In the capital, rumours were circulating that Heshou Xianzhu was a demon. This demon claim wasn't just a talk. It also had justified signs to support the claim.
Heshou Xianzhu was very well informed as she heard about the rumours just that afternoon. The people around her were all worried. However, Heshou Xianzhu was not even panicked as she calmly instructed, "Have someone go and investigate who has spread this rumour." She was ready to be questioned for being so daring to open a shop on a grand scale, raking in money so openly. However, it had only been muttered in private and spread on a small scale in the past. So it wasn't so easy to find out who was behind it then.
Heshou Xianzhu was not surprised, nor was she anxious. This person intended to target her. Thus it certainly wouldn't be easy to find out about that person. However, she wasn't afraid of these rumours since she had been prepared for them.
The New Huangzhi Temple
The original Huangzhi Temple had been burnt down during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty (1837-1875). The temple was rebuilt in 1889. The ancient pagoda behind it had been severely damaged after experiencing earthquakes two times during the 48th year of Kangxi (1709) and the third year of Qianlong (1739). Monk Weixiu rebuilt the existing ancient tower in the 48th year of Qianlong.
Image Credit | The article writer (皇祇寺-石嘴山-宁夏寺院, June 6th, 2013)
The original Huangzhi Temple had been burnt down during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty (1837-1875). The temple was rebuilt in 1889. The ancient pagoda behind it had been severely damaged after experiencing earthquakes two times during the 48th year of Kangxi (1709) and the third year of Qianlong (1739). Monk Weixiu rebuilt the existing ancient tower in the 48th year of Qianlong.
Image Credit | The article writer (皇祇寺-石嘴山-宁夏寺院, June 6th, 2013)
When Yuxi heard Yuchen's words, she laughed, "It's surprising that she even got Great Master Liao Tong to testify for her, proving that she is not a demon but rather has an all-seeing mind. With Great Master Liao Tong's testimony, I'm sure many people will believe it." In Buddhism, it was said that there were five eyes, which were the physical eye, the heavenly eye, the wisdom eye, the Dharma eye and the Buddha's eye.
Great Master Liao Tong was an eminent monk who had attained the highest spiritual enlightenment and had many believers. When he openly said that Heshou Xianzhu had opened her all-seeing mind, the questioning voices immediately reduced by half.
Yuchen said unhappily, "You're still laughing?" When she got the news, she felt as nauseated as if she had swallowed a housefly. [+]
Yuxi smiled and said, "If I don't laugh, then should I just cry? San Jie, even if Monk Liao Tong said that she had opened her all-seeing mind, will it be impossible to deal with her?" Since Liao Tong had testified for Heshou Xianzhu, it proved that he was not a person with good character. Nine times out of ten, he would have gained some benefits from it.
Yuchen helplessly said, "Except that Liao Tong Shifu is naturally known as fearless. The real problem now is that the Emperor also believes Liao Tong Shifu's words that Heshou Xianzhu has opened her all-seeing mind and said that it was an auspicious thing." With the Emperor said that Heshou Xianzhu's ability to open her all-seeing mind was an auspicious thing, by no means would anyone dare to call her a demon again. Otherwise, that would be the same as questioning the Emperor.
Yuxi asked, "Could this be the handiwork of the Imperial Consort Song?" The Emperor had always been obedient to Imperial Consort Song. Hence it would not have been surprising if this had been her handiwork.
Yuchen nodded, "It is indeed the handiwork of Imperial Consort Song. The Crown Prince had killed himself, and with the Empress also committed suicide by taking poison, the Imperial Harem is now solely controlled by Imperial Consort Song. With her backing, it's difficult for us to touch Heshou Xianzhu." With the Emperor's golden mouth and pearly words, together with Imperial Consort Song's backing, they had to refrain themselves from throwing at the rat for fear of breaking the vases.
Yuxi nodded and said, "No wonder she is acting fearless since she knows that she has a strong backing. As it turns out, she has prepared beforehand." Heshou Xianzhu was not a fool. If she didn't have anyone to rely on, she would never act in such a high-profile manner. In the past two years, she had ingratiated herself with Imperial Consort Song without being known by the upper classes’ people.
Yuchen said with some frustration, "It's not just Waizumu who has told Jiujiu to leave the matter alone; even Grandmother and Father think that we should wait first."
Yuxi said with approval, "It's right for Grandmother and Father to be worried. If we still said Heshou Xianzhu is a demon now, wouldn't it be against the Emperor and Imperial Consort Song? San Jie, ten years is not too long for a gentleman to take his revenge. Let's put this hatred behind us for now, and one day we'll let her pay it back with interest."
Yuchen said with a wry smile, "How can it be so easy by then? I heard that Imperial Consort Song is thinking of taking Heshou Xianzhu as the 9th Prince's Imperial Concubine. If so, it will be much harder to touch her in the future."
Yuxi's heart was shocked. "Didn't you say that Yu Xiyu will be the 9th Prince's Imperial Concubine? When did it change to Heshou?"
Yuchen shook her head and said, "At the end of last year, I got wind of rumours that the Emperor was going to appoint Yu Xiyu as the Imperial Concubine of the 9th Prince, but there has been no movement. Now there is a rumour that Imperial Consort Song intends to appoint Heshou for the 9th Prince. But they're all just gossip. Until the Imperial Decree comes down, let's just consider them all as false."
Yuxi's eyes widened. No matter how much she didn't care in her previous life, she knew that the 9th Prince's Imperial Concubine was Yu Xiyu. Could it be that Heshou was thinking of snatching that position from Yu Xiyu? This wasn't right. The one she should snatch was the 10th Prince. The last one to ascend to the throne was the 10th Prince. It was impossible for Heshou not to know about this.
However, Yuxi hadn't heard any rumours talking about Heshou and the 10th Prince. On the contrary, there was hearsay about Heshou having a very close relationship with the 9th Prince. Rumour had it that the two people often met in private.
Yuxi couldn't figure out what Heshou was really thinking. But if one thought about it from another angle, Heshou was definitely not a smart person. If she were, she would never have acted in such a high-profile manner. The bird which put its head out would get shot first. The fact that her behaviour was so high-profile that it had already aroused suspicion.
Yuxi's head hurt from thinking about it so much. Heck, just forget it. One couldn't use common sense when deducing Heshou's behaviour. Normal people wouldn't pay bandits to commit murders and arson at the State Residence.
Yuchen looked at the fierce light that flashed in Yuxi's eyes and asked, "Si Mei, what's wrong with you?"
Yuxi shook her head, "Just a little sad." Although she told Yuchen that ten years was not too long for a gentleman to take his revenge, she, herself, was unwilling to wait for ten years. What happened before made her deeply understand one truth. She couldn't just sit and wait for death any longer, or else she would probably end up in the same place as her last life, the worse fate of dying without a burial site.
Back in Taoran House, Yuxi headed straight into her study.
For three days in a row, Yuxi holed herself up inside her study except for times to eat. When Yuchen got the news, she said helplessly, "This silly girl, I thought she truly didn't take the matter to heart." It was not that easy to study an invisible poison that could kill a person. Even an experienced physician who had been practising medicine for decades couldn't manage to get it out, which was even less likely for Yuxi, who only knew superficial knowledge.
Momo Gui wondered, "Miss, is Fourth Miss really digging into medicine?" Would such a shrew person like Fourth Miss do such a stupid thing? Her intuition told her that there was something wrong.
Yuchen was very confused as she asked, "Momo, why are you so prejudiced towards Yuxi?" So far, there wasn't any bitter quarrel between Yuxi and Momo Gui! What else could make Momo Gui thought that Yuxi was scheming in no matter what Yuxi was doing? [+]
Momo Gui answered, "I have no prejudice against the Fourth Miss, but what she did this time made me a little puzzled." She had become a little wiser now and no longer spoke ill of Yuxi. Because no matter what she said, Yuxi would always be right. It couldn't be helped. Yuxi was too good at pretending. Not to mention Yuchen, even she, herself, would be fooled sometimes.
Yuchen shook her head helplessly. Probably as Yuxi had said before that she was at odds with Momo Gui's eight characters, and that was why Momo Gui was so against her. Yuchen said, "I better go to Taoran House and take a look." That silly girl. She couldn't let her drill into a bull's horn at this point.
When Zisu and Kufu saw Yuchen, they seemed to see a saviour, "Third Miss, please advise my Miss! She's just like she has been bewitched. Except for eating time, she will continuously be in the study. No matter how many times we call for her, she won't come out."
Yuchen went to the door of the study, looked at the tightly closed door and shouted, "Yuxi, this is San Jie, please open the door."
After a while, there was still no sound coming from inside the room. Yuchen felt uneasy and instructed, "Go call two people over and break the door down." She was worried that Yuxi had made herself unconscious inside the study.
Two sturdy old women servants came over. But before they could bang on the door, Yuxi herself opened the door.
When Yuchen looked at Yuxi, who had puffy eyes and a pale face, she was scared to death, "What's going on? Zisu, hurry up and get a physician."
Yuxi said with her half-lidded eyes, "San Jie, you're here." Afterwards, she yawned and said, "San Jie, we'll talk about this later on. I'm so sleepy. Let me get some sleep first!"
Since she had been reading too much, her eyes had gotten a little blurry. Thus she couldn't see things clearly, making her trip over the door panel when she entered the room. If it weren’t for the fact that there were Zisu and Yuchen by her side to help her out, she would have stumbled down and been like a dog ate dung.
The two quickly helped her into the room. Yuxi said nothing, climbed into the bed, and said to Yuchen, "You people can do your thing! I'm going to sleep." After saying that, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Yuchen looked at Zisu with an ill expression, "Your Miss has this kind of appearance, and you don't know how to persuade her? If you can't persuade her, you should tell Eldest Aunt or me, and yet, you people let her fool around like this?"
Zisu's heart was full of bitter complaints.
When Physician Bai came over, Yuxi was still sleeping soundly! After examining Yuxi's pulse, he said, "Fourth Miss is excessively worn out, and some are because of heat exhaustion. She'll be fine after two days of rest."
When Yuchen saw that Physician Bai didn't prescribe any medicine, she asked, "Why didn't you prescribe anything for her?"
Physician Bai smiled and explained, "Fourth Miss is just not resting well, so there is no need to prescribe a prescription. If Third Miss doesn't feel at ease, I'll prescribe a remedial prescription for Fourth Miss." Physician Bai was a dedicated physician of the State Residence, and he understood Yuxi's temperament, so even if he prescribed a prescription for her, she wouldn't eat it. As a result, he was initially not going to prepare a medicine to give to Yuxi.
When Qiu Shi got the news, she lost her temper with Zisu as she scolded, "How do you serve your Miss? You didn't even tell me about such a big thing?" Qiu Shi wasn't aware of Heshou Xianzhu being the actual assailant of that night during the palace rebellion. That was why she didn't know why Yuxi was in such a state. She thought Yuxi was just too worn up from reading too much.
Zisu and Kufu felt wronged. It wasn't that they didn't want to tell others about it; it was just that they didn't dare. Yuxi had already put out a warning that whoever went looking for help would be thrown out once she knew. With Yuxi's words, who dared to eat a bear heart and a leopard gall and inform others?
Not only did the Old Lady and Han Jingyan know that Yuxi had fallen ill from reading too many medical books, so did Wu Shi, Yurong and others.
Because of Concubine Wen's death, Han Jingyan felt even more disgusted with Wu Shi. Now, Wu Shi was living by shrinking her head. She was no longer as arrogant as she was before. Although Yurong resented Yuxi, the teaching of her nurturing Momo had not been in vain. She knew that if she wished to scheme against Yuxi, the one to suffer would definitely be her unless she did it seamlessly. Until she was absolutely sure, she was not going to do anything.
Yuxi slept until nightfall. When she woke up, what greeted her was Qiu Shi splitting the head and covering the face, reprimanding her severely, which caused Yuxi to shrink into the blanket and did not dare to utter a word.
In the end, it was Zisu who took pity on Yuxi and stepped forward, "My Lady, Miss hasn't eaten for half a day, and her body won't be able to take it if she's continuously not eating."
Qiu Shi retorted, "Let's just starve her to death. She's already becoming such a big person and still didn't know how to cherish herself at all, just like a three-year-old child."
It was only after Yuxi's repeated assurances that Qiu Shi finally returned with Mama Li.
Noob Translator's Musing
Yuxi and Han Jianye in the next chapter:
Though, they fight verbally.
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi