Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Chapter 12 — Want to hurt me? I’ll poison you to death!

Yu Linglong laughed lightly and slowly descended the steps. Her smile was like a beam of light, capable of single-handedly lighting up the overcast courtyard.

“No time to wait on me?” Her voice was melodious, like a twinkling bell, but it sent shivers up Lifeng Nian Jiade’s spine. Yu Linglong arrived at her side and glanced at her coldly.

“What if I said you have to wait on me?”

When Yu Linglong’s eyes fell on her face, Lifeng Nian Jiade suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot up from the place she had been stabbed that morning. This Fourth Miss wasn’t easy to shake off! Lifeng Nian Jiade was shivering in fear, but she forced herself to calm down before responding, “This servant... this servant is afraid it’s not a good time.”

At that, Yu Linglong sneered and said coolly, “It’s alright, come in.” Once her back was turned, the little maidservant behind Lifeng Nian Jiade immediately fell down on her knees. A faint sob could be detected in her childish voice as she whimpered, “Fourth Miss, this servant... this servant doesn’t dare enter, please let this servant go—”

Before she could finish, Lifeng Nian Jiade delivered a harsh kick to her side and chastised, “Despicable wench! How disgraceful of you!” Then, she turned to Yu Linglong and fawned, “Fourth Miss, please pardon this wench’s offense. She was recruited not long ago. She is ignorant, so upon seeing Fourth Miss, she was frightened.”

The corners of Yu Linglong’s lips arched up coldly.

Frightened? Was she some hideous, man-eating monster? The little maidservant had yet to taste her fists, so what could she be frightened about? Or perhaps, the little maidservant was frightened by not by her, but by

what was going to happen soon?

No longer wanting to bother with them, Yu Linglong tossed out two words, “Come in!” before stepping into the room. Lifeng Nian Jiade lifted the little maidservant by her ear and raised her voice, as though scolding the little maidservant for Yu Linglong to hear.

“You humiliating wench, why couldn’t you do something that simple? Get out! Just you wait, I’ll teach you a lesson when I return!”

Yu Linglong paid no heed to Lifeng Nian Jiade’s words and continued into the room. Chances were, Lifeng Nian Jiade was afraid the little maidservant would leak a certain secret, so she’d chased her away.

One by one, Xuan Cao laid the dishes out on the table; the dishes consisted of eight treasures duck, ginger-sauce fish fillets, sweet and sour lotus root, rice-flour pudding, and a large pot of steaming snow fungus dessert soup with shredded chicken. An alluring aroma wafted from the food, and just looking at the table was enough to stimulate one’s appet.i.te.

However, Yu Linglong didn’t spare a single glance at the dishes. Her piercing gaze was fixed on Lifeng Nian Jiade, who was standing to the side.

Could it be that the Fourth Miss had noticed something? Lifeng Nian Jiade thought anxiously. It can’t be! Only Mother Cui knew about the scheme. The little maidservant from earlier had only been terrified of this place because she’d heard rumors about it.

If not for the fact that sending over the dishes alone would attract the suspicion of the Fourth Miss, Lifeng Nian Jiade wouldn’t have brought that cowardly little maidservant along. Her wandering mind was suddenly dragged back by Yu Linglong’s remark, “What, you’ve never waited upon a mistress before?”

Lifeng Nian Jiade composed herself and hurriedly suppressed the unease boiling in her

her heart. She took two steps forward and picked up some chopsticks, “What would Fourth Miss like to eat?”

Noticing Lifeng Nian Jiade’s slightly trembling hand, Yu Linglong’s lips curved into a ridiculing smile. Was she already trembling from this? She wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything big with this sort of weak mentality.

Yu Linglong’s lack of response caused Lifeng Nian Jiade to feel uncertain. After forcing herself to think about how she was beaten by Yu Linglong that morning and recalling Mother Cui’s warnings, she callously picked up a duck leg and placed it in front of Yu Linglong.

“Fourth Miss, this eight treasure duck was made with sausage, mushrooms, ginkgo, bamboo shoots, dried tofu, and other ingredients. Do give it a try, Fourth Miss.” However, Yu Linglong’s chopsticks remained on the table. Her bright eyes seemed to be smiling, but it was a chill-inducing smile.

“Oh? You think this one tastes good? Why don’t you sample it for me then?”

Lifeng Nian Jiade’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. Her, sample the dish?! Her face instantly paled, which naturally didn’t escape Yu Linglong’s eye. The faint smile on Yu Linglong’s face disappeared, and her voice took on a harsh tone, “You dare disobey?”

Immediately, Lifeng Nian Jiade forced herself to calm down, as to not expose anything. She lowered her eyes and tried to conceal the panic on her face, then murmured, “This was ordered specially by the Madam for you, Fourth Miss. This servant does not dare try it.”

Yu Linglong snorted. Right, the dish was “specially” ordered by Madam Mu. Her intentions were clear as day.

“What if I said... you have to eat it?” Yu Linglong’s cold voice resounded in the s.p.a.cious room, causing the temperature to feel as though it had dropped several degrees. At

degrees. At that point, Lifeng Nian Jiade couldn’t help but feel her knees go weak, and she nearly fell to the ground.

The Fourth Miss must’ve caught on to something! Otherwise, why would she be trying again and again to force her? The thought made her shudder.

“Why aren’t you eating? Are you afraid there’s poison in it?” Sarcasm dripped from Yu Linglong’s voice, and her frosty gaze resembled the edge of a sharp dagger.

“This servant...” Uncontrollably trembling now, Lifeng Nian Jiade was unable to say any more. She felt as though all of her schemes had been seen through already, and before she could sputter out an excuse, a heavy slap landed on her face, right on her bandaged wound!

Since the wound hadn’t closed up yet, the impact of the blow caused it to suddenly split open. In an instant, blood soaked the white bandages and dripped down her neck while she cried out in pain. Her body fell to the floor.

“Letting you sample it was to show that I held high regards for you! Shameless!” Yu Linglong swiftly stood up. “Xuan Cao, bring over the dish!”

On the side, Xuan Cao was so frightened that she began to tremble. Hurriedly, she lifted the dish off the table and placed it in Yu Linglong’s hand.

“No, I don’t want to eat—” Lifeng Nian Jiade ignored the pain on her face and desperately tried to twist her head away, wanting to avoid Yu Linglong’s hands. Unfortunately, before she could finish yelling, Yu Linglong had already latched onto her neck.

“Whether you eat or not is beyond your control!” Lifting the dish, Yu Linglong tilted the plate and stuffed the food into Lifeng Nian Jiade’s mouth. The pressure on Lifeng Nian Jiade’s neck was making her breathless soher breathless so she had no choice but to open her mouth to gasp for air, completely defenseless to the flood of food entering her mouth.

Knowing she had personally added strong poison into the food, Lifeng Nian Jiade’s face turned ashen. The poison would effortlessly kill her!

“Fourth Miss... mercy...” Since she couldn’t break free from Yu Linglong’s grip, Lifeng Nian Jiade tried to turn her head away and spit out the food instead. Then, she continued to beg, “This servant... admits her wrongs... please...”

Yu Linglong really did stop... not because she was soft-hearted, but rather because the majority of the food she had forced into Lifeng Nian Jiade’s mouth had been spit down. This method wasn’t very effective.

Changing tactics, she grabbed the bowl of sweet soup from the table with one hand, tightly pinched Lifeng Nian Jiade’s nose with the other, and poured the soup down her throat.

Let’s see if you can still spit it out now!

Only after seeing every drop of the soup disappear into Lifeng Nian Jiade’s mouth did Yu Linglong loosen her grip. Immediately, Lifeng Nian Jiade collapsed to the ground. The blood on her face mingled with the grease from the food, giving her an extremely disheveled look.

“Someone save me... Someone save me...” She was completely exhausted but still found the strength to call out. The poison she’d added herself were now all in her stomach; no matter how fearless she was, she didn’t dare cower when her own life was on the line.

Meanwhile, Yu Linglong was leisurely wiping the excess soup from her hands. Turning her head, she glanced at Lifeng Nian Jiade, who was tossing around on the floor, gripping her stomach, and crying out. Yu Linglong asked coolly, “How was it? Good?”