Chapter 17

Twelve Dragons (1)

Mu Wanwan was just about to ask Bai Shuiyao what was going on when a few more people came in from outside.

At the head was Fuliu, with about three or four maids trailing behind her.

Fuliu looked at Bai Shuiyao, who was clutching tightly onto Mu Wanwan’s hands, and raised her eyebrows slowly. “You still have a quarter of an hour to pack your things.”

As Fuliu’s gaze swept over Bai Shuiyao, she held onto Mu Wanwan’s hands with a terrible expression on her face. “My lady, Wanwan, you have to save me, only you can help me. I don’t want to be sentenced to hard labour.”

She was crying miserably, but Fuliu and those maids behind her all snickered. Fuliu sneered, “What are you crying about, Lord Ao Qin only sentenced you to hard labour— it’s not like he’s taking your life. He’s even permitting you to pack your things and bring them there. Why are you still not content.”

Fuliu looked at Bai Shuiyao, and said in a sarcastic tone, “You took advantage of the guards’ early morning shift change and asked Qing Ye to help you escape, and now you still have the face to cry after being found out. You are truly amazing.”

“I just wanted to go out to have a look, I wasn’t planning to run away,” sobbed Bai Shuiyao. She looked tearfully at Mu Wanwan, acting every bit the part of one suffering from injustice. 

A maid beside Fuliu couldn’t stand it anymore. Perhaps this little maid liked Qing Ye; her face was flushed with anger, “You vixen, you went and seduced Lord Qing Ye. To help you escape, he’s been deposed of all his cultivation and driven out of the manor by Lord Ao Qin, yet you didn’t even mention a single word about him!” 

Bai Shuiyao choked and cried tragically, trying to prove with her sobs that she was not a conscienceless woman.

After hearing so much, Mu Wanwan finally understood——

Yesterday, after being driven away by her in a fit, Bai Shuiyao hadn’t given up on the idea of escaping. She tried to sneak out of the manor while the guards on the patrol changed shifts in the early morning, but was discovered by Ao Qin. Qing Ye, who had helped her, had his cultivation ruined and thrown out, while Bai Shuiyao had been sentenced to hard labour.

On the whole, it was still consistent with the original text, but Bai Shuiyao’s time of escape time had been changed from last night to early this morning, and the plot point where Ao Qin forcibly kissed her had been twisted and become a punishment to carry out hard labour…

Had Bai Shuiyao’s heroine’s aura become weaker?

Mu Wanwan guessed to herself inwardly, but she was not planning on bothering herself with Bai Shuiyao, nor was she intending to plead for mercy on her behalf.

This downfall was Bai Shuiyao’s own doing. Putting aside the fact that she wasn’t obliged to take care of it, even if she wanted to, she didn’t have the ability to do so. 

After the tyrant’s defeat, using the excuse of helping a good friend to take care of his territory, Ao Qin took away Mister Long’s authority and power, and left the comatose dragon here without bothering to show any care or concern. His attitude towards her, a bride brought in to bring good fortune, was much worse. 

They weren’t even able to fend for themselves. If she went to plead for Bai Shuiyao at this time, things might get even tougher for her. It could be a possibility that Ao Qin might throw her out to carry out hard labour together with Bai Shuiyao.

“My lady, say something. Don’t ignore me, huu…” Bai Shuiyao tugged at Mu Wanwan’s sleeve, refusing to let go. Fuliu and the group of maids watched this scene with cold eyes.

Fuliu was all prepared; if Mu Wanwan wanted to protect Bai Shuiyao, she would take Bai Shuiyao away by force. In any case, both of them were only at Rank 1, and weak as could be. 

Mu Wanwan sighed, and slowly pulled her hand away. “Yaoyao, how could you do such a silly thing. If Father were to know about this, he would be very sad.”

Bai Shuiyao apologised hurriedly, “I know I was wrong, I won’t dare to do it again.”

Mu Wanwan made a troubled expression, “Yaoyao, I believe that you won’t.

“Listen to me, I want to help you too. I really want to help.” Mu Wanwan looked very sincere, “But I am now being grounded here. I can only go out once every ten days. Only if I am outside, can I visit you from time to time, and bring you some food and necessities.”

Bai Shuiyao wiped her tears delicately. At this point, she knew that she might not be able to escape anymore. She whimpered, “Why not, why not you and I swap places? Father loves me the most, he surely won’t bear for me to go.”

Mu Wanwan was astounded by her shamelessness, and almost suspected that she had misheard.

Swap places? Is Bai Shuiyao trying to be funny?

Bai Shuiyao looked at Fuliu with tears in her eyes, “Sister Fuliu, can’t Mu Wanwan go in my stead? She was the one who asked me to run away! It’s all her fault, it’s not me who wanted to escape!

“It’s all because Mu Wanwan asked me to do it. Sister Fuliu, don’t take me away, take her to go perform hard labour, I can take care of that wasted dragon in her place! I also have a treasure, I can give it to you. You know it too, the tyrant has been abandoned, and Lord Ao Qin won’t really care who the tyrant’s wife is.”

Bai Shuiyao no longer had any regard for her pride or dignity; she was bent on dragging Mu Wanwan down with her. “At the most, I can pay the price to change into her likeness, Lord Ao Qin won’t find out.”

Fuliu’s eyes flickered, as if considering the matter.

After all, in this other world, it didn’t seem to be a difficult task to change one’s face at some cost. 

Mu Wanwan was so incensed by Bai Shuiyao’s willingness to do anything out of desperation, and couldn’t be bothered to pretend any longer. She sneered, “Bai Shuiyao, although you and I are mistress and servant, I have always treated you as my sister. You’ve made a mistake of your own accord now, yet you’re trying to slander me. Do you really think that Fuliu is a fool? That you really have treasures just because you say so? That you can swap places just because you want to? Why do I not know that you have something like a treasure?” 

She didn’t have such things in the book, so she was most probably just acting now. 

“Father gave it to me.” Bai Shuiyao was furious, her beautiful eyes glared angrily at her, “How could you, a detested good-for-nothing, have one! Trash! Bitc… Mmmf!!”

Before she could finish cursing, something that been stuffed roughly into her mouth. 

Mu Wanwan stuffed that half-packet of seeds into her mouth forcefully, and smiled. “As a younger sister, you should respect me. As a servant, you have even less right to slander me.”

Originally, she had not wanted to offend Bai Shuiyao. After all, she was the heroine, so it would become very troublesome in the future if she offended her. But now that Bai Shuiyao had climbed on top of her head, why should she have to put up with it? 

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