Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Yun Kexin's choice of this ring was not without reason. In her previous life, at the age of thirteen, her uncle Yun Ci, who was the highest official in the Imperial Medical Bureau, was suddenly dismissed and investigated. It was said that the Crown Prince Qin Ke had fainted unexpectedly in the morning, and the Imperial Medical Bureau was at a loss. Her uncle personally diagnosed him and prescribed medicine, but this worsened the Crown Prince's condition, leaving him in a deep sleep. As a result, he was impeached for misdiagnosis, labeled as "unworthy and incompetent," and imprisoned. At that time, both the First House and the Second House used many connections to intervene; Yun You even requested to meet the Emperor and the Crown Prince privately but was ultimately denied approval, perhaps out of reluctance to mention the matter. Later, after Yun Yang verified that Yun Ci's prescription had no issues, it still led to his loss of position, leaving him idle at home. From that moment on, the Yun family fell out of favor with the Emperor, except for her brother Yun Ke, who had already become a commander in front of the palace.
In this life, Yun Kexin asked the Crown Prince for that ring as a token, hoping that if events unfolded similarly to her previous life, this ring would help her meet with the Crown Prince to clarify the truth and protect everything related to her uncle.
In March of the twenty-first year of Taihe, the elderly Lord of the E State received an imperial decree. Due to his advanced age, he could no longer serve in court and was thus stripped of his position and ordered to "retire to his hometown."
After the eunuch read the decree and placed it in Yun Jinxiu's hands before leaving, Yun Jinxiu stood up with trembling support from those around him—he had aged significantly in less than two years. The "birthday celebration" from two years ago had worn him down mentally and physically; he had lost not only his courage to appear in public but also retreated into his shell like a turtle for several years. Yun Jinxiu had long hoped for an imperial decree requesting his return but never expected to receive one ordering him to "retire." For someone like him who valued power and wealth above all else, this was a devastating blow.
"Ha ha, ha ha, I'm getting old, I'm getting old," Yun Jinxiu muttered repeatedly with a mix of sadness and unwillingness. He looked up towards the sky and called out, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, I... am not yet sixty-five... Your Highness, you ultimately refuse to forgive me..."
Standing off to the side, Yun Kexin pondered: Which princess has such power that she could force a high-ranking official who has not yet reached retirement age to resign? Yet it seemed that Uncle Third was not entirely surprised by this turn of events despite being deeply affected by it; their tone suggested they were quite familiar with each other. What exactly did he do to offend that "princess," leading to such an unfortunate end?
"Uncle Third, Uncle Third, please don't be too sad," Yun Ci and Yun You supported Yun Jinxiu on either side as he softly comforted him. "You have successfully retired from your position in court now; in our family, you are still an elder and a clan leader. The three of us brothers will ensure you live comfortably."
"Yes, Uncle Third, you still have us four nephews from the Yun family; don’t worry too much."
Yun Jinxiu chuckled dryly in his throat, expressing disbelief but wishing to believe their words.
"Don't comfort me any longer," he weakly shook his head. His graying hair fluttered chaotically in the early spring cold wind as his voice became hoarse and sorrowful—completely devoid of its former strength and arrogance. "I anticipated this outcome but did not expect it would come so quickly."
"Uncle Third, let bygones be bygones," Yun Yang said. "What's done is done; dwelling on it will only add to your troubles."
Yun Jinxiu shook his head again and fell silent as he allowed the elders from each house to assist him inside.
Zhou watched from afar with a face as pale as a sun dimmed by snow; even the lingering snow of early spring seemed inferior by comparison.
After dinner, members from various branches of the Yun family gathered in the North Courtyard Main Hall to discuss matters concerning Yun Jinxiu.
"I've called everyone here today to discuss something," said Yun You. "It's about Uncle Third; I believe Brother, Sister-in-law, Third Brother, and Third Sister-in-law are all aware of what has happened. Therefore, I propose we assign one maid and one servant from each house specifically to serve our elder."
"This is not a problem," Yun Ci nodded in agreement. "Filial piety is essential; we can send A-Yi from the First House along with Li."
"Liu from the Second House can go serve our elder," Yue Ziyun smiled. "This girl has only been with us for a short time but is very clever."
"Yuma from the Third House can go along with Ji," Fu Lianyin interjected cheerfully before Yun Yang could speak. "We can't leave out the Third House."
Madam frowned upon hearing this: how come First House offered both a maid and a servant, while Second House only provided a maid, and Third House was even more ridiculous? That Yu Momo was the oldest in the household, her eyesight failing and her body frail; she was hardly fit for work. Third Madam had long wanted to drive the two out of the Duke's residence and buy new maids and servants, but since they had just purchased some fine silk last time, they hadn’t added any servants. Now sending Yu Momo and Ji to serve the Third Old Master was just giving her a perfect excuse. This Fu Lianyin was quite calculating.
“Each house should send one maid and one servant to attend to the Third Old Master,” Sun Rulan suppressed her inner displeasure and pretended to be magnanimous as she smiled. “Second Sister, why did you only call for one maid? Is Second House short-handed these days?”
“That’s not it, Sister-in-law,” Yue Ziyun replied with a friendly smile. “It’s just that Second House is a bit short on servants. Mainly, Yun Ke is training in martial arts this year and will be participating in the martial arts examination next year. Having a servant accompany him is more convenient than having a maid. How about this: once Yun Ke finishes his examination, I’ll let those two servants take care of Third Uncle.”
Yue Ziyun appeared amiable and reasonable, but internally she was quite unwilling. Given her previous actions, what did it matter if she ignored them? However, doing so would leave her with the label of being “unfilial,” so despite her anger and reluctance, she had to comply.
“What about Third House?” Sun Rulan turned her gaze towards Fu Lianyin, revealing some dissatisfaction and sternness. “Third Sister, I heard that Yu Momo and Ji from Third House are not capable people. Isn’t it a bit excessive to have them take care of an elderly person?”
“Listen to this!” Sister-in-law, Fu Lianyin casually glanced at Sun Rulan and said nonchalantly, “Servants are meant to do work; if they can’t do their jobs, what use are they? Don’t worry; let these two go serve the old master first. If it really doesn’t work out, we can always change them later.”
Her tone carried a stubbornness that made Yun Ci and Yun You frown slightly.
“Madam, mind your tone,” Yun Yang coughed a few times and emphasized his reminder. “Sister-in-law is speaking with you; do not be rude.”
“Master, Consort is wronged,” Fu Lianyin’s face darkened as she replied unhappily. “I did not mean to offend Sister-in-law, I was just stating facts. What did Consort say wrong earlier?” She paused briefly before quickly shifting her focus back to Yue Clan. “Don’t just point fingers at Third House. Didn’t Second Sister-in-law also only send one maid for her own reasons?!”
“Third Sister, I already explained this earlier,” Yue Ziyun knew this was directed at her and responded with a light smile. “Yun Ke needs someone by his side for the examination; he can’t go without a servant. And once he finishes his exam, I’ll have the servant go take care of the Third Old Master…”
“Oh, I find it quite strange,” Fu Lianyin rolled her eyes and turned to smile at Yue Ziyun. “Second Sister-in-law, does it mean only servants can attend to people? What about those maids? Since Second House is temporarily short on servants, naturally the maids should fill in the gaps. There’s no reason for only Second House to send one person to attend to the Third Old Master.”
“Madam!” Yun Yang was getting angry now; his face turned red with anger. “Do I need to repeat myself? Mind your manners!”
Fu Lianyin felt an immediate surge of anger; her eyes were filled with rage as she coldly turned away without saying another word.
“Third Old Master, why are you being so fierce? We’re all family here,” seeing that the two madams from Third House and Second House were about to clash again, Sun Rulan—who liked playing the role of the elder sister-in-law—smiled and said, “Second Madam, Third Madam, let’s not argue anymore. Since we all have difficulties, why don’t we let our First House take on the responsibility of caring for the Third Old Master? We are the main branch after all; it’s only right. If we still lack manpower, I can even help those maids and servants myself.”
With this statement, Sun Rulan effectively closed off any further argument: I from First House am making concessions and sacrificing so much; how can you still shamelessly argue over your own interests?!
Sure enough, upon hearing this from Madam, both Second Madam and Third Madam showed signs of shame on their faces. Yue Clan even wore a knowing smirk as Yun You believed in earnest that Sun Rulan would genuinely take care of the old master herself. He shook his head vigorously like a rattle drum:
“No, no! How can we let Sister-in-law personally care for the Third Old Master? What are all the maids and servants in this big house doing? Even if someone has to personally care for him, we cannot neglect the other madams.”
Upon hearing this, Sun Rulan knew the purpose had been achieved and casually pinched her nose with a handkerchief.
Fu Lianyin looked on with disdain: Did she think she was unaware of everything? Sun Rulan was just someone who liked to "inflate her own importance," and in the end, she was the first to complain about unfairness.
"Stop arguing," Yun Ci raised a hand to halt the discussion, expressing dissatisfaction. "It is only right for the elderly to be cared for; it is the duty of children. Why has it become a controversy here at Duke's Residence?!"
Fu Lianyin coldly mocked inwardly: If the First House truly had such filial descendants, then they could take care of the Third Master. But if this responsibility fell on them, they would surely curse behind their backs. Just as she was about to echo a few words of agreement, Yue Ziyun laughed and said:
"Brother, what you said is true. We are all family here; we can speak freely without any disputes. You are right; caring for the elderly is only natural and part of being a child. The arrangements for Sister-in-law and Third Sister-in-law are also reasonable. Since the Marquis has already asked each house to send a maidservant and a servant to care for the Three Old Lords, it should be done fairly and not allow the Second House to have special treatment. Let's follow the Marquis's instructions."
"Madam, since Yu Nursemaid and Ji cannot do their jobs, why are they still in the residence?" Yun Yang slowly spoke up. "Isn't there Jinxiu and Linzi? Let them take care of Third Uncle tomorrow."
"Master, Jinxiu needs to take care of Xiao Jie'er..." Fu Lianyin protested with a frown.
"Xiao Jie'er is already three years old. One Nursemaid and one Feng Momo along with two or three Nursemaids should be enough to attend to her," Yun Yang retorted sharply.
"Brother, Sister-in-law, Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, don't rush," Yun You said. "It's not that these maidservants and servants will not return to their respective houses after attending to the Three Old Lords. They won't all be surrounding the Three Old Lords constantly. My suggestion is to rotate: today First House, tomorrow Second House, then Third House... During the time they are not caring for the Three Old Lords, each house's maidservants can continue their work in their own courtyards. How does that sound?"
Comment 0 Comment Count