[Quick Transmigration] I Cried After Scumming the Little Puppy - Chapter 16

Falling flat on her backside, Fang Yu’s mind went blank. She sat there in a daze and muttered, 018 what’s wrong with me?

[System]: It is likely a reaction to the powder Ren Xingxian threw at you when you arrived. It has potent anesthetic and sedative effects.

System 018 provided a calm, clinical analysis.

Fang Yu’s face fell. Staring up at the high, dark rafters of the woodshed, she let out a few helpless, bitter tears. She had planned to force her way out—or, failing that, use the original owner’s martial prowess to leap onto the roof, strip the tiles, and escape. But now that her strength had vanished, such plans were nothing but empty dreams.

Dammit.

Her stomach felt hollow. Fang Yu could feel her ribs with a casual poke of her finger, and her belly let out a loud, uncontrollable growl of protest. Her face flushed. Strangely enough, she found herself actually missing that bowl of yellow dough soup.

According to the maid, she had been unconscious for many days. Fang Yu hadn’t felt it much before, but now that the hunger had set in, her senses were magnified tenfold. Her skin crawled as if a thousand lice were dancing on her, and her clothes were beginning to turn yellow and grimy. This woodshed was dark and damp; there was no telling how many bacteria were breeding in the straw she’d been lying on.

Fang Yu’s scalp itched with anxiety. She endured the night without closing her eyes, and when she heard the door creak open the next morning, she nearly wept with joy.

The one delivering the food was no longer the maid from yesterday. This was a new face; while she didn’t look particularly respectful, she didn’t show any blatant disdain either. She placed the food down steadily. Fang Yu craned her neck, peering into the bowl without much hope.

It was Egg and Tofu Soup!

What kind of heavenly, world-class treatment was this?

Before the maid could even stand up, Fang Yu was already clutching the bowl and gulping it down, her lack of decorum leaving the servant wide-eyed with shock. In her memory, the Mistress’s husband had always been refined and scholarly—how had she turned into this so suddenly?

A thought seemed to cross the maid’s mind, and her gaze softened into one of pity.

After finishing the soup, warmth returned to Fang Yu’s body. She managed to catch her breath and, miraculously, thought the taste wasn’t bad at all. The System felt a pang of sympathy; that glamorous girl it first met had truly fallen to such a wretched state.

The maid’s expression remained dazed as she took back the empty bowl.

“I want to bathe!” Fang Yu declared, unable to tolerate her filthy body for another second.

“This.” The maid hesitated. The Mistress had explicitly ordered that Fang Yu was not to leave this room.

Fang Yu instantly flared up, her aura turning sharp. “Are you interrogating a prisoner? Am I not even allowed to wash?”

Her fierce tone intimidated the maid. “I, I understand. I’ll take you there now.”

Fang Yu’s expression softened as she followed the maid through the estate. As she walked, she took the opportunity to observe the scenery. The Vice-Magistrate’s manor wasn’t massive, but it was complete with every luxury: rockeries, gardens, pavilions, and terraces. It was quite elegant; to her practiced eye, it looked like a perfect filming location for a period drama.

As they walked, they encountered many maids and servants. Their attitudes, however, were far from friendly. Most avoided her with looks of pure resentment; clearly, her face was well-known here.

Fang Yu’s mood was complicated. They arrived at the boiler room, where many people were busy at work. The maid seemed to know the staff here. “Xiao Wu, Miss Fang needs some hot water.”

“You mean Miss Fang?” The honest-looking Xiao Wu glanced behind the maid, looking thoughtful. “The water over there just finished boiling. However, I’m short-handed and far too busy. Miss Fang, you’ll have to carry it yourself.”

Fang Yu: “…”

I’ll endure it! she told herself. Lice first, revenge later.

Dragging her weakened body, she filled small wooden buckets with hot water and hauled them to the empty room the maid had prepared. She made five or six trips, though the maid eventually took pity on her and helped carry two.

By the time she finally lowered herself into the bath, Fang Yu was utterly spent. The maid remained stationed at the door, clearly intending to march her back to the woodshed once she was done.

[Fang Yu]: 018, do you know where Ren Xingxian’s room is?

[System]: She stays in the Fragrant Pavilion to the east. It’s not far from here.

Fang Yu stroked her chin. She suddenly felt the strength returning to her limbs. It felt as though if she just flicked her foot, she could kick the wooden planks of the tub apart.

She actually tried it.

With a dull thud, the water level began to drop rapidly as the tub sprang a leak.

Fang Yu’s eyes narrowed. “Dong Li, come in here for a second!”

Dong Li, the maid guarding the door, suspected nothing. She lifted the curtain and stepped in. “Is there something wrong with the water temp—”

Before she could finish, a gust of wind flashed before her eyes. Fang Yu delivered a swift leg sweep, and Dong Li collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

The System was so shocked by this maneuver that its electronic pulses went haywire.

[Sys-Sys-System]: Host, you’re a total badass!

Fang Yu unceremoniously stripped Dong Li of her clothes and changed into them. She then did her best to braid her hair into the strangely shaped style of a maid.

[System]: Your disguise skills are truly pathetic.

[Fang Yu]: You want to try?

She crept out of the room and slid the bolt shut. No one would know a maid was lying unconscious inside. Following the System’s directions, she made her way toward the Fragrant Pavilion. When she saw people greeting her from a distance, she dodged them or kept her head low, pretending to be unwell.

Amazingly, she wasn’t caught.

As she neared the pavilion, a maid rushed out and bumped into her. Fang Yu instinctively reached out to steady her.

“Miss Fang!” the maid whispered in surprise, before quickly clapping a hand over her mouth and looking around nervously.

Crap. Recognized.

Fang Yu’s heart hammered in her chest, but she maintained a facade of absolute calm. 018!

[System]: This is the original owner’s personal maid, Tao Fen. As for why she’s here, I have no idea.

[Fang Yu]: ??? Aren’t you the one with the script?

[System]: Once the Host transmigrates, the plot must be explored manually. I only provide support.

Fine, shut up.

“Weren’t you locked in the woodshed? How did you get out? And why are you wearing that?” Tao Fen pulled her into a secluded corner, her eyes wide with curiosity.

“I found an opportunity to escape today. Don’t let a word of this out,” Fang Yu said, unsure if she could truly trust her.

“I swear I won’t!” Tao Fen nodded vigorously.

Fang Yu was amused by her earnestness. “Is Ren Xingxian in her room?”

“She is. Please, don’t make the Mistress angry again. Tao Fen wants to go back to serving you.”

Tao Fen spoke with genuine emotion. She was terrified that Fang Yu would go in and start another fight. Having been assigned to serve in the Fragrant Pavilion these past few days, she could sense that Ren Xingxian’s attitude toward Fang Yu had changed significantly.

Fang Yu sneered internally. The original owner “made her angry”? That reaction was perfectly normal given the circumstances.

She questioned Tao Fen further and learned that Ren Xingxian was constantly surrounded by attendants. It wouldn’t be easy to sneak in. Only late at night, when Bi He and Lan Xiang were on watch and the resident physician was in the side room, would there be a chance.

Since Tao Fen’s status had risen after being assigned to the Mistress, she now had a private servant’s room. Fang Yu took the opportunity to hide there to avoid being questioned, planning to make her move after midnight.