“Mother!”
Luo Tiantian rushed in and threw herself to Mother Si’s side.
Mother Su was currently still shaken.
She had just logged back in when she encountered the sudden event of the house collapsing. Although she knew it was a game, the booming sound, and the physical instinct of fear still left her with lingering palpitations.
At this moment, seeing Bao Si rush in with such anxiety and worry, that virtual fright was instantly covered by a real wave of warmth.
“Si’er… I’m fine. I just had a bit of a scare.” Mother Su gripped Luo Tiantian’s hand, only to find that her hand was very cold. Looking closer by the dim light, she realized her daughter’s face was even paler than it had been during the day. There were light shadows under her eyes, and her breathing was a bit hurried. “What’s wrong? Why do you look so terrible? Are you feeling unwell?”
Luo Tiantian shook her head. She carefully checked Mother Si’s body. Aside from some light grazing on her elbow and some dust, there truly was nothing serious. She let out a sigh of relief, but her anger only burned hotter.
“Mother, don’t worry. This matter absolutely cannot be left like this.” She turned to look at Xiao Cui. “Xiao Cui, tell me exactly what happened. When it collapsed, was there anything unusual nearby? Did you see anyone suspicious?”
Xiao Cui wiped her tears and recalled, “Reporting to Your Ladyship, I was serving the Madam her evening meal when I suddenly heard a *crack* and a *crash* coming from the back wall. Then, a large section of the plaster and masonry fell down! I was terrified and quickly pulled the Madam outside. Before that… I think I heard very light footsteps outside, but I didn’t pay it any attention at the time…”
As expected, it was a man-made disaster.
Luo Tiantian could not hold back her anger.
In the real world, Lin Lin had just arrived, reminding her of the memories of being heartlessly bullied in the past. Now, it was happening again in the game…
She could not endure it anymore!
“It must be Consort Zheng. During the day, she threatened us about the drafts, and tonight she dared to tear down the wall!”
Luo Tiantian’s chest heaved with anger. Because of her fury and her fever, her small cheeks were puffed out.
“Si’er, don’t be impulsive!”
Mother Su quickly took her hand. “If you go now, you have no evidence. She can completely deny it. Moreover, she holds the rank of a Consort after all. If you charge in blindly, you will only give people an excuse to criticize you. Listen to your mother; I am fine.”
“Careful consideration? She already dared to take action to harm you! This time the wall collapsed; what about next time? Mother, you cannot stay in a place like this any longer.”
Luo Tiantian looked at this small, cold space filled with clutter, and her nose felt stings of grief.
Mother Si had finally managed to get a sunlit residence, only to be driven into this kind of place in the blink of an eye.
Mother Su was angry too, but she knew even better that impulse would not solve the problem.
Furthermore, she vaguely felt that this matter might not have been done by Consort Zheng—or at least, not entirely.
That wall was very sturdy, and the collapse was suspicious. If it were manual destruction, the noise would not have been small, but Xiao Cui said she only heard very light footsteps. It was more like some kind of mechanism or something that had been tampered with long ago.
“Si’er, listen to me…” Mother Su was just about to try and persuade Luo Tiantian again.
“Consort Bao Si has quite a temper. Who are you planning to burn down?”
A somewhat sharp female voice rang out from the entrance of the Storage Room.
Consort Zheng was standing outside the dilapidated wooden door with two palace maids. Her expression was a bit unnatural.
Why was she here? Luo Tiantian and Mother Su were both stunned.
Consort Zheng was actually stifling her own anger.
After returning to her palace in the evening, she had indeed become angrier the more she thought about it. She had spent a long time cursing at Bao Si and that old woman with her trusted maid, and she had even entertained thoughts of giving the old woman a “lesson.” However, it was only to the extent of withholding charcoal or poking holes in the window paper.
But just after finishing her dinner, a maid had rushed in to tell her that the back wall of Mother Si’s house had collapsed and the woman had almost been buried alive.
Consort Zheng was stunned at the time. Her first reaction was: ‘Who did it? Who moved so fast?’
Her second reaction was: ‘Oh no! That little brat Bao Si will definitely suspect me first!’
She originally wanted to pretend she didn’t know, but the more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t sit still.
If this blame were pinned on her, even if the King wouldn’t necessarily do anything to her for the sake of a Criminal Woman’s mother, what if Bao Si used the shock as an excuse to go cry to the King? The King was currently infatuated with her; there was no guarantee he wouldn’t grow to loathe Consort Zheng, thinking she was malicious and intolerant.
No, she had to go take a look—at least to show it wasn’t her doing.
Having made up her mind, Consort Zheng came over with her people.
Along the way, she was still pondering how to clear her name and had even prepared a speech, such as, “I just heard the news and came specifically to see,” or “That house must have fallen into disrepair; don’t go making wild guesses.”
But as soon as she saw Luo Tiantian standing in the Storage Room—that stunningly beautiful face with watery eyes and flushed cheeks glaring at her—the malicious fire in Consort Zheng’s heart rose again.
Especially since, even in such a wretched environment, Luo Tiantian was still breathtakingly beautiful. This triggered an even deeper sense of resentment.
On what grounds? How could a little brat who started as a Tribute Girl receive all of the King’s favor? How could she even look this good while angry?
The prepared explanation reached her lips, but by some strange twist of fate, the tone changed.
“Oh, I was wondering who was shouting here. It turns out to be Sister Bao Si. What? You’re not used to living in a good house, so you specifically ran to this Storage Room to experience life? And you brought your mother along? How truly filial.”
As soon as those words left her mouth, she wanted to slap herself. ‘Wasn’t I here to clarify things? Why am I picking a fight again!’
Luo Tiantian was already at the height of her anger. Hearing Consort Zheng’s sarcastic words, her fury surged even higher.
“Consort Zheng, you’ve come at just the right time. My mother’s house collapsed for no reason, nearly costing her life. Could it be that you had a premonition and came specifically to enjoy the show?”
“Don’t you dare slander me! I heard there was an accident and kindly came to check. You couldn’t even look after your own mother and let her live in such an unstable house. Now that something happened, you’re blaming others? Who knows if you offended someone and are now facing retribution.”
Luo Tiantian gritted her teeth and retorted, “My mother is at peace with the world. Who could she have possibly offended? On the other hand, someone just threatened us about the house having drafts today, and tonight the wall collapsed. This ‘retribution’ came a bit too quickly and conveniently. Since you say it was an accident, do you dare go with me before the King right now? We can ask the King to send someone to investigate thoroughly! We’ll see if that wall was really in disrepair or if it was ‘accidentally’ tampered with!”
“You… you dare to threaten me?”
Consort Zheng felt a bit of panic in her heart.
If they really investigated, and if they actually found traces of human intervention, even if it wasn’t her doing, it would be difficult to clear herself of suspicion.
“If the investigation shows it was truly an accident, I will personally apologize to you. But if it’s found that someone intentionally plotted murder… then that would be a violation of palace rules and an attempt on the life of someone the King himself is looking after. You must know the consequences better than I do, Consort Zheng! You will be the one to pay the price!!” Luo Tiantian shouted angrily.
Consort Zheng was left speechless by Luo Tiantian.
Why did she have to be silenced by a lowly Beauty?
The finger she pointed at Luo Tiantian was trembling, and her chest heaved violently. It looked as if she were about to explode regardless of the consequences—
“Si’er, don’t…”
It was Mother Si.
She had been trying to pull back the impulsive Luo Tiantian, but whether it was the lingering shock from the collapse or the fact that the game character herself was elderly and frail, a sudden wave of dizziness made her head spin. She found it difficult to breathe.
Mother Su staggered, reaching out to support herself on the nearby clutter, but she could not steady her body and fell toward the ground.
“Mother!” Luo Tiantian cried out, lunging forward to catch her.
However, she herself was weak from the high fever, and her movements were a step too slow. Fortunately, Xiao Tao was quick-witted. She and Xiao Cui managed to catch Mother Si just in time, preventing her from slamming directly onto the floor.
“Lady Si? Lady Si, what’s wrong?” Xiao Cui’s voice changed pitch from sheer terror.
Mother Si’s eyes were tightly shut. Her face appeared sallow, and large beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. Her lips lost all color, and her breathing became faint.
“Mom! Mom, wake up! Don’t scare me!”
Luo Tiantian knelt on the ground, gripping Mother Si’s cold hand as tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
Just a moment ago it was just a collapsed wall, and now her mother had fainted? Was she injured internally by the falling debris? Or…
Consort Zheng was stunned.
‘Wait… what… what’s going on?’
She only came to clear her name and perhaps annoy Bao Si; she didn’t actually want anything to happen to the woman. If this old woman really died in front of her… and immediately after she came to visit…
“It wasn’t me! I didn’t do anything!”
Consort Zheng took a step back and shrieked, the color draining from her face. “She was fine just now! Bao Si, you saw it! I didn’t even touch her!”