Union

Chapter 85: Virtue, Speech, Appearance, and Merit—Only One Aspect—"Appearance"

Is Lingnan Prefecture a place for people to go?
Does she know how much psychological trauma they have now inflicted on Lingnan Prefecture after their round trip there?
Not to mention how many snakes, rats, insects, wild beasts, and miasma there are in Lingnan Prefecture, just the mountain bandits and river bandits along the way are not something ordinary people can handle.

With only his brother by himself, it was uncertain whether he could safely reach Lingnan Prefecture, not to mention the possibility of taking advantage of Yunying's unpreparedness to sell her to a filthy place.

Lin Shuqing truly had no idea how strict the rules were in the backyard of the county government office, or how strong the Second Master's control over Yun Gui County was now.

Ruizhu wanted to refuse, and in the blink of an eye, she had already come up with a reason to refuse.

They said his brother was timid and cowardly, and wouldn't be able to go to Lingnan; they said the Second Master protected Yunying very well, and with his small stature, his brother wouldn't even be able to see Yunying's face, let alone kidnap her and sell her to a dirty place.

Ruizhu had a lot to say, but after seeing Lin Shuqing's eerie black eyes, she was filled with dread and swallowed all her words.

Ruizhu carefully helped Lin Shuqing rest before turning and leaving.

But she didn't dare go back to her room and could only wait outside the door.

The rule in this household is that no matter how late it is, a person must stay by the young lady's side to keep watch.

They used to stand guard by the girl's footstool, but at some point, the girl stopped liking them coming into the house, so they started guarding outside.

In March, most areas of Lingnan were already wearing light clothing, while in Beijing, it was warm during the day but still very cold at night, requiring thick blankets and padded jackets.

That night seemed unusually cold.

A biting wind howled through the courtyard, and then howled away again. A light drizzle began to fall in the middle of the night.

Ruizhu was sneezing from the cold. She was worried that she would wake Lin Shuqing, who was sleeping soundly inside the room, and she was also worried that if she stayed up any longer, Lin Shuqing might develop a high fever tomorrow.

Thinking that the girl was asleep and wouldn't know even if she left for a while, Ruizhu quietly went to the next room and sat down against the wall.

She dared not sleep, and could only endure it. She dared not relax her guard, for fear that if the girl called for Shui Qi Ye, she would not hear her and would incur another scolding from the girl.

So Ruizhu pressed herself against the wall, listening to the sounds coming from the room, secretly pondering how to change the girl's mind and save her brother's life.

Ruizhu thought about it all night but couldn't come up with a solution. However, a turning point came early the next morning.

Early in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, there was a knocking on the gate of the manor.

The steward of the estate left before dawn. When the steward's son heard the knocking, he thought someone else had come and hurriedly ran to open the door.

When the door opened, he was surprised to find that it was his father who had knocked.

The boy had initially intended to complain about his father disturbing his sleep by getting up so early. However, he then noticed a familiar face standing next to his father. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was none other than Liu Mama, the woman who served the lady of the house.

Before the young man could even bow, Madam Liu entered the courtyard with a stern face and asked the steward, "Which room is the young lady staying in?"

"The main house, she lives in the main house. The main house has always been prepared for the young lady and is kept very clean. When the young lady comes, everything is ready."

Madam Liu hummed in agreement and said nothing more, only instructing the two maids following behind her to wake the young lady up.

Yesterday, the lady was so upset by the young lady that she had a headache, and the household was in such a mess that she didn't notice Lin Shuqing.

She initially thought that the young lady had gone to her own courtyard as instructed. However, as darkness fell, she still didn't see any lights on in the courtyard, and Liu's mother immediately felt something was amiss, so she went to knock on the door.

Lin Shuqing was not inside the gate. They hurriedly went to the gate to inquire and learned that Lin Shuqing had left the Chang'an Marquis's residence in a carriage long ago.

Everyone in the Chang'an Marquis's residence, including Liu Mama, assumed that Lin Shuqing had returned to the Rongguo Duke's residence, and therefore, they stopped looking for her. However, they muttered to themselves: "This girl has been raised in vain. She went back to her parents' home and made her own mother fall ill, but she just left as if nothing had happened. What a heartless ingrate!"

Unexpectedly, the steward of Lin Shuqing's dowry estate arrived early in the morning, saying that the young lady had rested there the previous night. Seeing that she was only accompanied by a coachman, he immediately realized something was amiss and wanted to come to the manor to inform her, but by the time he reached the city gate, it was already locked. Having no other option, he rushed over just as the gates opened early in the morning to deliver the message.

Let's talk about whether what Lin Shuqing did was outrageous or not.

Her family thought she had gone back to her husband's family, and her husband's family thought she was at her parents' home. In the end, she didn't stay at either of them and went to a village on the outskirts of the city.

Moreover, he didn't bring any maids or servants, only a coachman.

This is so unethical, it's laughable.

But this is the kind of thing that a daughter from a prestigious family, born of a noble lineage, would do. If word got out, probably no one would believe it.

Liu Mama served Lady Chang'an all night, barely getting any sleep. Just as dawn broke and Lady Chang'an's headache subsided, allowing her to rest, this astonishing news arrived.

Now, Lady Chang'an's headaches have worsened. When Liu Mama thought of the lady's headaches and listened to her own extremely disordered heartbeat, she also became uneasy.

Just then, Liu Mama heard Lin Shuqing's angry shouts coming from her room. Those two young maids clearly couldn't control Lin Shuqing, and even she, with her old bones, probably couldn't control that girl.

As Liu's mother stepped into the house, she immediately noticed a familiar maid standing by the door. Wasn't that Ruizhu?

Ruizhu was being stared at intently by Liu's mother, and cold sweat was about to pour down her forehead.

She hurriedly bowed to Liu Mama, who said, "Get up, don't stand here, go and help the young lady get dressed and wash up."

She took a few more steps forward and went into the inner room.

Lin Shuqing was standing on the bed at that moment. She had slapped the two maids twice, one of them had her face scratched, and the other had her hair all messed up.

In contrast, Lin Shuqing looked down at everyone with an arrogant expression, calling them "lowly servants" repeatedly. Her beautiful face was full of ferocity, making her no longer look like a lovely young girl, but rather like a madwoman.

Liu Mama came in and, before Lin Shuqing could scold her, said directly, "Miss, you should go back to the manor quickly. Madam knows you stayed here last night and is very worried about you. Madam's headache is still acting up, and she is also worried about your food and lodging. She is not feeling well now. Miss, you should come back to the manor with this old servant."

Lin Shuqing sneered, wanting to say that she wouldn't return to the manor.

But can she stay in this manor for a day or two, or for a lifetime?

There's nothing here; she's not used to any of the food, clothing, or accommodations. Since there are luxurious rooms available, why should she suffer here without any hardship?

Furthermore, if she doesn't seek her mother's help, how can she vent her anger at the Rongguo Duke's mansion?
After much deliberation, Lin Shuqing decided she still had to return to the Marquis of Chang'an's residence, and her anger subsided slightly.

But Lin Shuqing still remembered the two maids barging into her room so early in the morning without being informed, so she said, "I can go back, but first deal with these two unruly maids. I'm in a good mood today, so I won't punish you too severely. You can slap each other fifty times."

Fifty slaps to each person, their faces would be swollen from all the blows.

Madam Liu's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but think to herself: How could this girl be so ruthless? This is a girl carefully raised by a prestigious family. Her virtue, speech, appearance, and skills are only passable in terms of appearance. As for the rest... no matter how you look at it, she doesn't seem like a girl from a powerful family.

In the end, the fifty slaps were naturally not delivered.

Because Liu Mama said, "We're about to return to the manor. There are so many people along the way; if they see us, they'll inevitably gossip about you, Miss. Let's wait until we get back to the manor before we worry about this."

The matter was eventually put aside, and Lin Shuqing dressed herself up and boarded the carriage.

Just as the carriage was about to depart, Liu's mother's dim, yellow eyes suddenly turned to Ruizhu, who was standing beside the carriage.

She suddenly spoke up, "Ruizhu, why don't you come back to the Marquis's residence as well?"

In her fear, Ruizhu's voice cracked, "Me, me? I won't go. I caught a cold while keeping watch yesterday, and I don't want to pass on my illness to the young lady and madam."

Liu's mother said, "Since neither the young lady nor the madam cares about these things, you shouldn't worry about it either. Hurry up and get in the car, we're leaving soon, and we don't want to keep the young lady waiting."

"But my clothes are filthy, and I haven't had time to change or wash myself."

"It's alright, you can wash up when you get back to the Marquis's residence."

Ruizhu knew that if she really returned to the Marquis's mansion, her life would be in danger.

After all, the young lady believed her nonsense simply because she grasped the key point that "the young lady and the son-in-law are not on good terms." However, her nonsense would probably fall apart under the madam's questioning.

At that time, she won't just be punished or sold off; she might actually lose her life.

Ruizhu didn't want to go, and she didn't dare to go. But the Lady Hou wanted to see her, so how could she refuse?
Liu Mama gave a signal to the two maids, who immediately swarmed around Ruizhu and pushed her into the carriage.

Ruizhu wanted to jump off the train again, but Lin Shuqing inside the carriage was already getting impatient.

She flung open the curtain and looked at the group of people outside. "What are you all dawdling about? What are you all gossiping about?"

Mrs. Liu smiled good-naturedly, "Don't worry, girl, we'll go now, we'll go now."

"Ruizhu, stop standing there and hurry inside to serve the young lady."

At this point, it was too late for Ruizhu to say or do anything. So she gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and braced herself as she entered the carriage.

Liu Mama then came in, but only allowed the other two maids to go back in another carriage, which made Ruizhu's heart sink.

She had originally planned to take advantage of Liu Mama's absence, make a bad deal in front of the girl, say a few nice words, and hope that the girl would help her later and save her life no matter what.

Now, with Liu's mother sitting with them and watching her like a thief, Ruizhu couldn't say a word, no matter how much she wanted to say.

(End of this chapter)