Marrying a treacherous official

Yunji lingered in the main house for too long, and when she went to Minghe Hall to pay her respects to Madam You, she was a full half hour late.

She bowed her head in greeting and then took her seat at the lower end of the table.

Madam You sat upright in her armchair, sipping her Biluochun tea, and began by asking, "When did you return to your parents' home? Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"

Yunji thought to herself that if she really told her this, how would she ever be able to leave the Cui residence?

Her face showed utter panic, and she said in disbelief:

"Upon learning of my grandmother's sudden illness, I left home that day with my master's permission. In my haste, I only sent the head maid to inform my mother. How could she not know?"

Madam You calmly put down her teacup. "Is that so? Which blind old woman is it that has neglected even the First Madam's orders?"

Yunji replied respectfully, "It's Granny Cui, who keeps the keys to the courtyard's storeroom."

Upon hearing this, Madam You immediately became serious.

Granny Cui, who had come with him to pay her respects, was so unjustly afflicted that her knees buckled and she knelt on the blue bricks, repeatedly crying out in injustice:

"The First Madam did not give this old servant any orders. This old servant is innocent. I beg the Madam to investigate."

"Does that mean I'm deceiving Mother?"

Yunji had long wanted to clean up the Qinghui Courtyard, especially the spies that Madam Hou had planted in the backyard.

Her sharp gaze swept over her, and Hua Chao steadily met her gaze, stepping forward with perfect understanding and saying:

"When the First Madam instructed Granny Cui to deliver the message, I was waiting in the flower hall. Granny Cui failed in her duty and even slandered the First Madam. She should be severely punished. I beg the Lady of the Marquis to do justice for the First Madam."

Having learned from past mistakes, how could the You family possibly allow themselves to fall apart?

She gently brushed aside the foam, her eyebrows not even lifting, and said, "Can't Ji'er manage the servants of Qinghui Courtyard?"

Yun Ji gracefully rose from her chair, curtsied, and said, "Forgive my ignorance, Mother, for I do not understand your meaning. Please enlighten me."

"You went back to your parents' home to visit them without my knowledge. Did I not know about this?"

"Yes."

"The head maid in charge of the courtyard is incompetent; have you neglected to discipline her?"

"Yes."

Madam You took a sip of tea, the refreshing sensation reaching her very core. "According to the rules of the manor, what punishment should be imposed?"

Yunji bluntly stated, "Disrespecting the mistress and failing in her duties warrants punishment; she should kneel in the ancestral hall for three hours."

"While it's understandable that you've returned to your parents' home to serve your grandmother, if everyone sets an example and acts without consulting the ruler, how will the household be managed?"

After weighing the options for a long time, Madam You finally made her decision: "Is the First Madam ordered to kneel in the ancestral hall for three hours as punishment, to be carried out immediately? As for how to deal with Granny Cui, what does Granny Tong think?"

Granny Tong advised, "Reporting to Madam Hou, Granny Cui is the manager of the storeroom in Qinghui Courtyard, sent by Minghe Hall. She made a mistake, and it is Minghe Hall that should handle it."

Following her words, Madam You said, "We'll do as you say."

Yunji stood to the side, her eyebrows lowered, and spoke, "Ji'er is willing to accept the punishment, but there is one more thing I need to discuss with Mother."

"What is it? Please tell me."

"The three hundred acres of farmland that the new emperor bestowed upon the old man have remained unattended to this day."

Yunji came to pay her respects this time to put in a good word for this matter.

"With so many estates and shops in the Marquis's mansion, there are simply not enough stewards to take over the estates. I'm thinking of recruiting ten more estate managers into the mansion, which will allow us to manage the land in an orderly manner."

How could Madam You tolerate her planting people right under her nose? She coldly replied:

"The rule set by the Marquis is that the servants in the manor should make the best use of their abilities, and a few diligent and capable ones should be selected from the stewards to try out in the estate. There is no need to add any more servants to the manor."

"Does Mother mean that I can freely dispatch any steward I fancy?"

Yunji directly voiced her confusion.

Madam You smiled knowingly, "It's fine to call upon the steward, but it can't interfere with the duties of the manor. If the steward can manage the shop and also take care of the farming work, wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"

Yunji had been thoroughly tricked by her, but on the surface, she had no choice but to flatter and agree, "Mother is absolutely right."

Everyone knows that in the entire Marquis's mansion, from the steward to the cleaning lady, most of their indentures are firmly held in the hands of Madam You.

With just a word from Madam You, no one would dare to become a manager on her land. Moreover, without Madam You's approval, she could forget about hiring a steward to work in her mansion.

The mountain shadows were about to sink, and the north wind was rising, but it could not dispel the boundless, thick darkness of night.

Yunji knelt upright in front of the hall, reflecting on his actions.

According to the rules of the mansion, she should be punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall.

However, the old woman guarding the ancestral hall said that the hall doors should not be opened on the fifth or tenth of each month, as this was a rule passed down from the ancestors. So, the eldest wife had no choice but to perform her filial duties in front of the hall.

Hua Chao and Chun Xuan knelt on either side of the lady as she was punished.

As the draft gradually picked up, Chunxuan coldly scrutinized her face. Fearing that her mistress's frail body couldn't withstand it, she quickly knelt down and stepped forward to block the wind.

"Madam, please avoid this cold wind, lest you fall ill."

Yunji dragged her stiff, cold legs and hid behind her, asking in a low voice, "Is that old woman still guarding outside the courtyard gate?"

Hua Chao glanced at the end of the corridor out of the corner of her eye and replied, "Keep watch."

Chunxuan couldn't help but curse under her breath:

"That old hag is clearly making things difficult for you, Madam. I've been in this mansion for so long, and I've never heard anyone say that the ancestral hall is closed on the 5th or 10th of each month. She just wants to make you kneel in the frosty weather so she can go to Minghe Hall to ask for a reward!"

Seeing her braving the cold wind, puffs of white breath coming from her small mouth, still cursing and yelling incessantly, Yunji nudged her arm and said:

"You're cursing in the wind, don't you feel cold?"

"It's cold."

Chunxuan muttered, still not satisfied, "But I still have to scold him, otherwise how can I vent my anger?"

Yun Ji chuckled softly, tilting her shimmering eyes upwards to gaze at the Milky Way overhead. "I've been kneeling for half an hour, why hasn't it snowed yet in this freezing night?"

Chunxuan looked up at the sky above, wondering why the lady had said such a nonsensical thing, when a dark figure suddenly collapsed beside her!

She turned around in a panic and saw the lady fall precisely into Hua Chao's arms.

"What's wrong, Madam?!"

"Quickly, someone come! The lady has fallen ill!"

Hua Chao held Yun Ji firmly in her arms, and knowingly scolded the old woman who was running towards her:

"My lady has been taking care of the old lady at her parents' home for three days and three nights without closing her eyes, and yet you, you old servant, have made things difficult for her, forcing her to kneel outside the ancestral hall until late at night. If the master finds out about this, he'll be the first to not forgive you!"

"This old servant is innocent! I'll go out and fetch a doctor for the Madam right away."

The old woman was so frightened that she hurriedly ran outside.

Hua Chao watched the old woman run off into the distance and urged Chunxuan, who was standing there in a daze, to speak:

"What are you still kneeling for? Quickly bend over and crawl down, then carry the lady back."

Chunxuan suddenly realized what was going on, and carried the lady on her back and ran towards Qinghui Courtyard.