Chapter 183 : Wicked Trick (2)

Ever since Qiu Lilong had seen Yuchen, he could never forget her, and he even dreamed of her. But he could no longer enter the inner courtyard. Since the Old Lady had scolded her, Wu Shi would not dare to let him into the inner courtyard. So, Qiu Lilong could not enter the inner courtyard even if he wanted to see Wu Shi and Qiu Yanfu. For this reason, Qiu Lilong was so anxious that he could not sneak into the backyard in the middle of the night. However, since the night of the Palace Rebellion, the security of the State Residence had become much tighter than before, so the chance for him to sneak in was zero.

Yuxi knew that Qiu Lilong had been inquiring about all kinds of news about Yuchen in the residence, and he even tried to pry into Yuchen’s whereabouts that Yuxi couldn’t help but laugh, “What a lustful mind.” Not to mention that Yuchen was someone the 10th Prince liked; even if there was no 10th Prince, she was not some goods Qiu Lilong could easily covet.

Zisu said, “Miss, I heard that this Qiu Lilong is here to do business. Such a person also want to do business in the capital?” For such a lustful person, he wouldn’t even know if he was extremely cheated.

Yuxi remembered Yuchen’s anger at that time, and her mouth flashed a smile. Yuchen was much better informed than she was; thus, Yuchen should have known what Qiu Lilong had done. Being so disgusted by him, Yuchen should not be able to remain indifferent. These years have been too smooth for Yuchen that she had never made a move on anyone. Eh, the rumours about the Qiao family should be counted as once. This time, Yuchen would definitely make her move too.

What happened to the Qiao family last time showed Yuxi that once Yuchen made her move, then it would be one that wouldn’t leave even a way out for the target person. Yuxi was very much looking forward to what would happen to Qiu Lilong. When the time came, Wu Shi’s face must have looked very good.

It was the end of the eleventh lunar month, and the weather was getting even colder, so floor dragon had been burned in Yuxi’s bedroom and the study. The temperature difference between inside and outside was so great that she would shiver every time she stepped outside.

Returning from the Master Courtyard, Yuxi stamped her feet and muttered, “It’s so cold today. I’m afraid it’s going to snow.” The weather would drop a lot before it snowed.

Zisu didn’t understand it either: “Since Miss feels this cold, Miss should not go out again.” Qiu Shi had already recovered from her illness, and with Ye Shi’s help in taking care of her, there was no need for Yuxi to help out any more.

Yuxi nodded for a moment, then she called Bingmei over and asked, “Has Qiu Lilong made any move?” Qiu Lilong had befriended the eldest young master of the Wang family, an imperial merchant family, half a month ago, and they were currently very thick with each other.

Bingmei shook her head and answered, “Not yet.”

Yuxi nodded a little, “Let me know if you have any news.” She just wondered how deep the hole that Yuchen had dug for Qiu Lilong. Unknowingly, it would take a long time before she knew about it.

Just then, Caidie came in and reported, “Miss, the winter clothes have been delivered.” The so-called winter clothes were new clothes for New Year, which Qiu Shi had made extra for Yuxi.

Yuxi looked at the dress and smiled. The material was the finest tribute satin, and the flowers were very well embroidered. It was clear that a lot of effort and thought had gone into the clothes, “It’s beautiful. This dress will be worn on Er Ge’s wedding day.”

Bingmei suggested, “Miss, it’s better to wear it during the New Year! Otherwise, it won’t be good if you wear it and steal the limelight from Er Shaonainai.”

Yuxi couldn’t help smiling, “I heard that your mouth is sweet before, but today I know that it is indeed true.” That was a beautiful compliment. But Yuxi’s mind couldn’t be changed by just one person.

That evening, Yuxi read a book in the room when she heard Zisu laughing outside and calling her out, “Miss, it’s snowing. It’s really snowing.” Her Miss had a miracle foresight that she could even know that it would be snowing today.

Hearing this, Yuxi put down her book and walked out. The snow was small, so small that no trace could be found when it fell on the ground. Looking at the snowflakes that were not very visible in the sky, she muttered, “It’s only pretty when there is a big heavy snowfall.” The big heavy snowfall was gorgeous.

Image Credit | 陝西新東方烹飪學校 (西安終於下雪了，還是鵝毛大雪，那些你想打卡觀雪的聖地都在這裡, Dec 27th, 2018)

Kufu was more realistic as she suggested, “Miss, do you want to add a pot of charcoal to your room at night?” A pot of charcoal was placed in Yuxi’s study, but there was none in her bedroom.

Yuxi shook her head and said, “No need. The room has floor dragons, so there is no need to put burning charcoal in. If you feel cold in your room, you can add a pot there.” There was floor dragons in her room and a thick quilt on the bed, so there was no need to burn any charcoal. But the maids’ room did not have floor dragons, only a hot kang. So it would be warmer if there was a pot of charcoal in their room.

After that, Yuxi remembered something Momo Quan told her, and she mentioned it to Kufu, “When you add burning charcoal to your room, make sure you leave some gaps in the windows at night.” Momo Quan told her that when all the doors and windows were closed too tight, and too many coals were lit in the room, it could make people uncomfortable, and in a serious case, it could make people unconscious. Momo Quan didn’t know that it was called carbon monoxide poisoning. She knew this from her personal experience.

Zisu said, “Miss, it’s so late already. So stop reading and go to bed!” Other people’s Miss all went to bed early, but her Miss, on the other hand, did not go to bed until the end of haishi.

When Yuxi looked that the time was near, she no longer went to her study but instead went to the west wing. One of the two rooms in the west wing had been dedicated for her to practice wuqinxi.

After a full set of wuqinxi, she had a rest for a bit before she took a bath and then she went to bed, where she slept until dawn.

Han Jianye’s wedding date was set on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, and now the State Residence was busy preparing for Han Jianye’s wedding. Even though it was snowing today, the servants in residence were still coming and going. Compared to them, Yuxi’s day was particularly relaxing, and she had the pleasure of going to the garden to watch the snow.

When she arrived at the garden, she met Yuchen, collecting snow from the plum blossoms. Yuxi smiled and said, “On such a cold day, San Jie is not afraid of freezing her hands.”

Yuchen shook her head and responded, “It’s not a problem. Once I return, I’ll just put some medicine on them.”

The two of them chatted while collecting snow water. When the snow water had completely been collected, Yuchen offered an invite, “When you have time, come to Tingyun Pavilion.” It had been a long time since she had chatted with Yuxi.

Yuxi smiled and nodded in response, “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard the sound of San Jie’s flute. I miss it. I’ll go there tomorrow.”

Pelt Outercoat

Image Credit | PCLADY.com.cn via KKnews (古代的愛馬仕，原來這麼貴, Feb 9th, 2018)

When Yuxi returned from Tingyun Court in a good mood the next day, she noticed that Zisu’s expression did not look quite right. She took off her heavy long-haired pelt outercoat and passed them to Kufu, “What’s wrong?”

Zisu said, “Miss, let’s talk in the study!” There were too many people around, and some things were not easy for her to say.

Walking into the study, Yuxi stood in the middle of the room and asked, “What is it, exactly? Now you can speak.” Looking at Zisu’s face, the matter was obviously not good.

Zi Su said, “Xiao Tong sent me word that Qiu Yanfu’s personal maid, Yanyu, is in frequent contact with Ah Zhao, Second Master’s attendant.” Ah Zhao’s mother was from Hangzhou, and so was Yanyu, so the two of them were half fellow-townsmen and had been in contact for the past two years. But before that, the two would only meet once in three or five months, but according to Xiao Tong, they had already met several times in the past few days.

Yuxi had a hunch that there was something wrong on Qiu Lilong’s side, but Bingmei didn’t get any news about him. Well, to put it bluntly, her strength was too weak even to pry out a message, “You let Xiao Tong pay close attention to the behaviour of Qiu Yanfu and Yanyu, and don’t interfere with the rest.” Yuxi was ready to use a quiet approach.

Zisu remembered the previous rumours and said, “Miss, perhaps Qiu Yanfu is truly going to scheme on the Second Master. The Second Master is about to get married, so there can’t be any wicked tricks happening.”

Yuxi looked down and pondered for a moment before saying, “It doesn’t matter. Just have someone keep a close eye on Qiu Yanfu.” After saying this, Yuxi felt that something was wrong, “The rules in residence have always been stringent, so how did Yanyu and Ah Zhao meet each other so often?” Ah Zhao lived in the front courtyard, but Yanyu lived in the inner courtyard; hence it was surprising that they could see each other so often, which showed how loose the residence security was.

Zisu wasn’t quite sure and said, “The First Lady has been busy with the Second Master’s marriage, and the house’s internal affairs are all handled by Da Nainai. It’s not like Da Nainai hasn’t managed the household before, so by rights, there shouldn’t be such an oversight.” If it was the first time she had handled so many household chores, it was normal for oversights to occur, but this situation didn’t look right.

When Yuxi heard this, there was a flash of cold light in her eyes, and her face looked ugly as she said, “Ye Shi. This is intentional.”

Zisu cried out, “Da Nainai did it on purpose? Why would she do that? It’s not like there’s any benefit to Da Nainai for Qiu Yanfu to scheme on the Second Master.” There was no benefit for her; on the contrary, this matter would only make the First Lady dislike her if it was exposed.

Yuxi sighed slightly and explained, “Don’t forget that Miss Lu used to be Second Master Ye’s fiancée. Dasao is doing this to make Miss Lu feel disgusted.” Yuxi had known for a long time that Ye Shi was the kind of person with a strong personality. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone toe to toe with her Eldest Aunt in her last life and ended up causing the entire Han family to be in turmoil. The matter of Lu Xiu must have been like a fishbone that had stuck in her throat. This time, when Qiu Yanfu wants to set up a scheme against her Er Ge, she lent a hand by pushing the wave and adding to the billows from behind the scenes. By that time, even if it was found out that she wasn’t directly involved with the matter, the most that could be said was that she was a bit lax in managing the household.

Hearing this, Zisu urged, “Miss, we must hurry and tell the First Lady about this. If we are too late, we might let Qiu Yanfu get her hands on him!”

Yuxi was silent for a moment before saying, “Let me think about it.”

Zisu said anxiously, “Miss, what else do you need to think about? You can’t let Qiu Yanfu calculate the Second Master. He is about to get married. If anything happens before that, the wedding won’t look good by then.”

Yuxi looked at the extremely worried Zisu with some surprise and inquired and wondered, “Why are you so anxious? I just need time to think about it, and I didn’t say that I don’t care about it.”

Zisu’s heart jumped, but she kept her composure on the surface, “Second Master has always loved Miss like her own sister. Now someone is trying to set up the Second Master. Miss can’t just stand by and watch.”

Although Yuxi was a little surprised at Zisu’s attitude, she didn’t think much of it and just said, “Just because Er Ge loves me as if I were his blood sister, I have to be even more cautious.” She had to imagine how to solve this matter in the best way possible.

After talking with Zisu, Yuxi went into the study and picked up the book «Sun Tzu’s Art of War and the 36 Stratagems» to read over. When she was tired of reading, she leaned back in her chair and looked up at the wooden beams on the roof. Only after a long time did she let out a long breath.