Chapter 213 : Chen Xue’s Death

After three days in a row of cloudy weather, it finally rained, and it rained heavily. The rain pelted the floor with a splash of rain.

Yuxi had lived in the countryside for over a year in her previous life, so she quickly adapted to her new surroundings. It was the few maids around her who had not yet adjusted to it.

Standing under the eaves, Yuxi looked out and smiled. “Standing here, you can smell the smell of wild herbs and mud.”

When Zisu saw that there were more smiles on Yuxi’s face ever since she came to the countryside than at the State Residence, the trace of resentment in her heart fell away. Zisu said, “Miss, I heard that there are mushrooms on the mountain after it rains. I will talk to the hamlet head later and ask him to get someone to go to the mountains tomorrow to collect some mushrooms. At that time, let’s ask Guo Daniang to make chicken stew with mushrooms for Miss.” Although Yuxi had come to the countryside, it had not lowered her food standards at all. It was also fortunate that the hamlet was right next to the public road, giving them easy access to go in and out. Plus, it was close to the capital, so it was convenient for them to sell anything. If it had been left to Han Jingyan, who knew in which ravine would he have sent them to?

Of course, in addition to the proximity to the capital and the convenience of buying things, the other great advantage was that the power holder in the hamlet was Yuxi. No matter what she wanted to do, all she had to do was give the order, and the hamlet head wouldn’t dare to say a word back.

The rain was good, but for it to rain three days in a row was unbearable. Yuxi called the head of the hamlet and asked, “After so many days of rain, will the harvest be poor?” Yuxi herself was not worried about her food and clothing, but since she lived in the hamlet, she certainly wanted the people there to be well-fed and warm. Of course, since she had bought the place, the life of the tenants was much better than before.

The hamlet head nodded his head heavily and answered, “With all the rain, the rice will fall in the fields. Once the fallen rice sprout, the loss will be great.” He only hoped that the rain would quickly stop so they could immediately harvest their crops and reduce the losses.

Yuxi was not familiar with this piece of information on farming and said, “You know better on this matter than me. If you face anything difficult, you can just tell me.”

The head of the hamlet walked away sullenly.

That evening, Yuxi was inside the house reading a book. In the countryside, there were not that many things for her to do. Thus, she used a small room in her bedroom as a study.

As she was reading her book, Yuxi heard a knock at the door. She was a bit surprised, as people in the countryside never went to bed late, so who would be knocking at the door this late at night?

After a while, the old woman servant who was guarding the door of the second courtyard came in and said, “Miss, the young master of the next hamlet has a fever and needs to be sent to the capital. But their carriage is stuck in the mud, so they want to borrow our carriage.” Whether to borrow or not, it was up to Yuxi to decide.

Saving a life was better than building a seven-storey pagoda, so she must help with this kind of thing. Yuxi replied, “Lend it to them! Also, let Han Ji go along. Maybe he can take care of a few things for them.” If the other party were a woman, Yuxi would have gone to see her. She had memorised medical books for so many years and had no practice but had a good knowledge of its theory. But since it was a man, there was nothing she could do.

Yuxi also did not take the matter to heart until Han Ji returned the following afternoon. That was when she learned that the one with the fever was actually the Second Master Chen.

Yuxi asked in surprise, “The hamlet next to us is the Chen family’s property?” Previously, she originally wanted to buy all the fields and mountains next to her hamlet. But later, when she knew the other party did not have such an intention, she gave up.

Han Ji shook his head and said, “No, it’s the dowry estate of the Lady of Taining.” Being outside was not like being at home, where many trivial matters had to be taken care of, and it was inconvenient for Yuxi, an unmarried young woman, to handle them. So Han Jianming picked Han Ji for Yuxi and let him manage all the outside matters.

Yuxi was a little surprised. “It’s already the middle of the sixth lunar month, and it’s almost time for the autumn exams in the eighth lunar month. What is Second Master Chen doing there at this time of year instead of preparing properly for the exams in the capital?”

Han Ji explained, “Something has happened at the Marquis Taining’s residence, and the Second Master Chen probably doesn’t have the heart for it.”

Yuxi was a little suspicious as she asked, “What happened?” In the past few days since she came to the hamlet since she did not want to hear rumours from outside, she did not ask anyone to inquire about any of it.

Han Ji said, “Eldest Miss Chen had died of illness and was buried in that hamlet.” An unmarried young lady could not be buried in her ancestral grave but had to be buried elsewhere. The feng shui was good in their hamlet, so the Chen family buried her there.

Yuxi was a little surprised. “Eldest Miss Chen family has died of illness? When did this happen?” How come she hadn’t heard any news at all. Well, she had been in a terrible mood herself lately, not knowing where her future would lay. She even thought of fleeing the capital. So how could she have the heart to care about what was going on outside?

Han Ji said, “It happened five days ago, and she was buried two days ago.” At that time, the coffin was still passing through the public road. But Yuxi had been staying inside the house and did not come out. Moreover, no one would tell her about such things. After all, it was unlucky for the Eldest Miss Chen to lose her life when she was only eighteen years old.

Remembering the rumours from back then, Yuxi couldn’t help but ask, “Han Ji, was Eldest Miss Chen really scared to death?” At this time, Yun Qing was not as ferocious as the rumours had suggested. He was now at most a little more short-tempered and had a murderous look. The Eldest Miss Chen came from a family of martial artists. For her to be scared to death just because the other side had killed a few more people made Yuxi find this matter a bit strange.

Han Ji wondered why Yuxi suddenly came out with such a statement and asked, “Who said she died of fright? Miss Chen died of illness.”

Yuxi was somewhat embarrassed. “I heard someone say earlier that Miss Chen was so scared till she fell ill because she heard that Yun Qing was cutting men down as if he was cutting hempen stalks.”

Han Ji didn’t know from whom Yuxi had heard this rumour, but he explained earnestly, “Miss, Marquis Chen knew that Yun Qing was in the northwest and wanted to marry the Eldest Miss to the northwest. Thus, Eldest Miss Chen fell ill when she heard this news. I heard that the Second Master Chen wanted the Marquis to withdraw from the marriage, but the Marquis disagreed. Therefore, the father and son had a falling out because of this.”

Yuxi said with some surprise, “Do you mean that the Eldest Miss Chen did not want to marry to the northwest, so she died of depression? That’s not right. It’s only been less than two months.” The northwest was a sandy place, so it was understandable that she did not want to marry there. But to die because of this, and in less than two months, showed that Eldest Miss Chen was too fragile.

Han Ji hesitated a bit and said, “The Chen family thought that Yun Qing was dead, so they were looking for someone else for Eldest Miss Chen at the beginning of the year.” There was no ground for others to blame the Chen family for doing this since Yun Qing had been missing for eight years without a word. So they couldn’t just let their daughter wait for him for the rest of her life!

Yuxi didn’t know about this. “Did the Chen family find a good candidate?”

Han Ji nodded and said, “They did. He was Lin Shao, the di grandson of General Lin, a long-time family friend of the Chen family. The Lin family was preparing for betrothal gifts when, at that time, a piece of news came back to the capital, saying that Yun Qing was still alive.”

Yuxi muttered this Chen Xue was genuinely unlucky. If the news had come back sometime later, the two families would have settled the betrothal gifts. Even if there were news that Yun Qing was alive, it wouldn’t have changed anything. It was truly hateful for Yun Qing to come up at this time. She then asked, “Wasn’t the Chen family negotiating a marriage? Why didn’t they simply break off the engagement with Yun Qing?” The marriage had already been renegotiated, and if Chen Xue were allowed to marry Yun Qing again, Yun Qing would have a knot in his heart. It would be strange for a woman to live well with a man who had doubts in his heart. Moreover, no one would be willing to marry in a place like the northwest.

Han Ji said, “Other people think it is best to break off the engagement with Yun Qing, but the Duke of Chen refused to do so.”

Yuxi asked curiously, “Why is Marquis Chen unwilling? Yun Qing himself has disappeared for eight years without a trace, and he is in no position to blame the Chen family for finding another marriage for their daughter.” After all, Chen Xue was eighteen years old this year, and it was already too old to discuss marriage at that age.

Han Ji said, “It was not Yun Qing’s problem. It was Marquis Chen’s unwillingness to destroy the arranged marriage and his insistence that Chen Xue be married off to the northwest.”

Hearing this, Yux understood. “Marquis Chen felt that Yun Qing had a future, so he was unwilling to give up this son-in-law who had great potential.” Men and women saw things differently. What men valued most was still the man’s family and his prospects. Thinking of this, Yuxi asked, “That Lin Shao, was he not very brilliant?” For them to discuss marriage when Chen Xue was already old, even if she were the di daughter of the Chen family, the union would not be particularly desirable. Otherwise, with Chen Xue’s status, she could become a Prince’s fei.

Han Ji wasn’t surprised that Yuxi would say that. All of them knew about Fourth Miss’s frequent visits to Master Shizi’s study. “Although Lin Shao is now a sixth-ranked military officer and has some abilities, he is much inferior to Yun Qing. Yun Qing’s current official position is the fifth rank, which he earned entirely through his military achievements.” The fifth rank might not be high, but the potential was unlimited. After all, Yun Qing was only eighteen years old!

Yuxi understood that it was not Yun Qing who had made Chen Xue die, but Marquis Chen. “How did you know about all this?”

Han Ji didn’t hide it from Yuxi as he said, “These are all the information we got from the residence.” It was equivalent to saying that he could share the information from the State Residence with Yuxi.

Yuxi was not very pleased with the news. It was not like there was much use in sharing the information with her, and it was not like she could get a travel permit with it. “You can tell me anything that happens in the capital or the residence in the future!” This meant there was no need to wait for her to ask before saying anything.

Han Ji nodded and said, “Okay.”

Yuxi sighed quietly. Rumours really could not be trusted. There was no telling what kind of person had thrown dirty water on Yun Qing, describing him in such a horrible way.

Zisu winced, knowing that Chen Xue was buried in a nearby hamlet. “Miss, this is too ominous.”

Yuxi gave her a blank look. “You’re thinking too much. The place where Miss Chen was buried is miles away from here. Then again, there are many graves in the hills of Red Date Hamlet.”

Zisu was dumbfounded. “Miss, how can this be the same?”

Yuxi countered in amusement, “Then tell me what’s the difference. Those buried on this mountain are not always older people who have lived to the end of their lives. There are also children who died young and men and women who died before they were married.” In her last life, she had also fallen into the category of early death.

Zisu was worried about Yuxi. Miss Chen was also a young lady from a noble family, yet she ended up in this dire situation. She did not know what would happen to her Miss in the future. However, she did not dare to say this to Yuxi. She knew that although Miss’ face looked like the clouds were pale, and a light breeze was blowing, her heart had always been troubled.