Chapter 3: What Scheme Is the Young Miss Playing This Time?

Chapter 3: What Scheme Is the Young Miss Playing This Time?

"Miss wants to see that wretched slave?" Jin'er seemed puzzled as to why she would want to see such a lowly servant.

There was no time for Su Youyue to explain. Instead, she suddenly raised her voice, "Jin'er, never mention the word 'wretched slave' in front of him from now on! Hurry and push me to see him!"

Startled by her urgency, Jin'er, full of questions, dared not ask any more when she saw Su Youyue on the verge of tears. She quickly helped her put on her clothes and cloak before hastily pushing her towards Xie Yuan.

The snow was falling heavily, similar to what Su Youyue remembered from her past life. At first, the wheelchair was still manageable, but once they left the garden, it became difficult to navigate. Jin'er stumbled and fell to the ground.

Su Youyue couldn't attend to her; instead, she anxiously reached out with her delicate hands to grasp the wheelchair's wheels and propel herself forward.

Finally, amidst the blanket of snow, she saw the man.

He had been kneeling for who knew how long, his body covered in a thick layer of snow. His black attire sharply contrasted against the white landscape. Despite kneeling, his towering figure seemed to possess an icy arrogance even harsher than the snow itself.

From a distance, Su Youyue couldn't make out his facial features, but just a fleeting glimpse was enough to send shivers down her spine. The man's aura, blending seamlessly with the heavens and earth, exuded a chilling, deadly energy.

Indeed, from this point on in her previous life, the man's sharpness had already shown signs of emerging. It was laughable how she had once thought him weak and vulnerable, even more useless than her crippled self.

"Xie Yuan..." Her voice was hoarse as her hands continued to push the snow towards the man, urging him to get up. "Hurry up."

The man lifted his head slowly at the sound of her voice, giving Su Youyue a cold glance.

His overwhelming killing intent was razor-sharp, instantly freezing Su Youyue in place.

He wanted to kill her!

Her fear of the man ran deep within her bones.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Su Youyue forcefully suppressed her terror. "Xie Yuan, please get up. I didn't know Concubine Liu would punish you. Before that, I misunderstood you too. I'm sorry..."

In her previous life, Xie Yuan's punishment was also her fault for being foolish. Influenced by others, she had believed that this son of a traitor truly harbored improper intentions towards her. She found him utterly disgusting and had severely punished him.

Thinking back now, the Xie family had just narrowly escaped a massacre due to political strife in the court. There was no way he could have such thoughts at this time!

The man seemed not to have heard her words, remaining still as before.

His silence only added to Su Youyue's anxiety. She gritted her teeth and reached out with her cold little hand to help him up.

Regardless, she would never, in this lifetime, wish to become enemies with Xie Yuan!

Hopefully, Xie Yuan had not yet fully transformed into the malevolent lotus he would later become, and would spare her due to her efforts to make amends.

Just as her hand was about to touch the man, his figure suddenly retreated, and he abruptly stood up.

Upon rising, Su Youyue noticed that he was still wearing the tattered clothes from his flogging. The whip marks had torn through the fabric, exposing his wounds, which bled ominously.

Even a mere glance was enough to evoke a sense of pain.

This time, Su Youyue was on the verge of tears.

If only she could go back to before this flogging... Before then, though she hadn't treated Xie Yuan kindly, she hadn't held any grudge against him either.

"Xie Yuan, I'm really sorry... Jin'er will bring you clothes and medicine later," her voice faltered under the man's cold gaze.

Finally, the man spoke in a hoarse voice, "What trick does the young lady wish to play now?"

Before she could speak, Jin'er, who had stumbled, hurriedly rushed over. Upon reaching Xie Yuan, she fiercely shoved him. "You lowly slave, who gave you the audacity to speak to Miss like that?"

Wounded and having knelt in the snow for a long time, it was already a struggle for Xie Yuan to stand on his knees. With the push, his body swayed, and he fell back onto one knee with a thud.

"Jin'er!" Su Youyue nearly jumped out of her wheelchair in fright.

She hadn't managed to appease this Lord of Hell yet, and now she had thoroughly provoked him!

Sure enough, when she glanced at Xie Yuan, she saw a cold glare that seemed to want to tear her apart!

"Miss, this contemptible slave dared to show disrespect to you. When Madam Liu finds out, she'll definitely avenge you by beating him to death!" Jin'er, unaware of her Miss's tone, belatedly recalled what Miss had said earlier and quickly corrected herself. "Xie Yuan is no good! He deserves punishment!"

"..." Of course, Su Youyue knew that Xie Yuan was no good.

But with his future status, he would have more than enough power to crush the entire Su family. How could she afford to provoke him? She wished she could personally serve this Lord of Hell with the best food and drink right now.

However, Jin'er's attitude made Su Youyue realize that if her demeanor had suddenly changed so drastically, no one else would believe it, let alone Xie Yuan.

Taking a deep breath, Su Youyue exhaled slowly. "No need. Let him go back and tend to his wounds properly. I've thought it through. Those people sent him here to infuriate me and humiliate me, but I won't give them the satisfaction!"

Speaking thus, she turned to look at Xie Yuan again, attempting to portray her youthful self with a mix of coquettishness and arrogance. "Xie Yuan, you belong to this young lady. I recall your prowess in both literature and martial arts. Make sure you recover fully, then go give those people a taste of their own medicine! Don't disgrace this young lady's reputation in front of outsiders and let them laugh at us!"

Done speaking, she fixated intently on the man's expression.

Xie Yuan's face remained unchanged, but his deep eyes were fixed intently on hers, as if he was trying to see through her.

Su Youyue barely managed to suppress a shiver.

The man soon retracted his gaze, reverting to his previous silent demeanor. "Yes."

Su Youyue breathed a sigh of relief.

She had managed to placate the grim reaper for now.

As the man slowly rose and walked away, Jin'er extended her sleeve to warm Su Youyue's hands. "If Miss wants to teach those people a lesson, just give this servant an order. It's so cold out here; why did you have to come in person?"

Su Youyue thought to herself, if she hadn't come personally to smooth things over, Jin'er's push earlier might have cost her both her hands!

Just as she was about to instruct Jin'er never to bully Xie Yuan again, a figure strolled into view at the garden entrance.

Spotting her, the young maiden immediately reveled in schadenfreude. "Oh my, I didn't expect Elder Sister to have found out about the Lu family's intention to annul the engagement and rush over in such a panic! But Elder Sister, it's no use going. Young Master Lu isn't interested in someone with a disability!"