Union

Chapter 52 Butler Yunying
Yunying went back to rest, but because she had something on her mind, she didn't sleep soundly.

She woke up as soon as the maids started moving around outside.

A glance at the hourglass by the door revealed that it was only lunchtime.

Hearing the commotion inside, He Sui quickly walked in and said, "I just brought back lunch. Please have some while it's hot, Miss."

Yunying sat on the bed in a daze for a while. When her confused mind began to awaken, she shook her head and said, "Let's wait and eat it later. I don't have much of an appetite right now."

He Sui said, "I know you have a poor appetite, so I brought some light and easy-to-digest chicken noodle soup. It tastes delicious, and there are also a few side dishes to go with the noodles. They are also very crisp and refreshing. Try it, I guarantee it will suit your taste."

Since He Sui had said so, Yun Ying didn't want to disappoint her maid, so she got up to have her meal.

Sure enough, the chicken noodle soup He Sui brought her this time tasted delicious. The layer of oil on top of the chicken soup had been skimmed off cleanly, leaving only a clear broth, and the noodles were chewy and smooth, with a springy texture. Yun Ying really liked it.

With the addition of the spicy and sour side dishes, Yunying's appetite was completely whetted, and before she knew it, she had finished a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

After lunch, she felt more energetic and asked Yunying about what had happened while she was asleep that morning.

Through He Sui's words, Yun Ying learned that the two doctors she had sent to invite had come to the mansion and examined the pulses of the four poisoned people, but the results were not satisfactory.

He Sui said, "Both senior doctors said they couldn't prescribe anything more effective. Even if they could manage to prescribe an antidote, it wouldn't be very helpful for Aunt Ding and the others; it would only keep them energized. However, they did recommend a doctor, which was quite a coincidence—the very doctor that Second Master sent someone to the prefectural city to invite."

Yunying nodded slightly, neither disappointed nor not. However, since there was a more skilled doctor available, there was still hope, and she could just wait patiently.

Yunying drank a cup of digestive tea, then got up and took Sui'er to Aunt Ding's place.

Aunt Ding woke up after sleeping for an hour. When Yunying went over, she was lying sickly on the bed, her face was sallow, her lips were pale, her brows were furrowed, and her lips were tightly pursed. She looked like she was in a lot of pain.

Upon seeing Yunying walk in, before she could even bow, Aunt Ding called out to her to come closer.

She grasped Yunying's hand and said, "Now that I'm down, I'm leaving this mess in the manor, and I'll have to trouble you to clean it up."

Yunying quickly replied, "It's alright, I'm happy to help you. But as you know, I've only learned a little bit from you. A real steward would probably be flustered and unable to make decisions. I'll inevitably have to come and bother you often, so please don't find me annoying."

Aunt Ding said, "No trouble at all. I'm sick and lying in bed all day with nothing to do. If you come to my place a few more times, I'll just consider it as you coming to keep me company. I'm happy about it, how could I complain?"

Yunying: "That's settled then. I'll make three trips a day from now on, and you can't chase me away."

After exchanging a few words of banter, Aunt Ding, unable to contain her curiosity, asked Yunying, "Did Second Master tell you how the poison was put into the banquet?"

Upon hearing this, Yunying did not hide anything and immediately recounted what the Second Master had told her that morning.

When Aunt Ding heard that Ruizhu was involved and that Ruizhu had actually received more than three thousand taels of silver as a tribute, she immediately covered her forehead with a headache and fell backward.

Seeing that Aunt Ding had suffered quite a shock, Yunying quickly stepped forward to support her and put another pillow behind her back so that Aunt Ding could lean against it.

Aunt Ding, barely able to speak, looked ashamed. "I misjudged her. I thought that since she grew up in the Marquis of Chang'an's mansion and came to the Duke of Rong's mansion with the Second Madam, she must be used to wealth and know some manners. Who would have thought that she would be so shallow as to accept any kind of money?"

He then blamed himself, "It's all my fault. Ruizhu told me before that from now on, the kitchen staff shouldn't go out to buy things, but only have the best meat, rice, flour, and vegetables delivered to the county government. Doing this would prevent the kitchen staff from falsifying accounts and embezzling money; secondly, it would also be an opportunity to reduce the workload of one kitchen manager. I only thought that this way I could save a lot of money, but I completely forgot that handing over what we eat to others is like handing over our lives. If nothing goes wrong, fine, but if something does go wrong, it's a matter of life and death. This is a grave taboo."

Aunt Ding repeatedly expressed her regret, saying that she shouldn't have trusted Ruizhu so much, and that she should have kept a close eye on Ruizhu and checked the accounts frequently.

But it was too late to say anything now, since the consequences had already been made. It was just fortunate that the Second Master was not implicated.

After saying this, Aunt Ding looked even more exhausted, and she swayed precariously, on the verge of collapse.

Seeing this, Yunying could only say nice things to comfort Aunt Ding.

Aunt Ding was still filled with self-reproach, "I came here to help Second Master, but I never expected to almost harm him. I have no face to go back to see Madam, and I am even more sorry to Second Master..."

Aunt Ding fell asleep with tears streaming down her face.

Seeing that Aunt Ding had finally calmed down, Yunying gently withdrew her hand and prepared to leave to see Qiu Ning.

Unexpectedly, just as she was about to pull her hand away, Aunt Ding, who had been asleep, suddenly opened her eyes again, "Yunying girl."

Yunying quickly responded.

Aunt Ding seemed to be looking at her, but then she seemed not to be looking at her at all. She just murmured, "I'm leaving the affairs of the inner quarters to you. Do a good job and don't let me and Second Master down."

Yunying sighed in agreement.

Having received Yunying's response, Aunt Ding fell into a deep sleep. Her hand loosened, and Yunying easily withdrew it.

A little later, Yunying left Aunt Ding's room and went to Qiu Ning's place.

Unfortunately, they arrived at an inopportune time; Qiu Ning had just fallen asleep.

The maidservant serving Qiu Ning said, "The young lady is in severe chest pain and even vomited black blood once."

Upon hearing this, Yunying became even more worried and hurried.

Qiu Ning ate the most last night, which is why she was the first to have an attack and her symptoms were the most severe.

But Yunying wasn't a doctor, and she couldn't prescribe anything particularly effective. Even though she was worried about Qiu Ning, all she could do now was have Qiu Ning take some of the medicine the doctor had prescribed that morning, just to keep her alive until the renowned antidote doctor from the prefectural city arrived.

Yunying did go inside and glance at Qiu Ning.

In just one night, Qiu Ning looked like she had lost more than ten pounds. Her face was haggard, her lips were dry and chapped, and she lay quietly on the bed, even the slightest movement of her body was barely perceptible.

At this moment, Qiu Ning was as frail as a candle flickering in the wind, her life hanging by a thread, a sight that tugged at the heartstrings of those who saw her.

But no matter how much she couldn't bear it, all Yunying could do was instruct the maids to take good care of Qiu Ning and to inform her immediately if anything happened.

After visiting Qiu Ning, Yun Ying went to see Mu Jin.

Her relationship with Mu Jin was lukewarm; they barely spoke a few times a month. If she were just a maid, Yun Ying would naturally have been too lazy to make the trip. But now that she had taken on some duties in the household, it was only right and proper for her to come to Mu Jin's place.

Coincidentally, the hibiscus was also asleep.

Upon hearing this, Yunying did not go in. She only gave some instructions to the maid outside the door before turning around and leaving the backyard.

The following afternoon, Yunying walked past the house that had been destroyed the day before and instructed her servants to find a carpenter to repair the missing doors, windows, chairs, and other items as soon as possible.

They then checked the ledgers to see which valuables had been lost the previous night.

Furthermore, since maids and servants did die last night, the county government must notify their families to claim the bodies and their belongings. Compensation is also necessary; a certain amount must be provided, otherwise the servants in the household will be disheartened.

The last matter is to clean up the mess Ruizhu has made. Whether it's Ruizhu sending the Qi family's dried goods and seafood to the capital as a routine New Year's gift, or selecting a special merchant to deliver fresh meat, rice, flour, fruits, and vegetables to the mansion, we still need to ask the Second Master's opinion on which of these things can continue and which should be discontinued.

Yunying went to the front yard to look for the Second Master, only to learn that he had gone out to work after having breakfast.

After all, they caught two big fish last night, so Second Master will probably interrogate them thoroughly and get all the information he wants out of them.

Yunying was not discouraged when she heard the news, and told Leiting the purpose of her visit.

Upon hearing this, Lei Ting simply asked Yun Ying to wait a moment, then went back to retrieve a few pages of paper and handed them to her.

Amidst Yunying's curiosity, Leiting explained, "This is the Duke's Mansion's compensation and consolation regulations for those who die or are injured in the line of duty. Miss Yunying, you can take it back and act according to these regulations. The last page contains the list of guards who died or were injured in the outer courtyard yesterday. Please handle the compensation for those personnel in the outer courtyard as well. Later, when the Second Master has some free time, he will arrange new positions for these guards who are too seriously injured to continue in their important posts, as well as the sons and nephews of those who died, to find them a way to make a living..."

After saying this, a servant boy ran over from outside. Seeing that the boy was heading straight for him, Lei Ting nodded to Yun Ying and said, "The county office is busy, and we can't get away either. If you still have something you can't decide, you can come and find Second Master tonight. I have other things to attend to, so I'll take my leave first."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lei Tingzhen turned and left, disappearing from Yun Ying's sight along with the servant.

Yunying was speechless at the sight. She stood there for a long time, but no one else came. In the end, she had no choice but to go back to the backyard with He Sui.

He Sui had been standing next to Yun Ying, so she naturally heard Lei Ting's words clearly, and for a moment, she was both amused and exasperated.

He Sui said, "The young lady has only just started managing the household, and she hasn't even sorted out the affairs in the backyard yet. Now she's being asked to manage the affairs in the front yard. This is putting too much importance on the young lady."

Yunying turned her head to look at Sui'er. This girl only said nice things, but in reality, she probably had a lot of complaints to complain about.

For example, aren't you afraid that the girl will be flustered and confused?
Aren't you afraid that the girl won't be able to handle you and that things will only get more complicated?

This is the first time the young woman has taken on such a heavy responsibility, and all these things have been thrown at her at once, without even anyone to guide her. If she doesn't handle things well, is it her fault?

Sui'er was worried and anxious, showing no sign of the smugness that came with her mistress's rise to prominence. Instead, she sighed from time to time, deeply concerned for her mistress.

Yunying found it amusing to see Sui'er like this, but she didn't have time to comfort her.

Upon returning to the backyard, numerous maids and servants gathered around to report. Shortly afterward, the parents and elders of the deceased maids and guards also came looking for them.

These people had lost their sons, nephews, husbands, fathers, brothers, or daughters, sisters, and mothers. They had lost their loved ones and wept uncontrollably, some even fainting from grief. Yunying and the others also had tears in their eyes as they watched.

Yunying was initially worried that these people would cause trouble, but perhaps the authority of the government was greater than anything else, or perhaps these people had already learned from the messenger that everything was the work of Magistrate Fan and others, and that the magistrate was also a victim.

Therefore, they only cried and did not dare to make a scene, nor did they dare to ask for any compensation from their dead or injured relatives.

But their cries were so desperate, and they were all emaciated and dressed in rags, looking as if the sky had fallen, which was truly heartbreaking.

Therefore, after thinking it over, Yunying took out the consolation clauses that Leiting had given her earlier and provided the highest level of compensation to the deceased's family.

But Yunying had no money on her hands, so she could only ask the people in charge of the mansion for money.

Since Second Master and the other four were not around, Yunying went to find Aunt Ding.

Fortunately, Aunt Ding actually had some money on her hands.

This silver did not belong to the household; it was a reserve fund given to Aunt Ding by Second Master's mother, Madam Feng, when she left the capital.

Madam Feng was worried that her son was too proud and arrogant to ask for money, so she specially asked Aunt Ding to bring over her private savings in case of emergency.

But after Aunt Ding arrived in Yungui County and took charge of the household, she learned that Second Master had plenty of money.

At least for the past two months, the yamen's expenses have all come from the Second Master's private funds—this county yamen is too poor. Although it has some income, the income is far less than the expenditure, and the entire yamen is dirt poor. No wonder everyone in the yamen is so greedy; the government can't even pay salaries, and if they don't find ways to get some money home, they'll be too poor to even eat.

But that's a long story. To put it simply, Aunt Ding had a considerable amount of silver, but it was all in large denomination banknotes. After Yunying received the banknotes from Aunt Ding, she would have to make another trip to the money exchange to exchange them for smaller denominations of silver.

By the time they returned to the manor and finished distributing compensation to the dead and wounded, it was already completely dark.

Yunying returned the remaining silver notes to Aunt Ding, and then went to the front yard to look for the Second Master.

She didn't know that the banknote was given to Aunt Ding by Madam Feng as a precaution; she only thought that the banknote was Aunt Ding's private property.

In the afternoon, time was of the essence, and she wanted to get rid of the families of the deceased as soon as possible so that the dead maids and servants could be laid to rest as soon as possible. So she accepted the silver notes that Aunt Ding gave her.

Now that Second Master should be back at the manor, she felt she had to talk to him about this matter. At the very least, she wanted him to repay Aunt Ding for the money he had spent today.

When Yunying arrived at the front courtyard, she saw guards and servants hurrying past from time to time. They walked quickly and kept their eyes straight ahead. If it weren't for the bright lanterns illuminating their shadows, Yunying would have almost thought she had encountered a group of ghosts.

She bumped into Suiyun right at the entrance of the courtyard.

When Sui Yun saw her coming over at this time, she couldn't help but look at her with surprise and nodded slightly to her.

Yunying bowed and said to Suiyun, "I have important business with Second Master. I wonder if Second Master is available at the moment?"

"The Second Master is having his meal. Please wait a moment, I'll go and ask him for you."

As soon as he finished speaking, he walked away with the clouds, but returned a moment later and said to Yunying, "Second Master wants you to come in and give me a reply."

After a while, Yun left the courtyard to attend to other matters, while Yun Ying went straight to the flower hall.

The flower hall was as bright as day, and the Second Master was sitting at the table having a meal.

Yunying knew that this gentleman had rather strict rules, so she didn't dare to bother him at this time and just stood silently at the door.

Unexpectedly, the Second Master had already heard her footsteps.

After waiting for a while without her entering the house, he heard her stop on the left side of the entrance to the flower hall and not move. The second master couldn't help but put down his chopsticks and look in this direction.

Their eyes met for a moment, and the Second Master squinted at her and asked, "Do you want to stand there and talk to me? You can if you want, as long as you're not afraid of mosquito bites."

As soon as the Second Master mentioned mosquitoes, Yun Ying heard the buzzing of mosquitoes. Her scalp tingled, and she quickly entered the flower hall.

To be honest, Yunying has adapted quite well to the climate in Lingnan. But there's one thing she just can't get used to: it's almost November, and there are still so many mosquitoes, and they're incredibly vicious!
Unfortunately, her skin is very delicate; a mosquito bite will cause a large, pus-filled bump. Sometimes the bump is swollen and shiny, and the itching is so intense that one feels like cutting off the flesh.

Therefore, Yunying always carried a mosquito repellent sachet with her on her body. Upon hearing the Second Master's "reminder," she was so frightened that she ran into the flower hall without daring to stay for a moment.

When Second Master saw Yunying's actions, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Upon hearing the Second Master's laughter, Yunying looked at him with a mournful expression.

If it weren't for doing errands for the Second Master, would she have bothered coming here so late at night? Not only was the Second Master ungrateful, but he also mocked her. Is that how a human being behaves?
Seeing Yunying frowning and pursing her lips, looking angry but unable to speak out, and perhaps to suppress her anger, the Second Master's smile deepened. However, worried about provoking her, he forced a smile and asked her what she was doing here at this time.
Since we've gotten down to business, Yunying won't waste any more time.

She briefly recounted what had happened that afternoon, especially emphasizing that Aunt Ding had advanced the money and reminding Second Master not to forget to repay Aunt Ding.

Furthermore, only some of the victims' families came today; more should arrive in the next day or two. Could one of the stewards in charge of the household accounts stay at the manor? If all else fails, if the Second Master is trusting, he could simply put some silver in her account, saving her the trouble of running around asking for money when people arrive.

Upon hearing her words, Second Master immediately frowned and asked, "How much did Aunt Ding pay for today?"

Yunying didn't know why the Second Master would ask this question, but she was an honest girl and couldn't lie, so she told him what she knew.

Upon hearing that Aunt Ding had advanced nearly a thousand taels of silver, Second Master couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, already having some suspicions in his mind.

But it was just speculation, and the Second Master did not intend to confirm it. He simply summoned Lei Ting and asked him to give Yun Ying two thousand taels of silver notes, adding, "If it's not enough, come and get more."

Yunying was very pleased to see that the Second Master was so agreeable.

After finishing her business, Yunying was about to leave when the Second Master asked again, "Where did you get that notebook? Tell me the details."

Yunying's eyes widened.

Why did we bring up the journal?

Second Master, have you finished dealing with the cases of Magistrate Fan and the smuggled salt?
At least finish one thing before moving on to another. Even a three-year-old knows the principle of not trying to do too much at once.

"What, after all these days, have you already forgotten where you got that journal from?"

Yunying felt a chill run down her spine under the Second Master's ambiguous gaze. She immediately wanted to say, "Who forgot? Of course I haven't forgotten!" But she was also worried that if she really told him the specific process of obtaining the manuscript, the Second Master would probably scold her severely.

The second master had previously jokingly asked if her efforts in preparing a birthday gift for him were also perfunctory.

At the time, she assured everyone that she had put a lot of thought and effort into preparing a birthday gift for the Second Master.

If we tell the truth now, not only will we be contradicting ourselves, but we might also anger the Second Master to the point of causing him serious harm.

Second Master is already busy enough; she shouldn't add to his troubles.

Yunying's mind raced, and she immediately pointed to the food in front of the Second Master and said, "I think it's more important for you to eat first, Second Master. If you wait any longer, the food will probably get cold."

Second Master: "So what if it's cold? I've used up almost all of it anyway."

“But,” Yunying said with a troubled expression, “you have already had dinner, and I am still hungry…”

In the end, Yunying successfully escaped and left the Second Master's courtyard safely.

However, the origin of that notebook could be kept secret for a day or two, but not indefinitely. Besides, if they couldn't get the information from her, the Second Master might just ask the coachman who had been with him that day.

Think about the difference between words coming from the driver's mouth and words coming from her own... At least if she were to say it herself, she could embellish the story, turning that book into a precious item she had painstakingly acquired, rather than a thank-you gift offered by someone else with nothing to repay it with...

So, once I'm done with this, I should quickly tell Second Master about the books.

For the next two days, Yunying diligently attended to matters concerning the household.

The doors and windows have been installed, and the missing tables and chairs have been replaced. Most of the lost valuable ornaments have been recovered. Those that couldn't be found were either too broken to be found, or too damaged to be of any value. In those cases, we had to open the storeroom and select other items to replace them.

In short, at first glance, everything seems to be the same as before. No one would imagine that such a calamity had occurred here just a few days ago.

On the sixth day, the renowned physician invited from the prefecture finally arrived in Yungui County.

Aunt Ding and the others have been barely breathing these past few days. They're only barely clinging to life thanks to the antidote they took earlier.

However, due to their complete lack of appetite, the group has become extremely thin in the past few days, losing more than ten kilograms in just a few days. Moreover, their symptoms of poisoning are becoming increasingly severe, including dizziness, headaches, hair loss, vomiting, diarrhea, blurred vision, weak breathing, and even temporary shock.

It really is like walking a tightrope every minute and every second. I don't know if I'll ever open my eyes again if I close them one second.

These past few days have been hectic, running to the hospital and visiting relatives. To make matters worse, the child got frightened and won't sleep well at night, crying seven or eight times a night. I'm so tired and sleepy I can barely keep my eyes open; all I want to do is collapse on the bed and sleep. That's all for today, my darlings. I've already updated 6000+ words, so consider it two updates combined. Please bless me so I'll be in better shape tomorrow and able to update more. Thank you all for subscribing! Thank you everyone!

(End of this chapter)