Chapter 102 The Qi-Liang Boundary (XIV) Why don't you give all of this furniture to them...?

Xu Yun respectfully addressed the plump Taoist priest as "Master Fan Yi." After exchanging a few words of greeting, Jiu Li, who was listening nearby, learned that the Qi family frequently visited the Baiyun Temple to perform rituals. She wondered to herself, "Doesn't Madam Si Rou often chant Buddhist scriptures and even hold a string of Bodhi beads in her hand while reciting sutras? Does she also believe in Taoism?"

Just then, a maidservant came running up the path ahead and said to Manbao, "Madam, the young lady has been crying since she woke up, and even the wet nurse can't soothe her. Please go back inside and take a look!"

As Manbao was about to leave, Xuyun frowned and asked, "Miss, you've never cried before, what's wrong?"

Master Na Fan smiled and said, "There was a big fire at your residence, and someone was killed. Children are usually very perceptive and innocent, so they probably got cursed. It's alright, I'll go with you to exorcise it and write a talisman to put under the young lady's bed."

Manbao glanced at him sideways, said nothing, and followed the maid forward. Xuyun then instructed several old women to invite the other Taoist priests to the small flower hall for tea and rest, while leading Taoist Priest Fanyi to follow Manbao. Jiuli hesitated for a moment behind, then chimed in and followed Manbao's two maids.

Upon arriving at Manbao's courtyard, she saw the wet nurse already waiting in the main room with a swaddled baby in her arms. She paced around the room, gently rocking the baby and cooing softly. Even so, the baby continued to cry incessantly, the infant's cries piercing and heart-wrenching. Manbao hurriedly grabbed her skirt and went inside, taking the baby and trying to soothe it, but to no avail.

Master Fan followed closely behind, lifted a corner of the swaddling clothes to look, and said, "Young lady is just frightened, it's alright." He then took out two folded yellow talismans, tucked one into the swaddling clothes, and handed the other to the wet nurse, "Put it under the young lady's bed, she'll be fine in a while."

The wet nurse hurriedly took the talisman and went out to the side room. Master Fanyi then said with a smile, "Someone in your household died unjustly. The ghost of someone who died unjustly is the most malevolent. It is looking for someone to take its place. First, it looked for the madam. Just now, I performed a ritual, and it probably escaped from the madam's body. So it came looking for the young lady."

Xu Yun did not respond to the question, but simply thanked him politely.

Manbao was initially hesitant, but as she heard the crying in her arms gradually weaken, she couldn't help but believe it. She glanced at him and asked, "Is this ghost going to keep searching for a substitute in our house?"

Master Fan said, "This person was killed before his lifespan was over. Naturally, the ghost of this unjustly killed person is unwilling to accept it and is determined to stay in the world. Therefore, it cannot be easily driven away. I will perform a few more rituals to resolve the issue."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yun instructed the maid, "Have someone prepare two guest rooms so that the Taoist priests can stay for a few more days."

Manbao seemed somewhat reluctant, but ultimately said nothing, only instructing the maid to prepare a vegetarian meal for them. Seeing the maid leave, Xuyun led Master Fanyi to his outer study for a short while.

Jiuli stood there somewhat awkwardly, seeing that the maid and wet nurse were busy and Manbao was also too busy to entertain guests. Just as she was about to quietly slip away, the baby in the swaddling clothes suddenly started crying again, startling everyone who rushed over to comfort her.

Jiuli didn't believe in ghosts or gods. Hearing the crying suddenly, he remembered what Yu Qi had said before: some infants often suffer from intestinal spasms, which may be due to indigestion or catching a cold. Today the wind is strong, so it is probably because they drank cold air.

She then pulled her foot back and said to the crowd, "Try pressing gently on the girl's stomach, and then heat a handkerchief and apply it to her stomach."

Manbao stared at her for a moment, then immediately instructed the maid and wet nurse to do so. After a while, the wet nurse pressed on the child's skin and the crying subsided considerably. Once a hot towel was applied, the child soon fell asleep peacefully.

Manbao smiled, handed the swaddling clothes to the wet nurse, and then took out the yellow talisman from inside. "I don't think this is anything good. Let's burn the one tucked under the bed too. What ghosts and monsters? Chen Zifang didn't die a wronged death. He deserved it. These ghost and god stories are just those shady Taoist priests trying to scam people. I almost fell for their tricks."

As she spoke, she pulled Jiuli to sit on the couch in the inner room. "It's a good thing you're here. After all, you're a young lady from a family of doctors, so you know a lot. But what kind of illness is intestinal spasm, and what will happen to her in the future?" Jiuli smiled and said, "I heard my uncle say that children's spleen and stomach are not fully developed yet, so it's common for them to have this. There's no need to take any medicine. When it flares up, just press and apply something to it and it will subside. When she gets older and her digestive system is fully developed, it will naturally get better."

Manbao hurriedly ordered her maid to serve tea, fruit, and snacks, thanking her several times. Jiuli seized the opportunity to ask, "Madam just said that Chen Zifang doesn't count as a wronged ghost, why is that?"

The question startled her, but she quickly regained her composure, smiled, and sighed, "Who in the whole mansion doesn't know Chen Zifang? He's always been a gambler and drinker, causing trouble for everyone in the mansion, not to mention his many misdeeds outside. What's wrong with someone like that dying?"

These words were so harsh that they were completely different from her usual gentle words. Although Jiu Li did not know her very well, she could tell that there was a lot of concealment in her words. Did she know some secret about Chen Zifang?

“I’ve also heard that Chen Zifang is not a good person, but Madam is a very kind person after all. You actually gave his wife thirty taels for funeral expenses.”

“I only did it out of pity for Liu Shi. Regardless of what kind of person she is, she has served our family for more than ten years.” Manbao smiled awkwardly, glancing at her, and then said, “Besides, I also feel a little sorry for Liu Shi. This time, she was given leave to take care of her husband’s affairs, but it will be difficult for her to come back to the mansion to work in the future.”

"why is that?"

Manbao laughed and said, "I heard from Zhang Ma, who is in charge of population placement and scheduling, that Second Aunt has decided to assign someone else to take over her job in the kitchen. She said that when she returns to the mansion, she will be assigned another job. That's what she said, but actually there is no other place in the house that needs people."

Jiuli thought of her second aunt, Enoki, again. Logically speaking, such a kind person shouldn't have cut someone's clothes when they were in trouble.

Seeing that she was lost in thought, Manbao did not disturb her, but simply sat quietly beside her.

When Xu Yun returned, he asked about the youngest daughter. Manbao got up to greet her and then said a few words of criticism about the Taoist priest Fan Yi. She laughed and said, "It's all thanks to Miss Jiu Li. Otherwise, if we had believed his nonsense, my daughter would have cried herself hoarse."

Xu Yun sighed, “How could I not know they were just spouting nonsense, trying to get a few good meals? Let them be, consider it an act of kindness. Besides, Mr. Yu is right, Madam believes in these things. Let them stay at home for a couple of days, let them make a fuss for a couple of days, maybe Madam will feel better.” As she spoke, she came in, bowed to Jiu Li, and thanked her solemnly.

This made Jiuli feel embarrassed, so he made an excuse to leave, saying, "I'll go and pay my respects to my wife."

Xu Yun then said to Man Bao, "Go and see if Madam is feeling better. It must be tiring for Second Aunt to be serving her all by herself. I've changed my clothes and I still need to go to the yamen."

Manbao then led Jiuli to the main room. Xuyun rested for a while, changed into his official robes, and went to Xuyun's outer study to say goodbye to Yuqi and thank him again.

Yu Qi was puzzled, but after asking, he learned that Jiu Li had just cured his daughter's intestinal spasms. He smiled and returned the greeting, "It's nothing, Lord Qi, please go and attend to your official duties."

When Xu Yunsou reached Xu Bai, she gave him another instruction: "Please have Mr. Yu and the others stay for dinner before you leave. I probably won't be able to come back, so you must keep them company."

Judging from his tone, he truly embodied the saying "an elder brother is like a father," and Xu Bai, following his instructions, personally escorted him to the door. Zhang Da and Du Zhong whispered among themselves, while Yu Qi, sipping his tea, glanced at Du Zhong and asked, "Zhong'er, what are you saying?"

Du Zhong chuckled, “It’s nothing. I was just saying that Master Qi is only twenty-five years old, yet he acts so maturely. He truly deserves to be the son of a scholar-official family.”

Xu Bai turned and went inside, saying, "Ever since the old master and the master passed away one after another, this family has been supported by my eldest brother. Therefore, my eldest brother is more mature than his peers and is stricter with me. That year, when I took the imperial examination, my eldest brother watched me study every night and taught me more knowledge than any teacher could. If it weren't for my eldest brother's patient guidance, I don't know how many more years it would have taken me to pass the exam."

He sat back down in his chair and sighed, “My brother is good in every way, except that he is too kind-hearted.”

Du Zhong was puzzled. "What's wrong with that?"

Xu Bai put down his teacup and smiled, "To be an official, one must be ruthless."

Although Yu Qi did not comment, he smiled slightly, revealing a hint of disdain.

A short while later, Chai Fang, the steward, brought two servants, Zhao Wu and Ma Jin, to inquire about the events of the 12th. The two said that they had been drinking with Chen Zifang until nearly midnight. They then went to patrol and lock the doors, and went to the main gate for night watch. When they left, they saw Chen Zifang drunk and asleep on his bed. They called him twice, but he didn't respond, so they didn't call him again. They never saw him again after that.

Du Zhongyin asked, "Did you discuss his plan to open a winery that day?"

Zhao Wu nodded, "We did talk about it, but he's always been one to exaggerate, so we didn't really ask him. Besides, he needs at least a hundred taels of silver as capital, where would he get that kind of money?"

Ma Jin chimed in, "Alas, but he said at the time that he had a way to earn that hundred taels. We didn't believe him, and he even said he would show it to us in a couple of days."

Zhao Wu scoffed, "He'll be dead soon, what's the point of showing us then?"

Du Zhong then whispered a few words to Yu Qi. Yu Qi thought that Chen Zifang might not be bragging. He had made a fortune before and had his own ways of doing things. Making another fortune wouldn't be difficult for him.

But where is the key? It certainly can't be outside. Within the Qi family mansion, who could easily come up with a hundred taels of silver?

His peripheral vision caught sight of Xu Bai, who was naturally one of the Qi family's masters. Could it be that Chen Zifang had something on one of these masters, and after extorting one sum, he wanted to extort another? This master might be under such coercion for a long time, so he killed him to silence him.

When questioned again, Zhao Wu and Ma Jin knew nothing else, so Chai Fang ordered them to leave. Yu Qi then asked Xu Bai, "Before Chen Zifang died, did anything happen in the mansion?"

Xu Bai thought about it carefully, then smiled wryly and said, "It's nothing. If I had to name a major event, it would be just one." As he spoke, he stared straight back at Yu Qi.

Yu Qi immediately understood that it referred to the matter of being rejected when he went to their house to propose marriage. He sighed with a half-smile, "I don't think this is a big deal for Lord Qi. How could Lord Qi's ambitions be confined to matters of love and marriage? Not only does Lord Qi not care about personal relationships, but I also don't seem to pay much attention to matters of the household."

Xu Bai understood the implication in his words: there must be some unrest in this household, but he was not at home and therefore had not noticed. So he asked Chai Jin, "What has happened in the mansion recently? Think carefully, for example, is there anything unusual?"

Chai Jin buried his head in thought for a moment, "There's nothing major going on, but there is one unusual thing, though it's not a big deal."

Everyone asked in unison, "What is it?"

"A few days ago, Second Aunt made a mistake in the accounts, and Madam lost her temper and scolded Second Aunt."

In other families, it wouldn't be a big deal for a concubine to be scolded by the mistress, but it's different in the Qi family. Si Rou comes from a respectable family and is most afraid of being called petty. So, although she has a bad temper, she never gets angry at Enoki. When she is dissatisfied, she only complains to her indirectly. Even if she has some complaints, they are all about the matter at hand.

Therefore, Chai Fang pondered again, "I'm afraid the lady is still holding a grudge because of the refusal to marry him."

Xu Bai clenched his hands on the armrest of the chair. Although he felt indignant for Enoki, he couldn't say anything. After all, it was the rule that concubines were subject to the control of the mistress, especially in their household, where such rules were strictly observed.

Yu Qi only asked, "What did your wife say?"

“I heard from the maids that the mistress scolded him, saying, ‘Your eyes are crooked. Instead of looking at the right path, you keep looking at places you shouldn’t be looking at. I might as well scoop them out and use them as bubbles to step on!’” Chai Fang finished speaking and just kept glancing at Xu Bai.

Xu Bai's face turned cold in an instant, showing how harsh the words were.

To Yu Qi, the insults were not only harsh but also seemed to have a hidden meaning. However, what exactly it meant was unknown for the time being, and it was not appropriate to ask Xu Bai in detail. Even if he did ask, Chai Fang would most likely not know either.

Seeing that the others had nothing more to ask, Chai Fang came over and asked Xu Bai, "Second Master, where is dinner served?"

“Just put it here.” Xu Bai said, getting up. “You take the master and the others around for a look, I’ll go in and see the madam, and while I’m at it, I’ll call Yu’er out for dinner.”

Yu Qi glanced at him sideways, but since this was his residence, it was naturally up to him to call, and he had no reason to refuse. Thinking about it, he couldn't quite understand why. What he was worried about was Jiu Li. She was used to being wild and never knew how to behave properly with men or women, often making people feel uneasy.

That's just how women are; they find the admiring gazes of men a pleasure, whether they like it or not. They think it's a good thing if more people like them.

After pondering silently for a while, he could only remain silent to the side, his anger seething inside with nowhere to vent.

Xu Bai secretly observed his expression, couldn't help but smile slightly, and walked out calmly.

Afterwards, Chai Fang invited Yu Qi and the other two to go out for a stroll, but Yu Qi only said, "Manager Chai, please go ahead and do your work. We'll just take a walk. Don't worry, we won't wander in or barge in."

After wandering around for half a day, they arrived at the second gate. Inside that gate was another cave entrance, connected by a straight road. Jiu Li and Xu Bai walked slowly towards this cave entrance, chatting and laughing. Yu Qi stood under a clump of slender bamboo, one hand clasped behind his back, coldly watching the two of them.

Du Zhong and Zhang Da, who had been following closely behind, saw him stop and looked into the cave entrance, following his gaze. Zhang Da, having heard that Jiu Li and Xu Bai had discussed eloping a couple of days prior, chuckled, offering a hint of persuasion, "In my opinion, the feelings between men and women can't be controlled. Perhaps—"

Before he could finish speaking, Du Zhong quickly nudged him with his elbow, "Brother Zhang, how is your wife's health? If you have time, get some medicine from our shop for her to nourish her, so she won't be too weak after giving birth. Don't worry, we won't charge you because of our friendship."

Yu Qi glanced back at him and said, "You're quite generous. Constable Zhang has plenty of free time and likes to meddle in other people's business, so naturally he has plenty of spare money. If you don't make money off him, who will you make money off?"

Upon hearing the cold address "Captain Zhang," Zhang Da immediately regretted his words, for he had insisted on saying that.

Fearing that Yu Qi would get angry again, Du Zhong pulled Zhang Da to the pavilion next to them and whispered, "Why are you saying this? You're just making my master uncomfortable."

Zhang Da looked completely aggrieved and said, "Why should I care about this? Did you see me care about this before? It was because I heard that your Yu'er was going to elope to the capital with Lord Qi a couple of days ago. I was worried that your Yu family would make a fool of themselves in the future! Let me tell you, although eloping is a crime for both men and women, men can still turn back, but women are doomed. Their reputation and dignity will be ruined in an instant. Who would dare to marry them in the future? It's better to just let them be. Mr. Yu is such a thoughtful person, how come he can't understand this point?"

Du Zhong was filled with sorrow and could not tell outsiders, so he could only wave his hand haphazardly, "Anyway, don't say it anymore, my master hates to hear this the most."

Zhang Da was displeased. "I can't be bothered to say anything more! I've figured it out. Your master is heartless. He can't be moved by Lord Qi, and he won't even give a second glance to those of us who serve him faithfully!"

"What talk of serving others, who's loyal to whom—"

As they were talking, they suddenly heard Yu Qi ask in a cold voice from under the bamboo shadows, "What are you saying, laughing so happily?"

Seeing that Jiuli Xubai had already reached the bottom of the cave entrance, Jiuli felt a little embarrassed and hurriedly ran to him. "I didn't say anything, why aren't you having tea in the hall?"

Xu Bai continued walking slowly behind. Yu Qiyuan glanced at him, then looked back at the person in front of him. "Why aren't you having tea in the hall? This is someone else's home. You act like the master of this house. I used to teach you to be poised and elegant when you visit someone's home, but I never taught you to be so casual! You don't understand any manners at all!"

Jiuli knew she wasn't being scolded for no reason, and she didn't know how long he had been watching them. She muttered, "Stop making a fuss over nothing. Are people not allowed to speak? Even if—" She was a little embarrassed, so she turned away, "Anyway, I didn't sell myself to you, I have my freedom!"

Yu Qi was speechless for a moment, then smiled and nodded, "Alright, you have your freedom. Your freedom is to empty the house."

"What? You emptied the house outright?"

"What did you just give him?"

Since he had seen it, Jiuli had to admit, "The pills for treating internal injuries and vomiting blood are indeed from home that I brought."

"You might as well give him this piece of furniture as well."

Jiuli couldn't help but glare at him, "You're the one who injured her with a single palm strike!"

"Would I have hit him if he hadn't abducted you?" Yu Qi sneered. "Hmph, I forgot, you went with him willingly. I should have broken your legs too."

Despite the argument, when Xu Bai came up to him, he stopped talking and turned to walk back the way he came.

Du Zhong and Zhang Da also came out of the pavilion and followed. Everyone was intimidated by his cold face and dared not utter a sound. They just watched him walk ahead with an air of authority, as if he were the master.

Xu Bai looked at his own home and realized that he had been inexplicably overtaken by the other man. Feeling somewhat resentful, he stepped forward and said, "Sir, let me guide you."

Yu Qi glanced at him, and he suddenly felt like he was a servant leading the way, and something just didn't feel right.

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Author's note: Thank you for reading.