In the corridor of the Luo Mansion’s rear garden, Tenth Miss grabbed Eleventh Miss by the collar of her garment, her face full of resentment: “Take it off! Take it off for me!” Little Eleventh Miss was yanked about stumbling and staggering, her large eyes brimming with crystalline tears, yet her lips were pressed tightly shut and she did not utter a single word.

Of the two maids attending Tenth Miss — Bitao and Hongtao — one kept her head lowered, staring at the green stone bricks beneath her feet, while the other turned her face sideways to gaze at the bare magnolia tree beside the steps. Both pretended to have seen nothing.

Shuisu, the maid attending Eleventh Miss, sighed at the sight of it and stepped forward to embrace Eleventh Miss, smiling as she addressed Tenth Miss: “Tenth Miss, Eleventh Miss has no fur-lined jacket — the padded cotton ones she has are all made rather thin. On days as cold as this, she doesn’t even dare step out the door. Yang Yiniang borrowed your fur jacket for Eleventh Miss to wear. Once we’ve paid our respects to Madam, it will be returned to you immediately.”

Upon hearing that her own birth mother, Yang Yiniang, had been the one to lend the fur jacket to Eleventh Miss, Tenth Miss looked toward Bitao with an expression full of uncertainty.

Bitao had already raised her head to observe Eleventh Miss’s expression the moment Shuisu spoke. Seeing Tenth Miss looking her way, she immediately smiled and nodded: “Tenth Miss, your fur jacket was lent to Eleventh Miss by Yang Yiniang.”

Upon hearing this, the expression on Tenth Miss’s face softened somewhat, and the hand gripping Eleventh Miss’s collar gradually loosened: “Even if Yiniang lent it to you, don’t think for a moment you can be smug about it. Once we’ve paid our respects to Mother, take it off and return it to me at once.”

Seeing that this little terror had relented, Shuisu also let out a breath of relief and smiled in assurance: “Tenth Miss, put your mind at ease — the fur jacket will be returned the moment we’re done paying our respects.”

Tenth Miss was quite satisfied with this answer and gave a slight nod, releasing her grip.

Shuisu rose to her feet, preparing to escort Eleventh Miss to the main chamber to pay respects to Madam.

But who could have known that at that very moment, Eleventh Miss suddenly bolted forward on her little legs, running ahead: “I’m going to tell Mother you bullied me!”

Tenth Miss flew into a rage of shame and fury and immediately gave chase: “I’ll beat you to death, you little smooth-talker.”

The maids were greatly alarmed, just about to give chase themselves, when they saw that long-limbed Tenth Miss had already closed the distance in two great strides and caught up with Eleventh Miss, seizing her by the hair and attempting to slam her into the wall nearby: “You still dare go and tattle on me…”

Little Eleventh Miss, short-legged as she was, clutched at her hair and began to cry softly in pain.

Bitao and Hongtao, seeing that their young mistress had gotten the upper hand, were in no hurry to intervene — they stood watching from a distance.

Shuisu stepped forward to mediate, yet did not dare use force to pull Tenth Miss away, circling around them in a frantic loop: “Tenth Miss, please don’t do this…”

The weather was bitterly cold. When the north wind blew, water would freeze into ice. The green stone bricks, swept clean of fallen snow, had been dampened by snowmelt and were even more slippery than usual. In the midst of the pushing and shoving, Eleventh Miss fell to the ground, her head striking the base of a white stone pillar. A flower of crimson bloomed where she fell, and she lost consciousness.

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