Yearning Of The Jade

Chapter 9: Captured and Detained

Chapter 8

"I am a man of my word," Ying Zheng stated. "As long as you agree to provide assistance to Qin, I will make sure that you will live comfortably in Qin with wealth and power. The great Qin will surely remember your contributions."

"As an experienced statesman, I do not have much of a choice now do I? Since I now understand the severity of the situation, I will agree to your request. However, I will only give my loyalty to Qin on one condition."

Ying Zheng's tea was now cool enough to drink and he gladly drank it. For the first time in this conversation, Ying Zheng finally took his eyes from chancellor Gong. He finally obtained an alliance with Chancellor Gong. He was now done wearing the mask. 

Feeling Confident, he spoke out louder and prouder than before. "Say it."

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    Chapter 9

It's been six months since I arrived here. I've been counting the days as it passed, one after another. Each night as I lay my head down on the bed, I wondered how long it would take for me to wake up back in my own bed again. But in the end, I would wake up disappointed when Li Chen brings in a basin of water for me in the mourning.

I'm still here. In this dark place.

The servants treated me like I was special here. The servants listened to my every word and carried out every request that I had. But in reality, they feared me. They feared me because I was the master. All it would take is a single word out of my mouth and godmother would send them away.

I was well aware of my position in the manor. Even though I was cared for and served, I was not part of the Gong family. I was no one except for being a trivial godchild of the master. I did not have the Gong blood running through my veins and was nowhere near nobility.

The first young mistress despised me. Understandable since I practically showed up and became a freeloader at her manor. On the appearance, she was every man's dream wife as she made them lose their minds. She was said by many to have the beauty of Guanyin, the Chinese goddess of mercy.

Ha. How ironic

Rumors always have baseless facts. In the reality, many servants in the manor would leave her to die if it weren't for her father. She treated them as if they were objects, exploiting them every chance she had. As a result, most of the servants turned their favor towards me since I was the one who is brave enough to defy her.

On one rainy night, I sat in my room drinking tea and learning the Qin language while Li Chen helped making the ink. Scrolling my eyes through the manuscripts and bamboo scrolls of the ancient Qin people gave me respect for modern historians. My fluency of modern mandarin was entirely useless since the Qin characters were written in a seal script style that resembled wiggly worms with ink. After many attempts at calligraphy, I gave up.

A young maid then rushed into my room, clothes and hair soaked. "Second young mistress, please help me!"

I got up from my seat and went over to the young maid. "What is it? Are you okay? What happened?"

"It's my younger sister. She's been kneeling outside the rain for two hours. I'm afraid she'll pass out," the young maid wailed.

"What? Why?"

"First young mistress."

The young maid did not have to say anything else and I knew what was happening. I told Li Chen to grab an umbrella and we headed straight out into the courtyard.