How could Ren Yaoying not understand what was happening now? She couldn’t help but feel both shocked and furious.

When Concubine Fang was still alive, she had repeatedly instructed Ren Yaoying to be generous to those who served her and never to vent her anger on the servants carelessly, as this was the way to win people’s hearts. Ren Yaoying had always considered herself fairly lenient with those who served her, never being stingy with rewards on ordinary days. But she had never imagined that this head maid, whom she had always valued and trusted, would help Ren Yaohua scheme against her.

However, Ren Yaoying also realized that now was not the time for her to lose her temper. Ren Yaohua had six people following behind her, while she only had herself and one maid who had already betrayed her. And clearly, Ren Yaohua had come with ill intentions.

Ren Yaoying quickly assessed the situation, wondering whether she should cry out for help to draw people over, when Ren Yaohua cast a casual glance at Ren Yaoying’s head maid, Ping’er. Ping’er bit her lip, then immediately lowered her eyes and stepped forward to cover Ren Yaoying’s mouth with her hand. At the same time, two elderly servants whom Ren Yaohua had brought quickly stepped forward to grab Ren Yaoying, making it impossible for her to move.

Ren Yaoying stared wide-eyed, looking at Ping’er with some disbelief, then at Ren Yaohua, who stood there coldly without speaking. She made “mm-mm-mm” sounds, then viciously bit down on Ping’er’s hand, nearly tearing off a layer of skin from Ping’er’s palm. Ping’er was in such pain she almost cried out, but an elderly servant beside her pulled Ping’er’s hand away and quickly stuffed her handkerchief into Ren Yaoying’s mouth, sealing it tightly, then covered it with her hand. Now, Ren Yaoying was completely silenced.

Only then did Ren Yaohua walk up to Ren Yaoying, looking at her with a calm and cold expression.

The unease in Ren Yaoying’s heart grew even stronger as she looked at this version of Ren Yaohua.

Ren Yaoying had confronted Ren Yaohua many times before, and each time, Ren Yaohua would fly into a rage, directly attacking and teaching her a lesson, as if she wanted to devour her alive. But Concubine Fang had said that such a Ren Yaohua was not to be feared. However, now Ren Yaoying felt that Ren Yaohua was somehow different from before, and this version of Ren Yaohua was far more frightening than the one who would beat and scold her at the slightest provocation.

“You needn’t feel indignant. You are as stupid as a pig. Your maid is much cleverer than you – at least she knows how to read the situation clearly,” Ren Yaohua spoke with faint mockery.

Ren Yaohua looked at Ren Yaoying as if she were looking at a clown: “Ren Yaoying, I had originally planned to let you off, but you were so bored that you couldn’t enjoy your good days and had to stir up trouble. Tell me, how should I repay you?”

Ren Yaoying’s face gradually turned pale. She wanted to speak, but Ren Yaohua had no intention of hearing her voice and gave her no opportunity to speak. Instead, she turned to ask her maid Xiangqin: “You’re full of devious ideas. Help me think – what does Ninth Miss like?”

If Ren Yaohua had asked this question of Wujing, that girl would certainly not have answered seriously. But Xiangqin immediately replied with exaggerated expressions: “This servant thinks Ninth Miss has an inseparable bond with latrines – she must like them.” As she spoke, this maid who feared nothing more than chaos cast an extremely obscene glance at the nearby privy.

Ren Yaoying was so angry she nearly fainted, glaring at Xiangqin with eyes like poisoned daggers. If Xiangqin’s skin weren’t thick enough, she would have had a layer scraped off by Ren Yaoying’s gaze. Unfortunately, this girl’s greatest virtue was having thick skin that could withstand any beating.

Ren Yaohua raised an eyebrow, seeming to seriously consider whether to follow Xiangqin’s suggestion and throw Ren Yaoying into the latrine.

During this period of Ren Yaohua’s silence, Ren Yaoying was truly tormented. That previous incident had been a huge blow to her, and she still felt lingering fear about it.

Fortunately, Ren Yaohua finally shook her head in refusal: “What if she falls in and can’t get out? Besides, carrying such a foul stench would bring shame to our family.”

Xiangqin sighed regretfully, looking extremely disappointed.

Ren Yaohua thought for a moment, then beckoned to one of the elderly servants behind her: “Don’t you keep some little pets? Take them out to play with Ninth Miss.”

The elderly servant respectfully agreed, then took out a small black wooden box from her sleeve and walked up to Ren Yaoying.

Due to the fear in her heart, Ren Yaoying’s eyes kept darting around wildly, then she looked at Ren Yaohua with pleading eyes, as if wanting to beg for mercy. Unfortunately, Ren Yaohua’s heart was extremely hard, and her expression remained coldly indifferent.

The elderly servant opened the box in her hands. Xiangqin stood on her tiptoes to peek inside, then was so frightened she nearly fell to the ground from weak legs. The box in the elderly servant’s hands contained a box full of worms as thick as a child’s little finger, round and flat, constantly writhing.

When Ren Yaoying glanced at them, if she hadn’t been held by two elderly servants, she probably would have collapsed to the ground. Seeing the elderly servant use a bamboo tweezers to pick out a worm from the box, Ren Yaoying began struggling violently, throwing her head back as hard as she could.

The elderly servant said in a low voice: “Please forgive me, Ninth Miss. These are leeches – they only suck blood and won’t take your life.” The elderly servant’s words sounded like comfort, but they scared Ren Yaoying so much she wished she could faint. Tears and snot flowed together, soiling the hand of the elderly servant, covering her mouth.

Ren Yaohua spoke in an unquestionable tone: “Make her swallow it!”

The elderly servant restraining her immediately removed the cloth from her mouth, then used her hand to clamp Ren Yaoying’s jaw, making it impossible for her to speak or close her mouth. Ren Yaoying bit down hard on the elderly servant’s hand, finally drawing blood, but the elderly servant’s expression remained unchanged – only her grip became firmer.

The elderly servant holding the leech with bamboo tweezers immediately brought that spine-chilling creature to Ren Yaoying’s mouth. Ren Yaoying’s face showed an extremely twisted expression as she tried to spit out the leech, but the elderly servant gripping her chin immediately withdrew her hand and stuffed the cloth back into Ren Yaoying’s mouth, sealing it shut. Now Ren Yaoying couldn’t spit even if she wanted to.

At this moment, the elderly servants standing close to Ren Yaoying suddenly smelled a foul odor. Looking down, they saw that Ren Yaoying had been so frightened that she had lost control of her bladder, wetting both her skirt and shoes with urine.

Xiangqin made a disgusted expression, pinching her nose and stepping back.

Ren Yaohua ignored Ren Yaoying’s wretched state. She slowly walked up to Ren Yaoying, watched her convulsing with cold eyes, then said calmly: “I won’t beat you or scold you. But from now on, whenever you make me unhappy, I’ll feed you a ‘delicious meal.'”