Early the next morning, Madam Ye sent a letter to Suzhou. Then, after breakfast, she took her things to the Duke of the State Residence.
Ke Minjie found out about Madam Ye went to the state residence without bringing her along, therefore her heart began to suspect. "Say, Mama Cui, do you think my aunt was only trying to appease me yesterday, but in fact she was thinking of doing something to me?" If her aunt really didn"t mind just like what she had said, she should have brought her along today instead of going to the Duke of the State Residence alone.
Old woman Cui felt that it most likely happened that way, when she suddenly remembered something, "Oh, by the way, Xiaoyan went home yesterday, but she hasn"t come back yet. Could something have happened to her?"
Ke Minjie hastily said, "Mama, hurry, go and try to find out if Xiaoyan is still at her home."
Over the years, Ke Minjie and old woman Cui had secretly gathered some people of the Ye family to their side. Hence, it soon became clear that Xiaoyan had suddenly fallen ill. Old woman Cui didn"t need to guess the reason why as she immediately told Ke Minjie, "Miss, our matter has been exposed."
Ke Minjie finally realised that she was scared. Her aunt wasn"t a person who had a heart of a Buddhamerciful¹. Since she had tried to harm her Da Biaojieda=eldest, biaojie=elder female cousin², she now knew that she wouldn"t be able to receive any good fruitwon"t have a good end³from it. "Mama, what should we do now?" She had no other place to go except to the Ye family.
Old woman Cui also did not have any good idea to suggest, "Miss, try to stay calm first. When Madam returns later on, we look at her att.i.tude first, then we will see the opportunity and actChinese idiom : act according to circ.u.mstances⁴." She knew that there was little chance that Madam would let her Miss go, so they had to find another way out fast.
Madam Ye had come to apologise in person. For this reason, Qiu Shi"s anger also subsided. No matter what, Madam Ye was also a victim in this incident. However, she still had to be blunt, "My son"s mother-in-law, don"t blame me for not giving you any face, but you aren"t allowed to bring your niece to my home anymore."
Madam Ye hastily said, "Don"t worry, my daughter"s mother-in-law. I have already sent a letter and asked her father to send someone to pick her up. She will return to Suzhou not before long."
Qiu Shi who had trepidation remaining after a traumaChinese idiom : having lingering fear⁵exclaimed, "That"s good. That"s good." A woman like Ke Minjie was no longer as simple as a white eyed wolfcold-hearted, cruel person⁶. So it was best to stay far away from this kind of malicious person. .
Just as the two were talking, a maid suddenly announced, "Fourth Miss has arrived."
Madam Ye took the opportunity to express her thankfulness to Yuxi.
Yuxi didn"t think she was much of a hero. She had stood out this time for Qiu Shi, not for Madam Ye nor Ye Shi. "This is what I should do."
Qiu Shi patted Yuxi"s shoulder as she smilingly praised, "This child is so sincere."
When Yuxi sneaked off from the main courtyard, she brought back a pile of things.
Maidong opened one of the boxes and was shocked, "Miss, come and see! Miss, come and see!"
Yuxi laughed, "What good things have made this maid"s face smiles as beautiful as a chrysanthemum." However, when she herself looked inside the box, she also became dumbfounded. There were six dazzling stones lying in the box, which were composed of the colours red, blue and green.
Zisu also looked at them and could not help sighing, "Madam Ye is really generous!" According to market value, these precious stones couldn"t be bought even for ten thousand pieces of silver.
Yuxi picked up the biggest gem, carefully looked at it and then threw it back into the box. "Compared to the child in Dasaoeldest sister-in-law⁷"s belly, these are nothing." Nine times out of ten, this child would be Dasaoeldest sister-in-law⁷"s only child, consequently, the child"s value was unmeasurable by money.
Zisu felt that there was truth in what Yuxi just said.
That night, Kufu informed Yuxi one thing, "Miss, Miss Qiu will attend Miss Shi"s banquet tomorrow." Miss Shi"s father was only a six grade low level officer, or in short, just an uncorrupted yamen. It was unknown how Qiu Yanfu had known Miss Shi, being the girl only befriended Qiu Yanfu, not because she thought Qiu Yanfu was charming, but because she took a fancy to the label of the Duke of the State Residence behind her.
Yuxi just responded, "Just let her do as she pleases." As long Qiu Yanfu didn"t come to harm her Ergeer=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege⁸, whoever she tossed her love to, it was Wu Shi and her father who would have to deal with the aftermath, not her.
Speaking of Wu Shi"s present situation, Yuxi couldn"t help sighing. In her last life, Wu Shi had always been loved by her father, but in this life, it had changed. Currently, her father was doted on his two concubines, which made Wu Shi busy fighting with them now. On that account, she had no time to create troubles for Yuxi. As for Yurong, she was learning the rules earnestly from her Momowet nurse⁹nowadays.
However, Qiu Shi began to get edgy again. The marriage of her second son could be put on hold for the time being, but the marriage of the two shuborn by concubine¹⁰Han young misses could not be postponed. They both were already 15 this year, and if she dragged it on any longer, they would become old maids. Therefore, Qiu Shi recently had often taken Yuru and Yujing to look around for marriageable young men. At the same time, she had to look after her daughter-in-law. If it weren"t for Yuchen and Yuxi helping to manage the household duties, she estimated that she would have fallen sick in the end.
In fact, when Yuxi first saw Yuchen doing the housework in a way her heart wished, her hand would accomplishChinese idiom : skilled at the job¹¹, she felt a sense of disillusionment. Yuchen had always looked like a fairy maiden, and when she was doing her work, she was like a fairy maiden who had fallen into this world.
Once Yuxi and Yuchen finished their housework today, Yuxi said, "San Jiesan=third, jie=elder sister¹², I"m going to visit Dasaoeldest sister-in-law⁷." Since they began to learn household management, Yuxi and Yuchen had spent less time together.
Yuchen smiled and responded, "Let"s go together then!" Her special cook, Momowet nurse⁹Sha, was still making meals for Ye Shi in Rosin Courtyard, which was her contribution.
Recently, Yuxi would visit Rosin Courtyard every three to five days, and when she entered the courtyard today, she noticed that old woman Hua"s face was distorted.
Yuxi found it was interesting that Ye Shi"s foetus had basically stabilised, but Imperial Physician Le wouldn"t allow her to get out of bed for the first three months to be on the safe side. As for the inside of Duke of the State residence, there would be no one bringing trouble to the people in Rosin Courtyard. Therefore, for old woman Hua looking so ugly just now, the only explanation left was that something had happened in the Ye family. .
When old woman Hua saw Yuxi, she immediately resisted the disgusting feeling she had and went up to her, then she said with a smile, "Third Miss and Fourth Miss are here. Da Nainaida=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house¹³was just talking about you two!"
As Ye Shi laid in bed every day, she also became quite stuffy. If there was anyone accompanying her to talk, she naturally couldn"t be any more happier.
Yuchen and Yuxi did not stay long in Rosin Courtyard though, as they came out after only a few minutes. Thus, Yuchen invited Yuxi to her Tingyun Pavilion, "Si Meimeisi=fourth, meimei=younger sister¹⁴, do you want to come to my place?"
Yuxi shook her head and declined, "Another day, I have work to do later on." Seeing Yuchen"s disappointment, she added, "Tomorrow, I"ll go tomorrow."
Yuchen happily said, "Okay." Although Yuchen excelled in everything, had the best food and clothing, she would inevitably feel lonely. Others tended to stay at a respectful distance from her. Only Yuxi always regarded her as a sister. Therefore, Yuchen cherished this sisterhood between them.
Once Yuxi arrived at Rose Courtyard, she asked Kufu to inquire on what currently happened in the Ye family, "Old woman Hua"s look was so ugly. It"s definitely not a trivial matter." After she gave her instruction, Yuxi went to her backyard and looked at the bare yard, while wondering what kind of herb that was good for her to plant.
Zisu felt that Yuxi was a tough nut to crack. No matter how easy a herb survived, it could hardly survive in the hands of her Master. Even if they survived, they would still be disabled and could not be used as medicines. It happened that her Master enjoyed doing this, so, what else could she do?
In the afternoon, Kufu informed Yuxi the news she had heard, "Miss, Da Nainaida=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house¹³"s cousin had climbed into Second Master Ye"s bed."
"No wonder Madam Hua"s face looked so ugly," Yuxi said with a smile. "This woman really does not stick to one pattern!" First, Ke Minjie wanted to climb into her brother-in-law"s bed, but when she saw that she was unable to actually do it, she then went to climb her Biaogeelder male cousin¹⁵"s bed. This woman really was an exotic flowerslang. weirdo¹⁶.
Kufu lowered her voice as she continued, "Miss, it is said that Second Master Ye already has an engagement. Since Miss Biaofamily relationship via females¹⁷Ke had climbed into his bed, Second Master Ye"s arranged marriage is likely to be finished." Anyway, Ke Minjie was also Madam Ye"s blood niece, for this reason, she couldn"t be taken as a concubine!
Yuxi responded with a smile, "It was unlikely for Second Master Ye"s arranged marriage to be withdrawn. Therefore, Ke Minjie can only be a concubine." If she hadn"t uncovered Ke Minjie"s intention to lay her hands on her Dasaoeldest sister-in-law⁷, Madam Ye might have recognised her as her daughter-in-law. But now that Madam Ye finally knew Ke Minjie to be such a vicious woman, it would be absolutely impossible for Madam Ye to let her son marry her unless Madam Ye turned into a brainless person!
Kufu felt this statement was strange. "Miss, how can you be so sure?"
Yuxi said with a smile, "No need for you to believe it. But, when the time comes, you will know." Ke Minjie"s skill was not something easy for people to deal with. In fact, not only Qiu Shi had a bad life in previous life because of her, even Ye Shi also led a very miserable life. Betrayed by her most trusted Biaomeiyounger female cousin¹⁸, who was also responsible for creating a discord between her mother-in-law and her, the daughter-in-law, which then escalated to a discord between her husband and her, the wife. What else could these all be said other than one was having a miserable life?
Zisu said, "The Ye family is probably like both men and horses are thrown off their feetChinese idiom : in a complete mess¹⁹right now."
Yuxi indifferently said, "That is Ye family"s business. It has nothing to do with us." Yuxi didn"t even have a bit of sympathy for Madam Ye. It was her who raised this man-eating flower. In Yuxi"s last life, this man-eating flower had harmed the Han family. In this lifetime, she had harmed the Ye family, ergo Yuxi just let Madam Ye taste the bitter fruit.
As Zisu expected, the Ye family was now in a mess. Madam Ye was so angry that she nearly vomited blood just after she learned that Ke Minjie had climbed onto her son"s bed. Then, when she heard Second Master Ye would withdraw from the arranged marriage with the Lu family and wished to marry Ke Minjie instead, she just pa.s.sed out.
A physician came over and had a hard time waking up Madam Ye. After the physician examined her pulse, he wrote a prescription and immediately left.
Madam Ye was lying on the bed, while looking at Second Master Ye standing beside her, and said, "Let me tell you, don"t you ever think of breaking the engagement. I will never let you marry her." Just like what Yuxi had thought, if not for the matter that Ke Minjie had tried to poison Ye Shi, Madam Ye might just have to hold her nosefig. to describe doing something distasteful but necessary²⁰in recognising the marriage between her son and her niece. But now that she knew Ke Minjie to be so malicious and so mean, she would never accept her even if she died.
Second Master Ye sadly said, "Mom, don"t you always like Biaomeiyounger female cousin¹⁷? Why can"t you let me marry her now? Mom, after I married Biaomeiyounger female cousin¹⁷, both of us will become filial to you."
Madam Ye did not tell Second Master Ye about Ke Minjie"s attempt to poison Ye Shi before, because she knew that even if she said it, it would be useless. "If I say no, it means no. Even if I have to let you stay single for a lifetime, I won"t let you marry her."
Madam Ye knew that it was impossible to throw Ke Minjie back to Suzhou. The whole Ye Residence had known that her son had slept in the same bed with her. It could be said that since her son already had an official engagement so, it was unnecessary for her son to officially marry her, but it was imperative to take her as a concubine instead. In view of Ke Minjie"s ident.i.ty, she must be a high ranking concubine at least. Thinking of this matter, Madam Ye"s head started to hurt badly, as she didn"t know how to explain this to the Lu family.
Noob Translator"s Musing
When Yuxi said that Madam Ye deserved her family ruined because of her niece, Ke Minjie, I feel that it wasn"t really Madam Ye"s fault. She only got closed to her niece for two years and Ke Minjie is the daughter of her late sister. Since Ke Minjie also was a runaway, and came took shelter under her, of course, Madam Ye took the responsibility to take care of her as her aunt. The only person that could be blame for this problem is Ke Minjie. She aimed at her cousin"s husband, like she suddenly forget that if it wasn"t for her aunt, she would have nowhere to go. She even dare to hurt her benefactor"s daughter. Now, she roped in her son. Ke Minjie is really such an ungrateful girl.
:: :: ::