Chapter 36: Xiao Yun Guards Her Master (Seeking Collection and Red Tickets)

  Lu Qi's eyes drooped in worry and said: "I didn't think that Xin Yun'er would be so ruthless."

  Ning Er was taken aback, and a hint of unease flashed in her beautiful eyes. Xinyun'er's ruthless methods made her, as a concubine, fearful. She had mentally prepared herself to endure humiliation, but when faced with it, she was still startled and uneasy.

  "Master, today's ceremony can't be blamed on Madam's heavy hand. It was that woman who refused to cooperate and brought trouble upon herself." Suddenly, the voice of Xiao Yun echoed in their ears.

  Lu Qi was startled and had forgotten that there was a small cloud behind the cabinet. He turned his head to look at her, frowning and saying: "What did you say?"

  Xiao Yun's face changed at Lu Qi's stern question, but she quickly regained her composure and summoned up the courage to say: "Young Master, I was saying that Mistress's harshness is due to that woman not cooperating."

  Lu Qi's eyes drooped slightly as he calmly said, "You're so quick to know how to curry favor with the new master."

  Xiao Yun said in a panic: "Young master, it's not like that. The mistress is my master, and the young master is also my master. I'm not trying to curry favor with the mistress by saying this. It's just that all concubines go through this when they enter the household. When I was a maid in the Zhao family, I once accompanied Mistress Zhao back to her natal home, where we coincidentally encountered two new concubines being brought into the household. The treatment they received was even more miserable than what this one is experiencing today."

  Lu Qi's face sank as he looked away, and Xiao Yun was so frightened that she quickly turned around to the outside of the cabinet, knelt down in front of Lu Qi, and anxiously said: "Young master, I'm telling the truth. In a big household like this, buying concubines is often for show and pleasure, so they don't allow concubines with shame or those who dare to disobey their masters. Therefore, as soon as a concubine enters the house, she must endure severe physical punishment and strict training. The master wants to establish authority by forcing the concubine to abandon her sense of shame. I saw it once at the Zhao family's main mother's house, where a new concubine refused to listen and was forced to do a split. As a result, the master ordered the servants to bring a hot brazier and press the branding iron on that concubine, who begged for mercy after being punished. Young master, this time the mistress didn't make things too difficult for that woman, just making her do some not-so-difficult movements. If that woman had been more obedient, the mistress wouldn't have scolded her so severely. Young master, the mistress was acting on the orders of the lady of the house, and I think she must have done her best."

  Lu Qi listened to Xiao Yun's words and immediately became displeased when he mentioned his mother, scolding: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

  Xiao Yun was so frightened that tears streamed down her face, and she sobbed: "Young master, I don't dare to lie, it's really like this when I entered the house."

  Lu Qi's cold hum, Xiaoyun's body immediately trembled, her terrified face turned pale, and she looked around to see Ning'er beside her. She immediately knelt down, stretched out her hand to grab Ning'er's sleeve, and sobbed: "Ning'er sister, what Xiaoyun said is true, you should know that."

  Ning'er's face turned slightly pale. She had heard some rumors about what Xiaoyun said, but she had been confined to her home for many years and didn't know much about the affairs of concubines and maidservants. All she knew was that a maid was a slave who served the male master, a woman whose status was lower than that of a concubine. She didn't know much about the miserable side of being a maid. At first, she had volunteered to be sold as a maid, firstly to repay Lu's mother and secondly because she had heard that Cheng's wife had a good life after being sold as a maid. If she had listened to Xiaoyun's words earlier, she probably wouldn't have had the courage to volunteer to be sold as a maid.

  "Xiao Qi, don't blame Xiao Yun, what Xiao Yun said is the truth." Ning'er hesitated for a moment, and still spoke softly to excuse Xiao Yun.

  Ning'er spoke up, and Lu Qi's expression softened. He said in a gentle voice, "Xiao Yun, get up. I was wrong to suspect you."

  Xiao Yun was taken aback, and with a delighted knock on her head, she exclaimed: "Thank you, Master! Thank you, Sister Ning Er!"

  Lu Qi saw Xiaoyun get up and said in a low voice, "I'll go out to the street outside and take a walk to see if there are any suitable business opportunities." After finishing speaking, he turned around and left the pharmacy, leaving Xiaoyun to sincerely thank Ning'er.

  As he walked on the street, Lu Qi's mood calmed down, and Xiao Yun's explanation had somewhat dispelled his bad impression of Xin Yu'er. He wasn't unaware that a concubine was just a household maid, and what was called a household maid was naturally a woman provided for the master's entertainment. Large households and official families kept concubines, and when guests came, they would call on the concubines to entertain them, which was a way of showing off their wealth and status. If a guest stayed overnight and ordered a concubine to attend him in bed, it was also a sign of respect for the guest.

  Ning'er was actually a concubine of the Lu family, but Ning'er's status as a concubine was due to her generation and had to be humbled, it was only a transitional identity. In Lu Qi's heart, Ning'er did not belong to a concubine, from the beginning she was considered his own concubine.

  Just now, he was angry with Xiaoyun and Ning'er's calmness after speaking, both of which were conveying a message to Xiaoyun that Ning'er is very important in the male lead's heart, indirectly warning Xinyue'er not to touch the thunder zone and be cruel to Ning'er.

  Lu Qi discovered that Xiao Yun, this little girl, had a clever and resourceful mind, was very good at grasping opportunities to win over her master's favor. Xiao Yun was very clear that Xin Yue'er would be the one above her in the future, and when she heard Lu Qi's words of dissatisfaction, she immediately boldly defended the female lead. She may have been afraid of Lu Qi's anger, but amidst her fear, she also bravely persisted in her own views. This unyielding performance made Lu Qi look at Xiao Yun with a few more points of appreciation.

  For Xin Yun'er, Lu Qi knew that it was impossible to ruin the marriage. As Xiaoyun said, Xin Yun'er was acting on her mother's orders to preside over the ceremony. Xin Yun'er's ferocity had caused his disgust, but in her mother's eyes, she would be even more valued for having the ability to hold down the household, and with her mother's favoritism, what could he do as a son?

  Lu Qi let out a soft breath and stretched out the annoyance in his heart. Speaking of ruthlessness, Xin Yun'er was far inferior to him. In the military, if they captured a "tongue" deep in enemy territory, a flash of the knife would result in the "tongue" losing fingers or being disfigured, but that was the kind of ruthlessness men should have outside. At home, any man would want the woman by his side to be gentle and delicate, not a heartless tigress.

  Dong Qing was found by Zou Xiang while strolling around, and he went back to have lunch. Lu Mu had already arranged for Dong Qing to buy food outside, and decided to return to the city immediately after lunch. Zhou Yue Er and the newly bought maidservant also returned.

  Only Lu Mu, Xin Niang, Lu Qi and Xin Yuner were qualified to eat in the main house. The other four maidservants ate in the side room. During dinner, Xin Niang's expression was calm, while Lu Qi's face was wooden and he didn't dare to glance sideways, only focusing on eating by himself. Xin Yuner seemed to have a poor appetite, lowering her head to take small bites from her bowl. Lu Mu lovingly looked at Xin Yuner, occasionally picking dishes for her, fully showing her fondness for Xin Yuner.

  After finishing a somewhat dull lunch, Lu Qi left to fetch the horses and carriage from the Zhou's house, and bid farewell to Old Master and Mistress Zhou. Old Master Zhou was delighted and instructed Lu Qi to come visit often with his family.

  Xin Yuner and Xin Niang stood at the entrance of the pharmacy, along with Dong Qing and Xiao Yun, to bid farewell. Lu Qi only took a proper look at Xin Yuner when he was about to leave on his horse, and saw that the originally shy and lovely Xin Yuner had changed, her beautiful face now tinged with melancholy, her elegant eyes filled with anxiety and worry, and she forced a smile as she waved goodbye to Zhou Yue'er.

  The carriage wheels started to move, and Lu Qi's war horse followed slowly. Xin Yuner looked at the distant back of Lu Qi, her heart filled with a sense of loss and pain. Her beautiful eyes welled up with tears. Just this morning, she was overjoyed that she could finally marry a good man and have a lifetime of happiness to rely on. But after a ceremony in the afternoon, the man she had promised her life to suddenly became abnormally cold and distant, like an iron man without feelings.

  "Yu'er, don't worry, he will be good to you." Xin Yini comforted her niece in a soft voice.

  "Auntie, is it because I hit that woman and made him angry? He's become so cold." Xinyuner finally cried, sobbing as she asked for the reason.

  "Men generally like gentle women, the stronger and more powerful the man, the more they like soft and gentle women. You were fierce today, but Auntie knows you're also strong and biting back your teeth. In my opinion, you didn't do anything wrong. If you can't tame the new concubine and complete the ceremony given to you by Lady Lu before noon, she will definitely be disappointed in you. Today, you must satisfy Lady Lu, and later use gentle care to change Lu Qi's fierce impression of you."

  Xin Yun'er shook her head and said sorrowfully: "Yun'er hasn't even formally entered the household, why would they let Yun'er do this?"

  "Aunt Xin sighed and said, 'Strictly speaking, today's event should be hosted by Mrs. Lu, it's more reasonable that way. Letting you host might be a test for you, or maybe Mrs. Lu is kind-hearted and afraid of not doing well, so she pushed you out to host the ceremony.'"

  Xin Yun'er looked at her aunt in confusion, and Xin Yiniang smiled lightly: "Onlookers see most clearly. At lunchtime, Mrs. Lu was overly enthusiastic towards you. She's your mother-in-law, and she doesn't need to keep serving you dishes to show her liking for you. That's a kind of heartfelt gratitude."

  Xin Yun'er turned her head and stared at the distance, Xin Niang smiled and said: "Don't worry, when a woman marries into her husband's family, it's hardest to get her mother-in-law's approval. You have won over your mother-in-law's favor, so in the future, marrying into the Lu family will be very smooth and happy."