Chapter 261: Two taels of silver
From the beginning to the end, it was clear that Yanran was the one who suffered the most. She fell into hell and was forced to become someone else's concubine.
But no one cared about her grievances.
She was the one who was hurt, but everyone blamed her, saying that she was deliberately seducing.
Instead, everyone felt that Ling Qiu was wronged.
It seems that the person who was hurt the most in this incident was Ling Qiu.
Yanran always felt that something was wrong, but her mind was in a mess, as if it was shrouded in a thick, impenetrable fog, which kept her trapped in the fog and unable to see clearly.
Ling Qiu still had a gentle smile on his face. Although he looked lonely, he held Yanran's hand tightly.
"This is the first time I'm taking a concubine for my husband, but I don't know what kind of concubine Sister Yanran should be."
"I think my sister is pretty and good at embroidery. She would be a concubine."
There was loneliness in her eyes, but she was trying to stay cheerful. She might not have felt humiliated, but she didn't want to embarrass Zheng Xiu, and even tried to give Yanran some face.
At least, in the eyes of those below, Ling Qiu is indeed compromising, but also virtuous and generous.
Madam Zheng, on the other hand, glanced at Yanran coldly, with a hint of annoyance in the corner of her eyes, "Your Highness?"
"It's a blessing for her to be a concubine!"
"I hired her to work in my house because I saw how good she was at embroidery. Who knew she would harbor such dirty thoughts?"
"She was able to succeed today because of all the secret plotting she's done. Ah Qiu, you're so kindhearted that you even want to give her some respect. How can a piece of shit like her deserve it?!"
Madam Ling seemed to have made up her mind and believed that Yanran was only fit to be a lowly concubine.
Ling Qiu sighed, but finally forced a smile at the corner of her lips, still looking gentle and virtuous.
"Sister Yanran is so beautiful and her needlework is top-notch. It would be unfair for her to be a lowly concubine. Since mother doesn't want her to be a noble concubine, why not let her be a good concubine?"
A good concubine cannot be sold at will, but she will have to remain a concubine for the rest of her life.
Unlike a concubine, she would pose a threat to Ling Qiu.
Madam Ling sighed again and looked at her disappointing son with a look of disappointment. He had such a virtuous wife, but he still cheated outside. It turned out that all men were the same!
"Forget it, Qiuqiu, I know you are virtuous, so I'll do as you say."
As long as she is not a noble concubine, it doesn’t matter to Madam Ling whether Yanran is a good concubine or a lowly concubine.
But she pinched her son Zheng Xiu and said, "You have wronged Qiuqiu so much, why don't you apologize to her quickly?"
Zheng Xiu stood up and bowed solemnly to Ling Qiu. Seeing the red eyes of the other party, he couldn't help feeling a little guilty.
He had originally wanted to play with Yanran because of her beauty, but who knew that it would become such a big deal and even make his wife lose face.
Zheng Xiu's tone became serious. "I have let Madam down. I am here to apologize to you. Please don't take it personally. If you are really angry, you can hit me or scold me, but please don't get yourself hurt by being so angry."
Ling Qiu's eyes were still red.
But she still put on a kind smile, "My dear husband, please stop saying that. It's really embarrassing for me."
"As long as our family is well in the future, it's all good. Having a younger sister named Yanran in the family today is also a happy occasion. I'll go and have the people below prepare and clean up Feihua Pavilion first."
Feihua Pavilion is warm in winter and cool in summer. It is spacious and quiet, and not too far from Zheng Xiu's study.
When everyone heard this, they praised Ling Qiu's virtue again.
Instead, he felt even more contempt for Yanran.
Everyone was spitting and almost drowning Yanran.
Ling Qiu was not only virtuous in words, but also took action by immediately arranging two capable people to serve her.
One of them was Cui Liu, the maidservant who was by her side.
When Cui Liu came, she also brought the aunt's monthly allowance.
"In our house, the monthly salary for your concubine is two taels. Normally, you would not receive your share until next month, but the young lady is so virtuous that she asked me to deliver it to you today."
Yanran was in a daze, with no life in her eyes, and she stared at the two taels of silver for a long time.
In the past, she was paid fifteen taels of silver.
People in the mansion respected her and called her sister when they saw her.
In order to get her advice on embroidery, she would give her gifts and say nice things to her.
Even so, there were many maids who came to her every day to give her gifts and ask her for advice on embroidery.
Mrs. Ling even asked her niece to come and study with her for half a month.
Of course, if you want to learn embroidery from her, you have to pay money.
Yanran never lacked money in the past.
Two taels of silver was inexplicably a humiliation to her.
But this is indeed my aunt's share.
Yanran opened her mouth, wanting to refute but didn't know where to start.
She didn't know what to say either.
She just felt like it shouldn't be like this.
She felt something was wrong.
But she couldn't say it.
On the first day that Zheng Xiu became her concubine, she did not come over, but went to Ling Qiu to coax her.
Others laughed at her, saying that even if she became a concubine, she would not be able to compare to Ling Qiu in any way. Zheng Xiu would sooner or later dislike such a lowly and shameless woman.
Yanran breathed a sigh of relief.
She didn't want Zheng Xiu to come over.
When he forced her, she was covered in wounds, and now when she saw Zheng Xiu, she trembled all over.
Yanran couldn't sleep anyway, so when she went to pay her respects to Ling Qiu the next day, he looked radiant, as if he had gotten rid of something on his mind, and his expression was even brighter.
As soon as he saw her, Ling Qiu smiled gently and told her not to be polite and to sit down and have her meal.
Yanran is now a concubine and dares not refuse.
But she used to dare to refuse.
Fortunately, Ling Qiu didn't seem to intend to embarrass her. The whole meal was peaceful, without any sarcastic remarks or scalding tea.
After dinner, Ling Qiu asked her to do needlework with him.
Yanran couldn't refuse.
The other party is the mistress, and she is just a concubine.
Ling Qiu's needlework skills are not very good, but they are not bad either.
The noble lady learned this just to pass the time. Besides, embroidery also requires talent, and Ling Qiu's talent is not very good.
In the past, Yanran could speak frankly about what needed to be changed.
Now she can only lower her head and say that the embroidery that she dislikes and thinks is rough is exquisite.
Ling Qiu still had a gentle smile on her face, but she called over a few of her maids, "Sister Yanran, if you have nothing to do, why don't you teach these girls around me how to embroider."
"It's boring for you to stay alone at Feihua Pavilion. Why don't we sisters sit together so that we can have more people to talk to."
As she spoke, her eyes swept over her maids, "Sister Yanran's embroidery skills are superb, why don't you learn from her?"
The maids around her showed contempt on their faces and couldn't help but speak harshly.
"What's there to learn from a vixen like her?"
"I'm afraid my embroidery will be tainted by her coquettish charm. People will think I have the same dirty thoughts as her!"
"Young Madam, you are too kind-hearted. She seduced the young master and is a bitch, yet you still treat her so well!"
"What's the point of her being a good embroiderer? She's naturally lowly. Just looking at her makes me feel sick! Every embroidery frame she touches feels dirty to me!"
Yanran could hardly bear such criticism.
Her eyes were red and she almost fainted. Her hands tightly grasped the corner of the table and she couldn't help but defend herself, "I didn't!"
"I didn't seduce Master Zheng!"
"He broke into my showroom. It was clearly him—"
She made this defense many times yesterday.
But no one believed it.
Everyone said that she was deliberately seducing and called her a vixen with restless and despicable means.
Sure enough, as soon as she tried to defend herself, she was immediately ridiculed.
"If you didn't deliberately seduce me, how could the young master have done anything with you?"
…
"Is it not you who deliberately seduced me, or was it the young master who forced me? The young master has been pampered since childhood, and has seen all kinds of beauties. Why would I need to force you?"
…
"Don't you ever look in the mirror?"
…
"She only dared to speak like that after looking in the mirror. She thinks that just because she's a little better than others, all the men in the world should be around her!"
…
"To be frank, there are many brothels with a beauty like hers. If the young master wants a beauty, there are no such things as that in brothels. It is because our young master is naive that he was tricked by such a vain woman who only wants to climb the social ladder."
…
"The young master is really pitiful, but the most pitiful one is the young mistress."
Hearing this, Ling Qiu finally put down the embroidery frame in her hand.
He glanced at the maids with a slightly stern look in his eyes, "Alright, don't mention this again!"
"I treat Yanran as my own sister. If I hear these words from you again, I will definitely punish you severely!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
