Scoring Love: Even This Can Up My Game

Chapter 20: Blood Debt, Blood Repayment

"Alright, I'll trust you. I'll have someone prepare breakfast for you. Go ahead and eat before you leave," Li Niang said.

"No need. There's an inspection from above today, so I have to leave early. I'll come to find you another day," Jin Ye replied.

With that, Jin Ye walked downstairs and headed straight for the side door. Li Niang paid no attention to him and quickly pushed open the door to enter the room, only to find it in complete disarray, as if it had been ransacked.

Moving further inside, she saw Mrs. Rong lying on the bed. However, all her limbs were entangled in the curtains tied to the bedposts, with her head pressed against the side of the bed. There was also a chair nearby.

Li Niang walked to the bedside, picked up the torn and tattered clothes scattered on the floor, and covered Mrs. Rong's body with them.

Mrs. Rong woke up abruptly and tried to struggle. Seeing this, Li Niang quickly reassured her, saying, "Don't be afraid, it's me. He's gone."

Once Mrs. Rong recognized the person in front of her, she burst into tears. However, her voice was hoarse, and it took a long time for her to stop crying.

During this time, Li Niang had already called for a bath bucket and clean clothes. She carefully held Mrs. Rong's hand, guiding her to sit in the bucket. Li Niang personally cleaned her body. At this moment, Mrs. Rong became calm and allowed Li Niang to attend to her without any reaction.

Li Niang, looking at Mrs. Rong's bruised body, was lost in her thoughts. Her movements were gentle, extremely focused and serious, as if afraid of causing her any more pain.

"Where's Rang Rang?" Mrs. Rong suddenly asked.

"I've already let her go to rest," Li Niang answered. After a moment of contemplation, she continued, "If you don't want to see her today, let her stay by my side."

"Thank you," Mrs. Rong remained expressionless.

After Li Niang finished cleaning Mrs. Rong, the maids outside brought in a bowl of medicinal soup. Mrs. Rong didn't ask anything, just drank it.

Mrs. Rong probably guessed it was a potion for contraception. Although it was harmful to her body, given her current condition, whether it hurt or not was already unimportant.

Afterward, Li Niang ordered someone to find Dong Mei and had both Qiu Shui and Dong Mei continue to serve Mrs. Rong.

Moreover, to avoid arousing Yingran's suspicions, while instructing Yingran to carefully clean the entire floor where her room was located, she also arranged for someone to bring medicinal herbs for treating bruises and throat ailments to Mrs. Rong.

Yingran remained completely unaware, just missing her mother and sister for a few days. She went to find Li Niang, hoping to return home for the night. This time, Li Niang readily agreed.

"Take these medical books with you. When you've learned them well, we'll have our own doctor in the building," Li Niang shouted to Yingran, who was about to leave.

Yingran abruptly stopped, hugged the stack of books, and ran to Mrs. Rong's room.

By now, Mrs. Rong's throat had improved quite a bit. When Yingran inquired, Mrs. Rong only mentioned that she hadn't taken good care of herself during the postpartum period, making her susceptible to wind and cold.

After that, Yingran spent her daytime hours in Mrs. Rong's room, reading medical books. In areas she didn't understand, Mrs. Rong pointed out one or two things.

Yingran was very grateful for Li Niang's kindness. Her mother didn't have to go back and forth at the entrance like everyone else, and she cherished the days she spent now. So, she worked even harder when studying medical books.

However, Yingran found it strange that although Li Niang let her read medical books to alleviate boredom, she only called her seven or eight times in a month.

The man acted swiftly, catching Yingran once again, saying coldly, "What's the rush? I'll take you there."

Without knowing the man's intentions and the veracity of his words, before Yingran could think it through, he lifted her, jumped out of the window, and forcefully entered the adjacent room, swiftly incapacitating the man on the bed.

Yingran couldn't react in time. When she finally recovered, she saw her mother suspended in the middle of the bed, undressed, covered in red marks. Even in this state, Yingran recognized her – it was her mother.

Yingran felt a pang of pain, but then realized there was another man in the room. She tried to block his view, but the man in black had already turned away.

Ignoring him, Yingran just wanted to release her mother. She prepared to untangle the drapes tied around her mother's wrists when she hesitated. Unwrapping them might cause her mother to fall directly.

"Do you need help?" the man in black timely asked.

"You dare! I'll gouge out your eyes!" Yingran, fueled by an unknown courage, immediately retorted.

"Not bad, but you don't need to look at me. I can still put her down. Just prepare something on the bed," the man replied, his tone slightly milder.

Yingran, still skeptical, picked up the scattered bedding and placed it at the bottom of her mother's body.

"There you go," Yingran informed the man.

As soon as she spoke, she heard a swooshing sound. Before Yingran could fully comprehend his actions, her mother fell onto the bedding below. Reacting quickly, Yingran covered her mother's body with the nearby curtains.

After the fall, her mother coughed once and slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Yingran, she initially considered it a dying hallucination. It wasn't until Yingran called her that she realized it wasn't a dream.

She could accept her own disgrace but didn't want her daughter to witness it. Yingran was overjoyed, about to say, "Mother, you're awake. That's great," but before the words could leave her mouth, a spray of crimson splattered.

Her mother, uncertain how to face her two daughters, especially Yingran, picked up a fallen hairpin without hesitation and stabbed it into her own neck.

Since the downfall of the Rong family, she had been strong for a long time. Now, she felt she couldn't hold on any longer. She decided to let herself be timid and evasive for once. However, she didn't want her daughters to see.

Yingran couldn't hold back her emotions. She hugged her mother's lifeless body, burying her head in it, feeling the last warmth. She cried softly.

After crying for a while, Yingran was exhausted. The man in black also noticed it. He spoke gently, "What do you plan to do next?"

Yingran didn't answer. She just glanced at Jin Ye lying on the ground and asked the man, "Do you have a knife?"

Surprised by the question, the man took out a dagger from his waist and handed it over.

Yingran gently laid down her mother and accepted the dagger. With a dark expression, she looked at Jin Ye, squatted down, and stabbed him in the chest. Not satisfied with just one stab, she continued dozens of times until she created a large b****y hole.

Satisfied, Yingran stood up, crying and laughing. Then, she regained her composure, turning to the man in black, and asked, "Can you take my mother's body and my sister out?"

The man nodded.

"Good. Whatever you ask me to do later, I promise. Now, please help take them out," Yingran said.

"What about you?"

"I have some truths to inquire about. After that, I'll leave with you."

The man chuckled, thinking that this girl understood quite well. Given time, she would surely become an asset to the organization.

With that, the man stopped talking and said, "I'll go get clothes for you and your mother."

As Yingran nodded, the man jumped out of the window. In no time, he returned with two sets of clothes they regularly wore. This way, it would be less suspicious when they left later.

Yingran quickly changed into clean clothes for herself and her mother. Then, the man led them to the adjacent room, leaving Yingran alone. He took her mother's body and Yinghuan away first.

Looking at Chuntao securely tied to the bed, Yingran directly poured a cup of boiling hot tea over her.

Chuntao was instantly scalded awake and angrily asked, "Yingran, what are you doing?"

Without wasting words, Yingran asked directly, "My mother... What happened to my mother?"

Though not explicitly stated, Chuntao already understood the implied meaning in Yingran's words. Her gaze showed a hint of guilt, and she answered, "I don't know, and I don't understand what you're talking about. I've been loyal to Madam."

Yingran chuckled with frustration, not buying into Chuntao's act. Did Chuntao think she was a fool? Every month when her mother was absent, it was an excuse for Chuntao to keep her company. How could she claim ignorance?

It seemed someone didn't want to tell the truth. Yingran walked up, pulled the hairpin from Chuntao's head, and gestured on her face, making her intentions clear.

Now that Chuntao was also considered a young lady in the building, losing her face would likely result in being sent to the firewood room by Liniang. Even if Liniang found out, given Jin Ye's affection for Yingran's mother and Liniang's favoritism towards Yingran, Chuntao didn't believe anyone would stand up for her. She didn't dare to take that risk.

Seeing Yingran about to take action, Chuntao immediately spilled everything. She indeed knew about the matter, but it was because Yinghuan was growing up, needing an excuse for her mother to be absent all night. She became the agreed-upon excuse between Liniang and Yingran's mother. In the end, Chuntao felt a bit wronged.

After hearing Chuntao's explanation, Yingran didn't believe it. She couldn't accept that her mother did it willingly. It must be coercion from people like Liniang in the background.