Ji Yunshu’s expression was amiable, but her eyes turned slightly cold.

“Luan’er doesn’t understand propriety. Why must elder sister take offense with a mere maid?” She turned to scold Luan’er. “Hurry up and admit your mistake.”

Luan’er lowered her head and, after a moment of reluctance, unwillingly said, “This servant knows her error.”

Yet Ji Muqing narrowed her scheming eyes and snorted at Ji Yunshu.

“You protect a little maid this much?”

“Maids are also people. Moreover, Luan’er has followed me for so many years. Please, elder sister, for my sake, spare her.”

“I refuse.”

Ji Muqing’s willow-leaf eyebrows shot up. Why should she give Ji Yunshu any face?

Turning her head, her fox-like phoenix eyes hooked downward as she barked, “What are you all standing there for? Drag her to the woodshed. Do you need this miss to do it herself?”

Shui’er and Luo’er didn’t dare delay and quickly seized Luan’er.

“Elder sister, at the end of the day, Luan’er is still my servant. If she’s to be beaten or scolded, it should be me who disciplines her,” Ji Yunshu said.

“She’s still a maid of the Ji residence. Those who don’t understand propriety must be punished. This is the rule and cannot be broken.” With a wave of her hand, “Take her away.”

In an instant, Ji Yunshu’s jade-green fingers pressed on Shui’er’s arm. Her thumb applied slight pressure, and Shui’er suddenly felt her feet inexplicably go weak. She immediately lost her balance, and her body lunged straight toward Ji Muqing.

Ji Muqing was caught completely off guard. The impact made her body tilt backward, and both figures tumbled to the ground in unison.

“Bang.”

“Ow, that hurts! You wretched maid, are you tired of living?”

Ji Muqing, pinned beneath Shui’er, cried out in pain.

Shui’er was terrified, and Luo’er beside her was equally frightened. She quickly helped Ji Muqing up.

Her originally magnificent clothing was now stained with filthy mud, her hair ornaments askew and scattered—truly quite a sorry sight.

Smack…

Ji Muqing raised her hand and slapped Shui’er across the face, glaring at her fiercely.

“You wretched maid, you even dare to crash into this miss!”

“This servant knows her error. This servant didn’t stand steady. Please, Eldest Miss, spare this servant.”

Shui’er was so frightened she knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.

Ji Muqing, who already valued her appearance like her life, was now left in such a disheveled state—how could she bear it?

Pinching her orchid fingers, her powder-covered face twisted with rage. At this moment, she naturally had no mind to deal with Luan’er’s matter. She stamped her feet twice and huffily returned to her room to change and wash.

This nutritionless farce finally came to an end.

Ji Yunshu quickly pulled Luan’er back to the courtyard before Ji Muqing could return.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Luan’er asked, “What happened to Shui’er just now? She was perfectly fine, then suddenly lunged at the eldest miss.”

Ji Yunshu smiled faintly, poured herself a cup of tea, and assumed a posture suggesting a long conversation.

“Do you know that the human skeletal structure consists of seven layers and fourteen sections? The hand bones and foot bones are connected beneath the skin. The tendons on the hand bones are divided into two segments, and between these two segments are the coupling bones. A gentle press doesn’t cause pain—it only makes the foot bones go numb and lose strength. Just now, I pressed Shui’er’s coupling bones, which is how we escaped our predicament.”

Luan’er listened in stunned amazement. “Miss, you’re too incredible!”

“These are just skeletal structures. Whether it’s human facial features or the size of internal organs like the liver, spleen, and kidneys—all are determined by the skeletal frame. Even the degree of decay in thousand-year-old corpses and the time of a person’s death are closely related to the skeletal structure. Also, a person’s skull is extremely important. The brain matter…”

“Miss, please stop!”

Luan’er immediately interrupted her words, her face turning pale. She swallowed and felt a chill run down her spine.

Seeing Luan’er’s timid appearance, Ji Yunshu found it amusing instead.

Before she had died suddenly at the operating table, she had spent nearly every day in the archaeology shed dealing with those skeletal remains and rotting corpses. If she had been as timid as Luan’er, she would have lost her job long ago!

Forget it, forget it!

Having knelt all night yesterday, Ji Yunshu was truly quite tired.

She simply climbed into bed, pulled up the covers, and fell into a deep sleep.