Chapter 195: Meddling in “Other People’s Business”

Chapter 195: Meddling in "Other People's Business"

At this time, the whole Shaoqing Mansion was busy with New Year preparations, and Second Madam Zhu, who was managing the household, was buried in work.

Duan Yunyan, accompanied by a young maid, had just come from the theater stage.

Piles of melting snow lay beside the shrubs, and two sparrows hopped around.

Duan Yunyan approached, and the sparrows fluttered up, landing on higher branches.

"Green Cherry, go fetch some grain," Duan Yunyan said.

"Miss wants to feed the sparrows?" Green Cherry asked with a smile.

"Yes. Hurry and go."

"But Miss, don't go anywhere else. Wait for me here," Green Cherry urged before turning away.

With no maids around and no one nearby, Duan Yunyan waved at the sparrows and imitated their chirps, "Cheep, cheep."

Ever since Madam Zhu took over as steward, the servants in the mansion had become much more respectful toward the Fourth Miss, and Duan Yunyan also clearly felt the lighter atmosphere.

The red-jacketed girl radiated innocence and carefreeness.

This carefree attitude irritated Duan Yunhua.

"Cheep, come down, I'll feed you."

"So annoying," Duan Yunhua said with a ferocious expression, stooping to pick up a stone.

"What are you doing?"

Startled, Duan Yunyan turned her head and saw Xin You holding Duan Yunhua's wrist, a fragment of stone falling to the ground.

"Let go!" Duan Yunhua, outwardly aggressive but inwardly terrified, shouted at Xin You, her heart racing with panic and regret.

What was she doing? She just wanted Duan Yunyan to be quiet.

Seeing Duan Yunhua's changing expressions, Xin You understood what she was about to do.

Not long ago, during the New Year’s greetings from the younger relatives to the elders, Xin You had seen a new vision, one involving Duan Yunyan.

A girl in red looked up at the sparrows on the branches, her smile sweet, but soon a stone flew toward her, hitting her temple.

The final image showed Duan Yunyan lying on her back, blood staining the melting snow.

The vision did not show the attacker, making it impossible to determine who threw the stone.

Xin You quickly realized, based on Duan Yunyan’s clothing in the vision, that the incident was occurring today.

With no time to find out who harbored such hatred toward Duan Yunyan, she could only secretly monitor her movements. When Duan Yunyan stopped where the vision matched, Xin You traced the direction the stone had come from and discovered Duan Yunhua.

For a moment, Xin You was disbelieving.

"Second Elder Sister, Cousin, what are you doing?" Duan Yunyan approached, asking curiously.

"Nothing—"

Xin You rudely interrupted Duan Yunhua, "She was about to throw a stone at you."

Duan Yunyan looked down at the stone on the ground, her face filled with fear as she looked at Duan Yunhua. "Second Elder Sister—"

At that moment, Duan Yunhua reacted swiftly, "Fourth Sister, don't listen to her nonsense. We haven't even had a quarrel, so why would I throw something at you?"

Though Duan Yunyan was young, she wasn't so easily fooled. "Then why was Second Elder Sister holding a stone? I saw Qing Cousin grab your hand, which is why the stone didn't get thrown."

Duan Yunhua's expression changed slightly. "I was trying to help you get the birds on the tree to come down since you were calling them, but they wouldn't come down. Fourth Sister, you wouldn't actually believe Kou Qingqing's nonsense, would you?"

Duan Yunyan pursed her lips.

In truth, she had only seen the stone on the ground and hadn't seen her Second Elder Sister holding the stone.

"Miss—" Luyin returned with the grain, casting a puzzled glance at Xin You and Duan Yunhua.

Duan Yunyan looked at Duan Yunhua, then at Xin You, before taking Luyin's hand. "I don't feel like playing anymore. I want to go find Mother."

The little girl hesitated for a moment, then bowed slightly to Xin You. "Thank you, Qing Cousin."

Duan Yunhua was furious. "Fourth Sister, what do you mean by that? Do you really believe what Kou Qingqing said? Do you think I would actually throw a stone at you?"

Luyin's eyes widened.

Someone threw a stone at the miss? What had happened while she was away?

Duan Yunyan tilted her head slightly. "No, that's not what I meant."

"Then why did you thank Kou Qingqing?"

The little girl looked at Duan Yunhua and replied calmly, "Even if Second Elder Sister was trying to scare the birds down with the stone, there was still a risk of hitting me, so I need to thank Qing Cousin. Luyin, let's go."

Watching as Duan Yunyan and her maid walked away, Duan Yunhua glared fiercely at Xin You. "Kou Qingqing, what evidence do you have to say I was going to throw a stone at Fourth Sister? Did I actually throw the stone?"

The twisted expression on Duan Yunhua's face made Xin You shake her head. "I simply told Fourth Sister what I saw. Whether Fourth Sister believes it or you admit it, that's up to you."

Duan Yunyan's reaction made Xin You feel that this time, her "meddling" had been worth it.

"You deliberately tried to ruin my reputation!"

"If that's what you think, then we can go talk to Grandmother about it."

"I don't have time to argue with you," Duan Yunhua snorted coldly and walked away quickly.

Even if Kou Qingqing had no proof, if the rumors spread, people would think all sorts of things, and that wouldn't be good for her.

When Duan Yunyan went looking for her mother, Second Madame Zhu was entertaining guests from Count Gu Chang's mansion.

Perhaps because of the marriage alliance between the Shaoqing Mansion and the Gu Chang family, there were more people coming to offer New Year's greetings this year. Even some families that usually didn't interact much had sent servants with their calling cards.

Seeing her mother busy, Duan Yunyan waited patiently.

Once Zhu Shi had a moment to spare, she asked her daughter, "Yan'er, why aren't you playing?"

Seeing her daughter's serious expression, Zhu Shi couldn't help but smile. "What is it?"

"Mother, I have something to tell you. Just now in the garden, I saw Second Elder Sister holding a stone, but Qing Cousin stopped her. Second Elder Sister said she was trying to scare the birds down for me, but Qing Cousin said Second Elder Sister was trying to throw the stone at me."

Zhu Shi's face changed instantly. "Did you get hurt?"

"No, the stone dropped to the ground."

"What exactly happened? Did you see it clearly?"

Duan Yunyan shook her head. "I didn’t see it. Mother once taught me that if something is uncertain, I shouldn’t argue about it with others lightly, so I came back to find you."

"Yanyan acted correctly." Zhu Shi gently stroked her daughter's head, suppressing her anger while finishing her tasks. Then she headed to the Evening Peace Residence.

Xin You had expected Zhu Shi would come.

"Second Auntie."

"Qingqing, you’re a smart girl, so I’ll be straightforward. What did Second Miss Duan intend to do with the stone?"

Xin You didn’t beat around the bush. "While wandering in the garden, I happened to see them. At that time, Duan Yunhua had a fierce expression as she picked up the stone. It didn’t seem like she was trying to scare away the birds. I already have a longstanding grudge against Duan Yunhua, so others might find it hard to believe me. I won’t escalate this and bring it to Grandmother, though. Whether you believe it or not is up to you, Second Auntie."

"I trust you," Zhu Shi said in a low voice, her eyes darkened. "I trust you."

That was her beloved daughter. Even if there was only a slight chance, she couldn’t afford to be complacent about her daughter’s safety.

"Has Fourth Miss offended Duan Yunhua?" Xin You asked, voicing her confusion.

Zhu Shi smiled. "Has Qingqing offended your eldest auntie?"

When someone’s heart is twisted, they can do anything.

Zhu Shi sincerely thanked Xin You and left with a composed expression.