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Yu Shu sat on a table near the window. The gallery outside the window was filled with a group of music and bamboo artists. The lively tunes could not drown out the chatter and laughter in her ears. There was a room full of women, so it was needless to think about the scene.
Aunt Cui, who was originally sitting next to her, went to the host's table with a glass of wine in her hand. The golden partridge buyao in her hair danced in her eyes. She could not stay idle at all.
There was no lack of curious gazes and whispers behind her back. From time to time, words like "female official" and "female fortune teller" came into her ears. Yu Shu looked coldly at Aunt Cui who complimented Madam Yin together with those inferior women. Since she did not feel ashamed, she did not restrain her. There was a saying that mud could not support a wall. Yu Shu had long given up on Aunt Cui to have much tolerance.
As the star of today, Madam Yin was surrounded by many people. After a few glasses of wine, her face was slightly red. She smiled and asked someone to fill her empty glass again. She stood up slowly with the help of a maid's arm and looked around. When she found Yu Shu at the nearby tables, the smile in her eyes became colder.
"I'm really happy today. You guys always say nice words to coax me, saying that I don't look old at all and that you can't tell my age. But I really know that I'm old, old —"
She smiled and sighed. She reached out with her long hand and grabbed a woman wearing gold and jade beside her. She patted the back of her hand intimately and said to the crowd,
"Look, this girl Cui was my predecessor when I first married into the mansion. She was still a delicate little girl at that time. In the blink of an eye, she already has a son and a daughter and has her own family. How can I not be old?"
The one she pulled was Concubine Cui, the simple-minded one.
As soon as she said this, the room became much quieter than before. Everyone's attention was focused on the woman she was holding. Those who knew about Aunt Cui's background mostly revealed mischievous expressions. There were also some guests who didn't know what was going on. When they slightly turned their heads to ask around, they revealed a look of surprise.
Everyone knew the name of Messenger Miaoling. A while ago, there was a rumor that this young female official had a dishonorable family background and seemed to have something to do with the Yin Family. It was said that Madam Yin had taken a fancy to this daughter-in-law, but did not expect that Miaoling would become so successful that she looked down on her dissolute Third Young Master. As a result, the cooked duck could only fly away.
This kind of rumor was just a passing thought, but looking at Lady Yin's attitude today, was it really not over yet?
"Madam Yin, forgive my poor eyesight, but who is this person beside you?" someone asked politely.
"Look, I forgot to introduce her. Hahaha, you wouldn't know her even if I told you about her. But if I tell you about her daughter, I'm sure all ten of you know her." Madam Yin deliberately kept them guessing. Even after being rebuked by the servants, she was not anxious. Instead, she gently pushed Concubine Cui's shoulder and said gently,
"You said it yourself, it's your good fortune to raise such a smart and capable daughter."
Aunt Cui drank a few cups of wine in the middle and became bold. It was rare that she did not have stage fright. Under everyone's gaze, she said in a somewhat proud and loud voice,
"She doesn't deserve Madam's praise. She is just lucky to pass the Yi Shi exam and become the female official of the Celestial Commissioner."
There was a sudden noise at the table. Some people were surprised, and some were suspicious.
"Madam, may I ask if your daughter is the Messenger Miaoling who was appointed by the emperor?"
"Yes."
Aunt Cui straightened her back and interpreted the expression on everyone's face as "envy". She became more and more complacent and forgot Yu Shu's instructions before leaving. In her excitement, she only wanted to show off. She glanced around and saw Yu Shu sitting in the corner. She waved her hand and said,
"Shu Shu, come here and greet all the madams."
In a different scene, her behavior was just like that of a street monkey, and Yu Shu was the monkey that she would bring out to show off.
As soon as everyone stopped talking, the room suddenly became quiet. The musical instruments in the gallery outside changed a sharp tone, and everyone's eyes fell on a person by the window.
Yu Shu sat very straight. She didn't hold chopsticks or a cup in her hand. She looked serious and obviously didn't fit in with the atmosphere here. She sat alone among the women. Her appearance and clothes were not outstanding, but she gave people a feeling of being a crane in a flock of chickens. No one would mistake her for someone else.
The guests were all waiting to see her make a fool of herself, thinking that she was really unlucky to have such an unpresentable mother. She had worked so hard to become an official, yet she had to shamelessly act like a slave. She really did not feel ashamed.
Madam Yin was not surprised by Aunt Cui's reaction. Looking at Yu Shu's gloomy face, she secretly sneered, "A nasty girl is a nasty girl no matter where she is. Letting her marry into the Yin Family is flattering her. After today, even if this girl cries and begs to be a daughter-in-law of the Yin Family, it depends on whether she is willing or not."
Yu Shu didn't know when she had become a thorn in others' side. Based on the scene in front of her, she could just fling her sleeves and leave, but afterwards, she would have to bear the reputation of being unfilial. Her mother was standing here. No matter how embarrassing it was, she couldn't turn against her mother.
In the past, Yu Shu didn't care about this little reputation at all. But now it was different. She had an official position, and it was less than three months ago. She hadn't obtained the qualification to attend the court and could be impeached at any time. It was obviously not worthwhile to show off a moment of anger.
Moreover, before she came, she had expected that Madam Yin would make an issue of her family background, so she was not unprepared.
"Mother." Yu Shu answered, took a glass of wine from the table, got up, walked around the table, and walked to the host's table. In a few steps, she stood in front of Madam Yin.
"Today is Madam's big day. I propose a toast to Madam." After saying that, she drank the wine to show respect.
Seeing that she could bear it, Madam Yin let go of Aunt Cui and reached out to hold her wrist. As she looked at her, she said amiably, "Good girl, you're really the same as your mother in the past. You've grown so beautiful. I don't know which boy will benefit from you in the future. Alas."
As soon as she said that, all the guests at the table were speechless. Madam Yin's words didn't sound wrong, and she was just teasing the younger generation. But after thinking about it for a while, they felt that it was inappropriate.
It was impossible for a serious girl to be joked about her marriage in public. Madam Yin obviously didn't take her seriously and talked casually like her own maidservant.
Only Aunt Cui couldn't tell that it was a good thing. She hurriedly said, "Look at what you said. Madam, you have to pay more attention to this girl's marriage."
"…" Everyone was speechless again. They looked at Yu Shu with a little more sympathy for her for having such a shameless mother.
Yu Shu frowned. She finally figured out that Madam Yin was so against her because she had sent a matchmaker to propose marriage to her, and she couldn't vent her anger.
She began to regret coming here with Aunt Cui. She thought that Madam Yin had set a big trap for her, but she didn't expect that it was just a show of force and a quick tongue.
It didn't even hurt or itch, so she was too embarrassed to hit him in the face.
So she secretly remembered the sarcastic faces at the table and didn't mention them.
Seeing that Yu Shu didn't say a word and didn't dare to say anything, Madam Yin was immediately relieved and didn't continue to say anything to disgust her. She turned her head and gave Aunt Cui, the silly girl, a smile, and said,
"In that case, you have to drink with me three times, or I won't care about you."
Aunt Cui agreed and quickly took three glasses of wine to toast her. Yu Shu saw that and didn't stop her. After she put down the glasses, she quietly pulled her back from Madam Yin's hand.
"Mother, your face is red. Go and sit down."
"No, no, I have to toast Madam three more times. Are you happy today? Hahaha." Aunt Cui dragged her feet and refused to leave. She wanted to grab the glasses. Suddenly, someone pressed her shoulder. She looked up and saw Madam Yin's suggestive look.
"Girl Cui, you can't drink anymore. Take a rest."
Aunt Cui was a little sober. She looked back at Yu Shu and remembered the business today. She was a little flustered. She responded to Madam Yin and took her daughter to their seats.
After sitting down, Yu Shu kept a straight face. Seeing this, no one dared to come forward to talk.
Aunt Cui's eyes darted around. After a while, she whispered to Yu Shu, "Mother has drunk too much. I want to go out to relieve myself. Come with me."
Yu Shu glanced at her and said, "We'll go back when we're full."
Aunt Cui didn't want to leave. She pulled her and said, "I can't hold it in anymore."
There were people staring at them. Yu Shu didn't want to pull her, so she left the table and the two went outside. At the bottom of the corridor stood a line of servant girls. When they saw them come out, they went forward.
Aunt Cui waved her hand and said, "Take her to change."
"Madam and Miss, this way please."
As soon as they left, the room became lively. It wasn't good to talk when there were people here, but now, there were all kinds of talk.
— — "Was that really a female messenger appointed by His Majesty? She can't be a fake, right? They say she's a descendant of an immortal, but she doesn't look like one at all. She doesn't have three heads and six arms. "
— — "Hehehe, it's really rare to see her today. Hearing about her is better than meeting her in person."
— — "This female imperial official is really born from the Lower Realm. Hey, who said that Madam Yin has her eyes on her as a daughter-in-law? If it were me, I wouldn't let my son marry her even if she gave birth to an immortal. That's too insulting. Look at her mother, she's really, really, really, pfft!"
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, Madam Qiu, sat in the middle of the table. Listening to the gossip and ridicule, she kept her head down. When someone tried to pull her over to say a few words, she just smiled back and didn't join in the fun.
Listening to the people's words getting fiercer and fiercer, to the point that Yu Shu and her daughter were about to be flattened to the ground, Madam Qiu looked at Madam Yin who couldn't stop laughing and thought,
A group of stupid women. Don't they know what position Yu Lianfang is in now? What's the point of offending a female imperial official of the Kunling Bureau? You'll all go back and cry.
.....
On the other hand, Yu Shu and her daughter were led out of the back garden by the servant girls of the Yin residence. They walked along a quiet path and were brought to the elegant room where the guests changed clothes. When they entered, it was actually a suite. There were tea chairs and snacks outside, and the room was filled with a faint fragrance. If the windows weren't closed, it really didn't look like a place for people to pee.
"Where's the toilet?" Aunt Cui couldn't find the place and asked the servant girl. She really wanted to pee.
The servant girl pursed her lips and smiled. She lowered her head and said, "Madam, please follow me."
Aunt Cui followed her for two steps and suddenly stopped. She turned to look at Yu Shu and opened her mouth hesitantly. Yu Shu turned back and saw her expression. She raised her eyebrows and asked,
"What's wrong?"
Aunt Cui smiled guiltily and said, "I'm going to pee. You have to wait for me. Don't go too far."
Yu Shu acted as if she didn't see anything wrong with her. She waved her hand and said, "Go quickly. I'll wait for you here. I won't go anywhere."
When the servant girl led Aunt Cui to the back of the room, Aunt Cui turned around and her expression darkened. She sat down on the chair and muttered to herself,
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