"What are you standing there for?"
Ning Yuwan frowned and cast a cold glance. Her index finger gently touched the empty teacup. "Are you here to be a master or a servant? You have no sense of propriety at all."
There was clearly a maid named Lianzi standing behind her, but she just stood there motionless, waiting for Liu Ruyi to pour the tea.
Ning Yuqin bit her lips, reluctant. After all, Liu Ruyi was her birth mother. How could she be constantly bullied by Ning Yuwan? "Sister, you have a servant by your side."
Frightened by Ning Yuwan's imposing manner and status, she still obediently changed her way of addressing.
However, compared with Ning Yuwan's calmness, her mind was still a bit impatient.
"Can't I even order a servant around?"
Ning Yuwan swept a disdainful glance at the two of them. Her gaze was like a knife, making their hearts skip a beat.
But Liu Ruyi seemed to have grasped a hint of the truth. Ning Yuwan had been provoking them again and again.
All she wanted was to see her fly into a rage from humiliation and then take the opportunity to make Ning Fengnian dislike and stay away from her.
After thinking this through, she secretly sneered in her heart. After all, Ning Yuwan was just a young girl.
Although she was more capable than Yuan Qingrong, her methods were not that sophisticated. All she did was to overpower others with her noble status.
As long as she gave way in order to gain an advantage, endured grievances and showed everywhere how Ning Yuwan bullied others by relying on her power, she didn't have to worry about not winning Ning Fengnian's sympathy.
Immediately, with her head bowed and eyes meek, she poured a new cup of tea for Ning Yuwan. "Don't be angry, miss."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that there was not much tea left in Ning Fengnian's cup either.
"My lord, let this servant pour you a cup too."
There was a hint of deliberate coquettishness in her voice, and her lips and eyes were full of lingering affection.
But Ning Fengnian's heart was only on Ning Yuwan. He was anxiously thinking about asking about Yuan Qingrong. How could he care about Liu Ruyi who was showing off her charm?
He made a rather large movement and accidentally knocked over the teacup. The tea splashed everywhere, and his sleeve was soaked.
"My lord, let this servant wipe it for you."
Liu Ruyi seemed to have been prepared. She took out a fragrant handkerchief from her sleeve.
Just as she was about to get closer, suddenly there was the sound of a porcelain cup shattering.
"Smack!"
Following the sound, they saw Ning Yuwan looking down with her eyebrows. Her slender right finger was slightly hanging down, as if the tea was too hot for her to hold the cup.
The broken porcelain scattered around her feet, and the ground was instantly covered with a picture of water.
"Wanwan, are your hands okay?"
Ning Fengnian immediately panicked and pushed Liu Ruyi away. He held Ning Yuwan's delicate little hand and looked at it carefully.
"Daddy, I'm fine."
The father - daughter affection was truly touching. But in the eyes of Liu Ruyi and Ning Yuqin, it felt like a thorn in their hearts.
Ning Yuqin clenched the handkerchief in her hand. She had clearly seen just now that Ning Yuwan had deliberately broken the teacup.
Just to make Daddy feel sorry for her!
She was really so scheming and vicious!
Liu Ruyi had her back to Ning Yuwan just now and didn't see her action clearly.
But in her heart, she naturally knew that Ning Yuwan must have done it on purpose.
The intention was obvious. All she wanted was to prevent her from getting close to Ning Fengnian.
She took a deep breath and finally completely gave up causing trouble under Ning Yuwan's nose.
She also had the same thought as Ning Yuqin. Ning Yuwan was a married girl. How long did she plan to stay in the Yongning Marquis Mansion?
"Clean it up quickly!"
Ning Yuwan cast a slight glance with her watery eyes. Seeing Liu Ruyi standing there in a daze, seemingly deep in thought, she snorted coldly.
In order to leave an impression of being patient and weak in front of Ning Fengnian, Liu Ruyi endured it.
"Be careful, miss. This servant will clean it up right away!"
After lying on the ground and carefully cleaning it up, she found that her back was already covered with a thin layer of hot sweat.
She originally planned to go to the side to rest, but then she heard Ning Yuwan's order. "Pour another cup of tea."
"Yes."
This time, her eyes were fixed on Ning Yuwan all the time, on guard against her causing trouble again.
But Ning Yuwan had a new trick. She took a slow sip of the tea and frowned slightly. "Maybe I'm so used to drinking pre - rain Longjing that I can't get used to this Maojian for a while."
There was only Maojian in the Yongning Marquis Mansion all year round because Yuan Qingrong loved it very much.
But Ning Yuwan was also the apple of Ning Fengnian's eye. He immediately gave an order. "Someone, go and buy pre - rain Longjing for the miss."
"It's not necessary."
Ning Yuwan's subtle gaze fell on Liu Ruyi. She slowly smiled. "I just got a servant today. How can I know if she's useful if I don't order her around?"
Liu Ruyi understood in her heart that Ning Yuwan was going to make things difficult for her again.
"I'm used to drinking the pre - rain Longjing from the Linglong Inn. And it goes well with the plum blossom cakes from the Hehuan Shop. Go and buy them for me."
The Linglong Inn was in the east of the city, and the Hehuan Shop was in the west. They were both very popular shops in the capital, and there were always countless people queuing in front of their doors every day.
If she went to both places, it would take at least an hour or two to come back.
Liu Ruyi didn't want to go at all. She lowered her eyes and forced a smile. "This servant will send someone to buy them for the miss right away."
"What a great air of authority."
Ning Yuwan was not willing to let her off. Her eyes were full of anger. "A servant wants to order another servant around. Has the Yongning Marquis Mansion invited an ancestor?"
"This servant wouldn't dare."
Liu Ruyi bit her lower lip, showing a hint of weakness and pity. "But this servant is the personal maid of the second miss and needs to take care of her all the time."
What she meant was that Ning Yuwan was overstepping her bounds.
There were plenty of people in the Yongning Marquis Mansion. Why did the miss have to order around her younger sister's maid?
"Do you mean that in this Yongning Marquis Mansion, you only recognize Yuqin as your master?"
As soon as Ning Yuwan said this, Liu Ruyi secretly thought it was bad. She never expected that this miss had a much worse temper than she thought.
"In that case."
She looked down at Liu Ruyi and Ning Yuqin condescendingly. "I'll buy a small house for you. Let Yuqin live there with you. From now on, you only need to listen to her. You don't have to come to the Yongning Marquis Mansion to take orders from others."
"Forgive this servant, miss. This servant didn't mean that."
Liu Ruyi was quite sensible. She immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.
Even Ning Yuqin, hearing that she was going to be sent out of the mansion, also begged for forgiveness. "Daddy, sister, I don't want to leave the mansion."
She was definitely not willing to leave.
Going from a legitimate daughter to a concubine - born daughter was already enough to break her heart.
If Liu Ruyi worked hard, maybe she could regain the status of a legitimate daughter.
But if she was really driven out, she would never be able to return to the Yongning Marquis Mansion in this lifetime.
"In that case, discipline your servant well."
Ning Yuwan sneered. "She doesn't have the life of a noble lady but has the airs of one. Such a delusional thing."
She was very imposing. Liu Ruyi was already terrified that she seemed to be able to see through people's hearts. She carefully covered her chest, afraid that her innermost thoughts would leak out and be heard by her.
"Go and buy the tea and snacks for sister quickly."
Ning Yuqin secretly gave a hint. Only then did the latter immediately respond humbly. "Yes, this servant will go right away."
When it was estimated that she had already left the Yongning Marquis Mansion, Ning Yuwan suddenly said, "Lianzi, follow her secretly. Be on guard against her slacking off on purpose."
"Sister?"
Ning Yuqin was shocked. "Why do you still have to send someone to follow her?"
"What?"
Ning Yuwan's face was as cold as water. "Do I still need to explain my actions to you, the princess of the heir - apparent?"