Chapter 55 : Hamlet (1) On their way back, Yuchen noticed that there was something amiss with Yuxi"s expression. She could not help but asked, "What"s wrong, Fourth Sister?"
Yuxi said morosely, “I heard that those nursing momo (wet nurse) are tough. If we don"t learn the rules well, we have to kneel with a basin of water on our heads.” This remark was not made up by her, but practically made by the momo who taught her in her previous life.
Yuchen burst out with a chuckle, “If a person has not learn the rules well, then she should ask that person to learn it twice more. How dare a momo punished that person with corporal punishment?”
Yuxi blinked her eyes and said, “Really not true? But I heard the maids said that if momo"s request is not met, they will either beat us or scold us.“
Yuchen helplessly said, “Who talk this kind of nonsense in front of you? We are not servant girls. How can they dare to beat and scold us?” A momo, no matter how formidable, was only invited by them at their expenses. How dared she be so presumptuous?
Yuxi also felt that she was in a dazed just now. Not to mention, in her past life, the nurturing momo brought by Wu Shi for her, had never appeared. Even if that momo did appeared in her current life, she would no longer be the one who was easily bullied and did not know how to resist. If she wanted her to kneel down with a basin of water, it wasn"t like there would be no door or window paper around. Yuxi smiled and said, “Third Sister is right. I believe it"s my fault.” (T/N : Wait... I"m confused. If in her past life, the momo who was supposedly brought by Wu Shi didn"t appear, then who brought the momo who punished her to put a basin of water on her head? Qiu Shi?)
Yuchen asked, “Fourth Sister, are you still going to do your lessons review during this holiday?”
Yuxi shook her head and said, “I want to visit my hamlet. I have bought it for so long and I haven"t been there yet!” Last time her aunt had promised to let her go, so, this time her aunt would definitely not going to refuse her.
Yuchen opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, no words came out.
Back in their own courtyard, Yuchen stood at the window with a cup of tea in her hands and looked outside. The lotus flowers in the lake swayed under the blowing breeze and looked truly beautiful.
Shiqi looked at Yuchen"s face which had a slight melancholy. She felt puzzled. Then, she asked, “What"s wrong, Miss?” Her Miss was fine just now, but now, her mood suddenly turned bad.
Yuchen sighed softly, “Sometimes, I envy my Fourth Sister.” She envied Yuxi very much for being free and unrestrained, while she had to be restricted in everything she did.
If Yuxi knew Yuchen envied her for having a natural and unrestrained life, no one would know what her feelings would be. Therefore, it was best not to wish for someone else"s things.
With a smile on her lips, Shiqi said, “What Miss said was contrary to what I heard. I"ve been told that Fourth Miss actually envies you more. I heard Sister Hongshan said that her Miss often said that if only she were half as smart as Miss, she wouldn"t have to study so hard.“ Few young misses in the Han family could match this talent.
Yuchen smiled. She believed that Yuxi probably envied her at this point, but not in other aspects.
Yuxi went back to the Rose Courtyard to tidy herself up and then she went to the main house. Teacher Song would take two days off every month, but there was no such thing as a holiday in nurturing momo"s dictionary. Once she started to learn the rules from the nurturing momo, she would never have a holiday until she learnt the rules well. This could be considered her last vacation.
After paying her respect to the Old Madam Han, Yuxi explained to her the reason why she wanted to go to her hamlet.
With Yuxi becoming more and more excellent, the Old Madam had to pay attention to her more. Her only annoyance was that Yuxi"s usual indifference led her to worry that Yuxi"s resentment against her would be harmful to her family. So every time she saw Yuxi, her mood would be very complex, “Hamlet affairs are handled by the servants.”
Yuxi didn"t even think about managing the hamlet herself since she knew she didn"t have the ability, “Grandmother, I just want to see how the hamlet looks like. When I bought it, I heard my aunt tell me about the general situation of the hamlet. However, I didn"t see it with my own eyes, so, I always feel uneasy. The autumn harvest is coming soon and I will know exactly how it stands when I look at it. At least, with this, I won"t be fooled by the servants. “
The Old Madam was silent for a moment and then said, “Since you want to go, then go! But you have to come back before dark. “
Yuxi happily responded, “Okay, I"ll be back before dark.”
After Mama Luo sent Yuxi out, she turned her head towards tbe Old Madam and asked, “Old Madam, why did you agree to Fourth Miss" request?” She wasn"t worried about Yuxi"s safety. With family retainers following her, there was no need to worry about her safety at all. Only that, she felt the Old Madam was being too accommodating this time.
The Old Madam answered, “She had said that she wanted to see the hamlet since the day she bought it. She will never stop asking, even if it will take several months, until I give her permission to go there.” Yuxi had a stubborn energy in her body. She must do what she wanted to do, and she would not give up even if she had to grind her slowly. The Old Madam thought that rather than letting her mind continuously worried about it, it was better to follow Yuxi"s wishes, instead of letting Yuxi running to her side time and time again, muttering about wanting to visit the hamlet.
Mama Luo smiled, “It"s the Old Madam who dotes on Fourth Miss, so everything goes her way. However, speaking of which, her fortune is also good.”
The Old Madam very much agreed with Mama Luo"s words, “This girl has a good fortune and manages everything very well.” The baozi (steamed stuffed bun) shop and grocery shop were small businesses, and she didn"t take notice of them very much. However, she didn"t realize that these two small shops had a monthly profit nearly reaching to one hundred taels of silver. The money was nothing much to the residence, but it was enough for Yuxi. Not to mention, she now had a land property.
Mama Luo smiled and said, “No matter how much good luck Fourth Miss has, she still can"t beat Third Miss.” This was the person who was truly blessed. There was no need for her to worry about anything and be tired. Someone had thought everything over for her and she just enjoyed the benefits. As for money, Jiang Shi"s dowry alone earned tens of thousands of taels per year, enough for Third Miss to live without worrying about food and clothing.
Speaking of Yuchen, a smile appeared on the Old Madam"s face. Yuchen was indeed the Han family"s fortune.
Knowing that Yuxi was going to visit her hamlet, Qiu Shi didn"t stop her but instead, she even urged her, “The hamlet is full of mosquitoes, so you must take your good sachets with you, or tomorrow, you will definitely come back with your whole body fill with mosquito bites.” Now, it was early autumn, so, there were still many mosquitoes in the hamlet.
Yuxi smiled and said, “Okay, I"ll take two more sachets with me. Then, mosquitoes can"t get close to me!” There were herbs in the sachet, so, she won"t have to worry about mosquitoes when she was there.
In the evening, Hongshan happily said to Yuxi, “Miss, the Old Madam said that Miss" luck is very good that everything Miss does is going smoothly.”
Yuxi"s heart suddenly chimed. After she maintained her composure, she asked, “Why do you say this?”
Hongshan smiled and said, “It"s the baozi shop and the grocery store run by Miss that is making money. Miss also happened to buy a good hamlet, so the Old Madam thought that Miss has a good luck. Well, it"s especially fortunate.”
Yuxi now knew that the Old Madam did not suspect anything from her strange behaviours, so, she felt relieved, “Now, go home and ask your brother to send a message to Mama Fang and shopkeeper Meng. Tell them to come with me to the hamlet.”
Hongshan answered crisply and immediately left.
The next day, Yuxi set out at dawn. Besides bringing Mama Shen, she also brought Hongshan and Zijin, as well as six strong and tall family retainers.
After walking for about an hour, the sun finally came out and inside the carriage became hotter, creating fine sweat on Yuxi"s forehead. Zijin took out a round fan and tried to fan Yuxi, but Yuxi pushed her away and said, “I"m not hot. Please fan Mama Shen instead.”
Mama Shen had gained a lot of weight during the past two years in Rose Courtyard. Fat people was afraid of heat and because of that, she had been sweating all over her head. She didn"t want Zijin to fan her either. She instead took the fan herself and fanned it vigorously. “If it were cloudy as yesterday, it wouldn"t be so hot.” She didn"t know why Miss must visit this mountain village in such a hot day. What is there to see? That mountain village had nothing but fields and trees.
Yuxi saw Mama Shen"s discomfort and said with a smile, “It will be much cooler when we get to the hamlet. I haven"t been out of the door for so long either, so I want to get some fresh air. “
Hongshan had been growing up in the inner residence. This was the first time for her to go out. She felt very novel and couldn"t help lifting the curtain to look out at the scenery.
When Mama Shen saw this, she immediately reprimanded Hongshan, “Why are you such a child? Hurry, put down the curtain. “
Hongshan shrunk her head and did not dare to utter a word. Yuxi said softly, “It"s rare for us to come out, so please do what she wants!” Seeing that Mama Shen still would like to say something, she continued saying, “I am only five years old this year, ao, I am not old enough to avoid saying taboo subject.”
Mama Shen immediately lost her voice. Yuxi"s performances often made her forgot her real age.
After about half an hour"s walk, they finally reached the hamlet. When the group of people got off the carriage, Hongshan couldn"t help exclaiming, “It"s beautiful.”
Lush mountains and fields spread beyond one"s sight with the fields covered with golden yellow rice plants and cl.u.s.ters of bright small wild flowers spread on the ground, attracting b.u.t.terflies to dance lightly. The water in the nearby stream was flowing slowly, with fish swimming happily in the water. This was a beautiful rural scenery.
When Yuxi saw everything in front of her, her mood relaxed. It was like a paradise here. Eighty thousands taels of silver would not be lost in buying this piece of land and forest.
The hamlet head, Steward Chen and his whole family were waiting at the intersection as early as possible. When they saw Yuxi and her party coming their way, they immediately knelt on the ground to salute, “Fourth Miss has arrived save and sound.”
Steward Chen who was over forty years old, was an old servant of the Duke Han of the State"s official residence. He used to work in hamlets belong to the state residence, so, he was very familiar with farming. Qiu Shi also took fancy of this person straightforwardness and sincere att.i.tudes. As a result, she chose him to manage Yuxi"s hamlet. Although Yuxi was the master, but in the end, she was only five years old. If Qiu Shi chose a dishonest person, she was afraid that the dishonest person would continuously take advantage of his Master.
Yuxi followed Steward Chen into a big brick tile house. The house was very large, with two entrances and a back garden. However, the back garden had now became a vegetable garden.
“Miss, this house was left by the former steward,” said Steward Chen nervously. The former steward naturally referred to the steward from the Marquis Zhongyong"s official residence.
Yuxi said with a smile, “Look at this house and you will know that Marquis" stewards are greedy.” How could a general"s steward build such a large house?
Steward Chen was horrified, but he did not know how to explain it. He was afraid of making too many mistakes, so, he just stood there with a red face.
Seeing this, Steward Chen"s eldest daughter-in-law hastily said, “Miss, this handmaiden family are loyal to Miss and will never do such a thing.” Steward Chen"s eldest daughter-in-law and Liu Yue"s sister-in-law were cousins. It was also because she used her dowry money that the job fell on her father-in-law. (T/N : Liu Yue? Mama Liu?)
This was a sign of loyalty, but Yuxi didn"t buy it and said coldly, “Did I ask you something?” With the shadow of her previous life, she hated this kind of person the most. When in power, this type of person went up the pole to curry favour with the Madam and when that Madam fell out of power, this person would step on her really hard.
Steward Chen"s eldest daughter-in-law turned pale and immediately knelt down as she said, “Miss, please forgive me.”
Instead of looking at her again, Yuxi said to Steward Chen, “Take me to the field for me to have a look.” She came here mainly to see the rice fields and forests.
Steward Chen rushed to reply in a respectful voice, “Miss, please come with this old servant.”
Yuxi looked at Mama Shen and Hongshan, who were preparing to follow her, and said, “The sun is too big. You both stay here and I will be back soon.” She only took Zijin out, in addition with the other six strong family retainers following behind.
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