Seeing Zhizhu ignoring her, Xiaocui intensified her mockery. "What's wrong? Are you unhappy when I talk about your mistress? Is she ashamed to do something but afraid of others talking?"
Clenching her teeth, Zhizhu stood up and glared at Xiaocui. "Let alone that our young lady and the prince are already engaged. Even if they weren't and did something, it's none of your business as a servant."
Saying so, Zhizhu deliberately sized up Xiaocui's shabby clothes and sneered, "You're just a servant. What right do you have to judge your master's life?"
Surprised that this girl had become so eloquent in just a few days, Xiaocui's face darkened. She raised her hand and slapped Zhizhu hard across the face.
The sound of the slap was clear and loud, indicating how much strength the hitter had used.
Zhizhu's face swelled up almost instantly like a bun. But this time, the usually tearful girl didn't cry. She just stared at Xiaocui with red eyes. "If you can't win an argument, do you have to resort to violence? Even if you serve the second young lady, you're still just a servant. Servants should just pour tea and serve water."
Xiaocui's face turned ashen with anger. She raised her hand to slap Zhizhu again.
Zhizhu was about to dodge, but Xiaocui grabbed her neck and started hitting her face frantically.
Zhizhu was thinner than Xiaocui. Moreover, having followed Su Mingyu for a long time and suffered from malnutrition, she didn't have much strength. Now being held by Xiaocui, she had no ability to resist and could only let Xiaocui beat her.
Xiaocui stopped only when her hand was sore from hitting. Then she spat hard and said disgustedly, "Even as a servant, I'm better than you."
Glancing at Zhizhu contemptuously, Xiaocui sneered, "At least my mistress has a say in the Su family. Unlike you, even if you're beaten like this, can your mistress avenge you?"
After saying that, Xiaocui threw Zhizhu away and walked away as if she had never been there.
Covering her face, Zhizhu bit her lower lip hard to keep herself from crying.
After squatting there for a long time to calm down, Zhizhu got up, reheated the water for Su Mingyu, and then brought it to her.
Looking at the basin full of hot water, Su Mingyu was about to say something in gratitude when her eyes suddenly fell on the swelling on Zhizhu's face.
Her face suddenly darkened. Su Mingyu grabbed her wrist and asked coldly, "Don't tell me you fell and hurt yourself like this."
Zhizhu lowered her head and didn't say a word.
Seeing her like this, Su Mingyu roughly guessed what had happened. She pulled Zhizhu's hand and walked outside, saying in a deep voice as she walked, "I'd like to see who dared to beat the girl in my courtyard like this!"
Saying so, she kicked open the steward's door and threw a few silver ingots in front of him. "I want you to immediately gather all the servants in the mansion."
The steward was stunned for a moment, but when he saw the silver on the table, he immediately beamed with joy. "Okay, okay, okay! I'll go right away."
Soon, the gong sounded in the Su Mansion. By the time Su Mingyu brought Zhizhu to the back courtyard, all the servants in the Su Mansion were already waiting there.
Su Mingyu pulled Zhizhu and stood in front of them, asking coldly, "Who did this? If you step forward voluntarily now, I'll consider it a sign of repentance and spare you lightly."
As she said this, her eyes were cold, looking like an enraged lion.
The servants below were so frightened that they trembled all over. No one dared to speak. They just stared at each other nervously.
After about a minute of silence and still no one stepping forward, Su Mingyu's eyes were full of mockery. "What's wrong? You had the guts to beat my people, but now you're too scared to admit it. You should know the consequences of what you've done."
Saying so, Su Mingyu suddenly shouted in a low voice, "Stretch out your hands!"
Although the servants didn't understand why, seeing Su Mingyu so angry, they didn't dare to ask more questions and could only obediently stretch out their hands.
Su Mingyu looked at each of them and then suddenly kicked Xiaocui hard in the back of the spine. Xiaocui flew out and fell flat on her face.
"Can you explain why your hands are so red?"
Su Mingyu grabbed Xiaocui's hair. Her cold eyes were now filled with unfathomable darkness.
Xiaocui didn't expect Su Mingyu to make such a big fuss for a servant. She was also a little scared.
"I... I... I was scalded by water before."
Unexpectedly, she would tell such a clumsy lie. Su Mingyu sneered. "Really? Then I'd like to see how this burn only scalds the palm but not the back of the hand."
Saying so, she gave the steward a look, and the steward immediately understood and brought her a kettle of hot water.
Without even blinking, Su Mingyu poured the whole kettle of boiling water on Xiaocui's hand.
Xiaocui let out a shrill scream of pain. She tried hard to pull back her hand, but no matter how hard she tried, she was firmly held down by Su Mingyu.
By the time the whole kettle of boiling water was poured out, Xiaocui's hand was horribly swollen and covered with blisters.
The terrifying and disgusting scene made some people with weak nerves faint on the ground.
But Su Mingyu still had no intention of letting Xiaocui go. She stepped on Xiaocui's hand and twisted it hard. A layer of skin was actually torn off Xiaocui's hand, which was almost half - cooked from the scalding.
"Ugh..."
Sounds of vomiting rang out one after another.
Xiaocui was in so much pain that she could hardly stand up straight. She howled in pain and kept apologizing to Su Mingyu. "Miss, I'm sorry. I just wanted to help you discipline Zhizhu. I didn't mean to be so heavy - handed."
Su Mingyu slapped Xiaocui hard across the face.
The slap was so sudden that everyone present couldn't help shivering.
Xiaocui's face swelled up instantly, making it hard for her to speak clearly. "Da... Miss..."
Su Mingyu slapped her on the other side of the face again. Xiaocui was in so much pain that she saw stars in her eyes and could hardly speak normally. But her eyes were still full of confusion.
After another slap, Su Mingyu looked at Xiaocui's almost unrecognizable face contemptuously. "Who do you think you are? How dare you discipline my people?"
Xiaocui quickly apologized. "I... I'm sorry, miss. I overstepped my bounds."
By the time Xiaocui said this, she was out of breath, looking like she was about to die at any moment, which made people can't help but feel scared.
But Su Mingyu still had no intention of letting her go. She grabbed Xiaocui's hair and dragged her in front of Zhizhu, then looked at her coldly and said, "You didn't beat me. Why are you apologizing to me?"