5. The Secret

Although Jin Mengmeng was a junior sister, she was no different from a maidservant. Since her childhood, she had been serving Jin Ruizhu, her senior sister, who was also the firstborn daughter of the Jin family, and finally she grew up to be eighteen years old.

Her master stopped handling domestic affairs a long time ago. Jin Yong, the master of the Jin family, who was Jin Ruizhu’s biological brother, was in charge at the moment.

But she didn't know that when she was asked to accompany the bride on wedding day, Jin Ruizhu had no intention to let her return to the Jin family.

The Jin family was poor, while Lord Shui was dominant in River Town.

Jin Ruizhu was afraid that she couldn't win Lord Shui’s over, so she wanted to bring Jin Mengmeng, who was beautiful, to serve Lord Shui in the room.

To serve him in the room was to be the maidservant that would sleep with him under his command.

Of course, it was impossible for Jin Mengmeng to know about this. She was still clinging to the idea that if her senior sister hadn’t been abducted by Song Taixi that day, she would have returned to the Jin family with the others.

Lord Shui withdrew his hand and lowered his voice suddenly, "Mengmeng."

This was the first time he had called her name, and she responded in surprise, "Huh?"

"Have you ever thought about marrying me?" He asked.

She pondered for a while and shook her head.

A hint of displeasure flashed across his eyes.

She noticed that he was unhappy, so she coaxed him hurriedly, "I don't regret it. I would like to, really."

The barest hint of a smile appeared on his sullen face when he held her with the quilt in his arms.

After a long time, Mama Rong urged them to have dinner, saying that Master Shui and Mrs. Shui’s patience was wearing thin.

Lord Second Shui said, "None of us have expected that my uncle would become a Buddist monk. Grandpa failed to persuade him to come around, so he expelled him from our family, and forbade everyone in our family to contact him."

Since then, Lord Shui’s father had become the only child, thus making Lord Shui the only heir of the Shui family in his generation.

His grandfather passed away when he was nine. After taking over the family, his father secretly took him to Longju Temple to redeem his vow and donated a considerable amount money to the temple.

The abbot, who was said to have great achievements, instructed the young monk to give him a yellow amulet.

Since then, he had often been going to Longju Temple for worship with his parents and sneaking into the abbot’s courtyard for fun.

The abbot was nice to him. He was benignant every time he saw him.

Soon enough, the abbot became his friend. At a time of trouble in business, which he was unwilling to tell his father, it was the abbot who came up with an idea and helped him overcome his difficulties.

And finally, the story of the abbot found its way to him.

It was far beyond Jin Mengmeng’s expectation that the well-known abbot of Longju Temple was in fact the subordinate master of the Shui family, the biological uncle of Lord Shui.

If the abbot had not converted at that time, he would also have been dominant in River Town, with the title “Lord Shui”.

She looked up at Lord Shui. He touched her head and said, "Keep it a secret."

She nodded immediately. It should be kept between them.

"That’s my girl." He kissed her on her forehead.

"If you don't want to go outside for dinner, I can ask Mama Rong to bring some food for you. Don’t worry, nobody dares to find fault."

He withdrew his hands and was about to leave when she stopped him. "I'm going with you."

She put on a white half-sleeve cheongsam with small floral patterns and a pair of white western-style flat leather shoes.

The clothes were delivered under the command of Lord Shui this afternoon. There were nine sets, all of which were seasonal. The size was just right, so they must have been made in recent days.

Mama Rong combed her black hair into a chignon and helped her put on a newly bought golden jade-dotted butterfly hairpin.

This was the first time she had ever worn a cheongsam, jewelries, and leather shoes, which changed her temperament suddenly. She was not like a rough girl making wicker baskets on Fenglai Mountain, instead, she was like an elegant lady from a scholar-gentry family.

Jin Mengmeng had never worn new clothes in the past, and she even rarely looked in the mirror. The glass mirror was expensive, and her elder sister didn’t allow them to use it for fear that they would break it.

At this moment, the woman in the mirror had the charm of a little lady and the ignorance of a child.

The two styles were mixed together, but they were perfectly compatible. Lord Shui glanced at her and pressed her against the mirror for fun.

"My girl is gorgeous."

Jin Mengmeng guarded her new clothes carefully, and said anxiously in a low voice, "Lord, be gentle. You’ll ruin my clothes..."

They went to the main courtyard for dinner, and all of the concubines were there. It used to be nothing, but the atmosphere today was weird.

The sharp-eyed third concubine noticed that Jin Mengmeng had made a profound change in her dressing style, and especially, with the diamond ring dazzling on her finger. "Oh, a diamond of this size can buy several houses with a garden. Lord Shui said there would be one for me not long ago, but I’ve never even seen one till…just now."

...Translator: Madesmoiselle V....

...To be continued...

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