The next day, when Yu Yi went to redeem her half-sisters, there were no complications, and it didn’t cost many taels of silver. She first settled them in an inn and ordered several meat dishes for lunch, having the inn’s waiter bring them up.
The three sisters ate voraciously. Little Yu Ting, not yet six years old, choked from eating too quickly, her small face turning bright red as she patted her chest.
Yu Yi, seeing something was wrong, laid her face-down across her lap, letting her head hang and forcefully patted her back. After several pats, Yu Ting finally “wah-ed” and spat out the food blocking her airway, then burst into tears.
Yu Yi sat Yu Ting on her knee, gently wiping away her tears with a handkerchief and cleaning her mouth, softly saying, “Ting’er, from now on, you’ll have meat to eat every day and someone to take care of you, okay?”
Yu Ting stopped crying and nodded, then asked, “Sister Yi, are we going home? Will Cao Nanny still take care of Ting’er?”
“Not going home… Home was gone.” Yu Yi shook her head gently, “Sister will find another house for you to live in. It won’t be as big as before, and you might have to share a room with your sisters.”
We can’t afford many servants, so your sisters will take care of you for now.”
Yu Ting understood and asked, “Sister Yi, does that mean I won’t have to sweep the courtyard every day, or run around delivering things? And I won’t have to learn to wash lots and lots of clothes?”
Yu Yi smiled and said, “Never again.”
As the sisters were talking, the waiter outside asked, “Miss Yu, there’s a woman looking for you, saying she’s from the Chen Shangshu Mansion.”
Yu Yi quickly put Yu Ting down and went to the door, asking, “Brother Waiter, where is she?”
The waiter waved downstairs, “In the main hall.”
Yu Yi went downstairs and saw an unfamiliar woman. As she was surprised, she noticed Yu Xin and Yu Yue standing behind the woman. Yu Yi hadn’t expected Chen Shangshu to redeem her two sisters so quickly. She approached, pulling them both, surprised and delighted.
