Oops! The Black Lotus Can't Be a Female Supporting Character - Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Lil’ Snitch
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The wind blew in through the window, chilling Xiao Yanfei’s neck, making her feel a shiver down her spine.
Suddenly, there was a faint commotion outside, and it sounded like footsteps approaching this way.
“Mama Sun .”
A timid voice of a young maid came through the door curtain.
In the next moment, Mama Sun swiftly opened the curtain and entered the small study, looking anxious.
Her expression was serious, and her forehead and temple were wrapped in layers of wide white cloth, making her appear unwell.
“Second Miss.” Without giving Xiao Yanfei any courtesy, Mama Sun asked urgently, “Did anything happen when the Third Young Master came to see you yesterday?”
“No.” Xiao Yanfei casually turned a page, her mind filled with the image of Little Xiao Ye’s sudden asthma attack.
She slowly raised her head and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Her tone was sweet and calm, just like usual.
Mama Sun was extremely anxious and temporarily disregarded the morning incident, saying with concern, “Niang Jin, I don’t know who instigated her, but she said some nonsense to Madam, claiming that there was green petal flower pollen in the incense you burned yesterday!”
Green petal flower pollen? Xiao Yanfei’s eyelashes quivered.
Could it be…
Xiao Yanfei looked thoughtfully toward the corner, where the three-legged Qilin patterned purple bronze incense burner stood, with the incense long burnt out.
Mama Sun continued, “Miss, the incense we use in Moonrise Pavilion is from the government’s regulations, how could there be an issue!”
“This old slave suspects that Madam is using our Moonrise Pavilion as an excuse but is actually targeting Yiniang.”
“Yiniang is a straightforward person, and Madam can’t find fault with her, so she’s trying to frame Yiniang!”
Mama Sun wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and sighed, “Ah, it’s because Yiniang gave birth to a girl and a Second Young Master.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes, her cloudy gaze turning slightly red, and her body trembled as she cried.
Xiao Yanfei was astonished by this convincing acting, secretly thinking: Impressive, she really knows how to play the part!
Mama Sun wiped her tears with a handkerchief, crying and shouting, “Yiniang has had a tough time.”
Xiao Yanfei watched her performance with a clear heart.
Yesterday, she already found Xiao Ye’s asthma attack a bit strange, but at that time, she was running a high fever and was completely confused. Having just arrived here, she had no energy to think too much, but she vaguely wondered if there might be allergens in the room.
Now, Mama Sun‘s half-truth and half-lie words essentially told her that the problem was the incense in her room.
And most likely, it was caused by human error!
Xiao Yanfei sat quietly there.
As Mama Sun cried, she took a step closer and looked down at Xiao Yanfei, who was sitting on a chair shorter than her.
Her long shadow cast on Xiao Yanfei, releasing an invisible sense of pressure. She said, “Miss, you’ve always been filial, and only you can help Yiniang.”
Xiao Yanfei: “…”
Oh, this Mama Sun beat around the bush, and revealed her intentions quite clearly.
It seems she’s making a well-thought-out plan!
Xiao Yanfei lowered her head, played with the plum blossom tassel on her waist, winding the large red tassel around her slender white fingers, and asked in a nonchalant tone, “So, what should I do?”
Mama Sun didn’t sense the casual tone in Xiao Yanfei’s voice; she thought the matter was settled, just like countless times before.
Suppressing her joy, she said matter-of-factly, “Miss, you should apologize to Madam.”
“This is the only way. You must go to Madam immediately and tell her that you bought this incense from outside and didn’t know it contained green petal flower pollen.”
“As long as the young miss admits her mistake, this matter will be resolved, and the madam won’t have a reason to blame Yiniang.” Her tone was very confident.
Indeed. Xiao Yanfei sighed inwardly, a familiar feeling rising in her heart.
Such conversations had occurred countless times in the original owner’s memory. Every time something happened, no matter whether it was the original owner’s fault, the one who needed to apologize was always the original owner.
Just like that broken Guanyin statue.
Above her, Mama Sun‘s impatient urging voice came, “Miss, we can’t delay this matter. If Madam confronts Yiniang, it will be too late!”
Xiao Yanfei stood up, brushed her skirt gently, and said softly, “Mama is right, we can’t delay this matter any longer.”
“Miss, let’s go quickly,” Mama Sun quickly agreed, feeling relieved. “I’ve inquired, and Madam has already returned to the main hall!”
What she was thinking was that once Xiao Yanfei took the blame, it didn’t matter whether the Madam believed it or not. The Madam wouldn’t do much to Xiao Yanfei, at most, a few strokes on the palms of her hands, or perhaps, a few nights of kneeling in the ancestral hall.
As long as this matter could be passed over, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
Mama Sun hurriedly led the way, urging Xiao Yanfei along.
Xiao Yanfei’s residence, the “Moonrise Pavilion,” was located in the northeast of the Hou Mansion. They had to walk through a winding corridor and cross a bamboo forest before reaching the main hall, a journey of about fifteen minutes.
Following a report from the senior maid Ying Luo, Xiao Yanfei entered the West Warm Pavilion with Mama Sun.
When the door curtain was lifted, the voice of a young girl inside sounded like a singing nightingale, “Mother, I think there’s something wrong with this account…”
“Let me take a look.” The second female voice clearly belonged to Madam Yin.
Xiao Yanfei, following Ying Luo, passed through a luxurious room and saw Madam Yin sitting side by side with a young girl in a red dress on a carved sandalwood bed adorned with flower patterns. A stack of account books was piled next to them.
The young girl in red was slender and her features were striking. She wore a red silk jacket with intricate embroidery, had double buns, an oval face, snow-like skin, a brilliant smile, and her whole demeanor was as radiant as the sun. The ruby and gold hairpin she wore at her temple made her eyes sparkle.
“Second sister.” The young girl held a ledger and called out with a smile.
“Mother, elder sister.” Xiao Yanfei curtsied and fixed her gaze on Xiao Luanfei’s face.
This must be the female protagonist, right? The legitimate eldest daughter of the Madam, Xiao Luanfei.
Born on the same day as the original owner, just an hour earlier, but the two sisters were worlds apart.
Xiao Yanfei stared at Xiao Luanfei in a daze, and uncontrollable feelings of envy or admiration welled up within her.
It was like a person hiding in the darkness gazing at the sunlight.
Knowing it was within reach but unattainable, yet unable to resist the longing.
This was an emotion belonging to the original owner.
“Mother is teaching me to look at the ledgers. Second sister, do you want to learn with me?” Xiao Luanfei smiled.
“Luanfei, how did you become the elder sister?” Yin Shi playfully pointed to Xiao Luanfei’s forehead, “Your sister has just recovered from her illness; she needs more rest.”
Xiao Luanfei pursed her lips, and with a charming smile, she said to Xiao Yanfei, “Second sister, take good care of yourself for now. I’ll teach you again next time.”
“Cough!” Mama Sun cleared his throat and gestured to Xiao Yanfei, indicating that she should speak quickly.
Madam Yin gave Sun mama a glance and proactively asked, “Yanfei, do you need something from me?”
Xiao Yanfei took her gaze away from Xiao Luanfei and nodded.
Xiao Luanfei closed the account book in her hand and stood up, saying with a smile, “Mother, I’ll go to the Jade silk cabinet to finish reading these account books.”
She left with her senior maid, Shu Xiang, and took the stack of account books from the arhat bed with her.
The West Warm Pavilion suddenly became emptier.
Madam Yin said gently, “Yanfei, please have a seat.”
However, Xiao Yanfei remained standing with a straight posture.
Sun mama instinctively held her breath and stared intently at Xiao Yanfei.
Finally, Xiao Yanfei spoke, “Mother.”
Sun mama’s gaze was sharp, and in her heart, she silently repeated, “I changed the incense in the room yesterday.”
But…
“Mama Sun asked me to tell Mother that I replaced the incense burned in Moonrise Pavilion,” Xiao Yanfei’s voice sounded clearly in Mama Sun‘s ear.
What?!
Mama Sun’s expression froze instantly, and she stared at Xiao Yanfei in disbelief.
Xiao Yanfei didn’t even look at her and continued, “Mama Sun also asked me to apologize to you.”
Mama Sun couldn’t help but pinch herself, and her body trembled imperceptibly. She didn’t even know if she was more angry or frightened.
Madam Yin furrowed her brow, and the teacup she had just picked up hung in the air for a moment before she placed it back on the tea table.
She looked back and forth at Xiao Yanfei and Mama Sun, her eyes filled with deep contemplation.
After Niang Jin reported that there was something off about the incense in Xiao Yanfei’s room, Madam Yin immediately asked Xiao Ye if anything was bothering him. Xiao Ye smiled and patted his chest, saying he just wanted to eat two bowls of rice for dinner.
His energetic appearance was nothing like his weakness during an asthma attack.
However, Madam Yin couldn’t be too careless and immediately had someone fetch the incense from the inner courtyard’s storeroom for the current season to check. The incense in the storeroom was fine, just as usual.
If there was a problem with the incense for the daily rituals at Moonrise Pavilion, then the issue must be with Xiao Yanfei.
Madam Yin couldn’t help but remember the words of Niang Jin and Mama Zhao :
“Madam, Second Miss is Yiniang Cui‘s daughter…”
“Second Miss and Third Young Master didn’t come from the same womb. Madam, you should be cautious.”
“Even if Second Miss is honest, she might still be used as a pawn by Yiniang Cui …”
Madam Yin had intended to wait until Xiao Ye finished his studies today and then ask him for the details of what happened at Moonrise Pavilion yesterday, but she didn’t expect Xiao Yanfei to come on her own.
So, who leaked the information from the main residence?!
Xiao Yanfei met Madam Yin‘s probing gaze without hesitation, her eyes clear and calm, just like when they were in Ronghe Hall.
Madam Yin‘s heartstrings were gently plucked, thinking of the way Xiao Ye had looked at her. There was an indescribable softness in her heart that words couldn’t express.
Madam Yin asked, “Did you change it?”
Her voice was warm, like a cup of hot tea, comforting to the soul.
“No,” Xiao Yanfei replied obediently. “But Mama Sun said if I don’t accept this, mother will find fault with Yiniang.”
Mama Sun couldn’t tolerate this any longer and angrily reprimanded, “Miss, how can you spread baseless rumors in front of Madam!”
Her chest heaved violently, unable to believe that the innocent girl who was like a white rabbit had bitten her so viciously.
She felt a sharp pain in her left temple, just like the pain she used to feel when pierced by a silver hairpin in the morning.
This pain seemed to remind her that the little white rabbit from the past had changed.
Becoming like a venomous snake, they would suddenly reveal their fangs.
Mama Sun stared fiercely at Xiao Yanfei, her gaze icy and menacing, like a blood-stained knife, sending shivers down one’s spine.
Madam Yin straightened her sleeve and asked nonchalantly, “Mama Sun, do you think the young ladies of the Marquis family would wrongly accuse you, a servant?”
She narrowed her phoenix-like eyes, exuding a compelling presence between her brows, commanding respect without showing anger.
The surrounding atmosphere also turned solemn.
“…” Mama Sun was momentarily speechless.
Suddenly, she felt as if she were being roasted over a fire, not knowing what to say.
Cold sweat formed on her forehead.
“Mama Sun,” Xiao Yanfei continued, “Mother has always been fair and strict. She will definitely investigate thoroughly and not wrong me and my Yiniang.”
“Mama Sun, please don’t overthink things.”
Xiao Yanfei’s tone was gentle throughout, but every word pierced Mama Sun‘s heart like a sharp needle.
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Translated By: Allthingsfluff