Chapter 42: Calculation (Part 2)

"Hen Queqian, you've finally come! Look at these two... shrews! Hmph, in the backyard, she already insulted me once, and I let it go. But I never expected her to become even more outrageous, pointing at my nose and cursing right here in the main hall. This one even wanted to... to slap me across the face!"

Hearing Hen Queqian's voice, Luo Li immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, pointing angrily at the First Madam and Liu Mei. To Luo Li, "shrew" was the most vicious and venomous word she could possibly muster.

When people are panicked, they instinctively seek out someone who can give them a sense of security, or head toward a place that makes them feel safe. At this moment, Luo Li acted entirely on that subconscious impulse.

Back in the courtyard, Luo Li had witnessed how Hen Queqian's simple little scheme drove Liu Mei into a screaming frenzy, completely stripping away any shred of her lofty, high-and-mighty image. Now, having been wronged, Luo Li expected Hen Queqian to unleash her mighty fury and give the two women a severe verbal dressing-down.

To Luo Li's utter astonishment, however, Hen Queqian grabbed her hand first, shaking it with intense agitation.

"Did you see that? Did you see it! You can't even stand facing these two for a single moment, let alone a whole day. But I've been subjected to their bombardment for a full month! Goodness, I'm so pitiful! So please, stop tormenting me and hurry up and pay me for taking advantage of me!"

"You..." No matter how foolish Luo Li might have been, the moment Hen Queqian uttered those words, everything clicked into place. So this entire affair had been engineered by Hen Queqian all along!

Luo Li's pretty eyes instantly reddened as she gazed at Hen Queqian with a deeply aggrieved expression. Hen Queqian's skin, however, was already thicker than a city wall, so her expression didn't flicker by even the slightest fraction. In truth, what Luo Li did not know was that Hen Queqian was currently sighing inwardly with immense regret.

*Serves you right for having a loose tongue, and for speaking way too fast. Look at that, the act is blown. And to think I was originally planning to use this opportunity to thoroughly manipulate Luo Li and win myself an Academy Award for best actress! And now, all our efforts have fallen short at the very last hurdle. Such a profound lesson—I must remember this for the future!*

Seeing the look of remorse surface on Hen Queqian's face, Luo Li felt a sudden softening in her heart. *Oh well,* she thought, *this one has always been the most cunning of all. Besides, having been bullied by those two hags for a whole month, using my hands to punish them is fair enough anyway.*

*Poor Hen Queqian, crippled with not an ounce of strength left, yet forced to remain in a dragon's pool and tiger's den like this household. How truly pitiful!*

"Fine, seeing you looking so pitiful, I'll forgive you this once! But as for those two hags..." Luo Li pursed her lips, pardoning Hen Queqian for the scheme. But as she turned her gaze toward Liu Mei and the First Madam, a fierce and menacing glint began to flash in her eyes.

In the main hall, whether it was Hen Queqian's father Hen Ruochen, the First Elder Hen Ruofeng, Hen Ruogang, or even Elder Luo Nongyou and the various talented scions of the Hen family, everyone was utterly dumbfounded by this bizarre turn of events.

The two of them had only stepped outside for a brief moment. If time hadn't been so strictly against it, everyone present would have strongly suspected that Hen Queqian had somehow overpowered and forced herself upon Luo Li, which was the only reason Luo Li's attitude could have undergone such a colossal, miraculous transformation.

"Young Miss..." Luo Nongyou desperately wanted to ask if she had been bullied or wronged in any way. On second thought, however, Hen Queqian was apparently nothing more than a good-for-nothing trash, right? Surely that couldn't be it?