The wooden door, long neglected, creaked heavily and piercingly as it was pushed open, making the already dilapidated courtyard seem even more desolate.
Lin Yuan's heart suddenly filled with bitterness, and she unconsciously quickened her pace. But after just a few steps, she stumbled over a pebble carelessly strewn on the ground.
"Miss! Be careful!" Shui Xian quickly steadied her, her tiptoes deftly kicking the offending pebble aside. But scarcely had she dispatched that one when, after only a couple steps more, they encountered another.
Even Shui Xian couldn't help but complain, "Is this a deserted courtyard? Even if it is deserted, it shouldn't mistreat people like this. After all, a legitimate daughter lives here; are there no maids to attend to her?"
Shui Xian and Yin Xing, both maids from General Mansion, had heard of such mistreatment but had never witnessed it before; they were indignant, and Yin Xing even called out as they walked, "Is anyone there? Hello?"
