Chapter 111
Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse
The bright white blade drew a sharp silver light in the air, pierced through the window screen, and disappeared out of the window.
There was a muffled hum from the corridor as if it had stabbed someone.
Ling’er realized that there was someone outside the door, and immediately jumped out of the door, shouting: “Who is outside?”
No one answered, but a few fists sounded outside the door. It seemed that Ling’er was fighting with someone.
Yu Linglong snorted coldly. It seemed that the man in the dark was quite fierce, and he was able to deal with others even with a shot.
She stood up and walked quickly out of the room.
As soon as she walked to the door, she saw a black shadow kicking Ling’er’s heart with his leg raised. Ling’er folded her hands on her chest, trying to release her strength. Who knew that the shadow’s kick was a false move. Ling’er stopped and immediately took this opportunity to flicker, then turned around and jumped gently, jumping onto the roof.
Yu Linglong’s eyes narrowed slightly. What is the origin of this person, and how was his flying martial arts so good?
Before she could think of anything, there were a few creaks of bricks and tiles colliding above her head, and then she gradually moved away. The person had apparently escaped.
Ling’er was just about to follow, Yu Linglong said: “Forget it, you can’t catch him.”
This person’s skill was so high, and little Ling’er was definitely not his opponent. Yu Linglong could tell at a glance that that person did not want to cause trouble, but only wanted to protect himself, so when attacking Ling’er, he only avoided her and did not fight back.
However, she really couldn’t think of who would spy on her in secret.
If it hadn’t been for the moment when she was out of the bath, and the man-made a slight noise, even she would not have noticed anyone in the dark.
Linger looked ashamed: “Miss, I have a low ability, I let him run away.”
Yu Linglong said indifferently, “It’s nothing, did you get a good look at him?”
Ling’er shook her head: “It was too dark, and the person was moving too fast, so it was hard to see clearly.”
Yu Linglong pondered for a moment. Just now, she had only seen a black figure. She just looked at the figure of that person, but she couldn’t remember whether she had seen this person.
She had no idea. Yu Linglong said, “Come in.”
Ling’er replied and only took two steps before she heard a soft creak from under her feet.
Ling’er leaned over and picked up something like a small wooden sign from the ground. She flipped back and forth, and couldn’t help wondering: “Huh?”
While talking, Ling’er offered the thing in her hands to Yu Linglong: “Miss, please take a look.”
Yu Linglong took a look and saw that it was a three-inch square ebony brand with silver piping on all sides. On the front were three silver characters: Jin Wuwei, and on the back were two rows of small titles. There was a name written: Jiang Jingda.
Yu Linglong was sure that she had never heard of this name, let alone seen it.
So who was this person? What was Jin Wuwei?
Yu Linglong was thinking, but her eyes saw Ling’er look different, she couldn’t help asking: “What’s the matter, do you recognize this person?”
Ling’er slowly shook his head: “I don’t recognize this person, but…I have seen such a brand before.”
Seeing Yu Linglong looking at her, Ling’er lowered her eyes and said blankly: “I had an accident before, one day in the middle of the night, someone secretly came to my house to search for something. My father found out and fought with that person. Father was injured within a few hits, and the man ran away, and only tore off the wooden sign from his waist.”
Yu Linglong’s heart moved slightly and asked, “Do you know what that person stole from your house?”
Ling’er’s face was a little confused: “I don’t know.”
After listening to Ling’er’s words, Yu Linglong felt even more suspicious. Who was Jin Wuwei? Why would he spy on her in the dark, and how could it have anything to do with Ling’er’s family?
When she had no clue, Ling’er suddenly said: “By the way, I heard from my father that Jin Wuwei is working for the emperor!”
This sentence was like a shocking stone. Yu Linglong only felt her heart sink. The emperor? How could the emperor send someone to monitor her whereabouts?
She was just a little commoner’s daughter in a general’s mansion, how could she have attracted the emperor’s attention?
Holding the wooden sign tightly in the palm of her hand, Yu Linglong said, “Go back to your room.”
Yu Linglong was a little wary in her heart. This matter was probably far from being as simple as it seemed.
…
Concubine Dong was here, like a kite with a broken line, and there was no more news. Whether it was General Yu looking for it with all his might or Concubine Mei pretending to find her, she couldn’t find a trace of her. Yu Weiyuan had disappeared completely as if they had never appeared before.
The Yu house recently had a bad relationship with the Feng house because of Yu Qianliu’s affairs. General Yu went to Magistrate Jing to inquire about news from time to time. Concubine Mei was even more troubled about this matter. Yu Qianliu often went out to banquets when she was alive. The poetry society was a group of young ladies. When these young ladies heard that Yu Qianliu had passed away, and died so suddenly, so bizarrely, and so tragically, they came to the Yu house to express their condolences and made Concubine Mei so tired.
It was almost New Year’s Eve, and all kinds of big and small strange things were happening. Concubine Mei had to take care of everything for the first time, and she had to take care of the family’s successive funerals, and she had to live a life that was neither decent nor impossible. This year of publicity really hurt her brain.
This day coincided with Wu Zhuang, in the western suburbs of the city, coming to collect the annual rent. Unexpectedly, General Yu went to Magistrate Jing’s mansion again. Concubine Mei was accompanying an important guest and couldn’t leave, so she only ordered two women to go take care of it.
These two old ladies were also the trusted aides who were promoted by Concubine Mei after she became the manager of the house. How did they know how to do this? They were asked to serve Wu Zhuang tea and asked about the customs. As for the things with accounting, they would only pretend not to know how to do it.
Wu Zhuang was so anxious. The new year was approaching, and there were more things going on in the village. He didn’t have the heart to drink tea, he just wanted them to quickly pay the rent.
Seeing the two old ladies were talking to each other, Wu Zhuang finally couldn’t help but ask: “Ladies, when will the person in charge come out? I am still anxious to go back!”
A woman smiled and said, “Brother Wu, what are you anxious for? I have only heard that you have to be anxious to ask for something, but I have never seen you in such a hurry to deliver something like this!”[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]
Another woman said: “You are digging for food in the soil. It’s so easy to get through to the New Year. You still don’t want to go back quickly, do you? Just sit down until the guests in front are gone. My lady will come soon.”
Wu Zhuang was bored and angry, and complained involuntarily: “How come the house has changed the rules after only one year of work? When I came in the past years, the first wife took care of everything properly. Why should I wait for a long time? Who is this concubine? How can it be more complicated!”
Hearing this, a woman immediately sank her face: “Brother Wu, don’t let people hear this. If it reaches my lady’s ears, I’m afraid you will have to suffer the consequences!”
Another woman echoed: “There’s no first wife in the house anymore, only the concubine is in charge. Don’t use the rules of previous years to scare you! Don’t speak of our lady, or even people like us won’t be able to bear it!”
Wu Zhuang had no choice but to calm down his tone, and said, “Then…Would you call the butler?”
The old woman said angrily: “What butler? Our lady said that only she can manage this account.”
Concubine Mei’s time as a household manager was not long. There were not many trusted aides in the Yu house. Those in the Yu house were promoted by Mu Shi, and they were deeply rooted in the house and couldn’t easily move? Concubine Mei trusted them very much, so she preferred to do everything herself, and especially when it came to the silver, she must personally intervene and not allow anyone to intervene.
These two old ladies were Concubine Mei’s trusted aides, so why wouldn’t they know the true reason? Therefore, Wu Zhuang opened his mouth and was rejected by the two women.
Wu Zhuang said with a sad face: “You should think of a way. I set up a carriage from the village and walked for two days before arriving at the mansion. I waited for more than a long time. If the lord’s living creatures are not released again, I am afraid that they will be suffocated. How can this be repaid!”
The two old ladies didn’t care about this. They just refused. The living creatures died when they died. Naturally, this hurt Wu Zhuang’s pockets. What did it have to do with them? The two of them only had to leave Wu Zhuang in accordance with Concubine Mei’s instructions.
Wu Zhuang saw that the two ladies were unable to let him in. He was so anxious that he could not help but tell them: “You will do it. The day after tomorrow is the day my second son will marry. Even if I leave tonight, I will be the fastest. I have to be there the next morning, so I can’t afford to delay it!”
In any case, the two ladies just shook their heads: “Brother Wu, wait. The guest in front has been here for most of the day. They will leave in a while, so you can wait longer.”
When Wu Zhuang heard that it didn’t make sense, he couldn’t help but sit on the stool and sigh.
At this moment, a soft voice suddenly sounded outside the door: “What’s the matter?”
With this voice, a young girl in a white pleated skirt with a green robe came in. Her brows and eyes were gentle, her face was soft, and her speech was soft, with a touch of warmth.
The two women looked at each other and couldn’t help wondering how she came but didn’t dare to ask more, so they got up and saluted and said in unison: “Good morning, Fifth Lady.”
Yu Qianyun walked in and smiled at the two women. She said warmly: “You two Mamas don’t need to be polite.”
How could a lady call them ‘Mamas’? When they heard this, they couldn’t help but lighten up. They hurriedly gave Yu Qianyun a smile and asked her to sit down: “Fifth Lady, please sit down. I will let the maid make hot tea for you to warm you first.”
Yu Qianyun smiled lightly and said, “Thank you, Mama.”
Seeing Yu Qianyun’s style, Wu Zhuang first heard the two women rushing to greet the Fifth Lady. He was so scared that he didn’t even dare to lift his head. He just stood up and stood with his head down and hands down.
Yu Qianyun took a sip of tea, glanced at Wu Zhuang, and asked the two women with a smile: “I heard it was very lively here from far away, what happened?”
Seeing Yu Qianyun’s question, the two women didn’t dare not answer, so they said, “This Wu Zhuang from the village in the western suburbs. He is here to deliver the goods for the New Year.”
Yu Qianyun nodded slightly: “No wonder I saw many carriages parked at the second gate, it turned out to be this.”
After speaking, she smiled at Wu Zhuang and said, “I’m sorry.”
Wu Zhuang’s head was immediately flattered. His head dropped lower, and he could only say: “It’s nothing, it’s nothing.”
Yu Qianyun put down the teacup in her hand and said, “If that’s the case, why don’t you bring the things in?”
The two ladies smiled and said: “The concubine is in the front with the guest, and can’t walk away temporarily, so we let Wu Zhuang stay here for a while.”
A look of surprise appeared on Yu Qianyun’s face: “It’s just to collect the New Year’s goods, do you have to ask my aunt in person? Isn’t it enough to ask a housekeeper to collect it in the warehouse?”
Seeing that she was naive and didn’t know the way things were done, the two women couldn’t help but laugh: “Not just to deliver goods for the New Year, but also to report a year’s accounts and harvests with the aunt. Ordinary stewards can’t handle such things. It’s good for the master of the house to be the master.”
The mother-in-law explained patiently but secretly smiled inside. This Fifth Lady was a grown up, but she thought too simply.
The questions and answers here were slow and logical, but Wu Zhuang was even more anxious, and he didn’t care about his status. He hurried forward and complained: “Fifth Lady, I arrived early this morning. Now I have been waiting for a long time. Now, I can’t go back today, and it’s a big deal at home—”
A woman interrupted him immediately: “How can you speak here? Beware of being subordinate to the Fifth Lady!”
Wu Zhuang was so scared that he stopped talking and dared not say any more.
Yu Qianyun didn’t take it seriously, and warmly said, “Isn’t it? By the end of the year, every household will be very busy, and even small households will have a lot of things to do, let alone Wu Zhuang.”
This was speaking to Wu Zhuang’s heart. Although he did not dare to look up, he still murmured: “Dozens of tenants are still waiting for me to go back to share the goods for the new year. It will be a day later, I am afraid that even the families will be angry.”
Yu Qianyun smiled slightly and said, “Since Concubine Mei is not free, it is better to let the housekeeper come over. We will finish with Wu Zhuang’s affairs earlier so that he can go back sooner.”
Wu Zhuang was overjoyed, so he knelt down and kowtowed to Yu Qianyun: “Thank you very much, Fifth Lady!”
The two women were embarrassed: “This…I’m afraid this won’t work, Fifth Lady, Concubine Mei said—”
Yu Qianyun, who was still soft just now, suddenly lowered her face and said, “Didn’t you just say that the master should oversee it? Why, I am not the master of the house?”
The two women were shocked, and they knelt down together: “We wouldn’t dare.”
Although the Fifth Lady looked peaceful most days, she didn’t expect to turn her face and speak more sharply than a knife.
Regardless of whether this Fifth Lady was in charge, after all, she was the real master in the Yu house. Even the old lady Yu looked up to her when she was alive. Concubine Mei wanted to allow her a little bit more. Even if these two women favored her, it was impossible to refute her face.
Yu Qianyun looked at the two women who were kneeling on the ground pretending to be respectful, with an unsuitable sneer on her gentle face, but she put away her sharp eyes again.