Chapter 13: Yu Qi

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Zhao Baozhu secretly grumbled to himself as he followed Steward Li into the main room where he had stayed that day. Ye Jinghua was nowhere to be seen. Only a slender-waisted, narrow-shouldered woman in a deep pink and peony-purple dress stood with her back to them, wiping the furnishings with a handkerchief.

Steward Li called out, “Miss Yuqi.”

The woman turned. It was indeed Yuqi, the same woman from that day. She smiled. “Steward Li.” Then she noticed Zhao Baozhu standing behind him and immediately gave a delighted exclamation. With her beautiful eyes curved in welcome, she came forward and circled Zhao Baozhu once.

“The old saying that people rely on their clothes is certainly true. Of course, one must first be made of good material.” She smiled. “Look at you in this outfit. You are even more handsome than those little girls.”

Yuqi was strikingly beautiful to begin with. Being watched by her smiling face, Zhao Baozhu suddenly flushed crimson. “Sister Yuqi, stop teasing me.”

Her cloudlike black hair had been woven into an exquisitely elegant bun, adorned here and there with silk flowers and hairpins. A delicate yellow ornament was affixed at the corner of her lips, making her look truly like a fairy from a painting. Zhao Baozhu sighed in admiration.

“The gold hairpin in your hair is carved so beautifully, Sister Yuqi. It almost looks as though it might come alive.”

The two maidservants at the courtyard entrance wore only a few silk flowers in their hair. Though those flowers were lively and pretty, they were nothing compared with the dazzling gold hairpin on Yuqi’s head.

Seeing that he was handsome and sweet-tongued, Yuqi could not resist teasing him. Her lovely eyes flickered as she asked, “Only the hairpin is beautiful? The person wearing it is not?”

Under her gaze, Zhao Baozhu’s face grew even redder. He lowered his eyes awkwardly and stammered, “The person… the person is naturally beautiful too.”

Seeing his shy expression, Yuqi laughed even more brightly. She had just opened her mouth to say something else when Steward Li, standing nearby, suddenly coughed.

Zhao Baozhu turned toward him—and abruptly saw Ye Jinghua standing behind the door, looking this way with a cold, indifferent gaze.

Yuqi noticed him a moment later. She froze at first, then her face blossomed into a smile far more sincere than before. In a gentle voice, she said, “Young Master, why did you come without having anyone announce you?”

As she spoke, she shot a glare at Deng Yun behind Ye Jinghua. “It must be because these people were shirking again.”

Deng Yun immediately widened his eyes, but he did not dare say a word. Yuqi had once been Madam Ye’s maid and was also the senior maid of the household. There was no madam or concubine in the rear court now, so everyone had to watch her expression.

Zhao Baozhu did not hear what she said. His gaze had fallen upon Ye Jinghua’s face, and he unconsciously retreated half a step, hiding half his body behind Steward Li.

He had met this Young Master Ye only twice, yet for no apparent reason, he sensed a trace of gloom beneath that indifferent face. As he hid behind Steward Li and watched Yuqi approach him obliviously, his eyes shifted.

Could he be jealous because Zhao Baozhu had spoken with Yuqi for a few moments?

At the same time, Yuqi reached the doorway and naturally lifted her hands to take Ye Jinghua’s outer robe. But when Ye Jinghua stepped inside, he handed the robe to Deng Yun behind him instead.

Yuqi’s slender hands stopped in midair, and her face paled.

Ye Jinghua acted as though he had not noticed. He walked past her and sat down at the table.

Deng Yun followed him inside. After glancing at Yuqi, he gave an almost inaudible cold snort and carried the robe into the inner room. How could Yuqi not know that he was mocking her? Her pretty face turned alternately pale and livid. She slowly lowered her hands, turned around, and cast Ye Jinghua an intensely aggrieved look.

Yet Ye Jinghua kept his eyes lowered and did not look at her.

Her flirtatious glance fell on a blind man. Pressing her lips together, Yuqi walked to the table with graceful bearing, picked up the teapot, and poured him a cup of hot tea.

“Young Master, have some tea first, to drive away the chill.”

The tea was freshly gathered Jade Mountain Maojian. Its clean fragrance rose with the steam and spread through the air. Ye Jinghua acted as though he could not smell it. He did not even touch the cup, and the pale-jade lines of his profile remained cold and hard.

Only then did Yuqi read something in his expression. Her face instantly lost all color. She withdrew her hand, slowly took a step back, and lowered her head.

The main room fell silent. Deng Yun, having returned from the inner room, stood pressed against the wall, wishing he could melt into it. Steward Li still wore a smiling expression, but his brows and eyes were lowered as he kept his gaze modestly fixed downward.

After a moment, Ye Jinghua finally raised his head. His gaze fell upon Yuqi’s elaborately adorned black hair.

“That gold hairpin is old. Do not wear it again.”

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Yuqi’s expression changed. She immediately reached up, pulled the gold hairpin from her hair, and bowed.

“Yes.”

Zhao Baozhu, standing behind Steward Li, looked up when he heard this. The hairpin in Yuqi’s hair had appeared almost indistinguishable from one freshly made in a goldsmith’s shop. How could it possibly be old?

But the moment he raised his eyes, he met Ye Jinghua’s gaze.

Cold sweat broke out across Zhao Baozhu’s back. He hurriedly lowered his eyes and hid farther behind Steward Li. His head was nearly buried against his chest. Only after a long while did he feel the gaze resting upon him move away. Then Ye Jinghua’s voice drifted over.

“You may leave.”

Yuqi answered faintly, “Yes,” and walked out with the gold hairpin clenched in her hand. Just as she was about to lift the curtain and leave, a cool male voice came from behind her.

“Deng Yun, pass down the order. From now on, no maidservant is to wear yellow ornaments on her face.”

The words struck Yuqi like a bolt from a clear sky. She turned back in disbelief, tears filling her beautiful eyes as she looked at the man seated beside the round table.

She was the only person in the courtyard who habitually wore such an ornament. Ye Jinghua appeared to be announcing a rule for the household, but in truth he was chastising her.

In the past, Ye Jinghua had never concerned himself with the maids’ clothing. Even when he spoke, he was always measured, never humiliating those who served him. He had never once spoken harshly to her. That was why his words today seemed exceptionally severe.

Yuqi’s face flushed and paled by turns as tears tumbled down her cheeks. Deng Yun glanced at her and gave a cold laugh inwardly, secretly savoring the sight.

So the shrew had finally met her day of reckoning.

Outwardly, however, he bowed deeply to Ye Jinghua. “Yes, Young Master.”

Yuqi clung to the doorframe, sobbing so hard that she could scarcely breathe. Yet the man seated at the round table never once turned his head toward her. At last, unable to endure the humiliation any longer, she covered her face with her handkerchief and fled through the door.

Only after she had gone some distance did Steward Li slowly raise his eyes. He signaled Deng Yun to remove the tea on the table, which had already gone cold, then poured Ye Jinghua another cup.

“Young Master, have some tea. Do not let anger harm your health.”

Ye Jinghua picked up the cup and took a sip. With his eyes lowered, he said, “Come here.”

His voice was slightly deepened, and the abrupt command gave no indication whom he meant. Deng Yun hesitated, then started forward, only to be sent back by a single glare from Steward Li.

On the other side, Zhao Baozhu’s heart lurched when he heard the command.

Oh no. He had finished scolding Yuqi, and now it was his turn!

Sweat covered Zhao Baozhu’s forehead. His mind filled with all the stories he had once heard from the adults in his village about how adulterous men and women were harshly punished. He should never have exchanged those two sentences with Yuqi!

At that moment, Ye Jinghua set his teacup down on the table with slightly more force than necessary and glanced sideways at him.

“What is it? Must I invite you over myself?”

The cup struck the tabletop with a dull thud. Steward Li and Deng Yun both flinched. Looking at Ye Jinghua’s furrowed brows and the faint anger in his eyes as he stared at Zhao Baozhu, they were both filled with dread.

Who did not know that their Second Young Master was the gentlest-tempered person in the entire household? Whenever something happened, the Eldest Young Master might rage until he stamped his feet, yet they had never once seen the Second Young Master wrinkle his brow.

Zhao Baozhu trembled at the rebuke. He glanced up at Ye Jinghua, realized he could not escape, and slowly walked over.

When he came near, Ye Jinghua looked him up and down. The boy stood with his hands clasped, shoulders hunched, his head nearly buried in his chest, while his dark eyes darted restlessly beneath lowered lids.

To make matters worse, he wore a moon-white robe patterned with goose-yellow accents. He looked exactly like a quail.

Thus Steward Li and Deng Yun watched as Ye Jinghua’s tightly knit brows gradually relaxed, while the anger on his face slowly faded.

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“…Do the clothes fit?”

Hearing the man’s gentler voice, Zhao Baozhu looked up in surprise. Ye Jinghua’s glasslike eyes had returned to their usual calm. Zhao Baozhu blinked.

“They fit. Better than anything I could have imagined!”

With that, he raised a bright smile and cupped his hands.

“Young Master, you saved my life that day and gave me a place to stay. I should have thanked you in person long ago. Now you have even given me new clothes. Your kindness is too great to repay. Let me offer my thanks for everything now, and when I make something of myself in the future, I will repay you!”

He then bowed deeply to Ye Jinghua.

Seeing him imitate the formal manners of a scholar, his bearing upright and solemn enough to look entirely convincing, Ye Jinghua finally revealed a faint smile on his otherwise indifferent face.

“There is no need for you to repay me. Rise.”

Zhao Baozhu straightened with a smile. His eyes darted over Ye Jinghua’s expression, and he said cautiously, “From now on… I will never joke around with Sister Yuqi again.”

Ye Jinghua looked at him and shook his head. “That is not what this is about.”

Then he asked, “Fang Qin told me you lost something?”

Zhao Baozhu’s heart tightened. He looked up at Ye Jinghua.

He had lost his recommendation document. Young Master Ye appeared to be a well-read and reasonable man. If Zhao Baozhu told him the truth…

No. Ye Jinghua was a merchant. Perhaps he did not understand the details of the civil examinations. Zhao Baozhu wavered several times. He was still afraid that Ye Jinghua would not believe him, that he would only create more trouble for him, or even decide that he was lying and drive him out.

His lips moved a few times, but in the end he said, “N-no… I must have seen it wrong.”

Ye Jinghua observed every trace of his hesitation. He did not question him further. Lowering his eyes, he instead picked up the jade pendant at Zhao Baozhu’s waist and examined it briefly. Then he rose from beside the table.

“Come with me to the study.”

Knowing that he had survived the ordeal, Zhao Baozhu immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He did not forget to turn back and call out, “Steward Li, I am leaving now!”

Then he hurried after Ye Jinghua, lifted the curtain, and followed him into the inner room.

Only after their figures had disappeared behind the curtain did Steward Li slowly let the stiff smile fall from his lips. Deng Yun was still utterly bewildered. He turned around helplessly.

“Steward Li, what was that—”

Steward Li’s thoughts had already made a full circuit. He glanced at Deng Yun, then raised his right hand and pointed toward the curtain from a distance.

“Do you see now? This is what people mean by brine curdling bean curd: everything has its match.”

Deng Yun became even more confused. “What?”

Steward Li glared at him irritably and pointed at his nose.

“You are a blockhead too! No wonder Madam sent for me. How could a bunch of witless fellows like you possibly serve the Second Young Master properly? The fact that Young Master has endured you for five years is enough to make even a celestial immortal descend from heaven and praise him as a living saint!”

With that, he turned away, no longer willing to bother with Deng Yun, who stood frozen in place. Shaking his head, he called out loudly,

“Just wait and see! In my view, the heavens are about to change in this courtyard…”