Upon Her Lips - Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Mu Fei looked at the glass Campbell Ci handed her.

“Grand Duke Mu Fei, are you really going to deny me even this much face?” Campbell Ci’s grey-gold eyes were dancing with a smile, yet she was insistent, pressing the glass toward the reclusive head of the Mu house.

Mu Fei knew that refusing this “kindness” would be a slight to both families, and she loathed being the center of attention. She took the glass, but the lady intentionally shifted her grip, letting her fingers brush against Mu Fei’s fingertips.

“What’s this? You’ve clearly just taken ‘chilled blood,’ so why do you still feel so weak?” Campbell Ci murmured. With just that light touch, she could sense the alluring chill of Mu Fei’s skin and a trace of lovely exhaustion.

Mu Fei pulled away, avoiding further contact. She took the glass and retorted coldly, “Naturally, I am not as energetic as a Grand Duke who has fed on two maidens within the last half hour.”

Campbell Ci blinked, then let out a low chuckle. “I was joking, Mu Fei.”

“I wasn’t, Campbell Ci,” Mu Fei replied, using her gaze to signal the other to move out of her way.

A flicker of an unreadable emotion crossed Campbell Ci’s eyes, but a servant arrived to summon her to her father. She stepped aside, watching Mu Fei’s party enter the banquet hall. Her eyes narrowed as they landed on the unremarkable small girl following behind Mu Fei, her gaze returning to a state of ice-cold indifference.

“Why did no one tell me Mu Fei had a girl like that in her house?” Campbell Ci placed her glass on a passing tray and began walking toward a private room.

Her personal servant, Mei Luo, stammered, “Many of the scouts in the North District were cleared out by her troublesome butler recently. Because of the banquet, we wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble—”

“Unnecessary trouble? Since when do you make decisions for me?” Campbell Ci smiled at Mei Luo. Terrified, the servant lowered her head.

Mu Fei’s rival took a deep breath, turned, and delivered a backhanded slap so powerful it split the servant’s cheek. “You aren’t needed at the banquet tonight.” She peeled off her blood-stained white glove and dropped it into the hands of the trembling servant.

“Where is Campbell Ming?” she asked, referring to her younger sister.

“The Second Miss should be in the backyard, playing with the other children.”

“Is that so?” Campbell Ci smirked, thinking of the human child by Mu Fei’s side, and went to see her father.

…

Mu Fei found a quiet corner and sat down.

“The party has started, and here I thought you weren’t coming,” a light voice called out. It was Yin Sili.

Mu Fei ignored her friend’s greeting. Yin Sili didn’t mind; she looked at the loyal butler and then… the little stutterer!! “Grand… Grand Duke Yin, hello.” You Ran, recognizing the Lady’s friend, whispered a polite greeting.

Yin Sili’s eyes widened. “Well, hello, little You Ran.” She turned to Mu Fei. “You actually brought her here? No wonder you look so pale—you drew heart-blood for this little thing.”

Mu Fei narrowed her eyes. “I did it for myself.”

“For yourself, at the cost of your own comfort? But I must say, I can’t smell a trace of her.” Yin Sili leaned in close to You Ran, hiding half her face behind a fan. The sudden proximity startled the girl, who instinctively leaned closer to Mu Fei.

“Yin Sili,” Mu Fei warned.

“Fine, fine.” Yin Sili stepped back. “Everyone is curious about you, the Lord of the High Tower. Curious about your face, and your… relationship with Campbell Ci.”

Mu Fei swirled her wine but didn’t drink. “People are curious for two reasons: profit or assassination.”

She looked at the divided factions of nobles and the swarms of servants. She truly hated these events. Suddenly, Yin Sili received a message and had to step away.

Mu Fei sat in the corner, flanked by Daolei and You Ran. Her cold aura kept most social climbers at bay. She looked back at You Ran, who had been stiff as a board since they left the car.

“Daolei, take You Ran to look around. If there’s fruit, let her have some,” Mu Fei commanded.

You Ran looked at her. Despite the bright lights and music, the Lady looked lonely. And after hearing that lady say Mu Fei was “weak,” You Ran couldn’t stop worrying.

“Lady, You Ran will… will get…” She pointed to a buffet table near the garden entrance. “Lady, there are… cherries.”

“You want cherries?” Mu Fei smiled.

“Want… Lady… to eat,” You Ran whispered.

Mu Fei waved her off, letting her go. It was better than having the child stare at her with such worried eyes; it was quite embarrassing.

You Ran followed Daolei to the buffet. She kept looking back at Mu Fei every few steps. Daolei smiled; it was good for his Master to have someone who cared this much.

At the table, You Ran saw fruits she had never dreamed of. She was hungry, having forgotten to eat the bread Han Sheng gave her, but her priority was the cherries. She carefully picked out the freshest ones and placed them in a small glass dish.

Daolei’s phone rang—a remote matter from the manor needed his attention. “You Ran, I need to step outside for a moment. Once you’ve got the fruit, take it to the Master.”

“O-okay.” You Ran watched him disappear toward the stairs.

She turned to bring the cherries to Mu Fei, but she saw the Lady was now surrounded by several elegantly dressed lords and ladies. They were talking and laughing; the Lady’s expression had softened. Even Yin Sili was back and smiling.

You Ran stopped. She didn’t want to interrupt the Lady’s fun with her peers. She looked around and saw the back garden. She felt out of place among the glamorous adults anyway. She decided to sit on the garden steps and wait for the conversation to end.

The violin music was soothing. She sat on the steps in the moonlight, holding her dish of cherries. Suddenly, she heard a girl crying.

“Well? You ruined my dress. What are you going to do about it?” A sharp, youthful, yet cruel voice drifted over.

You Ran frowned and looked toward the light. A group of girls—older than her, but still children—were gathered there. The sound of sobbing tore at her heart, bringing back memories of her own past. Her body went cold.

She instinctively turned to go back to the hall, but her presence didn’t escape the purebloods. A girl in the shadows turned around.

“Hey. You saw us, and now you want to run?”

The girl stepped into the light. She was dressed in a white evening gown, radiating wealth and arrogance. She was Campbell Ming, the second miss of the house. Her white gloves were stained with blood. On the ground was a young maid, about You Ran’s age, her arm bleeding and her face full of terror.

You Ran swallowed hard and walked over. As she got within range, a strike aimed at her neck came flying—a clumsy move compared to Han Sheng’s, so You Ran’s body instinctively dodged the “greeting.”

Campbell Ming’s eyes flared with rage. A mere servant dared to dodge her? “Li, what kind of blind trash is this? She doesn’t even know how to offer a greeting.”

The girl named Li laughed. “Grand Duke Campbell Ming, she probably doesn’t know who you are. You’re far too humble.”

You Ran’s heart hammered. This was the guest of honor. “Gra… Grand… Grand Duke, greetings.”

“Oh, a stutterer. Which family is so pathetic they brought a blind stutterer to my home?” Campbell Ming narrowed her eyes. “Tell me, whose lowly servant are you?”

The contempt in the girl’s voice sparked a rare flame of anger in You Ran. It felt like an insult to Lady Mu Fei herself.

(Don’t cause unnecessary trouble for the Lady.)

Auntie Dai’s warning echoed in her mind. She couldn’t let the Lady be embarrassed. She bit her lip and stayed silent.

“A stutterer before, a mute now? You’re a loyal dog, trying not to get your master in trouble. But that won’t do…”

Campbell Ming smiled cruelly. She snatched the dish of cherries from You Ran’s hands and dashed it to the ground. The sound of breaking glass drew a few looks from the hall, but seeing it was the Campbell Second Miss, the guests looked away. It was just a noble disciplining a servant.

Campbell Ming ground the cherries into the dirt with her black leather boot. “I’ll teach you your place. If you crawl on your knees and eat these cherries off the ground, I’ll let you go. I won’t even trouble your master.”

You Ran looked at the cherries mashed into the mud. She was silent for a few seconds. Under the mocking gazes of the noble children, she slowly sank to her knees.

As long as I don’t cause trouble for the Lady.

She forced herself to swallow the sour, metallic taste of dirt and crushed fruit. Nausea hit her instantly, and tears filled her eyes. She coughed and tried to straighten up, but a black boot slammed down onto the back of her head, pinning her down.

“Eat it all. Clean it up.”