☆ Decline and Rise
Along with this voice, Xiao Banli was pulled up from the ground. Stumbling, her body was pushed behind Ouyang Que, who was dressed in a black suit.
“Ouyang Huihui, even when beating a dog, you have to look at its master!” Ouyang Que released Xiao Banli and lazily spoke to Ouyang Huihui, whose face changed slightly upon seeing him.
Ouyang Huihui laughed loudly, wiping her sleeve as she grinned arrogantly. “The soup spilled, is it wrong for her to wipe it clean? Has your family become so arrogant that even a maid can’t be used outside?”
The sharp remarks made everyone present glance at the situation intentionally or unintentionally.
Ouyang Que remained calm and smiled as he replied, “It doesn’t look like soup was spilled on the ground.”
Then, with a smooth turn, he spread his hands and asked the onlookers, “Can you all see it?”
The crowd immediately changed their stance and quickly said, “No, we can’t.”
Ouyang Huihui’s face darkened like the bottom of a pot the moment Ouyang Que confronted her. Hearing the crowd push against her, her face turned red with anger, her fists clenched tightly. “Ouyang Que, you…”
“What’s going on here?” A deep and hoarse voice sounded. Ouyang Honghui, the powerful figure, walked over, followed by the sharp-eyed main wife.
“Dad, all I did was ask their maid to help clean the floor, and he said that even when beating a dog, you have to look at its master. Is the maid not part of the Ouyang family?” Ouyang Huihui immediately pouted and walked forward as soon as she saw Ouyang Honghui, glancing sideways at Ouyang Que and then casting a look at Xiao Banli, who was hiding behind him.
Xiao Banli had seen Ouyang Honghui countless times in newspapers in her previous life. He was a man who never failed in the business world, a man who once made foreign companies tremble in fear, and a man who, at 58, dared to marry the 28-year-old Yuan Muxiao. And now, here he was, standing right in front of her. His imperious demeanor and powerful presence, even just by standing, gave off an invisible sense of pressure.
After hearing Ouyang Huihui’s words, Ouyang Honghui listened quietly but his gaze was fixed on Ouyang Que. Despite the invisible pressure of this man’s gaze, Ouyang Que remained more composed than anyone else, lazily not in a hurry to argue.
Everyone expected that Ouyang Honghui would at least say a few words to support his daughter, but instead, they heard his deep voice again.
“It’s a small matter. Que’er’s maid must have other duties. If the floor is dirty, let the professional cleaning lady come to clean it.”
Ouyang Huihui was slapped in the face by her father’s words. Her arrogance was knocked down, and her earlier insistence fell apart like a fruitless effort. Her expression turned dark, but she dared not speak.
In the Ouyang family, Ouyang Honghui’s words were like imperial decrees.
Xiao Banli, holding back the pain in her wrist, stumbled behind Ouyang Que. He dragged her like a broken puppet, and when they reached the gate of the mansion, he abruptly let go of her. Turning to the housekeeper, Liu, who had rushed out from inside, he demanded, “Who allowed her to go to the family banquet? Who? Didn’t I say that she must stay in the back courtyard and not leave a single step? How? Didn’t you understand my words?!”
The housekeeper, Liu, hurriedly lowered his head. “Sorry, young master, it was my fault for asking her to help. These past few days, our maids…”
“Shut up, are you making excuses?” Ouyang Que interrupted him. “Let her in, and don’t let her out again.”
“Yes,” Liu replied. After that, he turned and faced Xiao Banli, who stood like a willow in the wind. Her face, with its uneven scars, still looked striking in the dark. “Go inside.”
Xiao Banli gripped her aching hand, bit her lips, and walked toward the back courtyard gate.
“Bang!” The door slammed shut behind her, and she was left alone in the yard. Since half a year ago, when Ouyang Que decided to lock her up, he had taken away the other maids who used to live in the courtyard and relocated them to a new dormitory. Now, the flowers in this yard had bloomed brightly, but sadly, the only person who could appreciate them was her.
—
As spring passed into autumn, and outside, no one knew what the scenery was like. Every day, Xiao Banli woke up early to tend to the flowers and grass. When it was mealtime, someone would bring food, but today, it was already well past the usual time, and the food had yet to arrive.
Xiao Banli sat on the chair, staring fixedly at the gate of the large courtyard.
“Banli, Banli.” Yu Yan slammed open the back gate, stumbling as she entered. Before Xiao Banli could react, she grabbed her hand.
“What’s wrong?”
“Come on, let’s leave the third master’s house. The third master is finished, finished.” Yu Yan said urgently.
Xiao Banli was confused. A year ago, when she was brought to the family banquet to help, Ouyang Que was full of vigor, and Ouyang Honghui’s act of not defending his own daughter showed that Ouyang Honghui was under Ouyang Que’s control at the time.
“What’s finished?”
“Que’er has been facing setbacks since joining the Ouyang Group. Just last week, all of the Ouyang Group’s shares in his hands were trapped. Teiris went back to England half a year ago and hasn’t returned. Que’er is now desperate, and Madam fell ill in a fit of anger. Now, Que’er has no shares in the group. Even if they are kicked out of the Ouyang family, we still need to leave quickly, or we don’t know who will take us. I don’t want to go to another master’s house. They’re all people who devour others without leaving bones. You should come with me.”
Xiao Banli stood there in a daze, her eyes fixed on the flowers and grass swaying in the yard. They were so resilient in her hands, full of life and vitality. If she left, this place would turn into a desolate garden overrun with weeds.
And what kind of fate awaited the man who had despised her ugliness?
She still remembered in her previous life, the rumors outside that Ouyang Que was a fool. Was it because of this blow that he became unable to recover and turned into a fool?
“Where is the young master?” Xiao Banli knew that if she were smart, she shouldn’t ask so many questions, but she still asked.
“I don’t know. All I know is that the madam is in her room, and the Ouyang family’s doctor refuses to see her. She’s already in a critical condition.
The housekeeper, Liu, ran away a month ago. I’ve been the one bringing you your meals. The other maids either ran off or hooked up with new masters a week ago. I’ve been thinking about whether I should leave, but when I saw today that the young master is powerless, I came to ask you to leave with me. We can leave the Ouyang family and do some small business outside, we can at least make a living,” Yu Yan said quickly, pulling Xiao Banli as she spoke.
Xiao Banli turned back and glanced at the flowers and grass one more time.
Then she patted Yu Yan’s shoulder. “You go ahead if you want. I’ll go find the young master, see him one last time. There are some things I want to say to him.”
“The young master has kept you locked up for over a year, what else is there to say to him? If he hadn’t been so arrogant after joining the group, never knowing how to restrain himself, our family wouldn’t be in this situation today,” Yu Yan couldn’t understand Xiao Banli’s thoughts.
“I still want to see him,” Xiao Banli said, pulling away Yu Yan’s hand that had been clutching her. She opened the back gate and, ignoring Yu Yan’s shouting from behind, made her way down the long corridor by memory.
She had walked this corridor countless times, bringing Ouyang Que green bean soup.
The Ouyang family had no good people, but not everyone was bad. At least when her hand was pierced by glass, Ouyang Que had someone send her to the hospital and then sent someone to bring her back, even though he misunderstood her, he never forced her to leave.
The door still looked as heavy as ever.
Xiao Banli lightly tapped the door twice, and it opened. The handsome young man from a year ago had now become a man. When Ouyang Que saw the ugly woman in front of him, his phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.
“How come it’s you?”
Xiao Banli saw the disappointment in his eyes.
“Are you waiting for someone?”
“What’s it to you? You must have heard by now. Take this opportunity and leave quickly. Otherwise, if Zhu Yuanbin comes looking for you, you’ll be in trouble.” Ouyang Que pressed his lips together, turned, and walked into the room.
Xiao Banli followed him in, closed the door behind her, and stood at the entrance, watching as Ouyang Que sat back at his computer, the graphs flickering on the screen.
Xiao Banli knew those were stock charts.
Ouyang Que was making his last-ditch effort.
“Young master, how much money do you still have?” Xiao Banli pressed her lips together, took a step forward, and stood closer to the desk.
Ouyang Que kicked the trash can on the floor, turned, and met her gaze. “What’s the matter? Aren’t you leaving? Don’t worry, I’m not dying just yet. If Ouyang Honghui can trap me, I’ll find a way to reverse it.”
Xiao Banli took another step forward.
She pointed at the graphs on the screen.
“You’ve definitely suffered a huge loss with these stocks. Why keep investing? Who told you to do this? Take the money out and invest it in just one stock—Hongyang Shanshui.”
“Why should I listen to you?”