Union

Chapter 48 Shura Field
When Aunt Ding saw the several girls dressed in their finest attire, her eyes and brows beamed with joy.

These beautiful young women are so lovely that even she, an old woman, finds them charming. She refuses to believe that the Second Master is heartless and could truly be indifferent to these girls.

Aunt Ding turned her head to look at Second Master, and saw that Second Master's profile was sharply defined, with indifferent and ruthless expression between his brows.

He saw several girls standing in front of the flower hall, sniffing the rich scent of cosmetics in the air, and seemed to frown impatiently. But in the end, he didn't say anything, only coldly called them to get up, then passed by them and entered the flower hall.

Second Master's expression was very indifferent, but Aunt Ding paid close attention to his expression and keenly noticed that when Second Master brushed past Yun Ying, he seemed to glance at Yun Ying a couple more times.

Thinking of this, Aunt Ding couldn't help but look at Yun Ying.

This girl was beautiful, but she never boasted about her looks. She was tall but not thin, with bright but not aggressive features. She was elegant yet gentle, with a touch of aloofness, and looked dignified and composed.

This is a girl who is eye-catching at first glance. She is stunning even without dressing up. Today, she is wearing a "Wangxian" hairstyle, with only a tassel hairpin to adorn her black hair, revealing her fair and elegant neck.

She wore a lilac-colored satin jacket with a butterfly and floral pattern, paired with a pea-green hibiscus-patterned floor-length skirt. The combination of the two garments was extremely simple, yet extremely elegant, which further accentuated her beautiful face, making her appear delicate, graceful, and stunningly gorgeous.

She was truly a peerless beauty, far more beautiful than Ruizhu, whose beauty was forced and artificial.

In fact, Ruizhu's clothes, mannerisms and behavior today seem to be imitating Yunying's. How could Aunt Ding not see that?
She naturally disdained Ruizhu's actions and felt that Ruizhu's imitation in front of Yunying was somewhat humiliating.

But this also shows that Ruizhu desperately wants to gain the Second Master's favor, which hits Ding Gugu's sweet spot.

So much so that although Aunt Ding disapproved of Ruizhu's actions, she couldn't help but treat her differently because the girl was ambitious and valued the Second Master too much.

But that's a long story. Let's just say that after Second Master entered the flower hall and took his seat, Aunt Ding hurriedly urged the girls to go in as well.

It was getting late, and Aunt Ding suggested that they have dinner first. After dinner, the young ladies would present birthday gifts to the Second Master. If the Second Master was moved by their sincerity, who knows, one of the young ladies might even consummate their marriage with him today.

Thinking of this, Aunt Ding felt a surge of warmth in her heart and immediately instructed the maids to bring out the banquet.

However, the banquet would take a while to begin, and Ruizhu took advantage of that short time to walk up to the Second Master with a smile.

Second Master raised his thin eyelids and frowned as he looked at Ruizhu in front of him.

Ruizhu trembled slightly under the Second Master's cold gaze. But thinking of all the efforts she had made for this day, Ruizhu barely managed to suppress her heart palpitations and excitement. She bowed to the Second Master as gracefully as possible and said, "Today is the Second Master's birthday. This servant wishes the Second Master joy and happiness every year. May the Second Master rise to great heights and enjoy lasting wealth and honor..."

Ruizhu's eagerness to jump out was completely unexpected by Aunt Ding. Seeing this, Aunt Ding couldn't help but purse her lips tightly.

She shook her head inwardly, thinking to herself, "Ruizhu is still too young. Doesn't she even consider the Second Master's mood? She should at least wait until he's calmed down before trying to flatter him."

But seeing that the Second Master had no reaction, Ruizhu was so embarrassed that she was about to cry. No matter how helpless Aunt Ding was, she had no choice but to speak up to help Ruizhu out of the predicament.

Aunt Ding smiled and said, "Today is Second Master's special day, and these maids have been looking forward to it. They've all gone to great lengths to prepare birthday gifts for him. Ruizhu, what are you still standing there for? Where's your gift for Second Master?"

Ruizhu gave Aunt Ding a grateful look, and then quickly said, "I had a maid hold it, I'll bring it here right away."

As she spoke, she turned around, taking a light breath almost imperceptibly, and deftly took a box from the maid's hand.

The box, adorned with gold and colorful decorations, looked quite extraordinary. Ruizhu placed the box on the table closest to the Second Master, her cheeks flushed as she opened it, revealing a set of three exquisitely crafted purple clay teapots inside.

It's not celadon, but purple clay?

Yunying immediately felt a pang of doubt.

But her attention quickly fell back on the three-piece Yixing teapot.

The so-called "three-piece set" refers to a pot and two cups.

Yunying reasonably suspected that Ruizhu making only two teacups was a veiled reference to her and the Second Master each having one. To put it more bluntly, it implied that she wanted to submit to the Second Master and enjoy romantic moments with him under the moon and amidst poetry, wine, and flowers...

Perhaps she was overthinking it, but Yunying felt that it was more likely that she wasn't overthinking it at all. Ruizhu had this teapot and teacups made with this intention in mind.

Let's go back to Ruizhu. She nervously pushed the things towards the Second Master, her face flushed and she didn't dare to lift her head.

Her features were originally just pretty, but today she had dressed up carefully, which added a touch of gentleness to her appearance. At this moment, she was also shy and bashful, revealing her girlish charm, making her quite attractive.

Ruizhu forced herself to remain calm and said, "This was made under my personal supervision, and the calligraphy and painting on it are also my own work. It's just that my skills are not good enough, so please forgive me, Second Master."

Upon hearing this, not only Yunying's curiosity was piqued, but Qiu Ning and Mu Jin also straightened their backs slightly, wanting to see the calligraphy and painting on the purple clay teapot more clearly.

What would be written on a Yixing teapot?

Could it be Ruizhu's confession?

The three of them were so curious that they were itching to know what to do, and their eyes widened in astonishment.

At that moment, the Second Master, who had always appeared rather cold and indifferent, looked up in Yun Ying's direction.

For some reason, Yunying's heart pounded, and she suddenly had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, the next moment, the Second Master spoke in his deep, magnetic voice, coldly, "What, curious?" Yun Ying quickly turned her head to the side, pretending that the words were not directed at her.

Second Master sneered, "Yun Ying, answer me."

Yunying's face remained calm, but her heart was in turmoil; she even felt like dying.

No wonder people say curiosity killed the cat. See? She was only a little curious, and she got herself into this mess. If looks could kill, she felt she'd already been torn to pieces by Ruizhu.

Yunying, under Ruizhu's poisonous gaze, calmly shook her head. "Second Master, what are you saying? This servant is not curious, really not curious at all."

Second Master chuckled lightly, pretending not to hear Yunying's nonsense. He said, "If you're curious, just come and see. I'll give it to you."

Yunying's handkerchief was almost twisted into a rope. She looked at the Second Master with pleading eyes.

You're so ungrateful.

She cleaned his wounds and kept his secret, but instead of repaying his kindness, the Second Master sought revenge... What exactly did she do to offend the Second Master?
Seeing Yun Ying's devastated expression, Chen Yanzhou felt much better.

She was just watching the spectacle, but now she's watching it all the time.

Just as Yunying was about to cry, Aunt Ding stepped forward again.

Perhaps Aunt Ding didn't come to rescue her, but rather couldn't bear to see Ruizhu's eyes red with grief and indignation. In any case, with Aunt Ding speaking up, this chaotic scene was eventually resolved.

Aunt Ding pushed Qiu Ning forward, and she gave away the exquisitely made dress.

The Second Master neither said he would accept nor refuse the gift, but he certainly didn't say he would give it away. Qiu Ning was already very satisfied with that.

Compared to Ruizhu's current miserable state, Qiu Ning felt a sense of satisfaction.

Ruizhu felt genuinely satisfied after being publicly humiliated.

Neither of them received a kind word from the Second Master, so Mu Jin had already given up hope.

Sure enough, even though her Xiangfei bamboo folding fan was exquisitely crafted, she still didn't receive a single word from the Second Master.

Yunying, on the other hand, was very tempted by the exquisitely crafted folding fan.

The folding fan was elegant and refined, exquisite and extraordinary. Even Yunying, an outsider to the art, could tell at a glance that it was a fine piece.

She really wanted to take it out and play with it... but Yunying only dared to think about it in her heart. Outwardly, she didn't even dare to glance at the folding fan. She was afraid that the Second Master would take an unconventional approach and ask her "curious?" or even give her the folding fan, which would be a matter of life and death.

However, even though Yunying escaped this calamity, she still couldn't avoid the ordeal of having her name called out.

She looked at the Second Master, and the Second Master looked at her too.

The dignified and elegant man frowned slightly and asked, "Where is your congratulatory gift?"

Yunying suddenly realized, oh right, it was her turn to present the gift.

Yunying took the unassuming box from Hesui's hand and walked over to the Second Master.

The second master saw that the box was very crude, and even had a piece of paint chipped off the corner. He immediately frowned and asked Yunying, "Has the manor mistreated you? Is this the kind of thing you use to hold a congratulatory gift?"

Upon hearing this, Ruizhu and Aunt Ding immediately looked over.

Ruizhu's eyes were still red and brimming with tears. Her gaze towards Yunying was a mixture of fear, guilt, and resentment. Aunt Ding seemed to only then notice this small detail, and couldn't help but glance at her a few more times before turning her questioning gaze to Ruizhu.

Ruizhu's entire body was on edge. She unconsciously clenched her teeth, her whole being like a bowstring ready to be released.

Yunying was completely unaware of Ruizhu's alarmed demeanor.

She pondered the Second Master's words, a look of confusion on her face.

They complained that she used a wooden box to hold the gift. Did she expect her to use a sandalwood box instead?

Not to mention that the sandalwood box is stored in the warehouse and Ruizhu would never take it out for her to use, even if Ruizhu were willing to give it to her, she would be afraid of bumping or damaging that thing.

It's just for one book, there's really no need to overkill it, right?
But now was not the time to reason with the Second Master, so Yunying vaguely said, "I'm used to this box, so I just grabbed it and used it."

The second master said meaningfully, "Then this birthday gift you prepared must have been something you prepared on the spur of the moment, right?"

Yunying: "..."

Two updates today, the second one at the usual time. Have a great weekend, everyone! Take advantage of the still-warm weather and go out and have some fun.

(End of this chapter)