"Jade Belt, aren't you afraid?"
Yu Dai paused, looked up at Wang Xiuxiu, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes: "What are you afraid of?"
“I’m afraid of the First Madam, I’m afraid of the Eldest Young Master, and I’m afraid of the other masters in this mansion.” Wang Xiuxiu lowered her voice even further.
Yu Dai pursed her lips, her face bitter. "Of course I'm scared. How can I not be scared? The masters in this mansion are all absolute. How can we servants not be scared?"
"Then how dare you..." Wang Xiuxiu hesitated, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.
Yu Dai took a deep breath, her voice soft but firm: "No matter how afraid I am, I can't do bad things against my conscience. If I didn't know, that would be fine, but now that I know, I can't just watch you fall into that fire pit."
"How do you plan to explain this to the eldest young master?"
"I will pay attention to your matter as he instructed, so you must be even more careful in the future!"
"You want to marry the eldest young master as a concubine?" Wang Xiuxiu stared intently at the jade belt, as if trying to see through her thoughts.
"No! Of course I don't want to." Yu Dai's emotions were unusually agitated, her voice suddenly rose a few decibels, then quickly lowered again, her eyes even revealing disgust. "How could I be willing? If I really become a concubine to someone like the young master, I will never have a chance to rise in this life."
"Then what do you mean?"
“My parents, brother and younger brother are still working in the outer courtyard. The eldest son is domineering. If I don’t comply, they will suffer the consequences.”
A tear flashed in Yu Dai's eyes, her fingers gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white.
"Didn't you ever think about changing anything?" Wang Xiuxiu's voice carried a hint of encouragement.
"How can we change it?" Yu Dai gave a bitter smile. "I am a servant born into a family. My family has been servants of the Cheng family for generations. To put it bluntly, as long as the Cheng family doesn't fall, my family, from the oldest to the youngest, will be servants of the Cheng family."
Wang Xiuxiu stared at Yu Dai's clear, bright eyes and was speechless for a moment.
She knew Yu Dai's difficult situation and understood her helplessness and sorrow.
The Cheng family had strict rules, and the power of the masters was like a mountain, making it hard for the servants to breathe.
“Xiuxiu, I know you’re smart and don’t want to stay here. If you can find a way, leave this den of wolves as soon as possible.”
Wang Xiuxiu opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she just nodded slightly.
---
For several days in a row, Yu Dai did not dare to come to see Wang Xiuxiu, for fear that her actions would arouse suspicion from others.
Wang Xiuxiu, however, was afraid that Yu Dai's "avoidance of suspicion" was too obvious, so she took the initiative to go to see her several times.
Thinking back to that day, Wang Xiuxiu was quite surprised to find the jade belt in the ancestral courtyard.
"Didn't you say you were going to sleep and weren't coming?"
"Did you tell anyone that I didn't come to see the fireworks?" Wang Xiuxiu didn't answer directly, but instead asked in a low voice.
Yu Dai shook her head. "No, no one said anything."
"That's good." Wang Xiuxiu breathed a sigh of relief. After confirming that no one was paying attention, she pulled the jade belt to a secluded corner.
"I asked you last time, and you said you didn't want to be the young master's concubine. Now, has that changed?" Wang Xiuxiu asked directly.
Yu Dai was taken aback. "Why are you suddenly asking about this?"
"Just tell me, do you want to or not?" Wang Xiuxiu's tone left no room for argument.
"I don't want to." Yu Dai gritted her teeth, her voice low but firm.
Yu Dai was silent for a moment, a bitter look appearing in her eyes. "I'm not afraid to tell you that before I entered the manor, my family had arranged a marriage between me and my cousin. They were just waiting for me to reach the age of marriage while serving in the First Madam's courtyard before I went out to get married."
"But why haven't they let you out yet?" Wang Xiuxiu pressed.
Yu Dai lowered her head, remaining silent, her fingers tightly twisting the hem of her clothes, as if she wanted to knead all the grievances in her heart into the fabric.
Seeing this, Wang Xiuxiu sighed, "It's obvious that the First Madam thinks you're useful, so she doesn't care whether you're of marriageable age or not, and just keeps you by her side to serve her."
Yu Dai raised her head, shocked that she dared to say such a thing, but in her heart she had to admit that she was right.
Wang Xiuxiu's words were like a sharp knife, cutting straight into the helplessness and resentment hidden deep in her heart.
She should have left home years ago. Even her family came to the First Madam several times to ask for her, but they were always turned away with the excuse that they were used to her.
Her aunt came to our house a few days ago and said that if she still can't get married this year, she'll have to find her cousin a husband.
After her aunt left, she cried, and her mother cried too, but even heartbreaking tears couldn't stop the crying.
The two families are related, and the two children grew up together, sharing a special bond.
In the hearts of Yu Dai's parents, Hao Ge'er was also a kind and righteous child; otherwise, they wouldn't have waited for their daughter for so many years in vain.
At this point, even her father could only say with a bitter face, "Daughter, we've tried everything we can think of. Your cousin is getting old, and your aunt is worried about you not being able to get out. We can't stop you anymore."
"Father, I understand. If I still can't get out this year, tell my cousin to stop worrying about me." Yu Dai held back her tears, her voice choked with sobs.
But the jade belt is bitter.
It wasn't just because she couldn't marry her childhood sweetheart cousin, but also because she was worried about her uncertain future.
She had served the First Madam for many years and had personally witnessed her arranging marriages for her maids.
She had an older sister named Yuxiao, who had also served the First Madam for many years. Later, she became an old maid and was "carefully" betrothed by the First Madam to the eldest son of the head of the outer courtyard.
That man was a heavy drinker, and after drinking, he liked to get into fights.
She had visited her before. Sister Yuxiao used to be such a neat and dignified person, but now she was so worn out and disheveled that she almost didn't recognize her.
Thinking of this, Yu Dai felt a pang of sorrow in her heart, and her eyes involuntarily reddened.
---
“Alright, you are my best friend in the Cheng family. As a friend, I don’t want you to marry such a scoundrel!” Wang Xiuxiu gripped the jade belt tightly, her eyes unusually firm.
Only then did Wang Xiuxiu realize how inadequate her vocabulary was when trying to describe such a shameless villain.
A sense of powerlessness welled up inside her, as if no matter how vicious the language, it could not fully describe the young master's despicable behavior.
"Xiuxiu, what do you mean by this?" Yu Dai frowned slightly, a sense of unease rising in her heart.
“The young master is not only not a good person, but he is even more despicable and disgusting than we thought!” Wang Xiuxiu lowered her voice, her tone filled with undisguised disgust.
Realizing that what Wang Xiuxiu was about to say might be even more shocking, Yu Dai looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, and then pulled Wang Xiuxiu into the house.
Wang Xiuxiu had already checked the surrounding environment and confirmed that it was safe, but she still obediently followed Yu Dai into the house.
"What happened?" Yu Dai asked anxiously as she closed the door.
"The eldest young master is currently having an affair with the sixth concubine in the first madam's study." Wang Xiuxiu's voice was very low, but every word was clear.
"This...you...are you telling the truth?" Yu Dai stared wide-eyed at Wang Xiuxiu in disbelief.
Wang Xiuxiu nodded. "I saw it with my own eyes, and it's absolutely true."
"That disgusting thing!" Yu Dai gritted her teeth, a flash of anger in her eyes. Then, as if remembering something, she suddenly grabbed Wang Xiuxiu's hand. "Have they discovered you?"
“No, they didn’t see me.” Wang Xiuxiu shook her head.
Yu Dai breathed a sigh of relief, her tension easing slightly. "That's good, that's good. You'll stay by my side from now on, as if you never left today."
As Yu Dai spoke, she tried to pull Wang Xiuxiu out, but Wang Xiuxiu grabbed her arm.
“Wait, the jade belt.” A hint of hesitation flashed in Wang Xiuxiu’s eyes, but it quickly turned firm again. “We can’t just let it go like this.”
"What do you mean?" Yu Dai looked at her somewhat uneasily.
"If we let someone like the young master continue to live a carefree life, not only you and me, but also countless other innocent people will suffer."
"But...but we..."
“Yu Dai, I know you’re suffering, but have you ever thought that by leaving things to fate, you’ll either become a concubine in the eldest young master’s room or be sent away by the first madam to become a tool for her to maintain her relationship with the outer courtyard manager?”
“This is dangerous, but if we succeed, I have a way to get the Madam to let you leave.” Wang Xiuxiu gripped the jade belt tightly. “Jade Belt, would you like to come with me?”
Yu Dai fell silent, but her fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on Wang Xiuxiu's, as if weighing something.
Suddenly, the image of the young master's hypocritical face flashed into her mind, and Yu Dai shuddered.
At the same time, the hesitation in my heart gradually dissipated.
Yu Dai nodded, and their figures moved swiftly through the corridor, like two nimble swallows, silently blending into the night.
---
"Granny, I've thought about it again and again, and I'm really uneasy. The jade belt can't stay in the manor anymore." Madam Cheng sat by the window, rubbing her temples, her eyes filled with worry.
"Are you afraid she'll leak it?"
Granny Lu stepped forward and stood beside the First Madam, pressing the acupoints on her head.
Madam Cheng nodded and sighed softly: "A few days ago, Shujie openly and secretly asked me for this girl. I thought she was honest and kind, and I planned to give her my wish when the time was right. But in that situation, although she didn't come into the room, she was the closest to me. I was still worried that she would guess something."
Granny Lu frowned, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Do you intend to expel her from the manor?"
The First Madam shook her head again.
Keeping her is not an option, and driving her away is also not an option; this has put Granny Lu in a very difficult position.
“Yu Dai is my personal maid. Her sudden departure from the Cheng residence will inevitably arouse suspicion. At this juncture, it would be tantamount to handing over our secrets to those people.” Madam Cheng’s voice was tinged with anxiety as she said this. “But if we keep her in the residence and give her to Shu Jie as a concubine, I worry that she might become jealous and resentful, and then reveal this matter, ruining my son’s reputation!”
Only then did Granny Lu understand what the First Madam meant.
I feel uneasy if I don't keep them under my nose, but I also feel annoyed if I keep them around.
Pian Yudai had served the First Madam for many years, and her parents and brothers were all well-known elders in the household, so she couldn't be dealt with casually.
After pondering for a while, Granny Lu tentatively suggested, "Then why not let her leave the hospital and get married?"
"Get married?" Madam Cheng raised her head, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
"Yes, Madam. Yu Dai's father has come to plead with her many times in the past two years, saying that his daughter has reached the age to marry and he wants to take her out of the courtyard. You know the man he chose for her; he is the son of the second manager of your dowry shop, Ruyi Fang, and he is Yu Dai's cousin."
"What do you mean, Granny?" Madam Cheng's mind had been in turmoil these past few days. In the past, she could figure things out in the blink of an eye, but now she didn't want to use her brain, so she opened her mouth and asked.
"If we let her out, her whole family will be grateful. She's married to someone we trust. With her whole family in your hands, we're not afraid she'll dare to go around talking nonsense."
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