"Thud——"
The dilapidated door was kicked open by the newcomer.
Maid Xiao Ling saw the person who came and screamed in fear, "Second Miss! Second Miss, I beg you ”She was instantly quieted by the personal maid of the newcomer, Qiu Ling.
The newcomer is Murong Yao, the second young lady of Murong House. At the moment, she was more like a grim reaper from hell, holding a specially made nine-section whip in her hand.
Unlike an ordinary nine-section whip, the one in Murong Yao's hand was densely covered with barbed spikes. Under the cool moonlight, those sharp spikes appeared quite eerie.
"Swish——"
Murong Yao raised her nine-section whip. The face of the fifteen-year-old girl was filled with cruelty, her phoenix eyes gleaming with jealousy. She aimed at the person lying on the flaking wooden bed and lashed down with half of her strength.
The person on the bed suddenly opened her eyes. The barbed spikes on the nine-section whip penetrated into the flesh, the pain transmitted to the nerves, causing an involuntary spasm.
With Murong Yao's yank, the whip ripped open the flesh on the person's back. The bright red blood quickly stained the white garment.
The person on the bed, in order to prevent herself from yelling out, bit into the pillow and clung to her thin blanket.
Murong Yao was pissed off by her actions. She whipped at the water jug on the table which shattered into pieces upon the floor. Murong Yao ignored it, moved forward and yanked the person from the bed to the floor.
"Do you dare dodge?" As Murong Yao saw the blood welling out from the person's whipped wounds on the ground, she grew furious and began lashing out haphazardly with her whip. "I dare you to dodge! I dare you to dodge!"
Murong Yao looked down at the person on the floor scurrying about like a rat, her mood improved even more, her hand wielding the whip became even more ruthless.
"Do you really think you're the wife of Prince Yan? Do you think just because the emperor bestowed a marriage that you can easily marry Prince Yan?"
Thinking of the icy face of Prince Yan, his cold eyes when looking at her, and imagining him using these eyes to look at the ugly monster on the floor, Murong Yao became uncontrollable for a moment and began to whip the person on the floor like a mad woman.
With a "snap", the nine-section whip in Murong Yao's hand finally broke, restoring silence to the dilapidated room.
Xiao Ling, her mouth covered, was already soaked in tears and too weak to struggle anymore.
The person lying on the ground, huddled up, twitching continuously, had clothes that were already stained red with blood. However, they dared not make a sound, biting their lip tightly.
"Humph! Do you think I would let you achieve your wish, to marry the Prince Yan in style? Keep dreaming!" Murong Yao hovered above, tossing away the last segment of the nine-section whip in her hand.
Inside, the oil lamp flame flickered weakly. At this moment, splattered with blood, Murong Yao's face twisted as though she was a fierce ghost ready to seize a life from Hades.
Even Autumn Ling, her close maid, was scared stiff by her savage expression at this moment.
Just then, Murong Yao glared at Autumn Ling, who, after a brief pause, realized what she wanted and dragged Xiao Ling, who was barely alive, away.
After observing Autumn Ling leave, Murong Yao turned back to glance at the person on the ground, who seemed as weak as an ant, before squatting down with a cold laugh, noting that the person was tightly clutching a piece of red.
Murong Yao snorted coldly, forcefully snatched it away from the blood-soaked hand, and found it to be a handkerchief embroidered with a picture of mandarin ducks playing in the water!
The person who had been silent all this while began struggling unconsciously to retrieve the handkerchief as soon as it was taken away.
Seeing this, Murong Yao gnashed her teeth in anger, spit, and tore the handkerchief into pieces indiscriminately.
Immediately afterwards, she lifted her foot and aimed a kick at the person on the floor, continuing to curse while doing so.
"You wretch! You should take a mirror and see yourself. Dreaming of playing mandarin ducks with Prince Yan? You are utterly shameless, despicable!"
"Do you think you really are the legitimate daughter of the Murong family? You are nothing more than a cheap bastard of a merchant's daughter. A useless piece of trash!"
"If it weren't for you, I would be the one betrothed today! I am the true daughter of the Murong family! I am to be the wife of Prince Yan!"
Murong Yao, blind with rage, carelessly spews out words as she incessantly kicks the curled-up figure on the ground, only stopping when her foot feels sore.
The person lying on the ground is long past making any movements, their body barely covered by clothes, flesh blurred and bloody. Not an inch of skin is left unscathed, looking similar to a corpse torn apart by starving wolves.
"Trying to escape by dying? Beg me, haha! It won't be that easy to die! I'll make you wish you were dead! Servants!"
Unresolved, Murong Yao stomps on the person on the ground again and then flicks her water sleeves. Qiu Ling then brings the drunken Chen Shun into the room.
"Remember, Chen Boge, she is the legitimate Miss of the Murong Residence! If you climb up on her, you'll become the legitimate son-in-law of the Murong family. Wealth and glory, promotions and titles, all within reach!"
Murong Yao laughs evilly as she says this to the man, too drunk to be aware of his surroundings, and easily pushes him into the dishevelled room.
"Guard this place well, I'll hold you responsible if anything goes wrong!" Murong Yao tells Qiu Ling before decidedly leaving the Godforsaken place.
A faint hint of aphrodisiac wafts out from the run-down room. Qiu Ling covers her mouth and nose with a wet handkerchief, quietly listening to the sounds from the room.
"Hehe, beautiful lady! I am here!"
At this, Qiu Ling almost retches. With that ugly face, still called beautiful? Indeed, this aphrodisiac is deadly!
"Help... help..."
Guarding the doorway, Qiu Ling hears the faint cries of the girl. She thinks to herself, the first miss is surely doomed this time. The second miss's plan was admittedly cunning. It's all the older miss's fault for having such bad luck in her past life!
"Bang—"
The sound of a heavy collision, and temporarily, the room becomes silent.
Qiu Ling, guarding outside the room, goes on high alert, pricking up her ears, and sticking them close to the door.
"Heh heh, such a fiery temper, I like it!"
Then came the lewd laughter of Chen Shun, giving Qiuhua the chills. Shockingly, Chen Shun could stomach that toad-like face, a true case of desperation.
"Aahh-"
Suddenly, a shriek as piercing as a slaughtered pig broke through the roof, soaring towards the sky, stirring the inner courtyard of the Murong Mansion.
Frantically, Qiuhua stomped her foot and shoved the door open, only to be stunned by the scene before her:
Chen Shun was writhing on the ground, clutching his crotch, crying out incessantly, "My treasure, my treasure...".
And the young girl, head bowed, her tangled hair veiling her expressions, leaving her current mood indiscernible.
"Young Master! What happened to you?"
Qiuhua couldn't care about anything else, looking at Chen Shun crying and howling on the ground. She was afraid that he would summon the old lady too early, spoiling the second miss's plans, and wanted to step forward to help Chen Shun.
However, just as she took a step, her knee weakened and she found herself kneeling!
As her head raised, she met the eyes of the silent young girl in the room – the deep green eyes emitted a chilling glow, causing Qiuhua's whole body to shake uncontrollably.
"Mis...Miss?" Qiuhua stammered, staring at the homely young girl in front of her.
Miss? What Miss? The young girl seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then the memories in her mind came flooding in.
So, she hadn't died! Instead, she had time-traveled!