Chapter 18: Volume 1, Chapter 18: What does

After Xu Shi left, Yun Qiyue took Sixue to the courtyard where Yun Bo was staying.

Just as she entered the courtyard, Yun Qiyue saw Qingyan standing quietly at the door of Yun Bo's room.

Seeing Yun Qiyue enter, Qingyan stepped forward to salute.

Yun Qiyue only glanced at Qingyan indifferently and said nothing, instead pushing the door open and entering Yun Bo's room.

Seeing this, Qingyan looked at Sixue.

Sixue returned a bitter, uneasy smile to Qingyan and said nothing.

Seeing this, Qingyan only pursed her lips and said nothing, still standing quietly in place. Sixue also stood beside Qingyan, with no intention of going in.

When Yun Qiyue entered Yun Bo's room, Yun Bo was fast asleep.

Yun Qiyue lightly touched Yun Bo's wrist, and with just one touch, she grasped his entire condition.

Yun Bo's body was still recovering, and his condition had stabilized; his deep sleep now was merely due to extreme exhaustion.

It made sense; having spent so much effort protecting the original owner in the past, and even taking beatings on her behalf, Yun Bo was indeed very tired.

From now on, it would be her turn to protect him.

Thinking of this, Yun Qiyue took one more look at Yun Bo and turned to leave.

Just at this moment, Yun Bo seemed to sense something and opened his eyes. Seeing a familiar back, he was a bit uncertain, "Eldest Miss?"

Yun Qiyue's movements paused slightly, and then she turned back calmly.

When Yun Bo saw that familiar face, he was immediately filled with excitement, "Eldest Miss, it really is you! You're still alive!"

They said the Eldest Miss had accidentally trespassed into the Forbidden Land.

One had to know, it was impossible for anyone who trespassed into the Forbidden Land to come out alive.

Yun Qiyue looked at Yun Bo's appearance, feeling a slight touch in her heart, and nodded, saying with a smile, "Yes, I am still alive."

A simple, ordinary sentence, yet it left Yun Bo stunned once again.

"Eldest Miss, you..." Yun Bo's face was full of wild joy.

Because he was too incredulous and too happy, his words were stuck in his throat, and for a moment, he couldn't speak.

Even so, Yun Bo still tried hard to sit up.

Seeing this, Yun Qiyue quickly stepped forward, helped Yun Bo sit up, and tucked a pillow behind him.

Yun Bo's gaze remained glued to Yun Qiyue's face, his eyes still full of disbelief.

Yun Qiyue knew what Yun Bo's look meant, so she stood up and said generously, "Yun Bo, as you can see, I had a blessing in disguise and am no longer a fool. I am well."

Yun Bo wept with joy, repeatedly bowing to the heavens to thank the gods, muttering something under his breath.

Yun Qiyue didn't understand a word of it, only assuming Yun Bo was doing this because he was too happy, so she didn't pay it any mind.

Afterward, the two talked a bit more, and Yun Qiyue told Yun Bo to rest more, not staying long.

However, Yun Qiyue did not know that as she left, the excitement in Yun Bo's eyes slowly dissipated, while the worry in his pupils began to overflow bit by bit...

After leaving Yun Bo's room, Qingyan and Sixue followed Yun Qiyue out of the courtyard.

Once they were out of the courtyard, Yun Qiyue stopped and looked at Qingyan and Sixue, her eyes cool.

Seeing this, Qingyan and Sixue felt a thud in their hearts and knelt down in unison.

As maidservants, regardless of the reason, unauthorized changing of shifts was a major offense.

Seeing them like this, Yun Qiyue's expression did not soften, and she said coldly, "Speak, whose people are you two really, and what is your intention in lurking in my General's Mansion?"

These two—even if she hadn't sensed any malice from them, she had to figure out their origins.

Hearing this, Qingyan and Sixue were a bit stunned and looked at each other.

"We are the Eldest Miss's people."

Yun Qiyue frowned upon hearing this, clearly not believing their words.

How could she not know whether the original owner had these two people? These two had never appeared in front of the original owner before, yet now they claimed to be her people—this made them even more suspicious.

Seeing that Yun Qiyue didn't believe them, Qingyan spoke, "Eldest Miss, we were left by the Madam to protect you."

Hearing this, Yun Qiyue was startled.

Madam? The original owner's mother?

But just as this thought occurred, Yun Qiyue subconsciously dismissed it.

The original owner's mother had passed away ten years ago. Qingyan was about the same age as her; how could her mother have left a child of a few years old to protect her?

Moreover, this Qingyan also possessed martial arts skills.

Qingyan: "Miss, I was saved by the Madam back then and personally taught by her. Later, before the Madam's incident, she sent me away for a period of time. I only entered the General's Mansion three years ago."

Yun Qiyue still didn't quite believe it, "Then, as you say, you came to the General's Mansion three years ago; why have you never appeared?"

Qingyan knew martial arts, and not weak ones at that.

Since she had come to the General's Mansion three years ago, why was it that for the past three years, the original owner was bullied every time, and only Yun Bo was there to guard her?

This didn't make sense.

Qingyan was questioned, but her expression didn't change, and she only said, "The reason I haven't helped the Miss in these three years is because of the Madam's instructions before she left."

Hearing this, Yun Qiyue's heart tightened, and she subconsciously held her breath, "What instructions?"

Qingyan met Yun Qiyue's gaze, and Yun Qiyue saw that in Qingyan's eyes, there were no impurities, only loyalty.

"The Madam said that after the Miss reached the age of fifteen, she would face a life-or-death tribulation. If the Miss could not survive it, I would not need to appear before the Miss. If the Miss could overcome this tribulation, I would have to serve the Miss for life."

As Qingyan spoke, she added, "The Madam said that if I interfered with the Miss's life too early, it would hinder the Miss's crossing of the tribulation."

If it were before, when Yun Qiyue heard these words from Qingyan, she would have directly thought Qingyan was spouting nonsense.

But now, Yun Qiyue's heart was filled with shock.

Life-or-death tribulation—hadn't the original owner just survived a life-or-death tribulation? That was why she had come.

But...

"Did my mother say anything else?" Yun Qiyue looked at Qingyan, trying hard to suppress her inner emotions, while the fists in her sleeves were clenched tight.

"The Madam said that once the Miss experienced a life-or-death tribulation, she would certainly no longer be foolish," Qingyan said, then added, "The Madam also told me to tell the Miss: when you arrive, be at peace; everything is just returning to the original position."

Returning to the original position?

Yun Qiyue was shocked.

Was it the meaning she thought?

Original position... could it be that this was her original position?

Her heart was beating uncontrollably, but Yun Qiyue tried her best to steady her breathing.

There was so much she wanted to ask.

For example, why did her mother know these things?

For example, what did "returning to the original position" mean?

But, after thinking about it, Yun Qiyue decided to give up.

Some things could not be asked casually.

And as for the answers, Qingyan might not necessarily know them either.

After calming her emotions for a while, Yun Qiyue looked at Sixue, who had been somewhat ignorant and shocked.

Clearly, Sixue did not know everything Qingyan had said.

Then, what was Sixue's background?

Seeing her Miss looking at her, Sixue hurriedly said, "I am an orphan picked up by my foster father."

It turned out that compared to Qingyan, Sixue's background was much simpler.

She had been taken in by Yun Bo since she was young and had grown up accompanying an old nanny who had come out of the palace.

Although that old nanny had passed away two years ago, Sixue should have come to the General's Mansion to serve Yun Qiyue.

It was just that in this mansion, all the loyal people, except for Yun Bo, had been sent away by the people next door for one reason or another.

To prevent Sixue from being cleared out as soon as she entered, Yun Bo had delayed the time for Sixue to enter the mansion.

It wasn't until a few days ago that Sixue was brought back to the mansion by Yun Bo, but before Sixue could appear in front of Yun Qiyue, the previous Yun Qiyue had met with an accident.

After some questioning, both maidservants were indeed her own people, and Yun Qiyue had nothing else to say, only stating, "I never keep people who betray their masters by my side. If you want to stay by my side, you must never betray me for the rest of your lives; otherwise, I will never be lenient."

Yun Qiyue's expression was stern, and her tone was sharp.

Qingyan and Sixue only felt an invisible pressure surrounding them, making them unable to help but want to submit.

"Qingyan (Sixue) is willing to follow the Miss and swear loyalty to the death." The two kowtowed to Yun Qiyue, formally acknowledging Yun Qiyue as their master.

Afterward, Yun Qiyue assigned them a task.

She had Qingyan go find the old people who had been sent away for various reasons; of course, she only wanted the loyal ones.

This point required Qingyan to distinguish for herself. Since Qingyan had been in the mansion for three years, there was no reason she couldn't distinguish such a small matter; this was considered a test for Qingyan.

As for Sixue, her task was much simpler.

Yun Qiyue listed a long list, all of which were names of medicinal herbs, and she had Sixue go and buy all those herbs back.

A doctor without medicine was like a bird without wings; that wouldn't do.

As for the system, although the system could exchange for some medicine, she, Yun Qiyue, had never been one to rely on "cheating."

In everything, one had to have a backup plan.

It took about two days for Sixue to finally buy all the medicinal herbs on Yun Qiyue's list.

With the herbs ready, Yun Qiyue prepared to make medicine and concoct poison, but at this moment, an uninvited guest arrived at Mingyue Courtyard. ===== CHAPTER 19 =====