Marrying a treacherous official

After dinner, Yunji stood guard outside the outer study, quietly waiting for Cui Zemin to return from Jiaxing Garden.

Xi Kui craned her neck outwards, peering through the latticed window in the wall. Seeing not a single light in sight on the dark forest path, she earnestly advised:

"Madam, the master will eventually come in. He'll be waiting inside anyway, so why make him stand in the corridor for half an hour?"

"This is different."

"It is certainly different for a lady to sit and wait for comfort than to stand and wait for suffering."

"It seems you've never encountered difficulties and have never truly asked someone for help."

Hearing some noises outside the courtyard, Yunji guessed it was him returning, and still spoke of Xikui:

"When you need something from someone, try to evoke their pity; this often yields twice the result with half the effort."

Seeing that the lady's eyebrows were slightly furrowed and her gaze lowered as she stood under the heavy curtain of moonlight, she inexplicably evoked pity. No wonder the master's hurried footsteps stopped slowly in front of her.

Yunji curtsied to him and said, "My husband is back."

Cui Zemin looked down at her and said, "How long have you been waiting? What are you doing standing outside?"

Yunji remained silent, so Xikui had no choice but to dutifully reply on behalf of the lady:

"After dinner, the First Madam waited for the Master outside the study for a full hour."

Although the lady stood there for at most half an hour, matters of the heart cannot be calculated so precisely.

Cui Zemin raised an eyebrow and glanced at her impatiently. "Next time you need something, wait in the study."

Yunji remained silent.

Seeing the lady's signal, Xi Kui spoke again:

"This servant also advised Madam to go inside and wait, but Madam is eagerly awaiting Master's return; how could she possibly sit inside?"

One sentence silenced both Yun Ji and Cui Zemin.

Even Li Xiuji, who was standing behind, felt that this little maid had surpassed her master and was quite skilled at speaking politely.

Cui Zemin went into the outer study first, followed closely by Yun Ji.

After the door closed gently, Li Xiuji, who was guarding outside, couldn't help but praise her:

"I didn't realize you were so good at flattery."

"Didn't you say you'd put in a good word for the master and mistress?"

Xi Kui had her own plans, and said shrewdly, "Only when the First Madam's position in the backyard is secure can I, as the main wife's maid, hold my position for a long time."

Seeing her smug expression, Li Xiuji said to her:

"How old are you? Still calling yourself a little maid?"

"Thirteen."

Xi Kui gritted her teeth and said it clearly.

Li Xiuji forcefully ordered her, "Change it. At your age, you're already close to being a head maid."

Upon hearing this, Xi Kui happily agreed, "From now on, I will be the head maid in the main house of the First Madam."

In the outer study, separated by a row of doors, Yunji picked up a pot of hot water from the bronze stove and brewed a cup of Shuangjing tea for Cui Zeming.

"I left my second daughter to live in the west wing of the backyard."

"She has a perfectly good house and is living comfortably there. Why did you call her over?"

Cui Zemin sat on the ebony chair, put his arm around her waist, and pulled her to sit on his long lap. He coldly turned his face away and said, "I won't allow it."

Yunji knew he wouldn't be easy to talk to, but she never expected him to be so heartless towards her sister who had just lost her mother.

Whether this matter succeeds or fails depends entirely on his decision.

She put her arm around his broad shoulder, brought the tea to his lips, and fed it to him as he slowly drank it down.

"I know you're not happy about this, so I instructed Granny Kong to call in a bricklayer. Tomorrow, he will chisel the corner of the east wall, open a new courtyard gate, and merge the neighboring East Fence Courtyard into it for the Second Miss to live in."

"You're going to let her live here permanently?"

Cui Zemin raised his dark, deep eyes from the teacup and stared intently at her.

Yunji gently advised him, "It's the Dongli Courtyard next door, not Qinghui Courtyard. What business is it of yours?"

"Madam is overstepping her bounds; is this any of your business?"

"What else can we do? Let the Second Miss live in Minghe Hall and let the Lady of the Marquis raise her properly?"

Yunji slammed the teacup down on the desk. He wouldn't listen to her when she was trying to talk to him properly; did he have to force her to vent her anger?

"You know how badly Madam Hou treats Aunt Du. If we really send the Second Miss to Minghe Hall, who knows what kind of torture Madam Hou will inflict on her."

She pushed away his chest and stood up from his embrace.

"You call yourself the second young lady's elder brother? Even I, as her elder sister-in-law, can't stand by and watch. How can you bear to push her into a pit of fire?"

Cui Zemin, having been unjustly accused by her, looked at her leaning back against the desk and said in a deep voice:

"Pour the tea over."

"Besides, Aunt Du was crushed to death by a falling tree trunk while trying to save me."

Yunji refilled the teacup with Shuangjing tea, moved closer to him, sat on his lap again, and offered the tea to his lips, feeding him a small sip.

"How could I just stand by and watch the Second Miss be bullied by the Lady of the Marquis?"

After drinking her tea, Cui Zemin remained silent, his expression gloomy.

Yunji took this as a yes, and then continued:

"It's not appropriate for me to bring this up; you should speak to the Marquis and his wife about it."

"You know this is against the rules?"

"When you bring this up in the past, don't forget to mention that I will take care of Aunt Du's funeral, so that you won't have to trouble yourself, Madam Hou."

Cui Zemin pinched her waist hard, until her skin ached, and Chun Dai frowned.

"Gu Yunji, don't push your luck."

"Aren't the Marquis and his wife afraid of you now?"

Yunji looked into those cold, fierce eyes and, no longer feigning politeness, said:

"Why should I waste my breath going to the Marquis and his wife, only to be met with a scolding, when my husband could resolve this with a single word?"

"What are they afraid of me for?"

When Cui Zemin spoke those words in a very soft and slow voice, Yun Ji should have shut up immediately. This was his bottom line, and it couldn't be easily crossed.

But she still made her point clear:

"The abbot's register has fallen into my husband's hands. I suppose he has already seen the name of Second Master Cui Gongquan in the register."

"Then, Madam, tell me why Gu Jingyu's name is also on that register?"

Cui Zemin wished he could snap her slender waist in two. "I'm already being extremely lenient by not pursuing the blame for Madam's deliberate concealment of this matter."

Yunji said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I am not like the Marquis and his wife who need my husband's help, so why should I lower myself and act according to my husband's whims?"

She got up from his long legs, looked up at him, and said:

"I didn't ask you to save Gu Jinyu, I just asked you to help the Second Miss. After all, blood is thicker than water, and she is still your second sister."