He Yao buried her whole head in the bathwater.
A huge sense of suffocation hit her. Water kept pouring into He Yao's nose and mouth. Choked, she couldn't open her mouth, and her vision went black. At this moment, He Yao's mind was unusually clear. From beginning to end, she hadn't offended anyone else. If someone had hired a killer to kill her, it could only be that person! That audacious Wei Dongling who was hell - bent on snatching the man from her!
What should she do! Wei Dongling was determined to kill her! Just when He Yao felt she was about to run out of breath, the person behind casually grabbed her and pulled her head out of the water. He Yao coughed continuously and shouted in panic, "......Wei Dongling...... I know it's you......"
Without saying a word, Wei Dongling pressed her back into the wooden bucket.
He Yao hadn't taken a few breaths of fresh air before she started gulping down the bathwater again. She thrashed about desperately, but Wei Dongling's strength was astonishing. The pressure made her feel dizzy.
Suddenly, He Yao remembered that on Xing Mountain, Wei Dongling had been so audacious as to grab the crown prince's hair and hold a dagger to his neck as a threat. The crown prince had been completely powerless in her hands! Just like today, she was the butcher's knife and chopping board, while He Yao was the fish and meat on them. This woman, Wei Dongling, looked weak and harmless on the outside, but once she erupted, she was really cruel - hearted and crazy!
He Yao also remembered Cui Huan beside Wei Dongling. That girl's kung - fu was not as good as Ruo Chen's. She was so stupid that He Yao looked down on her. She was just extremely loyal to Yu Zixi. But Wei Dongling treated her better than a twin sister!
He Yao secretly regretted it. If she had known this earlier, why had she provoked her in the first place? She just wanted Yu Zixi. Fine, she could let Wei Dongling be the main wife and she could be the concubine. Wasn't that okay?
Compared with life, what did these things matter?
Just as He Yao was nearly suffocating, the hand that had been pressing her pulled her out of the water again. Poor He Yao felt dizzy and could hardly stand steadily. She grabbed Wei Dongling's black clothes and shouted urgently, "Wait...... I know I was wrong...... Um......."
Wei Dongling stuffed her back into the water again.
This happened several times, torturing He Yao to the extreme. Finally, He Yao collapsed on the ground, barely breathing. She clung desperately to the wooden stool beside her and whispered, "Sister Dongling...... I really know I was wrong...... Please spare me......"
Wei Dongling ignored her.
In the darkness, He Yao cried pitifully, her voice choking, "I will never dare to do it again...... I'll send someone to Yu's Mansion right away to express my willingness to be a concubine...... I will never hinder your marriage with Brother Zixi...... Sister Dongling, is this okay?"
Wei Dongling still didn't answer.
He Yao continued to cry, "I know I was wrong on the day of the horse - race! I shouldn't have done such a thing to you...... Sister Dongling, please trust me this time! From now on, I will never oppose you again! You can ask me to make up for it in any way...... Please spare me! I'm willing to offer ten thousand taels of silver to show my apology! I'll go to apologize to you in person tomorrow! Is that okay?"
It was completely dark all around, and the room was deathly silent. For a long time, there was still no answer.
Suddenly, the wooden window was opened a crack. By the dim moonlight, He Yao vaguely saw a figure leap out.
He Yao leaned on the round stool and climbed up shakily. She felt for the fire starter and lit the candle on the table. Looking at the empty room, she was a bit dazed. The room was as quiet as if no one had ever been there. It was as if nothing had happened.
But the mess on the ground beside the bathtub and those wet watermarks showed that everything that had just happened was real!
He Yao lowered her eyes and looked at the ground. Her face was as pale as paper.
A carriage galloped on the official road in the dim moonlight, raising two trails of dust behind it.
In the gloomy carriage, Cui Huan looked up and asked, "Is it done?"
Wei Dongling beside her shook her head and sighed, "I just couldn't bring myself to do it."
Ruan Niang, who was driving in the front, rolled her eyes and said, "She has tried to kill you several times. Did she ever think of showing mercy?"
Wei Dongling fell silent.
Cui Huan quickly comforted her, "Our girl is kind - hearted. It's normal that she can't bear to do it to a weak woman. We've given her a lesson. As long as she doesn't cause trouble in the future, that's fine. If we really killed someone, we'd feel guilty all the time, right?"
Wei Dongling forced a smile and said, "It's not just that. She also said she'd give me silver."
Hearing this, Ruan Niang sneered, "You're really obsessed with money!"
Wei Dongling touched her nose and said, "We can't turn down silver!"
Cui Huan hugged Wei Dongling's waist and laughed until her eyebrows curved.
Alas! They really had no choice with a master like Miss Wei. He Yao had clearly understood her weakness and thus managed to turn the danger into safety.
When the three of them got home, everyone was hungry and waiting for them to come back for dinner. Hearing that they had eaten on the way, everyone couldn't help complaining and pulled them to eat again.
At the dinner table, everyone talked about what had happened today and praised Wei Dongling for doing a great job.
Wei Dongling asked Luo Xunlong and Lin Baiwan how the arrangements at Lanshan Temple were going. Learning that everything was ready, she nodded. While shoveling rice into her mouth, she said, "The paper factory will deliver the first batch of disposable paper cups tomorrow. So plan it quickly. Let's get the Lanshan Temple branch store open early on the first day of September the day after tomorrow!"
"Okay!" Everyone was immediately overjoyed when they heard this.
Wei Dongling had once said that she wanted to expand the business. They originally thought that this arrogant little girl was just talking casually.
But later, they had seen with their own eyes that in the past month since Tingfeng Tower started selling milk tea, the business had been so good that the surrounding merchants were extremely jealous. Even though everyone was so busy that they had no time to rest, seeing the booming business and the generous income, they were all willing to endure it.
Now that the branch store they had been preparing for was about to open so soon, everyone couldn't help but look at Wei Dongling with new respect and felt extremely proud.
Before dawn on the first day of September, the entire Su Mansion mobilized. They bought all kinds of ingredients and got busy in the backyard of the Lanshan Temple branch store.
Some were splitting firewood and carrying water, some were adding firewood to the stove, some were boiling tea, and some were kneading tapioca pearls and taro balls...... Everyone was bustling and busy. By the time it was getting light, the preparations were almost done.
Yu Haiming, Old Brother Qin, and A Cheng went back to Tingfeng Tower to get busy. The rest of the people stayed at the Lanshan Temple branch store to prepare for the opening.
Lin Baiwan walked around and complained to Wei Dongling, "Girl, isn't this shop we rented a bit too small? There isn't even a big enough table!" The main hall was so narrow that there was hardly any room for the statue of the God of Wealth he had invited.
Wei Dongling was lowering her head and kneading taro balls. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve and shouted, "Hey! Put the God of Wealth in the inner room. Don't put it outside! We don't need much space at the door. Just let people line up to buy. This shop is big enough!"
Lin Baiwan had no choice but to ask someone to carry the God of Wealth to the shrine in the inner room. He washed his hands and offered incense.