Chapter 37

Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse

After dinner, Xuan Cao brought the put-together girl into the room.

“Miss,” The girl knelt down when she entered the room, kowtowing to Yu Linglong, “I pay my respects to you.”

Yu Linglong frowned slightly: “Wouldn’t you rather die than become a servant? Why are you bowing to me now?”

The girl raised her head, and two rows of crystal teardrops hung on her delicate little face: “I no longer have a home, and I have no parents. What is the difference between being a servant and being free?”

Off to the side, Xuan Cao turned away and wiped the corner of her eyes quietly. Obviously, she had already asked about the girl’s life just now, and she sighed.

Yu Linglong held up the teacup calmly: “What is your name and how old are you?”

The girl replied in a low voice: “I’m Fu Ling’er, and I am twelve years old.”

“Fu Ling’er, you have good fortune and a quick mind. It is a good name.” Yu Linglong nodded, “From now on, you will be called Ling’er and you will learn the rules from Xuan Cao.”

“Yes, I’ll remember it.”

Xuan Cao stepped forward to help Ling’er and said, “You have been hungry for so long, I will take you to get eat something first.”

Unexpectedly, Ling’er broke free from Xuan Cao’s hand, walked a few steps towards Yu Linglong, and bowed again and again. Whimpering, she said: “Miss, you are a good person. Please save my brother!”

Yu Linglong frowned slightly: “Your brother? What happened to your brother?”

Ling’er wiped the teardrops on her cheeks and cried, “I was sold with my younger brother. He was bought by a family named Liu. I heard that he was asked to be a horse boy…Miss, my younger brother is only ten years old. He is so young, how could he suffer this misfortune? Miss, please be merciful and buy my younger brother too!”

Listening to Ling’er’s cry, Yu Linglong sipped her tea and was silent.

No wonder she had become so obedient since she bought her. She originally wanted Yu Linglong to buy her brother, too.

However, a girl who is only twelve years old can still remember that her brother was bought by someone when she was at home. It is rare to have such a thought at such a young age.

From the side, Xuan Cao heard the tears and wanted to ask Yu Linglong to help Ling’er, but after all, she did not dare say it.

Ling’er was a girl. It was logical for Yu Linglong to buy her as a maid, but her brother was a small serving boy. What can Yu Linglong do with him?

Yu Linglong gently blew the warm tea, but what she said made her heart cold: “Why should I save your brother?”

She was not a Buddhist, and she was not interested in coming to ancient times to do charity. She bought Fu Ling’er on a whim. But what did Fu Ling’er’s brother have to do with her?

Ling’er was taken aback for a moment, then gritted her teeth fiercely and said, “I have nothing but this life. If the lady is willing to show mercy and buy my younger brother, my life will belong to the lady!”

Yu Linglong smiled faintly: “I bought you, so your life is naturally mine.”

There were tears in Ling’er’s eyes, but she resisted and refused to let them fall: “I, I am willing to do anything for the lady!”

Yu Linglong stood up quietly, obviously not wanting to talk about it again: “Back down.”

It was not that she refused to buy Ling’er’s younger brother, a ten-year-old servant. She would spend a few taels of silver, and it would not be difficult to buy him. It’s just that she couldn’t agree to Ling’er so easily because she had been pampered in the past. Yu Linglong was afraid that she hadn’t tasted rejection yet. She wanted to let her know that in this world, no one will help you for no reason. You have no choice but to rely on yourself.

Seeing that Yu Linglong about to leave, Ling’er was taken aback for a moment, and stretched out her hand to hold Yu Linglong’s sleeve: “Miss, I’m begging you—“

Xuan Cao was startled and quickly grabbed Ling’er. Seeing Yu Linglong entering the room, she whispered: “Don’t make trouble. It’s useless to make trouble.”

Ling’er looked at Yu Linglong’s back, and tears of despair rolled down her cheeks.

…

Three days later, Mu Shi finally looked forward to seeing her husband with complicated feelings.

Early in the morning, Mu Shi took Yu Qianliu and the others to the gate. It stands to reason that the whole family should come out to greet General Yu when he returned to the mansion, but now Yu Qianfang was bald, hiding in her room and refusing to come out. Yu Qianjiao was injured and could not go out, not to mention Yu Linglong, who would definitely not come out to meet her father who she had almost never seen before. So what Mu Shi brought out now was only the young lady Yu Qianliu, a concubine surnamed Qian, and two concubine sons Yu Weide and Yu Weiyuan.

It wasn’t until the hour passed that they saw Yu Weiwu’s personal servant rushing over to report: “Qi reports to the lady, the master has just left the Ministry of War, and the uncle has already greeted him. He is rushing back.”

Mu Shi nodded, and before speaking, she heard the seven-year-old Yu Weiyuan shout: “Why isn’t Daddy coming back?”

Yu Weiyuan was born of the concubine Qian. He was only four years old when General Yu set out. Now he had almost forgotten what General Yu looked like. After knowing that General Yu was coming back, he had been in a state of excitement. Now, there was no one in sight, and he couldn’t help but worry.

Concubine Qian was shocked. She quickly pulled Yu Weiyuan, and looked at Mu Shi: “Don’t make a noise, Daddy will be back in a while.”

Yu Weiyuan was reluctant: “After waiting for such a long time, I am hungry!”

Concubine Qian wanted to cover Yu Weiyuan’s mouth, but she could only coax him in a low voice, “Hey, I will give you sugar cake in a little while.”

Mu Shi, who didn’t speak for a long time, smiled tolerantly: “Little Yuan is still so young, how can he be hungry. Shuangtao, take Little Yuan down for a snack.”

Concubine Qian felt relieved and smiled: “Thank you, Madam.”

Fourteen-year-old Yu Weide quickly raised his head and glanced at Mu Shi, then lowered his head again, as if he hadn’t noticed this scene.

Yu Weiyuan was taken by Shuangtao and in a flash, he heard the faint sound of horseshoes coming from the street.

Mu Shi’s face suddenly beamed with joy: “It must be the master and his people returning.”

Sure enough, a team of horses appeared on the street. The middle-aged man at the head was dressed in a jet-black armor, and his helmet was covered with red tassels. As the horse moved, he trembled slightly, adding a heroic spirit to the mature face under the helmet.

Mu Shi saw her husband who she hadn’t seen in three years from a distance, and couldn’t help taking a few steps forward. However, after seeing the black carriage behind General Yu, she stopped walking.

That was the concubine Mei that General Yu brought back from Northern Xinjiang, right?

Mu Shi’s face changed a few times, and finally, she showed a smile and stepped forward.

“Master, you’ve finally returned.”