The Madam Dowager was surprised. In the past, when Hua Qiyue came to see her, the girl stuttered and shivered, as if she had seen a tigress who was going to eat her.
But today, she looked elegant and beautiful. Seeing her gaunt face, the Madam Dowager thought of how she had neglected her in the past and felt sorry for her.
"Yue'er, sit down. I know you were wronged. Don’t be scared."
The Madam Dowager Hua was a kind-hearted woman, and she felt guilty for how she'd treated Hua Qiyue over the years. The girl had always been scared of her, and she'd just never known how to respond.
"Grandmother, I’m sorry to make you worry about me. I was unfilial. On my way home, I bought fresh sea cucumbers for you. They were difficult to get, and only the Master Xuanji in the Rongfu Temple had managed to get some. The sea cucumbers can nourish the blood and the face. You have done so much for this family. We should thank you."
Hua Mengshi and Hua Xiaoyi were dumbstruck.
They had heard of sea cucumbers but had never thought of pleasing their grandmother with them.
"Haha, you're so sweet. Tell the chief to make soup quickly. Let's have lunch and share the sea cucumber soup together."
The Madam Dowager was extremely happy. Hua Qiyue had become so clever and considerate.
The Second Concubine walked over and tenderly held Hua Qiyue's hand and praised her, adding that she must be very tired.
"Thanks for your concern. I’m fine." She took back her hand carefully, then said to the Madam Dowager with a smile, "Grandma, I asked Master Xuanji to tell my fortune. He said that my fortune was not bad, but I need to have a foster son… I used to be too naive … "
Hua Qiyue looked ashamed. She knew the original owner of this body was cowardly. Even when the servants bullied her, she did not dare to resist. And her Qi channels were broken, so she was useless.
Now, she had disrupted Monk Yihan and Lanzhu’s plot, making people look at her with new eyes.
"So, I’ve come to ask your permission to adopt a son. With this child, I can understand more about the hardships of being a parent and the pains of my elders. "
The Madam Dowager frowned and noticed her old clothes.
Compared to Hua Mengshi and Hua Xiaoyi’s clothes, hers were rather shabby.
“Since Master Xuanji gave you the advice, you should do as he said. But, Yue’er, you should dress better when you go out in the future..." the Madam Dowager said, concerned about saving face. If the Miss of the Hua family wore the same clothes as an ordinary woman, people would think they were abusing her! Hua Qiyue looked embarrassed.
The Second Concubine's expression immediately changed, and she said, "That's right. Yue'er, I can give you some good cloth if you don’t have any, or I can have the tailor make some new clothes for you. Don't disgrace our family."
Youshui said, "Our miss only gets two qian of silver a month. It's difficult for us to have enough food. How can we make new clothes?"
In the Hua family, the daughter of the official wife received two taels of silver (twenty qian) every month, while the daughters of the concubines received one tael. In fact, the Second Concubine had been stealing Hua Qiyue’s money, because the Madam Dowager did not attach importance to her. The old Hua Qiyue had dared not complain.
Youshui and Lvxin wanted to tell the Madam Dowager the truth, but Hua Qiyue stopped them. She was afraid that they would make the Second Concubine angry and cause her to retaliate. The Second Concubine did not expect that Youshui would say it out loud. Her face turned pale white.
Hua Mengshi also knew the truth. She was so worried about her mother that her nails were digging painfully into the palm of her hand.
"What? Only two qian? " the Madam Dowager’s expression changed. This would make others laugh the Hua family. Although Hua Qiyue's mother, the official wife of Hua Liting, passed away a long time ago and Hua Qiyue had always struggled to be helpful, they should not have been so mean to her.
The Madam Dowager had always paid little attention to Hua Qiyue, but it didn't mean that others could bully her mercilessly. She hadn't expected that her negligence would cause her granddaughter such a miserable life. No one had told her!Nanny Wang, who worked for the Second Concubine, knelt down immediately when she heard this, saying, "Please forgive me… I was greedy. I saw the eldest miss being bullied by others, so I secretly took away her money… I kept it a secret from the Second Concubine. I didn't expect my crimes to be revealed today. I deserve to die…"The Second Concubine gave her a fierce slap on the face, "Damn servant! How could you treat her like this?"Hua Qiyue looked at all of this coldly. She knew the nanny only took her money because the Second Concubine told her to. The nanny was quite loyal — if Hua Qiyue wanted to get rid of the Second Concubine, she had to get rid of this nanny first, or make her work for her.
Zhou Zhicheng raised his head and saw the woman. He put down the account book with a smile."Princess... It’s you!"Princess Huizhen entered the room, followed by her maid, Cuilian.Princess Huizhen fell in love with Zhou Zhicheng, but the emperor disapproved of their marriage. For one thing, he had an official wife, and for the other, the Zhou family was not rich.Zhou Zhicheng was so handsome that Princess Huizhen fell in love with him at first sight. But the emperor looked down on him, and he did not consent to the marriage. Even though Zhou Zhicheng's wife, Rong Qiyue, had been killed by thieves, the emperor did not change his mind."Zhicheng, I have good news for you!" Huizhen said with a smile. Zhou Zhicheng helped her to sit down. The two of them had been together for a long time and they simply ignored the moral rules between men and women.Cuilian lowered her eyes, not daring to look at them.
"Pa!" Hua Qiyue slapped a stack of letters on the desk and startled Youshui and the servants next to her.She’d received a letter telling her everything about Tianci. His mother, Rong Qiyue, had been killed by some thieves in her room, and Tianci had been poisoned, rendered mute, and abused by a maid.She never thought that just a few days after her death, the ferocious Princess Huizhen would cruelly mutilate Tianci! Hua Qiyue's eyes were ablaze. Lvxin remained silent, not daring to say a word."Wang... thank you. " Hua Qiyue's voice was a little husky. She had been entering the green jade gourd to cultivate the Qi Art these past few nights. She practiced so hard that even Tianpi, the handsome man, was surprised.She had to be strong to protect her son and avenge her parents."Miss..." Lvxin called her softly. Hua Qiyue came back to her senses and the anger in her eyes was replaced by calmness."The thieve
“It should be. I hadn't been to her courtyard for a long time. But the seeds were planted the day before yesterday, how could it grow so quickly? " Butler Wang asked.Hua Mengshi had made some achievements in Qi Arts, and she was now at the second level, the Soaring Cloud. She should know more than the Second Concubine.But Hua Mengshi also shook her head, "I don't know what the herb is. Let him do as she said… we need more information before we act. "The Second Concubine agreed with her daughter and told the butler to sell the herb.The more Butler Wang thought about it, the more confused he got. Why did the Miss want him to sell the herb for her? Of course, it was not proper for a young lady to go out and do such things.When it was done, Butler Wang handed over a bank note for fifteen thousand taels of silver to Hua Qiyue. The two servants were shocked! Hua Qiyue only glanced at Butler Wang indifferently and did no
Hua Qiyue's voice turned a little nasally, as though she was about to burst into tears. Lvxin and the others assumed that she was just too overwhelmed with pity for the child due to her kind nature."Quick, call her ‘Mother,’" Youshui said gently as she patted Tianci's shoulder. However, the child was so terrified, he reacted like a surprised rabbit. He shot a terrified glance at Hua Qiyue, and then hid behind Youshui.Hua Qiyue's heart sank.Youshui heaved a soft sigh and said, "After all the suffering this child has been through, he has naturally developed a fear of strangers. You must be patient."Hua Qiyue nodded and slowly approached the child. Each step she took felt extremely heavy, as though she bore the weight of the heavens on her shoulders and in her heart.She approached him and took Tianci's hand in hers. Frightened, the child struggled with all his might but she refused to let go of his hand.
Soon, Lvxin arranged for someone to send lunch over and there were fruits, fish, congee as well as a wide variety of food.Tianci's eyes lit up when he saw the impressive spread laid out in front of him. He had been fed dog food or worse over the past four days.He looked up at Hua Qiyue, as though waiting for permission.Hua Qiyue stroked his head tenderly and said, "Go ahead, son. But you mustn't be too anxious… if you eat too quickly, you’ll make yourself sick, understand?"Tianci was delighted. He had not known Hua Qiyue for a long time but the tenderness in her eyes made him feel safe. Then, he started to gulp the food down.Hua Qiyue's heart ached when she looked at him, and Lvxin and Youshui couldn't help but wipe at their eyes.The most important thing right now was for Tianci's throat to be healed, and Tianpi of the Mysterious World was undoubtedly the best person to do that.Hua Qiyu
Tianpi recovered from his laughing fit and could not hold back a smile when he saw Hua Qiyue staring at him. "Why, am I so strikingly handsome that I've taken your breath away?""Taken my breath away?"Hua Qiyue laughed softly and said, "Master, I think you should be a trumpeter.""Why?""Because this is how the phrase, 'Blowing one's trumpet' came about!" Hua Qiyue shot back, and Tianpi was enraged."You wicked girl…""You may choose to beat me or kill me, I don't mind, either way." Hua Qiyue sat down once more and continued to cultivate.Tianpi was left speechless.It was around midnight by the time Hua Qiyue left the jade gourd, and she was surprised to see Tianci sitting quietly on the pallet, looking at her.Hua Qiyue quickly sat up. "Tianci, what are you doing here?"Lvxin said awkwardly, "Miss, young master didn't want to leave with us. I wanted to
Along the way to Prince Nan’s residence, Hua Qiyue heard many people discussing the same topic."I heard that Princess Huizhen has been seen in public together with Zhou Zhicheng. Tsk. I can't believe that haughty princess has fallen for someone as poor as him.""Exactly. The Zhou family are mere commoners. Tsk, it's a miracle that the princess could fall for someone like him.""Ha, Zhou Zhicheng is rather handsome, but it has only been a few days since his wife passed away. This is really indecorous of Princess Huizhen.""Princess Huizhen has always been rude and bratty. Why would she care about what the world thinks of her?""Shh, stop it. Walls have ears."Hua Qiyue held Tianci's hand and her eyes flashed coldly.How dare that cheating couple head out in public together so soon?The child beside her fretted anxiously. He was probably afraid when he heard others mention Princess