Marrying a treacherous official

Yunji slept soundly all night, and when she woke up the next day, her throat felt like it was being cut by a knife.

"Madam, you've finally woken up."

Chunxuan stood before the daybed, her eyes filled with joy, and said:

"When the master carried the lady in at midnight yesterday, Hua Chao and I were terrified. Granny Kong found a doctor to examine the lady overnight. He gave her acupuncture and medicine, and it was late at night before the lady's fever finally subsided."

Yunji couldn't keep up with her pace of speech and was still stuck on the first sentence, wondering dully as to why Cui Zemin would carry her in the door.

All she remembered was that man threatening her not to shed a tear, and even more so, not to embarrass him in the palace, or he would beat her.

Hua Chao brought over a teapot with a handle, gave Chunxuan a sidelong glare, and said to her:

"You didn't even offer the lady water when she woke up. How are you taking care of her?"

Chunxuan lowered her eyes timidly, quickly helped the lady sit up, took the warm water that Huachao handed her, and fed it to the lady.

Ever since Hua Chao took charge of affairs outside, she has increasingly adopted the style of Granny Kong in disciplining servants. It is common for her to come back to the mansion and lecture her, so she dares not provoke her easily.

Hua Chao summoned a maidservant outside the door to bring in water and personally helped Yun Ji wash and change her clothes.

Yunji sat back in the armchair, watching Huachao comb her long black hair through the bronze mirror and carefully style it into a high bun, while Chunxuan stood timidly behind her, handing her a hairpin.

"Why aren't you busy at the farm? We haven't even found enough tenants for spring planting after the New Year."

"No matter how important things are outside, nothing is more important than your health."

Hua Chao's eyes welled up with tears when he thought of his wife's return last night, the sickly blush on her pale face, and the burning heat he felt when he touched her forehead.

"With Granny Kong looking after Zhuangzi, Madam need not worry. Let me stay by your side and serve you until you recover."

"With Chunxuan by my side taking care of me, aren't you worried?"

"If she had taken good care of the lady, how could the lady have fallen so seriously ill?"

Upon hearing this, Yunji realized that she had misunderstood Chunxuan and felt compelled to speak up for her.

"When I went to the palace for the banquet, my family only brought the maids and servants from Minghe Hall. The Lady of the Marquis left first and took her maids with her. I was cold and had no one to take care of me. I can't blame Chunxuan entirely."

"But the master has said that the lady's illness is entirely the fault of the servants in the courtyard for not taking good care of her."

Upon hearing Hua Chao's words, Chunxuan lowered her head even further.

Yun Ji looked on in astonishment, still disbelieving, and asked, "What else did he say?"

Chunxuan spoke before Huachao could, "The master was so angry that he ordered all the servants of Qinghui Courtyard to have their salaries reduced by three months."

Yunji didn't want to be implicated, so she said, "When I give out New Year's gifts later, I'll double the amount."

Chunxuan bowed on behalf of the servants in the courtyard, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Madam."

Hua Chao was worried that his wife would offend the master because of this matter, so he said with a worried look, "If the master finds out, he will probably become estranged from his wife again."

Yunji had already caused him to lose face in front of all the officials, so he didn't care about adding this one more thing.

"The servants have worked hard all year, so how can we spoil everyone's New Year celebration? I'll find another opportunity to apologize to you, sir."

Thinking of how Cui Zemin carried her in, she felt it was only right and proper for her to go over and thank him. "Is the master at home?"

Hua Chao: "Master went to the palace early this morning, I wonder when he will be able to return home."

After breakfast, Yunji had just taken her medicine when the nanny from Minghetang came to deliver a message.

"The Lady of the Marquis has something to discuss. Summon the First Madam to Minghe Hall for questioning."

"The old woman has come at an inopportune time."

Having received instructions from Granny Kong to always stand in front of the Madam and protect her, Hua Chao immediately stepped forward and said:

"My lady caught a cold last night and still has a high fever. I'm afraid she will have to wait until the doctor comes to administer acupuncture before she can go and pay her respects to the Lady of the Marquis."

The old woman was shrewd and capable; she wasn't intimidated by her words and countered them with a witty retort:

"The Lady of the Marquis is very concerned about the First Madam's illness. No doctor outside can compare to the imperial physicians in the palace. After the First Madam goes there, we can invite the imperial physicians to come and give her a proper examination."

Helpless, Hua Chao could only silently retreat.

Yunji knew that there was no way to avoid it this time.

She behaved improperly in front of the palace, and this gave Lady You a handle to use against her. How could Lady You not punish her severely?

"It is truly my fault for causing Mother such worry. I will go and pay my respects to Mother right away."

On the way to Minghe Hall, Hua Chao and Chunxuan watched the lady's back with worry, fearing that her body could not withstand it.

Yunji did not disappoint their "expectations," and upon entering the front hall, she coughed repeatedly, turning into a "sickly beauty."

She weakly greeted Madam You, gasping for breath, and said in a hoarse voice:

"Greetings to my coughing mother..."

"How did you end up so sick after going out to the banquet in perfect health?"

As soon as Madam You opened her mouth, she began to complain about Yunji, pressing her with a stern voice:

"If it weren't for Madam Zhang, the Prefect, casually mentioning it while having tea with me, I would still be completely in the dark. How could you, the eldest daughter of a noble family, be so disgraced in front of the Xuanhe Hall, causing the Cui family to lose face and become the laughingstock of the entire capital?"

"Mother, please forgive me, I just coughed because I was cold and cried."

Yunji offered a weak and feeble explanation.

Cui Lizhu stood aside and said sarcastically, "No wonder my elder brother said that my sister-in-law is spoiled. Such a delicate and pampered person is not something our Marquis's mansion can afford to provide."

This time, Aunt Du was also summoned for a reprimand. Seeing this, she quickly put on a smiling face and pleaded for Yunji:

"The First Madam is quite ill. Even if the Lady of the Marquis wants to punish her, it's not too late to do so after she recovers."

"When did it become your place to interrupt me!"

Madam You fiercely berated Aunt Du, forcing her to cower and retreat.

"They said it was an asthma attack before, and they skipped the morning and evening greetings every now and then. Later, when they were punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall, they collapsed in the courtyard, and they were also exempted from kneeling for three hours. Are they going to use illness as an excuse again this time?"

She adopted the authority of the matriarch and shouted sternly:

"It is because I have indulged you time and time again that you have behaved so improperly in front of the palace, disgracing the Cui family. Guards, lock the First Madam in the ancestral hall to reflect on her actions. Without my order, she is not to step out of the ancestral hall even once!"

"Madam Hou, please forgive me—"

Hua Chao led Chunxuan in bowing to Madam You in unison:

"Even the master said that the lady shed tears because she was cold outside the palace, and it was not intentional for her to be disrespectful in front of the palace. It was all my fault. That day, I picked out the wrong spring dress for the lady at the banquet. It was my fault that the lady was cold. I beg you, Madam, to punish me!"

Seeing that even a mere maid dared to use Cui Zeming to intimidate her, and recalling how Granny Wang had almost been beaten to death by Gu Yunji, Madam You said with intense hatred:

"Guards, drag these two maids who are harming their master out and beat them to death with sticks."

Hua Chao and Chun Xuan trembled with fear, cold sweat pouring down their faces, but they bit their lips and refused to beg for mercy from Madam You.