Her guards

Chapter 69 The Household Management of the Lady of Ding'an
The sun was shining brightly. Yang Hui wasn't particularly happy when her mother told her last night that she didn't have to go to school.

I didn't sleep at all last night, so it's not like I didn't have to get up early.

"Mother, what's wrong with this person?" she asked impatiently.

Lady Ding'an, who had also not slept all night, looked tired as she carried the ginseng soup.

"It's so noisy in the middle of the night, and so many strangers have moved in. No matter how big our house is, our family will know by now," Yang Hui pressed. "We can't hide it anymore!"

Lady Ding'an said, "I won't hide it, why would I hide it? Let me catch my breath." After saying that, she finished the ginseng soup in one gulp, let out a long breath, and gestured to the maid beside her, "Go and call everyone in the family. I want to tell you about the new relative."

The servant woman responded and left.

The previous generation of the Yang family had two brothers. The eldest son, Yang Shixing, followed Deng Shan and obtained a title, while the second son, Yang Shiduan, stayed in his hometown to maintain the family business. Yang Shixing had three sons and one daughter. He passed away not long after going to the capital to obtain a title. His eldest son, Yang Bin, inherited the title, and his other two sons were each granted official positions and went out to establish branches and spread their families.

Yang Bin had a wife who gave birth to a son and a daughter. His eldest son, Yang Shanshu, was seventeen years old this year. He had failed to pass the entrance exam for the National Academy and often traveled to other places to study. He was not at home at the moment. He also had two concubines who had given birth to a daughter and a son, who were not yet ten years old.

So, the so-called explanation to the family meant simply calling the two women, each with their children, to come over.

Lady Ding'an recited the story she had prepared the night before.

Yang Hui was born after she came to the capital. Her two maids and concubines were also bought in the capital. They were not qualified to return to their hometown to worship their ancestors. They knew nothing about the people and affairs of the second branch of the family in their hometown and would not have any doubts.

As for Liu Changqing and his daughter, they said they met and traveled together on the road, and only mentioned it briefly before glossing over the matter.

Of course, I couldn't tell them about the change of identity.

Including Yang Hui.

Lady Ding'an knew that her daughter was outspoken.

Yang Hui didn't suspect anything and muttered, "The daughter of my second great-uncle's daughter, they're all distant relatives, and they've come to rely on me."

The two maids complimented her, saying, "Madam is kind-hearted."

Lady Ding'an didn't care about their attitude. She instructed them not to ask about the past, as Miss Tang had lost her mother and was abused by her biological father and stepmother. So, she should not ask about the past to avoid upsetting Miss Tang.

Yang Hui pursed her lips and ignored her. The two maids responded and then gave instructions to their respective children.

After settling her family in, Lady Ding'an said that since her daughter had just arrived and was feeling shy, she would not see her for the time being, and dismissed her maids and concubines.

But he couldn't breathe a sigh of relief and had someone call his niece over to give her a few more instructions.

This niece doesn't seem to have a good temperament... She escaped death, but instead of reporting it to the authorities, she ran to the capital. Even after arriving in the capital, she didn't come home. She actually dared to steal someone else's identity to take the National Academy exam and ended up by the princess's side.

Get close to the princess.

Lady Ding'an clenched her hands at her sides. Was this intentional or unintentional?

Did the sister-in-law really not tell her daughter anything?

I doubt it. My sister-in-law made such a resolute statement back then, and she also informed the emperor that he had lost his child.
There's nothing more I can say to explain it.

It was probably unintentional. Just like the maid said, she wanted to set up her own household and find a powerful backer.

If he truly knew something, he shouldn't have gone after the princess; instead, he should have seized the jade token and stormed into the imperial city...

Just imagining the scene made Lady Ding'an feel suffocated.

Soon the maid returned first, saying that Miss Tang had just gotten up and was eating, and that she would come over right away after tidying up.

I just got up.

Lady Ding'an felt a pang of frustration again, looked up at the sky, and realized that her young mistress was actually able to sleep.

Fortunately, it didn't take long before the young woman and her maid slowly entered and bowed respectfully.

Lady Ding'an forced a smile: "A'Luo, how are you? Are you getting used to the food at home?"

"I'm used to the food. After all, I've been in the capital for a while now. Thank you, Aunt."

"Aunt, our young lady isn't a picky eater, but may I ask the kitchen to prepare some of her favorite dishes?"

The young lady thanked her, but the maidservant was not so polite.

Lady Ding'an glanced at her; a mere maid...

I haven't even glanced at him since last night. As for his appearance, his face is ashen, and his features look rather peculiar.

How could they not be cunning? They even dared to take someone else's place to study at the Imperial Academy. The young lady is bold, but the maid is even bolder.

"We'll arrange the food and drink later." Lady Ding'an ignored the unruly maid and looked only at her niece. "I've already told my family about your background." Yang Hui was still standing in the hall, her expression displeased as she glared at Yang Luo.

So she was a maidservant; no wonder she was so vulgar.

"Mother, you've only mentioned the relative's background, not anything else," she said impatiently. "Let everyone know what important things this relative is up to!"

Lady Ding'an glared at her: "Shut up, don't you want things to get too lively?"

"It's not that I'm disgusted, but the Liu family is still living in our house. How are we going to explain this?" Yang Hui said angrily.

"Yes," Yang Luo chimed in, "Auntie, can I still study?"

Yang Hui scoffed: "What's the point of you, a mere maid, reading books!"

Yang Luo looked at her, and although her identity as a "maid" had been exposed, she still did not back down: "You can't even pass the exam as a maid, so you shouldn't be studying."

Yang Hui was magnanimous; this was at home, not at the Academy of Chinese Learning, and she wasn't some young lady, but a maid…

Which maid in the house would dare to be so unruly? Not to mention unruly, even if a maid was slow to respond, Yang Hui would immediately teach her a lesson.

"You wretched servant!" She raised her hand and slapped Yang Luo hard across the face.

not enough.

One slap isn't enough.

And there's the humiliation I suffered at the Chinese Academy!
First slap him, then have someone drag him out and beat him with a board!

Although Yang Hui's actions were sudden, Lady Ding'an saw them but did not speak up to stop her.

She was just a maid; it was fine to hit her.

This maidservant deserves to be taught a lesson.

But Yang Hui's slap didn't land. Mo Zheng, who was standing next to the Lady of Ding'an, seemed to appear in the blink of an eye and grabbed Yang Hui's wrist with her slender hand.

"Why did you hit me?" she said.

The sudden grip on her hand caused Yang Hui's strength to snap back, almost causing her to stumble.

She looked at this "relative's daughter," who was even less noticeable than the maid "fake Liu Chan." She was thin and weak, but unexpectedly, she was quite strong. Yang Hui struggled but couldn't break free.

"You rude maid, didn't you hear me?" she shouted angrily.

Mo Zheng looked at her: "Is she being rude? Isn't what she said true?"

Yang Hui's eyes widened instantly. Ah, no wonder the maid was so rude, so this is how Miss is!

"How dare you! This is His Majesty's order! This is disobedience, utter treason!" she shouted, slapping Mo Zheng hard across the face with her other hand.

The hand that had been thrown out was no longer held; instead, it was released, or rather, flung away. Yang Hui screamed, spinning like a top, dizzy and disoriented, stumbling and falling to the ground...

Fortunately, Lady Ding'an was quick-witted and called out to my son, reaching out to support him.

Although he caught Yang Hui and prevented her from falling to the ground, he himself was knocked off balance and fell onto the servants.

The hall immediately descended into chaos.

"Mother—they're hitting people—"

"Miss—we can't stay here, the young lady of this house is going to beat you up—let's go!"

Upon hearing the words "leave," Lady Ding'an was startled. She pushed Yang Hui away from her arms and hurriedly pulled her niece's arm.

"My son, you can't leave."

Yang Hui finally fell to the ground, staring blankly at her mother who had been holding her, and then grabbed the young lady's arm, calling out "My son."

She burst into tears.

It was at this moment that Duke Ding'an stepped into the backyard and, seeing the women in such a chaotic state, felt dizzy and disoriented.

The initial joy of resolving the trouble was completely gone.

Has the problem really been solved?

This isn't going to get any more complicated, is it?
(End of this chapter)