Union

Chapter 205 204 False Alarm
Chen Yanzhou somehow offended Yun Ying.

Yunying didn't reply to his letter for a whole month, which made the dignified prefect feel depressed for a whole month.

Logically speaking, Yunying had just returned to the capital, and Jinzhou was a thousand miles away from the capital. Even if Yunying threw a tantrum, Chen Yanzhou wouldn't notice it for a while.

But is this really the case?
No.

The fact is that in the past few months, Yunying and Chen Yanzhou have exchanged letters twice a month: once in the middle of the month and once at the end of the month.

This time, however, Yunying has been back in the capital for a month and has yet to send a single letter.

Chen Yanzhou didn't pay much attention when he didn't receive a letter from Yunying in the middle of the month, assuming that she was busy taking care of her grandparents and didn't have time to write.

But when the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth days arrived, there was still no letter, and Chen Yanzhou could no longer sit still.

He wrote a letter to inquire about Yunying's health, and also sent many imported goods that had just been brought from overseas. He even selected some expensive tonics for Yunying to give to the elders of both families.

Unfortunately, it would take ten days to half a month for the letter to reach the capital. During the latter half of the month when no letter arrived, Chen Yanzhou became increasingly anxious.

This feeling peaked at the end of the month.

Chen Yanzhou finally realized, belatedly, that he had probably offended Yun Ying.

But when Yunying was in Jinzhou, the two were fine. If there was anything wrong, it was that when Yunying took his zither, her expression didn't show much joy.

琴？
Chen Yanzhou suddenly understood; something had finally clicked through to him.

The prefect turned to Sui Yun, who was standing beside him, and asked, "Do you think it's possible that Yun Ying doesn't actually enjoy playing the zither?"

Sui Yun didn't want to get involved in the Second Master's private affairs. He felt it was only right to do things well, but he was afraid he would be blamed if he did them poorly.

Sui Yun laughed it off, "How could I possibly explain that? Second Master, didn't you want to summon the county magistrates to discuss flood prevention during the flood season? I'll go and deliver the message now, so as not to delay your business any further."

As Sui Yun spoke, he bowed and withdrew.

Chen Yanzhou didn't pay attention to Sui Yun's actions.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt he had figured out the truth.

Yunying had previously learned music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and other miscellaneous skills at the manor. However, these weren't things she learned out of genuine desire, but rather to make a living and please men…

Thinking of the last four words, Chen Yanzhou's thick eyebrows furrowed.

Perhaps it was his gift of the zither that reminded Yunying of the past, making her feel uneasy and thus implicating him?

As Chen Yanzhou thought about this, he understood it more and more clearly.

But beyond clarity, he was also frustrated.

He should have been more thoughtful. Why did he just give her a zither, and even have Yunying play "The Song of Longing" for him? Although his intention was to make Yunying "long for" him, if you think about it more deeply, doesn't this action also have a hint of being a patron or something?
Chen Yanzhou muttered to himself, "I was careless."

Having figured out the key points, Chen Yanzhou quickly made amends.

He first wrote a sincere and heartfelt letter, expressing all his regret and remorse for his oversight. He concluded by stating that he only wanted to make her happy by giving her the zither and hoped she wouldn't overthink it. If she did overthink it, then it was his fault, all because he hadn't been careful enough.

Chen Yanzhou wrote down countless details, expressing his deep regret and vowing never to do anything to upset her again. He only hoped that Miss Yunying would have mercy and give her fiancé another chance.

In addition, Chen Yanzhou personally visited several shipyards that had just returned from overseas. He carefully selected some items from the things everyone had brought and sent them to Yun Ying.

There are few precious items among them; their value lies in their novelty.

He also found some crop seeds among them, recalling that Yun Ying had mentioned several times in Yun Gui County that they should improve planting techniques and introduce new crop varieties in order to increase production and income.

Thinking of this, Chen Yanzhou bought all the new crop seeds that everyone had brought and had them sent to Yunying.

Another month passed, and Chen Yanzhou still hadn't received a reply from Yun Ying.

Just as he was pondering whether he could take the opportunity of his father's birthday to return to the capital, Yunying's letter arrived.

The arrival of the letter finally put Chen Yanzhou's mind at ease.

Looking at the food and supplies Yunying had prepared for him in the box next to him, Chen Yanzhou's long-suppressed mood finally lifted, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter a few times.

Upon opening the letter and reading its contents, Chen Yanzhou's smile gradually froze. Then, he suddenly burst into even greater joy.

The people who were guarding nearby, including Sui Yu, were speechless at the sight of Second Master's condition.

I know you're happy to hear Yunying's letter, but is it necessary to show your emotions so openly?
I'd like to give Second Master a heads-up, he should at least tone it down a bit, or he'll ruin his image.

It was at this moment that Chen Yanzhou spoke up to the others, saying, "The Duke of Xuan has begun discussing the wedding date with Father."

Sui Yu and the others: "Huh?"

Discussing the wedding date, isn't that the same as "setting a date"?

The wedding date for Second Master and Yunying is about to be set?

The next step is to get married.

Sui Yu and the others immediately offered their congratulations with smiles on their faces.

The Second Master finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

Chen Yanzhou almost lost himself amidst the congratulations from Sui Yun and the other three.

But then he received a letter from his parents saying that the wedding date had been set for May of the following year.

Chen Yanzhou: "..."

I thought I'd finally get to hold my wife this Chinese New Year, but it turns out that the fortress of the Duke of Xuan's mansion isn't so easy to breach.

The date was set for next year, but his father wasn't cooperating.

Despite his busy schedule, Chen Yanzhou took the time to write a letter to his father. The details of the letter are unnecessary to elaborate on; simply put, the Duke of Rong was so angry upon receiving it that he nearly had a heart attack.

It was only after much persuasion from Madam Feng that he was told not to stoop to the level of his unfilial son. Otherwise, Chen Jingxuan might have really abandoned all his official duties and gone to Jinzhou to teach his unfilial son a lesson.

……

Time flies, and the end of the year is just around the corner.

Chen Yanzhou didn't come home for the Spring Festival this year, and Yunying had to stay with her grandparents, so she couldn't go to Jinzhou either.

Chen Yanzhou had many regrets about this.

Fortunately, Yunying agreed to come and stay in Jinzhou for two months after the Lantern Festival; otherwise, Chen Yanzhou's New Year would have been even more unpleasant.

After the Lantern Festival, Yunying left the capital, but she didn't see Chen Yanzhou many times after arriving in Jinzhou.

She will be getting married in a few months, and her maternal grandparents have prepared a lot of dowry for her.

Yunying was either visiting a cloth shop at her aunt's invitation one day, or visiting a farm at her uncle's invitation the next. Her maternal grandparents, remembering the hardships she had endured in her childhood, wanted to provide her with more financial assistance.

Yunying tried to quit her job again and again, but it was no use. In the end, she could only be dragged out to buy things by her elders every day.

She was so busy that Chen Yanzhou had to make an appointment in advance to see her.

Even if we make an appointment, we might not be able to meet. At most, we might meet twice out of ten times.

Chen Yanzhou had a strong opinion about this, so Yunying used the elders' words to shut him up.

They're almost married, how can they see each other so frequently? Have they completely forgotten the rules of their ancestors?

Being able to meet twice is already a great favor from the elders; in principle, even meeting once would be too much.

Chen Yanzhou was speechless after being silenced by Yun Ying's words. Feeling depressed, he could only hug Yun Ying and kiss her passionately.

Since he hasn't seen many of them, he should make up for the missing ones; he can't afford to shortchange himself.

Yunying said she would stay in Jinzhou for two months, but in reality, she only stayed for a month before being urged to return to the capital.

When someone is about to get married, they always have to return to their family home in advance to prepare for the wedding.

In addition, although she didn't need to make the wedding dress herself, she would still sew a couple of stitches on it as a token gesture when finishing up.

Furthermore, the custom nowadays is to make a set of clothes and shoes for the parents-in-law the day after the wedding, and also to prepare a handkerchief for the sisters-in-law and sisters-in-law.

The rules are as they are, but there is a lot of room for maneuver within them.

But no matter how it's done, she herself has to add some stitches.

In any case, she has to return to Beijing now.

Meanwhile, Jinzhou was about to begin its provincial examinations for the year, and Chen Yanzhou was so busy that he had no time to spare.

He had no time to accompany Yunying, and even though he was unwilling, he had no choice but to compromise and let her go when she wanted to return.

The two separated again.

It's quite a coincidence.

On the way to the dock, Yunying lifted the curtain to get some fresh air and suddenly caught a glimpse of a slightly familiar profile.

Even after the carriage had traveled a long way, Yunying was still wondering who that woman, who was middle-aged but still charming, was.

The person gave her a rather familiar feeling, but no matter how hard she searched her mind, she couldn't figure out who it was.
"Who is it? Who on earth is it?"

Yunying muttered to herself, and Chen Yanzhou grabbed her hand and asked, "What are you thinking about? I've called you twice and you didn't hear me. The next time we meet after this trip back will be for the wedding. You should stay in the manor and prepare for the wedding these days, and don't bother with your estate anymore. If you need money, I'll give you some more..."

"That's right, the silver!" Yun Ying grabbed Chen Yanzhou's hand tightly, her eyes filled with urgency. "Chen Yanzhou, I remember now, I remember who that person is. It's Jiao Niang, Jiao Niang from Xin Feng Lou!"

Chen Yanzhou frowned, wanting to ask Yunying what "beautiful maiden" she was referring to. But before he could speak, he suddenly remembered who the beautiful maiden from Xinfeng Tower was.

That was one of the "Five Evils" of Yungui County.

Four of the most notorious criminals—County Magistrate Fan, Zhao Xiong, Wu Shixun, and the elder—have been brought down and beheaded. Only one escaped with a huge sum of stolen silver; that person was Jiao Niang, the owner of the Honglou Xinfenglou brothel.

At that time, the whole city was searching for Jiao Niang. Anyone who found clues or was able to arrest Jiao Niang would be rewarded by the government with a reward ranging from a hundred to over a thousand taels of silver.

Yunying was short of money at the time and even considered taking advantage of the reward.

Unfortunately, despite being a woman, Jiao Niang is an extremely vicious and ruthless character. She managed to get a share of the spoils from Fan Xuchang and his gang; how could a defenseless girl like Yun Ying possibly handle her?

For the sake of her own life, Yunying dismissed this unrealistic fantasy.

But the money was too tempting, and Yunying often found herself gazing at the portrait of the beautiful woman in her spare time, "infatuated."

She thought to herself, "I've identified this person. If he really recognizes Jiao Niang while he's out, I won't alert him. I'll provide clues to the county government, and I'll surely get some money back."
With this in mind, Yunying memorized Jiaoniang's appearance.

But as the years have passed, she has long forgotten about the matter of her beloved daughter.

Otherwise, how could she not recognize Jiao Niang at first glance?

Yunying hurriedly told Suiyun to turn the carriage around and head back. "I'm not sure if that's Jiaoniang, but the woman's profile just now looks very, very much like Jiaoniang's. Yanzhou, let's go back and take a look. If we can catch this escaped fish, we might be able to recover that money."

That sum of money wasn't a huge amount for the Jinzhou government, but it would be extremely useful if it went to Yungui County or Lingnan Prefecture.

Without Chen Yanzhou giving any instructions, Sui Yun had already overheard their conversation. She turned the carriage around and, following Yun Ying's directions, stopped in front of a silk shop.

But by the time Yunying entered the silk shop, the woman who looked like a beautiful young lady had already disappeared.

Yunying was about to go find the landlady to find out what was going on when Chen Yanzhou grabbed her arm. "If we delay any longer, you might not be able to board the ship. Would you mind staying in Jinzhou for a few more days?"

Yunying: "..."

She didn't mind, but she had already written home a few days earlier to tell them when she was leaving.

Her family will definitely go to the dock to pick her up when the passenger ship arrives. If they can't find her, her grandparents will probably get very anxious.

Besides, there are still my maternal grandparents' family to explain things to...

Yunying sighed and said, "Forget it, I'll just board the ship and go back to the capital. Besides, Jiao Niang's matter can't be investigated in a short time. Once you find out the truth, just write to me."

Chen Yanzhou said with a hint of regret, "That's fine too."

Thus, Yunying boarded a passenger ship and returned to the capital.

Another month passed, and Yunying received a letter from Chen Yanzhou.

In the letter, Chen Yanzhou told her that she hadn't been mistaken that day; the woman was indeed Jiao Niang. But after arriving in Jinzhou, she changed her name to Wu San Niang, hiding her identity.

She is now a concubine of the Jinzhou Provincial Education Commissioner.

The educational commissioner of Jinzhou is over fifty years old; he could be the father of a beautiful young woman. Of course, that's not a problem; even an eighty-year-old man can still hold a crabapple tree in his hand.

The problem is that after Jiao Niang entered the school government, she completely bewitched the old school government official, to the point that he wanted to make her his official wife.

Of course, that's not the main problem. The real problem is that when Chen Yanzhou was secretly investigating, he discovered that Jiao Niang was secretly selling the provincial examination questions through the education commissioner!
This discovery made Chen Yanzhou extremely wary of Jiao Niang.

He was unaware that Jiao Niang had been doing these things for the past few years, or that she wanted to take revenge on him and bring him down, which was why she intentionally sold the exam papers.

But cheating in the imperial examinations was a serious crime in every dynasty. If it went undetected, it was fine; but once discovered, the entire system was thoroughly investigated, and the punishment was only lenient.

The provincial examination was approaching, a time when scholars flocked to the city. Furthermore, Jinzhou had always been known for its many scholars; one-fifth of the officials in the court came from Jinzhou. If a case of cheating were to surface, his term as official would be over.

It was only because Yunying discovered it in time that the consequences would have been unimaginable.

(End of this chapter)