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墨書 Inktalez
Second, Yun Kexin was pestering Dai Chun Ni to go to the market with her. Dai Chun Ni thought it was just the curiosity and playfulness of a child, so she indulged her. However, she did not expect that as soon as they stepped out of the Duke's residence, Yun Jie and Yun Yao were following closely behind their mother, Sun Rulan, keeping a certain distance.
“...What are you two children dragging me out for so early in the morning?” Sun Rulan asked, puzzled, as she pointed at her two sons' heads. “I still have many things to instruct the servants about...”
“Mother, keep your voice down,” Yun Jie said, placing his hand over his mouth in a shushing gesture. “Just come along with us.”
Although Sun Rulan showed signs of impatience, seeing her two children’s mysterious demeanor made her realize they had something on their minds. So she allowed them to pull her along. A few times when she saw Dai Chun Ni and Yun Kexin wanting to greet them, Yun Jie quickly stopped them—they were standing not far from Dai Chun Ni.
At first, Sun Rulan looked down on this kind of “sneaky” following behavior, but the more they trailed behind, the more surprised she became. Especially when she overheard and witnessed Dai Chun Ni’s entire process of buying vegetables and even lingering in other clothing and jewelry shops; it made her furious. If it weren't for Yun Jie and Yun Yao holding her back, she would have rushed forward to question them—
Outwardly gentle and humble, avoiding trouble, Sun Rulan was actually quite shrewd at heart. She knew that the Third House and Second House had deep-seated grievances but never openly favored either side. Always maintaining the stance of the main branch of the Yun family, she held a mindset of “not offending either party,” skillfully navigating both sides. That was why she gave Dai Chun Ni an opportunity to “share her burdens,” to avoid being criticized by the Third House and to leave a good impression as a “long sister-in-law” on the elders of the Yun family...
But Sun Rulan never expected that Dai Chun Ni would secretly cut corners behind her back, stuffing her own pockets instead of buying decent vegetables and fish that no one wanted. The supplementary food chosen for Second Madam was also highly questionable. If anything went wrong, wouldn’t she be dragged into it? People might think it was her intention since she had sent Dai Chun Ni to buy groceries!
The more Sun Rulan thought about it, the darker her expression became. Enduring through the “tracking,” she returned to the Duke's residence early and immediately went to the kitchen to inquire about the recent meal situation. After giving a few discreet instructions, she headed to the North Courtyard...
Dai Chun Ni returned with Yun Kexin and delivered the groceries to the kitchen. The cook informed her that Madam wanted her to go to the North Courtyard after returning home. Dai Chun Ni thought perhaps Madam was asking about the grocery shopping, so she didn’t take it seriously because she had already prepared a response in her mind that would now come in handy.
After passing through a screen and crossing a moon-shaped door, they arrived at the North Courtyard. As soon as they appeared, they were unexpectedly met with strange looks from everyone in the Yun family present—except for a few elders who had matters outside.
Fu Lianyin also looked puzzled: she had been summoned by Madam but didn’t know what it was for. Dai Chun Ni quickly glanced at Madam sitting in the prominent chair; seeing her as gentle and serene as always with an indifferent expression eased her heart. However, before she could greet anyone, Sun Rulan smiled and said:
“Oh, Substitute Concubine is back,” she leisurely took a sip of tea. “You’ve worked hard.”
"Have you seen Madam? What is this..." Dai Chun Ni asked in confusion.
Sun Rulan walked gracefully to Dai Chun Ni's side, not looking at the held Yun Kexin, but instead staring at Dai Chun Ni's clothes, circling around her again and again until Dai Chun Ni felt uneasy. Only then did Sun Rulan stop in front of Dai Chun Ni, smiling slightly as she looked at her: "This outfit is really beautiful. Did Substitute Concubine just buy it? And this jade hairpin, this jade bracelet, tsk tsk," she couldn't help but shake her head in mock praise, then spoke in a strange tone, "It must have cost quite a bit, right?"
Dai Chun Ni panicked, her palms starting to sweat—this outfit was only for showing off when going out to buy groceries in the morning. She usually changed out of it immediately after returning home, but she had rushed to the North Courtyard and forgot to change. She didn't expect it to attract the attention of First House. What did she mean by that? Dai Chun Ni thought anxiously and finally spoke up:
"Isn't that right? Madam," Dai Chun Ni forced a calm smile, gesturing with her hands about her head and body, "The expenses for clothing and food for Consort are not like those of the other Sister-in-law and sisters; I have to save money to afford this outfit. I can afford these—"
Before she could finish saying "jewelry," Madam coldly interrupted, "Oh, so that's how it is. Has our Yun family treated you poorly? Substitute Concubine, have you been wronged all these years?" The latter part of her sentence was spoken softly as if she truly felt sorry, but it sent a chill down Dai Chun Ni's spine.
"Madam, what do you mean?" Dai Chun Ni felt the heat from Sun Rulan's burning gaze and turned redder than the makeup on her face.
"What do I mean?" Sun Rulan chuckled lightly, turning to cross her arms. "Since you feel so wronged in the Yun family, I, as the head of the Yun family today, will take charge for Third House and write a 'release letter' for you to leave. However—" She suddenly turned back, her gaze wreaking havoc on Dai Chun Ni's face. "Before you leave, we still need to settle accounts!"
Sun Rulan's words struck Dai Chun Ni like a whip, scaring her into instinctively dodging aside. When she raised her head again, tears streamed down her face like pear blossoms in the rain, her shoulders trembling: "Madam, I know my status is lowly, but I consider myself honest and straightforward. I truly do not understand why you would say such hurtful words today. When has Consort ever complained about being wronged in the Yun family? When has she ever said anything negative about the Yun family behind their backs? Madam, Consort, Consort..."
By the end, she was sobbing uncontrollably and could barely form coherent sentences.
Fu Lianyin curled her lips slightly but said nothing; only cold laughter filled her eyes—those who didn't know would think that today the entire Yun family was ganging up on a concubine. But how could Fu Lianyin not know what kind of person Dai Chun Ni was at heart?!
She truly didn't understand what had offended First House today that made Sun Rulan go through such trouble to gather the Yun family members publicly to humiliate her. Well, let them teach her a lesson; later on, she would step in to "resolve" things so that Dai Chun Ni would be even more submissive towards Fu Lianyin and dare not act recklessly!
"Substitute Concubine, you really won't shed tears until you see the coffin," Sun Rulan raised her hand and waved it in front of her face as if swatting away flies during leisure time. "Alright, I'll make you understand..." She slowly walked toward the chair at the top and sat down with a grim expression and narrowed eyes. "Someone! Go call Chef Lu from the kitchen and Mr. Mu from the accounts room!"
Dai Chun Ni was taken aback, her eyes nearly popping out, her mind in a state of chaos: What is Sun Rulan doing today, and what is she singing? Yun Kexin beside her could sense that Dai Chun Ni was tense all over, every nerve focused on the hand holding hers, which was sweating and trembling uncontrollably.
In the kitchen, Master Lu approached first, bowing respectfully in front of Sun Rulan and saying, "Greetings, Madam!"
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