When Yurong left the master courtyard, she looked straight at the silent Qiu Yanfu, and asked, “Biaojie¹elder female cousin from mother’s side, what’s wrong with you? You haven’t spoken a word ever since we left the master courtyard.”

Qiu Yanfu shook her head as she explained, “I was just wondering why Fourth Miss could call her maid back in such a timely manner?” Not only did Yuxi call back Zijin, but she also brought back two girls who knew martial arts. Due to an unexpected turn of events, they managed to protect all the people in the master courtyard. Because of this incident, Qiu Shi would surely treat Han Yuxi like the apple of her eyes. Those who dared to touch Han Yuxi would then have to face a hard time with Qiu Shi. This news, however, was truly a bad thing for her and her aunt.

Yurong also shook her head and said, “I also find it very strange. I have especially told my Grandmother about this; but my Grandmother didn’t seem to care, as if she had already known about it much earlier than us.”

Qiu Yanfu knew it would have such a result. Everyone in this place seemed to be aware of this matter, and only they were like the deaf and blind people, who didn’t even realise about it. “Biaomei²younger female cousin on mother’s side, why don’t you ask someone to inquire about what Fourth Miss did before?”

Yurong was also aware of this problem. She tried to gather people without changing her tone or expression³Chinese idiom : calmly and quietly. Unfortunately, she was still young, had not yet earned any prestige, and also had little money at hand, thus the results were very minimal.

While Yuxi was asked to rest well, and this rest lasted for ten days. Within those ten days, Qiu Shi had Zisu and Kufu take turns in watching over Yuxi, making sure that she rested well in her bed. She was not allowed to read, nor was she allowed to practice writing, and even more so, not to even thought of doing shadow boxing.

Kufu had been called out for something, so there was no one else in the room. Seeing this situation, Yuxi immediately got out of bed. Once she got up, she started to complain. Really, she was not a porcelain doll! How could they think she would be that delicate? Besides, she was not actually ill, and if she continued staying like this, it was estimated that she would suffer from actual sickness in the end.

Zisu brought in a bowl of bird’s nest porridge, and when she saw Yuxi standing up, she asked in a loud voice, “Miss, why are you up again?” If their Miss didn’t properly raise herself from sickness, it would only make them become more worried sick.

Yuxi glared at Zisu, “Do you want the whole world to know that I’m up?” Previously in Rose Courtyard, she was the leader. There, even if Zisu and the others had any opinions, they would surely be suppressed by her. Unfortunately, now that they were in the master courtyard, not to mention Qiu Shi, even the residence managing matron, Mama Li, would nag at her for a long time if she caught sight of Yuxi acting disobedient. Just thinking about it already made Yuxi hate it so much, that she wished she could plug off her ears.

A smile blossomed on Zisu’s closed mouth as she then said, “Miss, have a drink of this bowl of bird’s nest!” This noob translation was translated by a noob translator きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

Yuxi retorted in disgust, “It’s either bird’s nest or rice porridge. Is there no other delicious food? Tiger skin trotters are also very nourishing, and so does yellow croaker with tofu.” The past few days, all Yuxi had been eating was something so bland and vegetarian that she felt her mouth gradually fade into a bird beak.

Tiger Skin Trotters

Little Yellow Croaker With Tofu

In her last life, Yuxi was kind of a vegetarian since she didn’t eat much meat. Probably because she had experienced hunger, she became a carnivore in this life and had a much heavier taste than before. Of course, since she was currently focusing on nourishing her body, she usually ate meat every other day and not much more. However, if she didn’t eat it after three to five days, her mind started to panic somehow. Now, it had been more than ten days since she last ate one, not to mention how much she missed eating it.

Zisu shook her head and said, “No, Physician Bai said that Miss can only eat light food until Miss is totally well.” Greasy stuff like tiger skin trotters was absolutely forbidden for her Miss to eat.

Yuxi felt depressed. She didn’t know what Physician Bai was thinking. He had been insisting that she was suffering from severe physical losses and was overly exhausted, thus needed to properly rest. Otherwise, these people wouldn’t have been able to force her to actually rest. Sigh, Yuxi was really worried that she would get moldy if she had to lay down any longer.

Just at this moment, a loud voice could be heard outside, “Si Meimei⁴si=fourth, meimei=younger sister! Where is Si Meimei⁴si=fourth, meimei=younger sister?” No need for everyone to guess. Just by hearing the loud voice, one would immediately know that it was Han Jianye.

Zisu gave Yuxi a quick push and urged, “Second Master is back, so I guess he’ll be coming over soon. Miss should quickly go back to bed.”

Yuxi felt defeated. It was just that she was really afraid that Zisu and Mama Li would come together just to nag her. Since she really didn’t want to listen to any of them, she could only climb into bed earnestly.

Not before long, heavy footsteps could be heard walking towards this side. Han Jianye pushed open the door and came in, without any qualm, and went straight to the bed.

Yuxi looked at the increasingly imposing Han Jianye and called out happily, “Er Ge⁵er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege, you’re finally back.” Since the accident, Han Jianye hadn’t come back to the residence. He only sent his personal attendant to return once just to get his clothes, while he himself didn’t return.

When Han Jianye looked at Yuxi, who was as thin as skin and bones, he felt very distressed. However, the words that came out from his mouth were not right, “Look at yourself. Weren’t they just a few petty bandits? Why did you have to be so scared like this? Really useless!” When Yuxi was unconscious, Qiu Shi explained to him that Yuxi had just gotten a scare. These ten days, she had been properly recuperating inside the house, which really meant that she had fainted as an aftermath, hence needed to recuperate properly. Many people in the residence had repercussions after the event, so Yuxi did not seem conspicuous.

ᵀᴺThis is where the gif from the previous chapter applicable. Imagine the little panda (Yuxi) buttheaded the big panda (Han Jianye) for saying something like that. If only he knew that she had just killed a person. What will his reaction be? ( •̀ᴗ•́ )و ̑̑

Yuxi muttered, “If I were as brave as Er Ge⁵er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege, I would also go and cut down eight to ten of those bandits.” She also wanted to learn martial arts in order to protect herself, but unfortunately, she didn’t have the opportunity.

Han Jianye noticed that despite having lost so much weight, Yuxi didn’t look like she just had a scare. He smilingly said, “That’s more like it. It was just a few petty bandits, what’s there to be afraid of, right!”

Yuxi remembered Zisu said a few days ago that Han Jianye had killed a lot of rebels and made great contributions. She quickly asked, “How much contribution has Er Ge⁵er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege made this time? Has Er Ge⁵er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege been promoted?”

Seeing Han Jianye’s overjoyed face, Yuxi knew that he must have been promoted, “So Er Ge⁵er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege is now a lower fifth rank officer? That’s nice.” For a seventeen years old to be a lower fifth rank officer was actually pretty good. Plus, Er Ge⁵er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege’s martial arts skills were not bad, and with the support of the Lu family, his future would be very bright.

Han Jianye laughed, “It’s not a lower fifth rank officer, but it’s actually the upper fifth rank officer.” Not only had Han Jiangye killed over a hundred rebels, but he was also very lucky to run into one of the leaders of the rebels. He made a great achievement by slaying the leader himself, thus he was promoted two ranks in a row.

Yuxi was so excited that she didn’t even pretend to be sick anymore, as she crawled out from the bed and tugged at Han Jianye’s arm, while asking with great surprise, “Er Ge⁵er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege, you’ve even ascended up two ranks!? Is this true? If it’s true, this is worth celebrating!” This noob translation was translated by a noob translator きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

Han Jianye looked at the clothes Yuxi was wearing, and the coat she had on, but she was still lying on the bed. Wasn’t this intentionally trying to scare him? Han Jianye smiled and patted her on the head, “What’s the point of lying in bed and pretending to be sick when you’re already well? I was so anxious that I came to see you without even going to see Grandmother first.” In the past ten days, Han Jianye had wanted to come back, but he had been given a mission to clean up the rebellion group, for this reason he was unable to return. Fortunately, he was informed that even though the State Residence had met with a burglary, everyone in his family was safe and sound, which made him feel at ease while he was on his mission.

Yuxi felt wronged and complained, “It was Eldest Aunt who always wanted me to lie down on the bed to recuperate. You think I’m willing to lie down? Don’t you know, my body almost went moldy?”

Seeing that Yuxi was looking fine, Han Jianye also free from any anxiety, “I heard that you just happened to call Zijin and the Deng sisters back that night, that was why Mother was out of danger.” Yuxi gave all the credit to Zijin and the Deng sisters, but as for her killing, she kept it a secret. It was not good for a girl to have a reputation of killing someone.

Yuxi told Han Jianye about her eyelids jumping and the nightmare she had before, “I called Zijin back because I was feeling scared back then. It was Zijin who kept inviting the Deng sisters to come here, but I didn’t expect that something would actually happen that night.” She was also feeling quite anxious that they would meet with mishap at that time, but she still wasn’t sure when it would happen. Otherwise, she could also warn Han Jianming and Han Jianye. Of course, after all was said, Yuxi still didn’t dare to let anyone see her stand out from the masses⁶Chinese idiom : out of the ordinary.

Han Jianye nodded, “This was also because both Yin and Yang were wrong⁷Chinese idiom : a strange combination of circumstances.” Sometimes, it was good for Yin and Yang to be wrong⁷Chinese idiom : a strange combination of circumstances.

Yuxi didn’t want to talk too much about it, that she hurriedly changed the subject, “Did Eldest Aunt and Dage⁸da=eldest, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege know about your two rank promotion?”

Han Jianye smiled and nodded. “Dage⁸da=eldest, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege knows, but mother still doesn’t know yet. I will tell her when I’ll see her later.” Qiu Shi was currently busy outside and hadn’t come back to the residence.

Yuxi then asked, “Er Ge⁵er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege, did you catch the bandits who broke into the Duke of the State’s residence that night? We can’t let them get away with it.” These people who had robbed the gold, silver, treasures and jewels would definitely try to escape from the capital. Yuxi only hoped that Han Jianming would act swiftly and catch these bandits, thus implicating Heshou Xianzhu⁹he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank

/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang.

When Han Jianye heard her words, the smile on his face immediately disappeared. “You can rest assured. I will never let go of those people.”

Yuxi had been hurting her brain for a while now, and it was not usually that difficult to point suspicion towards Heshou Xianzhu⁹he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank

/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang without leaving a trace. However, with just one wrong move, she herself would also get implicated! Since Yuxi used to be very cautious, she was willing to drag this out a bit longer to avoid herself from also being suspected.

When Han Jianye saw Yuxi’s entangled appearance, he assumed that she was still worried about it, so he said, “You don’t have to worry. Not only our residence is looking into it right now, but so do the Chiang and the Lu. It won’t be long before we can find out the person behind-the-scenes.” Those people at the gate only wanted to fish in troubled waters¹⁰Chinese idiom : to take advantage of a crisis for personal gain, but those who came into their backyard were definitely organized, planned and premeditated. This person also knew about the palace rebellion in advance, hence this person could be extremely dangerous, who must be caught.

Yuxi’s eyes lit up. This time, the turmoil did not affect the Chiang and the Lu families. If these two families intervened, with the foundation of the Chiang family plus the power of the Lu family, there would still be a possibility to find out who was behind this incident.

Han Jianye actually felt a little guilty. They were all busy with their own affairs, that someone almost took over their nest. “Yuxi, you don’t have to worry about this. Dage⁸da=eldest, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege and I will take care of it. I won’t put you in danger again.” Through this incident, the security for State Residence was much tighter than before.

Yuxi was very happy when she heard this assurance, “Er Ge⁵er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege, you’ve finally grown up.”

Han Jianye’s face was full of black lines. What did she mean by him finally grew up? And what was with this adult-like tone of voice! Without question, Yuxi suffered a beating from him.

Yuxi touched her head and muttered in dissatisfaction, “Er Ge⁵er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege, it goes without saying that I’m not smart in the first place. After you beat me like this, I feel like I’m becoming more stupid.”

Han Jianye chuckled, “What do you need to be so smart for? Being dumb is actually really cute.” He just loved seeing Yuxi’s stupid and dumb look. It was especially adorable.

Yuxi felt suffocated.

Zisu couldn’t help laughing at the two siblings’ noisy manners. It was only in front of the Second Master that Miss would act like a child. Usually, she would be too mature.

When Qiu Shi heard about Han Jianye receiving two rank promotions in succession, she smiled so much that her face turned into a flower. Her son was only seventeen years old this year, and he was already an upper fifth rank officer. If this trend continued, he might be able to become a first rank general in the future.

Han Jianye’s two consecutive promotions brought joy to the State Residence, which had been shrouded in shadows lately. It wasn’t advisable to celebrate by inviting guests for a banquet at this time, but it was still possible for the whole family to get together for a meal.

The Old Lady sent out the word to held an evening dinner party.

When Yuxi got the news, she began to pester Qiu Shi, “Eldest Aunt, I already got better. Please let me join the feast tonight!”

Qiu Shi looked at Yuxi’s pitiful appearance, who looked like a puppy begging for food, that she couldn’t help laughing, “Well, if you want to go, you can go, but you have to obey Physician Bai’s words that are to eat something light, not greasy food.”

Yuxi was somewhat helpless. Although her taste was quite heavy, her three meals in a day had a suitable balance of meat and vegetables, and she never had plenty of meat and fish¹¹lavish meals. She didn’t know what was wrong with her Eldest Aunt. Her aunt had made her behave like a vegetarian in the past ten days, and this time around, Yuxi still couldn’t refute any say from Qiu Shi, or she wouldn’t let her touch any meat again. “Okay.”

Other than Rose Courtyard, which had been burned down, the other courtyards, such as the Old Lady’s courtyard and Tingyun Pavilion, had all been cleaned up. This gathering was set up in the main courtyard.

Since Yuxi’s Rose Courtyard had been burned down, she had nothing else other than what had been brought out of her yard. So Yuxi’s clothes were all newly made.

Qiu Shi had made the people in the sewing room to sew six sets of clothes for Yuxi in one go. Fortunately, those bandits only robbed a few yards they had set their eyes on, and they were not interested in the sewing room, so the clothes, materials, needles and thread in the sewing room were all there, so they could make the clothes in time.

Zisu brought out two sets of dresses in peach red and sapphire blue successively, both of which were rejected by Yuxi, “Bring me something plainer in colour.”

In the end, Yuxi chose a pale purple coloured dress with a simple flower hanging bun on her head, which was pinned with a pair of silver dragonflies hairpin. This made Zisu’s eyes couldn’t take it anymore. She said, “Miss, this is too dull, which is not good.”

Yuxi shook her head and asked, “My yard has burned down. What good things do you think I have?”

Zisu didn’t know what kind of medicine Yuxi sold in her gourd¹²Chinese saying : what someone is planning, but she said after seeked truth from fact¹³Chinese idiom : be practical and realistic, “Miss, everyone in the mansion knows that we have saved all your jewellery.”

Yuxi shook her head helplessly, “What situation are we in right now? The Crown Prince is dead. He may have committed suicide in the rebellion, but he was once the Crown Prince. Besides, how many people have died outside. Even in our residence, so many people have died. If I’ll be like a lovely scene of blossoming plants swaying in the breeze¹⁴Chinese idiom : gorgeously dressed (woman) for the dinner party, isn’t that going to show that I have a lack of heart?”

Zisu felt that Yuxi had a point, but she still believed that Yuxi was dressed too plainly, “How about changing into a different set of clothes?” Her Miss was dressing herself like a mourning girl. She worried that the Old Lady and the Lord’s facial expressions wouldn’t look good when they saw her Miss like this.

Yuxi waved her hand, “Don’t worry, it’s fine.” No matter what she wore, she would be fine. Her aunt would definitely protect her.

Zisu wondered, how come her Miss became much bolder after she had gotten well from illness. “Miss, what if the Old Lady blamed you?”

Yuxi looked at Zisu and smiled, “Grandmother won’t blame me.” As for the reason why, she didn’t explain it to Zisu.