CHAPTER 4

But I Don't Want to Be Kind

The two of them had pale lips and blue faces, their upper and lower teeth clattering from the cold.

Yu Linlang pulled a jade-colored porcelain bottle from her sleeve and handed it to Jiujin.

Jiujin stepped forward with a cold expression and muttered unhappily, "What a waste."

She moved without hesitation—rough and efficient. Lifting her hand, she slapped the bottle, letting a few drops fall into the mother and son's mouths. Then, she swiftly put the bottle away and returned to Yu Linlang's side.

Madam Fang and her son trembled as a wave of warmth spread through their lower abdomens, slowly thawing their frozen limbs.

"What… why are you doing this? Why did you bring us here?" Madam Fang's lips quivered as she forced herself to sound stern, but her voice betrayed her fear.

Jiujin grabbed the woman's collar and slapped her across the face. "Who are you to ask questions? Speak only when spoken to."

Prisoners have no right to demand answers.

Yu Linlang cast an indifferent glance at the two and asked, "Who sent you?"

Before Madam Fang could speak, Yu Linlang cut her off with a cool warning. "I don't want to hear lies. If you say anything false, I'll have someone stab your son in the stomach. Think carefully—how many stabs do you think he can survive?"

Jiujin pulled out a gleaming dagger and smiled, her expression cold and playful. Madam Fang's face turned ashen.

Her pupils shrank in horror, and she blurted out immediately, "It was Aunt Ma! It was her orders!"

"Aunt Ma gave us a lot of money, telling us to do everything in our power to stop you from returning. She said that if we could keep you trapped in Xiaofu Village, we would be rewarded in the future."

"But… but we came up with the plan ourselves!"

"We saw many starving people on the road and thought we could gather them to create chaos. If they clashed with you, whether you lived or died would be out of our hands…"

"Although Old Madam Hu wasn't directly involved in our plan, she knew everything from the beginning and never tried to stop us."

"Actually—" Madam Fang swallowed hard before continuing, "the idea of using starving people to cause a commotion… it was Madam Hu who mentioned it. If she hadn't hinted at it, I wouldn't have dared to come up with such a scheme!"

"She's always been close to the eldest lady. If she suggested this method, doesn't that mean it was the eldest lady's will?"

Madam Fang had acted so boldly because she believed she had her mistress's silent approval.

Aunt Ma might have approached her first, but without Madam Hu's tacit support, she wouldn't have taken the risk…

After all, fortune comes with danger. And really, what danger was there in dealing with a girl raised in the countryside?

Madam Fang had thought it would be easy.

She hadn't expected to kick an iron wall instead.

Now, regret gnawed at her, and the warmth in her body began to fade again. She shivered violently, fear gripping her chest.

Her son, Fang Datou, was even more terrified, crying and begging for mercy.

Yu Linlang ignored them and stretched her hand toward Jiujin.

Jiujin immediately retrieved a thick booklet from her robes and handed it over.

Yu Linlang flipped through a few pages, her fingertips gliding over the text, before stopping at a section. She tapped the page lightly.

"Aunt Ma… a foolish and cowardly woman with no real standing in the governor's mansion. She's practically invisible. Even her daughter, a concubine-born eldest, was an accident. Since then, she's never regained favor."

She lifted her eyes, her tone flat. "Just her? You expect me to believe she had the power to stop me from returning home? She's a forgotten little concubine—what reason would she have to get in my way?"

Her words crashed over Madam Fang like thunder.

What was that booklet in Miss Yu's hands?

Did it contain the details of every person in the governor's household?

The chill in her bones deepened. How did this girl—raised in the countryside for over a decade—gain such power?

Madam Fang's teeth chattered as she stammered, "I-I wouldn't dare lie to you, Miss. It truly was Aunt Ma's people who sought me out. They gave me money… twice. A total of twenty-five taels."

"The old servant can vouch for this—I swear!"

"I used three taels to hire six or seven thugs off the streets of Weizhou. They were supposed to slip into the group of beggars and wait for the right moment to act."

"But… but something went wrong. They were exposed and beaten to death… It wasn't worth it in the end."

Madam Fang wept bitterly. "I've told you everything, Miss! Every word is the truth!"

"As for why Aunt Ma wanted to harm you, I truly don't know…"

"But Miss, you are intelligent. Once you return home, I'm sure you'll uncover the truth."

"Please, please spare my son and me! For the sake of our lady!"

She sobbed, clutching at any lifeline she could find.

"Though I am not as trusted as Madam Hu, I have still served in our lady's household for many years."

"If I die here in Xiaofu Village, won't that make things even worse for you?"

"You haven't even returned home yet, and already, your mother's trusted servant has died in your hands. Do you think that will help you?"

Madam Fang gasped, desperately trying to reason. "If you spare us, I can be of use to you!"

"I can speak well of you in front of your mother. She may not love you immediately, but at least she won't hate you even more."

Yu Linlang closed the booklet and handed it back to Jiujin. Her gaze landed on Madam Fang and her son—cold and unreadable.

"You certainly know how to talk."

"Miss, please be kind!"

Madam Fang trembled with regret. If she had known Miss Yu was so powerful, she never would have accepted Aunt Ma's money.

She never would have dared.

"But I don't want to be kind."

Yu Linlang's voice was light, indifferent. She tossed the words over her shoulder as she turned and climbed the wooden ladder out of the cellar.

Madam Fang and her son panicked, their voices rising in pleas for mercy.

Their bodies trembled violently, the iron walls of the underground chamber echoing with the low hum of their collisions.

Jiujin opened the thick booklet again, picked up a brush, and drew a red line through two names.

Then, she grinned at them.

Madam Fang's blood ran cold.

Those two red lines had erased her and her son's lives.

Up above, Yu Linlang emerged from the cellar and ordered Jiujin to seal the entrance. Without another word, she returned to her room to rest.

Below, as the torchlight dimmed and the temperature dropped further, Madam Fang and her son shivered violently in the freezing water.

The effects of the potion had worn off.

The warmth had faded.

The bone-chilling cold returned.

At first, they cursed and blamed each other. Then, they argued.

And eventually, as the hours passed, their voices grew weaker… and weaker…

Until there was only silence.