Union

Chapter 55 Farewell
It seems that the matter of Yunying being in charge of housekeeping was settled.

Along with this, the decision to exonerate the Shang family from wrongful conviction and to unfreeze and return the Shang family's property and residence to their descendants was also finalized.

The Second Master, wise and capable, even submitted a memorial to the emperor, requesting that the Shang family members, who had been exiled to the Northwest, be allowed to return to their ancestral home. Of course, along with the memorial, the criminal files of Magistrate Fan and others were also sent out.

Although Magistrate Fan was sentenced to death, the sentence could not be carried out immediately. It still needed to be reported to the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Justice had to verify the facts of the crime before the death penalty could be carried out.

The series of cases involving Magistrate Fan have finally come to an end.

Although the woman involved in the salt smuggling case is still at large, and a large sum of stolen silver has been taken by her and never recovered, both the Second Master and Yunying have a premonition that the woman will eventually fall into the Second Master's hands again, and that what is rightfully theirs will be returned.

These matters were finally resolved, and it was Laba Festival by then.

After eating Laba porridge, Aunt Ding will take Ruizhu and all the New Year's gifts back to Beijing.

On the day of Laba Festival, the weather, which had been overcast for half a month, finally cleared up.

Lingnan Prefecture also has winter, but the winter here is too short, and because it is too far south, people here can get through the winter wearing only a padded jacket and a cloak.

That day, Yunying and Second Master personally went out to see Aunt Ding off.

The weather was fine. Yunying wore a peach-pink brocade jacket with ten patterns, and a peach-pink pleated skirt with auspicious patterns. Her slender waist was adorned with a five-colored palace sash with long tassels and a bow, and two teardrop-shaped pearl earrings hung from her fair earlobes.

She already possessed a beautiful yet aloof appearance, and her fondness for green and blue colors made her appear even more detached and indifferent, like a fairy from the palace who was untouched by worldly affairs.

On the contrary, her attire today has lost some of her aloofness and coldness, and gained more gentleness and tranquility, making her look charming and unforgettable.

When Aunt Ding saw Yunying like this, she was amazed and her mood brightened.

She held Yunying's hand and kept saying "It looks good." She also told Yunying to wear more bright colors in the future, not to please others, but just to see the best version of herself in the prime of her life. She should dress up more and not always wear plain and quiet clothes.

Yunying was long past the age where she would blush and feel her heart race when praised for her beauty. But Aunt Ding's tone was too exaggerated, and with the Second Master watching nearby, Yunying felt extremely embarrassed.

Her cheeks flushed uncontrollably, the rosy glow reflecting on her jade-like white skin like a touch of pink and white on a vibrant peach blossom, truly delicate and charming, incredibly lovely and captivating.

Finally, as if sensing Yunying's discomfort, Aunt Ding stopped talking.

But then she saw the Second Master standing next to her.

Today, the Second Master was dressed in a royal blue silk robe with a dark blue swastika pattern and plum blossom design. He was tall and imposing, with a face as cold as jade. At this moment, his handsome face was devoid of any emotion, even his eyes were aloof and indifferent. This made the Second Master all the more worrisome.

Aunt Ding gripped Yunying's hand tightly and said to her, "Now that I'm leaving, Second Master is in your care."

Something about this sounded off, especially with the person in front of her. Yunying didn't know whether to agree or not.

Aunt Ding was watching longingly, so Yunying sighed and said, "Don't worry, I will do my best to serve Second Master well, and I promise I won't let him get cold or hungry."

Aunt Ding seemed taken aback by her words and froze on the spot. When she came to her senses, she couldn't help but smile and point at Yunying, saying, "You silly girl, it's not enough to just keep Second Master from getting cold or hungry. You have to be a caring person..." a confidante.

Of course, Aunt Ding didn't say the last sentence aloud, otherwise her purpose would have been too obvious. But just saying that she wanted Yunying to be her confidante was enough to make Yunying's body tremble.

To be honest, she only wanted to be a manager; she had no intention of becoming a concubine or maidservant. Why couldn't she leave the role of the understanding and gentlewoman to the ambitious Mulan and Qiuning?
Yunying didn't dare say these words aloud, because Aunt Ding went to give instructions to the Second Master.

She told the second master not to overwork himself and to rest when he needed to. Official business is never-ending, but his health is paramount. Only by taking good care of his health can he have the energy to dedicate himself to his boundless career…

The following words were purely embellished by Yunying, but that's roughly the gist of it.

However, it's unclear whether Aunt Ding was simply too worried, or perhaps she's just getting old and tends to forget things easily. It was only a few words, yet Aunt Ding repeated her instructions over and over again. This was only because Aunt Ding would be leaving Yun Gui County soon to return to the capital; otherwise, the Second Master probably wouldn't have had the patience to listen to Aunt Ding ramble on and on.

Finally, just as Second Master's patience was about to reach its limit, Aunt Ding finally shut up.

Second Master seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and then he personally helped Aunt Ding into the carriage, instructing the driver to drive slowly on the road.

Aunt Ding lifted the carriage curtain, seemingly to bid farewell to the Second Master, but he spoke first, saying, "It's windy today, Aunt, please lower the curtain. You've just recovered, so please take good care of yourself. Aunt, please return to the capital. We'll meet again when I return to the capital in a few years to report on my duties."

Aunt Ding, with tears streaming down her face, called out, "This servant thanks Second Master," while sobbing uncontrollably due to the sorrow of parting.

Aunt Ding's carriage was at the front, and after it passed, another carriage with a blue canopy came along.

As the carriage approached, it seemed to lurch slightly, causing the curtains to flutter and open slightly, revealing Ruizhu's haggard and pale face inside.

Because Ruizhu accepted bribes, indirectly giving Magistrate Fan and others an opportunity to take advantage of her, resulting in Aunt Ding and others being poisoned and the Second Master nearly dying, Ruizhu was imprisoned after the incident. She was only released today upon returning to the capital. Although she had committed a grave offense, according to the Duke's mansion rules, she should have received thirty strokes of the cane and all bribes confiscated. However, given that she was also poisoned and her health had not fully recovered, hasty punishment might be fatal. Therefore, Aunt Ding did not punish her, but simply noted the matter down, intending to report it to her master upon returning to the capital for further action.

Even so, perhaps knowing she wouldn't fare well in the end, or perhaps because the antidote prescribed by Doctor Yao wasn't quite right for Ruizhu, or perhaps because her heavy heart caused her to be restless day and night, Ruizhu looked even more haggard and pale than Aunt Ding and the others. She was filled with anxiety and unease, like a frightened bird, her eyes filled with panic and fear, her nerves constantly on edge, as if she might die at any moment.

Their tense and fearful demeanor was quite poignant to witness.

However, just as Yunying was feeling sorry for Ruizhu, Ruizhu suddenly lifted the carriage curtain and rushed out.

"Second Master, spare my life! I truly didn't mean it! If I had known that Magistrate Fan would take this opportunity to harm you, I would never have dared to break the rules of the manor, even if you killed me. Second Master, save me! Second Master, save me..."

Ruizhu lunged at Yunying with such force and ferocity, her face contorted with rage, her fingers outstretched, making her look like a vengeful ghost. Yunying was so terrified that her hair stood on end, and she staggered back two or three steps. If it weren't for the Second Master catching her waist in time, Yunying would have been so frightened that she fell to the ground.

Even though she didn't fall to the ground, Yunying's heart was racing, pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her mouth.

She was terrified and grabbed the Second Master's hand, while the Second Master glared at Ruizhu.

Just as Ruizhu was about to touch the Second Master's clothes, Suiyu kicked her away.

Sui Yu's kick was no light one; Rui Zhu was kicked so hard that she suffered internal injuries and lay on the ground, spitting blood.

Before the Second Master could give any instructions, Sui Yu had already summoned the driver, "Take her back and put her in the carriage. If she gets another chance to jump out, you don't need to come back."

The coachman nodded in agreement, picked up Ruizhu, and shoved her back into the carriage.

Everything happened very quickly, seemingly in the blink of an eye.

However, Aunt Ding in the car in front was terrified and her heart was pounding. She asked Second Master through the car window, "Were you frightened? Was Yunying scratched on the face?"

The second master said "no" twice and told the driver not to stop, as continuing on the way was more important.

Before Aunt Ding could say anything more, the coachman cracked his whip, and the carriage lurched forward. Aunt Ding slumped into her seat with a sigh, thinking that it wasn't going to work now, so she would wait until the next time she got off the carriage and have Ruizhu come and sit with her.

They had to keep an eye on her and bring her to the capital to be dealt with by their master before the matter was considered settled.

Seeing that the convoy led by Aunt Ding had finally left, Yun Ying breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief.

To be honest, Aunt Ding was easy to get along with. Not only was she good-tempered, but she also taught her everything she knew. In fact, because she was the first to feed her the Jade Spring Pill, Aunt Ding treated her with even more affection afterward.

But how should I put it?

Aunt Ding was, after all, their supervisor, and could scold and punish them as maids, just like a superior. She was naturally happy if her superior had a good temper, but wouldn't she be even happier if she didn't have that superior anymore?
Yunying is quite happy now, feeling that no one is watching her anymore, the sky is wider, and the earth is more expansive.

Before the idea could even take shape, the Second Master's cool, clear voice echoed softly in his ear.

"Are you happy that Aunt Ding is gone?"

Yunying looked at the Second Master. She had forgotten that after Aunt Ding left, she still had the Second Master above her.

Compared to Second Master, what is Aunt Ding?

If one absolutely had to deal with a superior, Aunt Ding would be a thousand times, ten thousand times easier to get along with than Second Master.

Suddenly, I felt reluctant to see Aunt Ding leave.

Yunying pursed her lips, her almond-shaped eyes glistening as she looked at the Second Master: "To tell you the truth, Second Master, please don't be upset. I would rather you return to the capital than Aunt Ding return."

Second Master: "..."

Second Master burst out laughing.

Whether he was laughing out of anger or amusement, the Second Master's gaze towards Yunying was cold and unsettling.

Second Master retorted to Yunying with a rather dry joke, "Don't worry, if I go back to the capital, I will definitely take you with me. Whether it's to report for duty or to get promoted, you'll be there for me through thick and thin. I'll take you wherever I go, so as not to break your heart."

Second update.

(End of this chapter)