"You—you…" Shi Wang's face reddened with shock.
"You dare speak to me like this? You've lost your manners—and your mind!"
Shi Ning quickly grabbed his arm.
"Dad, don't be angry. Sister Nian must have misspoken. Sister Nian, why don't you apologize to Dad, hmm?"
Shi Nian's lips curved faintly, but her eyes stayed cold.
Before Shi Nian could say anything, Shi Wang chided Shi Ning.
"Ning'er, you always see the best in people. You call her sister; do you think she sees you as her sister? Has she ever replied to you? And look at what she just did, calling me by my name—disrespectful!"
This father and daughter are so in sync, Shi Nian thought. From the memories she received, they both had driven "Shi Nian" to insanity.
She shook off her thoughts and said to the duo,
"You call me insane, right? Then what do you think an insane person would do?" She picked up a branch and waved it at them.
Without warning, Shi Nian hurled the branch toward Shi Wang. As it flew through the air, it brushed past him, leaving a faint red mark on his skin. Shi Wang's eyes widened in shock, and he recoiled, touching the mark with disbelief. Shi Ning's face went pale as she stared at the red streak, realizing how close they had come to injury.
Shi Wang and Shi Ning backed away, and Shi Wang, regaining his composure, yelled at the maid,
"Why are you just standing there? Take the branch away!"
The maid walked toward Shi Nian and tried to take the branch from her, but Shi Nian kicked her with all her strength. The maid fell to the ground, screaming,
"Ah, my leg! The miss is crazy! She has gone mad!"
As she yelled, she thought, What is wrong today? Earlier, I couldn't control my actions and actually opened the miss's door. Before I knew it, I was already outside the mansion. The miss must have bewitched me. The rumors are true.
Shi Ning saw that things weren't going as planned and that Shi Nian wasn't as quiet or timid as usual. She didn't want things to escalate further and risk losing Shi Nian's trust. She bit her lip and seemed to come to a conclusion.
"Sister Nian, I'm sorry Dad's words hurt you. I know you don't want to hurt anyone. Don't do anything you'll regret."
Although she said this, anyone who wasn't foolish would hear the threat in her words.
She paused and began, "Sister Nian, Dad and I will take our leave. We'll come visit you another day, okay?" She acted like a peacemaker.
Shi Wang heard her and huffed, saying ferociously, "You are lucky Ning'er is so good. If not, I wouldn't let you off today." He walked away, and Shi Ning hurriedly followed after him.
After the duo left, Shi Nian walked back into the mansion, thinking about something. She turned back and gave the maid a look. The maid shuddered and followed after her.
Each step Shi Nian took, the maid felt as if her heart was being stepped on instead of the floor.
"How can the missus' temperament change so much just after not seeing her for a few hours? It gives me chills," the maid thought as she rubbed her arms and followed after Shi Nian.
Just as she was lost in her thoughts, Shi Nian took a seat and watched her, observing every facial expression as if trying to read her thoughts.
"Wan Wan," she called out. The maid was startled to hear her name.
"Did my parents ever mistreat you? Did you get paid any less than your tier of service?"
"No, young mistress," she stuttered out.
"If that was the case, why did you shut me up? Fine, you couldn't dismiss my uncle's order, but why did you join the other maids, mocking me?"
"I've been silent; that doesn't mean I am blind. I was good to you, Wan Wan. What changed?"
Shi Nian asked this because the former possessor of this body had thought about this a lot during the months she was locked up. If it were up to her, she wouldn't bother with a naive girl's thoughts, but now this was connected to her life.
"Thump!" Wan Wan fell on her knees.
"Miss, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I have found myself doing things I have no control over."
"Missus, you can also infer from today—I was the one who opened your door. By the time I realized it, I was already outside the mansion."
Wan Wan said anything just to find an excuse not to be chased away or lose her job. She understood from what happened today that from now on, the miss could no longer be toyed with.
A sharp look flashed across Shi Nian's eyes. "This maid doesn't seem dumb, and knows how to bend to circumstances."
"Young miss, I am on your side. You've treated me best in all the years I worked in the Shi mansion."
"Please don't send me away. My parents are unwell. I am the only one able to care for them, missus," Wan Wan pleaded.
"Shut up!" Shi Nian sternly stopped her. What she hated most was being involved in these kinds of internal disputes.
"You can keep your job, but it depends on how you perform. Do you understand?"
"Yes, miss. You can trust me!" Wan Wan hurriedly said.
"Trust, huh?" Shi Nian leaned lazily on the couch.
"Come here, give me your hand," she beckoned.
Just as she was about to use a secret art to make an imprint in the maid's soul to monitor her, she remembered she no longer wanted to delve into any arts.
"You can leave."
As soon as she was alone, she began sorting the original owner's memories. From the memories, she found that this 'Shi Nian's' parents weren't hers.