Chapter 205: Stripping Her Clothes Off

Shen Yu’an pinched her fingers, wondering about the chances of escaping from the General’s residence, considering the prospect of beating up  this young lady.

Before she could fully process this, Qi Yiran spoke again.

“Well, how about it? I believe this is a good choice, isn’t it? Or would you prefer I find someone to make you kneel?”

Shen Yu’an took a step back, choosing a distance where she could spread her legs.

As she stepped back, she retorted, “In your dreams!”

Qi Yiran angrily exclaimed, “You rustic fool, how dare you talk to me like that!”

“Both of you, go over and restrain her. Then strip her clothes off for me. Let’s see if she can still be so defiant!”

The two maids following behind her immediately moved to position themselves behind Shen Yu’an, intending to hold her down and make her kneel.

Qi Yiran turned to the maid who was begging for mercy on the ground and commanded, “I’ll give you one chance.”

The maid quickly lifted her head, looking hopefully at Qi Yiran. “Miss, please tell me.”

With a scornful gaze, Qi Yiran looked down at her and said, “If you personally strip the clothes off that rustic girl, I’ll consider forgiving you.”

She wouldn’t wear the clothes that the rustic girl had worn.

But what originally belonged to her, she wouldn’t give to anyone else, especially not to this rustic girl who was completely unworthy.

A woman captured by human traffickers might have been dirtied by now, dirtying her eyes too.

The maid’s gaze shifted to Shen Yu’an, torn and hesitant internally, and a silence fell over the scene momentarily.

“I… This was originally your clothes, Miss. I’ll help you take them back.”

Saying this, the maid got up from the ground and began to approach Shen Yu’an, step by step.

“Tsk~” Shen Yu’an rolled her eyes, her patience exhausted. She lifted her foot and kicked towards Qi Yiran’s chest.

“Ah! Ah! Ah!” Qi Yiran’s figure flew along with the sound, coming to a halt against a large tree.

“You, you, you! How dare you lay a hand on her! Our master won’t let you get away with this!”

Saying this, the maids rushed towards where Qi Yiran had landed, standing beneath the tree, agitated and hopping in frustration, unsure how to get her down.

Shen Yu’an watched as they all ran off, her surroundings finally quieting down. She rubbed her slightly numbed ears and turned to the young maid, asking, “Where’s the main hall?”

The young maid, covering her mouth, took a step back and pointed down the corridor. “Just follow this corridor to the end, and then enter another courtyard.”

Shen Yu’an wasted no time and walked away, leaving behind the stunned young maid and the agitated Qi Yiran and her companions who were jumping anxiously not far away.

As Shen Yu’an walked away, a figure in sky-blue attire appeared at the corner behind the corridor. The person whispered to the maid behind them, “Go call two young servants over and rescue Miss Third.”

“Understood.”

──

In the main hall ahead, several people had already gathered. When Shen Yu’an approached, Zhu Zhu immediately jumped down from the stool.

Seeing Shen Yu’an, Xin Rui stood up and warmly guided her to a seat.

The Xiangnan General’s household was divided into three branches. Xiangnan General himself presided over the main household, being the head of the family.

The Xiangnan General and Lady Wen had two sons and two daughters.

The second branch consisted of Qi Wenqin and Xin Rui, who had few children, with only Zhu Zhu being their daughter.

The third branch was represented by Qi Wenyong, who hadn’t appeared last night, along with his wife Xie, as well as the concubines from both branches. Therefore, it was the branch with the most children in the household.

During meals in the main hall, concubines were not qualified to accompany.

Xin Rui led Shen Yu’an into the hall and introduced her to everyone present. She then briefly introduced the identities of the people at the table to Shen Yu’an.

Apart from those Shen Yu’an already knew, such as Zhu Zhu, Lady Wen, and Qi Wenqin, there were also the second young miss of the household, the fourth young miss, and five young masters.

The various greetings were exchanged between Shen Yu’an and the second young miss, fourth young miss, and the five young masters.

The gathering was not yet complete, so the dishes had not been served.

Zhu Zhu wanted to sit with Shen Yu’an, but Xin Rui glanced apologetically at her and arranged her on the other side of Zhu Zhu.

A young man at the table looked at Shen Yu’an, who was being treated respectfully by Xin Rui, and asked, “If I’m not mistaken, the clothes you’re wearing should belong to my third sister, right?”

Shen Yu’an met his gaze and replied, “If I’m not mistaken, these clothes were given to me by the household.”

Despite the incident with the supposed third young miss wanting her clothes just moments ago, Shen Yu’an didn’t feel like she was taking something from anyone.

The young man was taken aback by Shen Yu’an’s response and grew visibly annoyed, “You!”

Xin Rui spoke up to stop him from saying what he was about to say, “Third Nephew, what do you mean by that? Shen Yu’an is my guest, can’t I give my clothes to a guest?”

“Nephew didn’t mean it that way.”

Although Xin Rui was usually gentle, she stood her ground, and with a light cough as a reminder, Qi Wenyong had no choice but to say, “Of course, you can.”

At the opportune moment, Xie Shi chimed in, “So this is the person who saved our Zhu Zhu. She looks quite charming as well. It’s such a shame that some people lack any interest. Why don’t you tell us, Miss Shen, how you managed to save our Zhu Zhu?”

While her words seemed friendly, Xie Shi’s heart was filled with disdain.

Who would believe that this delicate-looking girl was the one who saved Zhu Zhu? She was nothing more than a fragile flower. If she had been caught by those thugs, there was no way she would have come out unscathed.

But Xin Rui, that woman, actually invited such a disreputable person into the mansion and even let her wear her daughter’s clothes.

Shen Yu’an didn’t care about what Xie Shi thought; she politely said, “Madam, you give me too much credit. It was just a fortunate coincidence that I managed to save Zhu Zhu.”

Zhu Zhu protested upon hearing this, correcting Shen Yu’an’s statement, “No, that’s not right. Sister An’an kicked two people away like swatting flies, and then… blah blah… and after that…”

Zhu Zhu was talking so quickly and energetically that she was getting sweaty. Xie Shi, finding this uninteresting, began to play with her freshly manicured nails.

Before long, the remaining people also arrived one by one.

After General Xiangnan arrived, he wanted to inquire about Shen Yu’an’s situation from the previous night, but he restrained himself and decided to wait until after the meal to ask.

The last person to enter was a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Lady Wen.

Wearing a sky-blue dress, the woman entered and greeted everyone with a bow.

Her gaze fell on Shen Yu’an, and without saying a word, she simply bowed in a quiet and respectful manner.

Shen Yu’an nodded in response.

Looking around, she noticed that the so-called “Third Miss” seemed to be absent.

A fleeting smile tugged at the corner of Shen Yu’an’s lips before vanishing.

However, the woman in the sky-blue dress, who had been observing Shen Yu’an closely, still caught sight of that expression.

In the next moment, a wailing voice pierced through from outside.

“Mom, Dad, please help me!”

Following the voice was the appearance of the Third Miss, who hadn’t even had time to change her clothes.

Seeing the gathering of people, she seemed to have found her backbone.

She came in crying and shouting, skipping the usual addressing of “Mom” and “Dad,” and pointing at Shen Yu’an, demanding that General Xiangnan and Lady Wen bring her justice.