“How preposterous of you, Yue Qing Ying!”
With a fierce scolding, Yao Ying Xue came over to me and slapped me hard in the face, “Eunuch Yu is right over here. How dare you lose your manners?”
That slap stunned me speechless.
Although she had always been haughty and liked to make things hard for me, this was the first time she hit me in public. An indescribable sense of humiliation and fury rose within me. Just as I raised my head to retort her, I saw Eunuch Yu who was standing in front. In the end, I gritted my teeth and lowered my head, “Please forgive me, Eunuch Yu and Gugu.”
Eunuch Yu slowly made his way over, “Your name is Yue Qing Ying?”
“Yes.”
“Did you meet the Third Highness last night?”
My heart sank as I quickly shook my head, “This servant did not.”
“Oh? Then where were you last night? What were you doing?”
“This servant- This servant was not on duty last night, so this servant rested all night long and did not even step out of my room.” As I stammered to explain, Yu Er who was standing beside me eyed me weirdly.
“Oh,” Eunuch Yu narrowed his eyes as he looked at me silently. After a moment, he finally said, “Since you don’t know anything about it, we’ll let it go. What happened today is not done purposely by you, so no need to punish her Female Official Yao.”
Yao Ying Xue still looked angry, but since Eunuch Yu had opened his mouth, there was nothing she could do about it. She stared at me fiercely, “Since Eunuch Yu has said that, Yue Qing Ying, you are spared this time. Hurry and thank Eunuch Yu.”
“Yes. Thank you, Eunuch Yu and Gugu.” After curtsying towards them, I hurriedly picked up the coins that I dropped and left hastily. Eunuch Yu continued staring at my back profile with his shrewd eyes, not saying anything.
Only after returning to Nei Cang Pavilion did I finally calm down.
I was lucky Eunuch Yu wasn’t asking too many questions, otherwise—I had no idea if I was scared or sad, but as I remembered those nightmarish memories, my tears fell.
I sat there all by myself for who knows how long when I heard a knock on the door. I hastily wiped my tears and could see Yu Er standing by the doorway, looking at her wide-eyed, “Qing Ying, you’re—crying?”
“No, I did not.”
I wiped my eyes harshly before turning around to enter my room. Yu Er followed me from behind, “Don’t bother hiding it from me. That Yao Ying Xue has always been domineering and unreasonable, and her most frequent target is you. She actually hit you today. But honestly, Qing Ying, what is wrong with you?”
“There’s nothing wrong with me,” I replied her softly.
“Then why did you lie to Eunuch Yu?” Yu Er looked at me. “You clearly weren’t in your room, last night.”
My heart sank.
The Nei Cang Pavilion was suddenly quiet. After a while, I finally recovered my voice, “Don’t jump into conclusions, Yu Er. I just didn’t want to court trouble. I did went out yesterday, but I cannot tell where I went to, to Eunuch Yu and the rest.”
Yu Er looked at me with wide eyes, “Where did you go to?”
