Union

Chapter 87 Scandal
Lady Feng fell ill from the anger of the Lady of Chang'an and her daughter, which enraged the Duke of Rong. But let's leave that aside for now.

It's said that Lin Shuqing was uneasy, perhaps because her previous antics had upset her mother-in-law, or perhaps because the rumors in the household made her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles. She felt wronged but dared not act recklessly. In the end, she decided to go to a Zen temple to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist prayers for the Second Master and Madam Feng.

Lin Shuqing pleaded with Madam Feng, but Madam Feng refused to see her. It was only the Crown Prince's wife who made time to meet with her and granted her request.

The Crown Prince's wife had a rather complicated opinion about Lin Shuqing.

She even made her own mother-in-law sick with anger, yet she still had the mind to go to a temple to escape to a peaceful place.

They say it's to pray to the gods and Buddhas, but they're probably just worried about being punished by the Duke, so they'd rather run away first.
The Crown Prince's wife found it difficult to evaluate her sister-in-law. She showed no compassion or tenderness in her actions, though her faith in Buddhism was unwavering. Ever since Erlang went south, she would visit the Tingchan Temple for two days around the fifteenth of each month, ostensibly to pray for the well-being of the people in the manor.

If we calculate the dates again, isn't the day after tomorrow the fifteenth of this month?
Alright, so it turns out she wasn't avoiding a peaceful life, but rather it was time for her to repent before Buddha. Let her go then.

No one in the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, including the Crown Prince's wife, took Lin Shuqing's regular visits to the Zen temple to worship Buddha seriously.

After all, Tingchan Temple was a legitimate temple, and those who went there to worship Buddha were mostly members of the imperial family or the families of meritorious officials.

There was nothing shady going on here, so no one thought much of it.

Not only did the Crown Prince's wife and Madam Feng not think much of it, but even Lin Shuqing's head maids didn't think much of it either.

However, Ruixue was unable to appear in public for the time being because she had been hit on the head; Ruizhi was in an even worse situation. She bumped into the carriage and a large bump swelled up on her head. She then felt dizzy and vomited repeatedly and had to stay in the clinic for a day before returning to the Duke's mansion.

It can be said that neither of these two maids can be used anymore. As a result, only Ruijin is left who can accompany Lin Shuqing when she goes out.

Ruijin was unsure whether she felt a sense of shared sorrow or was worried that if Lin Shuqing suffered further harm, she would also be in trouble.

After arriving at Tingchan Temple, Ruijin followed closely behind Lin Shuqing.

She didn't even have time to eat. As soon as she heard that Lin Shuqing was going for a moonlit stroll, she dropped her chopsticks and followed her without stopping.

Lin Shuqing didn't fall asleep until midnight, and Ruijin, who was on night watch, naturally didn't dare to sleep too soundly.

Adding to her woes, she hadn't eaten lunch and had been hiking for a long time, so her stomach was rumbling, and she had to keep pressing on her stomach to force herself to sleep.

But just as she was about to fall asleep, she noticed that Lin Shuqing on the bed had moved.

Ruijin was exhausted and also felt that Lin Shuqing's stealthy manner was too strange.

Alarm bells rang in her mind, preventing her from making the slightest move. Only after Lin Shuqing opened the door and secretly left the room did she hold her breath and follow her with trepidation.

Lin Shuqing disappeared around a corner, and Ruijin was so shocked she almost screamed for help.

Just as she was so frightened that her legs went weak and she thought she was doomed, she suddenly heard a faint rustling sound coming from behind the courtyard gate not far away.

There were soft, broken female voices and deep, husky male voices inside.

The female voice is definitely my daughter, no doubt about it. As for the male voice...

Ruijin didn't recognize the man's voice, but a bolt of lightning struck her mind: No wonder her young lady came to the Zen Temple every month; her young lady had cheated on the Second Master!

Upon realizing this, Ruijin was so terrified that she almost lost her breath.

But her will to survive was too strong; she dared not make any noise, lest she awaken the two people behind the door, or perhaps the man's guards hiding nearby.

She could only try to hold her breath, hold her heart in her throat, and eavesdrop.

Lin Shuqing first mumbled something, then made the man promise to avenge her.

She also said that if she hadn't been in such a hurry to find him that night, she wouldn't have fallen into the water and been rescued by Chen Yanzhou, after which she had no choice but to submit to him.

She also said that she had given him her virginity, and if he were a man, he would stand up for her and not let her be bullied like this. She also said she would give that man a son so that he would send his queen home.

Upon hearing the word "Princess," Ruijin had already guessed the man's identity.

But she still couldn't believe it. How could the girl be so confused? How could she get involved with the Second Prince again?

If the Second Prince truly intended to propose marriage, he should have come to the Rongguo Duke's residence to propose before the latter did.

But he did nothing. In fact, not long after the girl got married, he immediately arranged to marry the second daughter of the Minister of Revenue.

After the marriage, he was granted the title of Prince Ding, and the Second Prince's wife became the Princess Ding.

The girl was fooled by Ruizhu, because Ruizhu said that the second master was going to marry Yunying and divorce her, his first wife. In a fit of anger, she caused all this trouble.

What about now?
She had an affair with Prince Ding and encouraged him to send Princess Ding back home.

This operation...

Ah, Ruizhu's claim of sending her back to the Marquis of Chang'an's residence was a lie; her true intention was to send the Princess Consort of Ding back to her maiden home.

How did her girl become such a girl?

Rui Jin felt a chill run through her body and realized she could no longer stay by Lin Shuqing's side. Otherwise, one day she would either suffer the same fate as Rui Xue and Rui Zhi, being humiliated by the young lady or losing her life.

She was terrified of death and could no longer serve the young lady.

The sounds of a man and woman engaging in illicit sexual intercourse could be heard again from behind the courtyard gate. They didn't even have time to go inside; they were already entangled in each other under the open sky. Ruijin wanted to take this opportunity to return to her room; she felt this was the perfect time.

After all, if that man was Prince Ding, he would definitely be accompanied by guards. However, such matters of adultery cannot be discussed in public, so Prince Ding would certainly send those guards far away.

This was her chance to escape.

Just as Ruijin was about to make her move, a woman's scream and a man's groan came from the other side. The two reached their peak at the same time, and for a moment, even the air in the temple seemed to become a little more polluted.

Ruijin was so frightened that she dared not move, but after a moment of silence, the other side began to whisper sweet nothings.

Prince Ding asked, "Did your maids wake up in the middle of the night?"

Lin Shuqing's voice held a hint of arrogance and softness as she hummed, "You sent someone to administer the drug. Don't you know better than me whether they'll wake up halfway through? Don't worry, they definitely won't wake up. The drug was so strong that they can sleep until dawn. It's always been like this before."

Rui Jin's heart skipped a beat. She thought to herself, "No wonder they all slept so well when they went to Tingchan Temple with the young lady. Not only did the maids sleep through the night, but when asked, Lin Shuqing said that she hadn't woken up at all."

They thought it was the boundless power of Buddhism that had suppressed their inner turmoil and defilement, but it turned out they had been drugged long ago!

The conversation then turned to the Second Master and the Rongguo Duke's Mansion. Lin Shuqing spoke frankly about everything, including matters concerning the Duke's Mansion and even the Chang'an Marquis's Mansion, without keeping anything from Prince Ding.

She was so open and honest with Prince Ding, without any guile. If this meant Prince Ding harbored ill intentions...

Ruijin was so frightened that her legs went weak.

But perhaps her will to survive was too strong, and she eventually dragged her weak body back to her room.

After a long while, the door was pushed open, and Lin Shuqing returned from outside.

She carried a chill and a fishy smell, the kind that comes from mingling with a man.

She entered the room, went to the purification chamber, and then came to the bedside.

Ruijin lay on the footstool, curled up and pretending to be asleep.

However, when Ruijin realized that Lin Shuqing was staring at her with her head down, motionless, she was terrified.

She dared not move a muscle, not even her breathing. She tried to convince herself to relax, to unwind, and then Lin Shuqing suddenly stomped on her little finger.

She even pinched it hard twice.

Ruijin was in so much pain that she broke out in a cold sweat, but she still dared not move, dared not breathe erratically, and dared not even tense her body.

After a long time, Ruijin felt that her finger was definitely going to be ruined, so Lin Shuqing moved her foot, took off her clothes, and got into bed.

She fell asleep quickly, but Ruijin couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

She was afraid that once she fell asleep, she would never wake up again. She was also worried that if she had nightmares or talked in her sleep, Lin Shuqing would find out that she had discovered her shameful affair and would kill her.

Ruijin was terrified; she couldn't eat or sleep and soon fell ill.

She developed a high fever and lay in bed on the verge of death.

Lin Shuqing came over to check on her and said that she was so useless.

She followed her out to serve, but before her mistress could even recover, the servant collapsed. She was so weak; perhaps it would be better if she became the mistress instead.

Ruijin was so frightened that she rolled off the bed, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Perhaps it was because her appearance was too pitiful, or perhaps it was because without her keeping watch, Lin Shuqing could mingle with others more recklessly. Therefore, she only scolded her twice, then snorted twice and left.

The group stayed at Tingchan Temple for three days.

During this time, some noblewomen from the capital also came to burn incense and pray to Buddha. They had heard that the second wife of the Duke's mansion lived here, so they naturally had to pay her a visit.

As a result, Lin Shuqing acted recklessly at home, but still cared about appearances in public. She only said that she had come to pray for her husband and mother-in-law and that she would make offerings to Buddha for three days, and then she disappeared.

His words were polite and sincere, which left those who came to visit under various pretexts dumbfounded for a moment.

Having heard many tales of trouble and witnessed many farces, they now hoped to uncover more information they didn't know when they met the person involved. Unexpectedly, Lin Shuqing was incredibly discreet and sent them away without even meeting them.

Such a considerate daughter-in-law is nothing like the spoiled and domineering rumors circulating in the capital. Those rumors going around in the capital are probably just that—rumors.

Putting aside everyone's suspicions, three days later, after returning to the capital, Lin Shuqing continued to live a carefree and elegant life as the daughter-in-law of the Duke's mansion.

But Ruijin, who went with her to Tingchan Temple, fell ill.

Ruijin's high fever lingered for a long time. When it finally subsided, she inexplicably developed a rash all over her body.

The rashes were painful and itchy, and Ruijin couldn't bear it, so she scratched many of them raw, which left her face disfigured.

With his disfigurement, he could no longer serve Lin Shuqing.

Ruijin was then sent back to the Marquis of Chang'an's residence.

(End of this chapter)