Chapter 17 - Collecting Interests

Chapter 17 - Collecting Interests

Bai Rouyun was throwing glances at the many people who were present within the main hall. Although she had already heard how they had treated her from Li Moyun, she still held a faint hope that someone loved her as a family.
In her old life, she was an orphan, and now she had a family, but they all hated her, it seemed. Life was truly unfair.
Even so, a clueless and happy smile hung on her lips as she looked at Li Moyun. It was as if her gaze was glued to him, making all the others feel awkward.
"What brings Prince Yun and Bai Rouyun to our humble abode today?" the old general finally took the initiative to talk.
"Oh, I felt it proper to return to the General Estate to give our greetings to the elders and burn some incense for Rouyun's mother. After all, she is now my wife, and it is only natural that I pay my respects to her parents."
Although Li Moyun said he wanted to respect her parents, he only mentioned her mother, and seeing his pampering gestures towards her, all those present had ugly expressions on their faces.
It was clear that this prince knew of how they had treated Bai Rouyun over the years.
Even worse was that he wanted to offer up some incense to the mother of Bai Rouyun. That woman had never been given a spot in the family shrine. Her body had been tossed into a mass grave, and no one had bothered with her since.
Now that the prince appeared wanting to pay his respects to her mother, it would be impossible.
The expressions on the Young and Old Generals turned ugly. They knew better than no one that what they had done back then was simply unforgivable.
As such, the two generals started to talk about random subjects, changing the topic. They asked many questions, and Li Moyun answered politely as if he had all the time in the world.
After ten minutes, Bai Rouyun began fidgeting and looking all around in boredom. She was supposed to have a childish mind, so it was natural that she could not sit still for long.
After another five minutes, she rose to her feet and began leaving the room.
"Stop her," the Young General called out, but Li Moyun raised his hand. "Let her have some fun," he said. "She has been inside the Yun Palace for so long, let her stretch her legs a little. Although she is a little slow at maturing, she has grown up in the Bai family. Obviously, she will know where she can and where she can't walk."
Hearing the implied message stunned the two generals, and a cold chill ran down their spines. "Yan, Bing'er, Yue'er, and Jing, all of you follow your younger sister and keep an eye on her so that she does not get frightened." The Old General understood that he could not keep Bai Rouyun inside now, so he sent four of his grandchildren to watch her.
The four he picked were the most sensible ones, or so he thought. Since it was Prince Yun who had brought Bai Rouyun here; then, she naturally wasn't allowed to get hurt under their watch.
The four women were all unhappy with their task, but they dared not go against their grandfather, so they bowed to Prince Yun before they followed Bai Rouyun.
The sisters followed at a certain distance; their voices were always mocking Bai Rouyun. Their hearts were bleeding with jealousy, so all they had to vent it on was her.
"Sisters, I say, do you really think that Prince Yun likes such an idiot?"
"I doubt it, but he was told by the Emperor to marry her. As such, he has no choice but to be affectionate with her."
"Why don't we beat her a bit?" one of them suddenly asked. "As long as we beat her where her clothes cover her body, no one will know anything."
The other three suddenly felt enlightened. "She can't speak and complain about us anyway, and even if Prince Yun notices it, he can't blame us."
All of them were having evil thoughts and failed to see the corner of Bai Rouyun's lips rising slightly. So they wanted to beat her? It seems like it was time to get some interest for all the times she had been a punching bag!
She strolled towards a small pond. Here she squatted in front of it and looked at the fish that were swimming in the water, seemingly in full focus.
"I have a better idea," another sister suddenly said, not even bothering to lower her voice, as she was sure that Bai Rouyun was a deaf person.
"Why don't we kick her into the water? Every servant will then see her soaked with the clothes sticking to her body. That is almost as bad as being seen naked. No man will want a woman who has been seen by someone else. This way, we can release our fury and get Prince Yun to dislike her!"
While listening to the hurtful words, Bai Rouyun was shocked. These sisters were truly too ruthless. But if they wanted her to lose all her reputation and face today, then they couldn't blame her for fighting back.
She slowly rose to her feet as she heard someone inch closer to her from behind.
Just as the person was about to push her, she sidestepped gracefully, and the sister, Bai Bing'er, fell deep into the pond. Her fall accompanied by a loud scream.