The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 159 : Yuru’s Betrothal (1)

A quarter of an hour later, Mama Cao came over. She was a very dignified old woman servant. As she just stood there, even Zisu did not dare act casually around her.

Zisu said, “Mama, Miss invites you to her study.”

Mama Cao was still very respectful to Yuxi, and after giving her a greeting, she asked, “What are your instructions, Miss?” If there were no instructions she would not have been sent to the study on purpose.

Yuxi didn’t even put down the book in her hand as she said, “Maidong has served me for more than six years. She has been working very hard even if she has not performed meritorious deeds. She is also implicated in this incident.”

Mama Cao couldn’t understand what Yuxi wanted her to do. “If Miss has any request for me to do, please let me know.”

Yuxi stated, “Not many of these sold maids will end up well. Maidong is only fourteen years old this year. Go to a hamlet and find her a loyal, diligent and honest young man to marry her.” With Maidong’s temperament, if she did not find a loyal and honest man, her life would be very difficult in the future.

Mama Cao finally had a plan in her mind. “Miss is really kind-hearted, which is truly a blessing for this maid.” By marrying Maidong to a reliable man, she would have someone she could rely on for the rest of her life. This was a hundred times better than being sold to who know where.

There was no smile on Yuxi’s face, nor could she smile. She just said indifferently, “I’ll have to trouble Mama Cao with this matter.”

How could Mama Cao dare to neglect Yuxi’s orders, “Don’t worry, Miss. I will make sure that this is done properly.”

At this moment, Zisu came over and said, “Miss, all Maidong’s things have been packed up. Maidong said she wanted to kowtow to Miss.”

Yuxi waved her hand and responded, “She doesn’t have to. Just tell her to take care of herself in the future.” She had done everything she could. Whether her future would end up good or bad, it depended on Maidong’s fate.[+]This noob translation was translated by a noob translator, きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

When Mama Cao noticed that Yuxi was looking at her, she tactfully assured her , “Don’t worry, Miss. I will find a loyal, honest and diligent young man for Maidong.” Yuxi had not requested for a wealthy family, but only a loyal, honest and diligent one, which meant that she could look for a domestic slave or a tenant[+]farmer’s family. This left her a lot of room for selection.

Maidong didn’t have a lot of things with her. She only took home all the rewards given by Yuxi and her monthly salary. Apart from the clothes she wore, she only had a few pieces of jewellery to keep up her appearance. Zisu and Kufu gave her some of their personal money, so that she could ask Mama Cao to sell her to a better place.

Mama Cao looked at Maidong with several large parcels and said with an expressionless face, “Come with me!” Only Maidong’s Miss who was kind enough to allow her to take things out. If it were any other master, she would have been skinned[+]take money from!

With the departure of Maidong, there was a vacancy in Yuxi’s personal maid quota. Of the four of Yuxi’s personal maids position, Zijin had taken one position but she was currently absent. However, no one dared to gossip about her after the night of the palace rebellion. But with Maidong gone, Yuxi had only two personal maids who already had their hands full. Therefore, this circumstance required her to take action[+]Chinese idiom : absolutely necessary by adding another maid as her personal maid.

Zisu was very close to Yuxi, so she could ask her directly when she had something on her mind, and she would not go round the curves and skirt the corners[+]Chinese idiom : speak in a roundabout way with Yuxi, “Do Miss have a candidate in mind?”

Yuxi asked back, “Who do you think is a good one?”

After hesitating for a moment, Zisu finally replied, “Caidie is not bad. She’s reliable. She is also quick and neat in her works.”

Yuxi softly chuckled, “You have already kept your eyes on her and yet, you purposely ask me this question, right?” As long as Zisu had the mind to connect the events before and after, she would be able to guess that what happened to Maidong had something to do with Caidie.

Zisu’s face stiffened. She suspected that her Miss had a mind-reading skill, since Miss had already known about everything without the need for Zisu to say anything.

Yuxi didn’t look at Zisu’s face, as she told her, “Eldest Aunt has given me one of her maids, Bingmei, so you don’t have to worry about this.”

Zisu was taken aback, “Bingmei?”

Yuxi nodded a little and said, “En. It’s Bingmei.” Bingmei was Han Xing[+]Qiu Shi’s Steward’s youngest daughter, and her mother was in charge of the needlework room. She had previously become Qiu Shi’s second-class maid, and after Qiu Shi saw what had happened to Maidong, she no longer trusted the maids around her and gave Bingmei to her.

Zisu felt a sense of crisis. When a maid with such status came over, it would threaten her status here.

Then Yuxi said something else that made Zisu’s heart tremble. “Zisu, you are seventeen years old this year. What are your requirements for your other half?” Zisu was five years older than Yuxi, but personal maids usually stayed until they were around twenty before they got married. When Yuxi asked her this question, she was hoping that Zisu would find someone to her liking.

Zisu asked with a pale face, “Miss, do you dislike me?”

Yuxi looked at Zisu’s reaction and couldn’t help laughing, “What with this about me disliking you or not. You can still come back to work here after you’re married. You are seventeen this year, so it’s better for you to choose one now. It’s also not too late for you to get married in a couple more years.”

Zisu breathed out a sigh of relief as she said, “Miss, I won’t get married, nor will I go anywhere. I will continuously wait upon Miss.” She didn’t believe in the idea that she could return to her Miss after she had gotten married. Moju, Motao and the others could not come back after they had been married off. Not to mention that Miss once said that she would marry her into a good family, so it was even more unlikely for her to come back.

Yuxi laughed lightly, “There’s an old saying that said, ‘When an unmarried young woman was left behind, she would leave a grudge’.” When she noticed Zisu was about to retort, she waved her hand and continued, “It’s not that I want to marry you off now, but you should think about what kind of man you want to find. I told you that day, I would find you a man from outside, so your children would not have to work as servants.”

Zisu’s eyes were red. In fact, she really did not want to go out, nor did she want to marry anyone. Her father and her mother had been in love when they first got married, but then her father hooked up with that lowly woman and killed her mother. Hence, men are unreliable. It would be better for her to stay with her Miss and continue to wait upon her. That way, she could live a peace and quiet life.

Meanwhile, Yuru had been torn for the past two days. Her mind was so depressed. If the merits of the two were combined into one, she would no longer be torn about who to choose. After thinking about it, Yuru’s intestines had all being tied up before she decided to ask Qingxuan, “Do you think it’s better to choose the Xiang family or the Zeng family?”

Qingxuan was a particularly clear-headed maid. So she was a little surprised when she heard Yuru’s question. “Miss, this handmaiden will probably say something not good. The Xiang family is a family of scholars, and the fourth son is a di[+]born from formal/legal wife son. If he could pass the exams, even if he was just a xiucai[+]a person who has passed the county level imperial exam, he wouldn’t have come to propose marriage with the State Residence, right?” Qingxuan felt that the Xiang family did not look right.

Yuru had always treated Qingxuan just like her own sister, so she was not angry at Qingxuan’s overstepping words. “Mother told me that the Fourth Childe Xiang is not good in his studies. So in the future, the Xiang family will ask him to abandon the path of an official.”

Qingxuan nodded and said, “Miss, he will still have a good future even if he couldn’t pass the exam to be a xiucai[+]a person who has passed the county level imperial exam, and abandon the official path in the future.” After a pause, she added, “Miss, with Lord Duke doesn’t even take care of his job, Master Shizi[+]a heir of a noble family is still young, and Second Master is a military official, what benefit will the Fourth Childe Xiang gain from marrying Miss?” As a matter of fact, marriage also involved benefits.[+]This noob translation was translated by a noob translator, きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

Yuru thought about it for a moment and agreed. “But Madam Zeng is not an easy person to get along with.” Zeng Kezhou was not bad, but having a difficult mother-in-law was also fatal. Yuru had heard people say before that having a bad mother-in-law would make a girl suffer for the rest of her life.

Qingxuan then assured Yuru with a smile, “Miss, if Madam Zeng is Childe Zeng’s own mother, and she is difficult and mean, then you definitely can not choose him. However, Childe Zeng is a shu[+]born from a concubine son, so he has to take precaution against Madam Zeng. If she makes things difficult for Miss afterwards, Childe Zeng will definitely stand on Miss’ side. As long as the husband and wife are of one mind[+]united, there is no need to be afraid of Madam Zeng making things difficult for Miss.” The reason Qingxuan wanted Yuru to choose Childe Zeng, apart from what she had just said, were two other points that she had not mentioned. Zeng Kezhou’s birth mother was already deceased, so there was one less layer of restraint and one less layer of someone holding Yuru by the elbow[+]hindered sb. from doing sth.. In addition, Madam Zeng was not from an old and well-known noble family. Therefore, she would only know a few tricks, so it was really unnecessary for her Miss to be afraid of her.

Yuru was rather moved by this idea.

In response to Yuru’s reaction, Qingxuan spoke out, “Miss, it is unlikely that Childe Zeng can continuously stay in the capital. When the time comes, he will be assigned a post outside of the capital. If Miss follows him, once you’re there at the designated office, Miss will become the master of Miss own house[+]Chinese idiom : be in power.”

Still unable to make up her mind, Yuru requested, “Let me think about it again.” However, after she thought about it once more, she still could not make up her mind.

At this time, Qingxuan had already heard a lot of news from the Master Courtyard, and she knew, for Qiu Shi to ask her Miss’ opinion was in all probability related to Fourth Miss. When she saw her Miss’ torn look, she recommended, “Miss, why don’t you go and have a chat with Fourth Miss?”

Yuru was a little confused. “Why should I talk to Si Meimei[+]si=fourth, meimei=younger sister about this?”

Qingxuan’s reasoning was simple, “Miss Chiang Xin(Chapter 105)’s biao jiu[+]biao=family relationship via females, jiu=maternal uncle, in this context biao jiu means cousin’s maternal uncle is married to the Xiang family’s gu nainai[+]gu=father’s sister, nainai=young mistress. Fourth Miss is on friendly terms with Miss Chiang Xin, so perhaps she has heard about the Xiang family!” Qingxuan thought that Zeng Kezhou was good, but she didn’t think it was wrong for her Miss to hesitate either. She was only judging from a subjective point of view and she had insufficient knowledge on both of the families.

Yuru hesitated. She felt a little embarrassed to ask Yuxi.

Qingxuan was extremely anxious. “Miss, this great event in your life is not a child’s play. If you choose wrongly, it will be for a lifetime. Miss, just go and ask Fourth Miss!” Qingxuan felt that shamelessness was only temporary, but a marriage was for a lifetime.

Under Qingxuan’s repeated persuasions, Yuru finally gritted her teeth and agreed. Qingxuan felt that it was necessary to strike the iron while it was still hot. Otherwise, her Miss would go back on her word again. “Let’s go now!”

It was already rare for Yuxi to embroider hebao[+]pouch in the embroidery room when she heard that Yuru was coming over. She stood up and went to welcome her. When she arrived in the small parlour, she ordered Zisu, “Bring up the new fruit.” Han Jianming and Han Jianye knew that she liked fruits, so they would bring her fruits from time to time. This time, at noon, Han Jianming had brought her bananas.

After the tea, fruit and pastries were brought up, Yuxi waved her hand and told the maids to withdraw. “Did something happen for Dajie[+]eldest sister to come here?”

Yuru was a bit uncomfortable to speak about it. Usually, it was the meimei[+]younger sister who would ask any questions from her jiejie[+]elder sister. But here, she had switched their positions and yet, she was unable to open her mouth.

When Qingxuan realised that Yuru was not able to get the job done, she had to take on the battle herself, “I’m not going to hide it from Fourth Miss, Madam has selected two families for my Miss…”

Before Qingxuan could finish speaking, Yuxi waved her hand and said, “I know, I heard Eldest Aunt talk about it. One is the Xiang family and the other is the Zeng family. But Dajie[+]eldest sister is currently hesitant, not sure which one to choose?”

Yuru shook her head, “I haven’t decided yet, and I don’t know who to choose.”