“I forbid it!” Shangguan LingRan suddenly rushed over to Zi You and pulled her into his arms. “Listen to me. I won’t let anyone to harm you, even if it is your family member or even if it is yourself. I will come tomorrow. If he touches your finger, I will make him bedridden for three days.”
When Shangguan LingRan finished speaking the last sentence, his body suddenly turned cold all over. Even Zi You felt the chilling cold.
Although his body was cold, Zi You felt a warm current flowing in her heart. For the first time, Zi You did not push Shangguan LingRan away. Instead, she hugged his waist tightly.
Even if she was strong, she was still a woman. Moreover, she was an underage girl. Of course, she wanted a warm embrace for her to rely on.
But she didn’t have the right to be willful whether it was with grandfather or her uncle. The reason was very simple. No matter how bad Mu YingRui was, he was still grandfather’s son and uncle’s elder brother. She knew how painful it was to be hurt by her family. So how could she be willing to let grandfather and uncle experience the same feeling?
The little woman in his arms showed a frail side for the first time. This made Shangguan LingRan even more distressed. He thought of his Fuwang’s indifference towards him and empathized with Zi You.
Although the little yatou had an appearance of not caring about it, the pain in her eyes and the bleakness of her body made him clearly feel her deep helplessness. He was, after all, her biological father. He actually schemed against her with some woman. No one would feel good.
Shangguan LingRan’s heart softened. His body’s coldness melted and his embrace was warmer and warmer, making Zi You wanting to stay there.
It was rare for the small lion to turn into a docile kitten. Shangguan LingRan was joyfully dizzy. He felt drunk on happiness. He held the little woman in his arms and said lowly over and over again, “Don’t be sad, You’er. You still have me. No matter who will wrong you in the future, I will not. I will always stand by your side to protect you……”
After tonight, the two people’s relationship took a big step forwards. After Shangguan LingRan left, Zi You thought for a long time. She thought that because of one Zhao HongXiang, she suspected all the men in the world and even ignored Shangguan LingRan’s care and concern for her. She even pushed him away time and time again. It was indeed a bit unfair to him.
Tonight, his martial nephews had said, “Our little Shishu has never looked at women. Xuanyuan Sect’s little martial sisters like him, but his indifference makes them cry.”
Perhaps this fellow looked uninhibited, but he was loyal in love like grandfather and uncle. She should give him and herself a chance in the future and not reject him. If he was a loyal and devoted man, she shouldn’t miss out. But if he was not, it wouldn’t be too late to push him away.
The next day was December 29th. Tomorrow was the reunion day. The government was also on holiday. So, after breakfast that morning, Old General Mu and Mu YingYi told Mu YingRui and Nee Liu respectively some things and rode on horseback. They went to visit the camp of soldiers in the north who protected the capital and the armed guards of five cities. They would probably return after dinnertime.
Today was a big party for the soldiers. As the commanders, it wouldn’t be good if Old General Mu and Mu YingYi left early. After Mu YingRui and Wang Yiping heard this, they exchanged meaningful looks and immediately stood up. They and Nee Liu sent Old General Mu and Mu YingYi to the door.
When they came back, Nee Liu said, “Brother-in-law and sister-in-law, go ahead if you want to send gifts to Duke Yingguo fu! I have already prepared the gifts for the Duke.”
Mu YingRui immediately shook his head. “We won’t go to Duke Yingguo fu before the New Year. Please send the gifts to my father-in-law and tell him and my mother-in-law that your sister-in-law isn’t feeling well. We will return on the third.”
Mu YingRui was her elder after all. Even if Nee Liu didn’t like him, she could not express it on her face. So she nodded and faintly asked, “Is sister-in-law feeling okay? Does she need a doctor?”
Although she asked that, her heart was in despise. Wang Yiping was probably exaggerating again. Since Mu YingRui returned, he had been staying in her courtyard, making the concubines complain.
“There’s no need. She just needs a good night’s sleep.” Wang Yiping hurriedly refused delicately.
She knew that the doctor could not come or she would be humiliated again. Her waist and back were sore, but that was because Laoye had returned and did *** with her every night.
Thinking of this, she looked bashfully and coquettishly at Mu YingRui.
Nee Liu looked at her expression and contemptuously curtsied to Mu YingRui. “Then I will go make arrangements.”
Nee Liu had no right to sleep. She was very busy. She had to send gifts to different fus and organize the return gifts. Plus, she had to prepare tomorrow night’s family dinner. She was so busy that her feet almost didn’t touch the ground.
Zi You had especially given the girls in the female medical team the day off. She allowed them to purchased items from the market.
The General’s Manor had made two sets of new clothing for each of them to spend Spring Festival in the General’s Manor.
Thus, they didn’t need to buy clothes or food. But the girls needed to buy their own rouge, powder, purses, handkerchiefs, silk flowers, and such.
The government gave them a salary of 800 coins every month. The General’s Manor gave them one silver. They usually didn’t have time to go outside, so they saved money up until now. They had more than three silvers each.
Zi You had Uncle Jiang and his wife, Rong Yunhe, and three other male slaves, Xie Changsheng, Sun Xinsheng, and Luo Weicheng escort them to the market.
Forty-six little girls were like a flock of birds that got out of their cages. They chattered and twittered and happily left the General’s Manor. They boarded the horse carriages and went to the market.
After the girls left, Zi You was about to go help the person whom Nee Liu put in charge of receiving the gifts from different fus. But Mu YingRui’s attendant, Yang Qingjun, summoned her.
He was already here. They really couldn’t wait even a moment.
Zi You went to Youran Ju and made preparations. She quietly told Shiyun some words and leisurely walked to Mu YingRui’s study.
She looked around. Wang Yiping wasn’t there, but Liu Yanhong was kneeling there.
Zi You pretended to be surprised when she saw her. Then she curtsied to Mu YingRui and asked, “You’er pays respects to father. Why is the yatou Hong’er here? I was wondering why I didn’t see her this morning. So she ran over here. She really doesn’t know the rules.”
Liu Yanhong was, after all, her maidservant. Even if she made a mistake, if Mu YingRui respected his daughter, he would hand Liu Yanhong over for Zi You to punish.
But Mu YingRui obviously did not put Zi You in his eyes. Then she didn’t need to be polite to this ungrateful slag father.
Her words just now publicly condemned Liu Yanhong, but in fact mocked her father for not following the rules. Which father wouldn’t even ask his daughter and call his daughter’s maidservant into his own study and order her to kneel?
The reality was that Mu YingRui called Liu Yanhong into the study to use both hard and soft tactics. “As long as you say that everything you did was ordered by Xiaojie, Laoye will not punish you. After the New Year, Ye will think of a way to raise your position and name you Seventh Yiniang. But if you are not obedient, Ye will sell you to the lowest-level brothel.”
Liu Yanhong was originally not a good person. She would forget all moral principles in the face of profits and was greedy and vain. The reason she yielded to Zi You was because of her own interests. First, she didn’t want to die. Secondly, she thought that Zi You would help her become Mu YingRui’s Seventh Yiniang and rise from a maidservant to a master.
Now, hearing Mu YingRui’s words, she immediately cried like pear blossoms in the rain, arousing people’s tenderness. “Please forgive Nubi, Laoye. Nubi likes Laoye. That’s why Nubi listened to Xiaojie’s orders. As long as Nubi can do something for Laoye, Nubi is willing to do anything.”
Mu YingRui looked at her plain white coat and moon-white cotton dress. She had not applied makeup or worn jewelry. Compared to her earlier seductiveness, she was more beautiful and elegant. She did indeed have a unique flavor. He had to sample it.
Mu YingRui was already hooked by her. When he heard her words, he couldn’t help but think of their entanglement earlier. His heart jumped and he went over to pull her into his arms. He smiled lecherously. “Ye knows that you admire Ye. As long as you do what Ye says, Ye promises to dote on you in the future.”
Liu Yanhong nestled in Mu YingRui’s arms and proudly smiled. The pair of dog couple quickly rolled into bed. Soon, the big bed in the study started making creaking sounds again.
Liu Yanhong knelt there and remembered Laoye’s tenderness to her last night. She had something to rely on now. How could she be afraid of Zi You? She thought, ‘After the Festival, I will go to Quanzhou with Laoye immediately. Can you still chase me to Quanzhou to kill me?’
Thus, she did what Mu YingRui ordered and looked up at Zi You. She pretended to courageously whisper, “Xiaojie, didn’t you order Nubi to come here and seduce Laoye? You said that as long as Nubi can take Laoye’s love away from Furen and not let Furen get pregnant, you will think of a way to make Nubi Laoye’s Seventh Yiniang. Nubi followed your orders and used an aphrodisiac on Laoye. Now that Laoye has found out, how can you pretend that you don’t know anything?”
Mu YingRui heard Liu Yanhong’s words and forget that all of this was his and Wang Yiping’s plan. It was as if he really heard that Zi You really ordered Liu Yanhong.
He bitterly clutched his chest and reprimanded, “I didn’t think that your grandfather would spoil you into this. Your mind is so sinister and malevolent. You actually scheme against your own parents. You rebellious daughter. Why aren’t you kneeling?”
Zi You looked at her slag father’s performance just to punish her. Her heart froze over. Her gaze at Mu YingRui was sharp like a sword, as if she wanted to pierce through him. “Father only listened to this maidservant’s words and convicted daughter. You don’t even ask daughter for an explanation?
“Rebellious daughter, I told you to kneel down. You still dare to talk back. Do you want to disobey your father?” Mu YingRui saw that Zi You not only did not kneel, but instead reproached him. He was so angry that his face turned green and he angrily scolded.
Zi You thought he was more of a disgrace. Her previous and current lives combined together. She had no more respect or daughterly love for this father.
