Led by Uncle Meng, the two entered the manor and stopped near the main hall. Uncle Meng glanced at Lu Yinghuai, who immediately understood, turned to Yun Ling, and whispered:
"Uncle Song and his mistress are inside. Would you like to come in with me to say hello?"
Yunling felt that as a guest, she should greet the owner of the manor, but the owner's mistress... she shouldn't go in and disturb her, lest she break some rules and block her way to get wool.
She doesn't want to.
Seeing Yun Ling shake her head, Lu Yinghuai smiled and leaned close to her ear, saying:
"Then wait for me here, I'll be right back."
Yunling couldn't help but shudder. Why did this person have to get so close to her? This person was malicious; he probably just wanted to see her make a fool of herself.
Yunling gave him a disgruntled "humph," which amused Lu Yinghuai.
It turns out that this estate was bought by Song Xiaoliulang's biological father, the third son of the Song family. Anling Village has beautiful scenery and few people. A flock of sheep is raised here, and in winter, the whole family can come here to eat a few mutton hot pot meals as a kind of rustic fun, but only in winter.
On ordinary days, the manor is only guarded by Uncle Meng and two servants and maids, so it is very quiet. This gave Song Laosan the idea of bringing his mistress over to play.
Moreover, there wasn't just one mistress; sometimes it was her, sometimes another, and sometimes both. Everyone in the village was clear-sighted, so they didn't have to worry about what to say or not to say, and life just went on in a daze.
Lu Yinghuai kept his word and didn't keep Yunling waiting long. He came out of the main hall shortly afterward and led Yunling to the side hall.
The two dined in the side hall. Although it was just the two of them, they had everything that was on the main table: pepper beef, cold shrimp salad, stuffed winter melon, sweet and sour lychee fried chicken wings, four-herb soup, and a watermelon fruit platter.
As Yunling was inhaling the aroma of the dishes, Lu Yinghuai had already served her a bowl of Four Gods Soup, and then placed beef, shrimp, stuffed meat, and chicken wings on a small plate. He arranged them neatly and precisely, piling them into a small mountain.
Yunling was stunned.
This isn't for feeding people; it's designed to feed pigs.
Her initial shock only lasted a moment or two before she succumbed to the allure of the aroma and began to eat heartily.
The beef was tender, the shrimp was bouncy, the stuffed meat was fresh, and the chicken wings were thick and creamy. Each one was more delicious than the last. Finally, a couple of slices of watermelon made it incredibly satisfying.
After finishing her meal, Yunling was led back to her room by a pretty young woman. Yunling felt like she had seen her somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place where.
Of course, Ziying also had this thought, but it was quickly extinguished by the jealousy that arose in her heart.
She had only overstepped the bounds a little, and that person had ruthlessly kicked her out of the house. She was unwilling to give up, thinking that she could not enter the Lu family's house. Lu Yinghuai was acquainted with Song Xiaoliulang, so when the Song family was recruiting people, she used her connections to get in as a maid.
After entering, she finally saw Lu Yinghuai as she had hoped, but only from afar. She only saw him once or twice and thought he would never come again. But to her surprise, he not only came, but also brought a woman with him.
Ziying glanced at Yunling, feeling incredibly arrogant. She was just an ordinary girl, not even half as good as her. How could she possibly catch Lu Yinghuai's eye?
Judging from his clothes, they were nothing more than the kind sold at a market clearance sale. He wasn't from a wealthy family. What did Lu Yinghuai see in this person? Was it his shabby appearance?
The more Ziying thought about it, the more resentful he felt, and he blurted out:
"Young lady, is this your first time visiting the estate? I have never seen you before."
Yunling nodded and replied, "This is my first time here, and I don't know if I'll come again next time."
Yunling's original intention was to obtain the wool, but her words were perceived by Ziying as a declaration of sovereignty over Lu Yinghuai, which immediately ignited her anger.
"That's true. After all, you're the fifth young lady brought by Young Master Lu. There were Young Lady Wang, Young Lady Su, Young Lady Zhao, and Young Lady Mei before, but none of them have come back."
Yunling immediately sensed something was off about the person in front of her. Was he treating her as Lu Yinghuai's mistress? Even if she was a mistress, this maid should at least cover for these wealthy young men, not expose their shortcomings in front of her.
Something's not right.
Something's definitely wrong with this person.
Yunling didn't directly confront her; instead, she went along with her words and echoed her:
"Who says otherwise? This young master Lu looks like a high-and-mighty flower, but in private he's a refined scoundrel who likes to pick on one woman here and another there, and he's quite the playboy."
"Moreover, this person is far from being as polite as he appears. He has a terrible temper and gets angry easily, throwing things and even hitting people. He's quite scary. I reckon those young ladies you mentioned are afraid of him, which is why they don't come."
"No way!!! My lord is not that kind of person!!!"
Ziying was unhappy to hear others say such things about Lu Yinghuai. Lu Yinghuai was the most perfect man she had ever met. Although he had driven her out of the house, she still cared about him.
“My lord never loses his temper. He is a refined and gentle man. He wouldn’t even dare to scare away the birds that steal flowers and fruits. How could he possibly hit someone?”
"Besides, he's so engrossed in the business all day that he doesn't have time to pick on one thing and shoot another. He can't even take care of his own food, so how could he possibly have time to be carefree?"
"..."
Ziying continued to ramble on in defense of Lu Yinghuai, completely forgetting how she had just "smeared" him.
Yunling ignored her and let Ziying talk. She thought that since she already had the answer, there was no need to dwell on it anymore.
However, the more she looked at Ziying, the more familiar she felt. Moreover, the way this person protected Lu Yinghuai reminded her that she had indeed met this person before. It was in the wealthy area in the north of the city that this person had helped them buy mushrooms and honeycomb.
Therefore, this person is most likely a servant of the Lu family. Previously, this person was wearing jade and gold, and was very good at dressing up. It is very possible that he was serving Lu Yinghuai.
Now he's working at the Song family's manor. He might have made a mistake and been kicked out of the Lu family, but he doesn't want to lose contact with Lu Yinghuai. So he chose to start with the Song family, which is on good terms with the Lu family, hoping to run into Lu Yinghuai here, reappear in his sight, and rekindle their past relationship.
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