Yesterday, Ji Huaishan had handed over the task of settling Yu Shu to Ji Hyotani. Originally, she was to live with Aunt Pin, but after Xue Rui's visit this afternoon, Ji Huaishan had no choice but to have the housekeeper prepare a separate courtyard for Yu Shu to live in. He also assigned a maidservant to serve her.
Yu Shu first went to see Aunt Cui before she was led to her residence.
The small courtyard was adjacent to the flower garden. It was in the east corner, and there was a corridor in front and behind it. The spring grass grew slowly, and the surroundings were quiet. The door knocker was unlocked, and there were three rooms in the courtyard. An old locust tree was planted under the northwest wall. Yu Shu entered the courtyard and saw the locust tree. She thought for a moment, then sneered and ignored it for the time being. She walked around the courtyard again and finally entered a bedroom facing the south. She had a rough servant put her luggage on the table in the living room.
Two servants left, leaving behind a maidservant. The maidservant had combed her hair and an oval face. She was about fourteen or fifteen years old, and her name was "Sang 'er." Sang' er took Yu Shu's bag and was about to enter the room to tidy up when Yu Shu called out to him.
"It's time for lunch. I'm hungry. Go and get something to eat."
Sang 'er said, "Miss, it's about fifteen minutes before lunch is ready. The housekeeper told me that someone will bring it over."
Yu Shu said, "Then go and get a pot of tea. There's no water in this room."
Sang 'er looked around the room and saw that the teapot and teacups were empty. He had no choice but to take it out to find a place to make tea.
Yu Shu let Kim Bao out of her sleeve and let him roll on the table. She opened the bag and took out a pair of scissors. She walked around the room and saw the curtain on the bed. She cut off two pieces of cloth and spat into it. She twisted the cloth into a rope and moved a stool to the courtyard. She placed it under the old locust tree and found a hidden branch. She stepped on it and tied the rope to a dead knot before jumping down.
Because she had heard from Xue Rui that the Right Magistrate's Mansion was the work of a Fengshui Master in the past, she paid special attention to the layout of the Ji Mansion. Everything looked good on the outside, but the locust tree in the small courtyard was a hidden danger. If two locust trees were planted at the entrance, it would be fine. But since there was no well or stove in the courtyard, it would become a hiding place for ghosts. If one lived here for a long time, even if he didn't fall sick, he would get moldy.
Fortunately, she had learned a lot about Fengshui, so it wasn't difficult to break it. The old locust tree was a hanging tree, so it was already very sinister. She twisted a rope and wrapped it with a mouthful of spit to temporarily stabilize the tree. Later, she would find a bowl of rooster's blood and scrape the bark off the tree.
As for whether Ji Huaishan arranged for her to live here on purpose or not, only God knew.
After Yu Shu was done, Sonny came back with tea. Yu Shu left the box with the brush and ink and brought the rest into the bedroom. She could pack them up as she pleased. Anyway, there was nothing important.
When it was time to eat, someone came with a food box. There were three dishes and one soup, including meat and vegetables. Yu Shu took Kim Bao out from under the table. The little maid was startled and trembled as she stood in the corner.
"Don't be afraid. It's not a mouse. It doesn't bite." Yu Shu kindly explained. She divided a plate and put a little of each dish on the floor for Kim Bao to eat. Seeing it sniff and start to taste the food, she washed her hands and picked up the chopsticks with relief.
Ever since she fainted on Bi Qing's boat and escaped, Yu Shu discovered that Kim Bao had the same ability. After trying it a few times, she was sure that the little Goldie didn't eat anything poisonous or bad. Its nose was better than a dog's.
She had to be vigilant. Who knew if they would put some slow-acting poison in her food or something like that? Or if Ji Laosan hated her and had a sudden brain cramp, he would poison her.
Sonny was afraid of Kim Bao, so he waited for Yu Shu to finish dinner before he cleaned up the dishes and ran out. Yu Shu yawned, grabbed Kim Bao, and went into the bedroom to take a nap. As soon as she sat on the bed, she heard a voice outside, "Miss Yu, are you inside? Our young miss invited you over after you finished eating."
It was Ji Xingxuan who had sent a maidservant to invite her over.
When Yu Shu heard this, not only did she not get up, but she also lay down on the bed. She kicked off her shoes and covered herself with the quilt. She used her arms as a pillow and lazily said, "Go and tell your young miss that I don't have the energy right now. When I wake up, tell her to come over herself. If she wants to learn, why would she be afraid of running around? Have you ever seen a teacher condescend to a student?"
After she finished speaking, there was no more sound outside the door, as if the person had left. Yu Shu didn't care how the maidservant would go back and teach Ji Xingxuan. She yawned and grabbed the little Goldie, who was trying to sneak out of the bed, and warned, "Stay in this room. If you dare to run around, I will starve you for three days."
"Squeak." Kim Bao cried out in pain as his tail was grabbed by her. Listlessly, he lay down on the side of her pillow. Only then did Yu Shu close her eyes and fall asleep.
When Ji Xingxuan heard the maidservant's report, she copied exactly what Yu Shu had said. The head maidservant, Yun He, sneered, "She really thinks she's someone important. Young Miss, I will go and call her over.
This Yun He was someone Ji Huaishan had specially sent to stay by Ji Xingxuan's side. She was skilled in both literature and martial arts. She had served for three years and was very loyal. There was practically nothing the master and servant didn't talk about. For example, before the Great Yan Examination, when Ji Xingxuan went to Huixing Street to ask Yu Shu for advice, she was the one who went to the alley and knocked on the door to call her.
Also, when Aunt Cui came to the capital and was ordered to find Yu Shu and her brother, she was also the one who led the way. Thus, she was very clear that Yu Shu was only the daughter of one of the concubines of the Third Master's branch. In the afternoon, when the eldest young master of the Xue family came to visit, she had also heard about it. Thus, she thought that Yu Shu's current attitude was one of bullying others. How could she stand it?
'Yun He' Ji Xingxuan called out to her and shook her head, "Right now, I have a request to make of her. Logically speaking, I should go see her. You haven't seen this Miss Yu before. She has a stubborn temper and is a bit strange. If she doesn't like it, who knows what kind of torment she'll make. Wait for a bit, I'll go over in the afternoon. I'll send someone to watch over her first and we'll talk when she wakes up."
"Young Miss, you can't always have such a good temper." Yun He complained.
Ji Xingxuan said, "It's not that I have a good temper. What's there to be angry about?"
They waited until the afternoon. When a maidservant came to report that Yu Shu had woken up, Ji Xingxuan brought Yun He over.
Ji Xingxuan's courtyard wasn't far from the flower garden. It was only about the time it took to brew a cup of tea to reach Yu Shu's residence. Sang 'er was waiting outside the courtyard. When he saw Ji Xingxuan, he hurriedly bowed. Yun He asked what she was doing. Sang' er replied, "Nothing, just throwing a few copper coins in the living room for fun."
Ji Xingxuan's expression changed and she stepped into the courtyard. She glanced at the old pagoda tree in the corner of the courtyard and asked the maidservant which room Yu Shu was in. Sang 'er hurriedly walked ahead and pointed at the door to lift the curtain. As soon as she entered the room, she saw Yu Shu sitting at the round table. She was tossing a few copper coins in her hand and looking in the direction of the door.
"Has Miss Yu woken up?" Ji Xingxuan asked as she walked over and sat across from her. Yun He stepped forward and took off the cloak on her shoulders. She stood behind her and stared at Yu Shu.
Yu Shu grunted in acknowledgment and didn't say anything else. The copper coins in her hand moved up and down.
Ji Xingxuan said, "Then I'll start learning from today. I've heard a bit about the Six Trigrams Technique from Master Qing Zheng. There seems to be a general outline. I'll have to trouble you to recite it first. I'll copy it down and memorize it when I get back."
Yun He gave a look and another maidservant who had come with her placed a small bookcase on the table. There were three layers in total. She took out a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone and placed them in front of Ji Xingxuan.
Yu Shu saw that she was fully prepared and said to her, "You haven't even learned how to walk and you're already trying to run. There's a general outline that's not bad. I gave it to you. Do you know how to use it? "
Ji Xingxuan wasn't offended by the mockery in her words and calmly said, "Then I'll have to trouble Miss to teach me."
"You're right." Yu Shu caught the copper coins in her hand and pointed at her with a finger. She sneered, "Right now, I'm the one teaching you, not the other way around. There's no need for you to tell me what to do. Since I promised your grandfather that I would teach you the Six Trigrams Technique, I will do my best to teach you. You just need to obediently listen to my arrangements. Otherwise, don't blame me later if you can't learn it."
Ji Xingxuan looked at the finger dangling in front of her and frowned, "I can listen to your arrangements. However, you must first write down the general outline for me to see. I don't think this has anything to do with how you teach me."
"Alright." Yu Shu stretched out a palm and opened it in front of her. "First, give me the two thousand taels of silver that we agreed on the other day. I'll immediately write down the general outline."
Yu Shu had only remembered this after a nap. The two thousand taels of silver that Ji Huaishan had promised her had yet to appear. She hadn't even paid for the school fees. How the hell was she supposed to teach her?
"Two thousand taels of silver?" Ji Xingxuan was stunned. She didn't know about this. She remembered that her grandfather had promised Yu Shu two conditions that day and treated it as one of them. Turning her head, she said to the head maid, "Yun He, go to the study and look for grandfather. Ask him about the silver."
Yun He obediently left. When Ji Xingxuan saw that Yu Shu was ignoring her, she didn't ask any more questions. She sat with her and waited. More than half an hour later, Yun He finally returned. Accompanying her was a steward that Yu Shu had seen yesterday.
The steward held a flat box in his hand and handed it to Ji Xingxuan, "Young Miss, this is the two thousand taels of silver that Master Taiye asked me to give to Miss Yu."
Ji Xingxuan didn't even look at it and directly handed the box to Yu Shu. Ever since she was young, she had ample food and clothing. Everything she wore was of the best quality and she didn't care about money. Although a thousand taels was a lot, she didn't feel the slightest bit of heartache.
However, Yu Shu didn't care about this. She opened the box and took out a stack of banknotes. She counted them one by one and verified the authenticity of the banknotes. After she counted two thousand taels, she raised an eyebrow and smiled. She didn't want the box and directly stuffed it into her clothes. She raised her chin and said to Ji Xingxuan, "Alright, I'll say it and you write it."
Yun He saw that the other girl's eyes were opened to money and a mocking expression flashed across her face. She turned around and asked the steward to leave. Then, she dismissed the two maidservants and stood guard at the door. She could hear the narration coming from inside the room, "Heaven and man are one, heaven and earth are two, heaven and earth are three, mistakes are three, earth and man are one in the same world are four, earth and man are one in the same world are five …"
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Ji Xingxuan looked at the copied outline on the paper and a smile finally appeared in her eyes. She blew dry the ink and carefully put it into her sleeve. She raised her head and asked Yu Shu, "Alright, tell me, how do you plan on teaching me?"
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