When Yuxi returned to Taoran House, she entered the study after instructing Zisu, "Don't let anyone in without my orders."
Zisu looked at Yuxi's gloomy face and felt a little uneasy. She could see that something terrible had happened. "If there is something wrong, Miss, just call me. I will be at the door."
Yuxi leaned back in her chair, with her eyes staring listlessly at the beams of the room. She didn't understand why it was difficult for her to marry a good family and live an ordinary, stable life. Once word of this rumour got out, she would never marry again in her life. She had died without leaving a corpse in her previous life. But in this life, she was going to be alone for the rest of her life?
When she thought of all the hardships and efforts she had made over the years and how her wish had not been fulfilled, but her life had come to such an end, Yuxi's eyes went wet. In the end, however, the tears did not stay long, as she forced them back into her eyes. She had already shed enough tears in her previous life, and she learned that tears were the most useless thing.
Second Madam Yu was generous enough for not revealing the fact that Yuxi had a bad fate. But this did not mean that others would not reveal it. In less than three days, almost all the upper circles in the capital knew about Yuxi's bad fate.
When Qiu Shi heard this rumour, she slapped her hand on the table. "Which bastard has created this rumour? How much of a grudge does our family have against them to ruin Yuxi like this?"
Mama Li told her softly, "The words came from Qinxin Gongzhu." Seeing Qiu Shi's face as if she had seen a ghost, Mama Li continued, "My Lady, on that day, when Song Guifei summoned the Third and Fourth Miss to the palace, she happened to meet Monk Liao Tong, who came to the palace to explain the scriptures. The monk said that the Third Miss had a rich destiny, while the Fourth Miss had an unfortunate one." Since Qinxin Gongzhu blurted it out nine times out of ten, this news must be trustworthy.
Qiu Shi was dejected. "How could this happen?" With Qinxin Gongzhu and Song Guifei involved, they were unable to argue even if they wanted to.
Mama Li said, "My Lady, we should think of a way. Otherwise, the rumours will continue to spread, and the Fourth Miss will be ruined." A girl who could not get married would be ruined for life.
Qiu Shi was not a person who could handle emergency affairs. She was in a hurry now, so she couldn't think of a single way.
Seeing this situation, Mama Li suggested, "Why don't we ask the Old Lady?" Mama Li also didn't have any good ideas.
Qiu Shi nodded hastily and said, "Yes, yes, yes, ask the Old Lady. Let's go at once." The Old Lady always had a lot of ideas. She should have a way.
The Old Lady's face also looked a little ugly when she heard Qiu Shi's words. But she was much stronger mentally than Qiu Shi as she instructed her maid, "Go and call the Third Miss and the Fourth Miss here."
When the two of them arrived at the Main Courtyard, the Old Lady told them about the rumours outside. Yuchen glanced at Yuxi, who looked the same as ever, and asked, "Grandmother, what needs to be done now?" Yuchen knew that Yuxi had not left the Taoran House for the past few days, and she thought that Yuxi had been in grief. But now, it seemed like it wasn't the case.
The Old Lady looked at Yuxi and asked, "Yuxi, what do you think should be done?"
Yuxi answered with a bitter smile, "What else can I do? The matter was brought up by Qinxin Gongzhu, so it was a foregone conclusion. If we want to turn it around, we must find a monk who is more famous than Monk Liao Tong." Yuxi had no idea about any other places, but the only person in the capital who was more famous than Monk Liao Tong was another sage monk of Huangzhi Temple, Great Master Huineng. But that Great Master was so dedicated to practising Buddhism that even the Emperor had a hard time meeting him, and it was difficult for a nobody like her to get him to speak for her.
The Old Lady said, "You can take your birthdate to the Board of Astronomy. As long as the supervisor there said that there is no problem with your birthdate, then there is still room for us to turn things around."
Yuxi said bluntly, "Even if the officer there said my birthdate was very good, only very few people would believe it." Many people would rather believe in something with credibility than not believe it, so it was not generally difficult to turn things around.
Qiu Shi spoke up and scolded, "You, this child, what kind of silly things are you saying." It was better than nothing. At least it could be used as a rebuttal in the future.
Yuxi's face did not show too much expression. In fact, she did not have high expectations on the Board of Astronomy. Both Song Guifei and Qinxin Gongzhu had said that she had a bad fate, so could the Qintian Supervisor give her a rich fate?
The Old Lady didn't understand Yuxi's concern. But if they didn't do anything, should they just sit and wait for death? "Just send your eight characters to the Board of Astronomy first, and wait for the official response."
Yuxi asked bluntly, "Grandmother, what should I do if the Board of Astronomy also says I have a bad fate?" In the past few days, she had also been thinking about what she should do if the Han family could not tolerate her anymore. When she thought about it, she felt that there was nothing for her to be afraid of. Even if she were abandoned by the Han family again, she would not be reduced to the situation in her last life because she could still live well even in the outside world.
The Old Lady's face was a little unsightly as she questioned, "You, yourself, believe the rumours outside?"
Yuxi lowered her head and answered after quite a while, "Grandmother, I have asked myself for so many years if I have ever brought harm to anyone?" Her question was also equivalent to replying to the Old Lady’s question.
The Old Lady's expression eased a little, just as long as Yuxi did not get confused herself. At that moment, she said, "Since you don't believe it, don't think about it. Do what you have to do."
At that moment, the Old Lady sent Yuxi's birthdate and eight characters to the Board of Astronomy.
In less than half a day, everyone in residence had also heard the rumours outside. When Zisu saw Yuxi coming out of the study, her eyes burst into tears. "Miss, what can we do now?" Having a bad fate was similar to saying that the said person was a bearer of bad luck. With such a reputation, what should her Miss do in the future? [+]
Yuxi asked indifferently, "What's there to do? How have I lived before is how I’m going to live now, right?" Originally, she wanted to go outside to get some air, but when Zisu asked her this way, her heart got moody again. She simply turned around and went back to her study to continue reading.
Kufu quietly asked, "Zisu Jiejie, why isn't Miss looking worried at all?" If other people were to encounter this kind of thing, they would still be crying to their death.
Zisu wiped a handful of tears from her eyes and said, "It's useless for her to worry. Let's see what the Old Lady and the Third Lord will do with this matter! I hope the rumours outside can be put to rest soon."
Unfortunately, instead of calming down, the rumour grew fiercer and fiercer. It was even rumoured that Yuxi’s fate didn't bring those around her down because Yuchen's fortune was precious, which had suppressed Yuxi's bad luck. If not, the rest of the Han family would have been out of luck. If Yuchen married in the future, no one would be able to suppress Yuxi’s fate, and by then, everyone in the Han family would be down on their luck.
Because of this rumour, the Taoran residence was shrouded in shadow. Yuxi, on the other hand, had been silent since the beginning of her engagement, and she had stayed in her study from morning till night. Zisu and the others did not dare disturb Yuxi, let alone tell her about the rumours.
The Board of Astronomy measured and calculated Yuxi's birthdate, and the results were sent to the Old Lady. After reading them, the Old Lady looked a little complicated.
Mama Luo asked, "Old Lady, what's wrong? Was the result not good?" The rumours outside were getting stronger and stronger. It almost said that the Fourth Miss was the reincarnated bearer of bad luck.
The Old Lady shook her head and said, "The Board of Astronomy’s response is neither good nor bad." It didn't say that Yuxi's fate was terrible, but it didn't say that she had it good either. It only said that Yuxi's fate lacked water. It was like saying that Yuxi's destiny was not good or bad, just mediocre.
Mama Luo thought that the Board of Astronomy would have calculated that Yuxi's fate was terrible through her birthdate, but she didn’t expect it to be neither good nor bad. "If that's the case, then why did Master Liao Tong say that the Fourth Miss’ fate was bad?"
The Old Lady also had doubts in her mind. Master Liao Tong did not have Yuxi's birthdate in his hands, so he could only tell her fortune through her face. Yuxi's face did not look like a person with bad luck, though.
Mama Luo asked, "What can we do then?"
The Old Lady folded up the paper in her hand and instructed softly, "Let this matter out! As for whether outsiders believe it or not, let them be!"
Remembering Yuxi's recent behaviour, Mother Luo said, "Fourth Miss has been staying in the study and not coming out lately." Without crying or complaining of grievances, Yuxi stayed in her courtyard and continuously read her books. This kind of behaviour made Mama Luo puzzled.
The Old Lady commented, "It's good to polish her." That girl's temperament is too sharp. Hence, it would be better for that girl to encounter more things and polish her temperament.
Mama Luo hesitantly said, "Then, about the rumours out there......"
The Old Lady didn't plan to suppress the rumours outside. She thought that whatever the news was, it would always pass and, naturally, would cool down after a while. As for Yuxi's marriage, it was clearly impossible to talk about it now, and it would not be too late to discuss it in a couple of years. The rumours would undoubtedly have an impact, but not so much that she would not be able to marry. [+]
The Old Lady had a good idea, but others did not share her thoughts.
Han Jingyan sought out the Old Lady and said, "Mother, because of the rumours that have been buzzing around recently, I'm thinking of sending Yuxi to live in the family hamlet for a while." Rather than asking Yuxi to go and live in the hamlet, he wished Yuxi to move out.
The Old Lady asked coldly, "Do you believe the rumours outside? You believe that Yuxi will affect your fortune?"
Naturally, Han Jingyan would not admit it and said, "I just think that there are already enough things going on in the residence. So it would be better to let Yuxi go out for a while."
The Old Lady took a deep breath and asked, "Do you know that by doing this, you are confirming the rumours out there?" Even her own father believed Yuxi had a bad fate. Thus, it went without saying what others would think.
Han Jingyan argued, "I'm doing it for her own good and the good of my family."
The Old Lady stared at Han Jingyan and said half a second later, "Yan-er, I know you don't like Yuxi, but no matter what, she is still your daughter. Even a tiger does not eat its own cubs. You can't just push her to the dead-end!" She didn't like Yuxi either, but she had been with her for more than ten years, so she still had some feelings for her. If it was for the sake of the family, so be it, but just because of an outside story, Yuxi's life was ruined. The Old Lady couldn't bear it.
Han Jingyan did not change his mind because of the Old Lady's words and said, "Mother, after the rumours outside have subsided, I will bring her back."
Looking at her son, the Old Lady knew her persuasion was useless. She suddenly felt a little tired as she said, "Yuxi is your daughter. Since you have made a decision, I can't stop you. Do whatever you want! "
Noob Translator's Musing
Wow, Yuxi's father...
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi