Counterattack of the Concubine’s Invincible Daughter

6. A Dog Counting on Its Master’s Backing

Translator: Snowball

For fear that they might be punished for being late, Liu’er kept on urging Mu Yingxue to speed up on their way. As their courtyard was farthest from the front yard, they had been the last to get there every time, which would always become Madam Xu’s excuse to find fault with them.

Mu Yingxue sneered. Someone would never show up, so they couldn’t be the last one to arrive.

“Don’t worry, we won’t be the last to be there.”

Out of concern, Ouyang Ruo reminded, “There will be many people in the front yard later. Ying’er, be careful and don’t be impulsive.”

Mu Yingxue nodded. If nobody messed with her, of course she wouldn’t offer to stir up trouble. However, if someone tried to pick up the fight, she would show no mercy. As an all-round secret agent, she was confident that it would be a piece of cake for her to deal with a bunch of jealous women.

Enemies were bound to meet on a narrow path. Mammy Rong and Mammy Xing had just gotten their comeuppance last night, now Song Wanrou suddenly bumped into them when they were heading for the front yard. Concubine Song, who wore a crimson long skirt and a double-breasted lined jacket, was a beautiful woman with an oval face and a pair of enchanting eyes.

She always turned up her nose at Ouyang Ruo and Mu Yingxue, so she couldn’t help making fun of them whenever she caught sight of them. “Sister Ruo, what a coincidence! I haven’t seen you for days. You’re in the pink!” She teased, clicking her tongue.

Ouyang Ruo answered with a smile, “Sister Song, I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”

“I told you it wasn’t good for your health to stay in your courtyard all day and you would be much healthier if you did some work, like washing clothes or cleaning the restroom. A lowlife will get sick once it leads the life of a gentleman.”

Standing next to Ouyang Ruo, Mu Yingxue suddenly opened her mouth. “Untie Song, you’d better save your saliva. Or you won’t be able to shed tears when you want to cry later.”

Concubine Song raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes while roaring, “You moron, what are you talking about?!”

“Auntie Song, the area between your eyebrows is dark. I’m afraid it’s not a good sign,” Mu Yingxue murmured.

“What? You idiot, how dare you curse me?”

Concubine Song was about to slap Mu Yingxue, but was stopped by her personal maid, Lianxiang, who whispered in her ear for a moment. With a malicious look in her eyes, Concubine Song turned around and left while cursing aloud.

“Bah!! I should have consulted the almanac before I got out, or I wouldn’t have met this fool! Sucks!”

Mu Yingxue rolled her eyes while watching the arrogant Concubine Song leave. She then waved her hand to Liu’er and whispered in her ear.

Hearing what she had said, Liu’er widened her eyes out of fright and immediately covered her mouth with her hand to prevent herself from screaming. “Miss, are you… serious?”

“Hurry up! You’ll see a wonderful show if you come back early.”

Liu’er nodded and then sneaked out of the mansion quietly. Though Ouyang Ruo was confused, at the thought that her daughter had come back to normal, she didn’t ask.

When they arrived at the front yard, they saw more than forty people there, including the masters of all the courtyards, who were gorgeously dressed, and their maids, as well as the older female servants. Dressed in coarse linen, Mu Yingxue and Ouyang Ruo looked like two sparrows among a bunch of peacocks.

Everyone walked over and bowed to the woman, who was drowsily leaning against the back of the chair.

This woman was under forty, who looked younger than her age, but there was still some fine wrinkles around her eyes.

It was Xu Min, the second daughter of Grand Preceptor of the Xuanyuan Dynasty, the younger sister of Imperial Concubine Xian. (Lit. virtuous). As Marquis Mu’s legal wife, she had a son, who was the only boy among the marquis’ children, and a daughter, who was well-known for her beauty and talent. Therefore, with so many advantages, her position as the hostess of the mansion was unassailable.

“Greetings, Madam!”

“Greetings, Mother!”

Xu Min waved her hand impatiently. “All of you may rise!”

“Thank you, Madam!”

Without even glancing at them, Xu Min asked Hongyu, who was standing behind her in a low voice, “Is everyone here?”

Hongyu nodded and walked a few steps forward to count the number. She then turned to Madam Xu and reported, “Madam, everyone came except for Miss Xiangqin.”

Xu Min raised her eyebrows while asking in surprise, “Has everyone from the Snow Courtyard arrived?”

“Madam Ouyang and Miss Yingxue are over there, but Miss Xiangqin hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Sister Song, what’s wrong with Xiangqin?”

Concubine Song was wondering why her daughter hadn’t come yet. Previously, Mu Xiangqin had always been the first one to arrive whenever she heard that Madam Xu was going to have new clothes made for them, so Concubine Song didn’t come with her this time, thinking that Mu Xiangqin should have arrived alone earlier than her.

“Madam, I’m going to check it out right now. Maybe because Xiangqin caught a cold, she got up late.”

With that, Concubine Song turned around, heading for the Fragrance Courtyard with Lianxiang.

“Hongyu, go with them to have a look,” Xu Min said. Hongyu then walked out of the yard following Concubine Song.

After glancing at everyone present, Xu Min fixed her gaze on Ouyang Ruo. She moved a little and said in a sarcastic tone, “Ha, the pig might fly! How come people of the Snow Courtyard have arrived, while the one who used to be the first to get here was late?”

“Madam, we were afraid that we might keeping you waiting, so we hurried here,” Disregarding Xu Min’s sarcasm, Ouyang Ruo answered in a low voice.

Xu Min twitched her lips disdainfully. Ouyang Ruo and Mu Yingxue had always come last, so Xu Min had an excuse to pick on them in different ways every time. Now that she had no reason to find fault with Ouyang Ruo, she shifted her gaze to Mu Yingxue. With a mocking look in her eyes, she suddenly banged the table. “How dare you?! Don’t you know that maids are not allowed to enter the main hall?” she roared, pointing her finger with a red nail at Mu Yingxue.

Being stunned by Xu Min’s sudden outbreak, everyone shifted their gaze to Mu Yingxue. By instinct, Ouyang Ruo held Mu Yingxue’s hand tightly and pulled her behind her.

The main hall immediately quieted down and nobody dared even breathe heavily until the silence was broken by Concubine Fang’s teasing words.

“Madam, you must have mistaken her for a maid. She’s Miss Yingxue.”

“Yingxue?” Xu Min sized Mu Yingxue up, pretending that she hadn’t seen her clearly just now.

“Oh, my mistake!”

Xu Min frowned, but next, she put on a smile and waved to Mu Yingxue. “As the marquis’ daughter, how can you dress yourself in such a shabby way? Come over to mother!”

Mu Yingxue pinched Ouyang Ruo’s hand slightly to assure her before walking over to Xu Min. “Greetings, Mother!”

“Ooh, look at your dress! It’s as wrinkled as a dried cabbage! And what’s wrong with your beaded flower? Is it made of wood?”

What she said immediately aroused a blast of guffaw, and Concubine Fang even cried with laughter.

Xu Min didn’t stop them. With a gentle smile on her face, she grabbed Mu Yingxue by the hand and inserted the beaded flower, which she had just taken off from her hair, in Mu Yingxue’s hair. She sized her up and continued, “Now you look much more beautiful! You’re not a little girl anymore, so you should prank yourself up.”

Before Mu Yingxue reached out, Xu Min took the beaded flower off her head. She waved it in front of her and asked, “Do you like it?”

Holding her anger back, Mu Yingxue answered, “Yeah…”

With a cunning look flashing in her eyes, Xu Min continued to coax her. “How about we play a game? If you win, I’ll give it to you.”

Mu Yingxue asked with a smile, “What kind of game?”

“Lanyu, go bring Jingle here.”

Little Jingle was a small dog with curly hair, which Imperial Concubine Xian had given to Xu Min. Xu liked it so much that she specially assigned a servant to take care of it.

After a while, Lanyu came in with a tiny dog in her arms, which immediately drew Mu Xueyan’s attention. This snow-white dog was merely a little more than a foot long, with an exquisite bell tied to its neck. It was wrapped in a small cotton-padded jacket from the most famous embroidery workshop in this country. Mu Yingxue saw that even the four of its exposed feet were wrapped in cotton socks!

When it ran past Mu Yingxue, the dog suddenly barked furiously at her with its hair stood on end, as if it sensed something unusual.

This dog definitely knew to count on its master’s backing. From a pet, people could tell what kind of person its owner was.