When those maids were stared at by her clear eyes, they actually felt a bit guilty and shut up awkwardly.
That's just the way it is. Essentially, if rumors aren't addressed at the root, they'll only intensify.
It's unlikely that these timid maids spread these rumors. It seems more like someone is fanning the flames behind the scenes.
On this day, the stewardess beside the Marquise suddenly sent someone to convey a message, saying that a new batch of excellent brocades had arrived in the warehouse. They were to send a maid to pick them up to make clothes for He Ciyuan.
Normally, this kind of errand wouldn't fall to Tian Yao, but for some reason, Mo Chen specifically chose her.
Tian Yao's heart skipped a beat, but she had no choice but to brace herself and go.
Just around the corner, her foot suddenly slipped!
"Ah!"
With a startled cry, Tian Yao lost her balance and fell heavily forward.
The brocade in her arms slipped out of her hands and rolled onto the ground. Her knees and elbows hit the hard stone slabs firmly, and a sharp pain shot through her.
She was in so much pain that tears welled up in her eyes. Struggling to get up, she saw a shiny pool of oil on the ground, glinting eerily in the sunlight.
Someone did this on purpose!
"Oops, isn't this Sister Tian Yao? Why are you so careless? You fell again?"
A few gorgeously dressed maids walked out from behind the rockery. The one in the lead was Chun Tao, who usually admired He Huaibi the most.
Seeing Tian Yao's embarrassed state, the corner of her mouth curled up in a smug smile.
"Chun Tao, was it you?" Tian Yao supported herself on the corridor pillar and stood up, gritting her teeth.
One of the maids behind Chun Tao sneered, "Don't wrong innocent people here. You walked on this road yourself. If you don't watch where you're going, who else can you blame?"
"Exactly. You've misbehaved and incurred the wrath of both heaven and men. A fall is already a light punishment!"
Chun Tao took a step forward and looked down at her with jealousy and contempt in her eyes. "Tian Yao, I advise you to be more obedient. A man like the Second Young Master isn't someone a fox like you can catch. Since you're a maid beside the Eldest Young Master, don't try to climb up the social ladder and make a fool of yourself."
"To put it bluntly, even the Eldest Young Master doesn't think much of you. He hasn't even considered taking you as a concubine. Who else do you think you can find?"
Tian Yao watched their lips moving and listened to those malicious accusations. Anger and grievance welled up in her heart.
Forget it. One can't fight against many. A general on a journey doesn't chase after rabbits.
She didn't say a word. She just took a deep look at Chun Tao, memorized their faces firmly, then started to pick up the soiled brocade and turned to leave.
The unscrupulous laughter of those women came from behind, stabbing her heart like needles.
In He Ciyuan's courtyard, it was deathly quiet.
He Ciyuan was reading a book by the window. Mo Chen appeared silently behind him and bowed his head to report, "My lord, I've already found out about the rumors in the mansion. It was the maid beside Bi Xi who started them. And it was also Chun Tao and a few others from the Second Young Master's courtyard who made Miss Tian Yao fall in the corridor today."
He Ciyuan's fingers paused as he was turning the pages. Without looking back, his voice showed no emotion. "Where is she?"
"She's already back. Her knees and elbows are bruised, and she's applying medicine in her room."
He Ciyuan was silent for a moment.
"Heh." He let out a low laugh, but the laughter was as cold as ice. "Break the mouths of those maids, sever their hand tendons, and throw them into the mass grave."
Mo Chen was startled, but he responded without hesitation, "Yes."
"Wait." He Ciyuan called him back. "Ask Tian Yao to come here."
Tian Yao changed into a clean dress and barely covered the wound on her knee with her skirt. When she limped into the study, she saw He Ciyuan's icy-cold face.
She knelt down nervously and bowed. "Eldest Young Master."
He Ciyuan's gaze was like a knife, sliding from her pale face, across her slightly trembling shoulders, and finally landing on her unnatural leg.
"Come here." He commanded.
Tian Yao didn't dare to disobey. Enduring the pain, she crawled on her knees to his wheelchair.
He reached out his hand and pinched her chin, forcing her to look up at him. In his deep eyes, there were undercurrents she couldn't understand, dangerous yet charming.
"I heard you had a really bad fall today?" His voice was soft, but it was like a heavy hammer hitting Tian Yao's heart.
Tian Yao's body stiffened, not knowing how to answer.
In fact, He Ciyuan hadn't been very nice to her these days.
He always found fault with her, asked her to grind ink, and was cold and sarcastic.
If it weren't for the fact that she had no one to back her up, Tian Yao would have boldly torn those gossiping maids to pieces long ago.
Whether she said it or not, it didn't really matter.
Seeing that she didn't say a word, He Ciyuan's fingertips slowly caressed her delicate chin, but his eyes grew colder. "Can't even walk steadily? Or do you like to flirt with others so much that you can't even stand still?"
He must have seen it.
It's like a ghost has been reborn...
Tian Yao was so scared that her whole body went cold. She quickly shook her head. "No! Eldest Young Master, this maid didn't..."
"Didn't?" He sneered and suddenly flung his hand. Tian Yao was pushed off balance and almost fell again.
"Even if my things are dirty, it's not for others to touch." His voice was like poisoned ice, hitting her word by word. "It seems you haven't learned your lesson these past few days."
Tian Yao knelt on the ground, trembling all over. Great fear seized her.
She didn't know if he was referring to the incident in the bamboo forest, what happened to her today when she was bullied, or the difficulties from a few days ago. In front of this man, everything about her was exposed.
"Go and wash that soiled brocade clean with your own hands." He Ciyuan's gaze landed on her injured knee, and his tone was devoid of any warmth. "Come and see me again when it's clean. If you can't wash it clean..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the fear brought by his unfinished words made Tian Yao's heart colder than any punishment.
Watching her pale face as she took the order and retreated, a flash of violence crossed He Ciyuan's eyes.
He raised his hand and looked at the fingertips that had just touched her skin, as if the smooth touch and the faint milk fragrance still lingered on them.
He slowly tightened his fingers until his knuckles turned white.
If she doesn't learn and doesn't listen, she'll just have to suffer some more.
The cold well water soaked the brocade and stung the wounds on Tian Yao's hands.
She knelt on the cold stone slabs. The wound on her knee was rubbed painfully by the rough cloth. Every time she scrubbed, it was like pouring salt on the wound.
She scrubbed from afternoon until the moon was high in the sky. Her hands and feet were numb from the cold, and the pain in her knee gradually became dull.
One had to be careful when washing the brocade. Even a little too much force might cause the fabric to wrinkle or fray. However, the oil stain seemed to be embedded in the brocade. Even after scrubbing her hands raw, it only faded a little.