Hidden depths

But as for what exactly was different, the matron stood there studying her for a long while and still could not tell. Jiang Mi merely seemed a little more composed now, and the way she looked at her was a little strange. There was nothing else remarkable about her.

The matron frowned, then decided after a moment's thought to step forward and test her herself.

She walked up to Jiang Mi, but she had only just raised her hand to slap her when another hand gently caught it.

"There's no need to get physical, Matron. You can't make decisions about my affairs. You'll have to ask the marquis or the madam to come."

Jiang Mi's voice was quiet, her tone could be called gentle, and there was even a slight curve to her lips.

Yet to everyone in the room, those words were no less than a thunderclap out of a clear sky.

The room fell so quiet that a falling pin could have been heard.

Bichun had only pulled her sock halfway on. She remained crouched on the floor, her mouth hanging open, forgotten.

She stared at Jiang Mi, blinking again and again, but still could not help saying, "I could tell yesterday. She really has gone mad."

Xiaochan wore the same expression, but when she remembered that she shared a room with Jiang Mi and would not escape unscathed either, a measure of hatred entered her gaze.

She thumped Bichun, who finally realized this and hurriedly shouted to the matron, "Matron! This was all her own idea! It has nothing to do with us. Please don't let us get dragged into it!"

Bichun's shout actually loosened the frozen atmosphere in the room a little.

Xiaochan nodded along, her eyes reddening. "Yes, Matron. She's been acting strange ever since she came back from outside yesterday. We're frightened too..."

Li Pozi said nothing, but Zhou Pozi suddenly took a step forward.

"What do you think you are, to think you deserve to see the marquis? You're nothing but a menial maid. Are you still dreaming? Have you really forgotten how much you weigh?!"

Zhou Pozi's voice was shrill, her expression mocking.

Jiang Mi released the matron's hand, rose, and turned toward Zhou Pozi.

She wasted no words and offered no explanation. She simply gave Zhou Pozi a light slap across the face.

Had the matron not been there, she would have acted long ago. Why would she waste her breath on these people?

The slap was featherlight and barely made a sound. Yet Zhou Pozi flew sideways, both feet leaving the ground, as though a charging ox had struck her.

"Bang!"

She slammed into the doorframe, sending wood splinters flying, then tumbled to the floor and slid another three or four feet, coming to rest facedown and motionless.

The room instantly fell silent.

Li Pozi's eyes widened, and she sucked in a cold breath. Finally coming to her senses, she backed away several steps, her expression conveying only one thing: You've hit her, so you can't hit me too! This has nothing to do with me!

The matron was stunned too.

A menial maid had sent someone flying with a single slap. Did that make sense?

It did not.

But the woman really had flown, and the doorframe really was smashed. How could that be explained?

Before the matron could figure it out, Jiang Mi was already moving.

She walked toward the next person.

It was Zhang Pozi, who served the meals. She was usually responsible for portioning out food to the maids, and could shake a ladleful of vegetables until only broth remained, then shake a ladleful of broth until only the bowl remained.

At that moment, Zhang Pozi was cowering in a corner, trying to squeeze herself into a crack in the wall.

Unfortunately, the crack was not wide enough.

By the time Jiang Mi reached her, Zhang Pozi's face was as white as the rice she usually served the maids.

"M-miss..."

Jiang Mi raised her hand.

Zhang Pozi instinctively shut her eyes as every wicked thing she had ever done flashed through her mind.

Skimping on the maids' food, mixing leftovers into fresh dishes, always giving Jiang Mi stone-cold porridge in winter...

It's over. Retribution has come.

"Smack."

This slap was crisp and clean, its force just right.

Zhang Pozi spun once on the spot like a top struck by a palm, then landed on her bottom with a thud, stars dancing before her eyes and her ears buzzing.

But to her delighted surprise, she had not gone flying!

Compared with Zhou Pozi's treatment, this could practically be called gentle!

Clutching her rapidly swelling cheek, Zhang Pozi actually felt the gratitude of someone who had survived a disaster.

Jiang Mi withdrew her hand, her tone flat. "If you're serving food, serve it properly. Break that habit of shaking your hand."

Zhang Pozi nodded so frantically that her head almost flew off. "I will, I will, I will! I'll definitely change! No more shaking!"

Beside them, the matron, who was covering her face, twitched at the corner of her mouth.

If you're going to hit someone, just hit them. Why give a reason too? Still, there's no denying she got exactly what she deserved.

Everyone in the room froze, not daring to breathe loudly, and could only watch as Jiang Mi approached her next target.

"Smack!"

That's for skimming my monthly pay!

"Smack!"

That's for scheming over my padded winter clothes!

Monthly pay, padded winter clothes, meals, cold looks, bullying...

Every debt was clear, down to the last entry.

With every slap Jiang Mi delivered, she felt a pent-up breath of resentment escape through her fingertips, like a river channel blocked for ten years suddenly clearing, the water flowing so freely that it made her want to sigh.

By the time she had made her rounds, Jiang Mi's hand was faintly red.

She rotated her wrist, let her gaze settle on the matron, and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Aren't you going?"

The matron had been waiting for a slap to land on her.

After all, she had always been the most vicious at slapping people. She had never expected the Jiang Mi of today to be such a case of indigo surpassing the blue from which it came.

She stood stunned for a moment after hearing those words, then rushed out as though granted a pardon.

The room fell silent for a moment.

Everyone who had been struck felt aggrieved: everyone in the room had received a slap from Jiang Mi, yet she had spared the matron alone?

Why?

Bichun clutched her swollen cheek and opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but feared another slap. All she let out was a deeply resentful "Hmph."

Xiaochan's expression was complicated too.

She touched her burning cheek, then looked toward the doorway where the matron had disappeared, reckoning the accounts perfectly clearly in her mind.

How many times had the matron struck Jiang Mi? Too many to count, surely?

Yet the matron had walked away without a scratch, while she had been slapped?

What sort of logic was that?

Zhang Pozi sat on the floor with half her face swollen. Most of her gratitude at surviving a disaster had already been washed away by a thick surge of sour resentment.

It was wrong of her to shake her hand while serving food, but had the matron done nothing wrong?

Why did the matron not have to be hit?

As the cleverest of those who had been slapped, Li Pozi was not thinking about fairness at that moment, but rather:

That girl Jiang Mi really does have quite a mind.

She hit everyone in turn, yet spared the one who most deserved it.

What was that called? Winning someone over.

After running out, could the matron possibly feel no gratitude toward Jiang Mi?

If Jiang Mi had any trouble in the household from now on, even if the matron did not help, she would certainly be too embarrassed to make things difficult for her again.

One slap traded for a favor from the matron.

A bargain. What a bargain.

At this thought, Li Pozi could not help stealing a glance at Jiang Mi.

This girl had previously acted like a stoppered gourd, letting anyone trample on her. Looking at her now, she really had kept her depths well hidden.