Marrying a treacherous official

The following day, Granny Kong read out the roster in Qinghui Courtyard and sent all the maids and servants back to Minghe Hall.

Hua Chao and Chunxuan kept watch in the courtyard, preventing anyone from causing trouble and disturbing the lady's peace.

Seeing that an old woman was about to burst into tears, Hua Chao stuffed a handkerchief into her mouth and covered her mouth tightly. Chunxuan summoned the guards from the outer courtyard, who tied up the old woman's hands and took her away from Qinghui Courtyard.

Such a display stunned the old servants who were about to cry and make a scene, and they dared not move for a moment.

Chi Ying stood quietly in the snow, remaining there for a long time without moving.

The maids walked towards the back room, sobbing softly, while Chi Ying remained standing there, letting the falling snow stain her round-necked, straight-fronted half-sleeved jacket white.

When Chunxuan saw her pitiful and endearing appearance, she knew that she was going to cause trouble.

"Chi Ying, pack your things and go to Minghe Hall to report."

"Am I in your way by standing here?"

"They're just in my way!"

"Then get out of here."

Chi Ying, being Cui Zemin's head maid, overpowered Chunxuan with her imposing gaze, and said casually:

"The First Madam expelled me from Qinghui Courtyard and returned me to Minghe Hall, so I belong to the Marquis's family. The Marquis hasn't summoned me back, so what right do you have to interfere here?"

"Don't even think about causing any trouble!"

Chunxuan was not good with words and could not win an argument with her, so she could only raise her voice to bolster her own prestige.

"I'll keep a close eye on you here, and when you collapse from exhaustion, I'll have the maid throw you out of the courtyard."

Chi Ying didn't bother to look at her and didn't take her words seriously.

Chunxuan brought out a small round stool from the accounting room, and held the hot water bottle, anxiously waiting in the corridor, hoping that Chiying would fall headfirst into the snow so that the rough-looking old woman could carry her out.

Half an hour passed, and she was stamping her feet from the cold, while Chi Ying remained standing motionless in the heavy snow.

Another half hour passed, and she returned with boiling water added to the hot water bottle. Chi Ying, covered in fine snowflakes, stood stiffly in the snow.

Chunxuan anticipated that she would soon be unable to hold on, so she summoned two rough-working women to wait, ready to carry Chi Ying away at any time. Unexpectedly, the master returned to the mansion at this moment.

"uncle--"

Before she could speak, tears welled up in her eyes. Her eyebrows were adorned with glistening snowflakes, and tears streamed down her cheeks. In that instant, she was breathtakingly beautiful.

"This servant can no longer serve you in the courtyard, sir. I have come to bid you farewell and hope you will take good care of yourself in the future."

Cui Zemin stepped forward through the snow and saw her standing like a "snowman," her eyes filled with grievances, tears still streaming down her face. He couldn't help but look at her coldly and said:

"Who made you stand here as punishment?"

"No...no one...I'm being punished by having to stand..."

"Who drove you out of Qinghui Courtyard?"

"Master... I beg you, please don't ask me anything..."

Cui Zemin hated it most when others interfered in his affairs in the outer courtyard. You Shi was one, and Gu Yunji was another.

He spoiled Gu Yunji too much, letting her manage the internal affairs of the mansion. As her lust for power grew, she lost sight of her own worth.

"Summon the lady to the outer study for questioning."

"Your subordinate obeys."

Huo Xi glanced down the corridor. He had just seen Chunxuan sitting on the round stool when he entered, but now she was nowhere to be seen. She must have gone to inform the madam when she sensed something was wrong.

"Madam, something terrible has happened!"

Chunxuan rushed into the main room, lifting her pleated skirt. Knowing she had committed an unforgivable mistake, she slammed her knees on the blue bricks and knelt down before the madam.

"Chi Ying refused to leave Qinghui Courtyard and insisted on standing in the snow waiting for the master. As soon as the master returned home, she cried and complained to him that the madam had abused her."

As she expressed her remorse, she slapped herself and said regretfully:

"I shouldn't have let her stand there in the snow. If I had known she was determined to harm Madam, I would have dragged her outside the gate and thrown her there, even if I had to!"

"Do you really think that just because Chi Ying was dragged away, she can't run to the old man and complain about me?"

Yunji put the thick stack of notes back on the shelf, sat up from the chaise longue, and said, "You'll hurt yourself as much as you hurt the enemy. Try slapping yourself again, and I'll make sure you don't get away with it."

Chunxuan's blow was too strong, leaving half of her cheek burning with pain. Before she could recover, she heard Huo Xi's voice from outside the door:

"The general invites the First Madam to the outer study for a meeting."

"I'll change my clothes and then go."

Yunji looked at Chunxuan, whose face was full of worry and half of her face was swollen, shook her head helplessly, and said to her:

"From now on, just avoid Chi Ying whenever you see her. With your straightforward nature, how could you possibly outmaneuver her cunning schemes? This isn't your fault. I will absolutely not keep someone like Chi Ying in Qinghui Courtyard, not even if the master tries to stop me."

The trouble caused by Chunxuan should not be left for the lady to bear alone.

Seeing the lady put on a gold satin cloak embroidered with peonies and go out, she quickly got up and followed her step by step.

As Yunji walked down the long corridor, she could vaguely hear sobbing coming from the outer study through the closed doors.

When she pushed open the door and entered the room, she saw Chi Ying kneeling in front of the charcoal brazier, crying her heart out. She looked at her with pity and immediately began to complain about Cui Zeming.

"What did you do to her, sir? She was a perfectly good maid, and now she's been punished and beaten by you, crying like this, all heartbroken."

She immediately turned the tables and forced Chi Ying to hold back her tears.

Cui Zemin watched her curtsy to him, then gracefully walk to the carved ebony armchair and sit down, saying coldly:

"Madam, you're asking a question you already know the answer to. How long are you going to keep up this pretense in front of me?"

"Is my husband questioning me like this because of Chi Ying's tearful grievances?"

Seeing his gloomy expression, as if determined to get to the bottom of things, Yunji feigned sudden realization and said:

"Sir should know that today I sent about ten maids and servants back to Minghe Hall. There was a lot of sobbing in the courtyard. If every maid ran to you crying like Chi Ying, I wouldn't be able to manage any of them."

She calmly intimidated everyone in the room, showing no sign of yielding.

Cui Zemin suddenly asked her, "When did Chi Ying become a member of Minghetang?"

Just then, Chi Ying raised her head, tears welling in her eyes, and sobbed:

"Madam may not know, but I am the personal maid that the Marquis bestowed upon the Master. If you were to ask about my background, I am from the Marquis's Jiaxing Garden. I should not have been sent back to Minghe Hall."

Her words were full of accusations, and she would use the Marquis as an excuse to intimidate people. She must have some extraordinary background, and no one could touch her except the Marquis and the young master.