Union

Chapter 171 Follow-up Reactions
Just as Chen Yanzhou was mobilizing his men to settle the score for Yunying's injury, and the Duke of Rong was waiting in his mansion for his unfilial son to come and apologize, some ripples also arose outside because Yunying had been freed from slavery and given the title of Lady An.

Some adults who were watching the spectacle, after hearing the contents of the eunuch's decree from the servants and seeing the servants' gossipy expressions, couldn't help but ask a few more questions.

And so, the news spread that the newly appointed lady of the house had been attacked last night and almost lost her life.

Upon further questioning, the group of thugs who came to the door said they were paid to do it, and that they were acting on the orders of the third young lady of the Marquis of Chang'an's mansion...

Well, it turns out that all this fuss is about romantic love between men and women.

However, this matter is truly quite convoluted and bizarre.

—The third young lady herself chose the maidservant for her son-in-law, but because the maidservant developed feelings for Chen Yanzhou, she secretly became jealous and wanted to destroy her because of her vengeful nature.

Wow, the drama of this is even more captivating than a meticulously crafted play.

The adults overheard the gossip, rubbed their teeth, and commented on Chen Yanzhou's good fortune with women and how spoiled and willful the third young lady had been. They also remarked that Chen Yanzhou still had some influence, managing to plead with the Emperor to free that maid from her social status, which showed how deeply he loved her.

After all that, the adults couldn't help but ask what exactly terraced fields were.

Despite the lengthy imperial edict, the truly useful information was just one sentence: the construction of terraced fields was a meritorious act for the country and its people.

Since it was written on an imperial edict, this sentence must be worthy of careful consideration.

So, what exactly are these terraced fields?

The servants who went to inquire about the matter didn't know what terraced fields were either. Even when their master pressed them for answers, they couldn't provide a proper explanation.

As a result, he inevitably received some cold looks. While the master was away on duty at the yamen, he quickly ran out to find out what the terraced fields were for.

……

When these adults received the news, the Rongguo Duke's Mansion and the Chang'an Marquis's Mansion also received the news one after another.

When the Duke of Rong heard that his son had entered the palace by helping a maid get out of her social status, he was surprised to learn that he had actually succeeded in doing so.

The Duke of Rongguo immediately began to curse inside the room.

He scolded the brat for being so sentimental and full of love; he scolded his son for acting impulsively and recklessly, saying he'd regret it someday; he cursed the women in the Marquis of Chang'an's household as vixens, a whole litter of sly dogs...

Duke Rongguo was so insolent that he cursed everything and everyone, even the birds that passed by.

Hearing his arrogant cursing, Madam Feng initially wanted to offer some words of advice—a son grows up and is no longer under his parents' control; Yan Zhou is a man of principle, and he should be allowed to do whatever he wants. Her son is stubborn and won't turn back until he hits a wall. Once he's learned his lesson, he'll know to turn back without her having to pull him back.

But seeing how imposing the Duke of Rong was, Madam Feng didn't bother to persuade him anymore.

Judging from the situation, the Duke of Rongguo won't get so angry that he'll suffer any serious consequences. So why should she try to persuade him?
She knew him well enough; the more she tried to persuade him, the more stubborn he became. She didn't want him to blame her too because she sided with their son and he was unhappy.

Lady Feng wasn't afraid of the Duke of Rong's complaints; she just wanted some peace and quiet and couldn't stand his constant nagging.

Thinking this way, Madam Feng found Rongguo Gong's roaring voice increasingly annoying.

She stood up and was about to walk towards the door when the Duke of Rongguo saw her movement and grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"

"I'll go to the kitchen to see if the soup I made for you is ready. You're too hot-tempered, you need to drink two bowls of lily and pear soup to cool down. Okay, let go of me, keep cursing. You can curse more freely without me in your way."

These were clearly thoughtful and considerate words, yet they left the Duke of Rong speechless.

The Duke of Rong's face turned pale, and after a long while, he finally managed to choke out, "If you ask me, that unfilial son is spoiled by you. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so lawless."

"How is that lawless?" Madam Feng asked, frowning. "Isn't Yan Zhou usually quite particular about rules and etiquette? He didn't send anyone to the Marquis of Chang'an's residence to steal back Yun Ying's indenture. Instead, he went to the palace and used Yun Ying's merits to get her released from her indenture and secure her future. Isn't Yan Zhou usually quite proper? How is that lawless?"

The Duke of Rong was speechless again. After a long while, he finally stammered, "He actually went to the palace for a maid. Isn't that against the rules?"

"What's wrong with a maid? Aren't maids human? Although she's just a maid, the construction of terraced fields is a contribution to the country and its people, as stated in the imperial edict. Even His Majesty said that Yunying has contributed to the nation, so who can criticize Yanzhou for going to the palace on her behalf? This is much better than some officials going to the palace to plead with the emperor because of their unworthy descendants, isn't it?"

The Duke of Rong felt as if he had been shot in the chest, and his expression became even more unpleasant.

When Lady Feng spoke of "certain officials," the Duke of Rong was naturally not among them.

But the father of the Duke of Rongguo, the late Duke of Rongguo, had often pleaded with the Emperor because of his unworthy descendants.

The late Duke Rongguo doted on his concubine and his illegitimate son, but the illegitimate son was good-for-nothing, had no real skills, and did a lot of petty theft and thievery.

For this reason, the late Duke Rong disregarded all pride and went to the palace several times.

It was because the situation in this mansion had become so chaotic that even the late emperor couldn't stand it anymore. He bypassed the Duke of Rong and directly decided on the heir apparent, who is now the Duke of Rong.

Since Madam Feng had married into the Rongguo Duke's mansion, she was naturally well aware of some of the affairs of her ancestors. She hadn't bothered to talk about it before, feeling that since the people were already gone, there was no point in discussing it.

But she didn't say anything, which only fueled the Duke of Rong's enthusiasm.

What heavenly law did her son violate by having a maid enter the palace? He's been grumbling and cursing heaven and earth for an hour.

She couldn't be bothered to argue with him, but he even started excluding her.

What, do you think they're easy to bully?

Madam Feng hurled a few curses without using any vulgar language, then looked at Rong Gong, whose face had turned ashen and who was completely unable to respond.

Tsk, they brought it all on themselves.

Little Feng flicked her handkerchief and went back to her room with an air of nonchalance.

Seeing this, the Duke of Rongguo forcefully tried to save face, saying, "Weren't you going to the kitchen to see if the lily and pear soup was ready?"

Without even turning her head, Madam Feng said sarcastically, "I think you're already full of anger, why would you drink pear soup? You'll just keep stuffing yourself."

Duke Rong: "..."

After a long silence, the Duke of Rong muttered sheepishly, "I was just nagging a bit. What's wrong with a father nagging his son? Is that against the law? Even this isn't allowed? This overprotectiveness is ridiculous. I've never seen you protect me like this before..."

He muttered to himself, but the Duke of Rong dared not say it out loud, for fear that Little Feng would return and catch him red-handed.

She seems to have a good temper; even when he feels something has crossed her line, she remains calm and composed. But if she truly gets angry…

Duke Rongguo thought he should just keep quiet. Otherwise, it would be quite embarrassing for his wife to send him to sleep in the study during the New Year.

After being reprimanded, the Duke of Rongguo became much more obedient. Meanwhile, at the Marquis of Chang'an's residence, some news also arrived.

The message was personally relayed by Lin Shuyu.

When the Marquis of Chang'an and his wife saw that their eldest daughter, who should have been at home entertaining guests, had hurriedly returned to the Marquis's residence, they were quite startled.

When Marquis Chang'an learned about Yunying's situation from his eldest daughter, he wore a puzzled expression.

He sent out at least eighty, if not a hundred, girls from the Marquis of Chang'an's residence. How could he possibly remember all of their names?

In fact, the matter of sending a beautiful woman was usually given by him, and the Lady of Chang'an Marquis would handle it.

At most, the Marquis of Chang'an would inquire afterward, "How many people did you send over?" "What did they look like? Were they easy to handle?" But he had no time to pay attention to anything more.

Therefore, when he heard Yunying's name being mentioned so seriously by his eldest daughter, Marquis Chang'an felt completely bewildered.

"Where was Yunying sent?" "Was something wrong, and was she kicked out?" "Has she implicated the Marquis of Chang'an's residence?"

The expressions on Lin Shuyu's and Chang'an Marquis's wives' faces immediately became quite interesting.

When he learned from Lin Shuyu that Yunying was the maidservant that her youngest daughter had arranged for Chen Yanzhou to receive, and who was still serving Chen Yanzhou to this day... Marquis Chang'an had a bad feeling and his whole body tensed up with alertness.

Sure enough, he soon learned from Shuyu that, "There's a rumor going around that my younger sister still has feelings for Chen Yanzhou, and that her love has turned to hatred. They say she deliberately hired someone to make things difficult for a maid, to kill her, to kill her..."

The following words were too vulgar and malicious; Lin Shuyu, as a noblewoman from a prominent family, could never bring herself to say them.

It was precisely because those words far exceeded her expectations that Lin Shuyu suspected that these accusations might have been pinned on their Chang'an Marquis's mansion by outsiders.

It's possible that Chen Yanzhou offended someone outside, and those people wanted to deal with him but didn't want to expose themselves, so they came to his door using Shuqing's name.

Lin Shuyu said, "Father, Mother, the best course of action now is to call Shuqing over and ask her what happened. If Shuqing has been wronged, we should report it to the authorities immediately to clear Shuqing's and the family's name. If it really is..."

Lin Shuyu still didn't say what came next, because she felt it was completely impossible.

Her younger sister was indeed spoiled and prone to losing her senses due to the second prince's seduction. However, she was not inherently bad; she had been carefully taught by the palace matrons and was far from capable of committing such a heinous act.

Seeing her parents' pale faces, seemingly caught off guard or unsure of what to do, Lin Shuyu reminded them again, "Father, Mother, call Shuqing over and question her carefully. If she's truly been framed, then we need to take action..."

Before Lin Shuyu could finish speaking, the Marquis of Chang'an shouted angrily, "Guards!"

Liu Mama quickly came in, and said with trepidation, "Lord, what are your orders, Lord?"

"Go and bring that unfilial daughter Shuqing to me."

"Yes Yes."

After receiving the order, Liu Mama was about to go downstairs when Lady Chang'an Hou hurriedly stopped her, saying, "Don't call her. She's not feeling well. Let's go to her courtyard."

Only a few close family members knew about Lin Shuqing's affairs, and among the maids and servants, only a few who served her closely knew a little about the inside story.

She is almost three months pregnant now, but her pregnancy isn't very noticeable yet. However, perhaps because she's been feeling down lately, she suddenly experienced pregnancy symptoms that she hadn't had before.

Lin Shuqing is experiencing severe pregnancy symptoms; she vomits every morning upon waking, even after drinking a sip of water.

She was vomiting so badly she couldn't get up, and she looked very weak.

If we bring her to this flower hall, her reactions along the way will surely not escape the notice of the people in the manor. Wouldn't that expose Shuqing's pregnancy and her affair with another woman?

With the reminder from Lady Chang'an, Marquis Chang'an and Lin Shuyu immediately remembered the matter.

Lin Shuyu frowned, while Marquis Chang'an felt as if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat, unable to swallow it or spit it out. His round belly rose and fell as if it were about to explode.

Finally, the mother and daughter, and the father and daughter, went to Lin Shuqing's courtyard together.

It was only then that Lin Shuqing learned from the maid that neither of the two groups of people she had hired had succeeded.

It's a bit of a pity about the first group. They supposedly captured Yunying, but at the crucial moment, she was rescued again. The fate of those implicated is unknown, and it's unclear whether they've given any confessions.

If the first group of people is incompetent, then the second group is both vicious and stupid.

Those people didn't even get through the gate; they were intimidated by Chen Yanzhou's men and ran out of the alley, taking her deposit money and leaving.

Lin Shuqing was furious, which made her already agitated state of mind even more turbulent.

Seeing this, the young maidservant timidly approached and asked, "Miss, what should we do next? Should we find some more help, or just give up?"

"Let it go? Let it go! That girl has already climbed on my head to shit and piss. If I just let it go like this, she'll probably start jumping on my bones later."

Lin Shuqing slapped the maid in anger, "You actually think you can let it go? Ha, you're probably Yunying's spy who's been planted by my side, aren't you?"

The maidservant was slapped and immediately knelt on the ground. She kept kowtowing, repeatedly saying, "I'm innocent!" and "This servant wouldn't dare!"

The maidservant was ashen-faced; she was now truly filled with regret.

She only wanted to climb the social ladder and become the young lady's head maid. Who knew the young lady would say she wanted to test her and ask her to do things for her. She thought it was nothing serious, but little did she know it would ruin someone's reputation and take their life.

The young maid immediately wanted to back out, but it was too late.

Lin Shuqing glared at her intently, ready to smash the bowl of medicine in her hand and accuse her of plotting against her master if she hesitated even slightly.

She was desperate and had no choice but to follow Lin Shuqing down this dead end. Little did she know, it truly was a dead end.

The little maidservant wept bitterly, and in no time, her forehead was bruised from banging her head against the ground.

Lin Shuqing watched the maid kowtow with a cold smile, while her other hand tightly gripped the purse at her waist.

There was nothing else in the purse except a contract of sale belonging to Yunying.

What she gave to those people before was naturally fake. She kept the real one close to her body, to prevent Chen Yanzhou from stealing the real indenture.

As long as Yunying's indenture is still in her hands, she's not afraid of not being able to deal with Yunying.

She might escape once or twice, but could she escape three or four times? As long as the indenture remains, she can forget about escaping her grasp.