Chapter 6: The fierce mouth pierces through (2)

She rubbed her cold hands and was bending down to draw some water from the well when she suddenly heard people coming over.

An Yan lifted her brows and subconsciously moved away to hide in a corner.

Even if she were in dire straits, she was still the third Miss of the household so she wouldn’t allow people to mock her.

An Yan had a strong and stubborn personality. At the slightest sign of disturbance, she would become alerted.

“What is that you are holding in your hand? It looks rather refined. Which boy gave it to you?” From close by came the teasing laughter of two maids. An Yan frowned slightly. She wished these two would finish their business and leave quickly so that she could get some water and also return.

“Oh? Are you saying this? This is what I found in the bin outside the eldest Miss and second Miss’s courtyards. Look, what refined carving it has. It seemed to be a jewellery box. The carved flowers and birds are really life-like.”

Another servant girl’s voice, sounding happy, drifted over. It sounded as if she had picked up some treasure.

An Yan, who was listening, became curious. Every day, she too liked to paint small items. Hearing that these were nicely painted items, she couldn’t help but get up to have a look.

When her curious gaze swept over the two small box — the two familiar small wooden boxes — in the hands of a servant girl, her expression changed instantly. The previously clear and sunny look on her face became stormy, and a dangerous light flashed in her eyes.

The happiness she had been feeling until now all dissipated in that moment.

“Th…thir…third Miss!”

The servant girl had felt a cold gaze behind her and turned around to see, only to be so frightened that the wooden box in her hand tumbled to the ground.

An Yan watched coldly as the small box tumbled to the ground, rolling twice before it stopped.

“Indeed, it is very pretty.”

The small figure stood there, her back straight with a cold expression on her unsmiling face. She just stood there, but it gave the feeling of being stomped under her feet to the two maids.

The two maids were alarmed and started to tremble in fear. They lowered their heads, unsure of what to do next.

An Yan also did not say anything else. She stepped forward and, after shooting a glance at the two maids, picked up the two small boxes that they had dropped on the floor.

She laughed as she said, “Such a pretty box, it would be wasted on you two!”

After saying this, she turned around and left.

Whatever expressions the maids had, she did not care about that.

Holding tightly on the boxes in her embrace, she went to the main entrance of her courtyard.

Sitting outside the main door was An Xi, who was waiting to see her Yan jiejie. When she saw her coming from the outside, she was very surprised and immediately ran up to her.

“Yan jiejie! Xi-er ….”

An Xi had not finished speaking when two old, strong-minded women entered the courtyard. One went to stand beside the seventh Miss, her eyes looking cautiously at An Yan.

“ Xi jie er1, I have said this before. You must not come to such places of bad luck!”

An Yan turned to look and, just as expected, she saw a married lady wearing a blue silk coat trimmed with feathers and an anxious expression,  hurrying inside. Her frown that appears enchanting with that pretty build was only enhanced with that coat.

Once she came in, she glanced coldly over An Yan and swept away some imaginary dust off of An Xi’s clothes as she continued to speak.

“Xi jie er, how many times have I told you to stay away from this courtyard? This is a place of bad luck. Don’t be polluted by any filth from here. It would only make your dad angry if you did.”

An Xi was rather bewildered. She hid the package in her hand behind her to keep it from Aunt Lin’s sight. She mumbled something as she turned to look at An Yan, whose expression was rather terrible.