When Madame Duan found out that they already had a physical marriage, she covered her head, wishing that she could just faint. She found Er Ya even more displeasing now. This woman didn’t even know to respect herself and had illicit sexual relationships with a man without even a matchmaker to set the match. She couldn’t even compare to the prostitutes in the pleasure quarters.
Madame Duan was a very decisive woman. Even though she inwardly hated Er Ya, she still properly settled Er Ya in and even arranged for two maids to serve her.
Both of the maids had better looks than Er Ya. Er Ya felt very awkward and unused to this situation, so she looked towards Duan Xinghui with pleading in her eyes.
However, Duan Xinghui was very happy with his mother’s arrangement. He saw this as proof that his mother had already accepted Er Ya, so he happy to the point he couldn’t keep the smile from showing on his stern face.
When Madame Duan saw Duan Xinghui’s face light up with joy, the veins on her forehead pulsed but she managed to suppress her anger. The rest of her life was going to depend on Duan Xinghui. A woman, after getting married, obeyed her husband, and after being widowed, obeyed the son. Madame Duan had to maintain a warm and benevolent image in front of her son, there was she could allow a girl from some rural village to cause a rift in their relationship.
Madame Duan basically felt that there was no need to get into an argument and ruin their mother and son relationship just because of a woman like this.
However, in just a short while, an imperial edict came from the palace: Duan Xinghui has been dismissed from his position as the general. Madame Duan was both angered and alarmed by this news. Indignance, fear, and all sorts of emotions mixed together, causing her to faint.
That lowly women was a evil comet! This was the last thought that passed through Madame Duan’s head before she fainted. She had completely forgotten that Er Ya had saved her son’s life.
The son that she had carefully guided for so many years was ruined from a single incident.
Duan Xinghui accepted the imperial edict with a slightly pale face as he pressed his lips together. The eunuch that had delivered the edict was waiting at the side for a tip, yet of the two masters of Duan Residence, one had fainted and one had an ugly look on his face, so it didn’t seem like he was going to be able to get a tip.
The eunuch gave a cold humph. Who did Duan Xinghui think he was? Did he still think of himself as the future prince consort? He was nothing but a common citizen now, so how dare he act cocky? Moreover, he was someone the Emperor disliked. He was nothing but a pretty-faced general who lost the first time he went on a campaign, a complete good-for nothing.
Er Ya was still quaking with fear at the side. She was completely at a loss in regards to everything that had happened and felt as if she had jusst stepped into the world of giants.
She couldn’t even understand what the imperial edict said. All she saw was that Madame Duan fainted and Duan Xinghui’s face paled.
“Did something happen?” asked Er Ya. She felt very out of the loop since she couldn’t understand anything.
Duan Xinghui was a little mentally and physically exhausted right now. Since the Emperor had sent people to find him and bring him back, he thought the Emperor regarded him highly due to his capabilities. Yet now he had been dismissed from his official position.
Could it be due to Princess Jiahui? When he had encountered Princess Jiahui at the city gates, she hadn’t said anything and her expression was very cold and indifferent. She hadn’t expressed anything in regards to his return, yet she had retaliated after the event.
The thought that Princess Jiahui was involved in this matter made it even harder for him to accept. He believed that he had true ability, yet it turned out that His Majesty had only shown appreciation for him due to Princess Jiahui. Now that he no longer had Princess Jiahui, he was being sent straight to hell.
Duan Xinghui pressed his lips together tightly as his facial color alternated between dark and pale. He didn’t hear what Er Ya said at all.
This environment was completely unfamiliar to Er Ya and the only thing she could rely on was Duan Xinghui. However, Duan Xinghui wasn’t paying any attention to her at all, so Er Ya felt even more stressed. In her heart, she was starting to question her choices, and she started feeling uncomfortably irritable.
“Dear…” Er Ya’s voice was trembling a little.
Only then did Duan Xinghui come back to his senses. When he saw the fear and unease on Er Ya’s face, his heart softened and he said, “It’s nothing.”
However, Er Ya didn’t feel relieved and her heart continued to be filled with unease. This place was completely different from the place where she used to live. Here, the only thing she had was Duan Xinghui, so she could only hold on tightly to him.
This was how Er Ya settled down in Duan Residence. Her status wasn’t that of a master, nor that of a servant. It was a very awkward relationship.
#comment: Er Ya calls Duan Xinghui, Duan lang. Lang (郎) is a suffix often used in ancient times for women to call their husband or lover. I could not for the life of me think of any combo that sounded good with Duan (Dear Duan, Dearest Duan, Duan dear, Darling Duan…) so I just threw out Duan and went with dear.