Chapter 15

Tusi and Yintai were drinking tea after breakfast, and Han Yunkai was trying to persuade Han Liyang to let Yu Nan stay for another day.

Li Yang was puzzled: "She's going to sing at the mansion for another night. Why would you stay an extra day if you want to listen to something else? I agreed with Mr. Tao that it would only be two days, and her family is still waiting for the wedding!"

Yun Kai glanced at Yin Tai secretly and lowered his voice and said: "With Madam here, what interesting music can I hear? I want to wait for Madam to go to Dongjing Buddhist Temple to worship the relics and let Yunan sing "Eight Hundred Wives Defeat the Yuan Soldiers" for me for a day.

Li Yang looked helpless, "This Yunan was originally invited for Madam, so of course she should sing whatever Madam likes." After thinking it over, he couldn't bear to disappoint his brother, so he discussed with Yun Kai, "Let Yunan go back today. I have to go to the funeral of Tao Tou anyway, so why not invite her back to sing for you when I come back?"

After the Tao family finished their funeral, the wife would probably be back. Seeing that his goal hadn't been achieved, Yun Kai felt a little bored: "Forget it, I'd better go to the tavern and listen."

This time, he forgot to lower his voice, and both Tusi Han and Yintai heard him. Tusi glared at Yunkai, his temples puffed up, and his lips twitched slightly. Yunkai knew he was going to be scolded, so he quickly stood up and ran to the door, saying, "I'll go see why Third Sister hasn't come yet. If I wait any longer, Lan Yingde might not be able to wait for us to see him off and leave on his own! Ouch..."

She wasn't paying attention to the road and bumped into Yueming who was about to enter the house. Yueming was almost knocked away. Han Yunkai quickly grabbed her and asked, "Are you okay? Why didn't you make a sound when you entered the house?"

Yueming's forehead and shoulders hurt from the collision. After Han Yunkai pulled him back, he managed to steady himself. He was furious when he heard his words. "This guy is so infuriating. The first part sounded like a normal thing, but the last part was enough to make me want to slap him. "Your servant didn't report it, and you can still blame it on me?"

Yin Tai was shocked to see Yueming almost knocked away by his son, and hurriedly asked Tongyun to help Yueming over. Han Yunkai took the opportunity to run away.

Yin Tai asked with concern: "Good boy, are you hurt? Are you injured anywhere?"

Yueming resisted the urge to bump into her painful forehead and shoulders, pretending to be nonchalant and saying, "It's okay, it doesn't hurt much."

Looking at her red forehead, Yin Tai said distressedly, "Old Second is so reckless. I'll beat him up to vent your anger."

Yueming was in a hurry to go out and see Lan Yingde. She thought that the matter of beating the Second Young Master could be discussed later. "Madam, it's really not a big deal. It was common to bump into classmates during physical education class in school. It's nothing serious."

Yin Tai herself had three children. Her eldest daughter married far away, her eldest son was incredibly busy as the heir, and her youngest son was incredibly naughty. She felt an indescribable fondness for the pretty and well-behaved Yue Ming. Knowing that she must be anxious to see Lan Yingde, she brought this up, patted her hand, and said, "Feng Er just came over to tell me that your father is waiting outside the mansion with Ma Guotou! Wait a moment. We'll leave once Yu Yan and the Third Madam arrive."

Yueming wanted to go out and talk to Lan Yingde first, but she knew she had to abide by the rules of the Tusi Mansion, so she had to give up.

Yin Tai asked the maid to move a chair for Yueming to sit next to her, and asked her if she slept well last night, whether the maid served her well, and other trivial matters.

After a while, Yuyan came over. Han Yunkai didn't dare to come in because he had just gotten into trouble, so he stood outside and pretended to look at the scenery.

The chieftain was a little surprised to see that only Yuyan was there, and asked where the third wife was.

Yuyan said to the chieftain and Yin Tai with an apologetic and embarrassed look on her face: "Ama said this morning that she felt weak and couldn't get out of bed, so she asked me to wish you a safe journey on her behalf." Because Yueming was present, she only dared to speak Dai, as she didn't want Yueming to know the Third Lady's hostility towards Lan Yingde.

Yin Tai didn't show it on his face, but he was secretly sneering. Whether the illness was real or fake, only she and her daughter knew. It seemed San San Tai hadn't heard a word he'd said the other day.

Not only was Mrs. Yin angry, but the chieftain also felt it was a matter of face. He had always thought Mrs. Yin was the boss, but now he saw that his wife was the most magnanimous. The wives he had married later were each less presentable than the last, constantly busy with eyebrow tattoos and embroidery, and full of jealousy. The third wife was considered of noble birth, but at crucial moments, she would lose her temper and abandon her duties. No wonder the ancestors decreed that while one could marry ten or eight wives, one could only marry one Mrs. Yin. One was enough to stabilize the sea.

Yin Tai said to the chieftain, "We're so scared we've asked the Buddha to come to our house and chant some sutras. The eighth child just had a baby and is feeling unwell, which is fine. The third child usually eats and drinks well and I haven't heard anything wrong with him, but lately he's been complaining about not feeling well every other day and hasn't seen a doctor. I'm afraid he's been possessed by evil spirits."

When Yuyan heard what Yin Tai said, her body trembled almost imperceptibly.

The chieftain laughed dryly and said, "We're going to see the chicken coat later anyway, so we can take a look at the fortune of the mansion while we're at it."

Yin Tai smiled and said, "That plate of Fuhe chicken was filled with incense and salt provided by Mr. Lan. The third brother may not be interested in it."

Everyone present knew what Yin Tai meant, but they remained silent. Yuyan was both ashamed and annoyed that her own mother didn't know how to read the situation. There were only a few women in the mansion who could socialize with Yin Tai, yet she was only interested in her own revenge and pleasure, never considering the overall situation. Even under the guise of caring for her daughter, she made herself a nobody.

Yueming didn't understand what they were saying, but seeing Yuyan was so embarrassed that she was about to cry, she couldn't bear it, so she bravely asked Mrs. Yin: "Madam, the third young lady is here, can we go out now?"

Yin Tai touched her head lovingly and said, "Alright, alright. I know you can't wait any longer." She turned to the chieftain and said, "Master, let's go! Don't miss the auspicious time calculated by the wizard."

Lan Yingde and Yang Laoliu were waiting at the main gate of the Tusi Mansion. A group of strong men, leading loaded horses and mules, were standing at the gate, attracting people from the street to watch the excitement. Everyone was excitedly discussing that Master Lan was going to run the opium again, and when the rainy season came, Master Lan would return with piles of silver dollars.

It was almost noon, and there was still no movement in the Tusi Mansion. Yang Laoliu was getting impatient and couldn't help but say, "This plate of Fuhe chicken is almost cold. This Tusi Lord..."

Lan Yingde took out his pocket watch, glanced at it, and said, "Don't worry, the master and Yin Tai are very particular about this, so there will be no delay." As soon as he finished speaking, the chieftain led everyone out of the mansion. Yueming no longer cared about any rules and regulations and quickly ran to Lan Yingde and shouted, "Dad."

Last night was his daughter's first night living in the Tusi Mansion. Lan Yingde was so worried that he tossed and turned almost all night without sleep. Now that he saw his daughter was fine, he finally felt relieved. He smiled and touched Yueming's head, told her that he would talk to her later, and took Yang Laoliu to pay his respects to the Tusi.

Yueming walked up to Changsheng and asked curiously, "Brother, why are you carrying a hunchback?"

Changsheng looked around and found that everyone's attention was on the master and the chieftain. He opened the lid of the pot and let Yueming take a look, then quickly closed it.

Yueming saw a large piece of fat pork belly and a whole chicken, its head facing up, with a piece of rice salt stuffed in its mouth. Curious, she asked, "Are you taking this with you on the road? Is it easy to carry with you if it's soupy and you don't have to worry about it spilling?"

Changsheng was almost amused by Yueming's foolish words. "Don't talk nonsense. Who would bring this to eat on the road?" He glanced at the man wearing a gray cloth jacket next to him and whispered, "This is for Master Zhang to watch the chicken jacket."

Jigua Yueming had heard of it; all the horse caravans were fond of observing it, to predict good or bad luck on the road and the safety of their homes. They often did so, and some even turned back halfway with their goods if their Jigua observations weren't favorable. Her maid had often told her about it in Kunming, and today she finally got to see it with her own eyes. Just as she was about to ask for more details, Lan Yingde and Yang Laoliu arrived, leading the chieftain's family. She had no choice but to stand quietly beside Changsheng.

Lan Yingde asked Changsheng to put the pot on a table and signaled Master Zhang that he could start.

Chef Zhang bowed to the chicken on the table, muttering something to himself. Finally, he opened the pot, reached in, took out the chicken, twisted its head, and began to chew on it.

Yueming was stunned. He just used his hands? Did he wash his hands? How could he let others eat? Also, didn’t he say he was just looking at the coat? Why did he eat it?

After gnawing for a while, Master Zhang pulled out the chicken's lower beak and held it up to the sun. With his greasy mouth, he said to Lan Yingde and the chieftain, "Master, Master Lan, great joy! The lower canines and whiskers are close together, which means wealth will be gathered."

Upon hearing this, the chieftain smiled with satisfaction, and Lan Yingde joined in the fun. Yueming, curious about what this wealth-gathering robe looked like, stretched her neck and leaned forward, only for Changsheng to pull her back by the collar.

Chef Zhang placed the fortune-making jacket on the table and reached into the pot to continue plucking the chicken wings, including the base. After finishing one, he glanced at the bone at the base of the wing and started tearing off another.

Yueming closed his eyes and said to Changsheng in a strange voice, "You must not have given Master Zhang a meal this morning? Look at his appetite."

Changsheng simply covered her mean little mouth to prevent her from talking nonsense. Yueming whimpered and tried to pry Changsheng's hand away, but his hand seemed to be attached to her mouth and could not be pulled away no matter how hard she pulled.

Yun Kai watched the two apprentices playfully, and smiled inwardly. With such close ties, Lan Yingde was probably planning to make this apprentice his son-in-law, and his father's plan of marrying him off to a daughter-in-law was likely to be dashed.