Union

Chapter 56, 055: Though Late, It Arrives
After seeing Aunt Ding off, Yunying turned around and prepared to return to the county government office.

The second master suddenly asked, "Where are you going?"

These words made Yunying want to roll her eyes. She was just a head maid, where could she go? She still had to go back to the backyard.

Yunying said, "I'll go back and manage things. The New Year is just around the corner, and there are a lot of miscellaneous tasks. I'll start doing them now so I won't be caught off guard later."

He added, "Second Master, now that we've arrived in Yungui County, let's do as the locals do and celebrate the New Year according to Yungui County's customs, shall we?"

The second master gave a perfunctory reply, then added, "You're in charge, so you're in charge."

Yunying: "..." Second Master really knows how to shut people up.

Yunying said, "Second Master, is there anything else? If not, I'll head back now."

"Don't go back. I'm going out for a while. You'll come with me."

Yunying was about to say, "Second Master, you're busy with official business when you go out. What would I, a mere maid, do if I followed you? Wouldn't that just cause trouble?"

But the Second Master interrupted her directly, "The notebook you gave me as a birthday gift before, you said that it was written by an old exiled official. Today we're going to find that old official."

Yunying was immediately stunned. After regaining her senses, her eyes darted around, and she dared not look directly at the Second Master.

“But that old man has already passed away.” Yunying said with forced composure, “That’s right, the old man has long since passed away. This book was given to me by his grandson. He said it was the old man’s most cherished possession.”

"Gone to heaven?" Second Master initially disbelieved, then suddenly realized. He looked at the tattered manuscript, its paper yellowed and the string broken. He had initially thought the exiled old man had read it too many times, causing the damage. But it turned out there was another possibility: its age had led to a lack of care from later generations, resulting in its current state of disrepair.

Second Master frowned: "Regardless of whether the old master has passed away or not, since he left behind a note, there may be other things left behind as well. Let's go and take a look."

Yunying didn't want to go; she felt guilty.

She had previously told the Second Master that she had gone to great lengths to find this gift for him, but if she were to meet the old master's grandson and reveal the truth, the Second Master would surely not forgive her.

Yunying dawdled, reluctant to get into the carriage; her thoughts were written all over her face, and how could the Second Master not see it?

Just then, Suiyun arrived in a very low-key carriage. The Second Master was too lazy to waste any more words with her, so he simply put his arm around her waist and put her in the carriage.

After regaining her senses, Yunying touched her aching back and couldn't help but frown and glare at the Second Master.

Today, Second Master has already put his arm around her waist twice. The first time was when Ruizhu lunged at him, and he caught her to prevent her from falling. Just now, he did it again...

Although these hugs were not tinged with any intimacy or ambiguity, outsiders didn't see it that way.

She was determined to be a good manager and find a way to redeem herself once she had saved enough money. She had no intention of giving herself to the Second Master, and she needed to be more careful about this in the future.

As Yunying was pondering these random thoughts, the Second Master suddenly asked her, "Tell me, what exactly are you hiding from me?"

Yunying immediately stopped thinking about it and straightened up, as if facing a formidable enemy. She feigned surprise and asked the Second Master, "What do you mean I'm hiding something from you? What could I possibly be hiding from you?"

The second master sat imposingly on the couch, striking a pose as if he were doing accounting.

"Your guilty conscience is written all over your face. I'm not blind, how could I not see it? Tell me, what lies have you told me, and what have you been hiding from me?"

Yunying shook her head vigorously, "Second Master, please don't wrong me."

The second master glanced at her and said, "Are you waiting for me to torture you?"

Yunying didn't know the specific types of tortures the Second Master had in mind, but just hearing about torture made her scalp tingle, and she immediately hesitated.

Seeing this, the Second Master sneered even more.

"You said you weren't hiding it from me, but since Second Master is in a good mood today, maybe you won't be angry if you tell me. Otherwise, if I find out on my own..."

"I'll talk, I'll talk, okay?"

Yunying puffed out her cheeks and glanced at the Second Master. He appeared calm and collected, while she was filled with apprehension. Yunying felt extremely aggrieved, but what could she do? She had told that lie. She had only herself to blame.

Yunying hardened her heart and told him what she had done.

The Second Master remained expressionless until Yunying finished speaking, at which point he asked inscrutable, "Anything else?"

"No, really no more." Yunying said dejectedly, "I don't go out often, how can I expect to encounter such good things every day?"

Second Master scoffed: "You've only encountered this kind of thing once, and you're so clever that you immediately took that easily obtained note as a congratulatory gift that you went to great lengths to find for Second Master. I even believed your lie and thought you really put your heart into it. But it turns out, you never tell the truth."

These words were quite harsh, and somewhat insulting. However, Yunying was in the wrong first, so she couldn't say anything in rebuttal.

But she couldn't save face and felt really wronged.

She said she had specially sought out the gift because the Second Master had pressed her for details, and she didn't dare offend him, so she just blurted it out. Little did she know that lies always get exposed eventually, and the ridicule and cold treatment she was destined to suffer, though delayed, would eventually arrive.

Yunying lowered her head and remained silent. Her eyes were slightly red, and her nose felt a little sore, but she tried her best to hold back and not make a sound so as not to be laughed at.

The second master waited a long time but received no rebuttal from Yunying, so he immediately looked up. What he saw made him completely flustered. He hadn't said anything!

The second master called out, "Yun Ying."

Yunying gave a low hum, her voice normal, but the breathy tone was a little short, and if you listened carefully, her tone was too cold.

After replying with that sound, Yunying remained silent.

No, she moved slightly, turning her face outwards and further away from the Second Master.

Seeing this, the second master became even more silent.

The carriage was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The only sounds were the creaking of the carriage wheels rolling over the dry grass and mud, and the soft voices of passing vehicles and people.

The noise outside gradually subsided, and the carriage had already left the city.

Sui Yun's voice rang out at that moment. As if he hadn't noticed the commotion inside the carriage, he asked Yun Ying, "Miss Yun Ying, where do we go after leaving the city?"

Yunying cleared her throat and said, "Let me come out and give you directions. The village is a bit roundabout; it takes several turns to get there from the county town."

Before Suiyun could refuse, Yunying ignored the Second Master's expression and climbed out of the carriage. She sat down on the other side of the carriage shaft and earnestly began to give Suiyun directions.

Suiyun felt a chill run down his spine, as if thorns were pricking his back.

He couldn't wait to say, "Just tell me the name of the village, young lady. I've been to all the villages around here with Second Master. If you tell me the name of the village, I can find it directly."

He added, “It’s sunny today, but the sun isn’t warm. The young lady is dressed too lightly; she should go back inside the carriage. Otherwise, she might catch a cold and get a fever if she stays in the cold for too long.”

Yunying also felt a chill in the air, but she didn't want to go in and see the Second Master's cold face. She awkwardly said, "I don't know the name of that village, but I know how to get there. I'll sit outside and show you the way."

Yunying stubbornly sat on the carriage shaft and began to point out the way to Suiyun.

At first, she was really shivering from the cold, but she gritted her teeth and didn't show the slightest sign of discomfort.

As the sun rose higher, the wind seemed to subside a bit, and there was a touch more warmth, making it quite comfortable to bask in the sun.

The three of them traveled in silence and soon arrived at the village that Yunying had visited once before.

As soon as the carriage entered the village, the villagers who were idly strolling around looked over.

But they dared not approach, for fear of disrespecting the nobleman; they only dared to watch from afar and whisper among themselves.

Several of the peasant women found Yunying familiar and quickly recognized her.

They couldn't wait any longer and ran to Wang Shouheng's door, shouting, "Shouheng's family, come out quickly to greet us, your family's distinguished guest has arrived!"

Wang Shouheng was the man who went out to fetch a doctor that day. His daughter-in-law was having a difficult childbirth, and his son was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground. In the end, it was this man who ran to the county town to fetch an old doctor.

It was thanks to Yunying's kindness that the coachman accompanied them for a while. Otherwise, if they had arrived any later, who knows what would have become of the woman who had just given birth and her unborn child.

Let's leave aside the past and focus on the present.

Now that the late rice has been harvested, the villagers are quite relaxed. Wang Shouheng's family is very hardworking; they catch fish and shrimp, dry them, and sell them to merchants who specialize in dried goods, earning a little money to supplement their household income.

Hearing someone shouting outside, they rushed out to see what was happening. While excitedly wiping their hands and clothes, they looked at the carriage that had just stopped at the door. Sitting on one side of the carriage shaft was none other than Yunying, the young lady who had done their family a great favor.

Wang Shouheng's wife immediately came over and asked Yunying, "Miss, what brings you here? Please come inside."

While they were talking, Second Master lifted the curtain and stepped down from the carriage.

The Second Master was already cold and aloof, and now that he was in a bad mood, his expression became even more unpleasant.

This made him seem even more unapproachable, and for a moment the noisy crowd around him fell silent, no longer daring to utter a sound.

Yunying smiled and nodded to Wang Shouheng's family, then stepped aside to let the Second Master behind her pass.

"This is my master. He came here specifically to ask Uncle Shouheng and Aunt Shouheng some important questions."

A few more voices of surprise and uncertainty rose from the crowd: "This man... he looks familiar. Isn't he our county magistrate?"

Yunying looked toward the person who had spoken, and saw a thin, white-haired old man running up behind him.

The old man was the village head. He had heard that a carriage had entered the village, so he came to see what was going on. To his surprise, he heard someone mentioning a county magistrate. He looked up and saw that it was indeed the county magistrate of Yungui County.

When the county magistrate came to the village to inspect the farming, he personally accompanied him. The village head knelt down with a thud, saying, "Greetings, County Magistrate! What brings you to the village, Your Excellency?"

There will be another update later. Two updates today, but only 6000+ words in total. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I'll maintain this update count for the next five or six days. I've been quite busy these past few days; my baby is having a banquet. I can't quite say if it's a six-month celebration or something, but it's the first banquet since his birth. There's house cleaning, calling relatives, and making reservations and ordering menus. Plus, my two kids have kindergarten on Sunday, so it's been incredibly busy. I'll add more updates after Tuesday; please bear with the current updates for the next few days.

(End of this chapter)