Chapter 5: Concubine 1

5. Chambermaid 1

Because Duan Yuran had long harbored the idea of leaving the Ren family, she had already had Yunzhu and the accompanying Huang Mama inventory and seal her dowry in boxes half a month ago!

An Mama and Yuan Mama were Mrs. Duan's dowry maids. Today, they were acting on the orders of Duan Yuran's mother, Mrs. Duan, to keep watch for their young lady, ensuring that the lady's dowry wouldn't be skimmed by the Ren family under the guise of social etiquette without being held accountable!

Since things had escalated to this point, there was no need to save face for the Ren family; in any case, there would be no further dealings between the two families in the future.

The inventorying of the dowry went quickly. Originally, sixty-six crates of dowry had been carried into the Ren family, signifying "smoothness in all things." Now, the dowry was only missing some porcelain, ornaments, and fabrics, which Duan Yuran had used to show filial piety to her parents-in-law or to give as rewards during her first six months of marriage; there were no other losses.

Items given to servants naturally would not be demanded back, and small items like vases and jade screens given to Master Ren and Madam Ren were things Duan Yuran had given willingly; demanding them back would result in a loss of dignity. An and Yuan, the two Mamas, were not short-sighted; as long as things weren't "stolen," they wouldn't make an issue of it. After inquiring about the whereabouts of the few items missing from the dowry maid Yunzhu, they used the Duan family seals they had brought along to seal all the other intact boxes!

"Miss, the boxes have all been sealed." An Mama was a small-statured, spirited middle-aged woman. She had once been one of Mrs. Duan's dowry maids, later married to a manager under Master Duan, and after having children, she had returned to serve Mrs. Duan again. She was an extremely loyal servant.

Duan Yuran sat in the main hall drinking jujube tea. Hearing An Mama say the inventory was complete, she pursed her lips and nodded with a smile.

"I have troubled you both, Mamas."

An Mama bowed slightly and said, "We wouldn't dare," then added, "The Master and the Young Master said that the sixty-six crates of dowry should be carried back first today, and they will come back tomorrow to carry the furniture and other miscellaneous items. We servants will stay here tonight to keep watch, lest some thieving scoundrels take advantage of the chaos to pilfer things!"

These words were, of course, a subtle jab at the Ren family being scoundrels. Duan Yuran understood clearly; the smile on her face deepened, and she signaled Bizhu to give An Mama a reward.

To make things easier for An and Yuan Mama, Duan Yuran left the feisty Bizhu behind to help inventory the furniture and scattered ornaments, lest they accidentally take something belonging to the Ren family!

Just as An Mama and Bizhu were discussing whether they should arrange the furniture outside the main hall once Duan Yuran returned to the Duan family, the sound of a woman's weeping and Yuan Mama's blunt cursing came from outside!

"Young Mistress! Young Mistress, please spare this servant!" A pretty young girl with her hair in a married woman's bun and wearing a jujube-red floral *beizi* was pushed in by Yuan Mama, falling to her knees before Duan Yuran with a thud! "Please, Young Mistress, show mercy and let me stay! This servant is already the Young Master's person..."

*Slap!* Before the girl with the married woman's bun could finish, Yuan Mama's palm, large as a fan, struck her delicate face!

"Bah! You despicable thing!" Yuan Mama spat and cursed, "You are a girl of the Duan family! Your indenture is still held by the Miss. Do you think just because you've climbed into the bed of a Ren man, you've ascended to heaven? Do you want to be a ghost of the Ren family? Even if you want to die, you must go back to the Duan family to die!"

Hearing Yuan Mama's verbal abuse, the girl cried even harder, banging her head against the floor repeatedly, constantly begging not to be taken back to the Duan family!

Furious, Yuan Mama grabbed the girl's collar, intending to strike her again!

"That's enough. Mama, don't hurt your hand by hitting her," Duan Yuran said coldly, looking at the girl with indifference. "Bizhu, go to the inner gate and have Hutou ask Young Master Ren if he intends to keep Lvzhu! If Young Master Ren wants to keep her, he can simply pay twenty taels of silver to buy her."

Bird's Note

This week, Bird has several physical check-ups and no backlog of chapters, so I'll only post one chapter for now. I'll post two chapters next week.

One chapter for today. Mwah! Don't forget to collect, bookmark, recommend, and promote!