Jun Jiuling

She lay on her bed, listening to the quiet outside and continued to sob every once in a while. But no tears came out. She carefully lifted up one corner of the mosquito net.

This was her bedroom, decorated as it had always been, except there would be servant girls waiting on her.

After she woke up that day, she did not want to see her own servant. Not just Xianglan, who had went with her to Jinyun Hall, but also the servant girls who waited on her.

She definitely could not see them. She had met with such an accident; in order to protect her reputation, of course those servants had to take responsibility or be sold. Just like getting rid of shoddy and rotten things. They should be replaced with new people; then everything would start afresh.

She didn"t care whether they lived or died. The only thing she cared was how her father would get mad on her behalf.

When she thought of this, Lin Jin’er’s eyes reddened and hatred twisted her face.

Jun Zhenzhen, was she in jail now? Had she already been cast off by the Fang Family? Did she wish she was dead?

Letting her die was too easy. It would be better to have her live a fate worse than death.

As for her, Lin Jin’er pinched her lapels. Father would definitely justify what had happened in the Jinyun Hall. No father would let their daughter stain her pure name with such humiliation. It was not just her reputation that was destroyed, but all the girls of the Lin Family were implicated.

Heaven’s may crumble, but some people would be protected at the top.

Lin Jin’er sighed quietly. She still wanted to be Tenth n.o.ble Son Ning’s concubine. This was a chance.

When the time comes, she would bite Ning Yunyan to death [1]. She didn’t believe that Eldest Madam Ning would be unafraid.

Now she waited for her father to come ask her about what had happened. When he asked, she would make him do as she said.

But in these two days, why hasn’t Father come? Mother only came once and left while sobbing?

Were they discussing what to do?

Just as she thought this, she heard footsteps outside.

They were here.

Lin Jin’er let go of the bed curtain and laid back down.

The footsteps were messy, like there were a lot of people.

Shouldn’t Father and Mother do this quietly? Why was it so messy? Lin Jin’er frowned. Just as she was about to disguise her tears, the curtain was lifted up.

Two servant girls stood by her bedside.

Lin Jin’er nearly jumped in fright.

"You…" she shouted.

Just as she shouted, one of the maidservants quickly stuffed a ball of cloth in her mouth.

Lin Jin’er almost pa.s.sed out.

What was going on? Were they being robbed? What was going on?

"Young Miss, we are taking you to the temple. Do not be noisy and just listen obediently," the servant said in her ear.

What? Sending me to the temple? Why are you sending me to the temple? What kind of person goe sto the temple? Why was she being sent there? She was Lin Jin’er, she was her father’s legal daughter!

Lin Jin’er flopped around like a fish, but the servants were skilled in tying her up with a cloth. One nimbly lifted her off the bed, and another two servants shook out a sheet and covered her.

All Lin Jin’er saw was black, like her world had descended into darkness.

Impossible, impossible. This was impossible.

Why were things like this?

It was March 6th. Three days after the Daughter’s Festival, everyone in Yangcheng were only discussing two things.

First was the Beiliu Ning Family’s engagement of their daughter. The other was the county registrar Lin’s daughter being taken with an unmentionable illness and being sent to the temple.

The Ning Family’s daughter was fourteen and the Lin Family’s fifteen. The Daughter’s Festival had just pa.s.sed. One was sent to become another’s wife before she bloomed, while the other withered before her blooming season ended.

The clear contrast was like happiness and sorrow. The people were unable to do anything but sigh, but very many people felt perturbed, especially about the girl who was already in her flowering period.

After almost a single night, there were less daughters in the streets and alleyways. The teahouses and jewelry stores did not see the large groups of girls talking and laughing.

Some people wanted teachers for their daughters to learn characters. Some asked zither players to give lessons. Even more wanted their daughters to practice the feminine arts.

The bright and beautiful March spring. The daughters were holed up in their homes as if it was winter while they should have been out about, adding color to spring. It was unimaginable that they did not appear. Everyone felt indescribably colder.

"Where else do you want to go?" asked Fang Yuxiu.

Presently, she and Jun Zhenzhen were at a pharmacy.

Jun Zhenzhen shook her head and directly climbed up into the carriage. Fang Yuxiu of course followed her in without saying anything else. The carriage slowly turned the cornern when they came to face with an incoming carriage.

"Make way," said the coachman of the opposing carriage once he saw that this was a commoner’s carriage. He swung his whip and said impolitely, "Don’t you have eyes?"

Fang Yuxiu frowned and lifted up the curtains. Jun Zhenzhen also looked out. In the other carriage, there seemed to be a girl lifting a curtain and looking out too.

As it was the carriage of a land-owning elite, ordinary commoners must get out of the way. This was common knowledge no need for reminders. Who’s the one who has no eyes?

The girl’s mood was not good to begin with. At the moment, she was somewhat impatient so when she saw the person across from her clearly, she immediately went blank. Then her face turned white.

"Make way," she blurted out.

The coachmen waved his whip again.

"Make way," he shouted at the other carriage.

At this, the young miss smashed a teacup behind him.

"I’ll make you make way," she said to the coachman in a trembling voice. "Quickly get out of the way; let them go first."

The coachman was stunned, but he didn’t dare disobey. He hurriedly led the carriage over to the side.

Surprise flashed in Fang Yuxiu’s eyes. She looked over at Miss Jun, but her face was as calm as ever.

"Go," Fang Yuxiu told the coachman.

The coachman recovered and hurriedly urged on the horse. The carriage pa.s.sed on the road.

Miss Jun turned to watch the carriage on the side. Although the curtains obscured the person in time, she could sense the girl inside watching her.

Jun Zhenzhen did not know that girl; she only had a vague recollection. She was probably one of the bureaucrat families’s young misses. She should be of ordinary status, otherwise Jun Zhenzhen wouldn’t not remember her.

Although she had an ordinary background, these girls were not afraid of facing Jun Zhenzhen. They only sneered and despised her.

But right now Miss Jun was frightening, very frightening.

Giving way to her was a sign of respect. But why were they afraid of her?

They received the answer to the question when they returned home.

"The Ning Family’s Seventeenth Young Miss has been engaged. Her wedding is set for May of next year," said Old Lady Fang. "The Lin Family’s young miss was sent to the temple because of an unmentionable illness."

She looked at Miss Jun with a complicated expression.

"So it seems that everything has been resolved," she said.

These girls were spoiled and pampered, cherished by their seniors. Their sisters would defer to them, their servants would revere them. When they walked on the streets, young men would sneak looks. They were the objects of all the girls’ envy.

For them, the most vexing thing was not getting the accessories they wanted. The most sorrowful thing was that dirt got on their dresses. Apart from that, their lives were smooth sailing, as radiant as spring. No fear existed in their worlds.

But this time they really understood what was fear and terror. There were some people they could not bully as they wanted, they would not always be protected by their families, they could not be carefree at any time.

There were things they could not do, people they could not provoke. Otherwise they’d be out of luck; their families would not protect them.

Miss Jun smiled.

"It’s good that these children understand now," she said.

[1] Bite to death: in this case it means to frame, like give no other choice but to take her in