean offending the Eldest Young Master and his faction as well…

Sometimes Concubine Ruan wanted to advise her son to just focus on his studies and not get involved in the family’s disputes. But whenever she thought of the Madam’s care and protection over the years, the words stuck in her throat.

So, all Concubine Ruan could do was stare nervously at the main table, praying that the two young misses wouldn’t come into conflict.