Chapter 2: Today, I Finally Escaped Death

Chapter 2: Today, She Finally Escaped with Her Life

Yun Jiao clutched the embroidered quilt and retreated toward the inner side of the bed, her face flushed with a mixture of anger and indignation. Her birth mother was the youngest daughter of her maternal grandmother. Yun Jiao was only ten years old now, yet Shen Changdong was even a year older than her father. His eldest daughter, Qian Shuya, was several years older than her, and his eldest son, Qian Shuming, was the same age as Yun Jiao. The second son was already babbling, and there were several other illegitimate children. Who could have predicted that Shen Changdong would be so shameless?

Her uncle truly had poor judgment to bring such a son-in-law into the family, someone who only passed the imperial scholar examination in his youth. With such conduct, though a scholar, he was no better than those fishermen and farmers.

“Sister’s husband, I ask you to behave yourself!” Seeing that he would not be deceived, Yun Jiao no longer hid her disgust, forcing herself to remain calm, her brows furrowed with anger.

Shen Changdong, seeing her fierce glare and anger, felt a twinge of intimidation and hesitated briefly. Then he thought to himself, she was just a little girl after all; why should he fear her?

He snorted coldly. “Ungrateful wretch! Just because you are a lowly illegitimate daughter, it’s my blessing if I fancy you. You should be grateful to become a concubine in the Qian family. What are you acting all high and mighty for?”

He then leaned over toward the bed.

Yun Jiao was only ten years old and had never experienced such things before. Though she had just forced herself to remain composed, now seeing this beast lunging at her, she was terrified and helpless, screaming loudly, “Someone help! Jianjia! Mujin!”

Shen Changdong saw her panic-stricken and no longer dignified appearance, which only excited him more. He rubbed his hands together and chuckled, “Even if you scream your lungs out today, no one will come for you.”

He had already arranged everything. Those two maids would not return anytime soon. This Qixia Garden was the residence of that old crone. Since her illness, Qixia Garden had lost its former status within the household.

Only Nurse Li loyally attended to the old woman, who was deaf and blind, constantly guarding her and unable to hear anything happening elsewhere.

The old woman lived in the east wing, far from this west wing. Besides, she was confused and had a broken leg, so even under her nose, he was not afraid of her at all.

This young lady before him was merely an unloved illegitimate daughter who had traveled a long way, accompanied by only two personal maids, revealing her low standing in the family.

No wonder, just an illegitimate daughter, how grand could her presence be?

When she came to the Qian family, neither the mother-in-law nor the father-in-law had arranged anyone to serve her. The father-in-law had not even met her, clearly indifferent toward this niece.

If he did not seize this opportunity to do as he pleased, would it not be a wasted blessing?

Yun Jiao, panicking and helpless, spoke fiercely, then suddenly recalled the pair of scissors in the embroidered frame on the table. She intended to get off the bed to grab the scissors, either to flee or to end both their lives, but at least she would not let him succeed.

“Bang—”

At this critical moment, the door was kicked open forcefully from outside, and Jianjia rushed in.

“Jianjia!” Yun Jiao breathed a sigh of relief, knowing she had escaped death today. She hugged the quilt and shrank into the corner, gasping softly.

“Miss, what happened to you?” Jianjia, seeing Yun Jiao’s pale face and frightened state, was deeply worried and hurried to her side.

Shen Changdong’s complexion changed; he had not expected the maid to return so quickly.

Realizing he had missed his chance and the matter was hopeless, he only stirred up trouble and would make it harder to get close to this niece in the future. Frustrated and humiliated, he raised his hand and slapped Jianjia hard.

“Little whore! How dare you ruin my plans? I’ll beat you to death!”

Jianjia staggered and fell to the ground, ignoring the blood trickling from her mouth. She covered her swollen cheek and shouted toward the door, “Gu Youzi, come in quickly!”

Shen Changdong was naturally cruel and wanted to hit her again, but hearing someone outside, he grew uneasy and dared not linger. He glared fiercely at Jianjia and then swept out with a flick of his sleeve.

Gu Youzi followed in, brushing past Shen Changdong.

“Miss, are you alright?” Jianjia got up from the ground, ignoring the dust on her clothes, and earnestly looked at Yun Jiao by the bed.

“Greetings, Ninth Miss,” Gu Youzi bowed. Having just seen the Qian family’s son-in-law emerge from the young lady’s room with a very dark expression, he sensed something was wrong. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked anxiously, “Ninth Miss, what about Mr. Shen...?”

“I’m fine,” Yun Jiao steadied herself slightly. Gu Youzi was a trusted servant of her aunt’s household, and his mother was a respected maid there, so she said, “You may wait outside while I freshen up.”

“Yes,” Gu Youzi withdrew and closed the door behind him.

He thought the young lady had been frightened, but since this concerned the Ninth Miss’s reputation, as a man, he was hesitant to ask more. Fortunately, she seemed unharmed.

“Miss, did that beast hurt you?” Once Gu Youzi left, Jianjia hurried over, worry filling her eyes. “Living under the same roof with that scoundrel day after day, what shall we do? Why don’t you tidy yourself up and return home?”

Jianjia was truly terrified. She had never seen such a shameless rogue, especially one from their own relatives. Though the lady was clever from a young age and quick-witted, she was still a young girl. Matters of reputation were delicate, and it was not easy for her to stand up for herself.

Moreover, even if she spoke out, it might not guarantee support; instead, it couldI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.