Volume One, Chapter 10: Couldn’t You Just Give Her a Break?

Red Sleeve nearly shattered her teacup in shock—this was a disaster! It wasn’t that she cared much about Mei Xianghan herself, but if anything happened to her now, the blame would undoubtedly fall on her young mistress. And then, what would the young masters think?

Mei Gongxue understood immediately. Silently cursing, she rose and made her way to the Plum Blossom Garden.

Here, the red plum blossoms blazed like fire, their brilliance heightened against the backdrop of pure white snow.

When Mei Gongxue entered the room, she found Mei Xianghan lying on the bed, eyes tightly shut, her cheeks unnaturally flushed with a deep red.

Several anxious maidservants were gathered at the bedside.

“What happened?” Mei Gongxue asked in a low, stern voice.

The two maids, upon seeing her, seemed to regard her as some fierce beast and instinctively stepped in front of the bed, though they dared not withhold their reply.

“Second Miss has been crying since she returned, then suddenly fainted. Her fever won’t break. Sister Xiao E has already gone to fetch the doctor!”

Xiao E was Mei Xianghan’s chief maid, a sharp and formidable presence.

Only then did Mei Gongxue realize that the cold outside must have caused this illness.

Just as she was about to approach and check on her, a shadow suddenly leapt from the bed, aiming straight for her face.

The servants gasped but couldn’t stop it.

Mei Gongxue instinctively raised her hand to block, but a sharp pain shot through her wrist as three claw marks appeared.

It was a wild cat!

Fortunately, it was only two or three months old, so the damage was minor.

The little wildcat then jumped back onto Mei Xianghan’s bed, growling lowly at Mei Gongxue, its fur bristled in alertness as if guarding its charge fiercely.

“Where did this little beast come from?” Red Sleeve, furious at the cat for scratching her mistress, moved to catch it.

“Stop!” At that moment, Xiao E returned.

Behind her came Mei Changgong.

Seeing the little wildcat loyally defending Mei Xianghan’s bedside, Xiao E immediately rushed over and scooped it up. “This kitten was a gift from Third Young Master during his recent hunt. I dare anyone to try and touch her!”

She hadn’t expected Mei Gongxue’s arrival; her expression flickered slightly before she hurried to explain, “My mistress is kind-hearted by nature. Ever since this poor little cat was rescued, she has personally fed it rice soup and fish. The cat is very attached to her. They say animals have a keen sense; they know who is friend and who is foe.”

Xiao E’s words were sharp, heavy with insinuation.

Mei Gongxue’s face immediately chilled. Having been scratched by the wildcat without provocation, she had said nothing—yet this maid had already accused her first.

Red Sleeve beside her was even more furious, stepping forward to scold, “How dare you, a mere servant, call our young mistress a villain?”

Xiao E shrank back but, glancing behind to Mei Changgong, regained her confidence and raised her voice deliberately.

“My mistress sincerely came to your Peach Blossom Garden to apologize, yet the eldest miss acted so haughty that our young mistress was left standing in the snow for a full hour before being admitted! And who knows what the eldest miss said to her after? When she returned, she cried without stopping and then caught a fever that made her faint! Her health has always been fragile, yet you show no consideration and only know how to mistreat her!”

Xiao E’s sharp tongue made her no easy foe, and now feeling justified, she showed no respect toward Mei Gongxue.

Perhaps the commotion was too great, for Mei Xianghan, who had been unconscious, slowly stirred awake, her voice weak, “My head hurts so badly…”

Xiao E quickly bent over her bedside and whispered, “Miss, rest assured, I have called Third Master. He will see justice done!”

Only then did Mei Changgong approach, holding a riding whip and draped in a cloak, evidently having rushed back without changing.

He glanced at Mei Xianghan on the bed and then questioned Mei Gongxue, “Is it true? Did you make Ah Xiang wait outside for over an hour?”

Mei Gongxue had been quietly observing, but her pupils suddenly contracted when her eyes caught sight of the whip.

In prison, the guards had used this very type of whip for brutal interrogations.

Her body involuntarily trembled, her expression uneasy. “I did not make her wait. I simply did not want to see her.”

Mei Changgong frowned.

Mei Xianghan struggled to sit up. “Third Brother, don’t blame Sister. I stood there because I wanted to.”

Tears streamed down her face as she spoke.

Mei Changgong’s brow furrowed deeply. He understood his sister well and knew why she had gone without needing to ask.

But he also believed he understood Mei Gongxue.

Since her return to the manor, she had spoken with constant bitterness, harboring resentment against everyone.

Mei Xianghan was timid and gentle by nature—no match for her. She would inevitably be bullied if she went.

“Xue, Ah Xiang is your own sister. You take advantage of her guilt to make her stand outside for over an hour. Don’t you think that’s cruel? Don’t you know she’s weak? Couldn’t you show a little mercy?”

There it was again—the same old phrase.

All her life, Mei Gongxue had heard variations of this.

A sudden flare of anger burst within her. “I’ve already explained—I didn’t want to see her. She forced this meeting in this way. How is that my fault? Does being weak give her the right?”

Mei Changgong’s face darkened instantly. “How dare you talk back? What happened before was Ah Xiang’s fault, but that’s separate. This time, you caused her to fall ill. That’s your fault. Apologize to her at once!”

Mei Gongxue clenched her fists tightly within her sleeves, struggling to suppress her fury, then turned to Mei Xianghan. “Three years ago, your rashness caused me trouble. Now you want to drag me down again with your foolishness? You want me to apologize to you?”

Mei Xianghan was so frightened by the sharpness in her eyes that she quickly lowered her head, silenced.

The little wildcat meowed nearby, its cries chaotic and distracting.

Seeing her sister’s humiliated state, Mei Changgong’s displeasure grew. “You’ve only been back a few days and already disrupted the household so much. I don’t believe you acted so arrogantly during those two years at the Zhao residence. It’s only because you’re back at the Hou mansion that the family indulges you!”

Mei Xianghan was already gravely ill, and all he asked was for Mei Gongxue to apologize—was that too much to ask?

Clearly, she had suffered too little hardship outside to learn any sense.

The noisy cat beside them irritated Mei Changgong, and in his anger, he lashed out with the whip.

The crisp, sharp crack echoed through the room.

Mei Gongxue had been about to retort, but the whip’s strikes filled her ears.

Her thoughts momentarily scattered; the familiar pain rose again, and a deep, overwhelming terror spread through her.

She screamed suddenly, curling up in the corner, begging as she had once done in prison.

“Please stop! I really don’t know anything!”

The room fell completely silent.

Mei Changgong froze, baffled—he had not struck her.

“Xue, what’s wrong?”