The two had grown up together, having known each other since they were in diapers.
While the girl had been pampered and ill-tempered since childhood, she was definitely not someone with enough strength to send an adult mammy flying.
Furthermore, the movements she made when she struck just now were clean and decisive, nothing like those of an ordinary sheltered young lady.
Pei Shaohuai instinctively looked in the direction Xie Zhaofan had left, and an absurd thought suddenly popped into his mind.
Lately... surely I haven’t offended her too severely?
Did the matter of breaking the engagement count? And then there was the way he had cold-shouldered her because of Xie Jinyi...
It wouldn’t reach the point where she’d give him a brutal beating, would it?
For the first time, Pei Shaohuai seriously considered a question.
If Xie Zhaofan truly came to find trouble with him because of these things, would he be able to withstand that monstrous strength she had displayed just now?
At the thought of the way Mammy Zhou had been sent flying, his expression became somewhat strained.
However, he naturally couldn’t let these thoughts show. He quickly composed himself, offered a few gentle words of comfort to Xie Jinyi, and then took his leave from Xie Chongshan and his wife.
Until Pei Shaohuai’s figure vanished beyond the manor gates, Xie Chongshan remained standing there, his face grim.
He cast a glance toward the direction Xie Zhaofan had gone, his brow furrowed deeply.
This daughter... seemed different than before.
Meanwhile, Xie Zhaofan, whom everyone now considered extremely dangerous, had already returned to her bedchamber.
The moment the door closed, she couldn’t wait to reach out and undo the soiled robes on her body.
“What are you two just standing there staring for?”
She looked back at the two maidservants behind her.
“Hurry over and help me change.”
The two maidservants were simultaneously stunned.
Usually, they were responsible for attending to the Second Young Miss, but after what had just happened, they felt more than a little intimidated looking at Xie Zhaofan now.
The two exchanged glances before eventually bracing themselves and walking over.
“Second Young Miss, this servant will assist you in changing your clothes.”
“Mhm.”
Xie Zhaofan stood there, letting the two of them untie the complex silken sashes around her waist.
She had originally thought that ancient clothing consisted of nothing more than a layer of inner garments and an outer robe, but once she actually tried it, she realized she had been too simplistic.
Not to mention the countless inner and outer layers, the waistbands, silk sashes, jade pendants, and various hanging ornaments were all tangled together; just untying them took a considerable amount of effort.
She struggled for a long time, completely failing to figure out which direction one of the ribbons was supposed to be pulled.
Xie Zhaofan couldn’t help but complain in her heart: who exactly designed these ancient clothes? Couldn’t they make them a bit simpler?
When she finally changed into clean robes, she looked at the two little maidservants before her, who were keeping their heads down and were afraid to even breathe loudly. A sudden pang of pity hit her.
“What are you afraid of?”
She said casually, “It’s not like I’d give you a beating for no reason, right?”
The moment the words left her mouth, she fell silent herself, as the memories of the original host surfaced quite inconveniently.
She actually had beaten them, and more than once.
Sometimes it was because the tea was cold, and sometimes because the clothes weren’t ironed smoothly enough.
There was even one time when, simply because one of the maidservants had accidentally said the wrong thing, the original host made her kneel in the courtyard for an entire shichen.
Xie Zhaofan suddenly felt quite awkward.
“...”
Well, those words really weren’t very convincing. She let out a long sigh in her heart.
Was there no basic logic to this transmigration? When other people transmigrated, they came with a clean reputation, friends and family, and gold fingers.
But for her, her identity was that of a fake daughter, her fiancé wanted to break the engagement, her biological father wanted to beat her, and even the maidservants had been bullied by the original host. She couldn’t find a single ounce of help around her.
If the system hadn't appeared in time just now, she probably would have been lying in bed nursing her injuries for several days.
Although the Xie family’s discipline wouldn’t be as severe as a government flogging, taking five strikes would definitely make her get more than she bargained for.
Ladies of this era might look glamorous on the surface, but in reality, they had very few things they could decide for themselves.
The more Xie Zhaofan thought about it, the more her head ached. She walked over to the bronze mirror and sat down, finally having time to seriously examine her current appearance.
The girl in the mirror was only fifteen years old.
Her features still carried a hint of childishness, yet they already showed a bright and elegant silhouette. Her skin was fair and delicate, and her peach blossom eyes were particularly beautiful.
Xie Zhaofan stared into the mirror for a long while.
She had to admit that, aside from the miserable start, her physical condition was quite excellent.
At least this face, if placed in modern times, would definitely be considered top-tier beauty.
If her situation wasn’t so terrible, she might even feel that this transmigration wasn't a total loss.
Unfortunately... she soon furrowed her brows again.
As a young lady of an official's family, the original host had only been exposed to the inner workings of noble manors. There wasn't much truly valuable information in her memories.
She didn't know what year it was in this world, what the situation was like outside the imperial court, or what kind of lives ordinary people lived.
As for things like cultivation or martial arts, there was absolutely nothing about them in her memories.
Xie Zhaofan rubbed her brow. “Truly a disastrous start!”
She had already begun to seriously consider when she could leave this den of trouble.
True and fake daughters, a broken engagement, the villainous fake daughter, and the true daughter’s halo... why did this plot seem more and more like the novels and short dramas she used to binge-watch?
Given the level of self-destruction the original host had displayed, combined with her current status, what good end could the future hold?
Once Xie Jinyi completely established herself, she, the fake daughter, would likely become the biggest eyesore in the family.
When that time came, if she made even the slightest mistake, she might not even know how she died.
Thus, she had to find a way out for herself as soon as possible. Xie Zhaofan set to work immediately, starting to rummage through her boxes and cabinets.
However, after searching for a long time, the expression on her face became increasingly strange.
The original host had been far too extravagant with her spending. While there were many clothes in the wardrobe and quite a few pieces of jewelry, her actual ready cash only amounted to a few dozen taels.
Xie Zhaofan gripped the silver in her hand and fell into silence.
A few dozen taels of silver might sound like a lot, but if she truly left the Prime Minister’s residence, every single thing—buying a house, eating, hiring people, and purchasing supplies—would cost money.
She couldn’t exactly run out into the streets with just a few dozen taels and then rely on the system to provide her meals every day, could she?
At that thought, she couldn’t help but look at the system in her mind once more.
【Host: Xie Zhaofan】
【Lifespan: ∞】
【Strength: 13】
【Agility: 4】
【Constitution: 4】
【Spirit: 6】
【Free Attribute Points: 0】
Other than that, there were no functions at all.
No shop, no quests, no lucky draws...
And none of the familiar notifications like, “Ding! System quest triggered, please complete it immediately.” It didn’t even have a chat function for entertainment.
Xie Zhaofan stared at the panel and studied it for a long while before finally giving up for the moment.
Forget it. Just surviving comes first.
She had just prepared to sit down and rest for a while when footsteps sounded outside the door.
“Second Young Miss, dinner has been delivered.”
Xie Zhaofan’s spirits immediately lifted. She had been through so much from the afternoon until now that her stomach was practically stuck to her back from hunger.
Especially since the system had just reinforced her body, her internal energy consumption was clearly much faster than that of an ordinary person. She felt as if she could eat an entire cow in one go.
Rate on N.U.
