Marrying a treacherous official

Even in the dead of night, the lights in Qinghui Courtyard remained burning brightly.

After seeing off the imperial physicians, Granny Kong hurried back to the main room and was shocked to see Yun Ji getting up from the daybed. She rushed over and stopped her, saying:

"Madam, please lie down quickly. The imperial physician said you have injured your head and need to rest properly."

Where is the old man?

Yunji gripped Granny Kong's arm tightly and cried out urgently, "Quickly stop him! Don't let him bring his knife into Minghe Hall!"

Granny Kong steadied her body, which was leaning out of the bed, and said with deep emotion:

"The old master was summoned to Cishou Hall for questioning. With the old lady present, the Marquis dared not do anything to him."

"Why did the old lady come out of the Buddhist hall?"

"It was this old servant who went to knock on the door and begged the old lady to come out and take charge."

At that time, Granny Kong dared not make a single wrong move.

Unable to stop the old man, she handed the First Madam over to Hua Chao and Chunxuan for care and then went to the Buddhist hall to kneel and beg the Old Madam to step in and quell the trouble.

Yunji looked at her nervously, asking with lingering fear, "Did the old man attack someone with a knife?"

Granny Kong firmly denied it, saying, "Don't worry, Madam, the master didn't hurt anyone."

Yunji collapsed onto the daybed, utterly exhausted and sweating profusely, still muttering words of relief:

"It's good that no one was killed. I'll have to offer incense to the Buddha later."

"This old servant was almost scared to death by you, sir."

Granny Kong took out a handkerchief and wiped away the fine beads of sweat that had seeped from her forehead.

"When the old servant helped the old lady to Minghe Hall, the courtyard was in a mess. The master chopped off the corner of the upturned table with a knife and flung the knife into the beam pillar. Not to mention that the madam was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground, even the old lady almost fainted."

Yunji immediately recognized it as a "good" thing that Cui Zemin was capable of doing.

"It's remarkable that even though the old man was driven mad by the Lady Hou, he was still able to remain so calm and not accidentally hurt anyone."

"Sir... he even threatened the Lady of the Marquis..."

"What did he say?"

"The master has declared that if the Lady Hou dares to lay a hand on the First Madam again, she can forget about ever seeing the Third Master again."

Yun Ji was terrified by these words, fearing he would be implicated, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Did you hear that, Lord Marquis?"

Granny Kong withdrew her hand and said, "When the Marquis arrived at Minghe Hall, the young master said just this one sentence. This old servant believes that the young master said it on purpose for the Marquis."

Cui Tingyan always showed favoritism towards Lady You, the wife of the Marquis.

Cui Zemin said this to his face, and the coercive meaning was all too obvious.

If he dares to touch the Third Master now, he will be able to interfere with the eldest daughter's marriage in the future, making it difficult for the Second Master to move an inch in the court. As for the future of his second wife and his legitimate children, Cui Tingyan should be able to figure out which is more important.

Yun Ji's expression darkened. "What did the Marquis say?"

Granny Kong sighed, "The Marquis didn't say anything. He grabbed a chair and rushed up to smash the master, but the guards that the old lady called held him down firmly."

Yunji was filled with anxiety and was utterly exhausted.

She just wanted to extricate herself from this matter and sever all ties with Cui Zeming.

"If the Marquis investigates later, the old woman should stand up and defend the young master, saying that the Marquis's wife has failed in her duties, and the young master is too young to understand things. She feared that the Marquis's wife would lead him astray, so the young master brought him to his side. It was not that he intended to harm him, but rather that he wanted to take good care of him..."

As she was talking, her eyelids drooped heavily, and an overwhelming drowsiness overwhelmed her. She could no longer stay awake and closed her eyes to sleep.

Granny Kong stood by, tears streaming down her face.

The First Madam was so concerned about the Master's safety that even when she woke up from a nightmare, she would get up to protect him. After learning that the Master was safe and sound, the First Madam was still thinking about how to help him out of his predicament. She was so exhausted that she fell into a deep sleep without even realizing it.

With tears streaming down her face, she thought that if the late Madam were alive, she would be very happy to see that the eldest master had married such a virtuous and kind wife.

With no worries left, Yunji slept soundly until the next day, when the sun was setting in the west.

She felt sore and swollen all over, and leaned lazily against the warm kang, letting Chunxuan gently massage her legs to relieve her fatigue. Occasionally, she would scoop up a spoonful of osmanthus yogurt to taste, and her mouth was filled with fragrance.

"Chunxuan, how did you serve Madam her medicine?"

Hua Chao looked at the unused medicine on the coffee table and said with a long face:

"The herbal medicine is bitter and cold, and the sweet soup is meant to leave a pleasant aftertaste in the lady's mouth. She hasn't even drunk the herbal medicine yet, so how can you presume to serve her the sweet soup?"

Chunxuan looked at the madam humbly, silently pleading with her to say a few kind words for her.

The ease on Yunji's face vanished completely.

She greedily craved a sweet treat, slowly sipping the osmanthus yogurt, completely oblivious to the medicinal soup left aside.

"No wonder Madam's health hasn't improved; it's because Chunxuan hasn't been taking good care of her."

Hua Chao took the osmanthus jelly from Yun Ji's hands and replaced it with a thick medicinal soup. She saw through Yun Ji's intentions but said without revealing them, "Madam, drink the medicinal soup while it's hot to warm yourself up."

Yunji looked at the dark, unappetizing medicine and felt worried.

Hua Chao urged her in various ways, "Before going to the estate, Granny Kong instructed me that if Madam really couldn't drink the medicine, we should change her dinner to a medicinal meal, along with acupuncture and herbal baths. The effect would be the same."

Yunji lowered her head slightly and drank the entire bowl of medicine.

Hua Chao suppressed the smile on her lips and handed the bowl of osmanthus pudding to her.

"Madam, this servant has learned of the old lady's final decision."

"What did Grandma say?"

Yunji put down her spoon, refusing to drink the sweet soup that was about to reach her mouth.

Hua Chao replied truthfully, "The old lady said that since we can't get along, we should each be well and not interfere in the people and affairs of the other's courtyard. On the first and fifteenth of the month, as long as you pay your respects to the old lady morning and evening and visit the Lady of the Marquis in Cishou Hall, you will have fulfilled your filial duty."

This was practically an open declaration that the family was splitting up, which was undoubtedly a relief for Yunji.

"What did the Marquis say?"

"This servant does not know, but I do know that this matter has been settled."

Yunji could glean some insight from this: Cui Zemin's power now far surpasses that of the Marquis. He threatened the future of the Second Master, the Eldest Daughter, and the Third Master, forcing the Marquis to compromise and make concessions.

"I mentioned last time that I wanted to replace all the maids in Qinghui Courtyard and replace them with servants from Beizhuang. Bring me that roster to take a look."

"Yes, madam."

Hua Chao returned and handed over the flower roster she had retrieved.

Yunji checked the list once and, after confirming that it was correct, instructed Chunxuan to bring pen and ink, and added Chi Ying's name to the list of names in the outer courtyard.

"Tomorrow, take this roster to Minghe Hall and hand over all the registered maids to Granny Tong. Don't forget to tell Granny Kong that the maids from the estate can pack their bags and come over."

Hua Chao was speechless, stunned by the lady's ruthless approach.

While Chunxuan was thrilled, she was also slightly frightened. "Didn't Madam say before that she would find a reason to gradually get rid of these maids? Why were they all suddenly sent back?"

Yunji said resolutely, "Even the old lady said that everyone should live their own lives and no one should interfere in the people and affairs of other people's courtyards. Since things have come to this point, why should I care about the face of the Lady of the Marquis?"