Marrying a treacherous official

"My elder brother has only been in power for a few days, and Gu Yunji is already making things difficult for Mother. If my elder brother were to hold absolute power in the court one day, how could she possibly tolerate Mother?"

Cui Lizhu grew angrier as she spoke, her emotions boiling over as she said, "If Mother doesn't take action, I'm afraid that in the future, even the inner courtyard of this Marquis's mansion will no longer be under Mother's control."

Even without her saying anything, Madam You wanted to take action to get rid of Gu Yunji.

With a cold heart, she spoke, "Then let the master divorce his wife and marry another."

Choi Yeo-joo was persuaded by these words, her phoenix eyes sparkling as she pondered:

"According to the servants at Qinghui Courtyard, since my elder brother left on his wedding day, he has never set foot in the main room. He also doesn't like Gu Yunji. He already dislikes her. If you want him to divorce her, what's so difficult about it?"

"We must not get involved in this matter."

Madam You had a long-term vision and wouldn't be blinded by immediate gains or losses. She advised her:

"Your second brother will be taking the imperial examination after the New Year. The Marquis has found a way for him to pass the examination, and it's almost certain that he will pass. In this way, he can use the power of the eldest brother to gain a foothold in the court. Right now, we should avoid the eldest brother's sharp edge and not provoke him easily."

Choi Yeo-joo couldn't bring herself to lower her head when she thought about the humiliation she suffered at Cisu Hall.

"My daughter is unwilling to let Gu Yunji ride roughshod over her. Mother is in charge of managing the household affairs. This time, Gu Yunji took away the estate and servants. What will happen next?"

"If we don't take action, someone else will."

"Has Mother found someone she likes?"

Madam You looked up at Granny Tong and asked, "Who is the head maid who's to be given to the master as a concubine?"

Granny Tong replied, "It's Chi Ying. She was originally a maid in the Marquis's study. She was appreciated by the Marquis for her excellent tea-making skills and was sent to serve the young master. As a result, she became the first-class maid in Qinghui Courtyard."

"The Marquis only sent one maidservant over to his residence?"

"There were four at first, but in the end only Chi Ying remained."

"Summon her over tomorrow so I can take a look at her."

Lady You had a plan in mind, and she even came up with a brilliant idea of ​​using someone else to do her dirty work. "Use her if you can, and if you can't, just send in other maids to fill in."

Granny Tong nodded in agreement.

After Cui Lizhu left, Madam You ordered Granny Tong to close a row of doors before asking, "Where did Granny Wang run off to?"

Granny Tong handed over a secret letter. "This is a letter she secretly sent back from Qianzhou. Please take a look, Madam Hou."

After quickly glancing at the letter, Madam You handed it back to Granny Tong and smiled knowingly.

"Wang Mama is really thoughtful. Even after escaping Shengjing, she is still thinking about how to get rid of the First Madam. This trip to Qianzhou is to find out the First Madam's background so that she can help me get rid of her as well."

"It's admirable that Granny Wang, even while on the run, still thinks of the Lady of the Marquis."

Granny Tong placed the letter on a jade-carved candlestick and burned it. "With this information, the Marquis will have a much easier time dealing with the First Madam."

Madam You nodded with a smile and let out a long sigh of relief. "I only wish it were so."

As winter approached, the servants in Qinghui Courtyard bustled about, which somewhat warded off the chill.

Yunji, leading Granny Kong on a tour of the estate, returned and, through a carved flower wall, could hear Chunxuan scolding the craftsmen in the corridor.

"With this kind of skill, you dare to call yourselves the best at mending porcelain in Shengjing? Look at these cracks, look at this kintsugi, even I can't stand it, let alone my master."

Chunxuan pointed at the two dull-witted craftsmen and said harshly:

"You've ruined this beautiful porcelain screen like this! You all just wait, my master will send people to smash your signboard!"

She was swaggering and berating people when, out of the blue, Yunji slapped her hand away, knocking it down.

Chunxuan immediately suppressed her rampant arrogance and stammered, "Madam—"

"Where are the repaired jade screen and celadon mallet-shaped vase?"

Yunji glanced at Chunxuan and felt a pang of regret after she opened the rectangular box and took out the porcelain and screen. She realized that she had hit Chunxuan a bit too hard when she slapped her earlier.

Even the usually composed and prudent Granny Kong couldn't help but scold the craftsmen of the Tang family's porcelain shop after seeing the cracked porcelain and the protruding metal staples:

"If you don't have the skills, don't take on this porcelain job! How am I supposed to explain to my wife how you've ruined such an expensive piece?"

The two craftsmen kept their heads down, trembling and too afraid to reply.

Chunxuan was terrified that the master would blame her, which would then implicate the mistress, so she said anxiously:

"Madam, what should we do about this?"

"They may be a bit ugly, but that doesn't prevent these porcelain pieces from being restored to their original state."

Yunji said magnanimously, "Let's carry them all into the old man's outer study."

Chunxuan would rather doubt her ears than believe that the lady had said those words.

"Madam, this... absolutely not! If the master sees this cracked mallet-shaped bottle, he will surely smash it to pieces in a fit of anger."

"Then I'll trouble the two craftsmen to repair these porcelain shards."

Yun Ji's casual remark terrified the two craftsmen so much that they knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, vowing never to repair the vase again.

Granny Kong wanted to advise her, but seeing that the lady was determined to do it her way, she held back and went back.

Yunji reassured everyone, saying, "Sending this porcelain over is to show the old man my attitude. As for the fact that the repairs weren't perfect, every craftsman has different skill levels, and the old man should be forgiving."

Seeing that the master was about to return from court, Chunxuan swiftly ordered a maid to carry the rectangular box into the outer study. After setting up the porcelain screen, she quickly retreated to the inner courtyard, not daring to linger for even a moment.

Cui Zemin returned to his residence in a crimson and purple court robe. The maids and servants who greeted him all bowed to him with trepidation, looking as if they were afraid of offending him.

He returned to the courtyard as usual. As soon as he entered the outer study, he was struck by the broken porcelain bottle covered with centipede-shaped nails. It was so ugly that it was unbearable to look at.

"Is this the flawless mallet-shaped vase that the lady had the craftsman repair?"

Huo Xi, standing outside the corridor, dared not reply, nor did Chi Ying, who was guarding the study.

Cui Zemin, unable to bear the sight, ordered, "Turn the porcelain body around so out of sight, out of mind."

Chi Ying obediently turned the other half of the paper mallet bottle around. Unexpectedly, this broken side, which Chunxuan had carefully hidden, was filled with bright yellow kintsugi. Compared to the other side, the side with the centipede-shaped rivets looked much more delicate.

Cui Zemin couldn't help but recall the argument that night.

She loudly proclaimed the flawless porcelain mending, and kept calling out the precious literary treasures and the Four Treasures, but in the end, all she produced for him were these odds and ends.

He chuckled lightly, "It seems that Madam is deliberately trying to make things difficult for me."