After sending the Old Lady away, Yuchen leaned against the precious blue engraved silk cushion, sighed slightly and said, "Grandmother is getting old, and her nature has become a bit contradictory." Eldest Aunt had informed them that she had to go back first because she was feeling unwell, and her grandmother could still chastise her for it. If it had been in the past, her grandmother would not have been acting like this.
Momo Gui commented, "Ever since the Eldest Master inherited the title and became the Duke of the State, the Old Lady has indeed been neglected. And several masters of the Main House are not as respectful towards her as they used to be." Qiu Shi, in particular, used to be very respectful and filial to the Old Lady, but now she was unconcerned and shifted everything to her two daughters-in-law. It was only reasonable that the Old Lady would be displeased. [T/N]
Yuchen shook her head gently and pointed out, "Eldest Aunt has never shortchanged Grandmother's portion, and she always goes over to pay her respects regularly. So if we want to find her fault, we won't be able to find any." Qiu Shi was just not as respectful to the Old Lady as she used to be, but she didn't treat the Old Lady poorly regarding food and clothing. She would focus on the Old Lady's needs every time she did something. Therefore, Yuchen could not accuse her of doing anything wrong.
Momo Gui said, "When people are old, they want their children and grandchildren to linger around their knees. They don't care much about eating and things they're using." To put it bluntly, older people like to have a lively life.
Yuchen was already a married woman. Thus, it was inappropriate for her to interfere in her natal family affair, and she could not find any fault in Qiu Shi for anything other than her attitude. "I wanted to talk to Yuxi this time!" Unfortunately, she didn't get the chance.
Speaking of this, Momo Gui was worried. "Wangfei, do you think it is a disaster or a blessing for Guifei Niangniang to bestow the Fourth Miss to Yun Qing?" The Fourth Miss was a master of revenge. When Wu Shi tried to make her life difficult, she was the one who was made a fool instead, leaving her head and face filthy with grime, and she even lost her life in the end. Guifei had tried to murder the Fourth Miss twice in a row, so it would be strange if she didn't have any grudge against her. Assuming that the Fourth Miss was incapable of retaliation and would have to put up with it, it was said that Yun Qing was capable of fighting. If she were to marry him, it would be a great disaster if she encouraged him to rebel in the future.
It wasn't a wonder that Momo Gui could have this kind of thinking. It was true that Yuxi's behaviour had been unethical so far. The Fourth Miss had separated herself from the Third House just to be adopted by the Main House. If she didn't want her biological father, how could one expect her to be faithful to the ruler and love her country? What utter nonsense. So it didn't surprise Momo Gui when Yuxi later encouraged Han Jianming to scheme against Han Jingdong to inherit the title.
Not only did Momo Gui have this fear, but so did Yuchen. Yuchen was not worried that Yuxi would plot a rebellion but that Yun Qing hated the Song family. Marrying Yuxi to Yun Qing would be an excellent addition for Yun Qing. "This time, I would have liked to have a good talk with Yuxi." Yuchen wanted to persuade Yuxi with the primary principle by letting her know that bringing chaos to the border town would involve many innocent people. [T/N]
Momo Gui suggested, "Why don't we ask the Fourth Miss to come to the residence in a couple of days." If her Master could talk some sense to the Fourth Miss, it would be to everyone's delight and satisfaction.
Yuchen bitterly smiled as she asked, "Do you think Yuxi will come to the wangfu alone?" Yuxi was willing to come to the wangfu this time because a group of people was accompanying her. If Yuxi were to go alone, not to mention Yuxi would not come, even her Eldest Aunt would not let her do so.
Momo Gui nodded her head and said, "Then we can only wait for the two little Masters' full moon feast." At that time, the Old Lady probably would not come, and Wangfei could have a good talk with the Fourth Miss.
Yuchen nodded, and after a pause, she could not help questioning, "What do you think Guifei Niangniang is thinking? How could she give Yuxi's hand in marriage to Yun Qing?" Yuchen actually couldn't even understand Song Guifei's way of thinking. Wouldn't a marriage between Yuxi and Yun Qing make two people who both had a grudge against her unite as husband and wife and make them share the same enemy? It would be fine if they were both stupid, but they were capable people.
Momo Gui paused for a moment and let out her opinion on it, "Guifei Niangniang should have believed Monk Liao Tong's words and felt that the Fourth Miss was a person with a bad fate. Therefore, she thought that marrying the Fourth Miss to Yun Qing would not only bring bad luck to Yun Qing, but Fourth Miss would not live long either!" Yun Qing's reputation for being murderous was well-known in the capital. Hence, if Yun Qing knew that he had married a woman with a bad fate, it was not impossible for him to immediately end the Fourth Miss' life.
Yuchen also agreed with Momo Gui and felt that, in all likelihood, this was what Song Guifei's thought. Because she agreed to this, she didn't even know how to spit it out. "How do you think Guifei Niangniang won the battle against the late Empress and the Crown Prince?" If Yun Qing was such a shallow person, would he still be alive now? It was surprising that she didn't even know such a simple truth.
Momo Gui shook her head and said, "Wangfei, Guifei Niangniang was not like this before." If Song Guifei had been like this before, she would have died many times. Perhaps it was because Song Guifei was now the one reigning supreme in the harem, so she had acted recklessly.
No matter what happened to Song Guifei, she had changed beyond recognition, and there was no one to hold her in check. Yuchen felt particularly depressed when she thought of this.
Momo Gui hesitated for a moment before saying, "Wangfei, I guess it is probably because Song Guifei was so deeply impressed with Fourth Miss' pathetic little girl appearance that day that she did not pay particular attention to her. If we let Guifei Niangniang know that the Fourth Miss is a tough and outstandingly intelligent person, then this will definitely....." She had to swallow her following words when she noticed the cold and detached look in Yuchen's eyes.
Yuchen coldly said, "If Guifei heard these words of yours, Yuxi would completely lose her life." If Song Guifei knew Yuxi's true nature, she would cut her like weeds by eliminating her from the roots.
Speaking of which, Yuchen also wondered, did Yuxi deliberately misbehave in the Imperial Palace back then? Because she knew what would happen later? Thinking about it, Yuchen immediately dismissed it. If Yuxi had that skill, she would not have ended up in the situation she was now. Please read this chapter at xinshou blogspot com.
Momo Gui's heart fluttered, but she still spoke the words she had in her heart, "Wangfei, to speak against taboo, I have always felt that the Fourth Miss will harm Niangniang* in the future." It was her intuition. There was no reason for it. She could only say that she just thought it would be so. [*]
Yuchen did not expect Momo Gui to hate Yuxi to this extent and said at once, "Let's not talk about the fact that what you say are only your worries. Let's say that if you truly do it, have you thought about the consequences?" Once Yuxi died, there would be no damage to Yun Qing, but the damage to Yuchen would be very significant. To brutalise closely related kin because of a baseless concern, just the slightest whisper of this would not only have her natal's family turning their backs on her, but even her pillow-mate would have to be wary of her.
Momo Gui sincerely admitted her mistake, "I was being thoughtless." In fact, she was just saying it, that was all, and she was not secretly plotting to have Yuxi killed.
After a pause, Momo Gui added, "Niangniang, why don't we put a few people around the Fourth Miss? In the future, if she has that intention in mind, we can at least be prepared."
Yuchen was silent for a moment and nodded, "You can arrange this. Yuxi is very vigilant. You must carefully choose the people you put in so there won't be any slightest flaw."
Momo Gui nodded and assured her, "Wangfei doesn't have to worry. There will be no mistakes."
The day before the New Year, Momo Quan led Momo Qu into the State Residence to see Yuxi. Momo Qu was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with a round bun, two silver hairpins on her head, and wearing a sixty per cent new raven-coloured dress. She was a little thin, but she looked very calm. [+]
Yuxi looked at Momo Qu and asked, "Do you hate your brothers and nephews when they treat you like this?" Honestly, just by looking at Momo Qu's expression, Yuxi already knew her answer, but she had deliberately asked this question.
Momo Qu said, "I don't hate them. To me, they are already a bunch of insignificant people." It would be a lie to say that she didn't hate them, but if she were to take revenge, she couldn't do so. After all, those were the Qu family's people, and she couldn't do that to them, so it was better for her to stay away.
Yuxi asked again, "I am going to marry to the northwest and will probably not be able to return to the capital for the rest of my life. Momo Qu, are you willing to go with me to the northwest?"
Momo Qu said, "If I were unwilling, I would not have come." The conditions in the northwest were bitter, but even if they were, it would not be like that for the General's wife, nor would those who served them.
Yuxi looked at Momo Qu and asked the last question, "If you want to stay with me, you must sign the servant deed. I can assure you that I will still support you as you age."
Momo Qu nodded without even thinking, "Alright." She had been prepared for this before she came. Since she knew what Yuxi had done to her other mama, she had let go of the last of her worries. She no longer worried about being abandoned by her Master's family when she was too old to move. This cautiousness was not because Momo Qu was acting like a man of Qǐ who feared the sky was falling, but there were many precedents.
When Momo Qu signed the servant deed, she officially became the housekeeper of Taoran House, and naturally, her title changed from Momo Qu to Mama Qu. This time, all that was left was to find a cook.
A few days after the New Year, Qiu Shi told Yuxi that she had found someone who was an excellent cook. This person was also the offspring of a family servant, twenty-seven years old, already a mother of three children, and an excellent cook. Thus, Qiu Shi had taken a fancy to her.
When Yuxi heard that the other person was the mother of three children, she shook her head and said, "This person won't do." The three children could not go with their mother, and Yuxi could not do such a thing as to separate people from their flesh and blood. Moreover, if this person did not go with them sincerely, it would leave a scourge in the future.
Mama Li said, "Miss, I have a candidate here, but I don't know if Miss will use her?" The candidate Mama Li suggested was the daughter of her husband's distant sister-in-law. That woman had a miserable life. Her husband had passed away from an accident and was followed by her daughter's death because of illness. Now, that woman had returned to her natal's house and had a hard time there.
Before Yuxi could say anything, Qiu Shi spoke first, "No. It's unlucky. So no." A dead husband and a dead daughter would generally be fine. It was bad luck to have such a person with Yuxi when she was going to get married.
Mama Li looked at Yuxi and was disappointed to see that she did not say anything.
Yuxi did not care whether the other party was a widow, nor did she think that woman was unlucky. It was just that she felt that a woman who had been so traumatised must not be in good health. If Yuxi allowed that woman to travel with her for a few months, she would not last long enough to reach the border town, and by then, she would only be a burden.
Yuxi said, "Mother, let's put the cook's affairs aside for now!" In fact, from today's incident, Yuxi realised that she had come to a dead end. Why did she have to find someone who was particularly good at cooking? She could just find someone with a cooking talent and train her well.
Momo Gui was a little frustrated that neither of their two candidates had been chosen and complained to Yuchen, "I wonder what kind of cook the Fourth Miss wants?"
Yuchen was not surprised. "The kitchen is of the utmost importance, and nowadays, it differs from the past, so Yuxi must be very cautious." Yuchen was overthinking it. Yuxi was considering many things at this time, but she hadn't considered the possibility of someone planting a spy on her side, as her status hadn't changed yet. But just because Yuxi didn't realise it, it didn't mean that those around her didn't.
That evening, Mama Qu reminded Yuxi to be on the lookout for someone to be planted on her side. In other words, she told her to be on the lookout for someone who would put a spy on her side.
Yuxi's eyes widened at first, and then she came to her senses. Naturally, the Fourth Miss Han family was not worthy of someone to place a spy, but the future general's wife was a different story. "Thanks, Mama, for reminding me." This was the benefit of having someone with a lot of experience around.
Mama Qu said, "This is what I should do. Miss, it is not necessary to find a cook who knows how to cook, but a maid with a cooking talent can also be trained."
Yuxi smiled and said, "I think so too. But this is not something that we should publicise." It would be better to choose the candidate privately, not inform the public.
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi