Her guards

Chapter 41 The Unhappy and the Happy Miss
"How did I fail to get elected?"

"Why was I left out?!"

The Ding'an Duke's Mansion was anything but quiet in the early morning; even standing outside the courtyard, one could hear Yang Hui crying inside.

Since Yang Hui returned to the manor in tears yesterday, the entire manor has been shrouded in gloom.

Along with the crying, there was also the sound of teacups and vases shattering.

It went on all night.

After an unknown amount of time, accompanied by the gentle coaxing of Lady Ding'an, Yang Hui was exhausted and cried herself to sleep.

The servants and maids, who hadn't slept all night and looked exhausted, stood inside and outside the courtyard as Lady Ding'an walked out.

Lady Ding'an looked exhausted, with sunken eyes. She pinched her forehead and glanced at the servants in the courtyard: "You all better watch over the young lady. If anything happens to her, I won't let you off the hook."

The servants bowed their heads and replied in agreement.

"Madam, you should go and rest. You've been up all night," a maid advised.

Lady Ding'an was indeed at her breaking point; the last time she had suffered like this was more than a decade ago when the world was in chaos.

But instead of resting back in the courtyard, he pulled Ding'an Gong, who was lying in a rocking chair, up.

"How can you still sleep?" she snapped.

Yang Bin, the Duke of Ding'an, is the eldest son of the old Duke of Ding'an. Now in his forties, although he comes from a wealthy family in the countryside, after more than ten years of being nourished by his title in the capital, he has a ruddy complexion, beautiful sideburns, and a rather elegant and noble demeanor.

Being pulled into this situation by his wife made him feel both ashamed and angry, but he didn't dare to get angry. He just kept saying, "I didn't sleep all night. I just lay down for a nap."

Lady Ding'an shook him off: "What are you dozing off for? It's dawn! Why aren't you hurrying to ask Marquis Yichun what happened? Did he send a message to the Empress?"

Duke Ding'an said, "It must have been submitted; the exam questions were given to them in advance..."

Having learned the exam questions in advance, they selected the most suitable ones, wrote them down beforehand, and had Yang Hui memorize them.

"Hui'er also said that there was indeed that test question."

At this point, Duke Ding'an stroked his beard.

"Could it be that I didn't answer the question well?"

His title was secure, and his job was easy. He didn't need to maintain many good advisors or retainers to plan his future. The advisors at home who helped manage daily affairs were generally not very knowledgeable.
Lady Ding'an slammed her hand on the table and said angrily, "What do you mean, 'answering the question is bad'? What does this have to do with answering the question! This has to do with whether or not we submitted Hui'er's name to the National Academy."

The Empress agreed and would inform the examiners at the Imperial Academy in advance that this person and this paper would be selected.

Are they playing us?

At this point, Lady Ding'an covered her face and wept.

"They are really bullying us."

She was crying and filled with resentment.

"Our Yang family has already humbled ourselves enough."

"They don't even consider that if we hadn't backed down back then, how could that woman surnamed Chai have become empress—"

Duke Ding'an rushed over and covered his wife's mouth: "Stop talking nonsense!"

Lady Ding'an's chest heaved violently, but she bit her lip and didn't say anything more. She just angrily flung her sleeves and sat down to wipe her tears.

Even at home, Duke Ding'an still cautiously looked outside before turning back and sighing.

“Don’t worry, we don’t know what’s going on yet,” he said. “I’ll go ask the Marquis of Yichun right now.”

Lady Ding'an took a deep breath and looked at him: "I'm not asking, I'm telling him that Hui'er must be chosen to be the princess's study companion. This isn't just about being a study companion; the whole capital is watching. If Hui'er isn't selected, it means our family is nothing in His Majesty's eyes!"

Duke Ding'an muttered, "It shouldn't have come to this..."

Lady Ding'an slammed her fist on the table in anger again: "It's serious! Absolutely serious! Don't take this lightly! If Marquis Yichun doesn't want to speak for us, then I'll go directly to His Majesty." She sneered, "Then he can't blame us for deliberately appearing before His Majesty."

Duke Ding'an repeatedly reassured him, "Alright, alright, I know, I'll go right away." He then cautioned, "This is a small matter, but we mustn't make a scene in front of His Majesty. Don't tarnish His dignity or anger the Chai family. Alas, although His Majesty is still in good health, the throne will eventually be passed on to the Crown Prince."

The Crown Prince had no connection with their family, and Lady Ding'an naturally knew this. Clutching her hands, she stopped demanding to see His Majesty and gritted her teeth, saying, "Hurry up and go!" Duke Ding'an didn't dare to delay any longer and hurriedly went out.

The room fell silent, but Lady Ding'an still felt a ringing in her ears and a tightness in her chest.

The past misdeeds are clearly over, and there's no need to live in fear anymore; things should go smoothly now.

Why are things suddenly not going well?

……

....
Yang Luo pushed open the door, stretched, and realized it was already noon.

Mo Zheng sat in the courtyard chopping wood.

“Miss, even if the exam is over, you can’t slack off. Even if you don’t study like a madman, you can’t sleep until noon, can you?” she said.

Yang Luo couldn't help but laugh.

After being selected as a study companion yesterday, she slept well for the first time ever.

Moreover, my neck doesn't hurt as much as it used to when I slept well...

"I'll just take one day off," she said with a laugh. "I'll study hard from now on."

Mo Zheng nodded: "That's fine, it saves me a meal." She then stood up, "I'll make you lunch now."

Yang Luo stopped her, saying, "No need, let's go to a restaurant to eat."

Mo Zheng raised an eyebrow: "Are we celebrating?"

Yang Luo nodded with a smile: "We must celebrate." Then, looking at Mo Zheng, she added, "We also need to thank Asheng."

After saying that, he walked over a few steps and gave a solemn bow.

If it weren't for Ah Sheng, she might still be helplessly hiding in Lu County. Even if she came to the capital, she might miss the exam and Miss Liu's invitation.

After being reborn and having Ah Sheng by her side, everything went smoothly for her, and all her wishes came true.

Mo Zheng smiled and said, "You're too kind, Miss. Just give me some extra money as a reward after the guard duty is over."

This young guard always talked about money, but in reality, he wasn't greedy at all. To become a bandit leader who was feared by the imperial court and had gathered 100,000 followers, he must have had a magnanimous heart. Although he had gone astray, he could still be considered a hero. Yang Luo didn't say anything more and gestured to him, "Let's go..."

He had just taken a step when Mo Zheng stopped him again.

“Miss, you can’t go out like this,” Mo Zheng said, looking her up and down.

Yang Luo reached out and touched her face: "I've already washed up."

Mo Zheng said, pointing to her face, "But you didn't use that makeup powder. You have to remember, from the moment you were selected after the exam, you have always been Miss Liu of Fuzhou."

Yang Luo suddenly realized: "I'll go right now."

After saying that, she hurried back to her room, sat down at her dressing table, and took out the box of powder that Mo Zheng had given her earlier.

This powder is very easy to use; she learned how to use it after just one try.

While applying makeup in front of the mirror, she couldn't help but glance out into the yard.

The young guard put down his axe and carefully washed his hands with water from the kitchen.

This young man chops wood, cooks, and rides horses; he seems to consider everything, seems to know everything, and seems to fear nothing.

Are all hunters like this?
Yang Luo felt something was strange.

However, so far these strange occurrences have not been bad for her; on the contrary, they have been helpful.

Yang Luo withdrew her gaze and concealed her face in the mirror, making herself look different.

This time, she's determined to make those who hurt her and her mother suffer a terrible fate; she doesn't care about anything else.

No updates on the 15th. After that, the trip will end and things will return to normal. Hehe.

(End of this chapter)