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墨書 Inktalez
The next day, Shui Lian woke up early and greeted Third Madam and Zhou. Zhou was quite pleased with this well-mannered concubine, holding her hand and asking her various questions, which made Fu Lianyin's eyes turn red with jealousy—she just didn't know how capable Shui Lian was in terms of childbearing, but since she was already brought into the household, it was better not to rush things.
Fu Lianyin couldn't take it as lightly; she viewed Shui Lian as a thorn in her side and made things difficult for her at every turn. Tasks that should have been done by servants were forced upon Shui Lian—she was determined to give Shui Lian a taste of her authority, making sure she understood who the rightful mistress of the Third House was. She shouldn't take advantage of the master's "favor" and try to overshadow her. Sometimes, she would deliberately criticize Shui Lian in front of the servants, complaining that she couldn't do this or that. Through all this, Shui Lian silently endured, while Yun Kexin could hardly bear to watch.
In order to prevent Yun Yang from becoming "infatuated" with Shui Lian and to stop her from bearing children for the Third House, Fu Lianyin sometimes called Yun Yang to her room at night or would intentionally send Shui Lian away to care for the elderly Yun Jinxiu. When Yun Yang returned at night and found her absent, he would simply go to sleep. Yun Kexin quickly saw through Fu Lianyin's scheme!
In the backyard, Shui Lian was again doing chores like fetching water, washing clothes, and chopping firewood as instructed by Third Madam when she happened to be seen by Yun Kexin and three maids passing by.
"Shui Lian, let me do it," Shan Ling said, unable to bear watching any longer as she reached for the hatchet in Shui Lian's hands. "You should take a break."
"No, no, Miss Shan Ling," Shui Lian said anxiously as she pushed back against her. "This is what Madam ordered; otherwise, she will be unhappy."
"Is Water Concubine really that afraid of Mother?" Yun Kexin interjected with a mix of disappointment and sarcasm.
Only then did Shui Lian realize Yun Kexin was present and hurriedly replied, "Seventh Sister... I—Consort am not afraid of Third Madam," she licked her lips and rubbed her hands shyly. "It's just that I promised the master to respect Madam, so—"
Such "respect" will only make the Fu Family think you are weak and easy to bully, becoming even more arrogant!
You will never bear Yun Yang's children in this lifetime! Yun Kexin thought bitterly! But then she recalled how Shui Lian had dared to block the carriage and openly confessed her affection for her adoptive father; it showed enough courage and determination! Such a person is certainly not one to be submissive; she just hasn't yet discerned friend from foe and is being cautious. As long as she gains her trust and becomes a friend, things will be much easier—at least much better than Dai Chun Ni.
"Don't be nervous; I don't mean to blame Water Concubine," realizing this, Yun Kexin no longer felt annoyed by Shui Lian's submissiveness over the past few days. Instead, she felt protective toward her, softening her tone. "Xin'er just thinks these tasks are meant for servants and maids; Water Concubine doesn't need to do them personally."
"But this is what Madam ordered..." Shui Lian lowered her head, speaking softly.
Yun Kexin didn't respond but cunningly asked, "Could Water Concubine accompany me to the market to buy some things?"
Shui Lian was taken aback. "What does Seventh Young Lady want to buy?"
"I haven't thought of anything yet; I mean we can decide when we get there," Shan Yue answered smartly on her behalf.
"What about these chores?" Shui Lian still asked with concern.
"I understand, this is what a servant should do," Yun Kexin said patiently, finally testing the waters, "But if Water Concubine is truly afraid of Mother, then just continue with it..." With that, she turned and walked away without looking back.
Shuilian was not foolish; she caught the implication in Seventh Sister's words and hurried after her. "Seventh Sister, wait for me. I'll go with you."
Walking ahead, Yun Kexin finally smiled but said nothing.
＊＊＊＊
On the way, Shuilian seized the opportunity to strike up a conversation with Yun Kexin.
"Seventh Sister, have you thought about what you want to buy?" Shuilian turned to Yun Kexin with a smile.
"I want to buy some supplements for Father," Yun Kexin said casually. "He often works hard on cases and strains his mind. Water Concubine, can you suggest what would be good to buy?"
"I know a bit about this," Shuilian replied with a gentle smile. "I've bought some for Father before and even made some myself. He quite liked it... Seventh Sister, let me take you there."
After buying the supplements and returning, they passed by a sparsely populated alley. Shuilian stopped and said seriously to Yun Kexin, "Shuilian thanks Seventh Young Lady for her great kindness. I heard from the Master that it was your suggestion for him to take a concubine..."
"Water Concubine doesn't need to thank me," Yun Kexin replied calmly. "I'm doing this for the sake of the Third House's Succession of Lineage. Besides, your feelings for Father are indeed sincere."
"In any case, without Seventh Sister, there wouldn't be Consort's current situation. Please allow me to bow to you." Shuilian knelt down without hesitation and bowed her head.
Yun Kexin quickly reacted, saying, "Water Concubine, what are you doing... Shanying, quickly help the Concubine up!"
As Shanying assisted her while cleverly mocking, she said, "Since you're so grateful to our Seventh Sister, then how come you've never expressed even half a 'thank you' at home? Must it be done outside?"
At the same time, she observed Shuilian's reaction to see how she would respond. However, after standing still, Shuilian calmly smiled and said, "Miss Shanying, taking a concubine is something that the main wife would not be pleased about. If I were to thank Seventh Sister in the residence, it might upset Third Madam when it reaches her ears and lead her to misunderstand Seventh Young Lady. That would create a rift between mother and daughter, which is not good..."
Yun Kexin's heart trembled: This Shuilian is indeed much more clever and astute than Dai Chun Ni; no wonder Yun Yang favored her so much in his past life—finding someone who understands is rare!
"Water Concubine thinks things through thoroughly," Yun Kexin said with a smile in her eyes. "Actually, it's nothing much; Xin'er really just made a suggestion. Just serve Father well in the future."
"Yes, Seventh Sister, we are heading back to the residence."
After walking for a while, Yun Kexin suddenly recalled Fu Lianyin's intentions and casually asked, "Water Concubine, do you want to have children?"
Shui Lian was taken aback by Yun Kexin's question and shyly nodded.
"Then Water Concubine, don't go take care of Third Uncle tonight," Yun Kexin said, "Let Father go to your room."
"This... how can that be?" Shui Lian replied awkwardly. "Third Madam wants Consort to continue going to Third Uncle's place these few nights..."
Yun Kexin sneered, "I'll talk to Mother," and then glanced at the empty space, "It's still early; let's stroll around some more."
The five of them continued wandering until the sun began to set before returning to the Duke's residence. Just in time for dinner, they headed straight to the North Courtyard. Fu Lianyin, holding back her anger, finished her meal quickly. Upon returning to the main hall of the Western Courtyard, she immediately scolded Shui Lian, "Water Concubine, where have you been today? I haven't seen you at all; do you think you can just leave without me?"
"Replying to Madam, Consort accompanied Seventh Young Lady to the market to buy things."
Fu Lianyin looked at Yun Kexin suspiciously, staring for a long time as if seeking confirmation.
"Yes, Mother," Yun Kexin said calmly and unafraid. "It was Xin'er who asked Water Concubine to accompany me to buy some supplements for Father; please don't blame Water Concubine."
Fu Lianyin was furious and shot a sharp glance at Shui Lian. "You should have waited until your tasks were done before going," she paused slightly and extended her anger towards others. "You didn't even come to inform me; Seventh Young Lady, do you still see me as your mother?"
Yun Kexin sneered inwardly: You're not my mother; why should I care about you?!
"Mother, please calm down," Yun Kexin said composedly. "This is all Xin'er's fault. Recently I've seen Father busy with official matters and coming home late. I was anxious to buy him some supplements and saw Water Concubine there, so I thought it would be good for her to accompany me... When Fu Lianyin seemed about to speak again, Yun Kexin quickly interjected, not giving her a chance. "Water Concubine also mentioned that she hadn't finished what you instructed her to do and didn't want to go. I thought these were all tasks meant for servants anyway, so I took the liberty of letting her come with me."
"Seventh Young Lady!" Fu Lianyin could no longer contain her anger and shouted furiously. "Your audacity is growing by the day! Do you really think that because the master is protecting you, I won't dare punish you!"
Yet Yun Kexin maintained an expression of indifference—
"What’s wrong, Mother? Is there a shortage of hands in the residence lately? Fetching water, chopping firewood, washing clothes—these are all servant duties; why should Water Concubine take on these tasks?" Yun Kexin's eyes widened in surprise as she licked her lips and exclaimed incredulously, "If this gets out, outsiders will think our Duke's residence is struggling financially and can't afford servants. The elders of the Yun family would be unhappy if they found out; not to mention Father. Mother, everything Xin'er does is for your sake..."
"You!" Fu Lianyin was stunned.
She did not expect Yun Kexin to be so eloquent and adept at hitting the "nail on the head," directly silencing her.
In an instant, Fu Lianyin felt her head heat up with anger, her body turning cold, yet she found herself at a loss for what to do. She could only tremble and turn to the side, trying hard to calm herself down.
"Well then, I should thank you," after a moment, Fu Lianyin said sarcastically, "Fine, I won't hold it against you. However," she paused, turned to look at Water Lily, her gaze sharp as if it were countless blades, wishing she could completely ruin Water Lily's delicate face. "Water Concubine, you have been taking great care of Third Uncle these past few days. He speaks highly of you. I was thinking that from now on, you should go to Third Uncle's place at night to take care of him. After he falls asleep, you can return to Third House. How does that sound?"
Water Lily did not know how to respond and cast a pleading glance at Yun Kexin.
"Mother, please forgive me for speaking bluntly. I believe this is inappropriate," Yun Kexin said calmly and coldly. "Water Concubine is Father's concubine, yet you want her to take care of Third Uncle at night? This is unreasonable; shouldn't we avoid suspicion? If others knew, it would create a scandal for Third House!"
Yun Kexin's sharp words were like the most piercing dagger thrown mercilessly at Fu Lianyin, leaving her once again speechless and dumbfounded! She could not understand how Seventh Young Lady had become so articulate!
"Then according to Seventh Young Lady's opinion, what should be done?" Fu Lianyin spat out through gritted teeth.
"Kexin believes that taking care of Third Uncle is a servant's duty since he is a man; there are implications of suspicion in such situations," Yun Kexin paused before continuing, "However, if Mother wants the new Concubine to fulfill her filial duty, that is also acceptable, but it should be during the day. In fact, I think this matter should wait until Father returns for discussion..."
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