Chapter 48

The Third Madam left in a daze. A head popped out of the doorway, a pink flower in her bun, and a chuckle on her face: "I thought Madam was going to show her power, but she just scolded her and let the Third Madam go."

Yin Tai saw the flowers in Yun Kai's hair and scolded him, "The house is such a mess, and you're so elegant as to go and enjoy the flowers."

Yunkai took down the pink flower, walked over and put it on Yintai's collar button, and said with a smile: "How can a man like me take charge of the affairs of the backyard? I have to wait for my wife to come back before I can make the decision."

Yin Tai tapped his forehead with her fingertips: "Look at you, you're so cunning." Then she withdrew her finger and praised him, "You did the right thing. If anything happens to Miss Lan in the mansion, the connection between the British and the French will be severed. You and Yuyan should be nice to her for the time being and try to comfort her. She may say she doesn't bear a grudge now, but who knows how she'll complain when Lan Yingde returns!"

Yunkai sat on the armchair next to Yin Tai, with one foot hanging on the chair ring and swinging nonchalantly, and said to Yin Tai with an expression that it was no big deal, "Then you underestimate this Lan Yueming. This girl is the best at judging the situation. Otherwise, why didn't she learn Dai language from the two maids sent by Li Shengmeng instead of learning from me? It's all because I helped her deal with the third wife and helped her fight. In the end, I also promised to take her to see her uncle. She knows clearly who she needs to rely on to live a good life in Yunxiang. As long as her family is in Yunxiang, she won't make a fuss about this matter. Besides, her father Lan Yingde has nothing to ask of us. He is still thinking about using our family to establish a relationship with the royal family of Qingdong and Siam!"

Although what he said was very reasonable and insightful, Yin Tai couldn't stand his smug look and said lightly: "You brought the Du family into the mansion."

Yun Kai laughed when he talked about this: "You didn't see how Lan Yueming turned pale with fear when I exposed the Du family's identity. I was worried that she would faint from fear. She is quite cunning. She sent the Du family back after only serving them for a few days."

Yin Tai nodded as he fiddled with his Buddhist beads: "This child is smart and not ostentatious. She is much better than Yuyan."

Yun Kai curled her lips and thought, of course she didn't need to make it public. If she had any problems, she could just come to him and cry, and he would make things right for her. Why would she need to make a big fuss about being wronged?

Yin Tai was exhausted after a long day. Seeing Yun Kai sitting there without moving, he chased him away: "Aren't you going out to play tonight?"

Yun Kai retracted his legs, stood up, and walked behind Yin Tai with a smile, patting his shoulders attentively. "You also said that I did the right thing. If my father comes back and whips me, you must stop him. I have touched his heart and he will definitely not forgive me when he comes back."

Yin Tai frowned: "Just for your outspokenness, your father really deserves a good beating."

Yun Kai put his arm around Yin Tai's shoulders and said coquettishly, "You're not doing this right! I'm a grown man helping you take care of your child. Even if I don't get any credit, I'm still working hard, right? You don't know how hard it is to coax Lan Yueming. She cries at the slightest provocation. It's so annoying."

Yin Tai gave him a sidelong look. He had just been boasting that everything was under his control, but now he was complaining again.

She brushed his hand off her shoulder and muttered to herself, "You're so old but still so ignorant. It's time to find a wife to take care of you."

When Yun Kai heard Yin Tai's words, he was afraid that she would mention Se Manli again, so he quickly bowed and said goodbye: "Madam, you have worked hard on the way, it's time to rest early. I won't disturb you and I will go back to my own yard." After that, he ran away as if his butt was on fire.

Seeing the Second Young Master slip away so quickly, Tonglin smiled and added some water to Yin Tai's teacup, jokingly saying, "Second Young Master is such a grown-up, yet he's still shy about getting married."

Yin Tai snorted and laughed, "Is he shy? He's just used to being wild and doesn't want to be tied up." Then he became a little angry and said, "I don't know if it's right to send him out to see the world. He's so wild that he can't stay at home and wants to run away to Siam."

Tonglin tested the temperature with the back of his hand, handed the teacup to Yin Tai and said, "Second Young Master has seen the world, so it's normal for him to look down on girls from Mengquan. It would be nice if he could marry a Siamese noble!"

Speaking of the second son's marriage, Yin Tai was upset and didn't want to talk about it anymore. She sighed and said, "Fortunately, Li Yang has made some progress. We just need to wait for the master to come back and make the final decision. Otherwise, I would be upset to see two bachelors."

Tonglin said with a smile: "We are a family of what kind, so we should be careful when choosing a wife! The second young master is choosing carefully, because he just wants to find someone he likes."

Yin Tai looked at the tangled branches on the teacup and sighed, "Which man in this mansion doesn't want to find someone to like, but don't they all find someone of equal status and marry someone they like?"

Tonglin was silent, sighing in his heart. This man not only married a wife who could bring him benefits, but he also took in a few more who were pleasing to him and served him. The ladies in this mansion seemed to have no worries about food and clothing, and lived a prosperous life, but in fact, they were not as happy as the women outside the mansion. Although the women outside the mansion worked hard, they lived happily. When a man had an affair, the chopsticks used in the wedding were broken in half and thrown into the fire pit, and he could just find another one. A woman who entered the mansion could only be with one man for her whole life. If the man didn't like her anymore, she could only live a lonely life by herself, or go to the official Buddhist temple to chant scriptures and recite Buddhist scriptures. Her life was just like this!

The next day, Yun Kai was waiting for Yue Ming in the courtyard, but Ai Ye came to ask for leave on her behalf: "The young lady said she didn't sleep well last night and couldn't get up to attend classes today, so she asked me to ask you for a day off."

Looking at Ai Yeyun kneeling on the wooden floor, he laughed angrily. The little girl was really hot-tempered. After a few jokes, she started to turn her face away. She looked at him and thought, "Now that my wife is back, she doesn't need me as a support, right?" It would be better if she didn't come. He could still have a day off.

Fanning himself and preparing to go out for some fun, he ran into Yuyan. It looked like she had been waiting for him at the door for quite some time. He knew why Yuyan had come to stop him so early in the morning, but he still pretended to be surprised and asked, "Third sister, why don't you come in now?" After saying that, he kicked Feng Xiaosai and said, "You bastards, do you still have your master in your eyes? Are you blind to let Third Miss stand at the door? I'm afraid you want to be beaten."

Feng Xiaosai didn't dare to rub the kick he received, and said with a smile, "I'll go teach them a lesson later. They're becoming increasingly incompetent."

After pretending to teach the servant a lesson, Yun Kai asked Yu Yan with a pleasant face, "Third sister, you came to see me so early, is there something wrong?"

Yuyan just opened her mouth and tears rolled down her face: "Second brother, please save my mother!"

Yun Kai played dumb: "Third Madam's condition has worsened? Have you called a doctor?"

Yuyan choked, remembering that the Third Madam hadn't gone to the door to greet the Madam yesterday, saying she wasn't feeling well—a common tactic of hers. She'd assumed the Madam would just give her a few mild scoldings and leave it at that, but she'd gone on to settle all the old scores and put her under house arrest. Now, the servants were gossiping that the Madam was going to punish the Third Madam. First, she was under house arrest, and the next step was to send her to the official Buddhist temple to practice Buddhism while the master wasn't home. After hearing all this gossip, the Third Madam couldn't get up. She lay in bed groaning, saying she couldn't survive.

Yuyan wiped her tears and said, "Please, second brother, please ask the madam for mercy on my mother this time. She knows she is wrong."

Yun Kai finally understood why her parents had taken her third sister back after she became a widow. She didn't have her mother's reckless and aggressive personality, nor the other two sisters' smooth-talking and tactful approach. Even the young girl Lan Yueming was smarter than her. If she stayed in her husband's family without any children, she would probably be crying every day.

She couldn't even say anything nice when she pleaded for mercy, and just said dryly, "Third Madam knows she's wrong." He wanted to ask her, the filial third sister, what was wrong with Third Madam?

He feigned surprise and asked, "What do you mean? Did the Madam hit the Third Madam?"

Yuyan shook her head: "That's not the case, but..."

Yun Kai interrupted her: "The Third Madam is sick and Madam won't allow us to call a doctor?"

"Not really." Yu Yan whispered.

Yun Kai raised an eyebrow: "Madam didn't beat or scold me. She let the servants serve me well and even found a doctor when I was sick. I really don't understand why you want me to ask Madam for help, second sister!"

Yuyan was stunned by the question. Although this was the case, the crux of the matter was not about these things! She lowered her head in embarrassment and whispered, "Go and ask the madam to release my mother from house arrest!"

How the Third Madam scolded him in her room, and how Lan Yueming was watching him? He was asking him to beg for mercy, what good was he thinking? Yun Kai sneered inwardly, but his face remained warm. "Third sister, you've misunderstood. There's no such thing as house arrest. It's because Madam saw that the Third Madam was not feeling well, and couldn't even get up to greet the mistress when she returned. She probably worked too hard while Madam was away, so she let her rest in her own yard."

Yunkai's sarcasm made Yuyan blush, and the tears that had just stopped fell again. "Why do we have to do this between siblings? I'm desperate, so I'm begging you. I know Madam is angry at my mother for treating Yueming harshly and being disrespectful to Madam. I find what she did ridiculous, but what can I do? She's my own mother, and she can't even get out of bed now. How can I just ignore her? I'll go apologize to Madam and Yueming, and ask Madam to forgive her, okay?"

Yun Kai evaded the question by saying, "That's because you're overthinking it, sister. You heard what Madam said when she questioned Lan Yueming yesterday. She didn't mention a single word about the previous incident. How could Madam embarrass her family for an outsider? As for what you said about being disrespectful to Madam... Third Madam has that kind of temper, and Madam is used to it. Letting Third Madam stay in her own courtyard is for her own good. You and Third Madam shouldn't misinterpret Madam's good intentions. Third Madam's condition that keeps her unable to get out of bed needs to be taken care of. If she needs a doctor or medicine, just ask Feng Xiaosai's father. If that servant dares to say no, Madam will break his legs."

Yuyan knew that it was not what Yunkai said, but she really couldn't find any words to reply to Yunkai. She was not the Third Wife, and she was too embarrassed to shout out: "No, your mother is just making things difficult for my mother."

Just as the situation was getting stalemate, Yueming came over from the corridor with Ai Ye. When they saw Yun Kai, they were stunned for a moment, and then they walked on as if nothing had happened.

Seeing Yueming didn't even say hello, Yunkai walked towards him without even looking at him. He called her and asked, "Didn't you say you couldn't get up this morning and couldn't even go to class? Now you're wandering around again. Do you have any intention of studying?"

Yueming stopped and said expressionlessly, "How could I be wandering around? I'm going to pay my respects to the Madam now."

"Greetings?" Yun Kai closed his fan in disbelief and looked at her with a raised eyebrow, half smiling. "So attentive?"

Yueming said calmly, "I can't carry anything on my shoulders or lift anything with my hands. I've been taking care of the Meng family for so long. Now that the mistress has returned from her long journey, of course I have to go and pay my respects."

Yun Kai smiled at Yu Yan and said, "She's quite sensible." Then he tapped Yue Ming on the head with his fan and said, "How can you be the only one to offer such courtesy? It would make me, your own son, look so immature. I'll go with you."

Yueming looked at him with dead eyes: "You have to compete even when paying respects to your own mother. Why do you have so much free time?"

Yunkai wanted to use Yueming to get rid of his third sister, so he was very tolerant of her bad attitude. He was in a good mood to tease her: "It must be boring to stay in the mansion every day. Call me Abby, let's go to the mistress's courtyard for breakfast, and then I'll take you to experience the joy of doing evil."

How could this person be so shameless? I told him long ago that if he wanted to be called brother, he should go find the Third Young Master.

Yueming rolled her eyes at him and said, "I'm not interested. It's up to you to go or not." After that, she led Ai Ye away without looking back.

"Hey." Yun Kai clapped his hands with his fan and chased after him. "Today we have some fun. Whoever loses the fighting cock will be roasted on the spot. You really don't want to go."

"No, it's like no one has ever eaten chicken."

Watching the two people walking away, Ye Nan touched the stunned Third Miss and said, "Miss, why don't we go and pay our respects to the Madam as well?"

Yuyan came back to her senses and shook her head, "Forget it, what else can I say if I go there?"

Ye Nan felt it was better to go and pay his respects to the Madam than to go back and listen to the Third Madam's tears and scolding. Just as he was about to offer some advice, Yuyan turned and walked towards the Third Madam's courtyard. Ye Nan had no choice but to swallow his words and follow her closely.

When they reached the gate of Yintai's courtyard, Yunkai ignored Yueming no matter how much he flirted with him. They both went inside, and Yintai was having breakfast set. Seeing them both come in, he smiled and said, "Why are you here so early in the morning? Why don't you get some sleep?" Suddenly, he noticed Yunkai was about to go out, and knowing he was going out again, he sternly scolded him, "Your hair is combed like a golden monkey, what are you doing?"

Yueming couldn't help grinning when Yintai compared Yunkai's carefully groomed head to a monkey's. Yunkai grinned too when she saw her smile. Knowing there was still a chance to coax him back, she didn't bother with his mother. She took the opportunity to praise Yueming: "Some people have stopped studying to pay their respects to you, and they won't let me take this opportunity to relax."