When Cheng Yujin returned to her courtyard, a servant girl who guarded the gate saw her back and rushed in to announce: "Sister Lian Qiao, Sister Du Ruo, Miss is back!"
Lian Qiao has been pacing back and forth anxiously. Hearing that Cheng Yujin has come back, she gripped the edge of her skirt and dashed out. "Miss, you finally come back!"
Du Ruo also followed behind with a solemn face. Cheng Yujin held Lian Qiao's hand and motioned to her not to say anything: "I'm fine. Let's go in first."
Lian Qiao nodded quickly. Cheng Yujin returned to her room. Du Ruo calmly dismissed lower-ranking servant girls from the room and poured Cheng Yujin a cup of hot tea. Now that there were only the mistress and her two most trusted confidantes inside the room, Lian Qiao lowered her voice and asked, "Miss, this servant is about to go out to find you. Fortunately, you are back. What's happen?"
Cheng Yujin shook her head. She still vividly remembered the event that had just transpired. The shock she felt hasn't been receded yet. Cheng Yujin's throat was painfully dry. After taking a sip of tea, she was absent-mindedly fiddling with the lid on the teacup. Her eyes were full of thoughts.
Du Ruo and Lian Qiao noticed that Cheng Yujin was lost in thought. They didn't dare to urge, and waited nervously. Cheng Yujin finally put the lid back on the cup and set them aside. She quietly swept her gaze towards Du Ruo.
Du Ruo understood her mistress' signal. She took a sewing basket and sat on the entrance. Apparently doing needlework, but actually keeping on guard. After ensuring the safety measure, Cheng Yujin opened her mouth: "Lian Qiao, how did you come back?"
Lian Qiao knew that her mistress was asking seriously. She knelt on the foot of the Luohan couch. Her eyebrows were curled when she tried her best to remember every detail: "After Miss entered Old Master's bedroom, this servant kept guarding outside the windows per your instruction. This servant watched carefully, and no one was passing during this time. After half an hour, people under the Ninth Master suddenly come to pass on the message that Miss has left with Ninth Master. Afterward, they tell this servant to go back alone. This servant didn't understand the situation, but since Miss has given instruction, this servant didn't dare to leave. Then they stared at this servant for a while before went back."
"Soon, other people came to the front door. This servant dared not to stay any longer and ran away. This servant secretly looked at the entrance of the Old Master's courtyard but didn't find Miss. So this servant hurried back to our courtyard. But after returned, Du Ruo said that Miss wasn't back yet. This servant panicked and was about to find Miss when Miss finally back."
Cheng Yujin quietly listened to Lian Qiao's narrative without asking a word. She could guess what happened on the other side. In the end, she asked: "When you came back, did someone see you?"
"No. This servant knew the risk and avoided people all the way."
"I see." Cheng Yujin nodded, covering her emotion. Her face suddenly became stern: "Today's event can only be rotten inside your stomach. No third person can know, not even Du Ruo. Understood?"
Lian Qiao rarely saw Cheng Yujin being this serious. No matter what happened, Cheng Yujin has always been calm and composed. It was the first time she showed her worry so clearly. Lian Qiao was frightened and hurriedly nodded.
After giving Lian Qiao a heavy warning, Cheng Yujin was very tired and gestured to dismiss her. Lian Qiao bowed her head and stepped back. In an instant, Cheng Yujin was left alone in the room. It was so quiet that she could almost hear the sound of incense being burned. Cheng Yujin sighed, leaned her head on the pillow, and used her hand to cover her eyes.
With her vision covered in darkness, Cheng Yujin could think more intently. Under her hand, her eyelashed quivered faintly. Cheng Yujin forced herself to calm down. Gradually, she began to recount everything that happened today.
Cheng Yuanjing's real identity surely caught her off guard.
Cheng Yujin sometimes heard words spilled from Old Madam Cheng. It wasn't a secret that the Old Madam had long suspected that Cheng Yuanjing wasn't the descendant of their Cheng family, but a son little Xue-shi gave birth to during her exile as the result of her illicit relationship with some unknown rough man. Seeing that the boy was too old to be hidden, little Xue-shi lied that he was Old Master Cheng's son in a vain attempt to rely on this child, so the Old Master would be willing to bring her back to live a wealthy live in the capital.
But Old Master Cheng was really unprincipled and so blatantly favored this sudden child. What made the Old Madam even more annoyed was that the boy was so outstanding, far surpassing Cheng Yuanxian and Cheng Yuanhan. Old Madam Cheng was so angry, both to little Xue-shi and her own sons' incompetence. Therefore, people in the manor rarely mentioned the ninth master. Even during family reunion on important holidays, the Old Madam forbid little Xue-shi mother and son to enter the manor.
As time passed, few people in the Cheng family knew about this ninth master, and the younger generation like Cheng Yujin never even see this rumored ninth uncle. Cheng Yuanjing also didn't seem to have any intention to get close with other Cheng family members. Over the years, the number of his visit to the manor could be counted with one hand. After little Xue-shi's death, he was immediately stationed outside the capital and didn't even send a message for three years. If someone said that Cheng Yuanjing had died outside, people from Cheng family would have believed it.
Old Master Cheng only had two sons, both of whom were born from his legal wife, the Old Madam. When Cheng Yuanjing entered the genealogy, his ninth rank was counted from the whole clan.
Of course Cheng Yujin didn't care about the grievances from the previous generation. Why should she? Cheng Yujin simply thought of it occasionally when she had nothing else to do. In her opinion, Cheng Yuanjing most probably wasn't the Old Master's child. After all, the Old Madam was the person who knew the Old Master best. Her doubt wasn't entirely groundless.
Besides, everyone in the Cheng family was a hedonist who enjoyed the wealthy life without striving for advancement. In contrast, Cheng Yuanjing was too smart and too ambitious. He didn't quite like a seedling that could be born in this kind of soil.
Who knew Cheng Yujin's playful guess actually became a reality? Cheng Yuanjing indeed wasn't surnamed Cheng.
Cheng Yujin was frightened. Old Master Cheng did such a big thing silently and didn't tell his family until the end. When she thought of Cheng Yuanxian's arrogant attitude towards Cheng Yuanjing, her head was throbbing in pain.
Cheng Yujin's biggest wish in life was to have both money and power. Unfortunately, both were too difficult to achieve on her own. Cheng Yujin could only invest in man and marriage. Ever since she could think on her own, she deliberately built a good reputation and always put on a mask in front of all the madams, showing herself to be an excellent candidate for a wife and mother. When she grew up, she became more beautiful, and her reputation also grew in an equally good direction. She was only one step away from her dream. But at this critical junction, people kept tripping her legs.
First, her engagement was canceled by that stupid Huo Changyuan, and her many years of reputation was in jeopardy. Fortunately, breaking this engagement could be considered as a stop loss. Cheng Yujin barely able to handle it, but she never expected that her father was rushing to seek death.
Cheng Yujin firmly thought to herself: no one can stop her from marrying her ideal husband. Not even her foolish father. This Buddha named crown prince was too big. Cheng Yujin didn't dare to do anything excessive. But with a proper measure, she could still use this unexpected fact for her advantage.
Cheng Yujin opened her eyes and carefully considered her plans ahead.
After today's experience, all the things from her previous life that she had always thought as strange were finally explained.
Cheng Yujin had a dream, in which she watched the life of 'Cheng Yujin' like a wandering soul. She hasn't experienced that life in real. All those love and hate were simply like watching other people's story; as if she was separated by a layer of fog, and nothing was real. Rather than experiencing such a lifetime, it was better to say that she accidentally caught a glimpse of one version of her lives.
However, she remembered a few fools, especially Huo Changyuan.
In that life, her contact with this so-called ninth uncle was almost non-existent. Her marriage contract with Huo Changyuan also never been broken; she never bumped into Cheng Yuanjing who was going home, and they never did the embroidered screen together. In the summer after Cheng Yuanjing's return to the capital, she married Huo Changyuan.
To be precise, in this month.
She perfectly understood the way of living in the inner courtyard. Men were indeed powerful, but it was the legal wife who handled the food, clothing, and other necessities for all people in the family. Cheng Yujin has always been rational, both in this life and naturally also in that life. Therefore, it was certain that 'Cheng Yujin' never offended Old Madam Cheng for a nominal uncle that she had never known before. After she got married, they wouldn't even have a chance to talk to each other.
'Cheng Yujin' only vaguely heard that Ninth Uncle had returned to the capital, then went again to another place as an official. After that, there was no news. Apparently, he died of illness on his post.
At that, Cheng Yujin was pregnant. Thanks to Huo Changyuan and Cheng Yumo, she had plenty of worries and naturally had no time to pay attention to an uncle that wasn't close to her.
Afterward, she passed away in childbirth. 'Cheng Yujin' was only sixteen years old.
When she had that dream, Cheng Yujin didn't notice anything was wrong. Now she thought back about it, she found out many strange points. For example, after her death, why did Huo Changyuan marry Cheng Yumo so smoothly; why did his career go so well; why did Cheng family, who had no talents at all, manage to survive without declining after so many years.
Another example, Huo Xue-shi obviously hated other women being close to her son. But after Huo Changyuan's second marriage to Cheng Yumo, she treated Cheng Yumo so kindly.
Following the perspective of a book's character, Cheng Yujin reluctantly admitted that it was Cheng Yumo's fate. She was the female lead who was born to be loved by everyone. But thinking about it now, the hell with the so-called 'fate': it was clear that Huo Changyuan secretly leaked some words to Huo Xue-shi, letting his mother knew that there was a big Buddha behind Cheng family, and they had to treat the Cheng daughter well to get into the crown prince's good grace.
Even if it was just borrowing an identity, after all, the fact was that the Cheng family had sheltered the crown prince for many years. In this respect, His Highness would always be their backing. Since no men from Cheng family were dependable, all of this glorious benefit fell into the son-in-law.
The hell with a talented youth! Huo Changyuan's smooth-sailing career all depending on Cheng family. No wonder he was so adamant in marrying Cheng Yumo. The so-called savior, the so-called first love, and the so-called true love were all excuses. At most, it was only a small part of the whole picture. The real reason for him to marry Cheng Yumo was for her family's grace towards the crown prince. A Cheng daughter was a ready-made amulet for instant success.
Anger filled Cheng Yujin's mind. What kind of shitty luck she had in her previous life to marry Huo Changyuan? Changed to any other man, with her ability, plus the grace from the crown prince that he casually leaked, she would live satisfyingly no matter whom she married to.
But it was all for naught. 'Cheng Yujin' married into Huo family and was betrayed by her husband and sister. Before the crown prince recovered his identity, she died of blood loss due to her mother-in-law's negligence. Up until her death, she was ignorant of the truth.
Cheng Yujin took a deep breath. The events from previous life have been cleared now. Since everything hasn't occurred yet, she still has a chance to remedy the situation. This time, the crown prince was an extremely shiny trump card. She must use this fact well.
Cheng Yujin didn't know whether to admire Old Master Cheng's courage or her own courage. But since she had walked out of the cabinet alive today, it proved that the crown prince wasn't interested in her life. Otherwise, he didn't need to do all those things afterward. Since he didn't want to kill her, the rest was much simpler. The crown prince had countless other things to do and shouldering a great cause. Why would he care about a little girl who simply took advantage of the situation? Cheng Yujin even planned to let Cheng Yuanjing to directly give her a marriage order to a good, powerful man. Wasn't it equal to a chance to choose whichever man she fancy?
Cheng Yujin hurriedly took a sip of tea to calmed herself down. She slowly regained her reason. Although Cheng Yuanjing was the crown prince, the only one who knew this fact and also with high enough identity was himself and the Emperor. Judging from the fact that he had spent almost fifteen years in disguise, he wouldn't reclaim his identity until the time was right. But this would be a problem. Who knew when Cheng Yuanjing intended to go back. She was now fourteen. Did she have the time to wait for Cheng Yuanjing to return to the Eastern Palace and give her a marriage?
Apparently, no.
Cheng Yujin became a little depressed. Seeing Cheng Yumo's actions in her previous life, at least until Cheng Yumo's death, she didn't know that the crown prince was Cheng family's ninth master. There were two possible explanations for this: one was that Cheng Yumo was also unlucky and died before the crown prince reclaim his identity; another one was that the crown prince never recognized Cheng family publicly. When the time came, the crown prince was suddenly found and welcomed back to the Eastern Palace. Li Chengjing was Li Chengjing; Cheng Yuanjing was Cheng Yuanjing; they were two different and unrelated people, but Cheng Yuanjing was dead.
People who know the inside story were those whose standing was among the highest. Even if people below thought that the crown prince seemed familiar, no one would dare to clamor that the long-missing crown prince looked like another person. As long as the Cheng family was dealt with properly, no one would pierce this imperial family's scandal.
Cheng Yujin's intuition told her that it was mostly the latter.
She wanted to be a fox who wore the tiger's skin but didn't know whether the tiger would be willing to lend her even a shred of his fur. Cheng Yujin's heart was unspeakably heavy. For a while, she weighed in all her options. In the end, Lin family's rule about not accepting concubine prevailed. The family itself wasn't weak, and Lin Qingyuan also had a promising future. After all, he was a youth whose talent entered the crown prince's eyes. This feeling was similar to accidentally seeing the answer key before an exam. Even without any cheat, she could acutely see that Lin Qingyuan had a huge potential. How could she be willing to let go of such an excellent stock?
Cheng Yujin finally settled on her target for marriage: the zhuangyuan Lin Qingyuan. By the way, for a good future for herself and her husband, she also should spend an effort to please Cheng Yuanjing, this great Buddha.
No, it should be said, 'shouldering the lord's worries together.'
Cheng Yujin busily spent one night thinking about Cheng Yuanjing. The next day, she went as usual to pay respect to Qingfu Junzhu and found that Cheng Yuanxian was also there.
How surprising. Is the sun coming out from the west today?
It was clear that the servants in Qingfu's courtyard were also unaccustomed by his presence. Their mood was as festive as in the New Year, serving fruits and pastries one after another. Wearing a red gown, Qingfu Junzhu also beamed in joy. Seeing Cheng Yujin coming in, she gave a rare smile: "Eldest girl, you are coming."
Cheng Yujin also put on a smile skillfully and saluted the couple: "Daughter pays respect to father, to mother. May the two of you grow old together in an everlasting blessing."
Qingfu Junzhu laughed happily at Cheng Yujin's greeting. Each of her words poked Qingfu's heart. Which women didn't want to grow old together with her husband? In one month, Qingfu Junzhu usually only met Cheng Yuanxian several times. It was truly rare for him to visit her courtyard so early like today. So, when Cheng Yujin said 'may you grow old together' as soon as she came in, how could Qingfu didn't feel pleasant. As for 'everlasting blessing,' of course it referred to children and grandchildren. Qingfu thought of her precious son and became happier.
Hearing auspicious words so early in the morning, Qingfu Junzhu was in a good mood, and even looked at Cheng Yujin more pleasant than usual. She carefully sized up the girl, feeling a shred of regret. If only Cheng Yujin crawled out of her belly, it would be a blessing to have a smart and beautiful daughter. It's a pity that she was born from that slut in the second branch.
When Cheng Yuanxian saw Cheng Yujin coming, he asked, "Jin jie'er, how are you doing these days?"
Cheng Yujin silently glanced at Qingfu Junzhu and said, "Thanks to mother's care, everything is fine."
The satisfaction on Qingfu Junzhu's face was visible to the naked eyes. Cheng Yuanxian also nodded to Qingfu in approval: "It seems that you really took good care of Jin jie'er. That's good."
He said to Cheng Yujin, "Your mother has many years of experience in managing household. Your age isn't small anymore. You should learn more under her."
Cheng Yujin quietly looked at Cheng Yuanxian. A man who had never cared about his children before suddenly pretended to be a loving father? But her smile remained the same: "This daughter understands. Daughter thanks father for your instruction."
Cheng Yuanxian simply said a few words, but felt himself to be a good, responsible father. He was very satisfied. In contentment, he slowly revealed his real intention: "Jin jie'er, you left after everyone else yesterday. Did you hear your grandfather talked about something?"
Cheng Yujin almost gasped in surprise. Why does Cheng Yuanxian ask her this? Did he find anything?
Cheng Yujin answered calmly, "No. Yesterday, grandfather was asleep, and this daughter didn't hear him saying anything. Why does father ask this?"
"It's nothing." Cheng Yuanxian waved his hand. After a while, he couldn't help but say: "I heard that everyone left yesterday, Cheng Yuanjing went in. I don't know what father said to him."
Cheng Yujin instantly understood. There were many eyes inside the manor. The fact that Cheng Yuanjing came into the Old Master's courtyard yesterday and stayed for so long was impossible to conceal. Some people must report this to Cheng Yuanxian.
Judging from Cheng Yuanxian's words, her whereabout yesterday shouldn't be exposed. No one in the Cheng family knew that Cheng Yujin was also there at that time. Otherwise, Cheng Yuanxian's tone would be very different.
Holding this piece of information, Cheng Yujin said calmly: "Ninth Uncle went to see the imperial physician off yesterday, so he didn't know that we have gone back. It was no wonder that he went straight back to grandfather's courtyard. Does father have something to say to Ninth Uncle?"
"To him? Of course no!" Cheng Yuanxian snorted coldly with a look of contempt. "I'm just afraid that Dad has been too old and too confused to leave family properties to an outsider."
Cheng Yujin finally knew that Cheng Yuanxian was worried about the Old Master's property distribution. So he wasn't doubting Cheng Yuanjing's identity. Cheng Yujin was undoubtedly relieved, but a complicated emotion aroused inside her heart. When Old Master Cheng's days were numbered, he used his last effort to make Cheng Yuanjing guaranteed his children and grandchildren's future. But his good sons, even when he was still breathing, already setting their eyes on his properties.
Cheng Yujin suddenly felt sour. She clearly saw that the Old Master was deliberately using his illness and past gratitude to force Cheng Yuanjing yesterday. How was Cheng Yuanjing's feeling yesterday? His biological father didn't acknowledge him, and his half-adoptive father only cared about his own sons. How did Cheng Yuanjing bear to listen to those words?