Ink Burns

Chapter 29 The beginning of the counterattack

The old man nodded, and Duan felt as if she had received the emperor's approval.

On the way back to Cheng Mansion, Duan happily walked around the Chuihua Gate and entered the Zhimu Hall, not letting Shanyue retreat. Shanyue followed her naturally. She gave instructions along the way, changing several groups of old women and maids, and then accompanied Shanyue back to the Qunfangyuan Embroidery Tower.

Before it got dark, maids came in a line, bringing in a bronze carved mirror, twenty-four colors of mineral pigments, and five rolls of silk in either azurite, indigo, or lake green.
Duan smiled: "The old man said that you would look good in blue."

Shan Yue was terrified: "Such good material."

Duan waved her hand: "It's nothing, it's your own hard work."

I remembered the old man wearing a stone blue Dolo grey squirrel cloak, holding a cane, standing in front of the window, looking at the mountain moon through the lush bushes through the screen - "If I were five years younger, I would not send such a fine product to the capital. When you followed me, you were younger than this, right? Your father brought you to the county government office. There was no fire in the county government office, and your feet were stiff from the cold. You called me godfather while unbuttoning your clothes and warming my feet with your chest."

Her father was the old man's legal advisor. Although the old man was only a seventh-rank county magistrate at the time, his uncle and father were both officials in the capital. He came from a noble family in the south of the Yangtze River. Although he was nearly half a century older than her, his extraordinary background, handsome appearance, and official status made it impossible for her to refuse when the old man put his hand under her skirt.

Later, the adults found a family for her called Cheng.

Cheng Daxing married her as his principal wife. On their wedding night, the pain and bleeding did not come as expected. Cheng Daxing slapped her in the face and angrily asked her, "Who! Who is it!"

He was just a barefoot doctor from a fishing village, and his greatest achievement in life was to kneel on the ground and suck the instep of an adult's foot that was bitten by a snake!
How dare such a poor bitch question her!
She stood up, "It's Lord Liu! Go find him with a knife! Go and shout it everywhere! You said Lord Liu gave you a rotten crotch as his wife! - Doctor Cheng, do you dare? You don't want to supply medicine to the county government? You don't want to go to Songjiang Prefecture? You don't want to bring honor to your family? Doctor Cheng, I tell you clearly, you and I are Lord Liu's dogs! Lord Liu gave me to you because he wanted to keep the family together!"

Cheng Daxing looked at her with a look that seemed to be filled with poison, but he didn't dare to hit her a second time.

In the days that followed, I was able to get by.

She was like the maidservant beside Lord Liu. Lord Liu couldn't marry her, so he gave her to a servant boy he trusted. Although she became the daughter-in-law of another family after three matchmakers and six engagements, her body and time still belonged to her master's family. If Lord Liu wanted her, she had to go.

The master used both kindness and force, both intimidating and giving benefits to the Cheng family. Cheng Daxing went from humiliation to reluctance to indifference, and finally personally sent her to Liu Mansion.
Duan felt warm and sad: If the old man had not been old and retired, and if the tiger had not lost its teeth, how could Cheng Daxing, who was like a rotten dog, dare to hit her! ?

Duan hid the bruised wrist. It was because Cheng Daxing came back from another place two days ago and saw that someone had died in the family and the newly hired female teacher had appeared to pass things without permission. He angrily grabbed her and questioned her, causing the bruise.

There was a large bruise on her shoulder hidden in her clothes. It was caused by Cheng Daxing throwing her onto the kang after she returned from handing in a painting at Liu's residence two days ago. Her shoulder hit the low table and became swollen.
There are many spots on his body, some are still red, and some are already bruised.

Duan now looked at the moon on the mountain as if it were a doll that was delivering blessings: This was an opportunity, a chance for a tiger to re-install its teeth - now the emperor's most popular minister in the capital had loosened his lips and agreed to marry a wife. If this wife came from Songjiang Prefecture, even if the master retired, what would it matter! In the next five or ten years, who would dare to act like a boss in front of the master!

Let’s see if Cheng Daxing dares to hit her again!

As the maid rearranged the room, she took away a painting of a beauty on the shelf and replaced it with four or five movable plum vases, two-handled jars and gilded incense burners. A woman took a tape measure to measure Shanyue's body. While measuring, she flattered Duan: "Madam, you have good taste. This girl has a slender figure and well-proportioned bones. She will definitely marry into a wealthy family and bring honor to the Cheng family."

A feeling of nausea rose in Shan Yue's throat.

The east wing is located alone on the second floor of the embroidery building. Shanyue had been in seclusion painting for the past two days, and only the cleaning grandma came to bring him meals and dishes. Today, the hustle and bustle seemed to have caused a stir in the usually quiet embroidery building. The maids and old women coming and going attracted the four girls living on the first floor to hold up their skirts and stand on the stairs to watch.

As the girl watched, she couldn't stop talking, first mumbling in a low voice, then saying something unpleasant. "Where did this young lady come from? Does she have three heads and six arms, or seven legs and eight feet? Can she wear all these pieces of cloth?"

"Dear, that's unfair. Which room of ours has so many ornaments? Aren't you afraid that the wind will blow them all down?"

"Stop talking! Ah-qin must have her reasons for making such an arrangement. But before Sister Cui-niang's body is cold, a new person comes to occupy the old nest. Sigh, I feel bad about it."

Four girls were talking at the stairs on the second floor of the embroidery building, and no one knew who they were talking to.

Shanyue looked up at Duan timidly and said nothing, but her eyes turned red as soon as she looked up.

Duan's face changed, she lifted her foot to clear the door and turned to go out, her voice heavy and completely different from the voice she used when she spoke to Shanyue: "If you have free time, go embroider if you need to! Go practice the piano if you need to! If you really have nothing to do, it's a good idea to close the windows and doors and have a good sleep to nourish your skin! - Except for Yueyue, everyone else was gossiping!"

Oh, the only one who didn’t speak was Yueyue.

The smile on Shanyue's face faded a little. He tilted his head and thought for a while. Huangqi had introduced Yueyue that day as the daughter of an old acquaintance, Lin.

"Of the three of you, the shortest time you have been in the Cheng family is at least a year and a half! When you live in the backyard, don't talk if you can. If you can talk less, don't talk at all. If you really have to talk, choose words that are nice, soft, and appropriate! Verbal disputes between women are the most fatal. If you leave the Cheng family and still can't control your mouth, I'm afraid that in the end even your tongue will be chopped off and fed to the dogs!" Duan said sternly.

When Shanyue heard the last sentence, his expression changed slightly, and he slowly tightened his hands around the corner of the table.

"The new young lady of my uncle named Shanyue lives in the east wing now. Stay away from her. If I find out what you did to Yue Niang, I will be in big trouble, no matter if it hurts her at all!" Duan said sternly, "Do you understand?"

Sparse: "I understand"

After Duan looked around, her expression changed very quickly. She turned around and greeted Shan Yue with a smile, then left the room before Master Cheng came home.

As soon as Duan left, the four little girls immediately stretched their heads, gathered around and looked inside.

After seeing Shanyue's appearance clearly, some girls' eyes flashed with surprise to some extent.

One of the girls with narrow eyes and slightly upturned corners curled her lips uncomfortably: "Let's go, there's nothing to see. Who knows if you're not here to fill Cui Niang's vacancy?"

What I mean is that having little competitiveness and falling out of nowhere is not necessarily a bad thing.

The girls were comforted and just turned around, they heard a voice behind them: "Girl, what you said is wrong."

Several girls stopped and turned to look.

Shan Yue looked calm and determined: "The person who will fill Cui Niang's vacancy will not be one of us."

(End of this chapter)