Chapter 273 A pitiful sight

Su Wuli did not return to her room.

After leaving the front yard, instead of heading towards the courtyard, I entered a pavilion not far from the front hall.

The pavilion is small and open to the elements.

Chuhe brewed the tea and brought it to her, but she didn't drink it.

She sat on the stone bench, her hands resting on the edge of the table, her fingers slowly drawing circles on the surface.

Chuhe and Qiaosheng stood outside the pavilion, exchanging glances from time to time.

Qiaosheng mouthed what to do.

Chu He shook her head and mouthed that she didn't know.

The two of them stood there, unable to move and afraid to move.

Qiaosheng couldn't help but glance at the people in the pavilion again.

Chuhe hesitated for a moment, then went into the pavilion and poured herself some herbal tea.

I poured myself another cup.

Su Wuli looked up at Chu He.

Chuhe felt flustered under her gaze, and opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Su Wuli had already lowered her head and her gaze fell on the cup of tea.

The freshly poured tea was steaming, and white smoke rose from the rim of the cup and dissipated into the air.

Recalling the woman's appearance, she picked up her teacup.

The cup was so hot that she was caught off guard and quickly put it down.

Upon seeing this, Chu He quickly stepped forward to check her hand, "Miss, is your hand alright?"

"It's nothing." Su Wuli shook her head and put her hand away.

Qiaosheng couldn't stand outside the pavilion any longer, so she came in carrying a plate of snacks.

"Girl, have something to eat."

She placed the plate on the stone table and pushed it towards Su Wuli.

Su Wuli thought about how she had eaten several pieces in the council hall earlier, and now she didn't really want to eat any more.

"No, I'm not hungry yet."

Chuhe and Qiaosheng exchanged a glance, and Qiaosheng's mouth opened slightly.

Chuhe stopped her with a look.

Su Wuli placed her hand back on her knee.

She didn't know what she was thinking; maybe she wasn't thinking about anything, or maybe she was thinking about a lot of things.

Su Wuli raised her head and was slightly taken aback when she saw the person who had suddenly appeared and was walking towards her.

She thought the person had already left, but unexpectedly...

"Sister Su." Her voice was soft, as if she was afraid of startling something.

Su Wuli did not respond.

The woman took two more steps forward.

Chuhe took half a step forward, seemingly to block him.

Su Wuli glanced at her before Chu He stopped.

Shen Yier walked up to Su Wuli and squatted down to greet her.

When she looked up, her eyes were red, and tears were clinging to her eyelashes.

Looks like she's just been crying.

"Sister Su, I..."

She bit her lip as she spoke, "I know Sister Su doesn't want to see me, and I didn't want to come either. My cousin said he brought me here to clear my head, but I didn't know we were coming here."

Her voice trailed off, filled with grievance, "I have no one left at home, and my cousin took me in. I dare not disobey him."

Su Wuli looked at her reddened eyes and asked softly, "What's your name?"

Shen Yi'er was stunned for a moment, then looked pleasantly surprised.

As if she hadn't expected Su Wuli to ask this, "Shen Yi'er."

Su Wuli looked at her, "How old are you?"

"She's almost seventeen," Shen Yi'er said, then lowered her head again.

"Seventeen?" Su Wuli was surprised, but then she thought that this seemed quite normal in ancient times.

"Well..." Su Wuli paused, suddenly realizing that the man who brought the people hadn't introduced himself at all.

He then found a way to address her and asked, "What did your cousin send you to the manor for?"

Although it was supposed to be to add tea and water, no one would believe that excuse.

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Yi'er's eyelashes trembled a few times.

Tears streamed down my face.

She raised her hand to wipe it, but it wasn't completely clean.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, making her look pitiful.

"My cousin said... that the Prince's mansion is short-handed, and asked me to come and serve tea and water. I dared not refuse..."

Her voice was choked with sobs, so fragile, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.

Seeing her forced and aggrieved appearance, Su Wuli couldn't help but ask her more questions.

"You're his distant cousin, you come just because he asked you to?"

Shen Yi'er nodded, "My parents passed away early, and my cousin is my only family. I have to listen to whatever he says."

As she spoke, she wiped away her tears again, this time more forcefully than before, leaving a red mark on the tip of her nose.

Su Wuli looked at her pitiful appearance, but for some reason, she couldn't empathize with her.

Perhaps she knew from the beginning that the person who brought her here had ill intentions, so she naturally resisted.

As if possessed, she suddenly asked, "Do you want to stay in the manor?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Yier looked up at her, tears still clinging to her eyelashes.

He looked timid. "I dare not think about it. My cousin asked me to come, so I came. If you don't want me to stay, I will go back."

After she finished speaking, she lowered her head again, her fingers clenched inside her sleeve.

"But my cousin will definitely be unhappy when I go back, and he'll probably scold me for being useless again."

Chuhe listened from the side, her face darkening.

Qiaosheng's knuckles turned white as she gripped the tray, and neither of them dared to speak.

But both of them knew that this was a common tactic used in the inner quarters.

This woman is definitely up to no good.

They looked at their daughter with worry, fearing that she was too naive and would be deceived.

Shen Yi'er stood there wiping away tears, her shoulders heaving as she sobbed.

When she cries, her eyes are red and her tears are hanging on her eyelashes, about to fall, which makes her look quite pitiful.

Several maids carrying things walked over from the other end of the corridor. When they saw the scene in the pavilion in the distance, they slowed down.

The sunlight shone down from above, illuminating the pavilion brightly.

Su Wuli sat on a stone bench, while Shen Yier stood in front of her, wiping away tears with her head down.

From their angle, they couldn't see Shen Yi'er's expression clearly; they could only see that she was drooping her head and her shoulders were trembling, while Su Wuli sat motionless.

The scene resembled a master reprimanding a servant.

The maids exchanged glances and slowed their pace even further.

But no one dared to stop. One of them lowered his head and secretly glanced over.

The person next to her quickly tugged at her sleeve.

After passing the pavilion, the group slowed their pace in unison.

One of them spoke first, his voice very low.

"Who's that crying person? I've never seen them before."

Another maid glanced back, but the pavilion was no longer in sight. "I don't know, she seems to have come from the front yard. I saw her in the corridor just now."

"Was it brought by that magistrate from the front office?"

"Um."

The group walked on in silence for a while longer.

"Is the girl scolding her?" someone asked cautiously.

The group looked at each other without saying a word.

It was the maid who had been walking at the very back and hadn't said a word who suddenly spoke up.

"So what if I scold her? Who is this girl? Who is this shady character? Can you even compare them?"

After she finished speaking, the two people in front of her were stunned for a moment and stopped in their tracks.

She caught up with them, walked past them, and went first.

"When the young lady stood up for Qing'er, you all saw what happened with Steward Liu. The young lady is kind-hearted and never bullies anyone. If the young lady scolds her, then she deserves to be scolded."

After saying that, he quickened his pace without looking back.

The others were left to exchange glances.

Although there had never been any women in the Prince's mansion before, Miss Su was different.

If Miss Su were to teach that person a lesson, it would certainly be that person's fault.

He immediately followed, not daring to say anything more.

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