Under Pei Zhiyan's gaze, the people around shrank back. In full view of everyone, Lin Yun had no way to extricate herself. She could only tremble with both hands and suddenly slap herself hard in the face. The loud slaps were just like the ones she had given Song Ruotang earlier.
Lin Yun slapped herself several times without counting. But she knew she could only stop when Pei Zhiyan and Song Ruotang were satisfied. When she was really too exhausted to continue and stopped, her head was dizzy, her ears were buzzing, and she couldn't hear what others were saying. She could only see the hazy double image of Pei Zhiyan.
Both sides of her cheeks were red, swollen, and congested. Nanny Sun and Yan'er let out an exclamation and wanted to step forward to support her, but were stopped. Lin Yun staggered a bit. Looking at Song Ruotang weakly, she said, "Sister, I wrongly blamed you. I deserve to be punished. Please don't be angry with me, sister."
Song Ruotang quickly supported her and frowned with concern. "Sister, what are you doing? How could I be angry with you? You don't have to do this."
Lin Yun was a bit dazed upon hearing this. Song Ruotang was looking at her with big innocent eyes. Lin Yun was extremely angry but helpless. Song Ruotang had clearly done it on purpose.
If Song Ruotang really didn't want her to slap herself, she could have stopped her before she started. But she didn't. Instead, she just said these words casually after Lin Yun had finished slapping herself. Yet Lin Yun couldn't refute her at all.
Lin Yun forced a smile. Song Ruotang sighed. "Qingxing is really something. She even brought up my past. In fact, I've been very lucky since I married the master. First there was Xiaoxi, and now there's Qingxing. They've both protected me..."
At this point, Song Ruotang paused and smiled sadly. "Oh, look at me. I'm always so talkative..."
By now, Lin Yun understood. Song Ruotang had mentioned Xiaoxi, a maid who was of great significance to her. But Lin Yun had transferred Xiaoxi away before.
Now that Song Ruotang had said so much, Lin Yun couldn't continue to play dumb. She could only smile. "Xiaoxi is such a good maid. Then let her go back to serve. With more people now, she should be able to be more relaxed and careful."
Surprise flashed in Song Ruotang's eyes. "Really? Thank you, sister."
Lin Yun nodded with a smile. Seeing that things were almost over on Song Ruotang's side, Pei Zhiyan said, "Mo Qing, bring that maid up. We still need to ask that maid from the second household what the second household is up to."
Hearing Pei Zhiyan say this, Lin Yun felt relieved. It seemed that he didn't plan to delve deeper into the matter of her wrongly blaming Song Ruotang.
Feeling the burning pain on her face, Lin Yun knew that her face must be red, swollen, and congested. Her abdominal pain was unbearable, and the cold sweat on her forehead slid down to her face, causing a stinging sensation.
But now she only dared to quietly wipe the sweat away with her handkerchief and didn't dare to mention her pain anymore.
Mo Qing went to bring the maid. Unexpectedly, he turned around and met Du Lingxuan at the door of Lin Yun's room. She was wearing a luxurious long golden dress embroidered with chrysanthemums, and her makeup was delicate. It was obvious that she had dressed up carefully.
She entered the room, looked around at the people, and said in surprise, "Sister, why are there so many people here?"
Du Lingxuan then shifted her gaze to Song Ruotang. The red fingerprints on her face were very obvious. It was obvious that she had been slapped. Her clothes were a bit messy, and a few strands of her hair had come loose from her bun. It was obvious that she had been severely punished in Lin Yun's courtyard.
Being slapped and having her clothes messed up in front of so many people, a flash of pride and ridicule passed through Du Lingxuan's eyes. She never thought that Song Ruotang would end up like this.
But when she shifted her gaze to Lin Yun, she was even more shocked. She couldn't help but take a few quick steps and looked at Lin Yun in surprise. "Sister, what's wrong with you? Does this poison also cause swelling and congestion on the face?"
At this moment, Lin Yun was extremely disgusted with the real culprit in front of her. She had come here just to watch the fun. Now that her face had been beaten like this, Du Lingxuan even deliberately poked at her pain and pretended not to know about the fact that she had been forced to slap herself after wrongly blaming Song Ruotang.
But Du Lingxuan really didn't know that Lin Yun's face had been beaten. She really thought that it was the Qianji Yin that had caused the swelling and congestion on her face, and she secretly laughed in her heart. Now Lin Yun must be disfigured.
With this appearance in front of Pei Zhiyan, he would definitely not like Lin Yun anymore.
Lin Yun sneered. "Second sister has also been slapped. Don't you know what kind of injury this is?" There was full of ridicule in her eyes. "It seems that second sister really has a bad memory. She forgets the pain after the wound has healed."
Du Lingxuan's face instantly darkened. Lin Yun didn't care anymore. She had already lost face in front of everyone. Exposing Du Lingxuan's scar with the matter of being slapped was a desperate move.
Du Lingxuan finally managed to hold back her temper. Her eyes showed a bit of surprise. "Sister, aren't you poisoned? Who would dare to beat you?"
She shifted her gaze to Song Ruotang. "Could it be that third sister took the opportunity to do it..."
"Your ability to slander others is as good as ever." Lin Yun snorted coldly. "How did I get poisoned? Don't you know, second sister?"
Du Lingxuan paused. Only then did she realize that the atmosphere was a bit strange. But just now, seeing Song Ruotang and Lin Yun both in a sorry state, she only felt happy and didn't think much.
Now that she thought about it, if Lin Yun was the victim and was already poisoned, how could she be beaten and beaten so badly?
Du Lingxuan instantly tensed up. She forced a smile. "What are you talking about, sister? I don't understand..."
Pei Zhiyan raised his eyebrows slightly and said to Mo Qing, "Go and bring the person here."
Mo Qing nodded and moved quickly. Du Lingxuan was a bit scared at this time. She subconsciously tightened the skirt of her dress. Her voice was like a taut string. "Sister, I heard that you were seriously poisoned, so I came to see you."
Lin Yun didn't look at her and just said indifferently, "Really? Then why didn't I see you come when I was first poisoned?"
Du Lingxuan was speechless and stopped talking. She originally wanted to find out who the person Pei Zhiyan had mentioned was. But now it seemed that she could only wait for Mo Qing.
Mo Qing quickly brought the person in. It was a maid in a pink dress. As soon as the maid entered the room, she knelt on the ground with a thud and kept kowtowing. "Please spare my life, master. Please spare my life, madam!"
Du Lingxuan turned to look at the maid. Pei Zhiyan said calmly, "Raise your head."
The maid obediently raised her head and instantly met Du Lingxuan's gaze. Du Lingxuan's pupils shrank, and she instantly grabbed the skirt beside her tightly.
Xiaolian was also stunned. She stammered, "Second madam..."
Pei Zhiyan calmly looked at Du Lingxuan. "Do you know this person?"
Du Lingxuan took two steps back and quickly shifted her gaze. She said expressionlessly, "How could I possibly know this maid? I have so many maids in my courtyard. I have absolutely no impression of her..."