chapter 87

Zisu could be considered Yuxi’s primary trusted subordinate, but sometimes she herself didn’t really know what was in Yuxi’s mind, “Miss, why did you tell Second Master today about Qiu Yanfu had been asking for his information from you?” As far as she knew, there was no such thing at all. She did not know why her Miss made it up.

Yuxi sneered, “Your mind thinks too simple. She didn’t dare to ask me about Erge¹Er=second, ge=older brother, but do you think she won’t ask other people in the residence?“

Zisu opened her mouth, “Miss, it can’t be, right? Even if she has any idea on Second Master, he could only accept her as his concubine at most, and he could not marry her.“ However, Second Master was also the Young Master of the Duke of the State residence. At most, Qiu Yanfu could only be his concubine. But the problem was, she was also Wu Shi’s niece. If she became his concubine, where would Second Master put his face.

Yuxi didn’t give any response. In her last life, Qiu Yanfu scheme was successful. Of course, the successful outcome was mainly due to her Erge¹Er=second, ge=older brother’s belief that Qiu Yanfu was an innocent and pure girl. Now, after Yuxi’s reminder, her Erge¹Er=second, ge=older brother thought Qiu Yanfu was a woman with deep calculation and wanted to climb higher branches. Even if Erge¹Er=second, ge=older brother fell to Qiu Yanfu’s scheme, he would never marry her, and he could only take her as a concubine, at most.

Just like Yuxi had thought, Qiu Shi’s face was not looking good after she knew about this matter, but she was a kind person. She couldn’t just change her treatment towards Qiu Yanfu only because a mere accidental encounter.

Mama Li also felt that Qiu Yanfu’s mind was not pure, but with this single accidental encounter in the garden had been spread out so far, showed that those female servants were unkind and didn’t have any tolerance. Mama Li urged, “Madam, the urgent task right now is to make sure that Second Master’s marriage is settled.” Once it was settled, unless Qiu Yanfu didn’t care about her face, she would not mind being a concubine, otherwise, she would surely stop having any idea on Second Master.

Qiu Shi, however, did not agree. A marriage was a lifetime event. How could they finalise it just because of Qiu Yanfu? “Let just put the matchmaking in advance.”

Qiu Yanfu did not look for trouble, but the scene was seen by many servants in the residence. The footmen of the residence had mouths that were sharp like knives. If their masters didn’t put any restrictions on them, the more fearless they would become. On that very day, a rumour spread out, which said that Qiu Yanfu was thinking of marrying into the state residence like crazy, to even go as far as intentionally stopped Second Master on the road regardless of her integrity. As a result, Second Master dumped his own face and made a mockery of her, which made Qiu Yanfu also lost her face.

These days, Wu Shi had honestly been fixed by Old Madam. Except for the time she spent serving the Old Madam, she would hole up in her own courtyard. However, this did not mean that she knew nothing about the incident that happened in the state residence, but she received the news relatively late. She only found out about it the next afternoon. Wu Shi suppressed her anger and instructed, “Go and call Miss Biao²family relationship via females.”

Qiu Yanfu wasn’t aware of the rumours regarding her outside. When she saw Wu Shi’s face was not looking good, she thought her Yimu³Older maternal aunt was angry with the Old Madam again.

Wu Shi let the maid beside her told Qiu Yanfu about the matter and then she asked, “What the hell is going on?”

Qiu Yanfu’s face turned white, “Yimu³Older maternal aunt, please believe me. I just happened to meet him on my walk. I really don’t know that Ye Biaoge⁴older male cousin would pass there.”

Wu Shi did not question Qiu Yanfu. She believed Qiu Yanfu would not be that stupid enough to do such a thing. “Yesterday, you were calculated.”

Qiu Yanfu immediately remembered a person, “Yimu³Older maternal aunt, could this be done by Fourth Miss? That day, she was humiliated because of me. She will surely hold a grudge. She must has taken this opportunity to take her revenge on me.“ In the residence, she only offended Fourth Miss once. Though, it was still a bit puzzling if this incident was done just because of that.

Wu Shi didn’t believe in the rain or hearing the wind⁵Chinese idiom : to believe rumours. She felt that this matter was done by Qiu Shi. Qiu Shi did it to save her own face and to let Wu Shi knew who was the real Mistress of the Duke of the State residence.

Although Qiu Yanfu didn’t know what Wu Shi was thinking, but it seemed like Wu Shi was not going to clear her name out from this rumour, which made her mind became agitated.

Wu Shi’s mood was also very bad. She used to be the master when she was in Hebei, unlike here in the capital. Although she said she was the Third Madam of the state residence, she had no foundation in the residence and did nothing. She was always led by the nose. Now, she really missed her days in Hebei very much. “Don’t go out these days. Just stay in your yard first.”

Qiu Yanfu was unwilling, “Yimu³Older maternal aunt, if I do not go out, won’t the people in this residence think I’m really guilty? This will only humiliate me even more.” If the Dragon Boat Festival did not come, her reputation would not have been completely lost.

Wu Shi considered for a moment and said, “You are right.” Qiu Shi wanted to suppress her this way. Her plan was way too beautiful.

Out of Biteng Courtyard, Qiu Yanfu took a deep breath. When her maid, Yan Xia saw that Qiu Yanfu was not returning to Shuixiang Courtyard, she immediately asked, “Miss, where are we going?”

Qiu Yanfu answered with a straight face, “Rose Courtyard.” She told Wu Shi that this time she was calculated by Han Yuxi. In fact, it was only her speculation. After all, she had no evidence against her.

Yan Xia’s face changed, “Miss, isn’t this not good?” Fourth Miss had always been unkind to her Master. This time, rumour like this had appeared. Wasn’t this like delivering themselves to the Fourth Miss’ door for her to beat their faces?

Qiu Yanfu said, “I have my own sense of propriety.” She was just going to see if Han Yuxi was really the one behind this incident.

Yuxi was reading a medical book when she heard Zisu announced that Qiu Yanfu had come over. She was rather surprised, but this wasn’t something unexpected. Although Yuxi’s plan was successful these times around, she did not dare to underestimate Qiu Yanfu. Qiu Yanfu’s mind was not shallow, but was also very tenacious, so Yuxi didn’t believe such a few small things could actually manage to bring her down.

Zisu asked, “Miss, you don’t want to see her?” The rumour spread so fast in the residence was because they also helped spread them.

Yuxi said, “If I don’t see her, she will think I’m guilty. Let her wait in the living room. I’ll be there in a minute.” If you want to see me, there’s no need for me to rush to see you.

Yuxi said she would come in a moment, but it felt like two quarters of an hour. Qiu Yanfu’s patience was started to run out when Yuxi suddenly entered the door of the room at a leisure pace.

Qiu Yanfu did not hide this time as she stared straight at Yuxi.

Yuxi frowned and say unpleasantly, “Fu Biaojie⁶Older female cousin, is there anything wrong with me?” Qiu Yanfu thought that this could make her flustered, which showed that she also underestimated her.

Qiu Yanfu seemed to have no idea how rude she was acting. She just smiled and replied, “No, I just think Si Biaomei⁷Si=four, Biaomei=younger female cousin’s clothes today are really good-looking.”

Since Yuxi was in her own yard, so she wore a clove-coloured dress and did not wear any jewellery. This getup made her looked very refreshing.

Yuxi smiled and responded, “Biaojie⁶Older female cousin really has a good eyesight. Though this dress does not seem to be eye-catching, it is made with genuine satin, which can not be easily obtained with just by buying it with money.” She believed that the reason Yujing had given Qiu Yanfu some faces before was for the sake of her money.

This words made Qiu Yanfu’s face changed. Han Yuxi’s words just reminded her that she was a daughter of a merchant. Even though she was rich, she still couldn’t wear satin. In her heart, she hated Han Yuxi till it made her teeth itched⁸To greatly irritate or annoy someone, especially to the point of affecting their nerves. Han Yuxi never forgot to hit her all the time, but she still didn’t have the courage to turn hostile at her.

Yuxi was too lazy to deal with Qiu Yanfu, so she directly asked, “What can I do for Fu Biaojie⁶Older female cousin? If there is nothing, I will go back to read. “

The smile on Qiu Yanfu’s face was almost unbearable. Before, when she went out to socialize, no matter how the official ladies thought in their hearts, they were still polite to her and did not act like Han Yuxi, who didn’t give her any face at all. She forced a smile and said, “Si Biaomei⁷Si=four, Biaomei=younger female cousin works really hard, which makes biaojie⁶Older female cousin truly admires.”

Yuxi looked a little more relaxed as she said, “The one who has work the hardest is San Jie⁹San=Third, Jie=Elder sister. Fu Biaojie⁶Older female cousin may not know it, but my San Jie⁹San=Third, Jie=Elder sister has to get up at early in the morning and studies until late at night. In order not to fall behind too much, I have to study harder. Outsiders look at us like we’re all well off, in fact, who knows the hardship we have to face inside! Speaking of which, I envy Fu Biaojie⁶Older female cousin, whose life is really carefree. When you have nothing to do, you can stroll around the garden and scurry from door to door. My Erge¹Er=second, ge=older brother seldom comes back, but Qiu Biaojie⁶Older female cousin could still run into him by chance. Qiu Biaojie⁶Older female cousin luck is really not so good.“ These last few words, was the same as saying Qiu Yanfu had deliberately waiting on the road.

Even without this kind of face-slapping, Qiu Yanfu still wanted to spray a mouthful of blood to Yuxi’s face. Except that, Yuxi didn’t really point it out clearly, so it wasn’t good for her to suddenly lost her temper. “Since Si Biaomei⁷Si=four, Biaomei=younger female cousin is busy, then I won’t disturb you anymore.” In her mind, she didn’t think much of Yuxi either, but with Yuxi’s natural endowment, it would be enough for her to buy a lot of things from a few road markets. It was also fate that had made Yuxi to be reborn as a young miss of the state residence. These circumstances made a bit of jealousy flashed in Qiu Yanfu’s heart. If she was also a young miss of the state residence, why would she have to work so hard like Han Yuxi?

Although Yuxi’s mouth didn’t spare even a bit of Qiu Yanfu’s feelings, she had done enough proper etiquette that required from her and she even personally delivered Qiu Yanfu to the door.

Steamed Pork Wrapped In Lotus Leaves

Image Source | Baike Baidu

Nothing made Yuxi happier than making Qiu Yanfu be humiliated one after another. She happily said, “Zisu, ask Guo daniang¹⁰a respectful form of address for an elderly woman to cook steamed pork wrapped in lotus leaves for lunch.” Steamed pork wrapped in lotus leaves was Yuxi’s favourite dish.

Zisu smiled and said, “Okay.”

On the way back, Qiu Yanfu was still maintaining a decent smile on her face. When they arrived at her room where there were only her and her personal maid, Qiu Yanfu finally took off her disguise.

Yan Xia said in a low voice, “Miss, I used to think that Fourth Miss was a very straightforward person, but now this servant thinks that the Fourth Miss is just playing dumb.” This mouth of her was just like a knife, which poked wherever it ached the most.

Qiu Yanfu did really think that Yuxi was a straightforward and easy-going Master at the beginning. They had competed with each other several times, but the result was always her who suffered loses. Even her Yimu³Older maternal aunt suffered a big loss because of the tea spilled on Yuxi. How could Qiu Yanfu be so stupid to think that Yuxi was gentle and harmless. “Unexpectedly, Yimu³Older maternal aunt’s two stepdaughters are so troublesome to be deal with.” Before she came to the capital, she had made a detailed understanding of Yuxi’s and Yuchen’s circumstances. She thought Yuchen was the kind of person who only knew piano, chess, calligraphy and painting but not common things, while Yuxi was the kind of person who lacked love. She wanted to be on friendly terms with the two by catering to their tastes, and then squeezed herself into the circle of noble women in the capital with their help. As a result, when she arrived here, she discovered that she had took them for granted. The two people may looked young in age, but they were also human beings. Although Yuchen had done nothing to her, she was sure that Han Yuchen was more difficult to deal with than Han Yuxi. She was not even sure that she could deal with Han Yuxi herself. When the time comes, where she had to deal Han Yuxi together with Han Yuchen, she would surely lose badly.

Yan Xia asked cautiously, “Miss, what should we do?”

Qiu Yanfu rubbed her temple and said, “Let’s take a one step at a time.” Neither Han Yuchen nor Han Yuxi could be calculated or dealt by her. Since her original plan was unsuccessful, she had to temporarily avoid from being targeted by the spearheads and find another way around.