Union

Chapter 29 You owe me my new clothes!
This matter was revealed by a maid in Magistrate Fan's residence.

It is said that the maid's sister was slapped dozens of times by the hair for sneezing while serving Magistrate Fan's mother. Her ears bled and her mouth was mangled.

The young girl cried and begged for mercy, but no one answered. Instead, her wailing only angered the old lady, who ripped off her clothes and threw her into the courtyard to kneel as punishment.

Unable to bear the humiliation, the young girl jumped into a well that very night to commit suicide. By the time she was discovered, she was swollen and disfigured from the water.

However, this matter of life and death was easily concealed.

The girl's parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law took the money meant for her death and never investigated the cause of her death. Instead, they took her body away and sold her to someone for a ghost marriage, making another fortune...

These filthy things, once spoken aloud, infuriated the people.

They were not only angry at the girl's parents for their lack of humanity, but also at the arrogant and domineering family of Magistrate Fan, who had fooled the people.

I heard that Magistrate Fan's house has been smashed up, and his old mother was so frightened that she fainted and kept telling her maid to quickly go and fetch a doctor for her.

Yunying overheard some gossip in the flower hall, and when she left, she was still in a daze.

Her maid, He Sui, was also silent. As she walked, she fell behind Yun Ying.

Yunying belatedly realized that someone was missing beside her. Turning around, she saw He Sui standing there in a daze, her lips pursed, her brows furrowed, looking like she had a deep grudge. The handkerchief in her hand was almost torn to shreds.

"What's wrong with you, Sui'er? What are you thinking about?"

He Sui snapped out of her daze, quickly smiled at the girl, opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately didn't. In the end, she just chuckled awkwardly and asked the girl, "County Magistrate Fan has fallen on hard times, and he deserves it. But what about his paralyzed first wife? She didn't bear him a single child, and after this incident, the old lady of the mansion probably won't keep her..."

Yunying frowned as well, "Perhaps they will send that lady back to her family home. But I don't know if there's anyone left in her family home, or if they'd be willing to take her in."

He Sui: "Who can say for sure?"

Seeing that Sui'er looked distracted, Yunying said, "If you're really worried, keep an eye on this matter from now on. I doubt that lady would go to such lengths. If she really did..."

He Sui tentatively asked, "Should we ask Aunt Ding to help her then?"

Yun Ying nodded slightly, "That's not impossible."

The two took a few more steps forward when they heard two deep male voices. Before they could even make out what the newcomers were saying, Yunying and Sui'er exchanged a glance and already guessed who they were.

The two quickly moved to the side of the road, and sure enough, they soon saw Second Master leading Suiyun along the path.

The second master was dressed in official robes and boots. His face was as cold as jade, his figure tall and upright, and his demeanor noble and dignified. The dark official robes he wore accentuated his refined features, making him appear even more imposing and powerful, so much so that for a moment, people dared not look him directly in the eye.

Yunying and Sui'er curtsied in greeting, but Chen Yanzhou didn't even glance at them and walked straight past them.

But after walking two steps, Chen Yanzhou seemed to remember who the woman who had bowed earlier was, so he suddenly stopped and turned around.

Just then, Yunying and Sui'er thought their master had walked away, so they both got up to look at his back. As a result, their eyes met unexpectedly.

Chen Yanzhou looked at the dazed Yun Ying, narrowed his eyes slightly, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Yunying suppressed her emotions and said in a measured tone, "This servant just went to pay her respects to Aunt Ding and is now returning to my residence." This side was the only way to the backyard.

Chen Yanzhou said "Oh," and continued to frown as he looked at Yun Ying—looking at Yun Ying's clothes, and seemingly also looking down at his own clothes.

Did she recall that day when her clothes were sewn into a mess? Yunying's heart skipped a beat.

She hadn't forgotten that she had sewed this master's inner robe and outer garment together, infuriating him to the point that he had threatened to tell her to forget about leaving the manor. And to appease him, she had seemingly promised to make him a new set of clothes…

Yunying trembled even more when she thought of this.

She was just saying it casually; she didn't take it seriously, but she was afraid that her master would take it seriously.

To avoid being asked about her new clothes, Yunying tried every possible excuse to change the subject.

Fortunately, today's topic is readily available.

Yunying: "Second Master, I heard that you dealt with Magistrate Fan?"

Chen Yanzhou gave a casual "hmm," but his sharp eyes looked at her with a deep meaning, making Yun Ying even more uneasy.

Yunying: "I never expected that Magistrate Fan would be such a person. What a reputation he had in Yungui County before! The people said he was honest, just, loyal and filial. But in reality, he was shameless and fooled the people. Second Master should really punish such a person properly."

"Haven't you already been punished?" Chen Yanzhou said unhurriedly. "Do you think I punished you too leniently?"

Yunying inwardly groaned, wondering if this gentleman was too idle or in too good a mood, that he was actually trying to amuse her.

But the Second Master's gaze was so unfathomable that it was truly hard to resist. Yun Ying was already feeling guilty, and now she wanted to get rid of this Second Master as soon as possible. Her intuition told her that it was best to get away quickly, otherwise who knew what bad things might happen to her.

Yunying was trembling with fear: "What are you saying, Second Master? You are the local official, and you are fair and just in handling matters, with your own rules. Whether your punishment of Magistrate Fan is light or heavy, you have your reasons. I haven't read many books and know nothing about criminal law, so how dare I praise or criticize your judgment?"

"Oh? You haven't read many books? How come I heard Aunt Ding say that all of you are proficient in poetry, literature, music, and chess, especially you, whose guqin playing is superb?"

Yunying's heart skipped a beat, and she secretly groaned in despair.

At this critical moment, she dared not show any unusual behavior, and could only pretend to be calm and laugh it off, "It's just something I learned to pass the time, it's really not something suitable for a formal occasion, so I won't show it to you, Second Master. You must have other important matters to attend to, so I won't take up any more of your time. Please go ahead, Second Master, I'll go back to the backyard."

Chen Yanzhou hummed in agreement again, seemingly finding Yun Ying's words to be reasonable. Yun Ying, hearing this, was overjoyed. She bowed to the Second Master once more and happily prepared to leave. It was at this moment…

"and many more."

Second Master spoke again.

Yunying forced a smile, "Is there anything else, Second Master?"

Chen Yanzhou: "Where are you going to pay for my new clothes?"

Yunying: "..."

Seeing Yunying's thunderous reaction, Chen Yanzhou chuckled coldly, "You little rascal, aren't you? Were you just saying that to fool me, and you didn't actually make the clothes?"

Yunying felt like dying. What she feared most had come to pass. If she had known this would happen, she would have left the flower hall later. Even doing needlework with Ruizhu and the others would have been better than being harassed by the Second Master.

Thank you to Shi Gandang for the reader points! Also, starting today, daily updates will be slightly less than before. The editor has set a word limit; before the book is published, I can only update a little over 2,000 words per day, so updates will be less these few days. However, I will try my best to save up chapters, and I should be able to update more after the book is published. Enjoy reading, everyone!

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(End of this chapter)