My Green Tea Junior Sister Smells So Good - Chapter 13

“Who calls the shots here?” Shen Qingyi asked.

Master Li did not want to be the one to stick his neck out, but he had no choice but to crawl forward a step on his knees. “This old man is the head of the house.”

“Good. Since you all agree with what that little maid said just now, let’s settle this account point by point. That girl is too young and unqualified to argue with me, since you are the head of the household, you explain things clearly.”

These words seemed to affirm Master Li’s status. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “If the Immortal has orders, this old man will tell everything he knows.”

“First, let’s talk about Du Yuanluo ‘cursing’ her entire family to death.”

“It was like this,” Master Li began. “This girl is a foreigner who fled here as a refugee with her young daughter. I saw they were pitiful, so I rented them some land in the outskirts. Who knew that despite her lowly fate, she was born with the delicate body of a young lady? She was sick every other day, and her parents didn’t have the spare money to treat her. They had no choice but to dig for herbs themselves. As a result, they encountered a tiger in the deep mountains. It was only after several days that a hunter found scraps of their clothing. My wife is a devout Buddhist, she knew the girl wouldn’t survive if we didn’t take her in, so even though everyone said she was a jinx who cursed her kin, we kept her anyway.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Shen Qingyi countered. “Du Yuanluo was born in the countryside and is not a frail person. Her parents went into the mountains to gather herbs because the land you rented them was barren and the rent was exorbitant. After paying the rent, the remaining grain wasn’t enough to feed the family. They were forced into the mountains to supplement their income.”

On her way here, Shen Qingyi had heard various versions of Du Yuanluo’s life story in the teahouse. Consequently, she had performed a divination based on Du Yuanluo’s birth charts and horoscopes. As a master from beyond the secular world, the past she calculated was naturally more specific and accurate than that of any worldly monk or Taoist.

Master Li didn’t know how she had managed to dig up these old affairs, but as a man who lived in the world of business, he quickly tried to cover for himself. “This old man’s household affairs are complicated. I cannot remember those ancient, trivial matters clearly. However, the rental agreement was entirely voluntary. There was no forced buying or selling.”

“To think you could speak of taking advantage of people in such a high-sounding way,” Shen Qingyi sneered. “You say you took Du Yuanluo in out of kindness. Let me ask you, how much does a servant girl’s indenture contract cost? And how much did you pay?”

“A girl costs five or six taels of silver. But back then, this girl was only five or six years old. She couldn’t do anything, she just ate and lived for free. No other family would buy a girl of that age.”

Master Li possessed the typical shrewdness of a merchant, but by now he understood that Shen Qingyi was here to back the girl up. After trying to distance himself from the blame, he tried to sell her a favor: “If Immortal Shen has taken a liking to this girl, we don’t want the indenture money anymore. Consider it a gift to the Immortal.”

“So, it was your heavy rent that drove Du Yuanluo’s parents to their deaths. Why does it come out of your mouth as her ‘cursing’ her family?”

“Immortal Shen, paying rent for farming is the natural order of things. How can you say I drove them to death? As for the rumor about her cursing her parents, that’s just street gossip. It wasn’t something I made up! If the Immortal blames me, I will post a notice tomorrow to clarify everything and forbid anyone from speaking nonsense thereafter.”

“I’ll keep a record of this debt for now.” Shen Qingyi then asked as if remembering something, “Du Yuanluo, did you not work when you were a child in the Li household?”

Du Yuanluo looked at Shen Qingyi, then at the masters of the Li family, appearing torn.

“You promised not to lie to me,” Shen Qingyi pressed.

“I worked,” Du Yuanluo whispered. “Just not as much as when I grew up.”

“So, he lied?” Shen Qingyi pointed at Master Li.

“You wretched girl! You lacked neither clothes nor food in our house. We raised you only for you to become an enemy? Do you have no conscience?” Master Li glared at her. If Shen Qingyi hadn’t been present, he looked ready to give her several slaps.

Du Yuanluo shrank toward Shen Qingyi in fear. If there hadn’t been an armrest between their two chairs, she almost would have climbed into her lap. In her heart, Shen Qingyi was far more unreachable than her masters, yet in just a few days, she had become surprisingly dependent on her.

“Don’t be afraid. Just speak. Did he lie?”

Du Yuanluo didn’t dare speak, but she gave a soft nod.

Shen Qingyi looked at Master Li with a cold face. “In my life, I loathe those who say one thing and mean another the most. I am warning you this time, if you lie again, I will have your mouth slapped.”

Master Li secretly glared at Du Yuanluo but submissively complied with Shen Qingyi.

“Continuing to the second matter, what is this talk about Du Yuanluo causing unrest in your household?”

At this question, Master Li broke into a cold sweat. However, he had a change of thought. The previous matters were common gossip on the streets with various versions. Immortal Shen had simply picked the version she preferred. But this second matter happened within the inner chambers of the Li residence, no one knew about it except the family.

Immortal Shen was, after all, a disciple of the Yunyin Sect. She had to act with a legitimate reason.

Thus, he insisted: “This girl ate and lived well in my house. By the age of fifteen or sixteen, she grew up to be quite pretty. Who knew she would be restless and seduce this person and that? She nearly caused my two sons to split the family estate. Everyone in our house knows this. The Immortal cannot listen only to the girl’s one sided story.”

Du Yuanluo had heard people scold her with these words countless times. Every time she was cursed at, she would shrink back and not dare to look up. Over time, she had almost begun to believe it was true herself.

But hearing these words again now stirred a strange sense of anger. When Shen Qingyi looked at her again, although her voice was small, she spoke up of her own accord.

“He is lying.”

“I know.” With a flick of her wrist, the sword in Shen Qingyi’s palm transformed into a wooden ruler, which she placed in Du Yuanluo’s hand. “Go, slap his mouth.”

“Huh?” Du Yuanluo certainly hoped Shen Qingyi would harshly punish this old master who had tried to take advantage of her and twisted the truth, but she felt timid about doing it herself.

This time, Shen Qingyi didn’t force her. She simply asked Master Li, “Why do you say she seduced you?”

Master Li knew he likely wouldn’t escape a physical punishment this time and only wanted to quibble to lessen his guilt.

“Immortal Shen, please investigate clearly. This girl’s reputation has always been like this, using her beauty to cheat people out of food and drink…”

Before Master Li could finish, a strike from the ruler landed on his mouth, accompanied by Du Yuanluo’s tearful voice: “You’re lying! You were the one who used candy to trick me.”

Back then, although Du Yuanluo was fifteen or sixteen, she still had the heart of a child. Used to plain food, she had mistaken Master Li’s candy for a reward from the master. She only escaped by breaking Master Li’s head with an inkstone. When she ran out of his study crying, the rumor that she could be lured into bed with a single piece of candy began to spread.

Shen Qingyi looked at her approvingly and signaled Master Li to continue.

Master Li hadn’t expected Du Yuanluo to actually dare hit him. “You wretched girl with cheap bones, do you think I’ve wronged you?”

“You did wrong me.” Du Yuanluo struck his mouth again with the ruler.

“It was clearly you who used your power to bully me because I had no one to stand up for me.” Du Yuanluo struck his mouth stroke by stroke until his lips bled and his cheeks were swollen and red.

“Master Li, can you tell the truth now?” Shen Qingyi asked.

Master Li’s mouth was full of blood; he stammered and couldn’t speak. Shen Qingyi then pointed at Mrs. Li. “Then you tell it.”

Seeing the head of the house beaten into such a state, Mrs. Li didn’t dare throw mud at Du Yuanluo anymore. She could only try to wash her own hands of the matter. “Oh, Immortal Shen, I am just a housewife and don’t know how to judge cases. When I heard there was a vixen in the house, I naturally had to discipline the maids to clean up the household. We are a respectable family!”

Shen Qingyi gave Du Yuanluo a look, signaling her to argue for herself.

Du Yuanluo unceremoniously struck the matriarch’s mouth with the ruler. “I am not a vixen. The Master and the Young Masters bullied me. I went to the Madam for protection, but the Madam didn’t care about the truth. She just labeled me a vixen, beat and scolded me, and wanted to sell me off.”

Mrs. Li cried out in pain and pleaded, “Yuanluo, don’t just remember the grudges and forget the kindness! If I hadn’t finally agreed to let you serve the Young Mistress, where would you be today? Every debt has its debtor, you shouldn’t hit me.”

Hearing this, Master Li realized she was hinting for Du Yuanluo to hit him instead. He got anxious too. “You old bag! Selling her to a brothel was your idea. Keeping her to serve our daughter was my idea!”

Shen Qingyi watched this chaos with cold eyes, then beckoned to the Miss of the Li family. “Your turn. Tell me how Du Yuanluo ruined your marriage.”

The Li family daughter had long since collapsed in terror after seeing her parents beaten. Suddenly being called upon, she kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy. “Immortal Shen, I was wrong! It was that Young Master Huang who was a scoundrel. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on Yuanluo. I won’t dare do it again.”

This scene looked so familiar. Had Du Yuanluo learned it from her?

“Yuanluo, did the Miss often admit her mistakes like this?”

Du Yuanluo shook her head. “The Miss is the pearl in the eyes of the Master and Madam. Even her wrongs were considered right. She never kowtowed or apologized to anyone.”

However, Du Yuanluo’s attitude toward the Miss softened. The hand holding the ruler lowered, and she softly pleaded with Shen Qingyi, “The Miss really didn’t beat or scold me normally. Since she knows she’s wrong, please spare her, Immortal Shen.”

“She doesn’t know she’s wrong, she’s just afraid,” Shen Qingyi said relentlessly.

“I really know I’m wrong! I kowtow to the Immortal to apologize. Please spare me!” The pampered Miss could not endure physical pain.

“If you really knew you were wrong, you would be kowtowing to Du Yuanluo to apologize. Kowtowing to me is just out of fear,” Shen Qingyi exposed her instantly.

The Li family daughter immediately crawled toward Du Yuanluo, grabbing her hand and pleading, “Yuanluo, we were master and servant once. At least remember the good I did for you! Back then, when the Eldest Brother was searching for you everywhere in the garden, it was I who hid you in the wardrobe so you could escape. You’ve had so much less trouble following me these years, don’t you remember?”

Shen Qingyi could see at a glance that Du Yuanluo’s heart had softened. That was just how she was, give her a little sweetness and she would forget the blade hidden in the sugar.

However, Shen Qingyi didn’t plan to fix this habit all at once. Watching the Li family daughter tightly grasping Du Yuanluo’s hand, she felt a flicker of displeasure for some reason.

She reached out and pulled Du Yuanluo to her side. “Can you distinguish right from wrong now?”

Tearfully, Du Yuanluo nodded.

“In the future, don’t admit fault just because someone points a finger at you. You must have a scale in your own heart.” Shen Qingyi then pointed at the Li family members kneeling on the floor. “Do you know why they don’t dare point fingers at you now?”

“Because I didn’t do anything wrong,” Du Yuanluo said with a bit more confidence, her tone firming up.

“Incorrect. You didn’t do anything wrong before either, yet you bore no shortage of infamy.”

It seemed that was true. Du Yuanluo thought for a moment and said, “Because Immortal Shen is here to uphold justice for me.”

Shen Qingyi said, “That is the second thing I want to teach you. Being bullied is not necessarily because you did something wrong, it is because you are in a position of weakness.”