Harem Daily Life

Granny Qiao was taken aback and quickly explained, "Miss, this was originally a pleasant surprise. We planned to inform you after you married into the Zhou family. But... things changed too quickly, and your marriage has been rescheduled."

Granny Qiao looked at Chun Tao, somewhat embarrassed, "It's not that we wanted to hide it from you, Miss, but it's a matter between us servants, and we felt it wasn't necessary to bother you, so we didn't report it beforehand. Now that the engagement is settled and Chun Tao has received my nephew's betrothal gifts, we beg you to grant us permission to marry."

Hua Yue Rong smiled and said, "Granny Qiao, I like Chun Tao. After I get married, I will indeed take her to my husband's family. Now that I'm not going to the Zhou family anymore, Chun Tao naturally can't marry a servant of the Zhou family." After saying that, she took out twenty taels of silver and handed it over.

"Young Miss, what does this mean?" Granny Qiao's face darkened, and she did not reach out to take the silver.

Hua Yuerong still had a smile on her face: "I heard that your betrothal gifts to Chuntao were a hairpin and a few bolts of cloth. She used the cloth to make clothes, and the hairpin was accidentally broken a few days ago. I will return the betrothal gifts to you in silver, twenty taels, which is enough."

Granny Qiao's breathing rose and fell: "I am Chun Tao's godmother. She has no biological mother, so naturally, I, her godmother, should decide on her marriage. Miss, you are giving me money... I cannot accept it."

Hua Yue Rong's eyes darkened; she was determined to force Chun Tao into marrying into a fiery pit.

“Granny Qiao, you are indeed Chun Tao’s godmother and can decide her marriage, but don’t forget, Chun Tao’s indenture is in my hands; your indenture is in my mother’s hands.”

Hua Yurong's words instantly made Granny Qiao lose her composure.

"Don't think that just because the Hua family mother and daughter are usually amiable, we are easy to talk to. As a servant, you secretly arranged a marriage for my servant. If I don't agree, you can't do anything about it. I can even go to the government to sue you for accepting money and trying to sell my people."

Granny Qiao was terrified and quickly knelt down: "This servant, this servant meant well at first. I thought that since you, Miss, are marrying into the Zhou family, Chun Tao would also be going with you. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds? I beg you, Miss, to have mercy on us. We'll raise the money to redeem Chun Tao from her servitude. What do you think..."

“No.” Hua Yurong refused directly: “Chun Tao must stay by my side. I will not let her redeem herself. Take these twenty taels back and annul the engagement. Otherwise, we will go to court.”

After she finished speaking, seeing that Granny Qiao was still hesitating, she took out a token from her bosom, played with it in her hand, and said lightly, "Oh dear, my prince insisted on giving me a token, saying that if I have it, when I see the officials, they will have to be respectful to me and obey my orders."

Upon hearing this, Granny Qiao dared not insist any further. The common people cannot fight against the officials, and she could not risk her life for the sake of her nephew's wife.

She glared angrily at Chun Tao: "Fine, I'll go and tell them to cancel the engagement." Granny Qiao took the silver, bent over, and went out, her eyes full of resentment.

"Thank you so much, Miss! Thank you so much, Miss!" Chun Tao cried tears of joy. After all, she was still a teenage girl, and everything was written on her face.

Granny Qiao, holding the silver, muttered curses under her breath as she turned the corner and accidentally bumped into Hua Ruyan.

"Don't you have eyes?" Hua Ruyan was already annoyed when someone bumped into her, and she was so angry that she kicked him.

Granny Qiao was already in a bad mood, and when she saw that the second young lady had kicked her, she slumped over and started to cry.

"What are you howling about? It was just one kick, is it really that big of a deal?" Hua Ruyan rolled her eyes at her.

"It was my poor eyesight that prevented me from seeing the Second Miss. I was also upset and that's why I wasn't looking where I was going. I hope the Second Miss won't blame me."

Hua Ruyan noticed that this Granny Qiao had come from Hua Yuerong's courtyard and knew that she was Chun Tao's godmother. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "What happened? You look like this... Could it be that Hua Yuerong scolded you?"

Granny Qiao was in a fit of anger and desperately needed someone to confide in, so she told Chun Tao everything.

"Ha, how funny, are this master and servant pair addicted to breaking off engagements?"

After saying that, she suddenly thought of something. Seeing that no one was around, she called Granny Qiao aside and asked, "I'm asking you, she ruined your nephew's marriage. Do you want to teach her a lesson?"

After whispering among themselves for a while, Hua Ruyan breathed a sigh of relief once she had reached an agreement.

"Second Miss, are you... really going to do this?" The maid Xiaolan was terrified. How could the Second Miss collude with outsiders to harm her own sister?

Hua Ruyan glared at her: "You'd better shut your mouth, or I'll sell you off to a brothel, where you'll be left with no one to turn to."

Xiao Lan dared not say anything more. Sometimes she really envied Chun Tao. How could the young lady treat Chun Tao so well?

"Go prepare your clothes. Tomorrow I will appear at the polo field looking beautiful, and let those noble ladies who usually look down on me take a good look. So what if I, Hua Ruyan, am a merchant's daughter? I am the most elegant young lady in the entire polo field."

Xiaolan was still a little worried: "But, Madam might not necessarily let Miss go. And... and Miss Jing's invitation to you, could it be a trap? After all, she had a grudge against you and our Hua family before."

They've even gone so far as to infiltrate the Jingzhao Yin's residence; the feud is so deep. Why would the Second Miss still want to be close to them? Xiao Lan simply couldn't understand it.

"What do you know? Hua Yurong refuses to help Zhou Chen get an official position, but Miss Jing, an outsider, is willing. If I don't get close to those who help me, am I supposed to get close to those who don't? Hurry up and prepare, don't delay my business. Also..." She took a step closer and whispered, "Remember, tonight you must give the medicine to Granny Qiao, and make sure she makes the pastries so Chun Tao can take them tomorrow. Miss Jing instructed that Hua Yurong must be made to faint, and that she be hidden well. Once everything is done, I will give you your indenture immediately."

Faced with the choice between righteousness and freedom, Xiaolan bit her lip and nodded.

"Don't even think about tipping them off. If things are exposed beforehand, I'll at most get a few scoldings, but you'll only end up being sold to a brothel. Think it through!" The threatening words terrified Xiaolan, who nodded hastily, not daring to utter another word.

The next morning, He Jin'an brought people to pick up Hua Yurong, along with a group of his younger brothers and sisters.

The royal procession came to a stop in front of the Hua family's house. Hua's parents came out with their two daughters and wanted to invite them into the mansion, but He Jin'an refused, saying he was in a hurry. He personally helped Hua Yurong into the carriage, while Hua Ruyan stood aside, gnashing her teeth in hatred.

“…Ruyan, Ruyan?” Zhou Chen called several times before Hua Ruyan finally looked away.

"Ruyan, you look beautiful today. This outfit is probably the most dazzling one you'll see today!" Zhou Chen praised Hua Ruyan.

Hua Ruyan knew her attire was extremely luxurious; she had received a thousand taels of silver from Jing Yuwei to buy it. But what use was luxury? Prince Jin didn't even glance at her, instead smiling as he watched the simply dressed Hua Yurong, treating her like a treasure and personally helping her into the carriage.

Hua Ruyan snorted coldly, turned around and went to the carriage that the Zhou family had come to pick her up. After getting into the carriage, her eyes were icy cold.