Chapter 10 chapter Ten

The sun was already high in the sky when Aya left Todd, and she left after Todd had repeatedly promised to take care of herself.To be honest, at the moment all she wanted was to take a shower and sleep, Aya didn't know how to get around this place, and the drizzle made it hard for her to see, but she knew she didn't want to go in through the front door.Now everyone must be eating breakfast around the table, looking at her—in such a mess—the last thing they want to meet is Fulan and Jieming at this moment, because they must be dressed up at the moment. So Aya went around to the back of the house and into the kitchen—and the sight of the kitchen made all her sleepiness go away.

There was a chaotic atmosphere in the whole kitchen, and there were people everywhere: several cooks were exaggeratedly fat, boys ran around with pots and kettles, children chased each other, men shouted loudly, women cursed at the top of their voices. Children and packs of dogs rummaged through the trash. waste!Aya looked around and thought to herself, what an incredible waste! There were sacks of freshly ground flour on the floor, but the sacks were open for mice and thieves to steal; herbs and vegetables fell from the tables to be trampled on, and everyone in the kitchen took whatever they wanted, Aya Almost got run over by a man carrying half a cow to cold storage.

Aya passed them unnoticed, watching unlocked spice cabinets being searched and soup-worthy meat thrown to the dogs.In the wine cellar, she found open beer kegs and imported wine for free drinking; in the pantry, several large vats of pickles and cured meat were opened to spoil. "Disgusting," Aya mumbled. "It's disgusting!" The owner of the estate unnecessarily pays twice as much for food.There is no order, no organization, and no one to manage it. Although Aya was already exhausted, she still had the urge to take a broom—or a sword—to drive these unnecessary people out to stop this waste, and if managed properly, more people could be fed and Can save a lot of money.

"Be careful!" Aya heard someone yelling at her, and she quickly dodged to the side, a large piece of meat fell at her feet.To her disbelief, it was a whole piece of beef liver, and—in the blink of an eye, the two dogs ate it up! "Are you okay?" A man picked up the two dogs and looked at Aya's whole body, but when Aya gave him an angry look back, he took a step back. "Sorry." He murmured into the pantry. Aya didn't know anything that would annoy her more than wasting supplies, a scene she couldn't imagine.As she walked down the corridor leading to the hall, she noticed that the rush matting on the floor hadn't been replaced in months, and that, on the whole, the place needed a thorough cleaning.If the owner here, this man named Dekron, keeps these people, why doesn't he make them work?

When she entered the hall, she saw the same chaos as the kitchen.More dogs (how many dogs does this person have?) for leftovers under the table, dusty long flags hanging from the ceiling, and excessive food piled on the table.The dining tables are arranged in a semicircle and in the center there are four or five little boys wrestling on the ground.Judging by their clothes, Aya judged that they were the master's children.If this man had children, how could his wife's house be such a mess? Standing at the door, Aya saw that Fulan sitting in the middle became the focus of everyone. The one sitting next to her must be Dekron. He leaned close to Fulan and listened attentively to every word she said.On the other side was Jemin, also leaning over to listen to her.He was wearing a dark green velvet tight vest, his clean and fresh appearance formed a strong contrast with Aya's dirty and tired.

Making sure no one was paying attention to her, Aya stepped up to the group of scuffling boys, grabbed them by the collars, and tried to pull them away. However, she had underestimated the size of the boys—or rather, she had underestimated her own small stature.The undisciplined boys thought Aya wanted to play with them, so one of them grabbed her by the ankle, and Aya shrieked and fell among them.After a while, she was almost suffocated by their stacked arhats. She wondered what would happen if no one pulled those boys away.Aya raised her head and saw Declan's handsome smiling face, she couldn't help but smile back at him.

Unexpectedly, Jemin grabbed her waist, and her whole body was thrown onto his lap like a big bag of beans.The scuffle had unraveled all her braids, so now she looked like a fish caught in a net. "Jammin, who is this?" Karen asked. "Put me down, you big idiot!" Aya yelled at Jemin. "She's the little witch, Satan's little witch," Jemin said casually, and then yelped as Aya bit him on the leg. It took Aya some time to straighten herself up.She pushed back her hair and looked up at the tall, red-haired man.While he wasn't as handsome as Jamin (who could, though?), he was still good-looking, and she liked the way he looked at her.

"My name is Mei—" Just as the words came out, Jemin held her upper arm tightly. "Hey!" "Her name is Mai Ya," said Jemin. "It's Fulan's cousin." Four handsome little boys stood behind Declan, watching what happened with great interest. "Children," Aya said calmly, "if I give you a sword, would you kill this man for me?" That remark made the boys' eyes widen, and they looked up at Jemin, while their father grinned from ear to ear. "What's the matter, Jemin? Did I hear you right? Are there any women who don't fall in love with you at first sight?"

Jemin made a face. "Want to see my scars?" Keren looked at Aya, and Aya found that the look in her eyes made her feel hot. "I don't think she will hurt me," Keren said softly. Jemin let go of Aya, smiling slyly. "My ignorant friend, you don't know her." He turned to Aya. "I saw you walking into the kitchen and I saw your anger. Tell me poor ignorant friend what you're thinking." Jemin looked at Karen with a snickering expression, waiting for Aya to speak. Aya was well aware of Jemin's intentions, she took a deep breath and pressed her lips together - she will never hide her true personality! "I see waste," she said, looking directly into Dekron's eyes. "Throw food to dogs or trample on the ground, most people, every place is dirty, children are left undisciplined, you should be ashamed!"

The petite Aya put his hands on his waist and pushed forward step by step. Although Karen was as big as a bear, he looked at Aya like a primary school student being admonished by a teacher. "And your wife should feel doubly ashamed. How can she have the face to face people when she manages the house so badly? You can manage this place well with only half the expenses. Don't you care about your future? Don't you have enough money to squander? Don't—" Aya stopped because Jemin grabbed her upper arm and pulled her away.The look on Jemin's face seemed to say, "You know what I mean?"

But Karen just looked at Aya in surprise, and so did the sons standing behind him. Then, Karen unexpectedly held Aya's face and kissed her hard on the mouth. Everyone in the hall (except Fu Lan) stopped eating and looked at this scene as if it was the most exciting stage play they had ever seen.Keren's reaction took everyone by surprise, especially Jemin. "I don't have a wife," Keren said as he released Aya. "Will you marry me?" "Okay," Aya replied immediately. "I would." "No!" Jemin yelled, jolting everyone out of their stupor. Aya turned to Jemin. "It's none of your business who I want to marry." "Your father—" Aya knew that Jemin thought her father was Fran's father. "He died last year," she said quickly. "I thought he was still alive." Jemin was confused. "You never asked. He had the plague, and his body was buried in a pit, dissolved in lime, and I wasn't even able to say goodbye to him." "Wait a minute!" Rice yelled, coming around the table to face them. "My father left some land for me. I am not rich, but I also want to marry you, if you will consider me." "Don't think about it!" Keren said, preparing to pull Aya over. But Jemin beats him, pushing Aya behind. "She is under my protection, and I must—" "I'm not under his protection. He didn't even want me to come. His only responsibility is to escort May—er, Fulan to her fiancé's house. Besides, he is trying to marry Fulan." That remark made everyone turn to Fran, who was eating her breakfast and trying to ignore them as much as possible.In fact, she also wanted to get rid of Aya. If Aya married this man named Keren (she had already discovered that this man had no title and had four wild children), then she could be alone with Jemin. "Dear cousin, have you forgotten?" Fu Lan said sweetly. "Your father entrusted you to my care. I allow you to marry one of them, today if you want." She gave Aya her most beautiful smile. What's wrong with this man?Aya looked at Karen and thought, maybe he had proposed to Fran first and was rejected. The fact is, however, that Karen has been a widower for two years.He has many opportunities to remarry, but he needs more than a woman with a beautiful face who can control his wayward and naughty son, and the wine he wants to drink has no sand in it.He was raised by a strong mother since he was a child, so he married a weak woman.But after ten years of caring for his frail wife, he decided that his second wife must be strong and capable, and he believed that was the only way to control those children. Karen got down on one knee. "Marry me! All my property is yours. Come children!" he ordered. "Ask this sweet lady to be your new mother." The four boys had no idea what was going on, but they knew they'd better be good.They surrounded Aya, hugging her waist and legs. "Please," they yelled. "Please be our mother." Aya was overjoyed, what a wonderful feeling to be in contact with other people!These pretty boys— But Jaymin stopped her. He firmly grasped Aya's shoulders, pulled her out of the hands of the children and pushed her to the foot of the stairs, forcing her to go upstairs. "Did you forget that this trip should be a secret trip? I don't want people all over the world to find out who your cousin is." "What does that have to do with my getting married? You can leave me here and hand it over to your handsome friend, it won't have any effect anyway." Oh, she really liked hearing the anger in his words, then Is it jealousy? "Or do you think I should marry Les? They're both handsome, aren't they?" She paused on the stairs. "Which one do you think I should marry?" "Neither of them!" Jemin said decisively. "I'm going to take you to—" "Where are you going? To my fiancé's?" Aya smiled smugly at him. "You said that I have no reason to go with you." "You are Fulan's female companion." The absurdity of that statement made Aya laugh out loud, and even Jemin couldn't help smiling, but only briefly. "You're under my protection, that's the way it is. You can't do anything without my permission until I get directions from Mayboken, so you can't marry anyone!" He turned Aya around, forcing her Continue upstairs. "But Fu Lan can marry someone who is not her father's choice, right? She is engaged, but she is still free to choose; I am not engaged, but I have no freedom to choose who I am, right? ?” "You've asked a lot of questions, and maybe Mayboken won't allow you to marry. You're his relation, and your father's dead, so he's your guardian now, and has the right to decide your future. And I have to remind you, I'm not married to Fulan yet." "It seems like you still have hope of salvation, doesn't it? Don't you want to sleep with the beautiful Fran?" "What do you know about going to bed?" Jemin's tone was like that of a dignified and conservative old woman. He opened the door of the room assigned to Aya. There were three men in the room carrying buckets and pouring hot water into a large wooden basin. . "More than you think," Aya said mysteriously, and then she saw the tub filled with hot water. "Oh, Jemin..." Aya murmured, knowing that this was a luxury Jemin prepared for her. When she turned to look at Jemin, he smiled shyly at her—not the smile a woman looks at, but the smile that takes pleasure in pleasing her. "I guess maybe you'd like to take a shower," he stammered. "But if you don't want to..." Aya knew what he wanted more than anything at this point was more praise. "Even giving me pearls couldn't make me happier," said the sincerity of her words, which made him almost blush with joy. "I'll keep soaking until my skin peels off. Oh, please tell them the water should be very hot." She's seen Fran do this: asking a man to order (actually she can do it herself), it will definitely make the other party Very happy, "I'm going to wash my hair." Her voice revealed how much she was looking forward to it. "There's chamomile soap and rosemary next to the tub, hope you like it." "Okay." Aya looked at him and said, at this moment, the servant announced that the bath water was put away. "Then... I'm leaving." Jemin said before leaving, and left with a slight smile. Aya felt dizzy.Smell, how sweet it tastes to be free, with two men proposing to her, and now Jemin... well, she doesn't know what Jemin's thinking, but she likes it. She took off her clothes and stepped cautiously into the hot water.As the heat gradually seeped into her skin, she leaned back against the tub, raised her head and closed her eyes. "He sent the letter!" Fulan shouted to Aya who was soaking in hot water. "Did you hear? He sent a letter!" Since Aya was up all night, the hot water made her fall into a deep sleep. "Who sent what letter?" Aya asked wearily, of course she knew who "he" was, but she didn't know what letter it was.Now that Fulan ruined her hot bath, she simply started washing her hair. Fulan sat down on the footstool beside the bed. "Jamie sent a letter to your father asking to marry his daughter, Fulan. It's not you, it's me, Fulan." Aya was so tired that it took her a while to catch Fran's words, and then her eyes widened in fear, "Jammin sent a letter to my father?" She put a hand on her forehead and tried to make herself think.Ever since Fran proudly announced that she and Jemin were about to marry in secret, Aya was too angry to think.She didn't think deeply about why she was angry, but whatever the reason, her anger blocked all rational thought.Why didn't she ask at the time? "Tell me what's going on." "I want to marry in secret, but Earl Jemin says his sense of honor makes him obliged to ask your father's permission—" "Now he's 'my' father," Aya murmured. Fulan ignored her. "Of course I have to agree, or what else can I do?" "Oh, yes, your way of deceiving men makes you very good at lying." Fulan's eyes flashed with anger. "Aya, I did this for you." "For me?" Aya's eyes widened. "I can see that you are deeply attracted to him. If you marry him secretly, your father will disinherit you." Aya was speechless. "So in order to save me, you decided to turn yourself into Countess Fulan? I'm sorry, I blamed you wrongly. Fulan, you are indeed the embodiment of kindness." Fulan looked at Aya and thought she couldn't be telling the truth, because Aya was always unpredictable. Aya leaned forward, eyes narrowed. "Please don't use me as a reason for you to lie to a man, I want to know the content of this letter!" "As I said earlier, Jemin wanted to send a letter to your father asking to marry his daughter—that's me, Fran. I couldn't say no, so I just said I'd write to him too, and then we'll be together Send him the letter. Of course, I didn't write the letter at all." Aya stared at her cousin in disbelief. "If there is no reply, won't he notice? Or, are you going to fabricate my father's reply?" Frankly speaking, Fu Lan hasn't thought that far, but she would rather die than admit it. "That's not important, his letter has already been sent," Fu Lan lowered her voice. "What do you think your father would do if he learned from the letter that I had become his daughter?" Aya didn't like to think about these questions, and it was difficult for her to control her anger towards Fulan. "I don't know, maybe he'll just yawn and say, 'My God, they must be mistaken.' Or, do you think he's going to send a team to pick me up and escort me to my beloved maiden?" Aya took a deep breath. "As for you, dear cousin, what do you think he will do with you? My guess is that he will strip you naked and throw you into the muck by the side of the road, and then we will see what your beauty will attract. !" Aya closed her eyes, she needed time to think. "Pour that bucket of hot water over my head and let me wash my hair." Fu Lan's body became stiff, "It's a good idea, I'm not your maid!" "Okay," Aya said sweetly. "Then you can use your brain to find a solution!" Fulan only hesitated for a moment before picking up the bucket and pouring hot water on Aya's foamy hair. After Aya washed her hair, Fran wiped the imaginary water droplets on the blue satin dress with a dry towel. "Maybe we can intercept the reply." Aya's mind is clearer now, so she can sort out the ins and outs of the whole thing.The letter could end her freedom early. "What I'm worried about is not the reply, but that my father will send a large number of people to deliver the reply!" Aya tried to calm herself down again, because she couldn't think when she was angry. She stood up in the tub, took the towel from Fulan, and dried herself while thinking. "You have to disappear." "Are you kidding me? Do you think no one will notice if I disappear? And honestly, Aya, I don't understand why I have to disappear. Your father will be mad at you, not me, I just It's just your cousin." "Cousin without money," Aya reminded her. "Besides, it was you who said you wanted to get married in secret that caused all these troubles." Fulan gave her a stubborn look, and Aya knew it would not help to remind Fulan that it was all her fault.From experience, Aya knew that Fran never remembered the trouble she had caused. Aya took a deep breath. "When did he send the letter?" "Probably this morning, I'm not sure. Yes, it must be this morning, because he was away all night yesterday." Fu Lan's eyes drifted from the tidy bed to Aya's body, "Where were you last night? " "With Todd, his legs..." Aya waved distractedly. "You can't be here when my father's letter arrives, he'll—" "What will happen to him?" Fu Lan asked in fear. "Throw you out, and then handcuff me with iron chains. Fu Lan, why didn't you think about the consequences before getting into trouble?" "I want him to marry me! Is that wrong? He's a count, count! Oh, Aya, you can't imagine how terrible it is to be insecure. I live every day like an ax hanging from my head, and I You never know what's going to happen, it's going to—” "Will I ever know?" Aya growled, then forced herself to calm down.A clean linen pajamas hung over the back of the chair, and Aya put it on.It seemed that after hearing this incident, she couldn't sleep anymore. "Let me see, I'm tired." Why didn't she think of warning Fulan earlier?Why didn't you think about how the father would react if he learned that his daughter was not married to the man he appointed?In real life, the marriage of Jemin and Fleur was just a marriage between a poor middle-class woman and a poor nobleman; it was their private affair and nobody else's business.But the identity-swapping lie and Mayboken's meddling would make it very serious. Now, thinking about it, Aya realized how stupid she was.Why didn't she expect what would happen after exchanging identities with Fu Lan?Why didn't he think what would happen if his father found out?Fear ran through Aya's body.It is true that she had never met her father; but she had corresponded with him since she could write.But no matter what she did or how well she did, my father never expressed his desire to see her. Aya is also very clear that although her father does not appear in her life, he has always controlled their lives.And Aya was always trying to please her father; if she could please him, maybe he'd come to see her, maybe he'd say, "Well done." Although Aya likes these men courting her and proposing to her, she knows that she can only marry the person her father appoints, no matter how terrible the other person is, she will marry him.If she did not marry the other party, how would her father punish her? Although Aya's life is isolated from the outside world, she is not ignorant of the world.Her father's fortune had not been earned by being kind and courteous.He is merciless.If he cannot get what he wants easily, he will get it in other ways.He married her mother because he wanted a piece of land from his grandfather, and no matter what method he had to use, he would get what he wanted in the end. How would the father react if he received a letter from Jamin asking to marry his daughter Fran?angry?He must have guessed that she and Fulan had switched identities, so would he really throw Fulan out like trash?Or marry her to some terrible man?And how would he punish his disobedient daughter? "It's serious, isn't it?" Fu Lan asked in a low voice, looking at Aya anxiously. "I think we went too far," Aya replied.Upon hearing "we", Fu Lan felt so relieved that she almost burst into tears. "what should we do?" "You can't be there when my father's men arrive, and we have to find a way to get Jemin out of here, and we can't get a reply from my father. If we can make him think that this place is dangerous, we must leave as soon as possible—" "He won't leave you behind," Fu Lan said coldly. "He wants to take you away from those men. You made a fool of yourself this morning, as usual!" Thinking of the scene in the morning, Aya couldn't help but smile. "Isn't it cool to have two men propose to me in one day?" "Should I say 'yes'? It's a disgusting sight from my vantage point. You don't really want to marry one of them do you? The one named Les has nothing; and the other man There are four wild children." "You know I don't have the freedom to choose my husband!" Aya said. "You can marry any man who wants to marry you, but I can't! As long as you have a way to make him strong enough, you can freely marry your earl!".She wouldn't tell Aya that she was beginning to like Jemin, not only because he was a count, but also because he was always polite and unlike men who kept trying to touch her.Fulan doesn't like people touching her very much. "Kidnapping!" Aya yelled. "You should be kidnapped!" Fu Lan immediately replied, "I don't like the idea." "You should have thought of that before my father found out about your marriage plans," Aya said, sitting on the bed, drying her hair with a towel. "I'm going to ask Todd to arrange a kidnapping. Yes, it should be done. I told Jemin I heard in the stables that everyone knew you were the May heir, so it was only natural that you should be kidnapped." "Is this true? Am I in danger?" "Only the dangers you imagine," Aya said grimly. "You'll be kidnapped, and Jemin will come after you." "What about you?" Fu Lan asked jokingly. "What will you do when I'm tied up in a carriage? Take a hot bath? Eat a peacock feast?" "Then what are you going to do? I'll..." Aya couldn't think of what she would do, because that letter would surely make her father send someone who knew Aya was his daughter, or he would write to Jay. Ming, describe her appearance? "My daughter is the uglier one," her father might have written. "How could you confuse Fu Lan with my ordinary-looking daughter?" Aya looked at Fulan, the morning light that crept into the room from between the blinds lightly touched Fulan's perfect cheeks, making her skin look as delicate as a peach.She was wearing a royal blue satin dress trimmed with black, which Aya knew was worth a fortune.She had never worn such fine clothes before, for adorning herself in that way was like putting diamonds on a donkey.No matter how well dressed a donkey is, it is still an ugly donkey. "I hate it when you look at me like that," Fulan said. "You and Todd don't have any bad ideas about me, do you?" "Fulan," Aya said patiently. "It has nothing to do with me that you caused us to enter the hall, but I have to help you clean up the mess as usual," and bear the consequences, Aya thought, but she would not let Fulan see her sorrow. "I'll tell Todd to take you away, and then Jemin will come after you, and his men will follow him. When my father's men arrive, they'll—" "They will take you away." Fu Lan said softly. Aya turned around, not wanting Fran to see her face, "That's not important, I was only going to have a few weeks of freedom. I've opened my eyes, and that's enough." She didn't want to let herself Keep thinking. "Here," she said, pulling a small pouch from the inside of the suitcase. "This bag is gold. Go get ready, take some clothes and hide in the wagon without the drawing. Make up some excuses, and wait for Todd to find you." "Is he going to wear that horrible cape again? I hate to see him in that." "You hate him; you'll hate whatever Todd does. Go to him, he'll arrange everything in no time. Do you understand, Fran? Go!" "Aya, why are you always so irritable?" What could Aya expect?Is Fulan grateful?Suddenly, she could no longer bear to see Fulan. "Go!" Aya said, and when Fulan still didn't move, she almost shouted: "Go!" So Fu Lan left and slammed the door behind her hard. Aya stood up because she had a lot going on, but then she collapsed.Her pitifully little freedom was coming to an end, why didn't she think what would happen if her father found out? But she knows why.Freedom came before her eyes, banishing all rational thought, and there was Jemin, and she and Jemin were quarreling, and—oh, my God!She makes love to Jemin. She sat back on the bed, closed her eyes and thought about it.That night she lay in Jemin's arms and said she loved him, and then Jemin kissed her and made love to her. But now, it's all over.When he heard that his precious Mei family heir was missing, he would leave here immediately without even looking back at her.After all, he thought Aya had no money, and money was what he wanted most in this world. Aya wanted to cry, wanted to wallow in self-pity, but she didn't have time, she had to get up and tell Todd what to do, but first she had to see if his leg was back, she knew Todd wouldn't lie down In bed for more than a day, no matter how painful his legs are.And the coachman, Aya thought to herself, she must hire a coachman.She had to do everything for Fulan, because Fulan was stupid, and she would sit in the carriage and wait until someone came to pick her up. I have to get up, that was Aya's last thought before falling asleep.