The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 141 : Evil Spirit (1)

When the breeze blew, all the lotus flowers in the pond shook up. The graceful lotus flowers that filled the pond were more than one, and each one had its own posture.

As they stood by the lake, Yuxi instructed Zisu, “Ask Auntie Guo to make beggar’s chicken for lunch.” Beggar’s chicken was one of Yuxi’s favourite dishes, which she always asked the cook to make it from time to time.

Yuxi felt that Yuchen had become very strange during this time. Before, Yuchen would ask a maid to call her to Tingyun Pavilion if she wanted to see her. Now, Yuchen would come by herself if she wanted to do something with her. The change in attitude before and after was so great that it made Yuxi tense her nerves at first. Later on, when she saw that there was nothing unusual about Yuchen, plus the Old Lady didn’t blame her for it, Yuxi started to relax.

However, Yuxi pursued give-and-take, and Yuchen had often visited her. So when Yuxi was bored or couldn’t read any more books, she would go to Tingyun Pavilion.

Yuxi said with a smile, “Lotus leaf porridge has the effect of cooling and relieving summer heat, but San Jie[3]san=third, jie=elder sister, are you sure that Momo[4]wet nurse Gui will let you eat it?” Momo[4]wet nurse Gui was capable, but she was being too controlling. If it was Yuxi herself, she would definitely be unwilling to have such a momo[4]wet nurse.

Yuchen lightly smiled, “As long as Momo[4]wet nurse Sha says it’s fine, Momo[4]wet nurse Gui won’t have any objections.” Since that night, Yuchen had taken the initiative to approach Yuxi. After which the content of their conversation was no longer limited to music, chess, calligraphy and painting. They would talk about the house’s internal affairs, food, jewellery and clothes. Occasionally, they would also talk about outside gossip and critique the temperament of other family young ladies. This was unimaginable to Yuxi in the past, and it felt like Yuchen had fallen from the altar back to earth.

Yuxi put down the grapes in her hand and somewhat sighed, “San Jie[3]san=third, jie=elder sister, I really envy you, since there are so many capable people around you. Unlike me. I wanted to find a managing mama, but after looking for so long I couldn’t find one that was satisfying.” It wasn’t that Qiu Shi hadn’t given Yuxi some recommendations, but Yuxi’s requirements were just too high for any of them to meet. As for the Old Lady, ever since the incident that night, she no longer interfered with Yuxi’s affairs, and she just left her to her own devices.

How could Yuchen not know Yuxi’s thoughts? “You can’t find someone like Momo[4]wet nurse Quan so easily. If you ask me, you might as well invite Momo[4]wet nurse Quan back.” Managing mama was not only capable and resourceful, but also trustworthy. It was very difficult to find the person who could meet these three requirements at the same time.

Yuxi also wanted Momo[4]wet nurse Quan to be by her side. The problem was, Momo[4]wet nurse Quan was not the type who was willing to submit to others. Everyone had their own aspirations, so she wasn’t going to force it. “For this kind of thing, let nature just take its course!” After saying that, she gave out a smile, “This is really rare. We’ve been sitting here for so long and Momo[4]wet nurse Gui didn’t even come to urge you to practice writing and playing the qin?”

As the two people talked and laughed, half a shichen[5]2 hours had passed. Just as Yuxi was about to tell Yuchen to go back, an old woman servant came over and informed, “Third Miss, a messenger from Marquis Pingqing Residence has come.”

Yuchen didn’t mind. Marquis Pingqing Residence would send people to deliver things over every now and then, so she was used to it. But in the end, it was a token of her Waizumu[6]maternal grandmother’s and Jiujiu[7]maternal uncle’s goodwill, thus it was not good to give them a cold-shoulder. “Yuxi, let’s talk again other time!”

Yuxi stood up with a smile and said, “Okay.” When she was tired from reading a book or felt a little agitated, it was also quite pleasant to have someone to chat with, taste some tea, listen to the qin or eat fresh and delicious fruits.

On the way, Kufu couldn’t help saying, “Marquis Pingqing and Old Lady Jiang really love Third Miss.” There was nothing that Marquis Pingqing wouldn’t send, not to mention food, clothing and anything that Yuchen needed. Especially after the disaster that night, Marquis Pingqing Residence had sent a lot of things as soon as he got the news. Incidentally, he also sent two girls who knew kung fu to protect Third Miss.

Yuxi only smiled. She truly did not envy these kinds of things. This noob translation was translated by a noob translator きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

When Yuchen returned to Tingyun Pavilion, she was shocked to see that it was actually old woman Min who was waiting in the living room. “Mama Min, what are you doing here?” Old woman Min was the most close servant of the Old Lady Jiang, and she wouldn’t come here unless it was really important.

Old woman Min swept a glance at other people in the room.

Yuchen immediately ordered everyone else to leave the room and then asked with a very serious look, “What’s going on?” At first, Yuchen presumed that Old Lady Jiang was unwell, but that wasn’t the case now. If Waizumu[6]maternal grandmother was indeed sick, there was no need to hide it from anyone.

Old woman Min asked, “Miss, the Old Lady asked me to ask you, have you ever offended Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang?” This matter was so important that Old Lady Jiang even had to let her confidant come over.

Yuchen was unable to make head or tail[9]Chinese idiom ; baffled of this question, as she shook her head and replied, “No! I’ve only met with Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang three times in total, and although we didn’t become friends, I didn’t act hostile with her either. We only have ordinary contacts with each other.”

Old woman Min frowned. “That’s strange.” After uttering that, she asked again, “Did Miss never ever offend Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang? Think about it more, Miss.”

Yuchen’s intuition told her that there was something wrong, and it was a big deal. “Mama, I never ever offended Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang. The first time I saw her was at Marquis Taining Residence! However, speaking of which, I still feel puzzled about this. The first time I met her, she was the one who first acted hostile against me?”

Old woman Min immediately grasped the key word. “Being hostile? Did Miss have any enmity with Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang?”

Yuchen shook her head. “No, it was my first time to meet Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang in Marquis Taining Residence. Hence, how could we suddenly become enemies? We also didn’t get along badly at the next two of our meetings.”

Old woman Min asked again, “Then what about Miss Yuxi? Did Miss Yuxi have animosity with Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang?”

Yuchen shook her head without even thinking for a bit, “No. Yuxi was very respectful towards Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang and did not overstep her bounds at all. At that time when Yuxi won against the Young Lady of the Yu family in a chess game at the Gongzhu[10]princess’s residence, Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang even held Yuxi’s hand and praised her fiercely, showing special closeness.”

Old woman Min frowned so deeply till the place between her brows turned into the character 川 (chuan[11]river).

Yuchen had bad thoughts in her mind, “Mama, what is actually going on? Why did you keep on talking about Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang when everything is fine between me and her?”

Old woman Min’s expression turned ugly as she explained, “Miss, the Lord Marquis has already caught the bandit leader who had sneaked into the Duke of the State Residence that night. The bandit leader has confessed, saying that someone spent huge sums of money to let his people break into the Duke of the State Residence on the night of the palace rebellion, and take advantage of the disorder to kill you and Miss Yuxi. According to his confession, the Lord Marquis found out that Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang was the person responsible behind-the-scenes. Therefore, the Old Lady specially asked me to come and ask you about it.”

Yuchen felt that this was the most ridiculous thing she ever heard. “The mastermind behind-the-scenes was Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang? Why would she do that? As far as I know, there is no enmity between our residence and Qiao family! Moreover, even if Yuxi and I ever offended her, she shouldn’t have gone as far as paying the bandits to come to our house for the purpose of killing us and set our home on fire, should she?” Not to mention if they ever did quarrel, or even if Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang wanted to make trouble because she wasn’t happy with them, she wouldn’t go as far as scheming to kill them.

Old woman Min shook her head as she said, “Lord Marquis and Master Shizi[12]heir of a noble family Han have definitely gone over everything. The Han family with the Qiao family, as well as the Gongzhu[10]princess Residence have always been like river water that did not interfere with well water[13]Chinese idiom : Do not interfere with one another. Not to mention that there had not been any quarrel that would cause such great enmity and deep hostility[14]Chinese idiom : profound hatred. So, Lord Marquis surmised to the Old Lady that Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang must have been driven by her own personal grudge.” The so-called personal grudge was the enmity between the two, Yuchen and Yuxi, with Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang.

Yuchen said resolutely and decisively, “Nothing happened like that. Not to mention about us becoming enemies with her, Yuxi and I have never been disrespectful towards Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang.”

Old woman Min also thought that this matter was weird. Of course, in the eyes of the Chiang family, it was Yuchen that Heshou County really wanted to kill, and Yuxi was just incidentally. Mainly because Yuchen’s fame was too big, while Yuxi’s reputation was not yet sufficient to even be considered.

Yuchen was silent for a moment before she asked a very crucial question, “Mama, how did Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang know about the Crown Prince’s plan to rebel that night? Has Jiujiu[7]maternal uncle found out about it yet?” For such a confidential matter, even her Jiujiu[7]maternal uncle, an important minister in the court, didn’t know, but it was too weird for a young lady who was in a deep boudoir like Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang to know it. Of course, Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang had always been an abnormal person.

Old woman Min shook her head, “Not yet. This is truly an evil nature. In ordinary course of events, Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang shouldn’t have known about such a confidential matter.” This noob translation was translated by a noob translator きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

Then, Yuchen said something that had been hidden in the bottom of her heart all this time. “Mama, I always feel that Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang is a bit strange. Look at all the things she has done in the past two years. I have no comment on those juices and fresh cakes. But she also made soap and perfume. Mama, as far as I know, Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang has never studied about perfume, nor has she ever come into contact with such things. Then, how did she know how to make these things?” If there were only one or two, they could still be considered as coincidence. However, for there to be so many things came out, how could they still be considered a coincidence?

Old woman Min asked, “What does Miss actually want to say?”

At this time, Yuchen did not want to hide anymore nor would she make up any trick, “Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang is not clean.” The so-called not clean meant that something or someone had been possessed by evil spirit.

Old woman Min didn’t respond to Yuchen’s statement, but she instead said, “Miss, do you know, during the time the Crown Prince plotted a rebellion, many families that supported him were destroyed and their properties had been taken over. Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang took this opportunity to buy many shops and real estate, and besides, she also bought a lot of antique calligraphy and paintings. I heard that she had spent up to 700,000 to 800,000 total of silver, which she had earned in the past two years.” This passage that old woman Min said was actually a side response to Yuchen’s words, supporting the statement that Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang was really abnormal. As to whether she was really possessed by dirty things, any oral expressions could not be taken as evidence[15]Chinese idiom : words of mouth alone don’t carry conviction.

Yuchen asked, “What should we do then?” If this was just a quarrel with a young lady family, it was okay for them to suffer some grievances and eat some losses. However, because of the matter that had been done by Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang, was the same as making an enemy of the Duke of the State Residence, so it was impossible for them to just forget about it.

Old woman Min shook her head, “This old servant doesn’t know.” She was only in charge of delivering the message, and as for the follow up, it was not for her to intervene nor to say anything.

After sending off old woman Min, Yuchen spent a long time in her bedroom. She didn’t know why Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang was trying to kill her. But, because of Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang, so many people had been killed and injured in the State Residence. As a result, she was haunted by nightmares about it these days, and even her grandmother felt guilty about those who had died.

No matter for what reason Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang was doing all this, and no matter what kind of a demon Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang was, from today onwards she and Heshou Xianzhu[8]he = harmonious, shou = long life, xianzhu=Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang were enemies, and they would fight to their last gasp as enemies.