Chapter 201
Chunpi had been bringing over Liu Hanyun's clothing to the back of the residence and was about to hand them over to the laundress. But, then Qi Siling's personal servant, Banxia, came over. Banxia had been holding her mistress's cherry blossom silk dress and ordering the laundress to be wash it first. The edges of the dress had gotten dirty.
Chunpi had arrived here first, but Banxia had blatantly cut in front of her. However, Chunpi's temperament was similar to her mistress. She didn't squabble or compete in anything. And yet, Banxia was determined to bully her. A moment of inattentiveness and Liu Hanyun's clothes ended up falling into the laundry pool. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal. However, Liu Hanyun's dress had recently been stained with a large patch of ink. Some of the ink dissolve into the water and stained the cherry blossom dress.
Everyone knew how much Qi Siling treasured that dress. Banxia immediately left to report this matter to her mistress and blame Chunpi. As usual, Liu Hanyun wasn't a mistress that would complain about unfair treatment or being bullied. And so, Qi Siling vented her anger on this pushover by having Chunpi kneeling outside her courtyard and Liu Hanyun personally washing her dress.
After hearing the entire story, Ji Man thought this matter wasn't a big deal. Wasn't it just a dress? Qi Siling had a higher status than Liu Hanyun. Although it wasn't very nice of her to order Liu Hanyun to wash the dress, it wasn't breaching any etiquette.
Still, Ji Man had come to like Liu Hanyun a lot during their stay in the other estate. She had also said that she would help her once they returned to the main estate.
And so, she continued walking to the laundry area. When she got there, she saw Liu Hanyun with her sleeves tied up and washing the dress as if she was doing an accustomed chore.
Ji Man called out, "Hanyun."
The servants, that had been gathered around to watch Liu Hanyun, suffered a shock when they turned their heads and saw Nie Sangyu.
One of them hastily took the dress from Liu Hanyun and said,
"Mistress Yun, Madam is here. You should go over there to talk to her. This servant can wash the dress."
Liu Hanyun turned her head, wiped her wet hands, and walked over. She looked at Nie Sangyu in confusion, "Madam, why did you come here?"
Ji Man reached out to hold her hands and noticed that they were icy-cold. She couldn't resist covering then up in her hands to warm them up. "I just wanted to visit you and talk for a bit. I didn't expect that I would find you here."
Liu Hanyun nodded, glanced at the dress in washing pool, and said,"Madam, if there's something you want to say, let's go back to Shanshui Courtyard first."
On the way back, Liu Hanyun didn't say a single word about Qi Siling ordering her to wash her dress. She would only respond with a brief answer for every question that Ji Man asked her. It was like squeezing out toothpaste.
With a cheerful smile, Ji Man asked,"You've also worked hard in the other estate to take care of the marquis. I'm thinking of going over to Old Madame's courtyard and requesting her to promote you to the position of an honored concubine. What do you think of that idea?"
Liu Hanyun slightly froze. She frowned and said,"Hanyun came from a lowly background. Moreover, Hanyun hasn't given birth to any children."
"There are very few people in this household that have a better heart than you," Ji Man seriously said, "The marquis is surrounded by women that have their own agendas. But, I've been observing you for a long time. You truly love the marquis. That's a rare thing to see."
With her eyebrows slightly raised, Liu Hanyun looked at her with a smile that wasn't quite a smile."Madam, don't you also truly love the marquis?"
Faced with her clear eyes, Ji Man felt slightly awkward, so she lowered her eyes and said,"How can it be enough with just me?"
Liu Hanyun considered her response for a moment, then she replied, "Hanyun isn't good at scheming or speaking eloquently. The marquis has given Hanyun a small corner. It's safest here. If Hanyun moves to center, where the heart of the struggle exists, Hanyun's life might not be as comfortable as it is now."
