Translator: Jalyss
Editor: Odyssey
Chapter 75 – The Feng Family’s Ancestral Instructions
Period? The shopkeeper was dumbfounded and looked up. When he saw those golden eyes staring at him, his legs gave out and he fell to the ground to his knees. He didn’t dare to speak. His master didn’t like anyone questioning him and didn’t like anyone looking at him. Since he did both, he would likely end up disabled, but alive.
“You don’t dare to speak?” His voice was cold and his expression was as indifferent as ever, a stark contrast to the gentle Feng Ming who liked to tease Bai Xi. Now, he seemed to be able to kill someone just by looking at them.
“N… No.” The shopkeeper swallowed, afraid. He trembled. He didn’t dare talk back. “A period is menstruation.”
Feng Ming did not look away after hearing this. He continued to stare at the shopkeeper, who was kneeling on the ground. Although the aura on his body was indifferent, it made people feel an invisible sense of oppression.
The shopkeeper didn’t dare to breathe. He was terrified of the current atmosphere. “Master, this subordinate has read a book that mentioned women’s menstruation. The book said that when a girl is seven, her kidneys are overbearing/arrogant. As she gets older, menstruation arrives. When the period is here, one can have sons.”1
“Fourteen?” Feng Ming murmured.
“Yes, it was written like that in the book, but this subordinate knows that it is possible for a woman to get it earlier. It varies from person to person,” the shopkeeper explained as he tried to remember these trivial things. Fortunately, his wife had mentioned this to him before, or he may have actually lost his life here.
“What should I do?”
The shopkeeper was stunned. What did he mean? Was he asking what women should do after getting their period? Why would his master suddenly ask this? He didn’t have much time to think about this matter.
“This… this subordinate doesn’t know. How was he supposed to know what women should do when they menstruate? Even if he knew a little bit, it’s only because he heard it inadvertently.
The temperature in the room dropped. The shopkeeper’s relief didn’t last long and he tensed once more. He lowered his body to the ground more.
“Go back home immediately and find the answer.”
“Yes.” The shopkeeper didn’t dare to say no.
“Qing Wu.”
“Yes.” Qing Wu entered the room.
“Bring him back to his residence. I want an answer within five minutes.” His indifferent tone made it so that n.o.body dared to say anything.
“Yes.” Qing Wu answered. He quickly disappeared with the shopkeeper. Although he had no idea what his master asked, he believed that his master only dealt with major issues. Therefore, he sent the shopkeeper back to his residence using his fastest speed, and urged the shopkeeper to find out the answer quickly. He didn’t want to keep his master waiting long.
Feng Ming moved to the next room. When the white, jade hand was about to close the door, he suddenly stopped. Gold eyes looked straight at the closed door, as if he wanted to see the person inside who touched his heart through the door. Bai Xi, who was inside, seemed to feel his gaze and looked up at the door. The two looked at each other through the door.
After a while, Feng Ming turned around and returned to the room. Bai Xi also looked away and got lost in her thoughts.
Soon enough, Qing Wu returned with the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper then told Feng Ming all the answers he had received. He didn’t dare to hide anything. He was also afraid that he would miss it, so he wrote down the answers and asked his wife to find some related books.
After getting the answer, he gave a command and walked away.
The shopkeeper, who was kneeling on the ground, was breathing heavily. He was really scared to death just now. He thought that he was going to lose his life. He didn’t expect to survive in the end.
“Hey, shopkeeper, what did master ask?” Qing Wu walked into the room out of curiosity when he saw his master leave.
“The master said that this matter must remain a secret.”
“Hmph,” Qing Wu snorted coldly and turned to leave. He figured that this would be the result, but he was still very curious. What did his master ask? Also, why does the shopkeeper’s wife know the answer that his master wants? His master deliberately used internal force to shield their conversation, so he could not hear. Was he worried that he would leak the secret or… Hey, what kind of event made his master temporarily give up looking for young miss Bai Xi and made him choose to stay in Peng Cheng? Was it because of Young Master Yue, who was next door?
When he thought back to that Young Master Yue, Qing Wu thought of everything he saw last night. Did things really develop as he thought? No, it couldn’t be. What about young miss Bai Xi?
After Feng Ming left his room, he did not go next door, but left Yi Pin Lou. At this moment, he walked on the most prosperous Hong Ling Street in Peng Cheng. His crescent white brocade robe and his handsome appearance attracted the attention of everyone. His unique golden eyes also attracted everyone’s sight.
Feng Ming ignored the surprised eyes of everyone and continued to walk along Hong Ling Street that the shopkeeper mentioned. Finally, he found the shop he was looking for. His eyes lit up and he walked into Yan Zhi Fang.
“Welcome, what does the honoured guest…” Boss Yan Zhi stood stupidly, the smile on his face also frozen.
The boss was shocked, not because he recognized Feng Ming’s ident.i.ty, but because of the aura Feng Ming had around his body.
Feng Ming ignored the scared Boss Yan Zhi. His golden eyes looked carefully at every item in the store as if they were looking for something. Finally, his gaze rested on the shelf in the leftmost corner.
White, jade fingers gently picked up something resembling a long cloth strip. He carefully touched it, then put it down. He then picked up another one, and then put it down again. After repeating this several times, he chose the goods he wanted.
“Wu Ying.”
“Yes, master.” A black figure appeared in Yan Zhi Fang immediately.
“I will leave the rest to you.” Feng Ming left Yan Zhi Fang after speaking, leaving only the completely petrified Boss Yan Zhi and Wu Ying.
The crowd, who had been watching from afar and did not dare to approach were confused. Who was that man? How can there be a pair of unique golden eyes? Wait, golden eyes? Wasn’t the one person in this world who had gold eyes…
Yi Pin Lou
After Bai Xi washed up and changed into clean clothes, she began to pace in the room. She wanted to hit the wall. She just started her period. Menstruation was just a period. Her pants were b.l.o.o.d.y from her period. The problem was that she didn’t react immediately and such matters were seen by Feng Ming. He almost removed her pants! She had never felt such shame before.
The other very important question was ‘what should she do now?’ Could she not go out these few days? There were no pads here, so what should she use? She couldn’t let it flow freely like this all the time. What did the women here use for their periods? Cloth? Paper?
Forget it, she had already lost a lot of face. She was still a little scared, but should she just ask someone? She couldn’t just leave it there and let her pants get b.l.o.o.d.y again. Just when Bai Xi decided to leave the room, a crescent-white brocade robe suddenly appeared in front of her.
Bai Xi was surprised. At this moment, she didn’t move. She just stood there blankly.
“You want to go out?” Feng Ming took Bai Xi’s wrist and walked inside.
“Mm, I want to go out and buy something.” Her black pupils avoided his gold eyes.
“Bai Xi.” Feng Ming suddenly stopped and turned to look at her. She was nervous and shy.
“Hm?” Bai Xi was still afraid to look at Feng Ming.
“This is for you.” Feng Ming took out the thing he bought from Yan Zhi Fang from his sleeve and stuffed it in Bai Xi’s hand. His fair cheeks was tinged with a hint of pink and his gold eyes flashed with a bit of shyness.
“This…” Bai Xi looked at the strip of cloth that Feng Ming forced her to take. When she saw the strip of cloth, she blushed instantly.
“We can stay in Peng Cheng for a few days. We will continue our journey after your period is over,” Feng Ming said softly. “Also, if this period cloth is not enough, let me know.”
Bai Xi didn’t know how she felt at this moment as she stared at the period cloth. It looked like a sanitary pad, but it wasn’t.
“I’ll leave first. You can use the period cloth soon.” Feng Ming then moved out of the room and closed the door. The moment he left, his cheeks instantly flushed.
When Bai Xi heard the door close, she turned around and looked at the closed door. After a long while, her beautiful eyes looked at the period cloth once more. She then smiled slightly and a warm feeling spread through her heart.
About an hour later, Feng Ming returned with a tray in his hands.
“Have you changed it?” Feng Ming asked softly when he saw Bai Xi sitting in a daze on a chair.
Bai Xi was startled and nodded.
“Qing Wu said that you didn’t eat after I left, right?”
Bai Xi nodded again. At that time, she was still confused. Where would she have found the time to eat?
“When a woman gets her period, she must not have an empty stomach. Come, drink some soup first. Someone will bring some light dishes after.” Feng Ming poured some soup into a bowl. He also took a spoonful and carefully tested the temperature of the soup before holding the spoon to Bai Xi’s mouth.
“Drink it,” Feng Ming said gently.
Bai Xi glanced at the spoon. “I can do it myself.”
“It won’t taste good when it’s cold.” Feng Ming ignored her and continued to speak softly.
Bai Xi was stunned and obediently drank the soup and then obediently asked Feng Ming to feed her the entire bowl of chicken soup.
“Drink the rest after eating.” Feng Ming put the bowl down.
“Mm.” Bai Xi nodded obediently.
“Does your stomach hurt?”
Bai Xi shook her head obediently again.
“Is it uncomfortable?”
Bai Xi shook her head for a bit before nodding her head.
“It is uncomfortable? Where? Is it here or here?” Feng Ming nervously touched Bai Xi’s chest, then her abdomen.
Bai Xi did not resist, but looked at the white, jade hand on her abdomen.
“It’s uncomfortable here, isn’t it?” Feng Ming regarded Bai Xi’s silence as confirmation, and the white, jade hand gently rubbed it. He continued to ask, “Is it still uncomfortable?”
Bai Xi shifted her gaze from his hand to that handsome face that was a little nervous and fl.u.s.tered. “How do you know about a woman’s menstruation?” She finally asked the question that had been on her mind. Although she was a little bit happy when he gave her the period cloth, she soon became full of doubt. How could this man know that a woman would use a period cloth for menstruation? He even knew about a woman’s reaction when she has her period. How did he know this? He didn’t even know how to kiss, so how could he know about a woman’s period?
Gold eyes stared into the distance. After a while, he looked back and his tone was soft. “Asked.”
“Hm?” Bai Xi was stunned, as if she didn’t expect this answer.
“Asked the shopkeeper.”
“Eh? The woman in charge here?”
“No.”
Eh? That wasn’t it? Wait, wasn’t he a man? But…
“There are women in his family.”
“Oh.” Bai Xi nodded, but the blush on her face didn’t fade away. “That period cloth shouldn’t be…”
Before Bai Xi could finish speaking, Feng Ming seemed to understand her thoughts, and interjected with, “Don’t worry, I bought the period cloth. It’s clean.”
“Oh, ah? You bought it?” Bai Xi stood up abruptly and looked at the man sitting on the chair calmly with a look of disbelief. Did she hear him correctly? He went to buy the period cloth for her?
“Mm, I touched it. The period cloth I bought is the softest kind in that store. It should be very close to the body, right?” Feng Ming looked at Bai Xi with a confused expression, waiting for her answer.
Bai Xi was very uncomfortable with the desperately expectant look in his eyes. She turned around, nodded, and said as softly as a mosquito, “Yes.”
At this time, someone knocked on the door. Qing Wu’s voice came from outside the door. “Master, the food is here.”
After receiving a response from inside, Qing Wu walked in. When he saw Yue Hua’s figure, his eyes flashed with unhappiness. His master was so kind to this man. He treated him even better than young miss Bai Xi. His master stayed in the same room with this man last night. Shouldn’t they…
Bai Xi didn’t notice the expression in Qing Wu’s eyes. Her gaze fell on the food, which were all vegetarian. There was no meat at all. This was really light food.
“Monkey, serve some meat dishes.”
“This is what the master ordered,” Qing Wu said lightly.
Bai Xi looked at Feng Ming expectantly, as if saying, ‘I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat.’
“Listen to her2.”
“Yes,” Qing Wu retired angrily.
“Actually, it doesn’t have to be light, so long as it isn’t spicy.” She had never heard that you can’t eat meat during the coming month. She had no idea where the man heard the news.
“Mm.”
The meat dishes soon arrived and Bai Xi ate it unceremoniously. To be honest, she was really hungry. Feng Ming didn’t move his chopsticks, but quietly watched Bai Xi eat.
“What’s wrong with him?” Bai Xi pointed to Qing Wu, who had already walked out the door. Why did she feel that Qing Wu’s hostility seemed to have grown again? When did she become his enemy?
“Going crazy.”
Bai Xi laughed. “So you know what ‘going crazy’ means.”
Feng Ming nodded and said softly again, “Qing Wu’s martial arts is good.”
“Hm?” The topic changed too quickly and Bai Xi hadn’t calmed down yet.
“That’s why he stayed with me.”
“Oh.” She remembered. She had asked him this a long time ago. She remembered that he said he didn’t know at the time. Why did he answer her now…? But if he said that it is good, then Qing Wu’s martial arts should be very good, right?
“Bai Xi, I am very happy now,” Feng Ming said slowly. His eyes were also surprisingly gentle.
“…” Bai Xi didn’t say a word, but continued to eat. She wondered what this man was happy about.
“You can already give me a child.” A gentle and joyful voice with a tone of expectation suddenly floated into Bai Xi’s ears.
Bai Xi coughed. “What did you say?” Bai Xi asked uncertainly after swallowing the food in her mouth. She then drank a gla.s.s of water.
“You can already give me a child.”
Bai Xi stared blankly at Feng Ming’s handsome face. He had a gentle smile on his face and his golden eyes were filled with gentleness. It seemed that this was really a joyous event for him.
She can give him a child? What does it mean? Wait, he wouldn’t mean… this man is too confident. She wasn’t his wife yet and he already thought of her giving him a child.
Bai Xi didn’t speak, but continued eating her delicious food. She would not discuss this kind of matter.
They ended up staying in Peng Cheng for a few days before leaving. However, in those few days, Bai Xi’s att.i.tude towards Feng Ming changed a bit. Even her heart had unknowingly fallen deeper. In addition to the dark heart of the man, he was still very gentle.
Bai Xi finally figured out that Qing Wu did indeed ‘go crazy’ as Feng Ming said, but she still thought that monkey was very cute. He apparently thought that his master had moved on and had fallen in love with her as a “man”. As a result, he felt resentful for her, but he just held it all in his heart. She suddenly felt that this monkey and little Qiu Qiu were a good match. Maybe she could really bring the two together.
“Hey, does Qing Wu have a woman by his side?” Bai Xi asked. She looked at the man sitting opposite her.
Feng Ming was silent. His beautiful eyebrows wrinkled slightly.
“Is there one?”
“Yes,” Feng Ming said indifferently.
“Oh? There is a woman. Then he won’t be worthy of little Qiu Qiu.” She would rather keep little Qiu Qiu by her side for a lifetime than allow little Qiu Qiu to be someone’s concubine.
“They would make a good match,” Feng Ming replied anxiously.
“No, little Qiu Qiu can’t be a concubine.”
“Not a concubine, but a wife.”
“But didn’t you say that Qing Wu already has a woman by his side?” Could it be that she had misunderstood?
“That’s his sister-in-law.” Feng Ming thought for a long time before coming up with such a sentence.
“Ah? Are you saying that Qing Wu likes his sister-in-law?” What. The woman by Qing Wu’s side was his sister-in-law. Did he like his sister-in-law? Oh wait, a sister-in-law? It turned out it was Qing Yun’s wife. So he was married. No wonder she hadn’t seen him these days.
Feng Ming poked Bai Xi’s forehead. “When did you become so dumb?”
“It hurts.” Bai Xi glared at Feng Ming dissatisfied as she covered her forehead.
“Qing Wu doesn’t have a woman. Even if the person next to you marries him, she will not be a concubine. She will be the only one and there will not be a second woman. Regarding his sister-in-law, it is just a sister-in-law. There is nothing else to it,” Feng Ming explained.
“Oh.” Bai Xi nodded. “How are you so sure that Qing Wu will not marry a concubine?”
“The Feng family’s ancestors say that all Feng family members can only marry one person in their lifetime. Therefore, Madam Feng, you are my only woman and only wife.”
“Eh?” After hearing his words, Bai Xi blushed. “There is actually this kind of ancestral instruction. But, Qing Wu is not a member of the Feng family.” What kind of family was the Feng family? Also, how could such an ancestral motto be set back then, where you could only marry one person in your life. This is somewhat similar to modern monogamy, but the only difference is that a Feng family man can only marry one woman in his life. In other words, if that woman dies, the man will never think about marrying someone else in this life. Marrying again, it seemed a bit… She supposed the ancestor of the Feng family who set this ancestral instruction was a woman, otherwise how could a man set such an ancestral instruction?
“Qing Yun and Qing Wu are the sons of father’s deceased confidant. After they were born, their mother died in childbirth and father accepted them as adoptive sons. Therefore, they are a part of the Feng family and must remember the Feng family’s ancestral instructions,” Feng Ming said lightly.
“Oh, it turns out that they still have this kind of life experience. If that’s the case, they are your elder brothers.”
Feng Ming was silent. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall of the carriage, no longer looking at Bai Xi. Bai Xi glanced at Feng Ming and calmed down. She closed her mouth. Since he didn’t want to say, then she would not ask. However, she still felt that little Qiu Qiu and Qing Wu were well-matched. After she returned, she had to see what little Qiu Qiu’s opinion was before she decided.
1.The shopkeeper says (女子七歲，腎氣盛，歲更髮長，二七而天癸至，月事以時下，故有子). It is a pa.s.sage from a mythological doctor named Qi Bo, who was employed by the Yellow Emperor as his minister. It was said that he was enlightened with the knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine by an ethereal being from the heavens.
2.The characters for he/she sound the same in Chinese (tā, 他/她), so Qing Wu still doesn’t know that YH is BX.