Union

Chapter 142 Returning to the old place
Yunying was unaware of what had happened in the dark, but the next morning she was woken up early by the noise downstairs.

An old woman was crying desperately, saying that a thief had stolen her luggage, leaving her with no money or savings; and that wasn't all, the thief had also taken the silver bracelet from her wrist.

Following the old lady's wailing, several more people rushed out, saying that burnt incense ash had been found in the room, that they had been drugged by the thief, and that their silver had been stolen.

One disturbance after another caused a great commotion, and everyone in the inn was on high alert, rushing to search their belongings to see if they had suffered any losses.

Yunying's thoughts, which had been somewhat muddled, were now completely clear.

After she finished dressing and tidying herself up, the Second Master brought over breakfast.

While eating breakfast, Yunying said to the Second Master, "It's terrifying! That thief even had a sleeping potion on him. It's only because we secured this floor that the thief didn't dare to come up, otherwise..."

Otherwise, the consequences are unimaginable.

Yunying frowned, still shaken, and ate her breakfast absentmindedly.

Her fever has completely subsided, and she felt clear-headed and much more energetic when she woke up this morning. She couldn't eat anything all day yesterday, and she finally had an appetite this morning, but then she heard such bad news, which really ruined her appetite.

Yunying sighed and complained, and even her meal didn't taste good.

The Second Master waited until she finished her breakfast and had the table cleared before telling Yunying about what happened last night.

He said that when he went out, he encountered someone hiding at the corner of the stairs; he said he saw the person hiding in the shadows breathing rapidly, eager to reveal themselves...

Upon hearing this, Yunying paused, her breath caught in her throat, and her hands trembled uncontrollably.

Seeing this, the second master naturally knew she was terrified. Originally, he didn't want to tell her these things. But when they were out and about, he would rather she be more cautious and wary of hidden dangers than let her be harmed by someone else's scheming due to carelessness and ignorance.

Yunying grabbed the Second Master's arm. "And then what happened?"

"Later, he injured his leg when a teacup hit him, and then he turned and ran away."

"They really ran away?"

Second Master: "No, not at all. Sui Yu followed him in the shadows, found out where he was staying, saw if he had any accomplices, and then handed him over to the authorities."

"They've handed them over to the authorities? Doesn't that mean... the people whose belongings were stolen last night can still get them back?"

Upon hearing this, the second master slightly twitched the corner of his mouth, then laughed out loud, "Your focus is always different from others."

Yunying touched her face. "Am I wrong to care about these things?" We're all just ordinary people; no one's life is much better than anyone else's. Losing our possessions makes us want to die. Let's not talk about others; even she has quite a bit of money in her pocket right now. Even so, if she lost ten or eight taels, she would still feel the pain.

Second Master shook his head. "You're absolutely right." The common people at the bottom of society spend their whole year hoping to have enough to eat every day. If they can even save a few coins, they treasure them like their lifeblood. Losing money can be enough to make some people die of anger.

As the two were talking, the rain that had been falling all night gradually stopped.

The rain stopped, but the temperature dropped even lower.

Yunying, wearing a padded jacket, walked to the window, pushed it open, and looked out. She saw a layer of white mist in the distance, and the leaves of the trees were lush and green. The rooftops and streets were wet, and people wearing raincoats and carrying oil-paper umbrellas were walking on tiptoe, looking very cautious.

A cold front rushed towards Yunying, who shivered and quickly closed the window.

The light in the room suddenly dimmed. Yunying was about to ask the Second Master when they planned to set off since the rain had stopped when she turned around and saw him walk up behind her and drape a large fur cloak over her shoulders.

The cloak is made of tiger skin, and it is trimmed with a band of fox fur.

The tiger skin was a gift from Second Master's senior brother last year, while the fox fur was from a fox Second Master hunted on Wutou Mountain. He deliberately kept the complete pelt so that it could be used to make the collar of his cloak.

The cloak is very warm and exquisitely made. Aside from being a little heavy, it's flawless.

Second Master had given this cloak to Yunying long ago. Yunying thought that even if the winter in Yungui County was cold, she wouldn't be able to wear this garment, so she carefully put it away and stored it away.

After making up her mind to go to the capital with the Second Master, Yunying immediately thought of this cloak. At that time, Yunying even muttered to the Second Master: "I'm afraid he had planned this all along."

……

The moment the cloak was put on, the chill from before was instantly dispelled.

Yunying pulled her cloak tighter around herself, then noticed that Second Master was still only wearing a single layer of clothing... Hmm, she was used to it; Second Master's firepower was truly immense.

Yunying discussed with the Second Master, "Do you think we should set off this afternoon or tomorrow?"

Second Master laughed again upon hearing this.

The man, already possessing a refined and elegant demeanor, appeared even more graceful and dignified when he smiled.

Second Master laughed and said, "I'm not in a hurry at all, but you seem to be in a rush."

Yunying turned her face away, refusing to look at the Second Master's magnificent appearance.

"I feel guilty because it was my illness that delayed your trip. You usually rest as much as possible to take care of me, and if you are delayed any longer, I'm afraid you won't be able to return to the capital on time."

"Don't worry, there's plenty of time."

At Yunying's insistence, the Second Master finally decided to set off early the next morning.

As for today, if we continue our journey now, we won't reach the next lodging by evening. Moreover, wild animals are frequently seen in the mountains and forests after the rain, so for safety's sake, we'll continue to rest at the inn tonight, just to conserve our energy.

Later that evening, a messenger came to the inn.

It is said that a group of thieves were arrested yesterday and taken to the county government office. After investigation, the county government found a large amount of stolen goods. Some of these items are said to belong to guests who rested at the inn yesterday. Anyone who has lost any valuables or money can report it to the government office.

The people who had lost their belongings were still reeling from the shock, lying on their beds sobbing with heartache. Then, this dramatic turn of events occurred. After confirming the truth, they jumped for joy and ran towards the government office as if chased by a ghost.

The last constable saw many people still gathered in the inn watching the commotion and reminded them, "It's almost the end of the year, and thieves also want to have a prosperous New Year. When you're traveling, please take good care of your belongings. If you suffer any losses, remember to report them to the authorities immediately. If the authorities catch the thieves, they will verify the lost items with the owners as soon as possible and return them to them."

Amidst the cries of the crowd of people at the scene—"What a good man!", "The magistrate is truly a just and upright official!", and "Thank you for your hard work, sirs!"—the bailiff, carrying his sword, left with a faint smile on his face.

Yunying naturally didn't see this scene. In fact, ever since she left Yungui County with Second Master, Yunying had never acted alone.

Her beauty is excessive, which can be a good thing sometimes, but it's definitely a bad thing when she's out in public.

Just in case, Yunying usually dressed as a man. But she didn't really disguise herself; she simply styled her hair like a man and wore men's clothes. This would only fool ordinary people; it wouldn't fool those with audacious lust or sharp eyes.

To avoid causing too much trouble for the Second Master, or even putting herself in a difficult situation, Yunying only followed the Second Master's movements. In daily life, she rarely said a word or looked at him, treating herself as the Second Master's personal accessory. She was as obedient and docile as could be.

The commotion downstairs held no appeal for Yunying. After playing two games of chess with the Second Master, her head began to throb. Just then, she was about to lose her third game, so Yunying threw the chess pieces onto the chessboard, feigning a splitting headache.

"No, this is too noisy, it's making my head buzz. Second Master, I want to rest, so I won't play chess with you anymore. Please do as you please."

Second Master glanced at the state of the chess game and chuckled. He didn't expose Yunying's evasion, but simply said to her, "Go and rest for a while. I'll read a book here and leave after you fall asleep."

Yunying responded readily, then lifted the covers and lay down, falling asleep almost immediately.

Perhaps because the Second Master was there, there was no need to worry about thieves breaking in to steal things or stealing women. Yunying slept soundly, and when she woke up, she felt better and more energetic.

……

The next morning, before dawn, there were faint noises coming from this floor.

Hearing the noise, Yunying quickly got up and dressed before the Second Master knocked on the door.

When the Second Master knocked on the door, Yunying put on her cloak and went to open the door while carrying her bundle.

The door opened, revealing the Second Master's figure.

The second master scanned her from head to toe, and seeing nothing amiss, he took the bundle from Yunying's hands, and the two of them went down together.

When they arrived at the first floor of the inn, they found that almost all of their group were already there.

Yunying and the Second Master ate breakfast at the same table, bought some dry food, filled their water bags with hot water, and then continued on their journey.

Because of the two-day delay, Yunying was anxious for the Second Master and did not stop to rest while traveling.

Her eagerness was palpable, which made the Second Master laugh incessantly.

After laughing, the Second Master pulled Yunying over and made her sit behind him to shield her from the wind.

As a result, Yunying truly felt that the journey was not so arduous. She also stopped resisting the Second Master's frequent actions of lifting her onto his horse.

Several more days passed in the blink of an eye, and they soon entered Jinzhou territory.

……

Jinzhou left a very bad impression on Yunying.

Thinking of Jinzhou, Yunying thought of Wei, the prefect of Jinzhou, and his brother-in-law. Wu Liang had accidentally seen her face that very night, and that same night he broke her window and blew in sleeping gas.

Fortunately, Steward Wang, who was leading them south, was quite alert and caught them red-handed when he heard the commotion; otherwise, she probably wouldn't have been able to see the Second Master.

When Yunying mentioned these things to the Second Master, his face darkened as expected.

Second Master: "You didn't mention this to me before."

Yunying chuckled, "Didn't you mention it? I just forgot. Oh dear, it's not a good thing anyway, just mentioning him ruins my mood. Besides, it's been so long, if you hadn't mentioned Prefect Wei just now, I wouldn't have remembered it at all."

Second Master gritted his teeth, "Yun Ying, think carefully, is there anything else you're hiding from me?"

Yunying shook her head frantically, "No, I promise there's absolutely nothing... Oh, right, you just mentioned Prefect Wei, what did you say about him? I've never met him, but Aunt Ding mentioned him. Back then, Wu Liang was detained by Steward Wang, and he kept yelling that he wanted to teach us a lesson. Steward Wang brought a letter and had it delivered to Prefect Wei. Prefect Wei arrived quickly and gave Wu Liang thirty lashes. Tell me quickly, what happened to Prefect Wei? Was he promoted or demoted?"

Second Master gritted his teeth and said, "No, it's not that. I've been cuckolded!"

Yunying: "Ah, this..."

Given the poor impression Jinzhou left on Yunying and the Second Master, the two only had some food and bought some clothes, shoes, socks and dry food in Jinzhou City the next day. Instead of staying at an inn to rest, they continued on their way.

However, when leaving the city, because there were many people queuing to leave, Yunying was at the back of the line and overheard some of the older women in the line gossiping.

They lowered their voices and spoke of Wei Zhizhou's private affairs.

It is said that Prefect Wei had two sons and a daughter, but they may not be his biological children.

The first wife of Prefect Wei was rumored to be quite Buddhist, and indeed she was. Having been married for over ten years without bearing any children, and with her family in decline, and not being particularly attractive herself, she spent most of her time in the Buddhist hall, eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers, and rarely went out.

Prefect Wei habitually favored two concubines, one of whom was the daughter of a merchant family in Jinzhou. This concubine was extravagant, often spending lavishly, but she was a decent person. However, after serving Prefect Wei for five or six years, she had not borne him a single child. The other favored concubine, on the other hand, came from a humble background; it was said she had previously been a courtesan in a brothel. Prefect Wei took a liking to her and brought her back to his residence as a concubine. This woman, supposedly named Wu Mei or Wu Mei, did give Prefect Wei two sons and a daughter.

Yunying had been listening halfway through, but when she heard that the concubine of Prefect Wei was surnamed "Wu", her intuition told her that this might be Wu Liang's sister.
With this in mind, Yunying listened even more attentively. She pricked up her ears, leaned closer to the two older women, her eyes sparkling, looking like a mischievous little devil watching a melon.

Seeing this, the second master couldn't help but grab her hand and give it a good squeeze.

She's not afraid of getting her ears dirty!

Yunying wasn't afraid; she listened even more carefully.

The two elderly women continued their story, mentioning that someone had framed Wu Mei, causing Prefect Wei to arrest her on the spot. They said Prefect Wei's face turned black when he saw the scene. Of course, that wasn't the end of it. Later, when Prefect Wei saw the woman's husband's face clearly, he was said to be so angry he fainted, and when he woke up, he couldn't speak properly.

Later, Wu Mei took her child to offer incense, but they were robbed halfway there. All four of them, including the mother and her child, were kidnapped by the villains, and their fate remains unknown to this day.

"Where did these villains come from? This must be a good show put on by the prefect."

"The prefect is keeping this from everyone, little do you know that the news has already spread far and wide. I heard it from the sister-in-law of my second uncle's daughter's husband's sister. Where did you hear this rumor?"

"I heard it from someone else. My brother-in-law's brother-in-law's nephew works odd jobs in the prefectural government, and that's where he spread the word."

This month will only have single updates! Because starting today, I'm stockpiling chapters for the Lunar New Year! My two kids are in kindergarten until the 15th, and then their grandma will have to look after three children—from seven months to six years old—it's suffocating just thinking about it. I'll try to update as much as possible, but at most until the 25th or 26th of the twelfth lunar month, and then I won't be able to update anymore. Grandma needs to prepare steamed buns, fried meatballs, and do a thorough house cleaning. So I'm starting to stockpile chapters today, hopefully there's enough time. Please bear with me for now, my darlings, I'll try to update more after the New Year. Mwah, my darlings!