Union

Chapter 3 The finishing touch

As soon as Chen's mother entered the flower hall, Yunying keenly noticed a look of displeasure, even disgust, falling upon her.

Without even looking up, Yunying knew who was looking at her with that kind of gaze.

She was speechless too.

Chen Ping committed a terrible crime, and instead of disciplining her son, his mother blamed everything on her. Where can she go to seek justice?
But when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Right now, she didn't have the leverage to argue with Chen's mother, so she could only swallow Chen's mother's malice and pretend to know nothing about it.

Fortunately, Chen's mother was sensible and quickly looked away.

Then, he explained the rules to the young ladies, telling them to perform well, as their success or failure depended on this day.

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn passes in the blink of an eye, and finally, amidst everyone's eager anticipation, Liu Mama entered the flower hall.

Yunying learned from Que'er that this mother was the dowry nanny of the Lady of Chang'an.

She was about sixty years old, looked very old, her body was somewhat hunched, and her hair had turned silver, but she was very energetic.

She was adorned with gold and silver, dressed in a dark green brocade robe, with fair skin and a smiling face. An uninformed person would surely mistake her for the kind and amiable grandmother of a powerful family.

Only the occasional sharp and shrewd glances from the old man revealed a glimpse of the truth.

This is not the pampered old lady living a life of ease in the inner quarters; this is the right-hand woman who can do things for the Lady of the Marquis and is highly valued by her.

In short, this is no ordinary person.

Mrs. Liu sat in the chair at the head of the table, while Mrs. Chen stood beside her, respectfully serving her tea.

Liu Mama glanced at the young ladies below, who were in the prime of their youth, then patted Chen Mama's hand and said, "You are a good one. Over the years, you have managed this house for Madam and kept everything in good order. You have made a contribution and worked hard. Madam will definitely reward you well later."

Madam Chen quickly replied, "Madam is my heaven. I am only doing my duty to Madam and do not deserve your generous reward."

Liu's mother patted Chen's mother's hand again, everything was understood without words.

Finally, the moment that had everyone on edge arrived.

Mother Liu inquired carefully about the situation of the twenty or thirty girls present, and called them out one by one to ask a few questions. She even went so far as to walk up to them and carefully examine their faces.

After going through all of this, the elderly Liu Mama sat back down and looked at the young and fresh girls below her, saying, "As you all know, today's purpose is to select people to be sent to Prince Zhaoyang's residence."

As soon as the words "Prince Zhaoyang's Mansion" were uttered, the girls below inexplicably softened their breathing.

Although they had already learned from Chen Mama that they were indeed selecting people to send to the Prince's Mansion, the fact that Liu Mama confirmed the news made everyone's hearts leap into their throats once again.

That's a royal palace!
Despite living on the estate and being strictly guarded since childhood, they were unaware of the significance of the Zhaoyang Prince's Mansion in the Great Xia Dynasty. But just by looking at the words "Prince's Mansion," it was easy to tell that this was the pinnacle they could ever reach in their lifetime.

For a moment, the thought that they might be chosen to serve Prince Zhaoyang, or even better, to win his favor and have a passionate love story unfold with him, made everyone blush uncontrollably, and their hearts became increasingly restless.

However, before the girls could think any further, Liu's mother poured cold water on them.

"The Prince Zhaoyang's mansion is a good place. If you can gain the prince's favor, then immense wealth and honor will await you. However, the mansion is teeming with beautiful women..."

Liu Mama didn't say the rest, but all the girls in the flower hall understood her unspoken meaning.

There are many women in the prince's mansion, so the prince must be a womanizer who easily tires of the old and craves new things. To survive in the prince's mansion, you need real skills. Otherwise, you might be sent in today and carried out on a tattered straw mat and dumped in a mass grave tomorrow.

This realization immediately frightened several girls, who couldn't help but gasp.

Yunying was also startled.

Although she had long known that with so many monks vying for so few women, the inner quarters of the Prince's mansion would certainly not be peaceful, Liu Mama's enigmatic expression made her realize even more that the struggles among the beauties in the Prince Zhaoyang's mansion were probably even more brutal than she had imagined.

Yunying couldn't help but want to back out.

However, if she cannot leave this estate this time, she doesn't know if she will live long enough for the manor to come and select people again.

She offended Chen Ping and his mother, and they will have many opportunities to trip her up in the future.

Although Chen's mother was hesitant to act rashly this time and luckily saved her life, if Chen Ping still holds a grudge about what happened before, Chen's mother might not be able to withstand her son's nagging and might actually sit idly by and watch her die.

This estate is too remote, and the mortality rate in ancient times was far too high. If Madam Chen were to report an accident or death from illness, would the people from the Marquis of Chang'an's residence actually come to thoroughly investigate the cause of her death and seek justice for her?

She absolutely dared not leave this estate behind!
Just then, Liu Mama spoke up again: "The Marquis's mansion has raised you all, and we don't want you to lose your lives in vain. I'll explain the situation to the young ladies. If any of you still want to go to the Prince's mansion, please come forward."

Upon hearing this, Yunying looked at Liu Mama. She never expected that the Chang'an Marquis's mansion would be so humane, allowing the young ladies to choose whether to stay or leave.

However, the reason for doing so is also clear. If someone is truly determined to go, it must be because they believe they have the ability to protect themselves and won't be killed as soon as they enter the Prince's mansion.

Conversely, some girls already have reservations even before entering the manor. Even if you send such a girl in, she likely wouldn't be able to handle the intrigue and backstabbing within the palace. She'd simply lose her life for nothing, wasting the manor's years of nurturing. Therefore, it would truly be better to leave these girls on the estate.

Despite having thought of so many things in her mind in an instant, Yun Ying's expression remained unchanged.

Seeing five or six girls step forward and walk ahead of the group, Yunying steeled her heart and also lifted her foot...

If she hadn't offended Chen Ping and his mother, she would have stayed on the estate and waited, figuring out a way to escape.

But she had already offended them...

The Prince's mansion is indeed terrifying, but this estate is no better place than this.

Furthermore, this opportunity is indeed rare.

This was a matter of great importance—sending someone to the Prince's residence. If Granny Liu had personally chosen her, Granny Chen would certainly have no reason to refuse. However, if it were someone being sent to another powerful or influential person, Granny Chen might have intervened.

In short, while things are still under control, let's get out of this den of wolves first.

Yunying took a step and finally landed steadily on the floor of the flower hall.

Whether it was her imagination or not, the moment she stepped out, the two men at the head of the table both looked at her face.

Yunying seemed to sense something, but pretended not to know, and continued to stand quietly with her head down, waiting for the verdict.

In the end, twenty people stood up, making up the vast majority of all the girls in the flower hall.

Seeing this, Liu's mother nodded with a hint of relief. Then, she looked at the young ladies below her. Several of the girls she had previously favored had stepped forward, and unsurprisingly, these were the only ones left.

Mrs. Liu readily selected the people.

"Jin Kui, Wan Bi, Xiang Lan." Finally, amidst everyone's pounding hearts and eager anticipation, she uttered two words, "Yun Ying."

Mother Liu said, "These four will do. Go back and pack your things, and come back to the mansion with me this afternoon."

As the dust settled, Yunying slowly exhaled.

Jin Kui and the others bowed with smiles and said, "Thank you, Mom."

Yunying felt the force of Jin Kui pulling her from the side, and she bowed slightly in response to that force...

But just then, Chen's mother suddenly spoke up, "Wait."

Amidst everyone's bewilderment and suspicion, Chen's mother glanced at Yun Ying's face almost imperceptibly. Those two glances caused Yun Ying's heart to skip a beat.

She guessed right; Chen's mother indeed didn't want to let her go.

Fortunately, this was for selecting people for the Prince's residence, a matter of great importance...

Ignoring the prying eyes of the people below, Chen's mother calmly leaned down and whispered a few words into Liu's mother's ear.

"That Yunying is indeed beautiful, but unfortunately she's rather frail. She caught a cold a while ago and almost died. She's recovered a bit now, but she still carries the scent of illness. If something were to happen to her..."

This "what if" was for two reasons. First, they were worried that Yunying's illness might relapse and she might die, which would be extremely unlucky. Second, they were also worried that she might pass on her illness to the nobleman, and if the nobleman had a minor ailment, they would be held responsible if they were investigated later.

Looking at Liu's thoughtful expression, Chen's mother breathed a sigh of relief.

She hadn't paid any attention to Yunying before, but just now, at a certain moment, looking at the girl's extremely quiet and elegant demeanor, a thought jumped wildly into her mind: what if this girl gained favor and turned around to take revenge?
Therefore, it would be better to press the girl down firmly; only in this way can she sleep peacefully at night.

As soon as Mrs. Chen finished speaking, she looked at Yun Ying, who was also staring straight at her. Yun Ying's gaze was so calm that Mrs. Chen's heart skipped a beat.

But soon, Chen's mother turned her face to the side and pursed her lips indifferently.

She's just a fledgling bird that hasn't even grown wings yet; how could she not handle her?

When Yunying saw that Liu's mother had fallen silent, her heart sank uncontrollably.

...She probably won't be able to go to the Prince Zhaoyang's residence.

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(End of this chapter)