Chapter 5: Don't Even Think About Coming Back Alive

In the Cuiyu Courtyard of the Jun Estate, exotic flowers and rare herbs vied for beauty, forming a colorful and vibrant tapestry.

A gentle breeze brushed past, causing the flowers to sway lightly and release waves of intoxicating fragrance.

Despite such beautiful scenery, the servants were all too busy to appreciate it.

In one of the luxuriously furnished rooms within this large courtyard, the floor was covered with a magnificent carpet, silk curtains hung just right, and the scent of flowers drifted in through the bright, wide windows.

In the center of the room sat an ice sculpture, emitting wisps of cool air. It was only June, but the Lady felt it was already somewhat sweltering.

Two young maidservants stood in the room, drowsy, fanning a noble lady who was dressed in finery, adorned with dangling hairpins, and sipping tea in a leisurely manner.

Indeed, this lady was the mistress of the Jun Estate, Lady Wu.

She wore a purple-red long dress, her expression gentle, as she sat upright before the exquisite sandalwood table.

With her little finger slightly raised, she scraped the lid of her delicate teacup back and forth, blew gently on the tea, took a shallow sip, pursed her lips, and closed her eyes, appearing to enjoy it all immensely.

The precious dangling hairpins on her head swayed gently with her movements, emitting a crisp sound.

This tea was the new harvest sent by the Prime Minister's estate yesterday, a top-grade Dragon Well tea picked before the Clear and Bright festival; according to the messenger, the Emperor had bestowed three taels upon the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister had gifted one tael to Concubine Wu as soon as he returned to the estate, while the old lady of the Prime Minister's estate had only been sent one tael.

Concubine Wu of the Prime Minister's estate was Lady Wu's younger sister, and the Prime Minister’s wife was frail and sickly, having been bedridden for over a year.

Relying on her consummate skills and proud figure, Concubine Wu was extremely favored and had been managing the internal affairs of the Prime Minister's estate for the past few years.

It was whispered privately among the servants of the Prime Minister's estate that once the Prime Minister's wife passed away, the highly favored Concubine Wu would, in all likelihood, be elevated to the position of wife.

Thus, this Concubine Wu held a significant status in the Prime Minister's estate and was overbearing in her conduct.

"Truly worthy of being her sister; she sends every rare and precious thing she gets straight to her sister."

Thinking of this, Lady Wu felt secretly smug; with her sister's methods, that short-lived ghost in the Prime Minister's estate would likely not live much longer.

Once her sister became the mistress of the Prime Minister's estate, among all the women in the world, besides those in the palace, who else could compare to her?

Thinking of this, she tightened her grip on the teacup, a flash of resentment crossing her face:

"Why is the Prime Minister's wife her sister and not herself?"

At this moment, the maidservant Qingyu hurried in, stepped forward, covered her mouth, and leaned down to whisper something to Lady Wu.

With a crisp "clatter," Lady Wu smashed the teacup in her hand, and the exquisite jade cup shattered all over the floor.

"Little slut, don't even think about coming back alive!" Lady Wu cursed through gritted teeth.

Tea splashed onto the maidservant fanning her nearby, who jumped in fright, and Lady Wu backhanded her across the face:

"You blind thing, get out of here!"

The maidservant lowered her head, not daring to cry out, and retreated in a hurry while clutching her swollen face.

Lady Wu's vicious expression was as terrifying as a demon's, making one's hair stand on end; where was the gentleness and virtue she showed in front of others?

Recently, news of the Old Lady frequently mentioning the Second Young Lady had reached Lady Wu's ears.

She realized she could not let the situation take its own course, so she had dispatched A-Fang to the farmstead two days ago; counting the time, she should be back soon.

As soon as Jun Zhengming left the Old Lady's courtyard, he pondered along the way, walking toward the study.

When Fang Mengru passed away, leaving behind a daughter not yet six years old, he had elevated Lady Wu to the position of wife; firstly, because she had borne his eldest son, and secondly, because her temperament was gentle and magnanimous, and she would surely treat his children well.

He felt his judgment had not been wrong; Wu Xiuqin had managed the estate in an orderly fashion.

Thinking of this, Jun Zhengming felt even more satisfied with Lady Wu.

The second girl had once been raised in his arms, but unfortunately, her mother had passed away early, and he did not know if she had been traumatized, but she had become idle and incompetent, causing trouble, and eventually, she had become so vicious as to beat her stepmother and attempt to harm her elder sister.

"Forget it, let's bring her back to the estate for now."

Presumably, her temperament had been tempered during these years at the farmstead. Moreover, the estate had few heirs.

Including Jun Ziqin, there were only three daughters and one son in the estate.

The eldest son, Jun Chengcai, was over sixteen, and the eldest daughter, Jun Yiyi, was not yet fifteen; the siblings were born to Lady Wu when she was still a concubine.

The third daughter, Jun Shuyan, was born to Concubine Zhou and was ten years old this year. Concubine Zhou had originally had a son, but he had drowned in the pond at the age of four.

The second daughter Jun Ziqin's mother, Fang Mengru, had suffered a difficult labor when giving birth to Jun Ziqin, damaging her health, and only became pregnant again six years later; who would have thought she was ill-fated, suffering a miscarriage that claimed both mother and child.

To this day, no other concubine in the estate had become pregnant, and Jun Chengcai had become Jun Zhengming's only son.

Jun Zhengming made up his mind and rose to walk toward the Cuiyu Courtyard.

Lady Wu came to greet him, gently fanning Jun Zhengming, and asked in a soft voice:

"Why has the Master come over?" She then ordered a maidservant to serve tea.

"I came to see you."

Jun Zhengming frowned as he sat by the table; he felt a tinge of guilt toward Lady Wu for the matter he was about to bring up.

"Master, is something troubling you?"

Lady Wu put down the fan, massaged Jun Zhengming's shoulders, and asked softly.

Jun Zhengming raised his hand to pat Lady Wu's hand in a soothing manner and said:

"Mother has been mentioning the second girl frequently lately, and today she told me she wants to bring her back to the estate. I think..."

Lady Wu naturally knew Jun Zhengming's intention; otherwise, he would not have come to the Cuiyu Courtyard at this time.

Since she had to be brought back, she naturally had to display thoughtfulness and magnanimity.

"The Second Young Lady has been at the farmstead for so many years; she must have suffered a lot. It is high time she was brought back."

"Master, rest assured, this concubine will make the arrangements immediately and will certainly bring the Second Young Lady back."

Jun Zhengming nodded:

"You are the one who puts me most at ease; don't overwork yourself."

Jun Zhengming's satisfaction with Lady Wu grew a little more. He did not stay to dine with Lady Wu and rose to leave.

This action was exactly what Lady Wu wanted; she had more important things to do.

Once Jun Zhengming was far away, Lady Wu's face turned ferocious, and she swept the cup off the table onto the floor.

"Little slut!"

Lady Wu then spat:

"Damned old thing! She's already got one foot in the grave and still meddles in everything!"

"Go ahead and bring her back, I'm afraid what you'll bring back is a corpse!"

Lady Wu's eyes shot out a cold, venomous light, and her face was twisted in a ferocious sneer.

Lady Wu suppressed the anger in her heart, ordering the maidservants to clean the room while instructing Qingyu to see if A-Fang had returned.

The distance between the Jun Estate and the farmstead was truly not short, and it took a carriage a full day to arrive; A-Fang hurried all the way and finally entered the estate through the back door before dark.

A-Fang was covered in the dust of the journey, but she could not care about her fatigue and went to report to Lady Wu without even washing up.

As soon as A-Fang entered the room, she dismissed the maidservants and matrons serving in the room.

Qingyu gently closed the door and stood guard at the entrance.

"Greetings, My Lady." A-Fang bowed and saluted.

"How did the matter go?" Lady Wu asked eagerly.

"My Lady, please rest assured, the matter has been settled."

She then recounted how Mother Liu had humiliated Jun Ziqin, telling it to Lady Wu like a joke.

Lady Wu asked for news of Jun Ziqin every time she could, and the more miserable Jun Ziqin was, the happier Lady Wu became.

Today was no exception; after the two of them had a good laugh over how Jun Ziqin had been humiliated, A-Fang handed over an account book.

Lady Wu took it and flipped through it, a satisfied smile appearing on her face, and only then did she wave her hand to let A-Fang leave.

Lady Wu was in high spirits, sipping her tea, as a poisonous scheme was born in her heart...