Zisu looked at Yuxi's indifferent look and urged, "Miss, Qiu Yanfu is going to do it within the next few days. We should stop her!"
Yuxi looked up at Zisu, "I have my own way of handling this matter, so don't say any more about this." In the past few days, she had been considering whether she should interfere in this matter. But after meeting her Dage, she had her answer, and that was she could not interfere with it.
Zisu has been with Yuxi for so many years, so how could she not see that Yuxi was not planning to intervene. "Miss, if we let Qiu Yanfu have her way, what should we do if the Lu family withdraws from the marriage?"
Yuxi glanced at Zisu. Last time she felt that something was strange with Zisu. This time she had a bad prediction in her heart as she looked at Zisu's behaviour. "Why are you so concerned about Er Ge's affairs? Could it be that......"
Zisu blushed as she replied, "Miss, please be clear that I have no improper thoughts towards the Second Master."
Yuxi was just trying to bluff, but she didn't expect it to be as she had guessed. "Do you know what you call this? You call this putting up a sign telling others that you didn't hide the 300 taels of silver here." Yuxi had never dreamed that Zisu would have any thoughts on her Er Ge.
Zisu kneeled on the ground and said, "Miss, I do think that the Second Master is a true man who can support both heaven and earth, but I definitely do not have any improper thoughts. If you don't believe me, I can swear that if I truly have any improper thoughts, I will be struck by thunder, and after death, I'll be sent down to the eighteen layers......"
The fierce oath was interrupted by Yuxi before Zisu could finish it, "I didn't say anything about you. What are you doing with such a fierce oath? Stand up and speak." Even if Zisu had a soft spot in her heart for her Er Ge, she would never harbour any other thoughts. Zisu had been by her side for so many years, so Yuxi could still believe her words.
Zisu got up from the ground and dared not look at Yuxi with her head down.
Yuxi also knew that Zisu must feel awkward and embarrassed at this time, and she was too. "You withdraw first! I'm not interfering in this matter for Er Ge's own good, so don't worry too much about it."
Zisu looked up, not understanding what Yuxi meant by this, "Why is that, Miss?"
Yuxi wasn't prepared to explain to Zisu, "I won't harm Er Ge. As for your comment that the Lu family will withdraw from the marriage after Qiu Yanfu set up Er Ge, you don't have to worry about that. The Lu family will not withdraw their marriage." Again, both fiances were being schemed, but the essence was different. Second Master Ye liked Ke Minjie and wanted to marry her, so the two families got into an unbearable mess before they withdrew from the marriage. But her Er Ge did not like Qiu Yanfu. Even if he was schemed by Qiu Yanfu, it was not a big deal, and if the Lu family found out about it, they would only think that her Er Ge was just too stupid and cowardly to be schemed by a woman.
Zisu's heart was slightly relieved by Yu Xi's words, but she had another worry, "But if the Second Master was schemed by Qiu Yanfu, wouldn't she have to become his noble concubine?" Qiu Yanfu was a young miss from a pure family and Third Lady’s niece, so she must be a noble concubine at any rate.
Yuxi laughed lightly, "Don't worry, Qiu Yanfu will not become Er Ge's noble concubine." If Qiu Yanfu were to become Er Ge's concubine, the people who would be most affected would be Wu Shi and Yurong. If Wu Shi's niece became her nephew's concubine, she would not have any face left as the Third Lady. As for Yurong, if her blood biaojie became a concubine for her tangge, it would be like her face had been trampled to the ground.
Zisu's heart was slightly at ease.
Yuxi said, "Hurry up and put that little mind of yours away. I can't keep you if people find out." Zisu couldn't become Han Jianye's concubine, not to mention that her Eldest Aunt would not allow it, even she wouldn't allow it. She could not afford to lose face as the meimei who gave her personal maid to be her gege's concubine.
Zisu nodded in agreement, and this time it was because she was in a hurry to end the talk as Yuxi had already noticed the clues to her heart.[+]
However, Yuxi did not feel at ease. The sooner this matter regarding Zisu's feeling was resolved, the better. "You are seventeen this year, and you will be eighteen in a year. I'll find you a candidate and choose well. I'll have to marry you off by the end of next year at the latest." When Zisu finally married, this little thought would naturally go away.
Zisu nodded and said, "Okay."
When Yuxi saw that Zisu had agreed to do so, the worry in her heart went away. "Zisu, don't blame me for not being merciful. I am also doing it for your own good." The reason was that she believed that Zisu was not the kind of person who wanted to climb up the branch for the sake of glory, splendour, wealth and rank. Otherwise, she would have immediately gotten Zisu out of the residence if she ever had thought of such a thing.
Zisu also felt a little guilty as she said in a low voice, "Miss, actually, I just thought that the Second Master was a good man, a true man of character. Other than that, I didn't think about anything else." Simply put, Zisu just had some favourable impressions for Han Jianye and hoped he had a good life.
Yuxi nodded and responded, "If I didn't believe you, do you think you would still be standing here right now?" After saying that, she waved her hand and said, "You can withdraw."
After Zisu went out, Yuxi muttered to herself, "Her sight is also odd enough." How could Zisu fall for her Er Ge's awful look? Did she have a good look?
Once she murmured that out, she shook her head, looked down and went back to her book.
Ye Shi knew that Qiu Yanfu intended to work on her plan in just two days.
Old Woman Hua was a little hesitant as she questioned, "Da Nainai, do you really want to do this? Once this matter is discovered, the Lady will take it out on you at that time." Da Nainai was already unable to have children, and if she offended her mother-in-law again, how could she live in the future.
Ye Shi responded, "I won't be implicated." The people Qiu Yanfu had bribed were all from her mother-in-law's side, and it had nothing to do with her. But she had to manage the household and help her mother-in-law in preparing for her brother-in-law's wedding. So she was too busy till she couldn’t keep her feet on the ground, so it was normal for her to have a slip-up.
Old Woman Hua always felt that this was inappropriate. "Da Nainai, why don't we just forget about it? If we let Qiu Yanfu succeed in climbing into the Second Master's bed, and the Lu family will not withdraw from the marriage, Lu Xiu will still marry over. Why do we have to become such an evil person?"
Ye Shi said, "What does it matter to us what Qiu Yanfu wants to do? It's not like we arranged for it. I just don't care about this matter anymore. Moreover, if my brother-in-law is indeed righteous and has no such intention, it is useless even if Qiu Yanfu has the intention to calculate." She didn't feel she was at fault. She was just standing by. She was neither the mastermind nor the party involved, so what did it matter to her?
When Old Woman Hua saw that she could not persuade Ye Shi no matter what she said, she gave up.
The next day, after Han Jianye finished with his job, he ran into Qiu Lilong on his way back. Han Jianye could not shirk away from him, so he went with Qiu Lilong to a restaurant.
Han Jianye's drinking capacity was trained by Master Yang. While Qiu Lilong was as drunk as a dead pig, Han Jianye managed to stand up peacefully and said to his attendant Han Yi, who was beside him, "Let’s go back." Han Jianye was accompanied by his two personal attendants, Han Yi and Han Zhao, his family servants’ sons. However, Han Jianye trusted Han Yi more and Han Zhao a little less.
Seeing Han Jianye in such a state, Han Yi did not dare to let him ride a horse, as it would not be fun if he fell off the horse. He hired a sedan chair on the street to carry Han Jianye back.
When they arrived at the residence, Han Yi helped Han Jianye out of the sedan chair. By this time, Han Jianye was already a little drunk. Looking up at the front, he muttered, "Why does the sky keep on spinning?"
Han Yi said with a smile, "Second Master, you're drunk." Although Qiu Lilong was desperately trying to pour wine into Han Jianye, Han Yi didn't think much of it. No matter what, Qiu Lilong was also a relative of the Han family. Although he was a bit farther apart, he was still a relative, wasn't he?
Han Jianye was a good drinker. Except for muttering a few words, he didn't curse, nor did he break things when he was crazy drunk. Han Yi helped him to rest in Han Jianye's study in the front yard, mainly because the Lady would be worried if Han Jianye was sent back to the yard in this state.[+]
After Han Yi had settled in Han Jianye, he sought out Ah Zhao and said, "The Second Master is drunk. Go to the kitchenette and get some sober soup." Originally, Han Jianye had two personal maids, one serving in the study and the other in the courtyard. But at the beginning of the month, the First Lady had sent them away because they were his tongfang. As the daughter-in-law was about to enter the house, the two tongfang maids were put on the family hamlet first and then brought back when the daughter-in-law became pregnant. This act of sending one’s tongfang away was common among large families, and thus, Han Jianye had no objection. However, he refused Qiu Shi's request to send two more maids over to serve him. As for a reason for his refusal, Han Jianye did not say, and Qiu Shi did not pursue the matter. Therefore, Han Yi and Han Zhao were the only people currently serving in Han Jianye's study.
Han Yi waited for a long time, but Han Zhao did not come over. He muttered in his heart, "Why is this kid becoming even slower in doing things?"
As he was muttering, Han Zhao ran in, not carrying the sober soup in his hand either. He turned towards Han Yi and said, "Ah Yi, your little brother has broken his leg, go back and take a look!"
Han Yi's little brother was only six years old this year, and he usually loved this brother very much. "What did you say? My brother broke his leg? What happened?"
Han Zhao shook his head, "I'm not sure. You should go back and take a look! The Second Master will be in my care, so don't worry!"
Han Yi didn't think much of it and hurried back.
Looking at Qiu Yanfu, who was holding the sober soup in her hand, Yanxia whispered, "Miss, once you've shot the arrow, there's no getting it back. It's not too late for you to turn back now, though. Eldest Master is unreliable. So we can only beg the Lady Aunt. If not, we will go beg......"
Qiu Yanfu shook her head and said, "It's no use. It's no use to beg anyone. My aunt has already made up her mind to send me back to Hebei when next spring begins."
Yanxia was still making a last-ditch effort, "Miss, there must still be a way out. Miss, I’m sure there will still be a way out."
Qiu Yanfu looked sad as she said, "There is no way out. If there were, I wouldn't have gone down this road." In the past few days, she had spent a lot of money to find out that there were seven to eight concubines around Eldest Young Master Wang. All of them were beautiful, but they came from different backgrounds, including brothel girls, young miss from official families who had been sold, poor girls, and his maids. In addition to this, Eldest Young Master Wang liked to give away his concubines. How could she trust her life to a man like this? Instead of being a concubine to such a man who saw women as playthings, it would be better to be with Second Master Han. At least, Second Master Han was now a fifth-ranking officer, and with her status, she would also become his noble concubine.
Seeing her Miss’s reaction, Yanxia knew that it was useless for her to continue to persuade.
Noob Translator's Musing
Ye Shi said, "What does it matter to us what Qiu Yanfu wants to do? It's not like we arranged for it. I just don't care about this matter anymore. Moreover, if my brother-in-law is indeed righteous and has no such intention, it is useless even if Qiu Yanfu has the intention to calculate." She didn't feel she was at fault. She was just standing by. She was neither the mastermind nor the party involved, so what did it matter to her?
Even though you don't participate in the scheme, you know about it and doesn't want to prevent it from happening, so you can be considered an accessory to the scheme. That's what I learned from watching too much Crime Investigation Channel.
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi