Phoniex Requiem
Chapter 62: It's Just Begun

Chapter 62: It's Just Begun

"Ruoyan, what are you saying ?!" Facing Yun Ruoyan's accusation, Yi Qianying immediately stood in her seat, her face as innocent as possible. “What happened, Ruoyan? Surely there must be a misunderstanding?"

"A misunderstanding?" Yun Ruoyan laughed coldly. "You're claiming that you haven't conspired against me?"

"No, I haven't!"

Yi Qianying stepped onto matriarch Yun before kneeling down, her tears streaming down her face even faster than Yun Ruoyan. “I've been by Grandma's side all this time, and Madame An can also confirm it!”

He turned towards Yun Ruoyan, his face depressed. “Ruoyan, I have always treated you with respect and love, so why should you slander me so?”

"Whether my words are slanderous or not, we'll find out, won't we?" Yun Ruoyan's eyes were fixated on her tiny form. “I was having fun in the forest when He Xiang suddenly came up to me saying that Xi Lan had accidentally entered the imperial hunting ground. Can you honestly say that you weren't the one who told He Xiang to do this?"

"You're entering a limited hunting round ?!" At this point, matriarch Yun exclaimed in shock.

"No, I didn't do it." Yun Ruoyan hurriedly shook her head. “I was just looking for Xi Lan around the area. I was so worried about him that I really wanted to enter the hunting grounds, but suddenly I heard the guards shouting that there was an assassin, making me so scared that I rushed back."

"Thank God you didn't go in there!" Matriarch Yun took a deep breath and sighed. “Without the emperor's permission, anyone who dares to enter will be beheaded for attempted murder.”

Last year, one of the daughters of the Wang family was so curious that she lurked around the boundary of a hunting ground, and she was killed on the spot.

Although the Wang family doted on their daughter, they were too afraid to make a fuss about it, in fact, they even had to thank the emperor for not extending his sentence to the entire Wang family. They buried their daughter's corpse in a hurry, not even daring to hold a funeral in her name.

The ins and outs of this infighting had spread throughout the capital, so matriarch Yun and Madam An both thought that no girl was stupid enough to enter the hunting grounds.

The gaze of matriarch Yun swept over Yun Ruoyao and Yun Ruoyu. “As for anyone who secretly ventured into the hunting grounds, once they were caught, they would also be severely punished!”

“Grandmother, Sister Ruoyao, and I just took a walk around the area, and we came back after about half an hour,” Yun Ruoyu replied quickly.

The hard tone of matriarch Yun was so frightening to Xi Lan that she immediately knelt down at the side of her master. “Old Lady, I just picked a phoenix orchid near here, and I never set foot near a hunting ground at all! Xiao Lan could confirm this!”

"Right, Madam, I have gathered flower petals with Xi Lan in preparation to make a pillow for the summer," Xiao Lan added.

"Grandma!" Yun Ruoyan called again. “Qianying must have deliberately coaxed me to a hunting ground! He tried to kill me!”

Matriarch Yun's face turned cold. The quarrel between Yun Ruoyan and Yun Ruoyao, Yun Ruoyao, and Yi Qianying was small enough for him to ignore mostly, but if they really tried to kill Yun Ruoyan, then…!

The first and most important teaching of the Yun family was to help each other in times of need, but it seemed that he was too negligent in maintaining household discipline! If he did not do something now, a disaster would definitely happen sooner or later.

"He Xiang!" Matriarch Yun's eyes opened wide as she looked towards the trembling maid, her face as pale as paper.

How did this happen? Didn't the Madam say that, once Yun Ruoyan ended up in the hunting grounds, she would be killed without hesitation?!

And once that happened, in order to avoid any involvement, the Yun family would definitely not investigate his death any further, and that would be the end of it all.

And then, when her master married into the Pei family, her status would also increase, and it was not impossible that she would also become Pei Ziao's concubine!

But now, it seemed like his dream would come to a halt from the start.

"He Xiang!" Seeing that He Xiang was deep in thought, as if he had not heard the call at all, Yi Qianying roughly pinched her feet with sharp nails.

"Aah!" Jolted from his daydream by the pain, He Xiang could only cry. He looked around to see everyone's eyes fixated on him, making him so scared that his legs trembled and he knelt down involuntarily.

Matriarch Yun looked at He Xiang's trembling form furiously. "Tell me, tell us all why you're doing this stupid thing."

"The old lady ..." He Xiang's voice trembled. “That's Miss, Miss.”.

"He Xiang, don't you dare say nonsense!" Yi Qianying immediately stopped He Xiang. “I've always been generous to you. When your mother fell ill, I was the one who called the healer for her, and when your brother wanted to study at the academy, I was the one who helped pave the way! Don't slander me!”

He Xiang's words were left in his throat. His father died early, his mother was often unwell, and his brother was weak and fragile. His entire family depended on the income he earned as a maid in the Yun family. His life will almost certainly end here, but what about his family?

He Xiang turned his head slightly, looking at Yi Qianying with teary eyes. He frowned almost imperceptibly as he pursed his lips.

That was when the mistress and the maid came to an agreement.

He Xiang's face almost stuck to the floor as he cried in silence, his tears dripping down the stone. He closed his eyes tightly before finally speaking once more. “Miss Yi doesn't know anything. I'm the one who set the whole.”

Matriarch Yun's face was still very severe, and even Madam An by her side did not dare to say anything.

“Tell us why you want to hurt Ruoyan.”

“Because my mistress liked Young Master Pei, but Young Master Pei almost lost the second one,” replied He Xiang. “Madly I was too kind-hearted, not even able to contemplate the idea of stealing the young master's affection for himself, only able to cry in silence. Unable to hold back, I came up with this tactic to injure the first miss"

"Is this the real thing?" Matriarch Yun looked at He Xiang but glanced at Yi Qianying suspiciously. Tears fell from his face endlessly, and he could not help but recall his daughter who had died young.

“I swear my words were right. I planned all this, and my employer knew nothing about it!”

"Shameful!" Matriarch Yun slammed his fist against the stone table so hard that Yi Qianying and He Xiang trembled even more. "Planning one of the wrongs very maliciously .. if I don't punish you harshly ..." Matriarch Yun slowly stood up from her seat, and Madam An and Xiao Lan hurriedly ran to her side to help her stand up.

“As we return, go straight to the guard and receive thirty lashes. Then, I will decide whether to sell you or cripple your hands! "

In the Chenyuan continent, servants could be put to death for their offenses, but the Yun family was known to the public for treating their servants well. This was why matriarch Yun had not only given He Xiang the death sentence.

But this kind of punishment was not far from being beaten to death, thirty lashes was enough to make a person half disabled, even if they did not die.

And then He Xiang would be sold as the lowest prostitute, or her tendons cut off before being dumped into the street, struggling on the brink of death until her eventual death.

After giving this punishment, he turned around to help Yun Ruoyan. “You stupid girl, even if you are worried about your slaves, you should think about yourself first. Everyone knows about what happened to the Wang family!” He clicked his tongue. “If you ever find something that you can't solve by yourself next time, meet me. Don't you dare do something dangerous again!”

“Yes, Grandma!” Yun Ruoyan replied obediently.

"grandmother ..." Yi Qianying suddenly kowtowed, banging her head violently onto the stone slab. “As He Xiang's employer, I am partly responsible for his crimes. Grandma, please punish me!”

"Mother," Madam An finally spoke up. “Qianying is young, and her heart is kind. It's only natural that he can't discipline his servant so hard, so please calm him down.”

“True, Grandma,” Yun Ruoyao and Yun Ruoyu also begged. “I'm sure Qianying didn't mean for something like this to happen, so won't you spare her just this once, Grandma?”

Yun Ruoyan smiled coldly in her heart. They are all close family!

But Yun Ruoyan understood her grandmother's feelings. Yi Qianying's mother was Yun's own matriarch's daughter, and she died when young. From then on, Yi Qianying was forced to live with the Yun family. Matriarch Yun had watched him grow up, so how could she bear to punish him so harshly?

“Grandmother, since Qianying also doesn't know anything, I don't blame her. Are you willing to release him from this punishment for me?" Yun Ruoyan asked, half pouting.

Yi Qianying obviously did not expect that even Yun Ruoyan would ask to save her, and she looked at Yun Ruoyan in shock.

Matriarch Yun looked at Yun Ruoyan, finding that she was liking this grandson more and more every day.

He reached out his hand and stroked her face. Even though his face was damaged, those imperfections seemed to make him even more valuable to take care of.

In the end, he looked towards Yi Qianying once again, his gaze tinged with disappointment. "Kneel in the ancestral hall for a night, and make sure you are more disciplined with your servants in the future."

After this sudden turn of events, matriarch Yun lost her interest in flowers. Madam An sent some servants to look for Pei Ziao, waiting for him to return so that they could all leave.

He Xiang remained lying on the ground, his feet trembling like gelatin, so much so that he could not even stand upright. Instead, he crawled like a pitiful dog.

Yun Ruoyan looked towards him, recalling her own experiences in the past.

He had been locked up in the warehouse by Pei Ziao, and whenever He Xiang came to bring him his food, he would always mix a handful of sand with his food right before his eyes.

He was about to look down and sneer at Yun Ruoyan's pitiful appearance, and his insults from then on seemed to reverberate in Yun Ruoyan's mind. “First lady, you are stupid, ugly, and too easy to manipulate. Your position in life is way above mine, and now you are someone that even I look down on. What do you think of that?”

He sighed deeply as he started peeling almonds for his grandmother. A faint smile on his face, he exclaimed, “Grandma, do you want almonds? Let me make you another cup of tea.”

He stood up to do so and suddenly felt several gazes darting towards him. Yun Ruoyan boldly glanced towards them, at Madam An and Yun Ruoyao, and when their gazes met her, they could not help but flinch.

This is just the beginning, Yun Ruoyan thought.