"Get in."

Wei Liuying walked to the hut and walked to the stack of hay. She was too lazy to make makeshift blanket, so she only gathered some of them to be put on top of her. Her eyes were looking towards the window as the sky darkened slowly. Her hand reached to her pocket where Xiao Qing slipped some cookies for her.

Xiao Qing already predicted that Wei Liuying might be getting punished again for the nth time.

It was so common.

'Tomorrow, I'll get you out of this residence,' Wei Liuying said to herself inside her mind. Her brain recalled the time when she talked to Wei Hong and Feng Chun.

"Whether I voice it out or not at all, it makes no difference. There's no way the voice of an insignificant young girl will be heard," Wei Liuying said softly to herself.

Closing her eyes, Wei Liuying leaned to the back and sighed. If she simply agreed to her father today, she could use other means to reject it in the future. But then again, how could she possibly influence a different household with her current position?

She could only rely on herself.

"Even if you lost a concubine daughter, it shouldn't be a big deal for you, right Father?"

Wei Liuying stayed silent for the next minute and lied down on top of the hay. She was tired, very tired. However, she would not give up. The moment she gave up on everything, it would only mean her end.

She would never be able to get anything if she didn't work hard and tried to achieve her goal.

Even if she failed in the end, at least she had tried and did whatever she could.

That way, she would not have any regret in the end.

In the morning, Wei Liuying woke up early. Even though she still felt that she needed sleep, she forced her body to move. Slowly, she made her way to the door and stood there without any expression on her face.

"You can come out now…" the guard was stunned to see Wei Liuying right after he opened the door.

Wei Liuying nodded. She looked out and furrowed her brows when she realized that Xiao Qing was not there. Whenever she was out from the punishment's hut, Xiao Qing would be the very first one to come out and greet her. 

'Could it be…?'

Foreboding feelings crept out from the bottom of her heart. Wei Liuying quickly turned to the direction of her quarter and walked as fast as possible. She didn't pay attention to anything else and quickly sped up her pace. The servants around her were treated like the air.

When she was close, she could see several servants stood there. Her heart dropped when she realized that they were Wei Xiao Hua's servants.

At the same time, Wei Liuying could hear the voice of a servant yelling.

"You're still telling me that it's not you?"

Wei Liuying frowned and pushed her way forward. The servants quickly made way when they saw her. She paid them no heed. Her eyes focused on the front where she could see Xiao Qing kowtowed on the ground with Xiao Yu bowed down with tears rolling down her cheeks. In front of them, Wei Xiao Hua was sitting on a stool and her servant was pointing at Xiao Qing, yelling loudly.

"It's really not this servant! This servant is wronged!" Xiao Qing said with shaky voice. It was not known whether it was from anger or fear.

The servant sneered. "The accessory is found in your room. Yet, you still deny that you take it from First Miss's Quarter?"

"This servant truly didn't know anything."

"You unruly…!"

When the servant raised her hand to slap Xiao Qing, Wei Liuying made her move. She stepped forward and grabbed the servant's hand from the back. Even though she was a head's shorter than the servant, her grip was so strong and prevented the servant from moving.

"What do you think you're doing to my servant?" Wei Liuying asked in a cold tone.

The servant was stunned. She tried to release her arm, but found that she was unable to move. It was as if her hand was held by a large man and not a young girl. There was even slight pain on her wrist.

"Third Sister, your servant is unruly. Do you really want to defend the wrong?" Wei Xiao Hua's melodious voice traveled on the air.

Wei Liuying's eyes were cold when she looked at her first sister. She didn't move her hand in the slightest bit as she looked back. Her eyes were cold and unfeeling. "She's my servant, so it's my place to punish her should she do wrong."

"This servant of yours stole an accessory of mine."

"How do you know it's her who stole it?" Wei Liuying asked back.

Wei Xiao Hua spread her hand. "The accessory is found inside her room. If it's not her who stole it, who would it be?"

Wei Liuying was silent for a moment. Her eyes were looking back at Wei Xiao Hua, who was also equally fearless. It seemed that even if they investigated the matter, the one who would be at fault would never be Wei Xiao Hua. The confidence seemed to stem from the bottom of her heart.

"Is that true, Xiao Qing?"

"Miss, I didn't steal the accessory," Xiao Qing said with quivered voice.

"I'm asking, is it true that the accessory is found in your room?"

Xiao Qing raised her head, tears streaming down from her eyes. She sobbed silently and nodded slowly. "Yes, Miss, the accessory is found inside my residence."

Slap!

A crisp slap sound was heard. The servant, whom Wei Liuying stopped was dumbfounded. She was looking from the sidelines as Wei Liuying slapped her own servant with cold expression.

Wei Xiao Hua watched in amusement as Xiao Qing cried and beg for forgiveness, saying that it was not her who stole the accessory. However, her voice seemed to enter deaf ear as Wei Liuying looked back at Wei Xiao Hua without any expression on her face.

"Is this enough?"

"If you only punish your servants with a slap, don't you think that they'll become even more unruly?" Wei Xiao Hua asked. 

Wei Liuying's expression didn't change. "You have already gotten your accessory back, so shouldn't you let the matter rest after punishing Xiao Qing?"

"If you say a slap is a punishment, that's too light. What are you going to do if your servants put you in difficult position in the future?" Wei Xiao Hua laughed with a hint of disdain.

"A servant should put their Master's wellbeing first because whatever happened to their Master would implicate them," Wei Liuying said calmly. Even though she was staring at Wei Xiao Hua, on the back, Xiao Yu hung her head low. The tears seemed to pause for a split second before it came rolling down again. It was as if she was reacting to what Wei Liuying said.

There was a cautious glint in Xiao Yu's eyes when she looked at Wei Liuying, but no words were uttered out.

On the other hand, Wei Xiao Hua laughed languidly. "Third Sister, don't speak so naively. Even if you care for your servant, you should punish them according to their wrongdoing, shouldn't you?"

Wei Liuying stared back at Wei Xiao Hua. The two girls were looking at each other with flames within their eyes. It was as if they were ready to kill each other at this very moment. The anger and even hatred could be seen from their eyes when they looked at the other party.

No one said a word.

Everyone was silent as they watched the confrontation between the two young misses. Even though they were still young, they have already showed their power and position within the residence to each other.

In the end, Wei Liuying moved her gaze. Under her sleeve, her fingers were clenched tightly into a fist. Even if she was unwilling, she knew that this was the trap that Wei Xiao Hua had prepared.

From when? She didn't know.

"In that case, I'll give you satisfying answer later."

"What do you plan to do, Third Sister?" Wei Xiao Hua asked and crossed her hand. "Do you think that I'll be satisfied if you only give another slap to your pitiful servant."

Xiao Qing was still crying. She didn't do anything and yet, she was framed so thoroughly today. It was as if there was no way out for her aside from accepting this mistake and punishment.

The problem was: the punishment for offending Wei Xiao Hua might even result in her death.

"There's no need to worry, you'll be satisfied with my answer,�� Wei Liuying said after a while.

Wei Xiao Hua arched her eyebrows. She looked at the servants around them and laughed lightly. "In that case, I'll be waiting, Third Sister. Let's go back, I'm hungry and there's class today."

"Yes, First Miss."