Chapter 51: Stirring Up Trouble

As the argument escalated, the two women even began to fight physically.

Chu Bing stood awkwardly between them, her position rather embarrassing. Instinctively, she tried to back away, hoping to avoid becoming collateral damage. However, the strikingly beautiful girl seemed to do it on purpose—her shoulder slammed hard into Chu Bing.

Caught off guard, Chu Bing stumbled several steps before regaining her balance.

“What’s your problem?” Chu Bing glared angrily at the girl.

The beautiful girl lifted her chin arrogantly. “It was just an accident, I bumped you—why are you so fierce? You’d better curry favor with me in this household, you never know…”

“Ha!” scoffed the girl standing behind Chu Bing. “Peach Blossom, you really think the young masters here are all fools and would want a tramp like you?”

That last insult made Peach Blossom’s face change instantly. She forgot where she was, lunging forward to grab the other girl’s hair and start clawing.

The steward finally noticed the commotion and was about to intervene when, suddenly, he noticed a figure standing outside the courtyard.

Second Young Master? The steward was taken aback.

Li Yuxi raised a finger to his lips in a silent gesture, and the steward immediately bowed his head and held his breath, pretending he hadn’t seen anything.

Chu Bing didn’t notice the steward’s reaction, but the two women in front of her were growing more and more unruly. If they wanted to fight, so be it—but why did they keep involving her?

Did they really think she was an easy target?

With a cold snort, Chu Bing stepped aside just as Peach Blossom charged at her again, deliberately sticking out her foot and tripping her.

Peach Blossom fell to the ground in a heap, her features contorted in pain. She pointed a trembling finger at Chu Bing, “You—you little wretch…”

Chu Bing rolled her eyes. “Sister, you bumped into me first. You don’t even apologize, and you think I’m easy to push around?”

Everyone in the courtyard was watching. The steward, seeing things about to get out of hand, coughed and stepped forward, “What’s all this ruckus?”

Chu Bing lowered her gaze and stood quietly to the side.

Peach Blossom, still on the ground, glared furiously at Chu Bing and the other girl, her attitude brazen. Back with her previous master, she’d been favored for her beauty, and though she’d been sold off by the lady of the house for misbehavior, she was sure she’d win her new master’s favor in no time.

Then, everyone here would have to bow and scrape before her!

The steward looked at her and frowned. How could the household keep someone with such a lack of discipline?

He glanced at the seemingly obedient Chu Bing, suspecting she was hiding a sharp mind, and disliked her as well.

“The three of you have no sense of propriety, shouting and brawling. What if you frighten the masters? Someone, send them back to the brokers—!”

“Wait!” Chu Bing’s face changed. If she were sent back, when would she ever complete her task?

She stepped forward, meeting the steward’s gaze. “Steward, what did I do wrong? They were fighting—why am I being sent away too?”

The steward’s face remained blank. “You lack discipline.”

How exactly, she wanted to retort.

Chu Bing gritted her teeth. “So, you think I should stand by and be bullied without fighting back?”

The steward, repeatedly contradicted by a mere girl, lost face and grew furious. “What matters most here is obedience. You may look meek, but you’re full of cunning. If we keep you, you’ll corrupt the atmosphere of the house…”

Chu Bing sneered. “So, the atmosphere you want is to be hit without hitting back, or insulted without replying. If you bully me, I’m just supposed to endure it?”

“You!” The steward was shocked, pointing a trembling finger at her.

“I happen to think this girl is quite good,” a clear male voice sounded from behind.

Chu Bing’s entire body tensed. She recognized Li Yuxi’s voice.

Afraid of being recognized, she shrank her neck and tried to blend in.

“Second Young Master,” the steward bowed respectfully.

Li Yuxi nodded casually, stopping in front of Chu Bing and studying her. “What’s your name?”

“…Red Sleeve,” she replied.

“Red Sleeve, your temperament reminds me of someone I know.” Li Yuxi frowned slightly, musing aloud, then turned to the steward. “Send the other two away. She stays.”

“But, Second Young Master…” the steward hesitated, clearly reluctant.

Li Yuxi’s gaze turned chilly. “Are you saying my words have no weight?”

“No, not at all.”

Watching the steward wipe his brow nervously, Chu Bing couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him.

Li Yuxi, satisfied, glanced at Chu Bing once more before turning to leave.

Chu Bing stared at his retreating figure, her heart racing with anxiety. Had she been recognized?

Suddenly, the system’s voice sounded in her mind. “Don’t worry. System products are always top quality—you won’t be recognized.”

“Good,” she muttered inwardly.

Once Li Yuxi was gone, the steward immediately ordered the attendants to expel the two troublemaking women. Their shrill cries pierced the air. Chu Bing pressed her lips together, reaffirming her resolve never to get caught making a mistake.

“You, Red Sleeve,” the steward called, his expression sour. “Go to the laundry room!”

The laundry room was a punishment assignment—clearly, the steward was taking his revenge.

Thinking of Li Haoran, Chu Bing gritted her teeth and endured it.

A young servant led her to the laundry room, tucked away in the most remote corner of the household. It was filled with maids who had committed offenses or rough old women. As soon as Chu Bing entered, the others understood—she must have done something wrong. Most likely, she’d spend the rest of her life stuck here.

An old woman scrubbing clothes sneered, “New, are you? Hurry up, come over here. We old folks can’t handle this work anymore—it’s all yours from now on!”

She tossed a bundle of clothes into a basin, splashing water onto Chu Bing’s shoes.

Chu Bing glanced at the mountain of clothes, then at the other numb-faced women, and curled her lip. “I’ll only do my share. No one should expect me to do more than that.”

The old woman’s face darkened at this. She rolled up her sleeves and stormed over, her expression fierce. “How dare you, you little wretch! Let me teach you what discipline means!”

She reached out to grab Chu Bing, but Chu Bing dodged, her expression cold.

Seeing this, the old woman exchanged glances with several other elderly women. Four or five of them stood up and moved toward Chu Bing.

Chu Bing snorted, launching her concealed weapons straight into their knees.

The old women collapsed with a thud, clutching their knees and groaning in pain, utterly disheveled.

Chu Bing idly played with her fingers, smiling nonchalantly. “If people don’t cross me, I won’t cross them. But if they do… I’m sure none of you want to die inexplicably one day, do you?”

No one dared make a sound. In the small courtyard, only her voice echoed.

Everyone was stunned, staring at her in disbelief.

Chu Bing curled her lips into a smile and turned to leave.

She was certain none of them would dare report her—after all, if word got out that a few old women were bested by a young girl, they’d lose all face.