When Xiao Shu reached home, she was stopped by the Gatekeeper from entering the Shu Estate. However, nearby servants ran on swift feet to inform the Madam that the Eldest Young Miss has returned.
The Eldest Young Miss was someone the servants had seen grown up before their eyes and therefore very precious to them. Seeing the honourable Madam and Young Miss estranged like this really pinched their hearts, ah.
At the servantsâ eager report, Madam Shiâs expression did not change. Aside from a single, âI see,â she said nothing else.
Because of this non-answer, no one dared to let Young Miss in, ahâŚ
Not daring to do anything without their mistressâs expressed permission, the servants dithered and nearly hopped in place with anxiousness when Madamâs personal made came over to whisper, âMadam did not say you canât let her in, ah.â
Oh.
Oh!
Seeing the light, the servants rushed to send word to the Gatekeeper to let Young Miss in.
[1] Madam Shi knew what her personal maid was doing, of course. However, she did not reprimand her maid for taking matters into her own hands or misusing her authority.
[1] Xiao Shuâs heart thumped with happiness when the Gatekeeper let her in. She ran to her motherâs courtyard and threw herself to her knees. âM-mother! Xiao Shu is wrong! Xiao Shu is stupid. Please forgive your foolish daughterâŚâ
[1] She wept and pleaded, but Madam Shi maintained an indifferent expression through her crying. [2] Finally, Madam Shi stood up. Xiao Shu went silent, hopeful and anxious as she waited for her motherâs judgement. However, Madam Shi did not say anything. Instead, she stepped down from the raised dais where the chair of the mistress of the house was placed and disappeared into her room. [3] Madam Shiâs personal maid wavered a little but decided that she had overstepped her authority enough for the day and hurried after her mistress.
[2] The door to Madam Shiâs private rooms closed and Xiao Shu was left alone in the visiting hall of her motherâs private courtyard.
[2] She was not alone for long. Soon, the patter of running footsteps clattered through the room and Yun Duo, her personal maid, came rushing in. The moment Yun Duo heard that her mistress had returned, she had rushed over immediately, uncaring about propriety or anything else. She must see her little mistress with her own eyes, ah!
[5] The other servants did not stop her as she rushed into the Madamâs courtyard. One of the maids even guided her to the receiving hall where she found her mistress sitting alone in the middle of the floor.
[5] Letting out a soft moan, Yun Duo dropped to her knees and hugged her poor young mistress. Sobbing with relief, she did not forget to curse the so-called guest, who was still prancing about the Shi Estate as though she was the true owner of young missâ personal courtyard. âItâs all the fault of that horrible white-eyed wolf young miss brought in. She must have whispered evil things to Madam and caused this trouble, ah, ah, ah! Woo, my poor mistress, if not for that vicious vixen, how could Madam throw you out, ah? Wuwu,â
Once Xiao Shu managed to get Yun Dou to stop crying and wailing, she demanded, âWho said that Xiao Yu was the one who hurt me?â
Yun Duo was aghast, âThat, well, everyone! Everyone knew it, ah! The day when you were sent out of the house, everyone saw her leave Madamâs courtyard soon after. She stayed in your courtyard and calmly eat your food and enjoy herself after you were driven away! Isnât that too strange?â
âYou thought she was the culprit just because of this?â Xiao Shu stood up. She was about to explain what had really happened when she registered the stubborn set of Yun Douâs mouth. [5] This maid will not let go of her stand no matter what. Feeling a little helpless, she finally said, âDonât let me hear anything like that anymore. If anyone dares to bad mouth Shiyu, I shall personally drive them out!â
Once the words left her lips Xiao Shu was startled by her own fierce words. Was this what Mother felt when speaking to her? That the person opposite them was too stubborn and stupid to understand anything, therefore just issue a few rules and washed her hand of the matter?
As she stared down at her loyal but stubborn maid, the door to her heart, which had been tightly closed, opened slightly.
Well, no matter what, sheâs home now. In the future, she vowed to have a proper talk with Mother. They were still mother and daughter, she will stick with the family till the end. Feeling better after making this decision, Xiao Shu made her way back to her courtyard.
Yun Duo opened the door to her residence and Xiao Shu stepped in to see⌠three youths lounging in the garden, the remains of a snack scattered on the table between them.
â⌠âŚâ has she gone to the wrong courtyard?
Yun Duoâs slightly sullen voice said, âThey are Miss Xiao Yuâs distant cousins. They just turned up one day.â The rest of whatever she wanted to say were all swallowed down to her stomach. She couldnât say anything bad, but she could still glare at these youths, right?
Her poor mistress not only suffered in the hands of that vixen Xiao Yu. That woman even dared to bring young men into her mistressâs house, how could she not hate that bitch, ah?!
The three youths blinked at Xiao Shu. Finally, Bei Bei said, âDid you come to the wrong place?â
Yun Duo exploded, âThis is our young ladyâs personal residence! The people in the wrong place are you! Donât you know men and women should not occupy the same space?! How dare you soil our ladyâs place with your presence? Are you not ashamed at all?!â
âTsk, tsk, tsk, who pissed off our little Miss Green?â
Shiyu calmly strolled in.
Yun Duo whirled around and snarled, âWhoâs Miss Green?! Also, who belongs to you?! And my name is Yun Duo! Yun Duo!â
Shiyu covered her ears dramatically and [6] declared, âAiyo, why is this maid so loud? Ah, thatâs right, have you met with Madam?â
Xiao Shu blinked at her dramatic behaviour and guessed that Shiyu was just teasing Yun Duo. Nevertheless, she was still a little ashamed by her maidâs behaviour, âItâs my fault for being too letting her get too unbridled.â
âThat little maid of yours is just angry because she thinks Iâm the reason you got kicked out. I donât care about it,â Shiyu waved her hand carelessly, dismissing Yun Duoâs fuming. âBy the way, let me introduce you to my distant cousins.â
Xiao Shu nodded and warmly greeted Shiyuâs distant âcousinsâ. She had no reason to not believe Shiyuâs claims. Moreover, she was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to think too deeply about Shiyuâs relatives. She could not help but think about her mother, who did not seem to care about her affairs. It made Xiao Shu a little sad.
âYou know, as an outsider, I think itâs fine if you like Shen Lingfei. Ignoring the quality of his character, which is a piece of shit if you ask me, itâs still fine if youâre into those types. However, youâre only allowed to ruin your own life and not disturb other peopleâs peace. Not to mention, do you really believe that your mother has no idea that youâre actually with that Shen Lingfei?â
Xiao Shuâs eyes widened slightly. It was something that she had never considered before. She had been so preoccupied with the fear that Mother would be too critical with her choice of lover that she never dared to bring it up.
âIn the past, you paid for all of the expensive gifts to Shen Lingfei with your own money, which meant the only person you harmed through this relationship is yourself. Now, however-â Shiyu suddenly stopped speaking and looked upwards. [7] A figure had appeared over the Shi Estate and was rapidly weaving their way through the lanes and pathways between houses.
âSomeoneâs here!â Shiyu rapidly flashed away. The three cousins disappeared too.
[7] Xiao Shuâs Cultivation Stage was too low for her to keep up with them. She could only run out of her courtyard and tried to determine where they had gone through the ruckus made by the fleeing stranger. Speaking of which, she had no idea just what Xiao Yuâs Cultivation Stage wasâŚ
[8] The three pandas quickly overtook the stranger, blocking his way causing him to turn around and run. However, the intruder ended up facing Shiyu instead.
âWho are you and what are you doing here?â
[8] Stuck between three youths and a little girl, the stranger chose to aim his knife at Shiyuâs neck. However, before his weapon could make contact, the knife disappeared, so did his hand. Then, his arm and⌠then there was a desperate scream before his entire body was [9] [10] shaking and peeling⌠and finally he was nothing more than fertilizer for the nearby flower beds.
[8] The three youths, who had been waiting for Shiyuâs signal to act, gaped at the scene before them. To be honest, they were hoping they could gain some points for rescuing their mistress, but⌠but this was beyond what they had imagined, ah!
[8] This new mistress of theirs had just quickly and efficiently turned a person with a fairly high Cultivation Stage into ashes, that guy should at least be a Core Condensation Cultivator, right? [10] Also, he was burnt up, right? They had not imagined the invisible flame, right?!!?
[10] As Divine Transformation Cultivators, their senses were more developed than others. Though their eyes could not see the flames, they could still feel the heat, ah! Also, what else could turn something into ashes, ah?!
The three youths clutched each other fearfully.
No, no wonder Grandpa said that Ninth Realmâs humans are terrifying.
Just then, Xiao Shu and a few guards came running up.
âXiao Yu! Are you alright? Whereâs the stranger?â
âStranger? What stranger? I donât know, ah,â Shiyu waved a careless hand at the three quivering youths. âDid you see any strangers?â
âNo! No!â
âThen, letâs go look somewhere else,â Xiao Shu said nervously.
Meanwhile, just outside of the Shi Estate.
[11] People had been monitoring the Shi Estate ever since they got wind of the Jade Spirit Essence. Everyone pretended not to see the others as they waited for an opportunity to snatch the precious item. After the two Deans of Dawn College was thrown out, nobody dared to openly challenge the Shi Estate.
Eventually, though, someone broke under the tension and snuck in.
[11] âWho was it? Did you see?â someone whispered.
âI think itâs Zhao Clanâs Patriarch. Heâs a 5th Level Core Condensation Master. Heâs probably aiming to snatch the item before anyone else could,â another hissed.
Having nothing better to do, the watchers strained their ears and eyes, hoping to see something exciting. However, after nearly an hour, the Shi Estate remained quiet.
Just what is going on?
What happened to that guy?
[Gumihou: Iâm not sure what kind of joke Shiyu was making at the end. Was she being flippant? Edgy? Emo? Sarcastic? On a power trip? Probably on a power trip.]
Gumihou is keeping track so that you donât have to ~
[1] Added Detail for Dramatic Purpose: Split up the single paragraph where Madamâs thoughts and Xiao Shuâs wailing apologies are squashed into one boring narrative.
[2] Added Detail for Logistic Purpose: After Xiao Shuâs Miss Green came in to blame Shiyu for everything, Madam Shi was oddly silent till the end. So, had she⌠left? Turned into stone? Became mute?
Never mind, Madam Shi, please leave this hall with dignity while the youngsters wailed and howled among themselves.
[3] USMiC: Gave Madam Shiâs Personal Maid (no name) a little extra screen time.
[4] USMiC: Miss Green aka Yun Duo aka Xiao Shuâs personal maid, appears to be crucial for her character growth. So, please use her name. Especially since she has a personal name and was bestowed a nickname by Shiyu.
[5] Added Details for Logistic Purpose: Because this is an Estate and NOT a Bungalow. An estate has a lot of rules about who could come and go, especially for women. Read The Feast if youâre interested in the personal lives of women in such household for details.
Presumably, Yun Duo is either very favoured by her mistress, hence daring to be a little bitchy towards Shiyu, or just too stupid. Either way is fine, but it should be made clear in the narrative. Also, this is an opportunity to establish some kind of visual impact on Xiao Shuâs position and feelings, so why waste it?
[6] Changed Details for Logistic Purpose: Original text:Â Shiyu covered her ears when the maid scolded her, and then pointed at the maid
Kind of awkward? Unless you have three hands?
Also, what is this drama? Is this meant to be funny?
[7] Changed Details for Logistic Purpose: Original Text:Â Someone appeared over the Shi House
Author-san, again, is it a mansion or an estate?
If itâs an estate, there should be more than a few âShi Houseâ, Madam Shiâs house, Old Madam Shiâs house, Xiao Shuâs house, Uncle 1âs house, Uncle 2âs house, Daddy Shiâs house/studyâŚ
[8] Changed Detail for Logistic Purpose: Because after Naruto The Movie: Bonds, which had so many plot holes but one of the most STUPID being a civilian outrunning a bunch of professional ninjas that I stopped watching ALL Naruto movies.
Why did I bring up Naruto The Movie: Bonds?
Because Shiyu, the amazing 6th Level, Core Condensation Master (Chapter 143) could somehow outrun 3 Panda Beasts at Divine Transformations Stage (1 of them at 1st Level).
Shiyu stopped the person > stranger slash at Shiyu > stranger burnt up > the not slow Pandas who was behind Shiyu gaped at Shiyuâs deadliness
Bravo. Totally believable. Encore. Slow clap.
No.
[9] USMiC: Gave this poor guy a more morbid death description. Tsk, tsk.
[10] Added Details for Dramatic Purpose: Just because youâre trying to describe an invisible fire doesnât mean your description should be invisible to the readerâs eye.
[11] Added Details for Dramatic Purpose: People sneaking around outside of Shi Estate only has 3 (very) short paragraphs, added more details.