Chapter 394 : The First Lunar Month (1)

It was taboo to wake someone up on the morning of the first day of the New Year, as it meant that the person being called had to be prodded into doing things for the whole year.

Luckily for Yuxi, she didn’t need to be called. She woke up at the right time, got dressed, and Yun Qing came in. Yuxi smiled and said, “After I wash myself up, I’ll pay my respects to Uncle Huo and Master Yang.” It was customary for the younger generation to wake up and pay their respects to their elders, wishing them good health and longevity and having all they desired. Yun Qing had no parents, but there were still two elders in residence, Huo Changqing and Master Yang.

Huo Changqing got up early every day to practise martial arts. When he heard that Yuxi and Yun Qing had come over to pay him New Year’s greetings, he froze momentarily, then said, “Let them in.”

Hearing this, Yan Yiyi hurriedly said, “Laoye, we haven’t prepared the red packets yet!” Yan Yiyi did not expect Yuxi to come over early in the morning to pay her respects. This custom was only for the elders in the family, and this incident made Yan Yiyi realise Huo Changqing’s unusual position inside the residence.

Huo Changqing said, “Then go and prepare!” For more than ten years, he had been thinking about how to survive and avoid assassination. Where would he still have time to think about the New Year celebration? Naturally, he had also forgotten many of the customs.

Yuxi performed a junior salute to Huo Changqing and wished him with a smile, “I wish Uncle Huo a peaceful, healthy and prosperous new year.” She wanted everyone around her to be safe and healthy more than wanting them to be rich or anything else.

Yun Qing waited for Yuxi to finish her greetings before dryly doing his. “Happy New Year, Uncle Huo.” After saying that, there was nothing more. This greeting was the most concise and clear.

Huo Changqing looked at Yun Qing with disgust for saying the same thing for more than ten years. There was nothing new at all, which was far worse than his wife. Huo Changqing turned towards Yuxi and said, “Good, good, good.” He said three good words in quick succession, then took the red envelopes from Yan Yiyi’s hand and gave them to the two.

Yuxi took the red envelope with both hands and said with a smile on her face, “Thank you, Uncle Huo.”

The two couples then went on to pay their respects to Master Yang.

Master Yang waited for the two to finish their celebratory words, handed them the red envelopes and said, “I don’t have much money in my hand here, so don’t mind the small amount.” One red packet contained five taels of silver, which was already his entire savings. He could not help it; he was just fond of these two.

Yuxi smiled.

When Zijin heard this, she interjected, “Master, what are you talking about? As if my Madam still wants to covet a few taels of silver from you.” Madam and the General had come to pay their respects to Master Yang because they treated him as an elder, not as if they wanted a few taels of silver from him.

Yuxi couldn’t help laughing. “Master Yang was just joking. Why are you so serious?” What a silly girl, but seeing the way Master Yang only blew his nose and glared at Zijin, Yuxi was happy again.

Not long after breakfast, Xu Wu came in and informed the couple, “General, Madam, two children came just now, and they knelt at the gate and kowtowed three times towards the mansion. When I asked them, they said they were here to pay their respects to Madam.” The two children also consider themselves as their juniors, as kowtowing to them on New Year was a greeting only younger generations would perform to their elders.

Yuxi exclaimed in surprise. “Did they say what their names were?”

Xu Wu nodded. “Yes, one is called Lu Zhu and the other Lu Bai. The two children are brothers. Lu Bai said he was a student of Qingming Hall.”

Yuxi suddenly came to a realisation. For those two children coming over so early in the morning showed they were pretty thoughtful. “Since they have come as our guests during the first month, treat them well.”

Xu Wu froze for a moment before asking, “Madam doesn’t want to see these two children?” He thought Madam would be happy to see these two children when she heard this news!

Yuxi shook her head for a moment. “There’s no need for me to see them. Just have someone greet them properly.” If many people came today, meeting them one by one would be tiring.

Not to mention Xu Wu’s inability to understand Yuxi’s thoughts; even Yun Qing could not understand it either. Yun Qing said, “Since the children have come to our door, there is no harm in going to meet them.”

Yuxi shook her head. “I am glad that they have this intention. But there is no need for me to see them. Besides, I don’t like to hear them say things like gratitude and repayment of kindness.”

Yun Qing smiled. “As you wish.” Everyone else liked words of praise except for his wife, who didn’t seem fond of hearing a few kind words when she did something good.

After Lu Bai came out of the Yun Residence, he was a little disappointed. “I was expecting to meet Madam Yun!” Although Madam Yun had come to the school, she had only gone to the first class. The others from the other classes couldn’t even see her. They had heard from the students in first class about how beautiful and gentle Madam Yun was, but unfortunately, they just hadn’t had the chance to meet her.

Hearing this, Lu Zhu said, “As long as you study hard, you will definitely have the chance to meet Madam Yun in the future.” If Madam Yun could go to the school once, she could go there for a second and third time.

Lu Bai nodded, then smiled as he took out a piece of candy and handed it to Lu Zhu, saying, “Ge, you can have a piece!” The two children were very restrained, and when they heard that Yuxi did not see them, they drank a cup of boiling water and came out. On their way out, Xu Daniu stuffed Lu Bai with a pocketful of sweets.

Lu Zhu didn’t refuse. He took the candy and ate it. “Save them well so that you can eat them later.”

Lu Bai cracked a smile and said, “Ge, I know.” He was unwilling to eat such tasty candies in one go.

Lu Zhu and Lu Bai were the first to start, followed by many other children who came to pay their respects to Yuxi. Half of them were accompanied by elders, and most came in groups.

Although Yuxi didn’t personally meet these children, she was still pleased in her heart. She didn’t expect these children to return the favour, but it was gratifying to be remembered for what she had done.

A matter of this magnitude could not be concealed at all, and of course, no one in the Yun Residence wanted to hide it either. So, all those who should know knew.

There was no need to mention the Qin family’s reaction, which was undoubtedly uncomfortable. The most depressed one had to be Fu Qingluo, who complained about it to Da Nainai Fu. “Dasao, why do you think that after I helped so many people, none of them came to thank me?” Whenever Fu Qingluo saw those rascals molesting women, she would help the women out. She might not have helped eighty to a hundred people, but there would always be one or twenty at least. However, she never received any thanks from anyone. Instead, her father scolded her while pouring the dog’s blood on her head every time, which made her feel depressed. She also did the same good deeds, but her treatment was different!

Da Nainai Fu said, “It’s not the same. They’re not comparable.” Seeing Fu Qingluo insist that she make it clear, she had no choice but to explain. “You can’t even hide when you are doing things, so how can you expect an unmarried woman to thank you?” Although Fu Qingluo had a bad reputation, the ruffians in Yucheng restrained themselves because of her. They didn’t dare to molest any girls nor had the guts to force themselves upon them. Otherwise, it would be too costly to spend the rest of their life as eunuchs.

Listening to this, Fu Qingluo muttered, “Dasao, I still think I should go to the school to help.” She had always felt that the matter of women being inferior to men was such nonsense. She wanted to show the world that women were not inferior to men at all. It was just that when she had done it her way before, no one had agreed with her, making her bitter. But when she saw how Han Yuxi opened such a big thing as the study hall without saying a word and how well it was managed, the most important thing was that no one had stopped praising Han Yuxi ever since. Fu Qingluo felt that she had taken the wrong path before, and as to what and which path was the right one, this must continue to be explored.

Da Nainai Fu looked at Fu Qingluo and said, “You are so quick to forget. Didn’t you suffer a cold shoulder treatment last time?” She was naturally happy that her younger sister-in-law was doing the right thing and not getting herself into trouble. But this was not something that you could just do whatever you wanted.

Fu Qingluo stated, “I’m not going to teach the students this time. I’ll do something else.”

Da Nainai Fu poured cold water on her by asking, “Then tell me, what can you do if you don’t teach the students martial arts? So you’re going to do hard labour at the school?” The so-called hard labour was such work as chopping wood and carrying water. It wasn’t that she was looking down on Fu Qingluo, but she knew her xiaogu too well. Apart from her martial arts skills, her needlework was just too horrible.

When Fu Qingluo heard these questions, she was silent for a rare moment. If Fu Qingluo were someone who could be beaten so easily, then she would have been down long ago. Where would she have let it bring her down today? “Tomorrow, I will go to the Yun Residence.” Han Yuxi was a clever one. Let’s see what she would say about this.

Da Nainai Fu knew Fu Qingluo’s temper. No one could stop her when she had decided what she wanted to do. In response, Da Nainai Fu didn’t say anything to persuade her. But that evening, she whispered to Fu Tianlei about this. “I think it’s better for Meimei to have less contact with Han Shi in the future!”

Fu Tianlei asked curiously, “What’s happened?”

Da Nainai Fu answered, “Regarding the rumours about the Xu family and Xu Shi, Han Shi had used Qingluo. Han Shi has too much cleverness. How could Qingluo win against her? She would even help Han Shi count the money even if she was sold by her! I think it’s better not to let Qingluo have too much contact with Han Shi.”

Fu Tianlei responded with a smile, “It’s a matter of Qingluo’s willingness to fight for her. How could you say Han Shi took advantage of her? I have a different opinion than you. If we let her stay with Han Shi, she won’t get into trouble again, and she’ll be able to cultivate her moral character and nature. At that time, I’ll choose another husband candidate for her.” Fu Tianlei, as a brother, had been worried about her like he was her father.

Da Nainai Fu was still unsure about this.

Fu Tianlei thought more thoroughly than Da Nainai Fu. Thus, when he saw her acting like this, he made it clear so that his wife wouldn’t have to think about it. “Yun Qing and I are bound together, and Han Shi is not stupid. So how would she scheme against her husband’s own people?” Han Shi was not stupid. On the contrary, she was very clever. Therefore, she would certainly not do such a foolish thing.

Hearing this, Da Nainai Fu said, “I hope it’s as you say!”

Fu Tianlei told Da Nainai Fu, “I also know that Han Shi is not a simple one. But she is single-minded about Yun Qing, so she won’t harm us. You should go around with her more in the future.” He and Yun Qing had sworn to be friends until their death. But if his wife did not get along with Han Shi, it would also affect their relationship as brothers in time.

Da Nainai Fu was reluctant to deal with Han Shi and said, “It would be better to maintain general correspondence, just like how we forget the pain once the wound is healed.” Han Yuxi was too calculating, and she was a little frightened. She felt that maintaining the facade would be sufficient.

When Fu Tianlei heard this, he didn’t force the issue and said, “That’s fine, as long as you can grasp the situation yourself.”