Union

Chapter 27 An embarrassing thing happened
engagement?

How did the conversation turn to this?

What exactly is Second Master trying to ask, jumping from one topic to another? Or is he simply bored and asking whatever comes to mind?

Yunying had a lot on her mind, but she had no choice but to brace herself and deal with it.

The second master asked her if she was engaged, and of course she wasn't.

Yunying possessed unparalleled beauty, but because of her stunning looks, suitors from all around came so often that they practically wore down her doorstep.

With so many suitors, the envious old woman started spreading all sorts of gossip and rumors.

Some say that with Yunying's beauty, which family could keep her after she married into the countryside?
They also said that this girl was raised with great care, and her parents were hoping to sell her for a large sum of money. They wouldn't even consider her, let alone the local wealthy landowners; they wouldn't even consider her a suitable match for the powerful and wealthy families in the county.

Yunying's father had never intended for his daughter to marry into a wealthy family, but as more and more people talked about it, he became somewhat tempted.

As for why Yun's father, burdened by debt, didn't marry Yun Ying off to raise money but instead sold her directly to a slave trader, it was because the "dowry" he wanted was too high. Only the wealthy families in the county could afford it. But those families only married women of equal social standing. Someone like Yun Ying was only wanted as a concubine.

Then Yun's father definitely wouldn't agree.

After all, the Yun family had a son who was quite talented in his studies. Father Yun hoped that his son would pass the imperial examinations and become an official, thus changing the family's social standing.

If a woman has a sister who becomes a concubine, how can her son hold his head high in the future?

They sold Yunying, and since the emperor was far away, as long as they never saw her again, they would just say that Yunying had been sent to a relative's house to get married. Outsiders could actually go to that relative's house to find out what was going on.

Thinking about these things is going too far. Let's just say that Yunying is currently hesitating between answering "engaged" and "not engaged."

Once the engagement is arranged, it will be natural to discuss leaving the family register and departing afterward. However, there is a risk involved: perhaps the Second Master doesn't care, but Aunt Ding and the Rongguo Duke's Mansion will definitely pursue the matter to the end.

Sending a girl who is already engaged to the Second Master would only ruin his reputation, wouldn't it?
Therefore, this matter will likely explode at the Marquis of Chang'an's residence, and in their anger, they will certainly investigate thoroughly. At that point, Yun Ying's lies will be exposed, and she will face criticism from all sides; she certainly won't come out unscathed.

If you say "there's no engagement," then how can you bring up the matter of leaving the household and being deregistered?
Yunying hesitated and considered it carefully, but finally said the words "not engaged" with reluctance.

But she hesitated for a long time before giving an answer, and her tone was so reluctant that Chen Yanzhou misunderstood.

Chen Yanzhou felt that this girl was probably already engaged, or at least had someone she liked. It seemed that only this could explain why she had remained so calm and composed throughout.

Having reached this conclusion, Chen Yanzhou's curiosity was satisfied. He then pressed Yun Ying once more, "How much longer?"

Yunying looked closely and realized she could actually wrap things up. But she hadn't said what she wanted to say, and who knew if there would ever be a next time, when she brought up the contract and the matter of leaving the household registration with the Second Master.

Yunying then said, "It's almost done, please wait patiently a little longer, Second Master."

She couldn't help but speak up again: "This servant... I heard Aunt Ding mention before that the Second Master intends for us to remarry. This servant does not want to remarry, but would like to leave the mansion and go home."

Once the words were out, Yunying no longer cared about anything else and simply took the opportunity to speak her mind.

"But my indenture is still in the manor. I wonder if Second Master would be willing to return it to me? I will not take it for nothing; I will pay a large sum of money to redeem myself. I beg Second Master to have mercy and grant my request."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yanzhou removed the book from his face and sat up straight.

He gazed intently at the woman kneeling before him; so she was determined to buy her freedom and return home. This explained her constant avoidance of him.

But should we return her indenture?
The indentures are probably in Lin Shuqing's hands now. Lin Shuqing holds these maids' indentures to control them and prevent them from becoming too powerful and disrespectful to their mistress.

Even if he were to ask for it, Lin Shuqing might not give it to him. After all, she was afraid he would lose his mind and spoil one of them so much that she would become unruly and disgrace her as the second mistress. With the indenture in place, things were fine; no matter how much trouble these maids caused, they were still her playthings and couldn't escape her grasp. Conversely, if she returned the indenture to these maids, who knew what they might do with their unbridled behavior? It would take Lin Shuqing a lot of effort to deal with them, which was clearly not what she wanted.

But if he is really determined to ask for it, Lin Shuqing will not refuse.

But then again, he had wanted to get rid of Aunt Ding and those women before because he felt they were in the way. But now that someone was willing to leave, he didn't want to do as she wished.

Chen Yanzhou narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Yun Ying, asking, "You want to pay a large sum of money to redeem yourself? As far as I know, you few have nothing of value, so I'm afraid you can't come up with that much silver."

That's so true.

But you, the legitimate son of a duke's mansion, actually made a woman pay ransom before you'd release her? That's a huge loss of face for a nobleman's son! Didn't you intend to send them away before? Now that she's wisely leaving, shouldn't you be celebrating and kicking her out? Why are you actually demanding ransom? She really just said it offhand.

Yun Ying was stunned. Chen Yanzhou was satisfied with her bewildered expression.

Seeing that Yunying had finished sewing and the clothes were barely mended, he got up and walked out, saying as he went, "We'll talk about leaving the manor when you've saved enough money to redeem yourself..." It's not too late.

As soon as he took a step, Master Chen's cheerful expression suddenly became stiff and frozen.

Chen Yanzhou looked at Yun Ying with a deep gaze, "Very well, you can forget about ever getting your freedom!"

Yunying didn't know what the Second Master was up to this time, but in her haste, she rushed over and grabbed Chen Yanzhou's clothes.

Then, something awkward happened—

Yunying then realized that she had actually sewed the hem of the Second Master's robe to the inner garment!
Seeing the Second Master's sinister expression, Yun Ying remained calm on the surface but was inwardly devastated. "Second Master, I really didn't mean it. Second Master, I'll make you a new set of clothes..."

Her response was the Second Master's swift departure and a lingering, cold laugh.

***
Yunying has been rather quiet these past few days.

How silent was she?

She remained silent until Aunt Ding spoke to her, at which point she would utter only one word at a time, as if saying a few more words would kill her.

Seeing this, Aunt Ding assumed that she was unhappy because Ruizhu and Qiuning had teased her.

Seeing that she was in a bad mood, Aunt Ding didn't say anything to her.

However, according to Aunt Ding, all four girls under her command nowadays have a lot of problems.

Let's start with Ruizhu. She seemed alright before, but she's got quite the ambition. She hasn't even gained favor yet, and she's already putting on airs in front of the other three. She can't stand seeing others stand out. Just because she sent Yunying to deliver soup to the Second Master after the donkey theft case, and he let her in, Ruizhu became resentful.

Even Qiu Ning, they're all petty and can't stand seeing others do well.

Qiu Ning and Rui Zhu disliked each other before, but because they were jealous that Yun Ying had gained the favor of the Second Master, the two of them joined forces to humiliate Yun Ying. Today, they even tried to sow discord between Yun Ying and Rui Zhu in front of her.

Even Mulan, who seemed gentle and kind, looked at Aunt Ding with resentment, as if she had done something heinous, because Aunt Ding hadn't shared the soup with Yunying. Her resentful gaze was comparable to that of a woman confined to her chambers, which made Aunt Ding sneer.

Aunt Ding couldn't stand seeing someone so coy, so she asked Mu Jin what was wrong. But Mu Jin just put on a wronged look and refused to say anything else, leaving you to guess what she was thinking.

Aunt Ding wouldn't tolerate them, and punished these troublesome girls by making them do needlework.

Aunt Ding's mood has improved considerably now, mainly because Second Master has been busy with official business and hasn't urged them to leave these past few days.

Aunt Ding said to Yunying, "The county government should have already recruited the constables. It should be easier for Second Master to order people around in the future. Second Master is in a good mood now, Yunying, go and bring him some soup."

Yunying quickly waved her hand: "Auntie, I won't go. Let's give this great opportunity to Mujin and the others."

Aunt Ding wanted to purse her lips, but she held back. Those few lowlifes really needed to be taught a lesson this time. Otherwise, before anything had even happened, they were already stirring up trouble and getting jealous. Did they really think they were some young lady or mistress, waiting to be served and flattered?

And wake up quickly.

Since Yunying didn't go, Aunt Ding gave up on her plans. Just as Aunt Ding was pondering that she should make some thicker clothes for the Second Master, things suddenly became lively outside.

A young maidservant rushed in, looking shocked, and told everyone, "County Magistrate Fan had an affair with a respectable woman, and she was pinned down in bed by her husband."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Ding exclaimed "Oh dear!" and then realized what the little maid had said. She quickly said, "Shut up! Why are you saying all sorts of dirty and smelly things? Aren't you afraid of offending people's ears?"

The young maidservant, after being scolded a few times, quickly shrank back. But all the other maids and servants on duty rushed out, craning their necks to hear what would happen next. Even Aunt Ding, though verbally abusive, had a look that said otherwise.

The little maid understood the situation and quickly told everyone what had happened.

(End of this chapter)