Union

Chapter 10 Rongguo Duke’s Mansion
After getting the approval from Madam Hou and Lin Shuqing, and receiving news that they would be leaving with the Third Miss after lunch, Yunying and the others got busy.

Actually, there's not much to do, since they have a limited number of belongings. Besides, they've only been staying one night, and their luggage hasn't been unpacked much, so unpacking will be easy.

Jin Kui stood to the side watching Yun Ying busy herself, saying, "Once you leave, we probably won't have a chance to meet again."

"Life is so long, who can say for sure?" Yunying said. "If you survive, we'll definitely see each other again."

"I will definitely take good care of my own life, but the situation in Lingnan is probably not good for you. Please take care of yourself when you go there."

Jin Kui actually wanted to advise Yun Ying to carry more medicine with her, but she knew that this would be difficult.

Firstly, they had no money on them. The only valuable things they possessed were jewelry they had acquired from the estate.

However, most of those jewelry pieces were either gold-plated or silver-plated, or they were jade ornaments of poor quality. They looked shiny on the surface, but in reality, they couldn't be exchanged for much money.

Besides, even if they could exchange their jewelry for money, they still couldn't leave their homes...

Jin Kui frowned, her thoughts racing.

Having been troubled by Yunying, she now worried about herself.

Yunying's purpose in going to her son-in-law's place was simple: to serve him in place of the Third Miss, who was not present.

But what about them? Why were they sent to the Prince's Palace?
Regardless of the reason, it's never wrong to try to please the prince and gain his favor. But wouldn't it be more advantageous for her to establish herself in the prince's household if she knew the purpose of the Marquis's family sending people to the prince's residence?

Unfortunately, this was not something they should know, and they wouldn't be able to find out anything even if they tried.

She ate lunch absentmindedly, rested for a while, and then the third young lady prepared to return to her husband's home.

Yunying, Mujin, and Qiuning bid farewell to the other girls on the estate and then followed the old woman who had led the way earlier to the front courtyard.

Upon arriving at the front courtyard, and then exiting the Marquis's residence through the side gate, we saw two carriages waiting outside.

The third young lady and her head maid naturally sat in the front, while the carriage in the back was prepared for the three of them.

Mother Liu greeted them warmly, "Hurry up and go up, don't take up Third Miss's time."

Yunying and the other two nodded, not even bothering to admire how majestic and imposing the gate of the Marquis's mansion was, and quickly got into the carriage and sat down comfortably.

Once the two carriages had set off, the maidservant serving Liu Mama exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear!"

"What's wrong?" Liu's mother asked her.

"Mother, the guqin you found for Miss Yunying yesterday is still in the room and I forgot to take it."

"That guqin..." Liu's mother said dismissively, "Since you've forgotten it, just forget about it. It's tiring to carry such a thing around all the way here."

The young maid looked at Liu Mama in confusion. How could she be tired? There must be someone to take special care of these three young ladies after this. They certainly wouldn't have to do any rough or chores. How could taking Zhang Qin be tiring?
However, after spending so much time by Liu Mama's side, even the dim-witted little maid understood one thing: never ask what you shouldn't ask, because the more you know, the sooner you'll die.

The maidservant quieted down, and as Liu Mama watched the carriage drive away, she couldn't help but sigh.

She hadn't forgotten the guqin, of course, but today the Third Miss had humiliated her, and she had learned that the Third Miss might have feelings for her son-in-law. So, would she still dare to give Yunying the guqin?
The Third Miss doesn't care about this now, but what about later?
If the Third Miss ever develops even a little more affection for her son-in-law, she will likely regret it deeply when she thinks back to the time she sent him away.

As the person who personally selected the three girls to come back, she was already in a bad position. If she were to give Yunying a zither, wouldn't that make her look like she was in cahoots with Yunying and was deliberately making things difficult for her?

If this crime were pinned on her, her life would be over.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the madam values ​​her now. If the young lady were to complain about her to the madam, would the madam side with her own daughter or with her?
The results are obvious.

The main reason why Liu's mother has survived to this day is that she knows how to protect herself, and secondly, she is loyal.

Therefore, she wouldn't even mention the guqin, let alone give it away.

***
The carriage rolled over the bluestone slabs on the street, and it took a good half hour to reach the Rongguo Duke's Mansion.

Yunying and the others were taken away first by the old woman who had been following behind Lin Shuqing, while Lin Shuqing went to her mother-in-law first to tell her that she had returned.

Despite her dissolute behavior at her parents' home, Lin Shuqing was much more restrained at her husband's home.

As a result, at least on the surface, she has never made a mistake, which shows that she has a sense of justice when it comes to people and things.

Speaking of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, one cannot help but mention the current head of the household, Madam Feng. Since she is called Madam Feng, there must have been Madam Feng before her.

The elder sister of the younger sister, Lady Feng, was born of the same mother and had a close and intimate relationship with her.

When Lady Feng and the young Duke Rong fell in love at first sight, they were deeply in love again upon meeting once more, and soon their fates were sealed, and they pledged their love to each other.

Unfortunately, the two were destined to marry, but not to stay together.

Madam Feng suffered a postpartum hemorrhage and died tragically.

The Duke of Rong was deeply grieved and, three years later, remarried the younger sister of the eldest Feng family, who is now the youngest Feng family member.

To be fair, Duke Rong was a man of deep affection. He originally did not intend to remarry, but unfortunately, his son was young and his mother had passed away. There was no one to manage the household affairs, and his son was left unattended. Finally, after discussing with his wife's family, he married Ms. Feng.

Madam Feng felt sorry for her stepson's heir and treated him as her own. To prevent neglecting her stepson after having her own son, she waited until her stepson was ten years old before having her own child.

Because her elder sister had always doted on her since childhood, even after she had her own son, Xiao Feng never neglected her stepson. In fact, she treated her stepson with more care and attention than her own son.

Under such circumstances, Lady Feng also showed great favor to the newlywed wife of the heir apparent and entrusted her with important responsibilities.

On the contrary, it was Lin Shuqing...

Despite being her own daughter-in-law, Lin Shuqing harbored a deep-seated disdain, and perhaps because Madam Feng favored outsiders and didn't show much bias towards her, the two, despite being the closest of relatives, only maintained a superficial relationship when they met.

Thinking about her mother-in-law's faults, Lin Shuqing pouted and reluctantly entered Rongxin Hall.

Laughter and cheerful conversation filled Rongxin Hall.

But the laughter stopped abruptly when Lin Shuqing entered the flower hall.

Lin Shuqing was even more displeased upon seeing this, but she couldn't stoop to the level of a child. She pretended not to notice the situation and slowly curtsied to Madam Feng.

After Xiao Feng told her to get up, Lin Shuqing was still angry, and couldn't help but look at her elegant and noble sister-in-law sitting to the side, as well as her lovely niece Chen Shanhua.

Lin Shuqing forced a stiff smile and asked Chen Shanhua, "Shan'er, what were you laughing about just now? Tell your aunt. If she's happy, she'll give you a bolt of cloth from her family home."

Chen Shanhua was very well-mannered. Upon hearing this, she first respectfully bowed to Lin Shuqing and called out "Auntie" in a childish voice. Then she said, "Shan'er doesn't want Auntie's fabric. Shan'er has plenty of fabric. Auntie can keep her fabric to make her own clothes."

She was fair-skinned and adorable, with a simple and honest manner. She wore a snow-pink summer dress, and two pairs of exquisite beaded bells were tied to her bud-shaped hair. When she moved, the bells jingled, making her look even more delicate and lovely, like a little attendant of Guanyin.

Upon seeing this, both Madam Feng and the Crown Prince's wife couldn't help but show expressions of affection. Lin Shuqing, on the other hand, stiffened upon hearing this, as if she had been humiliated and lost face.

In Lin Shuqing's opinion, Chen Shanhua was far too ill-mannered.

She asked her why she was laughing so happily, but she only talked about the fabric. Even at such a young age, she knew how to evade the question, revealing a deep and calculating mind.

Lin Shuqing was unhappy, and this was evident on her face. The Crown Prince's wife, seeing this, wondered what was wrong with her this time.

However, she was used to it. After all, her sister-in-law had been with the family for half a year, and she had gotten to know her temperament quite well. To put it bluntly, she was really arrogant, willful, and ungrateful.

The Crown Prince's wife was always a woman of principle, never speaking ill of others behind their backs, much less embarrassing them in public. Although she deeply disapproved of Lin Shuqing's words and actions, Lin Shuqing was, after all, her mother's own daughter-in-law. Even considering her mother's kindness to her over the years, she couldn't bring herself to embarrass Lin Shuqing.

The Crown Prince's wife then said, "Sister-in-law, don't spoil her. She's from a small family, yet she already has several large trunks full of clothes. We can't give her any more fabric, otherwise she'll definitely pester the seamstress to make her clothes again. She's still growing, and she can't wear the same clothes more than three or five times. We can't afford to waste them like that."

Upon hearing this, Madam Feng said, "We only have this one legitimate daughter in our household. If we don't spoil her, who will? If Shan'er likes it, let someone make it for her. It's just that her aunt's fabric was given to her by her in-laws to support their own daughter, so it's not appropriate to give it to her. If Shan'er really wants to make clothes, I'll just give her a few bolts when the time comes."

The Crown Prince's wife said a few more words, "Mother already favors Shan'er a lot," "We dare not spoil Shan'er," "She will never be satisfied no matter how many clothes we make, we cannot let her develop this habit, making three or five outfits a season is enough."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chatted happily back and forth.

They didn't isolate Lin Shuqing; instead, they intentionally or unintentionally steered the conversation towards her. But Lin Shuqing felt humiliated and, too lazy to play along, pretended not to understand their meaning and stiffly sat down to drink her tea.

As time went on, even the Crown Prince's wife had no choice but to give up.

She glanced at her mother-in-law, and then Madam Feng gave her a wink. The young lady of the house then used the excuse that Shan'er hadn't finished her homework to leave early with her daughter.

(End of this chapter)