chapter 127

Just as the leader of the bandits was hesitating whether to continue the attack or to give up, one of them found the side door. “Dage¹eldest brother / respectful intimate term for leader of a gang, there is a door here.”

Everyone inside the courtyard was very nervous when they heard this shout. When Yuxi saw this situation, she walked over to Deng Shuang and whispered a few words to her.

As Deng Shuang listened to Yuxi, nodded her head, and then shouted, “Don’t be afraid, there are only ten of them left. We have more than 20 people here. If they dare to come in, we will kill them all.”

When Zijin noticed this situation, she shouted along with an extremely imposing manner, “Right, when one enters, let’s kill that one. When two enter, let’s kill those two.”

A few of the ten men outside suddenly hesitated when they heard the shouts from inside the courtyard. The bald one kept urging, “Dage¹eldest brother / respectful intimate term for leader of a gang, we better go! Furthermore, there are other places that we can loot other than here.”

The thinnest one was unwilling, as he countered, “Aren’t they just a few stinky women, and they’re just bluffing, so you’re afraid of what they will do? When we rush in, I will kill them and take revenge for Ah Chun.”

The bald man had been frightened by Zijin, ”Bluffing? Didn’t you see Ah Chun’s body? Inside there are a bunch of tigresses. A bunch of tigresses who dare to kill.” Seeing that the others were hesitating, the bald man continued saying, “If you want to go in, you can go in by yourselves. I will not accompany you.” With that had been said, he led the two men around him away.

In response to this situation, the bandits leader said, “Let’s leave.” Since four of them had passed away, the remaining bandits would only get themselves trampled on²Chinese idiom : to be taken advantage of.

When the bandits left, the sound they made wasn’t small, hence, those inside the courtyard could clearly hear them moving. At this point, everyone stood in the yard in silence, with none of them dared to speak.

It was unknown who said it first, “Miss, the bandits have left.”

Yuxi didn’t relax at all as she said, “You must not lower your guard down. It’s likely that the bandits will come back here.” If the bandits really returned while they were slacking off, the outcome would be so ghastly to be contemplated³Chinese idiom : unthinkable.

When everyone heard these words, they were immediately in their battle array and waited for the arrival of the enemy⁴Chinese idiom : prepared to meet the challenge.

Deng Shuang looked at the tightly stretched out Zijin and whispered, “Zijin, even death cannot wipe out these people’s crimes⁵Chinese idiom: dreadful crimes that rankled even after the perpetrator is dead. If they don’t die, we will. So, you don’t have to burden yourself so much.” Although Zijin looked like she didn’t care about it in the least, Deng Shuang could feel that Zijin was scared.

Deng Shuang was a bit scared at first. She had fought with people before, even with local hoodlums. It wasn’t as if her head had never been broken or bleeding before this, but she had never killed anyone with her own hands. However, when she saw Han Yuxi, a girl from the boudoir, dared to kill with a sword, being unafraid of anything, made Deng Shuang not only unafraid, but also excited. The payment for this job would certainly be extremely rich and generous, not to mention a lifetime of not having to worry about clothes and food⁶Chinese idiom : be provided with the basic necessities, they also wouldn’t have to worry about silvers for at least ten more years. At this moment, Deng Shuang hated not being able to immediately tell her aunt about this good news. Where was the half-assed fear that had been in her heart just now?

Deng Xue nodded, “That’s right. Even death cannot wipe out these people’s crimes⁵Chinese idiom: dreadful crimes that rankled even after the perpetrator is dead. So, there is no need for you to blame yourself.”

If they were in a usual situation, everyone would have been afraid of these two women, and would definitely show their respects from a distance⁷Chinese idiom : to remain at a respectful distance. But, in this kind of situation, when everyone noticed how valiant the two sisters were, they miraculously lost their fear, and they had a high fighting spirit instead. Even if the bandits returned, they would also be unafraid.

Zijin explained in a hoarse voice, “I don’t blame myself.” The only thing she blamed herself was her being soft hearted just now. If she had not been soft hearted, Miss wouldn’t have to be the one who killed that man. When she thought until here, she looked at Yuxi who was pursuing her lips while staring straight at the wall.

Deng Shuang also took notice of Yuxi’s manner and climbed up the ladder to look out. After a while, she shouted, “The bandits have gone far away. Everyone can have a rest first.”

When Yuxi heard this, she immediately said to the cook, “Go and cook something for everyone.” It was still early in the morning. Once everyone ate and drank their fill, then they would have their physical strengths back.

Deng Shuang said, “I am worried that the fragrance will attract the bandits.”

There was a flash of cold light in Yuxi’s eyes as she said, “It’s better if they really come here.” If she was right, the number of people who broke into the inner backyard this time should not be very large, asaas they were divided into several groups. Otherwise, there would not have been only a dozen people who came here just now.

As Deng Shuang carefully looked at Yuxi, she suddenly remembered what her aunt had said. There was a kind of person in this world who was naturally bolder than others. It was a pity that Yuxi was the Fourth Miss of the State Residence. If she was a jianghu⁸lit. rivers and lake – people wandering from place to place and living by their wits, e.g. fortune-tellers, quack doctors, itinerant entertainers, etc. , considered as a social group child, she couldn’t say for sure what Yuxi would have done.

After listening to Yuxi’s words, the cook immediately called two maids into the kitchen and began to wash and cook. Several other people caught sight of this situation and immediately moved some firewood into the kitchen. In fact, there were still some fears in everyone’s hearts, and by getting busy, they could clear the fear from their hearts.

Yuxii said towards Qiu Shi, “Eldest Aunt, the bandits have gone far now. I believe the guards in the residence will come soon. You should go inside and have a rest!”

Qiu Shi had been a strong supporter a moment ago. Now that the bandits had gone far away, she no longer insisted to stay and had gone into the house with Mama Li.

More than a quarter of an hour later, the cook brought a bowl of chicken soup to Yuxi and said, “Miss, you drink a bowl to warm yourself up first, the meal will be ready soon.”

Instead of answering, Yuxi asked, “Have this been sent to aunt and Dasao⁹eldest sister-in-law too?”

The cook nodded and said, “Theirs have all been delivered, and so was everyone else’s.” The chicken was originally placed on the stove to be simmered as soup, which was intended to be used by Qiu Shi in the morning, or it wouldn’t have been ready so soon. But for a single chicken that had been simmered into a large pot of soup, the taste was much lighter, and it was enough for everyone to have a drink of hot bowls of soup in the middle of the night.

Yuxi had a delicious meal. After she ate, she handed the bowl to the cook and said, “It has been hard for you.”

The cook quickly shook her head and said, “It’s not hard, not hard.” If it wasn’t for Fourth Miss, they would all have been dead. This noob translation was translated by a noob translator きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

Yuxi waved her hand and said, “Let’s get ourselves busy!” Once she said that, she went into the room to see Qiu Shi and Ye Shi.

As soon as Yuxi entered the room, she saw Ye Shi lying on the bed with a white face. She noticed the bowl of chicken soup beside the bed that hadn’t been drunk. She didn’t say anything about it.

Qiu Shi took Yuxi’s hand and asked, “What’s going on outside right now?” She hadn’t seen such a big thing in her whole life. She was really frightened at that time.

Yuxi comforted her aunt, “Eldest Aunt, it will be fine. You don’t have to worry. Even if no one comes to help, we will be fine. After daybreak, everything will be fine.”

Qiu Shi tightened her grip on Yuxi’s hand and said, “Yuxi, we’re fortunate that we have you tonight.” She was scared out of her wits¹⁰Chinese idiom : distracted / stunned at that time. If not for Yuxi’s calm command, the main courtyard would have been rivers of blood¹¹Chinese idiom : bloodbath.

When old woman Hua saw that Yuxi had not come to greet her Master for a long time, she could not help but toughened her scalp¹²to summon up courage and said, “Fourth Miss, please come and help Da Nainai¹³da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house. Da Nainai¹³da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house is not feeling well.”

Yuxi was somewhat embarrassed. If Ye Shi wasn’t pregnant, she would still dare to take her pulse and give her diagnosis, but with Ye Shi’s condition and in addition the importance of this baby, she wouldn’t dare to meddle with it.

Qiu Shi also paid close attention to Ye Shi’s unborn child, “Yuxi, please help your Dasao⁹eldest sister-in-law to have a look! May as well do it for her peace of mind.”

Yuxi still did not want to take Ye Shi’s pulse. She just looked at Ye Shi’s face, and said, “Although I have studied pharmacology, I have never diagnosed anyone’s pulse, much less prescribed a prescription. So, it is better to wait until after dawn to find a physician to come check on Dasao⁹eldest sister-in-law. But looking at Dasao⁹eldest sister-in-law like this, she should have suffered a scare and stirred her foetus vital energy.”

Qiu Shi also thought the same thing, “Yuxi, is there any other way?” ᵀᴺShouldn’t they try to calm Ye Shi first?

Yuxi shook her head and said, “I don’t know.”

When old woman Hua heard Yuxi’s words, she hurriedly said, “Fourth Miss, there is an anti-abortion medicine prescribed by Imperial Physician Le in our courtyard, as a protection against unexpected situations. Fourth Miss, tell Miss Zijin to go to Rosin Courtyard and fetch the anti-abortion medicine. I’m afraid Da Nainai¹³da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house won’t be able to hold on.” ᵀᴺHave you tried calming your Da Nainai first? Shouldn’t there be a mama who handles pregnant women around Ye Shi? This old woman Hua only creates a panic situation around her.

As Yuxi heard these words, she took a look at Ye Shi and saw Ye Shi squinting her eyes in pain as Yuxi felt a chill in her heart. To Ye Shi, emotions only mattered as far as the child in her belly was concerned, while Zijin’s life was insignificant, and so were the life of twenty or so people in this courtyard. At this moment, Yuxi clearly realised what a selfish person Ye Shi was. Fortunately, she only asked Zijin to pick her up just now.

When Mama Li heard all this talk, her eyes flashed with annoyance. At this time, without caring for the distinction between the superior and the inferior, she directly said, “Mama Hua, you don’t know the situation outside the house. Without Miss Zijin, others can’t resist the bandits. Miss Zijin is indispensable to anyone.” The child in Da Nainai¹³da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house’s belly was precious, but did this mean the life of her Lady wasn’t as precious?

Qiu Shi’s face was also full of displeasure. Not to mention the fact that Zijin had set everyone’s mind at ease, and let’s just sayo outside right now was in a mess, and they still let Zijin go, who would have known if she would not return. Qiu Shi said to Ye Shi, “Just bear with it a bit longer, and let someone get the medicine when the help finally arrives.”

Once old woman Hua heard this, she still wanted to plead with Yuxi. But Yuxi’s expressionless face made her become speechless instead.

Yuxi didn’t even look at Ye Shi and old woman Hua as she told Qiu Shi, “Eldest Aunt, I’ll go out first to check on the situation.”

Qiu Shi nodded and fondly said, “Go ahead! If you have anything you want, just let them know.” Today, it was all thanks to Yuxi, otherwise her strip of life wouldn’t be here anymore.

When Liuyin saw Yuxi’s ugly face, she asked, “What’s wrong with you, Miss?” When Yuxi first came in, she was looking fine. Why did she have a black face when she went out? What did the Lady say to Fourth Miss? No, at this time, the Lady did not have time to express her praise of gratitude to Yuxi. Thus what could make Fourth Miss become unhappy?

Yuxi shook her head and said, “It’s nothing, I’m just a little tired. Are the meals ready?” This evening, her food consumption was too high. A bowl of chicken soup was barely filled her tooth gap¹⁴very sparse and extremely little, that she had become hungry again.

Liuyin knew that something was definitely wrong. It was just that Yuxi didn’t want to say anything, and it wasn’t good for her to ask again. After all, she wasn’t Yuxi’s personal maid either. “Miss please wait a moment, it’ll be ready soon.”

Deng Shuang looked at Yuxi and bluntly asked, ”What’s wrong? Did the First Lady say something about your killing?”

Yuxi shook her head as she replied, “No, my Dasao⁹eldest sister-in-law stirs her foetus vital energy. The old woman servant beside her wanted Zijin to go to Rosin Courtyard to fetch the anti-abortion medicine.”

When Deng Shuang heard this, she was furious, ”Are you kidding me? Let Zijin go to the Rosin Courtyard to fetch the anti-abortion medicine? Do you want Zijin to die?” Although Zijin could strike two people by herself, two fists were still no match for four pairs of hands. Zijin had just made such a great achievement, and then they sent Zijin to her death in a heartless manner. No wonder her aunt always said that the masters of big families were just good-for-nothing people.

Yuxi didn’t know what Deng Shuang was thinking, but she still said, “I didn’t promise. Don’t worry, I won’t let Zijin take any risk.”

Deng Shuang stated, “I think you still have some conscience at least.”

With Deng Shuang’s loud voice, old woman Hua’s desire for Zijin to go to Rosin Courtyard to take anti-abortion medicine was soon known to all. Everyone in their mind hated that they couldn’t tear apart old woman Hua. Zijin was the highest value force in this group of people. If Zijin left, what would they do once the bandits returned? It was also because of this matter, the popularity that had been accumulated by old woman Hua was totally wiped out. Combined with this, Ye Shi also left a very bad impression in everyone’s hearts.