Delicate Beauty Steals the Spring [Transmigration into a Book] - Chapter 9

Miss Yu, the eldest daughter of the Yu family, is a striking beauty in excellent health a bold and commanding presence who, whip in hand, could discipline every servant in the household.

Yu Luo, however, is more delicate by nature. A soft breeze or slightest chill is enough to make her unwell a classic fragile beauty.

After spending some time on Swallow Islet, she caught a slight chill. Upon returning home, she found her body warmer than usual.

So, Yu Luo instructed the servants to prepare hot water she wanted to take a bath.

After bathing and changing her clothes, she lay lazily on a chaise lounge.

Though it was autumn, the evening retained a trace of dry heat. A maid brought in sliced honeydew melon, and Yu Luo picked at it slowly with a toothpick, eating bite by bite.

Her long hair hadn’t fully dried yet. Unfortunately, this era lacked blow dryers, yet people were still expected to keep their hair long.

And hers was especially long thick and heavy. Even after towel-drying until no moisture remained, it would still take ages to fully air-dry.

Not washing her hair was out of the question.

As someone from outside the book’s world, Yu Luo would never allow herself to go around with greasy, unwashed hair.

“Open all the windows,” she ordered. “It’s stuffy in here.”

Bitong quickly went to open them. With all four windows open, a gentle breeze drifted in — far softer than the lake wind at Swallow Islet.

Ziming asked, “Miss, what would you like to eat tonight?”

Yu Luo still felt feverish, with a headache pounding her temples. She didn’t have much of an appetite.

“Just a few light dishes and some porridge,” she thought aloud. “And one plate of tofu skin dressed in autumn oil, dried shrimp, and vinegar.”

She didn’t feel like eating much but craved something cool and appetizing.

Ziming immediately went to pass along the order.

Later that evening, the kitchen staff brought over all the food except the tofu skin.

Worried that Yu Luo might get angry for not getting the one dish she actually requested, Ziming hurried to the kitchen to find out what had happened.

The head cook, Aunt Zheng, said, “We’ve had less tofu skin lately, and no one told us the young miss wanted it. We made a portion from what little we had, but the cousin miss said she wanted some too. Since she rarely eats and finally showed some appetite, I had someone send it to her instead.”

Ziming’s face turned pale with rage. “Our young miss specifically asked for it! You gave it away to the cousin miss instead  do you think our miss doesn’t matter?”

Aunt Zheng tried to smooth things over. “Why not let us prepare something else? Honestly, Ziming girl, your miss scolds and hits you all the time. Why take her side so seriously? Just make up some excuse and move on.”

Other kitchen maids chimed in, “Exactly. The cousin miss is close to the second young master. She’s bound to marry into the family and become a proper mistress here. But the young miss she’ll marry out eventually. A married daughter is like spilled water. You’ve got to know who really holds weight.”

Ziming was shaking with fury. She pointed a trembling finger at them and turned away in silence.

Normally, she would never have dared to report this kind of situation to Miss Yu.

Miss Yu didn’t care about explanations only results. If things didn’t go her way, she’d lash out with her whip.

But today was different.

Yu Luo didn’t throw a tantrum over the missing dish. She quietly sipped her millet porridge at a measured pace.

Ziming, emboldened, recounted everything that had just happened.

Bitong’s eyebrows shot up. “Unbelievable! They clearly look down on our miss and treat that stray cousin like she’s royalty! We absolutely cannot let this slide. If we swallow this insult today, who knows how many more we’ll suffer later?”

These lower servants all worship the strong and trample the weak. Once they sense weakness, they’ll gang up on someone and bully them endlessly.

After finishing her porridge, Yu Luo slowly wiped the corners of her mouth. “So… what do you think we should do?”

Bitong replied instantly, “I’ll take our courtyard maids and go smash their kitchen. Let’s make sure they never dare cross us again!”

Yu Luo thought for a moment, then responded with a calm and calculated tone one that wouldn’t break her current character image or seem too aggressive:
“Let it go for tonight. I’m not feeling well. We’ll settle this account another day.”

Ziming replied softly, “Yes, Miss.”

Yu Luo was fully aware that Liu Yanran was scheming against her, just waiting for her to lose face.

If she really sent her servants to storm the kitchen, she’d only be falling into Liu Yanran’s trap.

The public persona of Miss Yu wasn’t just domineering or hot-tempered more importantly, she was a proper daughter of the Yu household, a noble lady. She couldn’t afford to lose her composure over a small dish and go brawling with kitchen maids like a common fishwife.

Those kitchen workers were just lowly servants. If Yu Luo wanted to deal with them, there would be plenty of ways no need to rush.

Meanwhile, over at Qiuxiang Pavilion, Liu Yanran was picking at her food, scattering the beautifully plated dishes into a mess with her chopsticks.

Her maid, Caidi, commented gleefully, “You’re the real lady of the Yu household now. That tofu skin dish meant for her I just said you liked it, and Aunt Zheng immediately gave it to us.”

Liu Yanran smirked coldly. “It’s just a small dish who would really care about that?”

Caidi went on cheerfully, “All the servants think you’ll definitely marry the second young master. Then you’ll be the second young madam of the house. That wild-tempered Miss Yu may look pretty, but with that personality, she won’t marry well. She can’t compare to your good fortune.”

Liu Yanran’s expression finally turned smug.

When she had first arrived at the Yu residence, Miss Yu was dressed to the nines eating the best food, using the finest items, and wearing exquisite clothes ten times better than Liu Yanran’s.

Standing next to her then, Liu Yanran had felt like nothing more than a servant girl.

But now, the tide had turned. She was finally rising in the household, and little by little, the things she had once envied were becoming hers.

Liu Yanran instructed, “Yu Luo’s a fool who can’t control her temper. If someone takes what’s hers, she’ll definitely storm the kitchen and trash the place. The moment she does, send someone to inform the eldest and second young masters have them report it to Madam Yu and the marquis.”

The more Yu Luo acted out, the more disgraceful she would seem in the eyes of her brothers.

And at that moment, all Liu Yanran would need to do was shed a few tears, say she wanted to pack her things and go home even if she was in the wrong, it would still end up looking like she was right.

After all, who in this household wouldn’t prefer a gentle, sensible, pitiful girl?

Caidi, having received her orders, sent a little maid to keep watch over the kitchen. The moment anything happened, she was to report back immediately.

But they waited and waited, until the sky had turned completely dark.

Still, there was no sign that Miss Yu had made any kind of scene.