On the day of my departure, I met my busy uncle, the Marquis of Yiyang, who came to see me off. He was handsome and imposing, and even in middle age, his appearance remained unchanged. He and my aunt looked quite well-matched.
Yan Ruyu and Yan Ruqing bowed and took their leave, while a large crowd gathered at the entrance of the Wei family's residence.
"Aunt, if you have the chance, come and stay in the capital for a while. Not only does Grandfather miss you, but Father and Mother miss you too!"
After shouting from horseback, Yan Ruqing waved to the Fourth Miss, her voice even louder: "Cousin! We'll have to skip the wedding banquet for now. When you come to the capital another day, your brothers will host a few tables for you!"
Wei Pingxi replied with a smile, "Thank you, cousin."
Yan Ruyu finally greeted Old Master Wei, her uncle and aunt, mounted her horse, and rode straight out of Lingnan Prefecture.
No sooner had they left than the old man turned and walked away.
The group was left looking at each other in bewilderment.
Based on the principle of "the eldest brother is like a father," Yan Ruyu specially sought out Young Master Wei to spar in the martial arts arena a few days ago. The eldest brother is like a father, yet he indulges his younger brother's inhuman behavior. He deserves to be punished.
Yan Ruyu broke Wei Da's long sword without hesitation, which was considered to have vented her anger for her cousin.
At this point, the three young masters of the Wei family had all lost face. Since the person had just left, they couldn't afford to be cold to their younger sister, so they simply pretended to be blind and brushed past her.
Grandfather and granddaughter are at odds, brother and sister are not on good terms. Marquis Yiyang, considering his wife, looked at his legitimate daughter, then at the delicate beauty beside her, and said in a gloomy tone: "Now that you have your wish, stop making trouble. Making trouble in front of outsiders is shameful."
Wei Pingxi's expression was cold and indifferent: "It is indeed very shameful."
She bent down slightly.
With a lump in his throat, the Marquis of Yiyang, feeling awkward and embarrassed, tried to grab his wife's hand, but was coldly avoided by Lady Wei.
The mother and daughter stood on the same line in a silent confrontation. Wei Hanqing's face turned pale and then pale again. His handsome face, which did not show his age, frowned, and he softened his tone to coax his wife to be happy.
Hearing the man's humble pleas and attempts to please him, Wei Pingxi smiled without restraint. He stopped standing there like an unromantic blockhead and took Yu Zhi's hand, walking confidently into the sunny summer solstice.
When the sunlight shone down, the sky over the Wei family changed.
This was a consensus among all the servants.
The arrogant and unruly fourth young lady is no longer the fourth young lady she used to be, who could be ignored and manipulated at will.
The Grand Tutor's Mansion stood fearlessly behind the Fourth Miss, tolerating all her mischief. Even the proper master of the mansion—the Marquis of Yiyang—was kept in check by his wife, who turned a blind eye to everything.
Even when beating a dog, one should consider its owner; how much more so one's own daughter?
Even if it's just a matter of loving the house because of the dog, Wei Hanqing still had to suppress his dislike for his legitimate daughter and be very patient with her.
The marriage between the Wei and Song families fell through before it even began.
Yu Zhi, who had once again been a spectator in the life of a noble family, woke up in a daze after the play ended, and realized that power was the real sky above her head.
The fourth young lady had previously asked the madam to send someone to discipline her, and now that the person to discipline her had arrived, Yu Zhi looked timidly at the elderly nanny in front of her.
The old nanny first greeted the master of Jingzhe Courtyard. Wei Pingxi, whose injuries had healed by half, said casually, "Nanny, please get up."
Who in the Wei household would dare to disrespect the Fourth Miss?
Seeing the difference with her own eyes, Yu Zhi couldn't help but straighten her back.
"What kind of beauty does the Fourth Miss want to train and cultivate?"
Wei Pingxi smiled enigmatically: "What kind of beauty do you think could capture my heart, Granny?"
The old woman was knowledgeable and quick-witted. She glanced at the timid and uneasy girl out of the corner of her eye, pondered for a long time, and then said, "Of course she is sensible and knows what's good for her."
"Go, train him well, and send him back to me unharmed."
"Fourth Miss!" Yu Zhi called out to her urgently.
Wei Pingxi sighed helplessly, "Study hard. For our wedding night, I need to take good care of my injuries these days. I'll come to see you again when I have time."
She looked at the beauty's reddened eyes and smiled, "Be good, learn well and serve me."
"Miss Yu, please."
The old nanny respectfully cleared the way for her.
Yu Zhi took a few steps, glancing back every few steps, her mind a jumble of thoughts. One moment she worried that this was just a pretense, that the Fourth Miss had grown tired of her and didn't want her anymore; the next she worried about what kind of "training" the nanny was talking about.
Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she whispered, "If I come back, will you take me as your concubine?"
"Yes," the fourth young lady said expectantly, "Come back soon."
Chapter 18 Understanding and Sensibility
Yu Zhi was reluctant to leave Jingzhe Courtyard, reluctant to leave Miss Wei, who was sitting in a wheelchair basking in the sun. Under Miss Wei's gentle gaze, she still moved her feet and followed the nanny who came to leave.
She didn't know where she was going or what awaited her. In any case, having died and been reborn in her previous life, and leaving the dark and damp Liushui Alley, her fate was no longer in her own hands.
She was Miss Wei's concubine, but to be a favored concubine, she still had a long way to go.
In this world, nothing is easy for anyone who wants to live.
Cats have their hardships, and dogs have theirs. If they are not born into a good family and encounter a cruel master, even a quick death is a luxury.
Yu Zhi boldly entrusted her to the Fourth Miss, whom she had met once in her previous life. Fate had tied them together. If the Fourth Miss was doing well, she could do well; if the Fourth Miss was not doing well, and could not protect her, she would probably face a more difficult situation than in her previous life.
During her month at the Wei family, she witnessed firsthand how the Fourth Miss used her connections to gain a foothold in the mansion. Before her good days could even begin, Yu Zhi had to leave again.
Of course, this time when she leaves, she must not disappoint the Fourth Miss when she returns.
A disappointing concubine is destined to be abandoned.
She can be abandoned.
She hoped that the day would come when Yao Chenzi cured her mother's eye disease, and she could accumulate enough wealth to take her mother out of Lingnan Prefecture.
Before that, she had to firmly hold onto the fourth young lady's heart, making her unable to leave her, and making her unable to look away when she looked at her.
He wanted her to be willing to spend money to coax him, to protect him with his life, and to treat him as the most precious person in the world.
Yuzhi was startled by the long-dormant ambition that had finally surfaced.
She turned back timidly to look at Jingzhe Courtyard, but she had gone too far to see the Fourth Miss. Only the flowers and trees swayed in the wind, much like her heart at that moment.
The old woman who had led the way laughed at her, "You've got your eye on it?"
The old nanny was old enough to be her grandmother. Yu Zhi blushed with embarrassment, thinking that she would inevitably have to trouble her to teach her everything she knew in the days to come. Her willow-leaf eyes curved into a gentle and pleasing arc.
He didn't say a word, just smiled, as if he had said everything that needed to be said.
Having lived to this age, Granny Wu had seen many beautiful women, but even though she was somewhat prepared, she was still softened by the girl's smile.
"It's only natural that you're concerned. No wonder you're concerned; there are countless people in the entire Lingnan Prefecture who are concerned about the Fourth Miss."
Whether male or female, the Fourth Miss has never lacked admirers, but this is the first time she has brought a woman home, declaring that she will take a concubine.
It's not right to gossip about one's master in private, but seeing how shy and timid Miss Yu is, unable to withstand even the slightest hardship, it's better to consider it a good deed. Granny Wu kindly advised, "It's okay to have your thoughts, but you must know your limits."
Yu Zhi's attitude was gentle: "Please teach me, Granny."
She was short of money, so she gritted her teeth and took out the jade butterfly that the fourth young lady had slipped into her undergarment the night before.
The jade butterfly is made of warm and lustrous jade, and is lifelike. It is a fine piece of jade. There are small characters engraved on the butterfly wings.
It is the "four" in the fourth young lady's name.
Granny Wu thought highly of her and immediately felt that this girl had a bright future.
She dared not accept blatant bribes, but she would have accepted other valuables like gold and silver.
However, she wouldn't dare accept anything that symbolized her status as the Fourth Miss, let alone a jade butterfly, or even a single character written on white paper.
There are dozens of Miss Jade Butterflies like this. Who knows, one of them might suddenly fly up to a branch one day?
"Please keep it, young lady." She said kindly, "Once you have officially entered the Jingzhe Academy, you can come back to thank this old woman if you wish."
Yu Zhi understood what he meant. She withdrew her hand and put the delicate jade butterfly back around her neck: "I will never forget your kindness in guiding me, Granny."
Granny Wu secretly admired her for being so obedient.
"As for the degree, it naturally cannot be too much or too little. The Fourth Miss is deeply favored by the Madam. To presume, in this Wei family, what she values most is her mother-daughter relationship with the Madam..."
Yu Zhi followed Granny Wu through a long corridor, carefully memorizing these words.
Three butterflies fluttered down onto the blooming peonies. With one person missing, the entire courtyard seemed to have lost much of its beauty.
Wei Pingxi pondered in the wind, banishing the image of the beautiful woman from his mind, and said in a gentle voice, "Go and get the account books from those shops."
Half of Madam Wei's dowry was given to her most beloved daughter, Miss Wei, who was eighteen years old and already quite wealthy.
"Several shops" is a euphemism.
Knowing her young mistress was 'low-key', Jade bowed and withdrew.
One door after another opened, and Granny Wu stopped at a courtyard gate adorned with bright flowers and green willows.
The door is made of wood and has a natural fragrance. It is carved with a pattern of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix. It is just a wooden door, but it is a rare item that money cannot buy.
Yu Zhi didn't know how to distinguish between this wood and pear wood, but she knew that behind the door was a completely new territory that she had to master, even if she wasn't confident.
Granny Wu lightly tapped the door, and soon someone came to open it.
The person who opened the door was a young girl dressed in a bright green dress, with her hair in a lily-shaped bun and a red silk ribbon tied around her waist: "Granny Wu?"
She looked behind Granny Wu and naturally saw Yu Zhi's figure and her striking beauty. She quietly took a breath, not for any other reason than that this courtyard hadn't had a new person for several years.
“Just call her Hong’er.” Granny Wu turned to Hong’er and introduced her: “This is Miss Yu, the concubine that the Fourth Miss specifically requested. She will be studying in our courtyard for a while.”
"Oh my! The Fourth Miss's concubine!?" Hong'er's mouth gaped open in surprise, her almond-shaped eyes widening, making her look exceptionally charming and adorable.
Yu Zhi's beautiful voice was even more melodious than that of a thrush: "Sister Hong'er."
Hong'er bowed slightly to her, feeling a little embarrassed, and said, "Greetings, Sister Yu."
"Granny Wu, who has come?"
Groups of four or five girls swayed their hips as they walked by. Yu Zhi sighed inwardly at how beautifully the girls swayed; perhaps this was the true meaning of graceful swaying.
Once all the maids in the courtyard had arrived, Granny Wu solemnly said, "This is the Fourth Miss's concubine. She hasn't been welcomed into the household yet. We need to teach her how to serve others. If she does a good job, the Fourth Miss will reward her."
Yu Zhi's palms were sweating as she mustered her courage and stepped forward: "Thank you all for your help."
The fourth young lady's concubine.
Immediately, everyone looked at Yu Zhi with amazement and amusement. The head maid, who had her breasts exposed, smiled charmingly and seductively: "I wonder what our Fourth Miss's requirements are?"