Chapter 18: A Clean Death

Yun Ruoyan responded coolly to Yi Qianying’s interrogation. “Didn’t I tell you? I’m not a doctor, and you should send him back to the Pei household. The Peis will naturally find a doctor to treat Young Master Pei.”

Yun Ruoyan hadn’t looked at Yi Qianying once after she’d entered her rooms, only sipping her tea in satisfaction instead.

Yi Qianying frowned. This sister of hers was becoming more and more inscrutable by the day.

Yi Qianying had been brought to the Yun household when she was small, and she had all but grown up together with Yun Ruoyan. Naturally, she thought that she had a good understanding of her useless cousin.

As far as she remembered, while Yun Ruoyan was still heralded as a cultivation genius, she would almost never approach someone unfamiliar on her own.

Everyone thought that she was simply prideful and arrogant, but only Yi Qianying knew that she was actually embarrassed by her birthmark.

Thus, when she intentionally got close to Yun Ruoyan, she received Yun Ruoyan’s trust very easily. After interacting with her for a little, she discovered that Yun Ruoyan was not only prone to self-abasement, but was also a big pushover.

Whenever they played together, Yun Ruoyan would agree with whatever she said, and she never presented any opinions of her own.

Honestly, she didn’t have any of the mannerisms or bearing expected of a daughter of nobility, let alone a wife-born daughter of the Yun family.

Ever since then, she had looked down on Yun Ruoyan a little. By the time Yun Ruoyan had lost her talent and grown uglier and uglier by the day, Yi Qianying loathed her. What right did she have to be the next head of the Yun family?

From then on, she began to plot against Yun Ruoyan with Yun Ruoyao, scheming to pull Yun Ruoyan down from her pedestal as the firstborn. Only then would she start to feel better about her own lowly birth.

But, at some point, Yun Ruoyan had changed, until she was no longer the fragile glass figurine that she used to be. She had seen through her attempts to trick and harm her, and had even made counter-attacks of her own. How shocking!

Yun Ruoyan felt Yi Qianying’s focused gaze on her, and she put down the teacup in her hand and turned around.

“Sister, why are you looking at me like that? Hasn’t Brother Moyuan mentioned that you’ll get a sty if you stare at my birthmark for too long?”

Yi Qianying had her thoughts interrupted by this self-deprecating comment. She buried her negative feelings and spoke slowly, “Sister, you’re really quite good at joking! I’m just worried about you. When we sent Young Master Pei back home, under Elder Pei’s relentless prompting, we were forced to reveal that his coma arose because he was trying to rescue you from the lake.”

Yi Qianying pretended to be helpless as she continued, “Elder Pei was very angry, and he even said that you were an ill-mannered little brat! He told us to inform you to head over to the Pei household immediately to take care of him.”

Yun Ruoyan clutched her forehead. You and Yun Ruoyao were all too happy to reveal that fact, weren’t you? She didn’t have a good impression of the man who had been her father-in-law in her past life. She had spoken no more than three sentences with him over the course of her marriage. He always treated her as nothing more than a prop, never looking at her straight in the eye.

Thinking back to what had happened, although this Elder Pei appeared to be rash and hasty, he might have been the culprit who had orchestrated the entire scheme against the Yun and Lin families.

“Sister, why don’t you go to the Pei estate with me right now? Otherwise, if Elder Pei makes his way over here and disturbs Uncle Yun, it’ll be bad.” Seeing that Yun Ruoyan was unmoved, Yi Qianying brought up her father in order to prompt her into action.

Yun Ruoyan sighed. In her past life, she really did listen to Yi Qianying and had followed her to the Pei household, dutifully taking care of Pei Ziao.

In the end, she had even forced her grandfather into relinquishing the high-grade pill that had been passed down the Lin family for generations, saving Pei Ziao but ultimately harming both the Yun and Lin families.

This time, she would never commit the same mistake. Without this legendary pill, she would see whether Pei Ziao truly would perish.

If he did, at least it would be a clean end for him.

“Sister, please help me inform Elder Pei that I too fell into the lake. Although I didn’t receive as serious a trauma as Young Master Pei, I’m near-bedridden and am unable to step out of my rooms.”

As soon as she said this, Yun Ruoyan stood up. “Once I start feeling better, I’ll go over to the Pei manor and personally thank Young Master Pei for his kind intentions. I’m feeling a little tired now, and I’m going to go rest. Sister, I won’t see you out.”

Yun Ruoyan stepped into her bedroom. Yi Qianying sighed twice from behind her, but when Yun Ruoyan didn’t respond, she swung her sleeves and left her residence immediately.

Yun Ruoyan had Peony heat up the bathwater again so she could take a hot, relaxing bath.

Her encounter with the blade spirit earlier had caused her to lose a considerable amount of blood, and she indeed felt a little weakened.

Right after her bath, Yun Ruoyan fell asleep. She was still in a stupor when she heard Xi Lan’s panicking voice. “Miss, Miss, you have to get up!”

Yun Ruoyan rubbed her eyes as she pushed herself upright with her wrists. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s El-Elder Pei!” Xi Lan began to stammer. “Pe-Peony’s trying to st-stall, but she can’t hold him for long, and she told me to wake you up quickly, Mi-Miss.”

Indeed, loud noises were coming from outside her residence.

“Tell Yun Ruoyan to get out here!” A loud, vigorous voice rang out from the yard as Peony rushed to hold him back.

“Elder Pei, my mistress is currently resting. These are her private quarters, and men aren’t permitted inside.”

“She’s still resting?!” Elder Pei thundered. “My son’s about to die, and she’s resting?!”

“Elder Pei, you, you can’t...” Peony continued to resist valiantly.

“Have Elder Pei wait for a moment.” A clear feminine voice came from Yun Ruoyan’s quarters. “As soon as I finish making myself presentable, I’ll greet him.”

Xi Lan quickly helped Yun Ruoyan brush up before opening the door and inviting Pei Yingxiong inside, ever so politely.

When Pei Yingxiong saw Yun Ruoyan bowing gracefully, playing the role of the courteous host, he couldn’t continue thundering for fear of damaging his reputation.

“Elder Pei, please have a seat.”

“No need! My son’s on the brink of death, and I don’t have the time to exchange pleasantries with you. “

Elder Pei forced down the anger in his voice, but his tone was still brash and cantankerous. “The doctor told me that Ziao fell into a frozen lake, that his body’s being ravaged by chills and that he’s suffered grievous internal injury. In order to recover, he needs the Lins’ core foundation pill, and I’m here to get that pill from you right now!”

Elder Pei’s righteous and forceful tone once again reminded Yun Ruoyan of the past, and how he’d forced her to get the pill from her grandfather in the exact same tone as before.

At the time, Yun Ruoyan, panicking and crushed by guilt, had completely forgotten about how important the pill was to the Lins. All she wanted was for Pei Ziao to wake up once more, and like a crazed demon, she knelt outside the Lin household until her grandfather was willing to let her in and hear her out.

“Elder Pei, you know that the core foundation pill isn’t mine to give,” Yun Ruoyan responded calmly.

“Of course I know that, but it belongs to your grandfather, which is why I’m coming to you now to ask for it.” Elder Pei’s tone was as self-righteous and forceful as before. “Hurry, Miss Yun, my Ziao can’t handle your tarrying!”

Ha, Yun Ruoyan laughed internally, her tone becoming frosty. “By what right?”

“By what right?” Pei Yingxiong glared at her. “Ziao jumped into the lake because of you—as the sole wife-born daughter of the Yuns, aren’t you going to repay his gratitude? Aren’t you afraid of ruining the Yuns’ reputation?”

“Elder Pei, you seem to be mistaken.” Yun Ruoyan didn’t budge. “Pei Ziao jumped into the lake himself, and I was the one who rescued him in the end! If you’re speaking of gratitude, he should be the one showing me gratitude, not I to him!”