The Pretty Wife of General Jinxiu Huanian

Chapter 2: The Concubine's Daughter

In the early morning, the sunlight struggled to penetrate the gaps in the dilapidated window frames and scattered on Yunxi's narrow bed.

Yunxi stretched drowsily and stood up. She washed her face hastily and hurried to the kitchen with her maid Xiangling.

In the kitchen, several maids were busy working. As soon as Yunxi stepped into the kitchen, a fat maid glared at her with a slanted look and a pout, "Hey, isn't this Miss Shu? What are you doing here?"

The fat woman put her hands on her hips, and the flesh on her face trembled as she spoke.

Yunxi tightened the corners of her clothes, lowered her head, and said in a low voice, "Come and get breakfast."

The fat woman snorted and exhaled a puff of air from her nose. "Breakfast? It's almost gone. Who told you not to come earlier?"

As she spoke, her chubby hands casually took out two cold buns from the steamer and threw them on the table like garbage, and the buns rolled twice.

Yunxi bit her lip, almost leaving a mark. She said nothing, reached out to pick up the steamed bun, and turned to leave.

Xiangling followed closely behind, angry but not daring to say a word.

Yunxi kept her head down and walked hurriedly along the way. When she reached the yard, she sat down on the stone bench and, not caring whether it was dirty or not, she ate the hard steamed buns in big mouthfuls.

Xiangling watched from the side, her brows furrowed tightly, her eyes filled with heartache, "Miss, you have suffered."

Yunxi swallowed the steamed bun in her mouth and said, "It's okay, it's better than having nothing to eat."

As they were talking, a burst of laughter came from outside. Yunxi looked up and saw Liu Mei, the daughter of the Marquisate, walking in with several maids.

Liu Mei's pink silk dress was particularly dazzling in the sunlight, and the flowers and birds embroidered on the silk were vivid.

The pearls and jade on her head swayed with her steps, making her pretty face look even more proud.

She walked lightly to Yunxi, raised her chin high, and looked down at Yunxi, "Sister, your life is really poor."

Yunxi stood up and bowed slightly, "Hello, sister."

Liu Mei sneered and glanced at Yun Xi sideways, "Look at you, you are such a poor fellow. You are really bringing shame to the Marquis' Mansion."

Yunxi clutched the corner of her clothes tightly, her palms were sweating, but she still said nothing.

The maid behind Liu Mei also echoed, her shrill voice shouting: "That's right, a concubine's daughter still dares to compare herself with you, young lady."

The maid had a fawning look on her face, her eyes rolling around as she looked at Liu Mei in a flattering manner.

At this moment, Liu Mei saw the steamed bun in Yunxi's hand and reached out to grab it. "Humph, are you worthy of eating something like this?"

As she spoke, she threw it to the ground and stomped on it. The bun became mushy under her feet.

A flash of anger flashed in Yunxi's eyes, and it seemed as if the anger was about to burst out of her eyes. But she bit her lip, took a deep breath, and suppressed the anger.

Liu Mei smiled complacently, folding her arms across her chest, "Come on, let's go to the garden to enjoy the flowers instead of being an eyesore here."

After saying this, she turned around and walked away with the group of maids in a swagger.

Yunxi watched them leave, her body trembling slightly. She squatted down, looking at the crushed buns on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes, but she forced herself not to let them fall.

She stretched out her hand, wanting to pick up the bun that was in a mess, but stopped halfway.

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, her nails digging into her flesh.

Xiangling ran in from outside and saw this scene, "Miss, they are going too far!" Xiangling was so angry that her face turned red and her chest heaved.

Yunxi slowly stood up, looking forward with a determined gaze, "Xiangling, I won't be bullied like this forever."

Xiangling wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Miss, we must fight for our dignity."

Yunxi took a deep breath and said, "One day, I will let them know that I, Yunxi, am not someone who can be bullied."

Xiangling nodded vigorously, "Miss, I believe you."

Yunxi looked at the crushed buns on the ground and vowed to herself, "I must change this situation and never let anyone bully me like this again."

In the afternoon, Yunxi was mending a worn-out piece of clothing in the yard. The stitches were crooked, but her eyes were focused and serious.

At this moment, Xiangling hurried in, shouting, "Miss, something bad has happened! The Madam is calling you over!"

Xiangling was running out of breath, her little face was red, and there were shiny beads of sweat on her forehead.

Yunxi's heart skipped a beat. She tightened the clothes in her hands and frowned slightly, wondering what was going on.

She took a deep breath, stood up, dusted herself off, and followed Xiangling to the lady's yard.

Arriving at the lady's courtyard, Yunxi carefully stepped over the threshold. She saw the lady sitting upright in the hall, her face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Yunxi hurriedly bowed and stood aside respectfully, not daring to breathe.

The lady glanced at her sideways and said coldly, "I heard that you offended Liu Mei today?"

Upon hearing this, Yunxi quickly waved her hands and said anxiously, "Madam, Yunxi wouldn't dare. Yunxi has always been cautious and prudent, how could she dare to offend the young lady?"

The lady snorted, "Don't you dare? Liu Mei is the daughter of the Marquis's family, and she has a noble status.

You are a concubine's daughter, and you dare not fawn on her and make her unhappy? Do you think you are too independent? "

The lady said this with her eyes wide open.

Yunxi lowered her head even lower, her voice trembling a little: "Madam, Yunxi really didn't.

Yunxi knew that her status was low, so she would usually avoid the young lady when she saw her, and would never dare to show any disrespect.

The lady slammed the table with a loud "bang", frightening Yunxi so much that she trembled. "You still dare to quibble!

I think you are just being stubborn. I will punish you by making you clean the backyard and not allowing you to eat for three days."

Yunxi gritted her teeth, feeling aggrieved, but could only reply, "Yes, Madam."

After coming out of the lady's yard, Yunxi's tears were welling up in her eyes, but she tried hard to hold them back.

Xiangling looked at Yunxi distressedly and whispered to her, "Miss, don't be too sad. You will be fine after this period.

Madam is just like that, we won't argue with her."

Yunxi raised her hand to wipe away her tears, took a deep breath, and said, "It's okay, Xiangling, let's go clean up the backyard."

When I got to the backyard, I saw it was filled with all kinds of junk, broken wood, rotten baskets, and everything else.

A gust of wind blew, and the dust flew up, making it hard to open your eyes. Yunxi picked up a worn broom, bent down and began to clean seriously.

She swept the floor skillfully and laboriously, her forehead soon soaked with sweat, and her hair stuck to her face.

Her clothes were covered in dust, but she didn't even bother to brush them off.

Xiangling was helping to pick up the debris, and she kept muttering, "Miss, please take a rest. Don't get tired."

Yunxi shook her head and said, "It's okay, just finish cleaning quickly to avoid Madam finding fault again."

Her hands were red from holding the broom all the time. But Yunxi seemed to be oblivious to it and continued sweeping. Her determined eyes seemed to say, "This little hardship is nothing. I will definitely get through this."

The backyard was cluttered with debris and dust. Yunxi took a broom and swept diligently. Sweat soaked her forehead and her clothes were covered in dust.

At this time, several maids passed by and saw Yunxi. They looked at her with a squint, a pout, and started chattering, as if they had seen something rare.

"Look, that's the unfavored concubine who was punished to clean the backyard." One of the short maids shouted in a sharp and shrill voice, with a gloating expression on her face.

"Hmph, it's her fault for offending the Madam and the First Lady." Another fat maid echoed, hands on her hips, a look of disdain on her face, "With her poor appearance, she dares to act so arrogantly in the mansion."

The thin maidservant next to her also came over and spat in Yunxi's direction: "Don't you even look at your own status? You still want to compete with the eldest lady for favor. You are really overestimating your own abilities."

Yunxi acted as if she didn't hear anything. She kept sweeping the broom in her hand, one after another. The broom seemed to have a temper in her hand, raising the dust on the ground high.

Her hair was wet with sweat, strands sticking to her face, and her clothes were dirty.

Seeing that Yunxi ignored them, the maids became more excited, gathered together, and their voices became louder and louder.

"I think she's a loser. She'll only be able to do this kind of dirty and tiring work for the rest of her life."

"That's right. Madam and Miss Di can control her with just a flick of their fingers."

Yunxi continued to work silently, not even raising her eyelids, thinking to herself, "Whatever you say, I'll just ignore it."

A few maids felt bored and turned away.

In the evening, Yunxi was so tired that she sat down on the ground. Xiangling came over with a kettle, "Miss, have some water."

Yunxi took the kettle and drank from it in big gulps.

"Miss, you can't go on like this. We have to think of a way." Xiangling said.

Yunxi looked at the sunset in the sky with a firm look in her eyes, "Don't worry, I won't let anyone bully me like this forever."