The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

31-40

Chapter 31 : New Year's Gift (2)

This year's gifts from Hebei, in addition for the Duke of the State, they were also given to the Old Madam and Yuchen. The Old Madam received a longevity crutch, which was created using a very rare and precious wood, only available in Chengde, Hebei Province. Its wood was white and flawless, delicate as jade, and had the reputation of false ivory.

Yuchen got a hanging screens of wood carved with flower and bird pictures. The flowers and birds on the hanging screen were like living ones, and the engraving was very delicate.

Yuchen loved this thing very much. Not only was it unique, but more importantly, it was given by her father. Over the years, she would receive gifts at the festivals and birthdays. Every time she got something, she would hang it up, and this time was no exception.

Yuxi had Hongshan, the spy who reports on person's doings, who was very clear about the great events happening in the residence. Soon she knew about Yuchen got a pair of hanging screens.

Hongshan actually didn't want to tell Yuxi that the Third Miss got present from Master, while her Miss got none. If her Miss knew, she definitely would not feel comfortable. Since Yuxi herself asked her, she could not say no.

In her previous life, Yuxi had been saddened by this matter for a long time, but now, she didn't take it seriously, "There is nothing rare in the capital, as long as you have money, you can buy it. It's good of you to say that in front of me."

Hongshan carefully looked at Yuxi's eyes and found that she was not sad. This made her dared to say, "Miss, I don't think this is the Master's idea, but the Third Madam's." She hoped Yuxi would not resent the Third Master. After all, the Third Master was her father, and her Miss would surely depend on her father in the future.

Yuxi smiled and said, "It doesn't matter whose idea it was. Apart from this, is there anything else going on inside the residence these two days? "

Hongshan shook her head and said, "The residence has been quiet these days. Nothing happened."

Hearing this, Yuxi did not respond and turned to look at her qipu. Now, she read the qipu whenever she had time and played chess while reading it. She alone played for two people. This made her forgot to eat and sleep. According to Moju and others, their Miss had already been possessed by the Devil.

Mama Shen looked at Hongshan coming out from the room and asked in a low voice, "Did Miss say anything?"

Hongshan knew that if she said that Miss didn't care at all about the hanging screen, Mama would certainly tell the Old Madam about it. She also didn't know why, she had a feeling that although Miss' face didn't show anything, in her heart she felt that Miss actually knew their every actions. Unconsciously, she did not tell Mama Shen the truth. "Miss is very sad. She said that she wanted to be alone for a while and did not want to be disturbed."

Mama Shen was somewhat doubtful as she asked, "Really?"

Hongshan cursed in her heart, this kind of unpleasant thing made her rushed forward with her plan. If the Old Madam chastised Miss, then the responsibility would be put on her. However, she didn't dared to offend Mama Shen. "Why do I want to lie to Mama?" she asked with a smile.

Mama Shen was skeptical, but when she saw Yuxi's eyes were red and her face was not good, she believed in Hongshan's words. (T/N: Lol. Didn't her eyes were red and her face was not good because of she hadn't been sleeping and eating lately?)

Yuxi looked at Mama Shen's manner and felt a little awkward. She really didn't understand what the Old Madam really thinking. Could it be that she was afraid of her retaliation regarding the doctor's matter? Not to say that she had this ability, even if she had in the future, she still can't retaliate because of filial piety. "Hongshan, have your older brother send a letter to Mama Fang. Invite her to make a trip to the official residence during New Year celebration when convenient." She wanted to talk to Mama Fang about something. She had been very busy before, but her teacher would have a holiday during these two days, so she could relax for a while.

Hongshan crisply responded, "Okay."

The baozi (steamed stuffed bun) made by Mama Fang was very popular, with demand always exceeded supply. Business was good and income received was naturally high. After deducting various expenses, the baozi shop had a net profit of more than thirty taels per month. This number was not bad in Shangyuan Street. Fortunately, the people there knew that the owner of the baozi shop was from Duke of the State official residence. No one dared to make any suggestions, or else there would definitely be trouble.

Since the baozi shop had made profits, with Yuxi had a lot of money in her hand, naturally it made her be a bit relaxed. The servant maids and the old women beside her were the direct beneficiaries of her changed in mood.

Mama Shen opened her mouth but eventually said nothing. She had served Miss for more than half a year, but her Miss was still very defensive. However, Mama Shen was not foolish. She knew what her Miss was on guard against, but this was all the Old Madam's orders which she, as a servant couldn't disobey. Therefore, her Miss' attitude towards her was neither cold nor light, so she could only endure it.

In winter, the day got dark quickly.

Hongshan watched as Mama Shen left the Rose Courtyard. Only then did she entered the room and said to Yuxi who was writing, "Miss, this handmaiden has a few words to say."

Yuxi put down her brush and said, "If you have anything to say, you can say it."

Hongshan respectfully said, "This handmaiden knows that Miss has purpose in mind. But there are some things that Miss still need to worry about." Seeing Yuxi looking at her, she did not beat around the bush and directly said, "Just like today, Miss acted too indifferent when Master only gave gift to Third Miss. If this is being known by the Old Madam, she will surely be unhappy." To act indifferent was like having no expectations for your parents. In the eyes of the Old Madam, her Miss was acting dissatisfied with the Third Master. As his child, she should have been a filial daughter. If a girl bore a reputation of unfilial, she should not think twice about her future marriage, or to even depart from the residence.

Yuxi looked grave and said, "What are you trying to say? There's no harm in saying so." She was worried that Hongshan was digging a hole for her, so she had to be careful.

Hongshan said, "Miss, this handmaiden has to say something beyond handmaiden's limit. Even if Master is being partial, Miss must still be a filial child." Only filial children could make people liked and felt at ease with them.

Yuxi stared at Hongshan, like she was able to stare out a hole. "I want to know why you said these words to me." If it was really digging a hole for her, then it could only be said that Hongshan was too bold. If she was not careful with such a thing, then she would also trip into the hole she dug.

Hongshan looked up and said, "I believe in Miss." As for what, she believed her Miss must know.

Yuxi unexpectedly looked at Hongshan. This was a surrender.

Hongshan was so nervous that her palms were sweating, but she did not regret what she had just said. Some time ago, it was her turn to take a vacation. She told her father about her Miss recent performance. Her father said that even if in the future, Fourth Miss did not have a great good fortune as the Third Miss, it would certainly not be lacking. Her father told her to serve her Miss till she be accepted by Teacher Song and then serve her wholeheartedly.

Hongshan considered it for a long time, and finally made her stand clear before Teacher Song accepted her Miss. Otherwise, when Miss worshipped Teacher Song, everyone would know that Miss' future was not bad. At that time, no matter how sincere she was, she couldn't be reused. Not being reused, and went against the Old Madam's wishes, that was not a good bargain.

Yuxi primly said, "Your father is the second housekeeper. You can find a good way out even if you don't rely on me. Tell me, why did you do this? I want to hear the truth. "

Now that Hongshan had made up her mind to take this road, she would not have any more leeway for herself. "Miss, I originally wanted to wait on Miss for five or six years, then by that time, I would be seventeen or eighteen, the age of me getting marry. If I marry outside, I would have a good life." When she said to marry outside, she meant to marry into a good people's home and become a wife, thus getting rid of the fate of her being a maid servant.

"What happened?" asked Yuxi. For Hong Shan to suddenly change her mind meant something must have happened, and it must not have been small.

Hongshan's eyes were red as she said, "I have an older cousin who also served the Old Madam before. A few years ago, she was released and married a scholar. Last autumn, my cousin's husband passed the Imperial Examination and earned himself a juren (successful candidate in the imperial provincial examination) title. Later on, his family immediately started to turn their back on my elder cousin. They believed that her background as a former maid was damaging their family reputation. A few days ago, they wanted to cease the marriage between the two of them. So, my father had gone to their home to officially separate them. But the family was afraid of the status of the Duke of the State residence to proceed, so, the matter hasn't be settled yet. Only that, my elder cousin is currently living a hard life over this thing." She was very close with her older cousin, so when she saw her changed into a haggard person in just a few months, made her heart and head turned cold in respect of marriage.

Yuxi calmly asked, "Are you afraid of falling into the same situation as your cousin, so you don't want to be married out? Or you want to marry a person from inside the residence? "

Hongshan spoke out her mind directly, "The background of the people in the mansion are the same, so they will certainly not going to dislike my background. They also know the truth about me, so I don't have to worry about being cheated." Her elder cousin's husband used to be honest and loyal, otherwise her elder cousin would not have chosen that person. It could only be said that the man disguised himself so well that her whole family could not see the real him. In the official residence, there was no such concern. After all, they were in the same residence, so it was not a problem to inquire about a person's details.

Her elder cousin's incident dealt a great blow to Hongshan, making her unwilling to be married outside anymore.

Rather than directly gave her respond to Hongshan, Yuxi asked a question instead, "What was the matter with the copybook?" For Hongshan to be able to climb to the second-class maid in the main house showed that she was definitely not a fool. However in the case of the copybook, she was stupid enough to say things without thinking. Yuxi felt strange at that time, but she didn't ask much.

Hongshan knelt on the ground and said with a white face, "Mama Shen asked me to tell her Miss' every move. I didn't want to do it. It happened that Sister Ziyi came to me and talked about the copybook." She did this in order to alienate Yuxi from her and not let her served her close. Then, she would knew less about Yuxi and had nothing to report to Mama Shen.

Yuxi suddenly understood. Indeed as she expected that the incident happened with a reason. "Aren't you afraid that I can't give you good future?"

Hongshan had already thrown caution to the wind and said, "That's my life too." In fact, it could be seen from the case of Mama Fang, that as long as she devoted herself to her Miss, she would definitely not going to ignore her.

It was a good bargain for Yuxi to gain Hongshan's loyalty, so she said: "As long as you can do it, I won't let you fall into the same situation as your cousin."

Hongshan put her heart back to her stomach (Chinese phrase : no worry/stop being worried). Her elder cousin's affair chilled her, which made her afraid to marry outside. If she married into the residence, she had to find a backer. Although her father was a second housekeeper, he was already old. Neither of her brothers was smart enough to take over her father's duties in the future. If she didn't have a strong backing, she would have a difficult future. This was also the real reason why she committed herself to Yuxi. For the future, she decided to gamble. As for winning or losing, it took time to prove.

Chapter 32 : Adopted Daughter

Having subdued Hongshan, Yuxi was in a good mood.

She continued saying a few more words, "Your cousin is a bitter person, but the most crucial thing is that she is timid, so she is easily being trampled by other people's feet." To be the Old Madam's personal maid servant, one had to have two brushes (Chinese idiom : be skilful at certain extent), therefore it excluded the possibility of having a temper or being weak. The only thing left was her fear of abandonment. When you had misgivings in your heart, you would give in again and again.

Hongshan was horrified. She didn't even told her about what kind of person her cousin was. "How did Miss know that my cousin is timid?"

Yuxi chuckled, "Your father is a man with high position in Duke of the State's official residence. Will he be afraid of a juren? Your cousin must have some misgivings if she submits to humiliation. "

Hongshan said with a bitter smile, "What Miss meant was, my cousin was afraid that her children would suffer, so she was ready to compromise. Now, she has agreed to take concubines for her husband."

Yuxi said, "Your cousin's concession will only make her family becoming even worse and her bitter days will not stop despite that."

Hongshan felt a little sluggish as she looked up at Yuxi and said, "Miss, I haven't received less of my cousin's kindness before, so I want to help her."

Yuxi actually felt that Hongshan had a good temper as she knew how to repay back her favor, "Tell your cousin to say these to her husband, the rushing fear of sorrow, the sorrowful fear of the horizontal, the horizontal fear of not killing. There are many juren in the world, not many more than your brother-in-law, and not a few less than him. As long as your cousin dare to throw caution to the wind, then your cousin would not be the one in fear, but your brother-in-law."

Hearing this, Hongshan felt shocked and she immediately kowtow to Yuxi, "Thank you very much for Miss' advice."

Yuxi laughed and said, "Don't be too busy kowtowing to me. If your cousin does not dare to do it, then, what I have said become meaningless. " In fact, as long as Hongshan's cousin stood up for herself, there would be nothing for her to be afraid of.

Thinking of her last life, Yuxi suddenly was in a bad mood. Speaking of which, she had also become a doormat because she was too weak. Unlike now, which servants of the Duke of the State's residence dared to show their face in front of her?

On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, Teacher Song declared that she would have holidays, which lasted until after the Lantern Festival. That meant it would be more than twenty days of vacations for her.

Yuxi didn't slack off despite the long holiday. She still wrote big characters honestly that night and took out the qipu (Chinese chess manual) to ponder.

Seeing this, Mama Shen could not help said, "Miss, didn't Teacher Song said that your painting is good? So, why doesn't Miss painted more?" Diligence made perfect, and if you didn't practice all the time, you would not learn well.

Yuxi answered simply and clearly, "Not interested." No matter how well she painted, she could not become a famous artist. In fact, even if Yuchen's painting was sold for a huge sum of money later, it was because of her identity, not because her painting was really worth that much money.

Yuxi knew how much weight she had. She had good qualifications, but only higher than the average person, though far when compared with Yuchen. However, one's energy was limited. If one wanted to learn everything, one could not learn anything well. So now, except for the time she studied in class, she would spend her spare time on chess and embroidery. Painting was just a passing thing. Learning chess was to better train one's abilities in all aspects. Embroidery was because she had a deep foundation in this stuff. She could do it well even if she was given a little time, saving time and trouble.

Mama Shen did not flinch from Yuxi's remark. Instead, she said, "Miss, you still have to learn painting well. In the future, when you go out to socialize after you married, you will have a skill to attract attention." In fact, she thought that it was best to learn a musical instrument, which was also much pleasant for people to listen to. It was just that, no matter how she persuaded, Yuxi would not willing to learn.

Yuxi didn't want to listen to Mama Shen's nagging any more, as she couldn't understand why it was right to do according to their thought. No, it was actually to follow the path set by the Old Madam. One Yuchen was enough, so why dragged her along? "As you can see, I am very busy everyday and have no time to paint."

Mama Shen glanced at Yuxi and saw no displeasure on her face. She continued saying, "As long as Miss doesn't spend all Miss time on chess, Miss will have time to paint."

Yuxi pulled a face because of her family. "I know what to learn and what not to learn. I don't need you to teach me." She gave Mama Shen some face, then she still opened a dyeing workshop (T/N: I believe this sentence supposed to be an idiom, but I can't find anything about it online or maybe I had searched for it the wrong way. I, personally believe it means the same thing as give someone an inch, they'll take a mile. Probably. - sweating - ).

Hearing Yuxi's harsh words, Mama Shen's face turned choking red.

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Mama Fang entered the residence.

Mama Fang was now wearing a new pine-colored long jacket, a combed bun, pinned with a long red-gold hairpin on her head, and gold earrings on her ears. She looked like a wealthy old lady.

Yuxi saw Mama Fang and said with a smile, "These days, mama has been working hard."

Mama Fang touched the long hairpin on her bun and said with a smile, "It is also because of me towing some of Miss' blessing." People in Duke of the State were all liked to look at people served their dishes (Chinese idiom : acting snobbish). If she came dressed in plain and shabby clothes, they would certainly looked down upon her. Now, she specially dressed with riches and honor to return to the residence. This also could make everyone to be more convinced that her baozi shop did made money.

Yuxi waved the crowd back, leaving only Mama Fang inside the room. She then asked, "Mama, have you brought all the things I asked you to bring?" She made a list for Mama Fang and asked her to purchase the items listed in the list.

Mama Fang pointed to the parcel she had brought and said, "Miss, I have brought everything! Miss, what do you buy these things for?" Miss' list was also bizarre. She demanded things like kushen, centipede, musk, etc. Among them, musk and centipede also needed to be in powder form.

Yuxi did not hide her words towards the mama who would be involved in the process and said, "I accidentally saw a prescription for removing scars in an ancient book and wanted to give it a try. If it is well made, I will sell it. At that time, we will have plenty of money and mama will not have to work so hard. "

Mama Fang felt that Yuxi was joking, "Miss, it costed me more than forty taels of silver to buy these herbs. Can this jade paste be sold back to the Benma (T/N: Probably a name of a medicine shop?) ?"

Yuxi smiled and said, "How would mama know if we haven't try? If we really mix the ointment according to recipe and sell them out, by then, we will make a lot of profit." Selling them into the inner Palace was something unneeded for her to explain. While in the market, a really good scar cream box would sell for several silvers each. By personally creating the ointment, it will certainly fetch a good price.

The things Mama Fang brought were not complete, It was missing a single ingredient, pearl powder. However, the price of pearl powder was too expensive. If it was not cost-effective to buy it outside, then, Yuxi wanted to get it from inside the residence.

Mama Fang felt a little distressed and said, "I was afraid of losing money." The main reason was that she didn't believe that Yuxi could create any scar-removing ointment. She also thought that Yuxi was only wasting money.

Yuxi smiled and said, "If we can make it, it will be one to ten-thousand (Chinese idiom : highly profitable). If we can't make it, we only a loss a few tens taels of silvers. I can still afford to lose that much." She wanted to buy a property with the money she earned from selling the ointments. She was not ambitious either. She wanted to buy one or two storefronts and one or two hundred mu (unit of area equal to one fifteenth of a hectare) of fertile lands, which could ensure that she would not need to worry about money in the future.

Mama Fang knew that Yuxi had a big idea and she could not stop her. She said, "Miss, the business of baozi shop now is getting better and better. With that, it will make more and more money. Last month, it made more than forty taels of profit !"

Image credit to sanda via Wikipedia by Ghostexorcist (Lei tai) .

Yuxi nodded her head and said, "Mama, the recipe for the baozi stuffing must not be known to other people. Otherwise, someone will want to fight on the leitai (Chinese old words : to take up a challenge at someone)."

Mama Fang smiled and said, "Miss is too oversensitive. It's just a matter of stuffing. Where is it worth for people to cast their eyes on?"

Yuxi looked at Mama Fang with a not to accept as correct (Chinese idiom : to disapprove) face and could not help but gave out a wry smile. It was also fortunate that the Duke of the State's business reputation also took care of outside matters. Otherwise, if the baozi shop was managed according to Mama Fang's idea, it would have been closed down long ago. "Mama Fang, the recipe of the boazi stuffing must not being told to others, unless it is given with a life contract in your hand." Having a life contract meant having the power to fight back and not worried about being betrayed.

Mama Fang listened to Yuxi's words and said with some embarrassment, "Miss, I want to take a disciple and teach her how to make baozi."

Hearing this, Yuxi immediately asked, "Does mama has a candidate?" If there was no candidate, Mama Fang mother would not have told her directly.

Mama Fang nodded and said, "Well, the child's name is Xiao Wei. She is 12 years old this year and lives in Shangyuan Street, not far from my shop. She is a cute and filial child, very likable and quick at learning. If I were to teach her, I believe it would only take me three months for her to be good in making them. "

Yuxi asked, "How did Mama Fang knew her?"

A smile appeared on Mama Fang's face. "Xiao Wei's mother always come to the shop to buy baozi. Gradually, we knew each other after meeting a lot." Actually, Mama Fang and Xiao Wei's mother talked a lot with each other, creating a good relationship between the two.

When Yuxi heard that Xiao Wei's mother had bought the steamed buns, she did not ask any other questions, but straightforwardly asked the main question, "Did the other party promise to sign the life contract?" There were good people in the world, but there were more bad-minded people.

Mama Fang shook her head and said, "Miss, Xiao Wei has already made a promise. How can I ask her to sign the contract? However, both families have promised that if I accept Xiao Wei, even if she marries in two years, she can still continue working in the baozi shop, as long as she is paid monthly wages. "

Yuxi looked at Mama Fang's smiling face and sighed slightly in her heart. Nine times out of ten, the family had watched the baozi shop started making money and came up with the idea of asking for the stuffing recipe. It wasn't that Yuxi looked down on Mama Fang, but from Moju and Motao who were trained by Mama Fang that she knew about Mama Fang not being a very sharp kind of person. Even if she was being calculated, she would not even know. "You can't teach her." This will directly said that Mama Fang could not teach, not that she could not teach without signing the contract.

The smile on Mama Fang's face froze. "Miss, why can't I teach her? That child is really good, filial and sensible."

Yuxi was keenly aware that there was still something else in that statement by Mama Fang, "Mama, do you still having anything else to tell me?"

Mama Fang's said somewhat unnaturally, "Xiao Wei is a lovely child. I have promised to recognize her as my daughter."

Chapter 33 : New Year

When Yuxi heard Mama Fang said that she had recognized Xiao Wei as her daughter, her face changed slightly, and she no longer reminded her obscurely. Instead, she said directly, "Is this family really reliable? Or did they come for mama's craftsmanship?" Making thirty or forty-two silver a month was nothing to the masters of the residence, but it was a very attractive income for ordinary people.

Mama Fang hurriedly shook her head, "No, they didn't say that I should accept the child as a disciple. It was because I am very fond of the child that I came up with the idea."

Yuxi said bluntly, "Mama, I don't agree." It was not because she won't let Mama Fang recognized the child as her adopted daughter, she just didn't believed Mama Fang's eyes.

Mama Fang still wanted to fight for it, as she said, "Miss, Xiao Wei's family is also very rich. They won't cast an evil eye (phrase : convert) on my craftsmanship." She could hardly have said that Yuxi was being very oversensitive.

Mama Fang would think like that, mainly because she felt that this craft was not a great thing and was not worth calculating.

Yuxi sighed slightly in her heart and said, "Mama, I'll accompany you to adopt one in the Children's Charity Institution after a while. Mama, a child raised from a young age is more reassuring than an apprentice who comes halfway. " After a pause, she added, "In case the adopted child is heartless, I will nurse mama till the end of the family (Chinese idiom : to look after one's aged parents and arrange proper burial after they die)."

Mama Fang was filled with aggrieved and said, "Miss, I just looked at Xiao Wei, and saw that she resembles a lot like my daughter who died young. Since Miss said she was unreliable, then just forget it." She had been married before, but unfortunately her marriage life was not good. The second year she got married, her husband passed away, while her daughter passed away when she was four years old.

Yuxi felt a little guilty. "Mama, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned these things." She could have said them a bit more tactfully.

Mama Fang shook her head, "I know Miss is thinking for my own good. It's just that the shop is very busy now, so I have no time to take care of a child for the time being. Let's wait for two or three years before we go to Children's Charity Institution to adopt a child." Although she made a lot of money by opening a shop now, she would still grow old one day. What would she do when she got old? If she adopted a child, she would be able to rely on the child when she got old, and at that time, she would not be lonely.

"Okay," replied Yuxi.

Mama Fang almost forgot the main business of her visit, "Miss, I want to rent the shop next door to expand the storefront. How about we ask two more people to help?" At the beginning, the baozi (steaned stuffed bun) shop only sold baozi, but now it sold baozi and matou, as well as other wheaten foods. Their taste were very good, and business hours had also changed from early morning only to one whole day. This was also the reason why profits were increasing.

Yuxi shook her head and said, "Mama, if your health break down, no amount of money can make up for it." It was not worth it to let Mama Fang ruined her health for that little money.

After a long period of persuasion, Mama Fang finally gave up the idea of expanding the baozi shop.

The two talked until noon. Yuxi asked Mama Fang to have lunch before leaving, and sent a lot of things to her. Now, Yuxi had Qiu Shi's affection. Although she was not rich in terms of money, but her clothes and foods were all very good.

The old woman bought by Yuxi, old woman An, heard the sound of a carriage and hurried out from inside the shop. When she lifted opened the carriage, she saw the inside was filled with a lot of things, and her face was full of joy.

All the things were moved into the house. Old woman An saw two pieces of blue clothes inside. One was raven blue and one was in the colour of lilac.

Old woman An felt some fondness for the two pieces of material and whispered, "A piece of such good material must have costed several taels of silver!" She hadn't worn such a good material yet.

Old woman An used to be a servant of a merchant's family. The merchant committed an offence and was send to jail. All the servants in the house were sold one by one. It happened that Yuxi asked Xiangyang's help to buy a strong old woman, and he bought her. She had gotten along with Mama Fang for more than half a year, and now their relationship was like that of sisters.

Mama Fang smiled and said, "The two pieces of clothes were given by Miss. You can made two new clothes too." She already had gotten two sets of new clothes, one of which was fur jacket.

Old woman An's heart ached when she listened to this. When did her family ever used this kind of good materials? "If we can find my family, I can enjoy these with them." She had a husband and a child. However, the family of three were sold separately, and she hadn't seen them for half a year already. Every monthly wage she earned was spent on finding them. Unfortunately, there was no news yet.

Mama Fang also sympathized with old woman An's experience. "Don't worry, you will find them one day." The capital was so big that it was not so easy to find a person. If the name was changed, it would be more difficult to find them.

Old woman An nodded and then she asked, "Sister Fang, did Miss agreed with the apprenticeship?" Xiao Wei's mother was very enthusiastic, but she was not so polite to her. The front set of people and the back set of people, she tried several times to tear them apart but finally failed. When she saw Mama Fang wanted to teach Xiao Wei the craft of making baozi, she was really anxious and hurriedly said that it was a matter of great importance for Miss to agree to it first. Fortunately, Mama Fang had a lot of faith on their Miss and finally accepted her suggestion. Old woman An hoped their Miss was smart one and could guess that the Xiao Wei's family had no good-intentioned.

Mama Fang shook her head and said "Miss did not agree. She said that this craft can only be passed to my own child, and can not be passed to outsiders." The children adopted in the future would be considered as her own.

Old woman An asked in surprised, "Your own child? What does that mean?"

Mama Fang paraphrased what Yuxi had said. "I also want to raise a child, that will support me when I get old. But now I'm too busy that I don't have time to take care of a child. So, I'll talk about it again with Miss in two years. "

Old woman An couldn't help exclaimed in admiration, "Miss is so kind to her mama." Generally, some of the old women released still like to keep their faces, that they didn't want to be rewarded with more money. Who would thought so thoroughly for Mama Fang like the Fourth Miss? Even she was touched by this sight. Of course, with such master, one's heart would also be at ease.

Mama Fang liked to listen to others praising Yuxi. She smiled and said, "Yes, Miss is really a kind person."

Old woman An felt in her heart that Fourth Miss was also a formidable person. She had not met her Miss, like how her Miss had also not met with Xiao Wei's family. However, Miss knew that the family had no good-attention and had no hard time dealing with them. "Mama Fang, didn't you promise to accept Xiao Wei as your adopted daughter before? How are you going to reply? "

Mama Fang did not felt at ease with this matter, "I'll just say that Miss will not allow it." Although she had been released from her contract, she still regarded Yuxi as her master.

Old woman An hastily nodded, "Sister Fang, you are right. Since Miss does not allowed it, you can't help it either." With such powerful backer like their Master, there was nothing for them to be afraid of. .

Mama Fang sorted out what she had brought from the Duke of the State's official residence, then divided the cake into several portions and sent them to the next neighbour's house. Although she was not good at scheming, she was kind and got along well with the people around her. As for Xiao Wei's family, she felt a bit guilty and brought gifts to their door in person.

When Xiao Wei's family got the news, they were very angry. However, they did not dare to offend Mama Fang, so this matter was never mentioned again.

In a blinked of an eye, it was New Year. Children wanted to celebrate the New Year the most, while adults did not like it the most, because there were too many things for them to do. Qiu Shi had been busy from the beginning of the twelfth lunar month until the twenty-ninth day without rest.

On New Year's Eve, Old Madam Han and the Madam of Duke of the State's official residence wore their court dresses and went to the Palace on sedan chairs with eight carriers to congratulate the Emperor. Then they went to ancestral hall to worship the ancestors.

Yuxi was a Young Miss of the official residence, so aside from attending family trees, she wasn't required to go in at other times.

The New Year's Eve dinner was held in the main hall. This evening, everyone from the Han Clan came. The Second Master of the residence, Han Jingjun, who had already separated from the main residenceq, also came with his family.

The Second Master, Han Jingjun, was an illegitimate son, and his biological mother was a beloved concubine of the Old Duke Han, who was also the paternal niece of Dowager Madam Han. Han Jingjun's biological mother was relying on Dowager Madam Han and Old Duke to harras the Old Madam, and even wanted to compete with her for the position of Heir, which made the Old Madam hated her to her bone. Unfortunately, Han Jingjun's biological mother died too early, so the Old Duke left a message when he died, saying that he would let Han Jingjun move out from the residence after the seventh day of his passing.

Although the Old Madam did not immediately retaliated against the Han Jingjun's family, his family still returned to their hometown to keep filial piety. When he came back three years later, it was not appropriate for the Old Madam to begin her retaliation. So all these years, except when they came back to worship their ancestors on New Year's Day, the Old Madam refused to let them go through the door of the residence. Naturally, they could not also get any help from the official residence.

After dinner the family sat together and talked. Also at this time, the elders would give red envelopes to the younger generation.

Han Jingjun's wife, Ma Shi, looked at Yuchen and said with a smile, "The older the Third Girl is, the more beautiful she is." After that, she handed Yuchen a thick red envelope.

Yuchen looked at the Old Madam and saw her nodded before she accepted, "Thank you, Second Aunt."

Ma Shi praised Yuchen again, then handed the red envelope to Yuxi.

Yuxi took the red envelope, neither grateful nor disgusted. She took it and said, "Thank you, Second Aunt." The one she got was not as thick as Yuchen's. Even when she was given a red envelope, she was been treated differently, making her unhappy.

That night, Yuxi got a lot of red envelopes.

Yuxi was a girl, so she was not needed to stay up on New Year's Eve. When the banquet was over, she took her maid and old woman back to her courtyard. On this day, the road was full of lights, and the whole Duke Han of the State's official residence was brightly lit, so there was no need for her to carry lanterns back.

Back at Rose Courtyard, Yuxi poured out all the inside of the red packets. The one given by the Old Madam was the most generous. Each of the six small bare golden ruyi worth 1 taels. This one made her earned big profit. Combined with the ones given by others, the red envelopes she received this night had more than one hundred taels of silver.

On the second day of New Year, Yuxi had to visit relatives and friends. However, she had no mother's family, and her relatives were no longer there, so there were no relatives for her to visit. When she heard that Han Jianye wanted to take her to the Qiu Family's Residence, she was very surprised. She asked, "Second Brother, you're going to your maternal grandparents's home to celebrate the New Year. Then, what am I supposed to do there?"

Han Jianye said laughingly, "Is my grandparents's home not your grandparents's home too? Just go, why are there so many words of arguments?"

Yuxi was not willing to go, but she was not good at directly swept her Second Cousin's kindness, so she asked, "Second Brother, does Aunt knew about this?"

Han Jianye said with a chuckle, "I told my mother and she agreed. Just come, even if you come just as a guest, and stop giving so many words of arguments. "

Naturally, Yuxi didn't not believed his words.

Han Jianye didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Does Second Brother has no trust in your heart? If you don't believe me, you can go ask my mother right now."

Yuxi didn't want to go to Qiu Family Residence because she was the Young Miss from the Third House. Wouldn't it looked bad if she went there in such big way? "Second Brother, that is your maternal grandparents's home. It will not be good if I go there."

Han Jianye dislike the sound of sighing and people grinding the most, "I'll pick you up tomorrow." After dropping the words, he left, leaving Yuxi stunned in the same place. She didn't know whether she should laugh or cry.

Hongshan who was nearby tried to persuade, "Miss, Second Master can actually read Miss situation. Isn't this is a good thing?" Second Master would always felt gratitude to Madam Ning's life-saving grace, so he could always follow and looked after her Miss. This was her Miss' good luck.

Yuxi went to the main courtyard in an instant and talked about the matter with Qiu Shi, "Aunt, it is inappropriate for me to follow Second Brother to pay New Year's visit to his grandparents home tomorrow."

Qiu Shi stroke the small hair buns on Yuxi's head and joked, "What's inappropriate? It's just a visit to relatives' houses as you should also stretch your legs sometimes. You can't stay inside the courtyard all the time." In fact, she felt that Yuxi worked too hard and normally did not have time to loose up, which made her could not just standby and watched. It was good for a child to work hard, but Yuxi did it too much. She worried that Yuxi would become a bookworm in the future.

When all the words were said, Yuxi could not refuse any more. Only that, she just felt a little puzzled in her heart. In her past life, there was no this kind of thing. So, how came everything had changed now?

Chapter 34 : Murderous Devil (1)

Yuxi's visit to Qiu Family Residence naturally must be reported to the Old Madam. Otherwise, Yuxi would surely be scolded. Luckily, she didn't have to do it herself.

When the Old Madam got the news, she shook her head helplessly. Normally, Jianming should have taken Yuru and Yujing to visit Qiu Family Residence. After all, both of them also called Qiu Shi as 'mother', despite being born from concubines. Only, Qiu Shi had a stubborn temper. She always treated concubines indifferently, and no matter how the Old Madam persuaded, it was useless. The Old Madam knew there were gains and losses in everything. When she chose Qiu Shi for her eldest son, she also looked at her family background and her financial management skills. However, the Qiu family had only three generations since its rose, so the family background was too shallow for her to thoroughly check. Also, Qiu Shi had no suitable role model of a good noble family housewife to follow from, so, she had many deficiencies when she became one.

As the Old Madam looked at Yuxi's empty neck, she remembered their last trip to the Zhou family. She turned around and ordered Feicui to fetch a pure gold pearl and jade necklace, then she gave it to Yuxi. She said, "Tomorrow, wear this to visit relatives." It wasn't because Yuxi looked too shabby, but on the contrary, she wore too much like she had an outburst of wealth. So, the Old Madam gave the necklace, with a piece of suede in the middle of it, to make Yuxi became much more elegant when she wore it.

Yuxi took the necklace and hung it around her neck. She curtesy to the Old Madam, "Thank you so much Grandmother for the gift." Not to mention the pattern carved next to it, the jade in the middle was worth several hundred taels of silvers. For a moment, she felt that she should be a filial child in front of the Old Madam, so that she could get more than what she had before. However, this idea just flashed by. It was better to learn more things when she had the time, since that would truly belonged to her.

Old Madam Han was not happy to see greedy expression on Yuxi's face. At her age, there was no need for her to avoid speaking about it in her residence. She spoke directly, "Next year, when you go to other people's homes, be alert. Don't lose the face of the residence."

Yuxi's complexion turned dark as she bowed her head.

The next day, not long after breakfast, Han Jianye came to pick up Yuxi. When they arrived at the main door, they found that Master Heir was also there. Yuxi cried hurriedly, "Eldest Brother." Master Heir and Han Jianye were brothers. Unfortunately, one was too calm, while the other was too jumpy. She had a good relationship with Han Jianye in her previous life, but she stayed away from Han Jianming because of his strict attitude.

Today, Yuxi wore deep red clothes, with her hairs combed into two tiny buns and a twine of delicate red corals bead wrapped around her head. She also wore a pure gold pearl and jade necklace around her neck. Added with her round face, she looked rich and lovely in her complete get-up.

Master Heir, at once smiled and said, "Get on the carriage, okay. " His mother treated Yuxi like her own biological daughter, otherwise she would not have agreed with Jianye's idea to take Yuxi to their maternal grandparents' home. However, he was actually happy to see Yuxi's changes these days, compared to before where she only obeyed what people asked her to do and didn't smiled much.

Han Jianye was afraid that Yuxi would be bored in the carriage by herself, so, he accompanied her rode in it. On the way, he told Yuxi about his eldest maternal uncle's family, "My grandfather and my second uncle both are posted outside of the capital, and now, only my eldest uncle's family is staying here. Don't worry, my eldest aunt is a kind person, and my young female cousins are all very good-natured." Old Master Qiu had only two sons and one daughter, both of whom were born from Old Madam Qiu. The feelings between the three brothers and sister of the Qiu family were very deep, so the two families, the Qiu and the Han, were very close.

Yuxi knew that Xiao Shi, the Eldest Madam of the Qiu family, was a kind person. Otherwise, she would not have allowed her younger son to marry her in her previous life. As you know, marrying her would not bring any benefits to her son, and she had no good part on herself that she could be proud of. She deliberately asked, "Is eldest female cousin about my age?"

Han Jianye shook his head and said, "Eldest cousin is already nine years old, but Fourth and Fifth cousins are about the same age as you, so they should be able to play with you."

Yuxi felt that Han Jianye was really out of line and said helplessly, "Second Brother, I remember that only eldest cousin is the legitimate daughter." It was not that she despised concubine-born women, but the communication circle between a legitimate and illegitimate was as rivers Jing and Wei separated clearly (Chinese idiom : to be entirely different). The legitimate and the illegitimate were in two different circles. If she befriended a concubine-born woman, she would be ostracized by other legitimate women when she went out to socialize, which then would be a quite embarrassing moment for her. She still remembered that she had made friends with Qiu Yanfu, a merchant woman, in her last life. As the result, she was despised and rejected by others.

Han Jianye's mind didn't turned, so he didn't understand what Yuxi's meant. He only said, "Although Fourth and Fifth cousins are born from concubines, it doesn't matter as long as they can play with you. My second senior brother is also born from concubine, but I still have a good relationship with him." Han Jianye's second senior brother, Lin Fengyuan was the illegitimate Heir of Duke of Ding.

Yuxi was speechless. Lin Fengyuan was a man. Even if he was born with a low status, as long as he had the ability to fight for his future, he would not have anything to worry about, but for a concubine-born woman, it wasn't the same. However, she would not argue with Han Jianye over this matter, since she knew it would just be a meaningless act.

The Qiu family and Duke Han of the State's official residence belonged to two opposite directions. It took more than an hour for them to get there.

Yuxi had been to the Qiu family several times in her previous life, but this was the first time in her current life. She deliberately pretended to be very interested and said, "Second brother, the layout here is not as exquisite as our house, but it is very elegant."

Han Jianye said with a smile, "My ancestors were all military commanders, so they were not as fastidious with residence as ours." Han Jianye's temperament was more like the Qiu's family than the Han's.

Xiao Shi was quite surprised when she saw Yuxi, but since Yuxi was brought by her two nephews, she must also be entertained properly. Not only did she gave Yuxi a thick red envelope, but also the string of red coral bracelet on her hand as a gift of first meeting.

Yuxi muttered in her heart that her trip was not in vain since she was given the valuable red coral bracelet. She suddenly discovered that she somehow had really become a moneygrubber before she knew it. In this life, she always estimated values of every gifts she received.

Xiao Shi wanted to go and greeted the guests. Since Qiu Jingjing, the Eldest Miss of the Qiu family, had went to pay New Year's visit to another family, she asked Qiu Huanhuan, the Fourth Miss, to talk to the Fifth Miss, Qiu Lele, to accompany Yuxi. Both girls were very beautiful and had a very good attitude towards Yuxi.

Although Yuxi had some misgivings, she decided to treat it like a normal communication between relatives. Naturally, she had to be courteous and considerate. Otherwise, she would be said that she had not been tutored properly, so in the end, the three got along quite well.

When she left, the Fourth Miss also invited Yuxi to come to the Qiu Residence on Lantern Festival to play, "The eighteenth day of the first month is my birthday. Cousin Xi can come then?"

Yuxi diplomatically refused, "Sorry, elder cousin, I'll continue learning from my teacher when the Lantern Festival arrives. By then, I won't have time to come out again."

Fourth Miss felt regretful.

On the way back, Han Jianye rode his horse on the edge of the window and said, "Fourth Cousin was sincerely inviting you to attend her birthday feast. So, you should at least ask a leave from your teacher. "

Yuxi said helplessly, "Teacher lectures awfully fast. If I delay for a day, I will surely not be able to keep up." She didn't knew from where did her Second Brother could know his cousin's good feelings.

Looking at the situation, Han Jianming couldn't help but shook his head. A wise man could see at a glance that Yuxi was not willing to make deep acquaintance with the two Young Misses of the Qiu family, and he didn't know if his younger brother really had eyes. However, this incident had made him felt more satisfied with Yuxi. Although she was young, she acted in a measured way, which was worthy of being taught by Teacher Song.

When the carriage stopped halfway, Yuxi thought that something wrong had happened. She lifted the curtain and saw Han Jianming talking to two teenagers.

The conversation was head by a tall youngster, whose height was half a head taller than her Second Brother. He wore a brocade chang pao (traditional Chinese male robe) in the colour of a clear sky after the rain, and a bright coloured silk waistband was tied around his waist, with Flowing Clouds Baifu Yupei hanged down from the side. On the outside, he draped his clothes with a black coloured fur overcoat. His skin was the colour of the wheat. He was also sturdy and when he talked, his voice was particularly loud. However, when you heard him talk, you would know that he had a straightforward temper.

The other youngster was very delicate and pretty, with a strong scholarly air, fair skin, and wore a robe of crimson rounded embroidery design, azure silk trousers, and a pair of basic official boots. Yuxi looked at the youngster, and always had a feeling that she had seen him somewhere before.

Yuxi pondered about the two youngsters. The tall one should have been the child of a military family, while the delicate and pretty one, should have been the childe of a scholarly family. Strange, how could such two people come together?

Yuxi was so absorbed in her thoughts that she was not aware of a person who had already come forward and stood in front of her.

The tall boy cheerfully handed Yuxi a red envelope. Seeing Yuxi did not accept it, he smiled at Han Jianming nearby and said, "My little cousin does not accept my red envelope. What should I do?"

Yuxi was not surprised with the way the youngster addressed her. The Duke Han of the State's official residence had been established for over two hundreds years. It had relations with many families in the capital. In fact, many of them were relatives tied from kinship or friendship. Just the sight of the two people in front of her should also be some of her relatives, after a few turns of generations.

When Han Jianming saw that Yuxi did not take the gift, he looked puzzled and explained, "Yuxi, this is maternal aunt's son." It meant that he was a relative, so took your red envelope.

Yuxi muttered in her heart that she did not know whose maternal aunt this person belonged to, but this occasion was definitely not the time to ask questions. So, she took the red envelope with both hands and found it was heavy. Her smile got wider by two points, "Thank you cousin."

The tall teenager found Yuxi very interesting. He took the red envelope from the pretty teenager's hand and handed it to Yuxi. He teased her and said, "Cousin, come on, say it again."

Yuxi's head was full of black lines as she immediately turned her head away. She didn't know which family had been so unlucky by having this kind of kid. He even dared to flirt with little girls at such a young age.

The tall teenager burst out laughing and said, "Cousin Jianming, little cousin is so interesting."

Yuxi really wanted to scold this young man for being crazy, but she was a noble lady who did not swear. She just bitterly put down the carriage curtain.

The delicate teenager did not agree, as he could not help exclaiming, "Older cousin, we are in the street." Then, he turned around and apologized to Han Jianming.

Han Jianming laughed and said, "It's nothing, but my sister is really angry." Yuxi was still young, and he knew that the other party was just having fun, so he didn't take it seriously.

Han Jianye, who had a big mouth, said, "Rest assure, my sister won't be so narrow-minded. Yun Qing, look when you have time. Let's learn from each other." He had made great progress in martial arts recently. Even Master Yang praised him and he had this urgent need to show his improved skill.

Yun Qing promised, "You are welcome at anytime."

Seeing that the time was almost up, the delicate and pretty youngster hastily said, "Older cousin, we should go now. If we delay again, grandfather will swear and scold us."

When Yuxi heard the name Yun Qing, all her limbs became stiff. After a while, she finally recovered from her near horror. She held her chest and said to herself, "I hope I got it wrong, or maybe he actually have a different name." She couldn't help but shuddered, as she hoped that he was not the one she thought he was.

Chapter 35 : Murderous Devil (2)

After a moment, till all the sound of horses couldn't be heard, Yuxi finally dared to lift up the carriage curtain and asked Han Jianming, "Eldest Brother, was that person actually Yun Qing, the grandson of Old General Yun?"

Without waiting for Han Jianming's answer, Han Jianye started answering in loud voice, "I didn't expect this guy to be so famous, even Xi-er heard about him."

Yuxi shivered. Yun Qing, the eldest grandson of Old General Yun. Yun Qing, the famous Murderous Devil of the Zhou Dynasty. How could she not have heard of him?

Yun Qing had never lost a battle since he led the army. However, he was criticized for never leaving a living mouth in each battle he had, which meant that there were none of the enemy became his captives. After each battle, he would left behind corpses which pile up liked a mountain (Chinese idiom : a large number of something, in this sentenced it means a large number of corpses). In addition, he even dared to slaughter a city, which had tens of thousands of people. At his command, the world became a hell on earth.

Yuxi remembered clearly that his fiancee was scared to death after the news of the massacre reached the capital. At that time, the news of the incident spread very fiercely in the capital city, even she, who was not well informed in the boudoir, even heard of it.

Suddenly, Yuxi remembered something and asked, "Second Brother, is the other youngster the eldest son of Jiang Wenrui?" If she remembered correctly, Jiang Hongfu's mother should be a lady from the Yun family. From the way the two people addressing each other just now, they should be maternal cousins.

Han Jianye was relatively a thick lines (Chinese term : careless, haphazard, slapdash) of person, but Han Jianming was not. He was particularly surprised when he heard this, "Where did Fourth Sister hear about Cousin Hongfu?"

Yuxi felt a thump in her heart. She didn't realize that the youngster was really Jiang Hongfu. No wonder she always felt he looked familiar. His features had some similarity with Jiang Hongjin. Yuxi pressed down the stormy waves in her heart and said with a smile, "I heard from the old women in the residence talking about Master Jiang's eldest son who is very good at studying and has been acknowledged by a famous teacher as his student. I also heard that his mother passed away too early. I don't know if it's true."

Han Jianming knew that the old women in their residence like to gather to gossip about people of the capital city which he also generally knew. So, he didn't suspect anything amiss in Yuxi's statement, "Well, Cousin Hongfu is very intelligent, he studied well since he was a child, and now he has Elder Shan of Baitan Academy as his teacher." Elder Shan of Baitan Academy was a famous scholar in the world. With his teaching, Jiang Hongfu's future would not have any boundary.

Yuxi had only heard of Jiang Hongfu's intelligent, but she was not really clear about the details. "It's really great for him to be taught by such a famous teacher. Oh, that's right! Eldest Brother, Second Brother, is Cousin Yun Qing impressive too?"

Han Jianye didn't think much and said, "Yun Qing started training martial arts when he was three years old. No one of his peers in the capital is his opponent, whether in martial arts or riding or even shooting."

Han Jianming couldn't help but cut in a sentence, "Cousin Yun Qing is also equally good in studying. Second Brother, if you want to compare yourself with others, you can't compare with him. He's good in both civil and military." Yun Qing and Han Jianye were the same age. When, Han Jianming thought about the both of them, he couldn't help but sigh. If only his younger brother had half of Yun Qing's accomplishments, he would have been gleeful.

Yuxi's mind was a bit puzzled. It was rumored that Yun Qing not only liked to kill people, but also liked to eat human flesh and drunk human blood, which made him an extremely abnormal guy. That was why she was scared when she heard his name. She couldn't think of the reason why a boy who once had a hearty laughter, had a leaped of change in his temperament. There must be some major incidents happening around him. As for what had happened, she was not clear. In her last life, she herself did not understand her own affairs, so, when would she had time to care about other people's affairs. In addition, although Yun Qing was fierce, at least he lived much better life than her.

Back at Rose Courtyard, Yuxi unwrapped the red envelopes she received from Yun Qing and Jiang Hongfu. From inside Jiang Hongfu's red envelope, she got a pair of golden bare ruyi, while Yun Qing gave her a pair of lovely simple little golden pigs.

Yuxi touched the two little golden pigs and muttered, no wonder the red envelope felt heavy in her hands. They probably worth four or five taels of silver each.

On this trip, Yuxi made a lot of profits worth a full pot. Having tasted the sweet end, she followed Han Jianming and his brother to the Marquis of Changping's residences, which also known as the Zhou family residence, on the second day of New Year. This time, Yuru followed along.

Visiting relatives tradition would not end till the sixth day after Lunar New Year.

When Yuxi finally back at her courtyard, she calculated that, in addition to the gifts of first meeting, together with the red envelopes she received, they would be worth more than four hundreds taels of silver, which made her earned a lot of money. No wonder children liked to celebrate the New Year. There would be money for them during New Year's Day.

Hongshan caught sight of Yuxi looking at those small golds and silvers with a big smile that turned her eyes into narrow slits. Hongshan muttered in her heart that her Miss already had the tendency to be crazy about money.

On the fourteenth days of the first month, Han Jianye suddenly asked Yuxi, "Xi-er, do you want to go to the Lantern Festival with me?"

Yuxi's eyes twinkled and said, "Oh, yes!" She had never seen lanterns in her previous life. How could she miss the chance to see them in this life?

Han Jianming shouted, "Nonsense! The night of the Lantern Festival is dangerous. You can not go."

Yuxi paid no attention to Han Jianming's worry as she said, "No fear, Eldest Brother. Second Brother will protect me." To see the lanterns, there would surely be a lot of family members following. So, there was nothing for her to worry about her safety.

When Han Jianye heard her words, his mouth slit open with a smile.

Han Jianming had a headache when he looked at Yuxi's manner. Before, he thought Yuxi had a very calm temperament. However, when it came to playing, she showed her true colours. He tried to threaten, "There are a lot of kidnappers in the evening of the Lantern Festival. Many children have been abducted by these people, so you cannot go." There were not only kidnappers but also stampedes happened during the Lantern Festival. It could be said that the festival was very dangerous. Unless a balcony was reserved, the girls would not be allowed to go out to see the lanterns.

Han Jianye clapped his chest and said, "Don't worry, Elder Brother, I will protect Xi-er."

Han Jianming would really like to tug at his younger brother's ear and to see if he had even listened to his own words. Knowing that persuasion was useless, Han Jianming used his trump card, "It will only happen after grandmother and mother agreed to it." Mother may agreed, but Grandmother certainly won't.

Yuxi tug at Han Jianye's hand, blinked her big eyes and said pitifully, "Second Brother, it's all up to you." It was strange to say that the Old Madam was very strict with the Heir, but somehow she was especially fond of Han Jianye. Even if Han Jianye did not grow up beside her, she still loved Han Jianye very much.

Han Jianye readily promised, "Unable to see lanterns on Lantern Festival? It's not a big matter. Grandmother will surely agree. Leave this matter to Second Brother."

Yuxi thought it would take a while to wear out the Old Madam, but to her surprise, the Old Madam easily agreed. Unfortunately, Qiu Shi refused to let her go.

Qiu Shi drew Yuxi to her and said, "There are too many people in the evening of the fifteenth day. It is too dangerous for you to go." On the fifteenth days, during the Lantern Festival, accidents happened every year. She dared not take risks.

Yuxi really wanted to go. She had not seen lanterns for more than twenty years in her last life. This time, she had difficultly given a chance. So, she was not willing to give it up easily. "Aunt, I haven't seen lanterns for so long, so please let me go!"

Under Yuxi's repeated pleadings, Qiu Shi finally lost the battle. However, she reminded, "When you go out, you can't leave your Eldest Brother's and Second Brothers' sides, okay?"

Yuxi busily nodded her head.

The news of Yuxi going to see the lanterns on Lanterns Festival was heard by Yuru and Yuchen. Both also wanted to see them but was denied by the Old Madam. The reason for her refusal was very simple. It was unsafe for them.

Yuchen was somewhat depressed and asked, "Grandmother, since it is not safe, why did you still let Fourth Sister go?" It couldn't be that her Grandmother was not worried about Fourth Sister's safety.

It was hard for the Old Madam to just said that only Yuchen was disallowed, when Yuru, who was nearby, didn't even refute Yuchen's question. Something could be done, but it couldn't be said. She vaguely said, "It's no problem for your Eldest Brother and Second Brother to protect Fourth Girl alone, but it's certainly not possible to protect the three of you." In fact, with Yuchen's appearance, she would certainly be the first choice for the kidnappers.

Yuchen was somewhat disappointed, but she quickly said, "Grandmother, can we see them next year?"

The Old Madam thought for a moment and said, "Yes, we can book a place in advance next year." There were many restaurants in the vicinity of the Lantern Festival, and one could watch it from the balcony. Although the effect would be less effective, but it was better than nothing.

Yuru, however, felt very uncomfortable and went back to her courtyard. She said to Qingxuan, "Now, not only my Mother is leaning towards my Fourth Sister, but also are my Eldest Brother and Second Brother." On the second day of New Year, they actually took Yuxi to their maternal ancestral home. Yuxi was not from the Main House, so it was not necessary for them to bring her along. Thinking till here, Yuru felt very upset.

Qingxuan sighed in her heart, "Miss, the Fourth Miss can get such love from Madam and the two Young Masters, is also a favour left by her biological mother. Why should you argue with her about this?" It was better to serve Madam with all one's heart, let her remembered Miss' goodness, and helped her found a good family later on.

Yuru nevertheless said, "Qingxuan, don't you think Fourth Sister has changed into another person after she was ill?"

Qingxuan had a bad feeling in her heart, "What does Miss want to say?"

Yuru remembered that people inside the residence said that Bamboo Pavilion was not a clean place, and Yuxi was acting so strange after being cured from her illness. "Was it you who said that Fourth Sister was touched by something unclean?"

Qingxuan was scared till cold sweats appeared and whispered, "Miss, you mustn't say that. If you let Madam and the Heir know it, then, nothing good will come to Miss." When that time came, they would also suffer as her maids.

But Yuru felt that her guess was right, "Qingxuan, think carefully. Isn't Yuxi like a changed person after she gets well from illness? She used to be muddleheaded and foolish, but now, she's good in anything. Besides, she said that she had a talent for embroidery, but no one with a talent could learn needlework in less than a month..."

Qingxuan immediately thought of Yuru's words and said, "Miss, Fourth Miss is only a little smarter than before, and nothing else is unusual with her."

Yuru looked at the Qingxuan, who suddenly had a pale face, "What's wrong?"

Qingxuan was about to cry, "Miss, we only guessed that the Fourth Miss was stained with dirty things and we don't have any proof. This, will only provoke Madam's wrath. Miss, you are now old enough to be married. What will you do if Madam hates you? "

Yuru gritted her teeth and said, "But I can't let this evil witch turns the household into a mess."

Qingxuan knew her Master's temper. If she refuted her blindly, it would definitely backfire. "Miss, we need proof." In fact, she really didn't think there was anything wrong with Yuxi. Except that, she had became wiser after getting well. However, compared with the Third Miss, she was still far away. So, where could she be considered as an evil witch?

Yuru had no reply.

Chapter 36 : Murderous Devil (3)

On the day of the Lantern Festival, Yuxi searched for Han Jianye just after lunch and when she found him, she urged him to leave early.

Han Jianye couldn't help laughing at Yuxi's eagerness, "You're too anxious. It's only noon and there are still several hours to go before evening arrives. It's not even too late for us to go after dinner."

Yuxi tugged at Han Jianye's sleeve and said, "Second Brother, I am too idle at home. I want to go to Shangyuan Street to take a look at Mama Fang first and then, give her something in our passing."

Han Jianye looked at Yuxi who waited anxiously. Her looked seemed to say that if he didn't promised, she would wail for him to see. How could he not promise her? "It's only over an hour from Shangyuan Street to the lanterns city wall by the river. It's still too early for us to go now."

Yuxi naturally calculated the time, "After I visited Mama Fang, I want to go to the bookstore to buy two books."

Han Jianye did not get what Yuxi trying to do, so he said, "Just tell me what books you want to buy and I will buy them for you."

Yuxi shook her head and said, "Second Brother, I heard that you have to go up the mountain tomorrow. It is estimated that the next time you will be back will be during Dragon Boat Festival. Second Brother, I don't even have anything to do today. If we go out early, we won't also be delayed. Second Brother, please agree with my request!"

For a girl to act coquettishly, added up with her tears, were things that Han Jianye could not distract himself from. He would immediately lost the battle of will once he saw them, "Well... Let me tell Eldest Brother first."

Han Jianming was actually planning to go buy some books at the bookstore too, so, he had no problem with Yuxi's request, "Okay. Let Jianye send you to Shangyuan Street first. I will wait for you at the bookstore." As it happened, he knew a bookstore that won't close even during Lantern Festival.

Mama Fang got a fright when she saw Yuxi and Han Jianye at the shop. Once she calmed down, she gave them gifts and then invited them into the house.

Yuxi looked at the store and it was completely different from her first time coming here. A shed was built in front, and there were six small tables and chairs were put on the pavement. These tables and chairs were clean and free of dust.

When they were inside the house, Yuxi said to Han Jianye with a smile, "Second Brother, I'll go to the backyard and have a look." Hongshan and Moju, her two maids, followed behind her with two parcels in their arms.

The small backyard also had a big change, with sheds built on both side. Inside the left shed, there were piles of firewoods, while on the right shed was the base of a stove. A dozen steamers could be put on it.

Yuxi did not go into the kitchen, but into Mama Fang's bedroom. Looking at the simple arrangement in the room, her eyes went astringent, "Mama, it must have been hard for you." Dozens of silver a month were not that lucrative.

Mama Fang smile and said, "No, it wasn't hard. At least, I have something to do every day. This makes me feel energetic all over again!" Here, she had to get up early every day to chop up some stuffing and made some baozi (filled steam bun). Being busy outside and inside was definitely harder than just staying inside. It was just that, she was free to do things here without worrying that her Miss would be implicated if she did something wrong, and the thought that she was making money for her Miss made she felt that doing these things was very meaningful.

Yuxi pondered that after selling the ointment prescription and buying some properties, she would not allow Mama Fang to do such hard work again.

Mama Fang called in old woman An and said, "Miss, this is old woman An. She did all the heavy work of chopping firewood and carrying water into the shop. She also sells steamed buns every morning." Mama Fang only responsibilities were making baozi and other things, like selling baozi outside and to greet guests. These things were all arranged by old woman An. Old woman An was big and tall, so it was no problem for her to throw down two men. Of course, this was also the reason why Xiangyang took a fancy of her at first.

Yuxi rewarded old woman An with a red envelope and raised her monthly salary from six hundred coins to one tael of silver.

Old woman An knelt on the ground and said gratefully, "Thank you Miss for your grace." With this much money, she could inquire about her family much better

Yuxi didn't stay long in the baozi shop and left before two quarters of an hour.

A servant named Huang, who happened to be on the street, saw a carriage parked in front of the baozi shop. Red lacquered carriage could only be used by noble families, so, he busily asked the boss around him, "What's the influence of this bun shop till some noble people would come to pay a visit?"

The boss smiled and said, "The lady boss of the baozi shop has a great background. I heard that she used to work in a Duke's official residence. Because of that background, no one dares to stir up trouble with her in this street. "

Just as they were talking, the guy with the surname Huang, who was actually worked as a yamen runner, saw a male teenager dressed in fine brocade clothes come out from inside the baozi shop, followed by a small girl with doll-liked appearance like the child painted in a New Year picture.

Yuxi followed Han Jianye to a bookstore on Shangyuan Street. As soon as they reached the bookstore, she saw Yun Qing and Jiang Hongfu coming out from it.

Yun Qing saw the fair and tender Yuxi at a glance and wished to pinch her cheeks. Not only did he just thought of it, he actually did it.

Yuxi just caught sight of Yun Qing pinching her face, making her suddenly muddleheaded. For her, this act made by the Murderous Devil of her former life was even more frightening!

Han Jianye quickly responded. He came over and slapped the back of Yun Qing's hand. Then he took Yuxi to his left, looked at Yun Qing on his right side and said, "You were very clever at home. How can you be silly when you go out?" Even he would be considered muddeheaded if he just stayed motionless while looking at her sister being pinched by a male.

Yuxi then finally reacted. She shivered and hurriedly hugged Han Jianye. How could she not be afraid? It was said that there were tens of thousands of people who had died in Yun Qing's hands and that pair of blood-stained hands had just pinched her face. At that thought, she could not stop shivering.

Seeing this scene, Yun Qing touched his face and asked Jiang Hongfu, "Cousin, am I so scary?"

Jiang Hongfu helplessly answered, "Aren't you scary when you suddenly acting like this?"

Yun Qing felt that Yuxi's courage was too small. He just pinched her face and already scared her this bad. She was really such a wimpy kid. However, he did frightened her, so, he really needed to apologize. He untied Flowing Clouds Baifu Yupei from his waist and handed it to Han Jianye. He said, "This is my fault. It won't happen again next time. This is my compensation to my cousin." He just thought that Yuxi was very cute, so, he wanted to pinch her cheeks. Unexpectedly, his act frightened her.

Han Jianye did not take the yupei and said discontentedly, "Don't make such jokes next time." Yun Qing's action was too careless. He should have known that a girl's face was not something he could easily pinch. Luckily, Yuxi was still a kid, otherwise, her reputation would have been destroyed by his act.

Jiang Hongfu looked at Han Jianye and immediately explained, "Don't get him wrong, Cousin Ye. My cousin has always regretted that my aunt didn't give her a sister! Therefore, seeing Cousin Xi, who is fair and plump, is a little beyond his normal limit. "

Jiang Hongfu's words made Yuxi suddenly felt embarrassed. Unexpectedly, the Murderous Devil was fond of fair and plump girls very much, which made her became disillusionment for a moment.

Han Jianye said, "I hope there will be no next time."

"Not anymore," said Yun Qing replied wryly.

After apologizing, the two cousins left. Once they left, Han Jianye patted Yuxi's head and jokingly scolded her, "Why was you so useless? He just pinched your face and you already scared like this."

Yuxi muttered, "He was terrible!" At least, she didn't faint from fright, which was already very good, okay?

The two were talking when Han Jianming came out from inside the store.

Han Jianming learned of the incident and said with a smile, "Through the generations, the Yun always have sons in their family, never once give birth to a daughter, so all of them have been wishing for a daughter." He was aware of this problem in Yun Qing's family. However, he knew that Yun Qing was a measured person, so he was not that angry with the incident.

Yuxi asked curiously, "Wasn't Jiang Hongfu's biological mother a daughter of the Yun family?" This was inconsistent with what Han Jianming had said!

Han Jianming smiled and shook his head. "Jiang Hongfu's biological mother was not General Yun's biological daughter, but his adopted daughter. However, he treated her like his biological daughter."

Yuxi didn't expect it was such a thing.

Han Jianye however, was not very interested in these kind of things and said, "Fourth Sister, aren't you going to buy books? There are many kinds of books here, so, you can choose them yourself. "

Yuxi listened to his words and start searching for the books she wanted to buy. After searching for a long time, she could not find the medical book she wanted. How come there were no medical books being sold in such a large bookstore?

Seeing Yuxi's disappointed face, Han Jianming smiled and asked, "What books do you want?" At first glance, he could see that she had not selected any book.

Yuxi shook her head and said, "Nothing." There were some things she could tell Second Brother , but not her Eldest Brother. Although Second Brother was usually careless, he was very loyal and would never tell others once he promised not to.

Han Jianming saw that Yuxi did not say or demand anything, so, he just smiled and said, "Other book stores in the capital are closed at this time. This book store is the only one that does not close all year round. If you don't find the books you like here, I'll bring you to Songyun Pavilion the next time you have a holiday. There, you should be able to find the books you want." Songyun Pavilion was the largest book store in the capital. The books it sold were all inclusive and it had everything. Only now, since it was Lantern Festival day, the store had been closed for business.

Yuxi smiled so big till her teeth were shown, "Okay."

After the three had dinner, it was already dark. Outside the restaurant, Yuxi saw lanterns of various colours hanging on the street. It was such a very beautiful scenery.

Han Jianming had attended the festival several times, so, he was quite familiar with it. He took them to the place where lanterns were sold. The Lantern Festival had a special feature. As long as you guessed correctly the riddle on the lantern, you could take it away without paying.

They found a stall selling lanterns. Chances in answering the riddles also had its limits. Everyone could only guess twice. If one answered wrongly on both chances, then one would have no more chances. Han Jianming answered two riddles and only got one right. As for Han Jianye, when he saw one of them did so well, he became a spectator.

Yuxi wanted to give it a try. She looked at the tall lanterns carefully and swept passed the most beautiful ones, because their riddles were the hardest to be answered. She looked at the other latterns for a little while, then pointed at a lantern with little rabbits painted on it, and said, "The answer to that riddle is mystery within mystery."

The owner of the stall looked at Yuxi with great interest, "This little girl is so clever." After that, he took down the lantern and handed it to Yuxi.

This little rabbits lantern was actually not very fine in workmanship, but Yuxi still liked it. After all, she only got it with what she had learned.

Chapter 37 : Murderous Devil (4)

At the Lantern festival, there were not only beautiful lanterns, but also various kinds of snacks. Yuxi looked at a booth with a large number of people and asked, "Eldest Brother, Second Brother, what are they eating?"

"Glutinous rice dumpling in sweet rice wine?" Yuxi hadn't heard of it, but this didn't prevent her from trying it. "Big Brother, Second Brother, let's try it too!"

As a result, this attempt was irremediable. Yuxi wanted to try every snacks her eyes caught sight of which made her tasted many snacks, such as several thread eyebrow flaky pastry (三丝眉毛酥 sān sī méimáo sū), three fillings lotus flaky pastry (三鲜莲花酥 sān xiān liánhuā sū), crab meat filled steam bun (蟹黄包 xièhuáng bāo), rolling donkey (驴打滚 lǘ dǎgǔn), pea flour cake (豌豆黄 wāndòu huáng), etc.

Yuxi muttered to herself, "I really lived in vain in my last life." She felt sad whenever she thought of her past. She didn't have much happy days back then.

When Han Jianming saw that Yuxi was having such a good time eating snacks, he smiled and said, "Don't eat any more. You'll have indigestion if you eat too much. If you like to eat them, I'll let people buy it for you later. Now, let's go see the lantern boats." The lantern boats event was the liveliest moment in the festival .

Yuxi was going to walk there by her own, but Han Jianye grabbed her and held her up in his arms. "There will be many people around later on, so I will hold you for your safety," he said. Han Jianye was a martial artist, and his hands were very strong. Besides, she was not heavy. So, holding her was not a big problem for him.

Hearing this, Yuxi smiled sweetly at him.

Not to mention Han Jianye, even Han Jianming's mood grew better after seeing Yuxi's sweet smile. He then said, "If you like it, I'll take you out again next year."

Yuxi was so delighted, "Okay! Thank you, Eldest Brother." In her previous life, she stayed at home every single day and didn't know anything of the outside world. It would have been better if she still went out and had a look at the world outside.

Han Jianye had beforehand asked his attendant to hold a favourable position for them to best view of the boats. Once there, Yuxi looked at the lantern boats floating on a river by the city wall. They were built in different shapes which included the shaped of Immortal Old Man of Longevity holding an Immortality Peach, water lilies with handwritten jin yu man tang (Chinese phrase : may gold and jade fill your house (hall)) phrase, and animals in each colour and each form (Chinese idiom : variety / diverse / in all kind) were also constructed.

Yuxi looked at a distant lantern boat which was built like fairy palace, and sound of music could also been heard from it. That boat was different from others as there was a real person dancing on it, not just a design. She muttered, "Why is there female dancer dancing on that boat?"

Han Jianming said with a smile, "Well, it happens that this kind of thing is getting popular."

They were excitedly watching the lantern boats when they suddenly heard someone screaming from the opposite river bank, followed by the sound of loud weeping and the continuous cries for help. Those who were watching the lantern boats also started to rush in every direction. People could be seen surging around in chaos.

Then, came the sound of people felt into the river. Splash! Splash!

Since both of the riverbanks were too far apart, everyone on one side couldn't actually see what happened in the opposite riverbank. However, Yuxi actually caught sight of so many people felt into the water that she could not help but shivered. Even if she was in good health, she would still suffer a serious illness once she felt in the river, especially in this cold winter.

The people on this side of riverbank also began to panic when they heard the cry for help. Han Jianye hastily said, "Eldest brother, let's hurry back!"

Han Jianming shook his head and said, "No, it's a mess now. The road must have somehow being blocked. It is better to find a safe place rather than leave right away." This way was much safer for them.

Yuxi felt that her Eldest Brother thought much more thoroughly compared to her Second Brother who was somewhat inferior.

A group of people had chosen a rouge shop nearby to stay safe. At this time, there were already many people in the rouge shop, which showed that there were many people who shared the same ideas as them.

Han Jianming didn't care either way. He found a corner where there was no one standing and said to one of his attendants, "Go and find out what happened just now across the river."

While Yuxi hastily said to Han Jianye, "Second Brother, please let me down!" Just now, when an accident happened on the opposite riverbank, Han Jianye immediately picked her up, which made her felt very irritated.

The attendant who went to inquire about the news soon returned. They finally knew why there was chaos across the river. It turned out that the Tenth Prince had secretly came out of the palace to see lantern boats, and finally met an assassin.

Yuxi was stunned. Tenth Prince was Yuchen's future husband and future emperor. It was unexpected that he would come to see the lanterns and meet the assassins on that day.

Han Jianming's face was a bit ugly, "Is the Tenth Prince all right?"

The attendant nodded and said, "Tenth Prince is alright. I heard he was just frightened." The Tenth Prince may had escaped the disaster, but the common people around him couldn't even save their lives.

Meanwhile, Han Jianye was concerned about other thing, "Has the assassin been caught?"

The attendant shook his head as he answered, "I don't know."

Han Jianming whispered, "I'm afraid there will be another storm." The Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince were all born by Imperial Consort Song. She were also deeply favoured by the Emperor, so the Song family now hold great power in the court. The assassination attempt on the Tenth Prince was bound to set off another huge storm once this news reached the palace.

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Yuxi hastily said, "Fortunately, we are not across the river today, otherwise we will certainly suffer too." She said this intentionally to change the subject, not that she wasn't aware of this specific incident, merely that she found this situation was odd.

Han Jianye nodded and said, "That's true. If someone falls into the water, that person will definitely be in serious illness. "

Han Jianming was not worried about his own family. His father was currently not in the court, and his second maternal uncle, who had an official position, was also assigned outside of the capital. They would not be dragged into any big conflict happened inside the court.

Less than half an hour later, the people outside had all started to disperse. Han Jianming took Yuxi out of the rouge shop to find his own carriage.

"Cousin Jianming, wait a minute." As they walked along the road, they suddenly heard someone calling.

Yuxi's ears were very sharp. Just by hearing this voice, she immediately knew it belonged to Yun Qing and she turned muddleheaded. She did not know why she kept on meeting him, even when the capital was this huge, like they were fated to meet.

As they approached, they discovered that Yun Qing was holding a girl. The girl looked as if she were asleep.

Han Jianye was somewhat surprised and asked, "Whose girl are you holding in your arm?"

Yun Qing shook his head, "I don't know. I caught sight of one crafty-looking (Chinese idiom : shifty-eye - having the appearance of being dishonest, esp as signified by a lack of eye contact) guy carrying this girl in his arms. At that time, it was chaotic and since I couldn't do anything, I started to follow that man. When questioned, the man was indeed a kidnapper and he tried to take advantage of the chaos to kidnap this little girl. "

Yuxi felt that her eyes must have been blind. The Murderous Devil from the rumour unexpectedly just saved a life. This situation had actually changed her view of him from his terrifying reputation.

When Han Jianming saw that they were having a conversation, he noticed that the little girl still had not woken up, so he immediately asked, "Has this little girl being drugged?'

Yun Qing stopped Han Jianming further questioning to ask for his help, "I don't know. She was already unconscious when I saw her. Cousin Ming, do you think I can put her in your carriage? " Yun Qing rode a horse when he left his house. It was no problem for him to ride by himself, but it was inconvenient to bring an unconscious girl along.

Han Jianming nodded and said, "Okay."

Yuxi carefully looked at the little girl in Yun Qing's arms. The little girl looked about six or seven years old. She was wearing a pink rose-scented golden brocade dress. The jewellery she wore was also exquisite. Yuxi knew at a glance that she was a child from a wealthy family. No wonder Yun Qing could quickly conclude that the man holding the little girl was a human trader.

Yuxi's mind started to turn as she said, "Eldest Brother, it is inconvenient for Cousin Yun Qing to bring along a little girl with him. Why don't we take her back to our residence and ask a doctor to take a look at her?"

Han Jianye didn't know that Yuxi could be this warm-hearted, though he also thought that her idea was actually good. He immediately asked for Yun Qing's opinion.

Yun Qing didn't have that much thought on the matter. He just assumed that Yuxi just suddenly being overflowed with compassion. He nodded and said, "This is just right. I'm separated from my cousin. I have to find him." Jiang Hongfu had a family to protect him, so Yun Qing was not worried about his safety. What he was afraid of was his cousin being worried about him.

Having settled the matter, Han Jianming left two attendants to see if anyone would come back to look for the child. If there was, they should immediately be taken directly to the Duke of the State's official residence.

Qiu Shi heard the news that there was an accident happened at the lantern festival and many people had died. At that time, she almost passed out of fear, however she managed to sent out a group of people to inquire more about the news.

Mama Li lifted up the curtain and looked at Qiu Shi, who was being over worrying. She felt that this was not good, so she said, "Madam, I just got the exact news. Both the Heir and Second Young Master are alright. Madam no need to worry too much about it anymore."

Qiu Shi still couldn't believe it that she had to ask, "Really?"

Mama Li nodded and said, "It's absolutely true. I have been told that Master Heir and the others will be home soon."

When Han Jianming finally arrived at Duke of the State's official residence, he asked a strong old woman to hold the unconscious little girl. Before, he couldn't do anything when Yun Qing was holding the little girl. However, now that they were in public place, for the little girl's reputation, it wasn't good for him to let any other male to carry her.

Han Jianming ordered his attendants and said, "Send for a doctor immediately." The girl hadn't woken up yet, which was also a troubling matter.

When Qiu Shi saw Han Jianming coming back with a little girl, she was shocked that she asked, "What's wrong with this girl?" It was impossible to fall asleep in this situation. The only explanation was, something had happened to the little girl.

Han Jianming said, "It was a mess just now. A child kidnapper took the opportunity to kidnap this girl. Fortunately, he met Eldest Brother Yun and it was him who had saved her. Mother, don't worry, I have already sent for a doctor."

Qiu Shi cried a prayer 'Merciful Buddha', then hurriedly asked the old woman to put the little girl on the bed.

The doctor soon came. After doing some diagnosis, he asked them the cause. When he heard their answers, he said, "This girl has been drugged." Once he done saying that, he took out a small blue porcelain bottle from his medicine cabinet. He opened the lid and put it under the little girl's nose.

Yuxi smelled a pungent smell.

Although she didn't know what was inside the little porcelain bottle, she knew it had a remarkable effect as she saw the little girl quickly opened her eyes.

The little girl was shocked to find so many people around her. She thought that she was captured by the kidnapper, so she cried in horror, "Who are you?"

"Sister, this is Duke Han of the State's official residence," Yuxi quickly answered.

When the little girl heard that it was Duke of the State's official residence, she asked incredulously, "Is this really the Duke Han of the State's residence?" Not that she didn't believe it, but what she saw before she became unconscious was clearly a scoundrel.

Yuxi said with a smile, "Sister, rest assured. The kidnapper has been caught. Sister, where is your home? "

The little girl looked at Yuxi's clothes and the furnishings in the room. She breathed a sigh of relief, "Did you save me?"

Yuxi did not dare to take credit for it, "No, it was Cousin Yun Qing who had saved sister. We met him on the way and then we brought sister here."

Qiu Shi felt that Yuxi had talked for a long time without getting to the point, "Little girl, can you tell this aunt who are your parents? I'll send a letter to them, or they'll be very worried." She was also a mother. If she knew her child had been lost, she wouldn't know how worried she would be!

The little girl hurriedly said, "My name is Duan Xinrong. My grandfather is the Right Imperial Censor of the Capital Censorate."

The Right Imperial Censor of the Capital Censorate was a second rank senior official. It wasn't difficult for Qiu Shi to understand the situation. So, she immediately ordered people to send letters to the Duan's family home

Chapter 38 : Duan Xinrong

Yuxi was quite delighted in her heart. She didn't expect Duan Xinrong to be a girl from a Noble House. Although Duan Xinrong was not rescued by her, but with this relationship in place, she would be able to have a good relationship with her in the future.

Yuxi thought for a while before she asked, "Sister Xinrong, how did you fall into the hands of the kidnapper?" In fact, she had nothing to talk about, and the kidnapping attempt process she had heard it all from Yun Qing, himself.

Duan Xinrong currently still had a lingering fear of the incident but still managed to explained, "My brother and I were watching the lantern boats, when suddenly a few people in black appeared and started killing many people. Everyone fled for their lives. In the chaos, my brother and I were somewhat separated. I didn't know from where, a man suddenly appeared. He picked me up and walked away from the scene. I struggled desperately. However, the man covered my mouth with a handkerchief and I fainted. I didn't know what happened afterwards."

Well, Duan Xinrong had met a professional kidnapper. Yuxi thought that Duan Xinrong was very lucky. If it weren't for Yun Qing's rescue, she was afraid that they would not know where Duan Xinrong would be sold by the kidnapper. Even if she could be saved in the future, her reputation was already ruined for a lifetime.

The Duan family soon arrived at the Han residence. Madam Duan wept when she saw Duan Xinrong. She almost died of fright when she learned that her daughter was missing.

Yuxi looked enviously at both the mother and daughter who wept bitterly in each other arms. Therefore, a child with a mother was treated like a treasure, while a child without a mother was treated just like a grass!

Madam Duan was too excited, that she lost control for a while. However, she was quick to realize that she was in someone else's house. At that moment, she embarrassingly said, "I've just made myself become a joke in front of Madam."

Qiu Shi kindly ordered people to fetch water for Madam Duan to clean her face. She then said with a smile, "What a joke? We all are mothers. Just now, when I knew that there was a disturbance at the lantern festival, I was scared out of my wits. Fortunately, the Bodhisattva has blessed us and that we are all safe." She knew Madam Duan, but they never mingled in the same circle, so they were not familiar with each other.

After properly making herself presentable, Madam Duan said, "Our family Xinrong, is really thankful to your family." If her daughter had met some unexpected misfortune, she would not know how to continue living.

Qiu Shi naturally did not dare to take the credit, "It was the eldest grandson of the Yun family who saved her. Some of my children just lend their hands to him."

Madam Duan was very grateful to all of them, even if some of them just lend their hands in helping her daughter out.

Duan Xinrong was frightened to death today. What she wanted the most right now was to return home, "Mother, I want to go home." In other people's homes, her heart would not be able to be free from anxiety.

Madam Duan looked at the frightened face of her daughter and felt very sorry for her. She hastily replied, "Okay, okay, we're going home." At that moment, she immediately took her leave from Qiu Shi and went back home.

It was already very late at the moment, so Qiu Shi did not retain Madam Duan from leaving. After seeing off Madam Duan and Duan Xinrong, she said to Yuxi, "The lantern festival is too dangerous for you to go again."

Yuxi felt that if she was given the same chance again, she would still go. However, she knew the current affairs very well. At this time, she didn't dare to refute, otherwise she would definitely be scolded.

The next day, Yuxi went to the main house to greet the Old Madam.

On her way there, she met Yuchen. Yuchen smiled and asked, "Fourth Sister, I heard from the maid that you and our Cousin Brothers had saved the young miss of the Right Imperial Censor family. Is this true?" The Right Imperial Censor of Capital Censorate worked as a supervisory officer, supervising officials of the imperial court. Although this position was not the position of a leader, they still had great powers.

Yuxi shook her head and told Yuchen the whole incident, "We were only helping out. We did not save anyone."

The Old Madam was very satisfied with Yuxi's initiative to bring the young miss of Duan family to their residence. Even if they did not directly saved her, but they also helped. Through this relationship, they could move a lot in the future. Although they were the family of Duke of the State, the title had little influence in the court. So, it was very good for the future of her youngest son to be able to get in touch with powerful officials of the ruling dynasty. "In the future, you should go visit the young miss of the Duan family more often."

How could Yuxi not know the Old Madam's calculation? Of course, the real reason why she lend her hand last night was because she looked at Duan Xinrong's extraordinary background and wanted more assistance for her future. The Old Madam's proposal fell right onto her lap.

The Old Madam seldom saw Yuxi being so clever and obedient. As she was feeling quite happy, she rewarded Yuxi with a few clothings, jewelleries, some supplements and a set of four treasures of the study. The things that she took out of her hand were very valuable.

Yuxi didn't feel anything as she received the gifts. Compared with the news obtained from Yuchen, all these were not enough for her to consider as valuables. Though, having some was much better than having none.

Out of the Old Madam's courtyard, Yuxi went straight to the main courtyard. As soon as she arrived there, she heard that Duan family had sent a gratitude gifts.

When Yuxi entered the room, Duan family stewardess, with an apologetic face, said to Qiu Shi, "My Madam should have comes and thanked Madam personally, but my Young Miss has quite a fright yesterday and started to have a fever in the middle of the night. So, my Madam couldn't walk away. Please don't blame our Madam, Madam Duke."

Qiu Shi said, "It's just a matter of giving a hand. It's very kind of Madam Duan to send such many gifts."

What Yuxi didn't expect was that Duan family had send gratitude gifts to her separately. When she went back to her courtyard and looked at the gifts piled up on the table, she smiled and ordered nearby maids, "Register all these things." Turning around, she ordered Hongshan to ask her Third Brother for information regarding outside situation. Yesterday there were assassins, so today there must be a lot of talk in the streets and alleys.

Hongshan soon told Yuxi the news of her inquiry, "Miss, the Tenth Prince were nearly assassinated by assassins. The Emperor was very angry that he ordered the ministers of Dali Temple (Chinese old term for Supreme Court) to thoroughly investigate the case."

Yuxi then asked, "What else?" This matter was bound to implicate many people.

Hongshan hesitated for a while before saying, "Now, there is rumour outside in the capital saying that the Sixtieth Prince had been assassinated and the one behind the assassination is the Crown Prince. Even General of South Garrison Residence unable to escape from being implicated." General of South Garrison Residence was the residence of the Yan Family, the maternal family of the Empress and also a strong backer of the Crown Prince.

A corner of Yuxi's mouth rose in mockery. The Crown Prince was not a fool. How could he vigorously send assassins to kill the Tenth Prince. The Ninth prince and the Tenth prince were both born by Imperial Consort Song, but the one the Emperor really fond of was the Ninth Prince, not the Tenth Prince. If the Crown Prince really wanted to kill someone, he should have killed the Ninth Prince, the Emperor's heart. How could he have gone to great lengths to kill the Tenth Prince?

Hongshan asked anxiously, "Miss, do you still want to know more about the outside news?" She felt that Yuxi was too keen on things happened outside. She didn't know for what reason a girl from the boudoir needed to know things outside. She was more worried that Yuxi's behaviour would upset the Old Madam.

Yuxi felt that Hongshan was worrying too much and said, "I did nothing else other than just asking about the outside affairs. I'm sure Grandmother wouldn't mind. Afterwards, you don't need to inquire every day. Just go inquire once in three or five days."

Hongshan nodded and said, "Okay."

Yuxi waved Hongshan out, while she stayed sitted in a chair, thinking. From what she remembered, the Ninth Prince had an accident in her last life. Because of that, only Tenth Prince was able to be crowned on the throne. As for what accident befell on the Ninth Prince, she didn't know. She always felt that she had lived in vain in her previous life. She knew nothing and did not understand everything. It was no wonder that she was bullied and killed by the Jiang family.

At the thought of Jiang family, Yuxi was in a bad mood again. She currently studied so hard so that she could get rid of the fate of marrying Jiang family in the future. However, she could not really get rid of the them because she still did not know why Jiang Hongjin married her. If she knew the reason, she could still be on guard, but she still had no idea. This kind of feeling was very bad. It was like a hanging sword on her head, which could fall any time, but she couldn't avoid it, so she would be worried all day long.

Well, Yuxi sighed. What she could do now was to learn more useful things. At that time, she could still live even if she had to live outside.

Chapter 39 : Guest Student (1)

Early morning of the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, Teacher Song returned to the residence. She should have come back yesterday, but something happened in the Song family that delayed her return.

Yuxi heard that Teacher Song had returned to Magnolia Courtyard. She did not expect to meet Teacher Song, who happened to be going to the main house, halfway down the road.

Teacher Song said with an indifferent look, "I have work to do. You go back first. Come back to Magnolia Courtyard later. "

When Yuxi heard this, there was a thump in her heart. However, she did not want to lose her composure in front of Teacher Song, so she replied respectfully, "Okay." What if she decided not to go back? Could she still brazenly followed Teacher Song to the main house? At that time, the Old Madam will definitely get angry with her again.

Once Yuxi arrived at Rose Courtyard, she went into the study. She looked at the pile of books on the desk and gave a wry smile. No matter how hard she tried, she could never compare to Yuchen. This was really hard. However, this result was also as she expected.

Being in grief couldn't solve any problems, and Yuxi didn't like to let this emotion to surround her all the time, so she simply picked up the chess score on her desk and read it.

Moju whispered to Mama Shen, "Mama, what do you think Miss will do if Teacher Song doesn't accept her?"

Mama Shen said, "I only hope that Teacher Song will make an exception for our Miss for the sake of her hard work." As for Fourth Miss' desperate efforts, she was moved by it and she hoped that it would also be able to move Teacher Song too.

At the end of chenshi (time between 7-9 am) hours, a servant girl from Magnolia Courtyard came to deliver a message, "Fourth Miss, Teacher Song asked you to come over."

When Teacher Song saw Yuxi, she did not beat around the bush and directly said, "I have decided to accept Yuchen as my last student." In other words, Yuchen was the last student she would teach, so there was nothing more for Yuxi to hope.

Yuxi tried to speak by opening her mouth but before she could say anything, her tears had already fallen down.

Seeing Yuxi like this, Teacher Song had a hard time to continue saying her following words. In fact, she could see Yuxi's painstaking efforts in the past three months. If there were no Yuchen, she would definitely accept Yuxi as a student. Only that, with Yuchen around, she didn't want to accept any other students. Yuxi had amazing talent. She could learn everything as soon as she was taught. She also worked very hard and had very good character, which could be said to be nearly perfect. Therefore, Teacher Song decided to teach Yuchen everything she could.

Teacher Song hesitated for a moment and said, "Yuxi, if you have any problems in the future, you can come and ask me at Magnolia Courtyard." It meant that she still could give her extra guidance.

Yuxi wiped her tears, and said, "Teacher, can I ask for one thing from you?" Over the past few months, she had also thought of many ways to deal with this situation, but it the end, none could bring the outcome that she wanted.

Teacher Song nodded and said, "Tell me. As long as I can do it, I will promise you."

Yuxi's request was very simple. She only hoped that when Teacher Song taught Yuchen, she would be allowed to listen in. To put it simply, she would be a guest student. She said sincerely, "Teacher, I really like the Analects of Confucius and Mencius you spoke of. If I cannot finish the four books and five classics, it will be a lifelong regret for me." Self-study was totally different from being taught by a teacher. Therefore, she didn't want to study by herself, because she couldn't learn anything by herself.

This was the first time for Teacher Song to encountered this kind of situation, that she was momentarily stunned.

Seeing this, Yuxi knelt down on the ground and cried, "Teacher, please give me a chance! Teacher, you can rest assured, I will just listen in, and I absolutely won't bother my Third Sister." It didn't matter even if she had to swallow her pride as long as she could achieve her goal. At least for now, she could still ask for favour. If she couldn't ask for favour, then she was afraid that she had to go beg, which was the most terrible thing for her to do.

Teacher Song looked at Yuxi kneeling on the ground with a complicated look in her eyes. However, she still refused Yuxi's request, "Fourth Miss, my energy is limited and I can't teach two people." Even if Yuxi was just listening on the sidelines, it still won't work.

Yuxi didn't expect her pleading was unable to make Teacher Song to yield. People said that human heart was squashy. Only Teacher Song's heart was too hard. "Teacher, please give me a chance!"

Teacher Song shook her head and said, "Get up. What I said will not change."

Yuxi walked out of Magnolia Courtyard with red eyes.

Moju said, "Miss, if Teacher Song didn't want to teach you, just forget her. Miss has already learned so many words that it doesn't matter if Miss doesn't learn anymore. If Miss really wants to learn more, Miss can buy books to read!"

Yuxi kept her head down and did not say a thing. When they reached the fork on the road, she suddenly said, "Let's go to the main house." She was absolutely unwilling to resign to fate without giving her last effort.

Yuxi went to look for Yuchen. Now, the only person who can help to intercede was Yuchen. Yuxi, with her eyes red, started to beg Yuchen, "Third Sister, can you to help me talk to teacher?"

Yuchen was not stupid. How could she not know what Yuxi was asking for? "Fourth Sister, it is not that I don't want to help you, but it is still useless even if I help you!" Although Teacher Song promised to accept her, she could not use that advantage to force her to accept Yuxi.

Yuxi shook her head and said, "Third Sister, I don't expect teacher to accept me as her student. I just hope that when she teaches you, she will allow me to listen in. Third sister, you can help me to say something in front of teacher! Third Sister, I really like studying. "

When Yuchen listened to Yuxi's words, she was moved. Moreover, her request was not particularly excessive. She thought about it and finally said, "Okay, I'll go now."

A ray of hope rose in Yuxi's heart and she felt really thankful to Yuchen, "Thank you, Third Sister." Of course, if Teacher Song still refused, then, she would have to give up forever.

Yuchen said softly, "Don't thank me yet. I can't guarantee that Teacher Song will agree to this. "

Yuchen went to the main room first and told the Old Madam about it.

The Old Madam did not support Yuchen intercede for Yuxi, "Since Teacher Song has already refused, why should you try to ask again on her behalf?" Anyway, Yuxi had been studying with Teacher Song for three months, so it was enough for her to at least be a household bookkeeper.

Yuchen had her own thoughts, "Grandmother, Fourth Sister is so eager to learn, and what she requested was not too much. Grandmother, Fourth Sister and I are sisters of the first kin anyway. I still want to help her if I can." If Yuxi had asked her to let Teacher Song accepted her as a student, she would certainly have refused her. But with Yuxi's simple request, she felt that if she was the one who intercede, Teacher Song should be able to accommodate.

The Old Madam still disagreed.

Yuchen said, "Grandmother, Fourth Sister is so eager to learn, so let her do as she wishes. Later on, outsiders will surely praise us sisters for our outstanding performance. This is also a good thing for the residence."

The Old Madam hesitated for a bit.

"Grandmother," said Yuchen with a smile, "This matter still depends on teacher to decide. I will only be talking about this situation with her, and this will not bring harm to my status as her student. Teacher will also not have another opinion of me over such a trifle thing."

The Old Madam was moved by Yuchen's last words, "Since you are determined to go, then go!" Since Teacher Song had decided to accept Yuchen as her last disciple, she should not be dissatisfied with Yuchen over such a small matter.

After Yuchen came out, she asked Yuxi to return to Rose Courtyard and waited for her news.

Yuxi wanted to know the result as soon as possible, no matter whether she succeeded or not, "Third Sister, I will not enter Magnolia Courtyard, I will wait outside. Do you think I can do that?"

Yuchen nodded and said, "Okay, let's go together!"

When Teacher Song heard Yuchen begging on behalf of Yuxi, she asked, "Yuchen, you are gifted, and you will learn what you've been taught. If you let Fourth Miss listens in, it will certainly affect you. I didn't promise her because I was thinking of you." For the first three months, she was actually holding back the pace of teaching because unfortunately, Yuxi had some difficulty in learning. If she sped up the learning process in the future, Yuxi would surely not be able to keep up with it, and then Yuchen would be dragged behind. After comprehensive consideration, she decided to refuse Yuxi's request.

Yuchen did not know that Teacher Song refused Yuxi because of her. She said, "Teacher, Yuxi is not poor in talent. She is not slow in learning and will certainly not drag me down."

Teacher Song looked at Yuchen and asked again, "Do you really don't care that Fourth Miss will delay your study?"

Yuchen shook her head and said, "Teacher, I believe my Fourth Sister will not drag me down."

Teacher Song was silent for a moment, then said, "If you say so, I won't be a hard-hearted person. You let Fourth Miss in!"

When Yuxi got the news, she went into Magnolia Courtyard with feeling of restlessness.

Teacher Song thought that Yuxi's perseverance was really worthy of praise. She was so persistent that she did not give up easily, "Fourth Miss, I can allow you to listen in, but one thing I have to tell you is that Third Miss is a quick learner, and I will definitely teaches on her basis. Are you sure you can keep up with the progress then?" That was to say that Yuxi was a drag, to also let Yuxi knew the difficulties and made her backed down by herself.

How could Yuxi backed down? However, she also knew herself well. She certainly could not match Yuchen's genial talent. "Teacher, if I learn everything, I will definitely not be able to keep up. So, Teacher, I won't learn the four arts. I merely just study together. "

When Teacher Song heard this words, she had a new level of respect for Yuxi. If Yuxi directly said that she could keep up, she would definitely refuse Yuxi's request directly, but now, Yuxi only chose to study certain subjects, which would certainly not delay her. "Why only choose to study certain subjects? Don't you like to play chess?"

Without thinking about it, Yuxi said, "I like playing chess, but I prefer studying. Teacher, I know I can't compete with my Third Sister even if I try hard. In that case, I might as well choose my favourite one." To be exact, she chose the one which she deemed as useful. Chess could be studied in private and could be asked later on if she didn't understand it. However, if there was no analysis on knowledge of the books she read, even if she read it many times, she might not understand it.

Teacher Song looked at Yuxi carefully. After a long time, she finally said, "Even if you just a guest student, you can't just study. You have to learn chess and painting skills, and you have to practice every day." Words were learned by practice, not in just one day.

Yuxi's face was radiant with joy.

When Teacher Song saw Yuxi's face, she did not know why, but she felt a complex emotion which was hard for her to distinguish, "Fourth Miss, since this is what you asked for, you must be prepared. I will not slow down the teaching process because of you."

Yuxi said without hesitation, "Don't worry, teacher, I won't hold my Third Sister back."

Teacher Song grunted, "If you don't understand anything, you can ask me after class."

Yuxi kowtowed three times to Teacher Song and said, "Thank you, teacher." It was expected that she would not be able to learn directly from a teacher, though it was also good to be a guest student now.

Teacher Song nodded and said, "Come to Magnolia Courtyard two quarter until maoshi (5-7 am) hours tomorrow."

Yuxi happily went out of Magnolia Courtyard.

Chapter 40 : Guest Student (2)

After sending off Yuxi, old woman Ding turned around facing Teacher Song and couldn't help but asked her, "Why did Ma'am promised Fourth Miss?" Even if Yuxi just sitting in during class, Teacher Song won't be able to completely ignore Yuxi because of her responsible attitude, and it would also took a lot of energy for her to teach another child.

Teacher Song went to the window, looked at Yuxi's back through it and slowly said, "Even if I don't accept her, she will ask Madam Han to invite another teacher for her. Fourth Miss is not a person who can easily compromise. "

Old woman Ding became more puzzled, "If Fourth Miss wants to invite another teacher, just let her do so." This situation had never happened before.

Teacher Song shook her head and said, "Mama Ding, there are many talented people, but very few of them are flexible, have the will to choose and have perseverance, and Fourth Miss happens to be such people. This kind of person, as long as she is given the opportunity, she will definitely not be inferior to others. "

Hearing this, old woman Ding finally understood, "Ma'am means that even if there is no intercession from Third Miss, Ma'am will still allow Fourth Miss to attend."

Teacher Song shook her head and said, "No." She was a little tempted before, but for Yuchen's sake, she gave up. However, when she saw Yuxi unexpectedly invited Yuchen to intercede, rather than the Old Madam or Madam Han, she changed her mind. It was obvious from this that Fourth Miss was in fact very clever, and she knew who would do the most good. Such a person, no one knew what type of person she would become in the future.

Old woman Ding was a little confused.

Teacher Song did not elaborate either, only said, "You'll see." The five-year-old girl had no one taught her such a plan, and she already agreed, merely to form a good relationship with the residence.

The maids in the Rose Courtyard knew that Yuxi had become a guest student and they wondered what it really meant. At last, Moju plucked up her courage and asked, "Miss, what does guest student mean?"

Yuxi smiled and said, "It means study companion."

Moju's face was not good-looking. The Third Miss and her Miss were the legitimate daughters of the second house. Now her Miss was going to accompany the Third Miss in studying, which was too bad, "Miss, I think we'd better hold on." In the future, she had to go out with low status people.

Yuxi knew what Moju was thinking and she did not say much about it. Learning real skills was the most important thing. Being laughed at would not result in her being less human.

Compared with Moju's worries, Mama Shen was very happy when she knew about this. Even though her Miss was not admitted as an official student, it was still nice for her to have this title.

While, Old Madam Han's attitude was very direct, that she had send some people to deliver so many good things to Yuxi.

Qiu Shi hugged Yuxi and said cheerfully, "Since you have been given this opportunity, you should study hard in the future." Even if it was only as study companion, with this title, Yuxi's scope of husband selections would be wider in the future.

Yuxi was somewhat embarrassed and said, "It's just an study companion, not an official student, so Aunt doesn't have to say it like that. Moreover, if it weren't for the help of the Third Sister, Teacher Song wouldn't have agreed." She didn't feel that she lost her share of studying, but she didn't show it on the surface.

Qiu Shi smiled and said, "Who in this capital does not know that Teacher Song has a very high standard. If you do not meet her standard, even if Yuchen helps you to intercede, Teacher Song will not have agreed. Yuxi, don't belittle yourself. Not to mention your study, just looked at your needlework. I can assure you, your needlework is absolutely incomparable among your peers." With that, she touched Yuxi's head and said, "Yuxi, don't compare yourself with your Third Sister. Yuchen's talent, let alone the capital, is unmatched by many people in the world. "

Qiu Shi felt that Yuchen's talent was very good, but she was afraid that her brother-in-law might be bleeding in his heart. Her eldest daughter was so excellent, but none of his sons were this intelligent.

Yuxi said with a smile, "I listen to Aunt." If she kept on comparing herself with Yuchen, that was purely seeking abuse. In the future, she would compare herself with her peers outside.

Qiu Shi nodded in relief, then with a smile, she talked to Yuxi regarding other matter, "Third Girl started moving things yesterday and it should be able to finish this afternoon. This time, the Old Madam has already said that she will built a small kitchen in Tingyun Pavilion. I think your Rose Courtyard is far away from the big kitchen and it is not convenient to get food during winter. So, I took this opportunity to build a small kitchen in your courtyard." Generally, young misses wouldn't have their own kitchen, but because the Old Madam especially doted on Yuchen, it became an exception. So, this time, Yuxi could borrow Yuchen's east wind. Yuxi and Yuchen were not that different in status anyway. So, it would be difficult for the Old Madam to say anything about her getting Yuxi a small kitchen. If she missed this opportunity, the next time for her to be abled to do so would be on the year of monkey and month of horse (Chinese idiom : time that never comes).

Yuxi eyes brighten as she heard that she could have her own small kitchen. However, her eyes soon darkened as she whispered, "Aunt, will Grandmother agrees?" Having a small kitchen naturally was good. Whatever she wanted to eat during weekday could be made, which was very convenient. If she needed the main kitchen to prepare extra meal for her, she had to pay extra.

Qiu Shi smiled and said, "Yuchen's small kitchen budget is not coming from public accounts, but from private savings. As long as your kitchen budget also comes from private savings, the Old Madam has no reason to disagree. "

Yuxi said happily, "Thank you, Aunt." With her own little kitchen, it would also be convenient for her to start learning to cook.

Qiu Shi touched Yuxi's head and said softly, "There's nothing to be thankful about. It's just a small thing."

Yuxi, however, did not feel that she should accept it calmly and said, "Aunt, in the residence, only Aunt will think about everything for me."

Qiu Shi patted Yuxi on the back and said, "Later on, don't say thank you again. It will be too much for you!" She had already regarded Yuxi like her own daughter, so, it was natural for her to think about everything for her.

Yuxi embraced Qiu Shi and snuggled in her arms. She then whispered, "Okay."

Since Yuxi had to pay for the kitchen herself, she felt that although her income was enough to support the kitchen's expenses, she was not at ease as she would not had any money in her hand left.

So, after being shelved for a long time, the production of scar-removing ointment was put on the agenda. She had already got two packets of pearl powder from Qiu Shi, and now she only needed to boil them.

To boil the scar-removing ointment, although the amount was small, it was impossible to hide it from the public. Yuxi simply told Mama Shen, Moju and several trusted maids about this matter. Of course, she said she was boiling face ointment, not scar-removing ointment.

Face ointment, by its very name, was the stuff you put on your face.

Mama Shen hastily said, "Miss, this paste can't be used casually and you're also young and delicate, so you don't need these things." This face ointment would be applied on the face. How could she not know the important of her Miss' face? How could one casually apply a face ointment that one did not know what to expect? In case of any mistake, one whole life would be ruined.

Yuxi smiled and said, "I read about it in a book and thought it was interesting, so I wanted to give it a try. Mama, rest assure, even if it is boiled, I will not use on myself."

Mama Shen asked suspiciously, "Where did Miss see the prescription?"

Yuxi said, "In a book I bought from the academy." After a pause, she looked at Mama Shen and said, "This is only a small matter. I hope Mama Shen will not tell anyone."

Mama Shen knew that Yuxi had a good idea. Since Yuxi already said that, it was useless for her to persuade anymore. Although she felt that Yuxi was behaving foolishly, she didn't think it was a big deal either. It was not unusual for a young miss from a large family to make rouge or spice herself. However, she also asked, "Miss must assure this old servant that even if the ointment is boiled, it cannot be applied to your own face."

Yuxi smiled and said, "Mama, rest assure, I won't personally use it."

When Yuxi boiled the ointment, she did not fake it but made it herself. Then the boiled ointment was poured into a vessel and left in a dark room.