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nChapter 35 : Murderous Devil (2)

nAfter a moment, till all the sound of horses couldn’t be heard, Yuxi finally dared to lift up the carriage curtain and asked Han Jianming, “Eldest Brother, was that person actually Yun Qing, the grandson of Old General Yun?”

nWithout waiting for Han Jianming’s answer, Han Jianye started answering in loud voice, “I didn’t expect this guy to be so famous, even Xi-er heard about him.”

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nYuxi shivered. Yun Qing, the eldest grandson of Old General Yun. Yun Qing, the famous Murderous Devil of the Zhou Dynasty. How could she not have heard of him?

nYun Qing had never lost a battle since he led the army. However, he was criticized for never leaving a living mouth in each battle he had, which meant that there were none of the enemy became his captives. After each battle, he would left behind corpses which pile up liked a mountain (Chinese idiom : a large number of something, in this sentenced it means a large number of corpses). In addition, he even dared to slaughter a city, which had tens of thousands of people. At his command, the world became a hell on earth.

nYuxi remembered clearly that his fiancee was scared to death after the news of the massacre reached the capital. At that time, the news of the incident spread very fiercely in the capital city, even she, who was not well informed in the boudoir, even heard of it.

nSuddenly, Yuxi remembered something and asked, “Second Brother, is the other youngster the eldest son of Jiang Wenrui?” If she remembered correctly, Jiang Hongfu’s mother should be a lady from the Yun family. From the way the two people addressing each other just now, they should be maternal cousins.

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nHan Jianye was relatively a thick lines (Chinese term : careless, haphazard, slapdash) of person, but Han Jianming was not. He was particularly surprised when he heard this, “Where did Fourth Sister hear about Cousin Hongfu?”

nYuxi felt a thump in her heart. She didn’t realize that the youngster was really Jiang Hongfu. No wonder she always felt he looked familiar. His features had some similarity with Jiang Hongjin. Yuxi pressed down the stormy waves in her heart and said with a smile, “I heard from the old women in the residence talking about Master Jiang’s eldest son who is very good at studying and has been acknowledged by a famous teacher as his student. I also heard that his mother passed away too early. I don’t know if it’s true.”

nHan Jianming knew that the old women in their residence like to gather to gossip about people of the capital city which he also generally knew. So, he didn’t suspect anything amiss in Yuxi’s statement, “Well, Cousin Hongfu is very intelligent, he studied well since he was a child, and now he has Elder Shan of Baitan Academy as his teacher.” Elder Shan of Baitan Academy was a famous scholar in the world. With his teaching, Jiang Hongfu’s future would not have any boundary.

nYuxi had only heard of Jiang Hongfu’s intelligent, but she was not really clear about the details. “It’s really great for him to be taught by such a famous teacher. Oh, that’s right! Eldest Brother, Second Brother, is Cousin Yun Qing impressive too?”

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nHan Jianye didn’t think much and said, “Yun Qing started training martial arts when he was three years old. No one of his peers in the capital is his opponent, whether in martial arts or riding or even shooting.”

nHan Jianming couldn’t help but cut in a sentence, “Cousin Yun Qing is also equally good in studying. Second Brother, if you want to compare yourself with others, you can’t compare with him. He’s good in both civil and military.” Yun Qing and Han Jianye were the same age. When, Han Jianming thought about the both of them, he couldn’t help but sigh. If only his younger brother had half of Yun Qing’s accomplishments, he would have been gleeful.

nYuxi’s mind was a bit puzzled. It was rumored that Yun Qing not only liked to kill people, but also liked to eat human flesh and drunk human blood, which made him an extremely abnormal guy. That was why she was scared when she heard his name. She couldn’t think of the reason why a boy who once had a hearty laughter, had a leaped of change in his temperament. There must be some major incidents happening around him. As for what had happened, she was not clear. In her last life, she herself did not understand her own affairs, so, when would she had time to care about other people’s affairs. In addition, although Yun Qing was fierce, at least he lived much better life than her.

nBack at Rose Courtyard, Yuxi unwrapped the red envelopes she received from Yun Qing and Jiang Hongfu. From inside Jiang Hongfu’s red envelope, she got a pair of golden bare ruyi, while Yun Qing gave her a pair of lovely simple little golden pigs.

nYuxi touched the two little golden pigs and muttered, no wonder the red envelope felt heavy in her hands. They probably worth four or five taels of silver each.

nOn this trip, Yuxi made a lot of profits worth a full pot. Having tasted the sweet end, she followed Han Jianming and his brother to the Marquis of Changping’s residences, which also known as the Zhou family residence, on the second day of New Year. This time, Yuru followed along.

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nVisiting relatives tradition would not end till the sixth day after Lunar New Year.

nWhen Yuxi finally back at her courtyard, she calculated that, in addition to the gifts of first meeting, together with the red envelopes she received, they would be worth more than four hundreds taels of silver, which made her earned a lot of money. No wonder children liked to celebrate the New Year. There would be money for them during New Year’s Day.

nHongshan caught sight of Yuxi looking at those small golds and silvers with a big smile that turned her eyes into narrow slits. Hongshan muttered in her heart that her Miss already had the tendency to be crazy about money.

nImage credit to Top China Travel (Chinese Lantern)

nOn the fourteenth days of the first month, Han Jianye suddenly asked Yuxi, “Xi-er, do you want to go to the Lantern Festival with me?”

nYuxi’s eyes twinkled and said, “Oh, yes!” She had never seen lanterns in her previous life. How could she miss the chance to see them in this life?

nHan Jianming shouted, “Nonsense! The night of the Lantern Festival is dangerous. You can not go.”

nYuxi paid no attention to Han Jianming’s worry as she said, “No fear, Eldest Brother. Second Brother will protect me.” To see the lanterns, there would surely be a lot of family members following. So, there was nothing for her to worry about her safety.

nWhen Han Jianye heard her words, his mouth slit open with a smile.

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nHan Jianming had a headache when he looked at Yuxi’s manner. Before, he thought Yuxi had a very calm temperament. However, when it came to playing, she showed her true colours. He tried to threaten, “There are a lot of kidnappers in the evening of the Lantern Festival. Many children have been abducted by these people, so you cannot go.” There were not only kidnappers but also stampedes happened during the Lantern Festival. It could be said that the festival was very dangerous. Unless a balcony was reserved, the girls would not be allowed to go out to see the lanterns.

nHan Jianye clapped his chest and said, “Don’t worry, Elder Brother, I will protect Xi-er.”

nHan Jianming would really like to tug at his younger brother’s ear and to see if he had even listened to his own words. Knowing that persuasion was useless, Han Jianming used his trump card, “It will only happen after grandmother and mother agreed to it.” Mother may agreed, but Grandmother certainly won’t.

nYuxi tug at Han Jianye’s hand, blinked her big eyes and said pitifully, “Second Brother, it’s all up to you.” It was strange to say that the Old Madam was very strict with the Heir, but somehow she was especially fond of Han Jianye. Even if Han Jianye did not grow up beside her, she still loved Han Jianye very much.

nHan Jianye readily promised, “Unable to see lanterns on Lantern Festival? It’s not a big matter. Grandmother will surely agree. Leave this matter to Second Brother.”

nYuxi thought it would take a while to wear out the Old Madam, but to her surprise, the Old Madam easily agreed. Unfortunately, Qiu Shi refused to let her go.

nQiu Shi drew Yuxi to her and said, “There are too many people in the evening of the fifteenth day. It is too dangerous for you to go.” On the fifteenth days, during the Lantern Festival, accidents happened every year. She dared not take risks.

nYuxi really wanted to go. She had not seen lanterns for more than twenty years in her last life. This time, she had difficultly given a chance. So, she was not willing to give it up easily. “Aunt, I haven’t seen lanterns for so long, so please let me go!”

nUnder Yuxi’s repeated pleadings, Qiu Shi finally lost the battle. However, she reminded, “When you go out, you can’t leave your Eldest Brother’s and Second Brothers’ sides, okay?”

nYuxi busily nodded her head.

nThe news of Yuxi going to see the lanterns on Lanterns Festival was heard by Yuru and Yuchen. Both also wanted to see them but was denied by the Old Madam. The reason for her refusal was very simple. It was unsafe for them.

nYuchen was somewhat depressed and asked, “Grandmother, since it is not safe, why did you still let Fourth Sister go?” It couldn’t be that her Grandmother was not worried about Fourth Sister’s safety.

nIt was hard for the Old Madam to just said that only Yuchen was disallowed, when Yuru, who was nearby, didn’t even refute Yuchen’s question. Something could be done, but it couldn’t be said. She vaguely said, “It’s no problem for your Eldest Brother and Second Brother to protect Fourth Girl alone, but it’s certainly not possible to protect the three of you.” In fact, with Yuchen’s appearance, she would certainly be the first choice for the kidnappers.

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nYuchen was somewhat disappointed, but she quickly said, “Grandmother, can we see them next year?”

nThe Old Madam thought for a moment and said, “Yes, we can book a place in advance next year.” There were many restaurants in the vicinity of the Lantern Festival, and one could watch it from the balcony. Although the effect would be less effective, but it was better than nothing.

nYuru, however, felt very uncomfortable and went back to her courtyard. She said to Qingxuan, “Now, not only my Mother is leaning towards my Fourth Sister, but also are my Eldest Brother and Second Brother.” On the second day of New Year, they actually took Yuxi to their maternal ancestral home. Yuxi was not from the Main House, so it was not necessary for them to bring her along. Thinking till here, Yuru felt very upset.

nQingxuan sighed in her heart, “Miss, the Fourth Miss can get such love from Madam and the two Young Masters, is also a favour left by her biological mother. Why should you argue with her about this?” It was better to serve Madam with all one’s heart, let her remembered Miss’ goodness, and helped her found a good family later on.

nYuru nevertheless said, “Qingxuan, don’t you think Fourth Sister has changed into another person after she was ill?”

nQingxuan had a bad feeling in her heart, “What does Miss want to say?”

nYuru remembered that people inside the residence said that Bamboo Pavilion was not a clean place, and Yuxi was acting so strange after being cured from her illness. “Was it you who said that Fourth Sister was touched by something unclean?”

nQingxuan was scared till cold sweats appeared and whispered, “Miss, you mustn’t say that. If you let Madam and the Heir know it, then, nothing good will come to Miss.“ When that time came, they would also suffer as her maids.

nBut Yuru felt that her guess was right, “Qingxuan, think carefully. Isn’t Yuxi like a changed person after she gets well from illness? She used to be muddleheaded and foolish, but now, she’s good in anything. Besides, she said that she had a talent for embroidery, but no one with a talent could learn needlework in less than a month…”

nQingxuan immediately thought of Yuru’s words and said, “Miss, Fourth Miss is only a little smarter than before, and nothing else is unusual with her.”

nYuru looked at the Qingxuan, who suddenly had a pale face, “What’s wrong?”

nQingxuan was about to cry, “Miss, we only guessed that the Fourth Miss was stained with dirty things and we don’t have any proof. This, will only provoke Madam’s wrath. Miss, you are now old enough to be married. What will you do if Madam hates you? “

nYuru gritted her teeth and said, “But I can’t let this evil witch turns the household into a mess.”

nQingxuan knew her Master’s temper. If she refuted her blindly, it would definitely backfire. “Miss, we need proof.” In fact, she really didn’t think there was anything wrong with Yuxi. Except that, she had became wiser after getting well. However, compared with the Third Miss, she was still far away. So, where could she be considered as an evil witch?

nYuru had no reply.

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