Spring flowers.

Chapter 23 You Are Not My Young Lady

Wei Yishang got up and saw Cui'er running away in a hurry.

"What's wrong?" Wei Yishang asked calmly, as if she knew what had happened.

"Manager Liu has been beaten and is waiting at the door to report back." Cui'er said angrily, "Does that Wangchunji restaurant have any enemies of ours?"

"Let him in..." Wei Yishang sat down on a stool inside the room.

Soon, Cui'er brought Liu Er in. Liu Er's right cheek was swollen, and his eye was swollen and uneven.

It's clear that the people behind Wangchunji have gone to great lengths.

“Cui’er said you came back halfway through, but I was taking a nap at the time and didn’t know what it was about,” Wei Yishang said, looking into Liu Er’s eyes with a smile.

"Miss, this..."

Liu Er thought that this was a young lady who had not yet married, and that she was probably narrow-minded and short-sighted, so how could she know anything about business?

I'm just someone who wants money. Since this person has money and wants to open a shop, I'll just fool him.

"Back then..."

Liu Er opened the box and saw that it was empty, so he thought he would come back and ask what happened.

But seeing that Wei Yishang was resting and not around, he figured there might be something else going on, so he went anyway.

"How dare you!" Wei Yishang suddenly shouted.

"What is the punishment for opening the owner's things without permission? Manager Liu, where have your professional ethics and work experience gone?"

Wei Yishang resumed her usual tone, with a smile on her face, but the smile concealed a knife.

"Master, I was wrong..." Liu Er was still wondering why he had been beaten.

“There are hidden threads on the box. You’ve opened it before, so Wang Chunji can see them. Getting beaten up is not a bad thing.”

After Wei Yishang finished speaking, he asked Cui'er to get him some ointment.

"If the owner and the manager have ulterior motives in the future, this business will not be able to be done."

Wei Yishang waved her hand, "Go back and wait for news. Once it's confirmed, I'll have Zhang Zhong notify you."

Liu Er retreated shakily, leaving Cui'er completely bewildered.

"Miss, did you arrange this with Wangchunji? There's no thin thread on the box, is there?"

"You..." Wei Yishang looked at Cui'er and was amused, "How can you survive in the manor like this?"

"Those thin lines are just my way of putting it. When Wang Chunji saw that the box was empty, he naturally thought he had been tricked, so he hit him."

"So, Miss is punishing him for opening the box?" Cui'er was still confused.

"Human curiosity is often the source of a fall into the abyss. I saw that he didn't quite trust me, so I figured he would open the box to find out, and sure enough, he did. Since that's the case, I'll use the 'Wang Chun Ji' to give him a little nudge."

"Miss, how do you know all this?" Cui'er asked, stunned.

“You’re not Miss…” Cui’er suddenly said this in a daze.

"Who are you?" Cui'er asked, trembling as she looked at the person in front of her.

"My young lady isn't like this..."

When Wei Yishang heard Cui'er say this, her expression became somewhat serious.

"If I'm not your young lady, then who am I?" Wei Yishang wasn't angry; she smiled gently at Cui'er.

"I've just grown up..."

Wei Yishang's voice echoed throughout the space, lingering for a long time.

"Cui'er, we must secretly find out about the incident when Granny Liu was poisoned after eating that bowl of soup. This is our top priority."

Wei Yishang got down to business.

“There must have been someone in the kitchen who made the arrangements. I overheard the cooks talking. Although it’s just hearsay, I can be sure it was someone from the Wei residence.”

“Miss, you…” Cui’er was a little sobbing. She knew that there was a face-changing technique in the foreign land that could put a person’s face on another person’s face.

She feared that something had happened to her young mistress, and that the person in front of her was not her young mistress at all.

“Cui’er, I can barely protect myself right now, let alone the fact that we, master and servant, are not of one mind. I promise you, once I find out everything, you will be free and can go wherever you want.”

Although Wei Yishang spoke earnestly, Cui'er clearly didn't listen much.

"I'm leaving. You're not my lady..."

Cui'er just felt a bit cold, fearing that she would also end up with a tragic and miserable fate in the future.

If she could have her face swapped, she probably wouldn't have escaped this fate either. Wei Yishang didn't speak again, but quietly watched Cui'er leave. Cui'er was heavy-hearted and didn't take anything with her.

After she left, Wei Yishang fell into deep thought. Cui'er, whom she had thought would be a long-term best friend, had now become like this.

Was I wrong?

However, neither living as a good-for-nothing nor living as a delicate woman dependent on a man was Wei Yishang's desire.

She couldn't accept that kind of life, and it wasn't in her character.

She longs for a carefree, easy life after everything has gone smoothly, but she also knows that it can only be achieved through even more extreme efforts.

"Miss, something terrible has happened!"

The visitor was Zhang Zhong.

"Miss Cui'er has fallen into the water!"

Without time to think too much, Wei Yishang headed straight for the pond in the back garden.

At this time, some maids and servants had already formed a circle around a spot by the pool.

"Is Miss Cui'er dead...?"

"She's not breathing..."

Rest in peace...

Ignoring what everyone was saying, Wei Yishang rushed into the circle and began performing artificial respiration and CPR.

It's basic; most modern people know it. It's been taught in schools for so many years.

"Fourth Miss, is this really necessary? The person is already dead, why make such a fuss?"

"Really, for an unmarried woman, this is truly improper."

The crowd was buzzing.

At this moment, Granny Gui, the steward of Madam Fang, entered from the crowd.

"Guards, take Fourth Miss away! Take Cui'er's body away too; the master and mistress cannot bear to see such filthy things."

As they were talking, someone pulled Wei Yishang away.

Wei Yishang didn't have time to explain; she was still providing assistance.

Cui'er's expression began to change...

"Fourth Miss, are you going to disobey the master and mistress?" Granny Gui said sternly from the side.

Wei Yishang ignored her and continued the resuscitation process.

Cui'er finally spat out the saliva.

Wei Yishang, standing to the side, was already so exhausted that she could hardly breathe.

"It came back to life???"

"Fourth Miss is truly capable!"

"How exactly did Cui'er fall into the water?"

A murmur of discussion erupted again from the crowd.

"Everyone, disperse. Since that's the case, let Fourth Miss and Cui'er go back first. I'll go and report to Madam as well."

Despite saying that, Granny Gui glared at Wei Yishang with a stern expression.

The crowd quickly dispersed, and Wei Yishang and Zhang Zhong helped Cui'er slowly walk back to their residence.

"Miss……"

Cui'er spoke weakly, "You're right..."

"We...must survive..."

Wei Yishang tidied her wet hair.

"Don't say anything more, I'll take care of it for you."

Wei Yishang knew that Cui'er had been tricked into drowning, and she couldn't let Cui'er suffer this in vain.

"Go back and get some rest. When you wake up, try to recall the events and see if you can find any clues."

(End of this chapter)