Chapter 35 : Murderous Devil (2)

After a moment, till all the sound of horses couldn’t be heard, Yuxi finally dared to lift the carriage curtain up and asked Han Jianming, “Dage, was that person really Yun Qing, the grandson of Old General Yun?”

Without waiting for Han Jianming’s answer, Han Jianye answered in loud voice, “I didn’t expect this guy to be so famous, even Xi-er has 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 none of the enemies had ever become his captives. After each battle, he would leave behind corpses that pile up like a mountain. Besides, 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, “Er Ge, 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 kind of person, but Han Jianming was not. Han Jianming was particularly surprised when he heard this, “Where did Si Meimei hear about Hongfu Biaodi?”

Yuxi felt a thump in her heart. She didn’t realise that the youngster was 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 that Master Jiang’s eldest son 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 liked to gather and gossip about people of the capital city which he also generally knew. So, he didn’t suspect anything amiss in Yuxi’s statement, “Well, Hongfu Biaodi 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 intelligence, 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! Dage, Er Ge, is Yun Qing Biaoge 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, riding or even shooting.”

Han Jianming couldn’t help but cut in a sentence, “Yun Qing Biaodi is also equally good in his study. Er Di, if you want to compare yourself with others, you can’t be compared with him. He’s good in both civil and military.” Yun Qing and Han Jianye were the same age. When Han Jianming thought about both of them, he couldn’t help but sigh. If his younger brother even had only half of Yun Qing’s accomplishments, he would have been gleeful.

Yuxi’s mind was a bit puzzled. It was rumoured that Yun Qing not only liked to kill people but also liked to eat human flesh and drink 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 hearty laughter, went through a leap of change in his temperament. There must be some major incidents that had happened around him. As for what, she was not clear. In her last life, she did not even understand her own affairs, so, when would she have time to care about other people’s affairs. Also, although Yun Qing was fierce, at least he lived a 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 residence, which was also known as the Zhou family residence, on the second day of New Year. This time, Yuru followed along.

The tradition of visiting relatives would not end until the 6th day after Lunar New Year.

When Yuxi finally back to her courtyard, she calculated that, in addition to the gifts of the first meeting, together with the red envelopes she received, they would be worth more than four hundred taels of silver, which made her earned a lot of money. No wonder children liked to celebrate the New Year. There would always 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. She muttered in her heart that her Miss already had the tendency to be crazy about money now.

Image credit to Top China Travel (Chinese Lantern)

On the 14th day of the first lunar 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, Dage. Er Ge 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 give her a threat, “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, Dage, I will protect Xi-er.”

Han Jianming would like to tug at his younger brother’s ear to see if he 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 agree to it.” Mother may agree, but Grandmother certainly wouldn’t.

Yuxi tug at Han Jianye’s hand, blinked her big eyes and said pitifully, “Er Ge, it’s all up to you.” It was strange to say that the Old Lady was very strict with Master Shizi, 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 during the Lantern Festival? It’s not a big matter. Grandmother will surely agree. Leave this matter to Er Ge.”

Yuxi thought it would take a while to wear out the Old Lady, but to her surprise, the Old Lady 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 15th day, during the Lantern Festival, accidents happened every year. She didn't dare to take any risks.

Yuxi really wanted to go. She had not seen lanterns for more than twenty years in her last life. This time, she had been given a chance with such difficulty. So, she was unwilling to give it up that easily. “Eldest 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 Dage and Er Ge’s sides, okay?”

Yuxi busily nodded her head.

The news of Yuxi going to see the lanterns during the Lanterns Festival was heard by Yuru and Yuchen. Both also wanted to see them but were denied by the Old Lady. 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 Si Mei go?” It couldn’t be that her Grandmother was not worried about Si Meimei’s safety.

It was hard for the Old Lady to just say that only Yuchen was disallowed, when Yuru, who was also nearby, didn’t even refute Yuchen’s question. Something could be done, but it couldn’t be said. She vaguely said, “It’s not a problem for your Dage and Er Ge to protect Fourth Girl since she will be going alone, but they can’t do so when there are 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 Lady 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 area, and one could watch it from the balcony. Although the effect would be less effective, 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 Si Mei, but also are my Dage and Er Ge.” On the second day of New Year, they took Yuxi to their maternal ancestral home. Yuxi was not from the Main House, so they didn’t need to bring her along. Thinking till here, Yuru felt very upset.

Qingxuan sighed in her heart, “Miss, Fourth Miss can get such love from the Lady 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 the Lady 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 that Si Mei has changed into another person after she got well from her illness?”

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 of her illness. “Was it you who said that Si Mei was touched by something unclean?”

Qingxuan was scared till cold sweats appeared and whispered, “Miss, you mustn’t say that. If you let the Lady and Master Shizi know about it, then, nothing good will come to Miss.“ When that time came, they would also suffer since they were her maids.

But Yuru felt that her guess was right, “Qingxuan, think carefully. Isn’t Yuxi like a changed person after she has gotten well from her illness? She used to be muddle-headed and foolish, but now, she’s good at anything. Besides, she said that she had a talent for embroidery, but no one, even those who have talent can 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 but we don't have any proof. This will only provoke the Lady’s wrath. Miss, you are now old enough to be married. What will you do if the Lady 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 backfire. “Miss, we need proof.” She didn’t think there was anything wrong with Yuxi. Except that, she had become wiser after getting well. However, compared with the Third Miss, she was still far away. So, where could she be considered an evil witch?

Yuru had no reply.