Chapter Thirty-Three: Osmanthus Garden
At Nanhang Airport, the pre-dawn mist had not yet dissipated, and the lights on the VIP tarmac resembled a string of crushed stars.
Wearing the warm coat that his wife had specially prepared for him, Yun Yao followed his wife into the airport with his assistants.
Although the lady's trip was a secret one, a group of people were still waiting there early on. Yun Yao recognized one of them as the square-faced middle-aged man who had visited last time, and he was also the newly appointed leader of Nanhang.
The lady shook hands with them gently and spoke for a while, while Yun Yao hid herself in the group of assistants, keeping her head slightly lowered like the other solemn attendants.
By now, the VIP tarmac was completely cordoned off, with security personnel standing like statues, the red light from metal detectors tracing cold, hard arcs in the rain. Ground crew, dressed in uniform dark suits, moved as lightly as cats, even deliberately muffling the sound of wrenches clanging as they checked the tires.
The connecting jet bridge in the distance wasn't there. A silver-white private jet sat alone in the middle of the runway, the low-frequency roar of its engines making the ground tremble slightly. The badge on its tail fin gleamed platinum under the searchlights. Several assistants in suits surrounded the gangway; some held encrypted briefcases, others held satellite phones and reported in hushed tones. Their ties were taut in the wind, like tightly wound springs.
After finally bidding farewell to those who came to see them off, the lady and her entourage boarded the plane. An elderly man with white hair bowed and handed over some documents. The lady took them without even stopping, only pinching the edge of the paper with her fingertips, her gaze already fixed on the interior of the cabin. The old man immediately took three steps back, bowed his head, and stood with his hands at his sides.
Before the last bodyguard boarded, he confirmed "safe clearance" through his earpiece. The cabin door slowly closed with a soft "click" from the hydraulic system, like a brief curtain falling.
The runway lights streaked past like shooting stars, the fuselage jolted violently, and it lifted off the ground with a roar from its engines.
The moment the plane took off, my ears suddenly started ringing.
Yun Yao's gaze drifted out the window; Nanhang was gradually shrinking smaller and smaller...
Yun Yao hadn't been sitting in the assistant's lounge for long when someone came to invite her to the first-class cabin where the madam was. Yun Yao didn't dare look at the others behind her and forced herself to follow them.
When Yun Yao arrived, the lady was wrapped in a blanket and flipping through a book, with some documents that had been turned over beside her. The flight attendants were carefully placing the poured tea on the table next to them.
Hearing footsteps, the lady looked up and smiled at Yun Yao, "Yun'er, you've come."
"Madam," Yun Yao called softly, naturally taking the work from the flight attendants and saying gently to them, "Thank you for your help. Please leave the rest to me. I am Madam's assistant."
After the flight attendants left, Yun Yao carefully pulled up the blanket that had fallen down for his wife. Just as he was about to do something else, his wife grabbed his hand.
The lady looked at him with a smile, and stroked his slightly cool fingertips, and said slowly, "Yun'er, don't be busy, your hands are so cold, come sit next to me and warm them up."
“Madam, I…” Yun Yao glanced outside, then looked at his wife, knowing he couldn’t refuse, so he nodded and obediently sat down next to her.
The lady held Yun Yao's hand in her own while continuing to flip through the books.
Yun Yao dared not look at the documents on the table, nor could he stare at his wife. He could only turn his head to look at the vast and hazy scenery outside the plane window. Gradually, he felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him.
He didn't know how long he had been in a daze when he suddenly heard his wife's voice close to his ear, "Yun'er, wake up..."
Yun Yao suddenly opened his eyes. He looked at his wife with some panic, and then at his own current state. He felt that he was a very incompetent assistant who had fallen asleep on his own.
The lady found the boy's ashamed expression amusing, and deliberately said, "Yun'er, my tea has gone cold..."
Yun Yao immediately sat up, feeling utterly ashamed. "I'm sorry, Madam, I'll go and get you a fresh cup of hot tea right away."
Seeing that Yun Yao was really about to go over, the lady smiled and grabbed him. "Yun'er, what I need right now is not hot tea."
"What do you want? I'll go get it..." Before Yun Yao could finish speaking, his wife's kiss landed on his lips. The kiss was lingering and passionate, and when it ended, his wife's gentle voice rang in his ear, "Yun'er, this is what I wanted."
The lady pulled the blanket over herself, covering Yun Yao as well. Under the blanket, it seemed as if a dark, secret space had been created.
The lady's kiss landed passionately again, and Yun Yao gasped for breath as he embraced her shoulders... In this secluded space high in the sky, on this cool morning, the lady indulged in her comfort.
...
In a certain part of a central city in the north, Butler Cheng called in an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor specializing in sprains and bruises for the second time to massage his home. He rubbed his bruised knees and couldn't help but sigh in frustration.
This story begins on the first day he returned to the central city.
That day, following Madam's orders, Butler Cheng returned to his family home in the northern central city ahead of schedule. He then led the other stewards to "Osmanthus Garden," where Madam would be residing from now on.
Muxiyuan was planned and built for Madam by several of her younger relatives and their families. It combined the scenic area behind the original family compound with the newly purchased Jingshan area, and in the context of the distinct four seasons in the north, it was a masterpiece of craftsmanship to build this unique and beautiful manor in the style of a "Jiangnan garden".
According to the lady's wishes, a main courtyard for her to live and recuperate in Muxi Garden was originally reserved, as well as a garden for the four young masters and ladies to live in.
The young masters and ladies each had their own residences prepared by their biological parents and families, but they all valued the opportunity to spend time with their mistresses, so they regarded Muxi Garden as their permanent residence.
This time, because Madam wanted to bring Yun Yao back with her, and even specially instructed Steward Cheng to arrange a good room for Yun Yao next to her main bedroom in the courtyard, the four young masters and ladies, as well as everyone else, were both shocked and couldn't help but have many speculations and criticisms about this Yun Yao.
Butler Cheng knew that there were undercurrents in Muxi Garden, so when he heard that the young master and young lady wanted him to go to the second young master's Tingfeng Courtyard for questioning, Butler Cheng was mentally prepared.
He just didn't expect the storm to be far more violent than he had anticipated.
As soon as Butler Cheng entered the reception room of Tingfeng Courtyard, the two attendants of the second young master behind him suddenly closed the door. Butler Cheng was startled and before he could react, a mocking yet angry male voice rang out from in front of him: "Cheng Shiyao, how dare you!"
Butler Cheng turned his head and saw a young man of about twenty-three or twenty-four years old with peach blossom eyes, lazily swirling a glass wine cup and leaning against a chaise lounge made of Xiangfei bamboo. The corners of his eyes and eyebrows were full of contempt. This was the second young master.
A soft laugh came from the corner. The youngest of the four young masters watched them with a look of amusement, while the third young lady, dressed simply, stood quietly to the side with an indifferent expression.
What made Butler Cheng tremble the most was the man sitting in the very center. He was probably not yet thirty, with high, almost sharp, brow bones, and deep-set eyes that seemed to hold half a pool of icy water. The lines of his cheekbones were cold and hard as if carved by a knife, and his lips were full, but the peaks of his lips were pressed into indifferent straight lines. This contradiction made him seem like a piece of Hetian jade frozen in ice and snow for thousands of years.
He is the next heir of the clan, the eldest son who most resembles the lady.
The eldest son joined the army at a young age and was exceptionally capable. He had already held important positions outside the army and, thanks to his military achievements and the influence of his family, was promoted to colonel before he was even thirty.
Because of his busy schedule, Butler Cheng rarely saw the young master. The young master would only appear when there was something important to discuss. Butler Cheng truly didn't expect to see the young master here.
"Young Master, what's wrong...?"
Before Butler Cheng could finish speaking, the second young master suddenly raised his hand, and the wine glass flew past Butler Cheng's ear with a sharp whistling sound before smashing against the wall with a "bang." Glass shards flew like raindrops, leaving dark wine stains on the carpet, and the air was filled with a rich aroma of wine.
"You old fool, are you pretending to be ignorant?" The second young master's tone was flippant, yet chilling. "Do you think we don't know what despicable things you've done in Nanhang? If you wanted to please Madam, it would be one thing to choose some clean and pretty trinkets from aristocratic families, but you had the audacity to offer her something that's been used and discarded by merchants? Just how much money did you secretly take from those people? Hmm?"
Butler Cheng's face turned deathly pale instantly, his Adam's apple bobbed violently, and his eyes darted around frantically as he stammered, "Second Young Master, please investigate... that's..."
“I’ve investigated thoroughly,” the second young master interrupted Butler Cheng, his eyes filled with disgust. “That wealthy businesswoman surnamed Qin from Southeast Asia is no good to begin with. Her reputation for being promiscuous and fond of playing with handsome young boys is well-known in Southeast Asia. What kind of people could her mistresses be? They don’t even deserve to enter the gates of Muxiyuan!”
"Exactly!" the fourth young master said angrily, "How can someone like that get close to Madam! Just looking at him is an eyesore!"
Butler Cheng's neck was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, and his back was already soaked through. He explained tremblingly, "Second Young Master, Fourth Young Master, listen to me, this Yun Yao is very talented and down-to-earth. Madam often makes exceptions for him..."
"Who is Aunt?" At this moment, a cold, deep male voice rang out. The young master's eyes were like ice, and he looked at the trembling Butler Cheng with an imposing aura. He slowly said, "Does a merchant's kept geisha even deserve to be called one?"
The young master's long, slender fingers tapped the rim of the cup repeatedly, the crisp sound echoing like a death knell in the silent front hall.
Butler Cheng's knees buckled, and he fell heavily to his knees with a thud, his forehead pressed against the cold, bone-chilling floor tiles. His voice was trembling with sobs: "Young Master, I..."
"Cheng Shiyao," the second young master walked up to the kneeling steward Cheng, bent down slightly, and looked at him mockingly, saying, "Since you brought this person in, you have to find a way to get rid of him, understand?"
After saying that, the second young master looked at the eldest young master and asked, "Brother, what do you think?"
"That's settled then." The young master's voice was deep but carried an undeniable authority.
Butler Cheng felt as if he had been granted a pardon, his forehead slamming heavily onto the ground with a thud, as he repeatedly expressed his gratitude. When he got up, his legs were weak, and he almost tripped over the threshold, stumbling and disappearing outside the door.
Seeing the disheveled state of Steward Cheng as he ran away, the Fourth Young Master laughed heartily. He was only seventeen years old and had the most outspoken nature. He tugged at the sleeve of the Third Miss beside him, "Third Sister, look at Cheng Shiyao, he's just like a dog!"
The third young lady glanced indifferently in the direction Cheng Shiyao had run off in, without answering the fourth young master's question. Instead, she calmly turned her gaze to the second young master, "Second brother, did those two boys from the Zheng family tell you this information?"
"What?" The second young master raised an eyebrow.
"It's nothing," the third young lady said indifferently. "It's just that, as far as I know, those two boys from the Zheng family are related to that person in the art troupe. I'm just reminding my second brother not to be used as a pawn."
The group fell silent for a moment, knowing that the man from the Central City Art Troupe was the lady's former lover, who was her most favored before she left for Nanhang.
The second young master scoffed and said nonchalantly, "I know, but what does it matter? As long as the news they brought is true."
He glanced sideways at the Third Miss, who was the most composed and self-possessed besides his eldest brother, and chuckled, "Mingxiao, you wouldn't want Madam to get involved with that kind of scum, would you? It's obvious he's some kind of cunning male vixen, skilled in all sorts of despicable ways to curry favor. He just took advantage of Madam's boredom while she was recuperating, and now who knows how many underhanded tricks he's used to get her to bring him into Muxi Garden. We're doing this precisely for Madam's good, that's why we're driving him away!"
The third young lady frowned upon hearing this and fell silent.
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