Chapter 4: The Xie family has transmigrated into a book, but they're not the female lead. ...
Even after returning to her room, Yue Yining was still pondering what exactly made the weather so good today.
However, she had very little time alone. Not long after, the maid stormed into her room with a teapot and tea leaves. Judging from her demeanor, she didn't seem like a servant coming to serve her mistress, but rather like a debt collector coming to collect a debt.
Fu Yao: "Miss! Why did you really let him stay! Didn't we agree—"
Yue Yining said helplessly, "Didn't we agree from the beginning that he should stay?"
Fu Yao was caught off guard and stammered, "Is...is that so? It seems so..."
Yue Yining chuckled and leaned closer, putting her arm around her little maid's shoulder: "I know you hate him, but with him around, you don't have to work so hard, and it doesn't cost much more money anyway."
"And it was also agreed that if we were to leave, we wouldn't take him with us."
Looking at Fu Yao, whose mood was gradually brightening, Yue Yining thought to herself, "She's still easy to coax."
“Since you put it that way, Miss, it’s not that I can’t tolerate him.” Fu Yao was still somewhat indignant. “It’s just that his behavior—taking off his clothes so casually in front of two strange women—is really not that of a respectable family’s son. Miss, you must be careful, lest he… he…”
Seeing her little maid stammering, Yue Yining found it amusing: "Tell me, what did he do to you?"
"No, don't let him seduce you!" Fu Yao blushed. "I'm not talking nonsense!"
The woman in green with black hair was amused and looked at her with a smile: "How could that be?"
Fu Yao pouted: "...Miss, you're just too kind-hearted. You help everyone. That person was just playing the victim, and you agreed to let him stay at home. You're too easily swayed."
Fu Yao always believed that her young lady was an immortal in her past life.
Intelligent and beautiful, kind and gentle, she possesses the wisdom to fathom the secrets of the universe and the elegance of a pine tree and a crane. Even just a silhouette of her sitting in the courtyard, fetching water from the stream to sift tea leaves, is enough to captivate the eye.
But sometimes, the words this person utters are so vulgar, so utterly unbearably so.
Like right now.
Yue Yining said, "Where did you get that idea? I only chose him because of his looks, okay? If he were a burly man, I would have kicked him out the door when he took off his clothes. A beauty is different. Just looking at her makes me want to eat an extra bowl of rice every day."
Fu Yao jumped up in anger: "Miss! How could you be so easily seduced by good looks?!"
Fu Yao really hates A Yu.
She made no attempt to hide her dislike, making it all too obvious.
The next day, before dawn, she went to Ayu's door, pounded on it, and shouted, "Ayu, are you up yet? The firewood in the yard needs to be chopped before breakfast, didn't I just tell you that yesterday—"
Before she could finish speaking, the person inside pushed the door open. Ayu was dressed in white, her long hair falling to her waist; she looked like she had just gotten up and hadn't washed or combed her hair yet.
Fu Yao felt she had caught this person red-handed, and immediately narrowed her eyes: "What time is it? You didn't just get up, did you? Is this how you work—"
The maid was not tall, and A-Yu had to bend down to meet her gaze; her lowered eyelashes covered her face like dense raven feathers. He did not refute Fu Yao, but said, "Miss Fu is blaming me; it was I who got up late today."
Fu Yao was about to scold her a few more times when she heard a shout coming from Yue Yining's room across the street: "Yao Yao—"
Fu Yao immediately turned her head and replied, "Miss!"
As soon as Yue Yining called her, Fu Yao put A Yu's matter out of her mind. She quickly went to Yue Yining's room, only to find Yue Yining already dressed and standing in front of the low cabinet, hands on her hips, looking at the drawers that had been turned upside down, seemingly very troubled.
"Miss, what are you looking for?"
Yue Yining turned around: "Yaoyao, have you seen my tortoise shell?"
Fu Yao stepped forward: "Is it the one you took out yesterday, Miss? If it is, I remember putting it back in the second layer of the compartment."
Yue Yining scratched her head, turned to the side, and showed her the second drawer: "I think I took it out before I went to bed yesterday, but I found it wasn't on the cabinet this morning. I thought I was dreaming, but I couldn't find it when I opened the drawer just now."
Fu Yao was also puzzled: "Could it have been carried away by the rats in the room?"
Yue Yining exclaimed, "A rat?! How could there be a rat in the room?"
Fu Yao: "I was just saying. There's been a drought lately, so there's a possibility of a rat infestation. Miss, I've organized everything for you so well, how could anything get lost?"
Yue Yining felt guilty: "If this was done by a rat, you can't blame me..."
On one side, the master and servant were arguing and bickering in the house, while on the other side, birdsong could be heard from the quiet courtyard.
After closing the door, Ayu sat back down at the table. The room was simply furnished with only a bed, table, chairs, and cabinets.
The wooden table had faint cracks, and in its center sat a jade bead. The jade bead shimmered with light, its color elegant, a blend of blue-green and milky white. Beside the jade bead lay an iron hammer.
Two slender fingers picked up the jade bead. The bead was so small that it could fit in one's mouth and be held under the tongue; as long as one didn't speak, no one would notice. He turned the jade bead and held it up to the light, and only then did the patterns on it slowly become visible.
This bead, smaller than a fingernail, is engraved with several characters. This micro-carving technique is extremely demanding on the craftsman's skills, and nowadays, the skilled craftsmen of Dongxi either serve the royal family or are employed by high-ranking and powerful families.
Ayu gently turned the jade bead and silently read the words on it one by one.
The Xie family of Yanjing, Xie Qingyu.
Ayu.
As she ran her fingertips over the deeply carved patterns on the jade bead, Ayu lowered her eyes, gripped the wooden handle of the hammer with her other hand, raised it high, and brought it down heavily.
When Fu Yao came looking for A Yu, she happened to see him standing in the bushes in the backyard, doing something.
Fu Yao thought he was slacking off, so she waved her broom and shouted from a distance, "Ayu, what are you standing there for! Is the backyard clean yet!"
To her surprise, upon hearing her shout, Ayu turned around, holding a broom in his hand. However, he was so tall that the broom, which usually reached her nose, only came up to his chest, completely obscuring his face and making her mistakenly believe that he wasn't carrying anything.
Fu Yao choked up immediately. A Yu wasn't angry at all; instead, she smiled at her and said, "It's my fault for being too slow, Miss Fu. I've already cleaned this side; I'll go to the other side in a bit."
Fu Yao's expression softened a bit, and she snorted, "Hurry up, don't dawdle!"
After Fu Yao left, A Yu stopped smiling and turned around.
In the pit in front of me lay several broken jade fragments and a piece of tortoise plastron.
The soil slowly filled the pit, and the beautiful woman in white, who looked like a fairy, walked away lightly with a broom in hand.
...
Clouds fly through the rosy dawn, carrying the wind for thousands of miles.
Within the capital city of Yanjing, all the prominent and wealthy families gathered on both sides of an alley near the imperial city. At mealtimes, wisps of smoke would rise from their chimneys, accompanied by the three chimes of a bell.
In the center of the Xie family's dining hall stood a long sandalwood table, around which five chairs were arranged. To the left, near the head of the table, sat a woman with her hair in a traditional Chinese updo; her well-maintained face showed almost no signs of age. Opposite her sat a man who appeared to be around twenty years old, and beside him sat a young woman with elegant and beautiful features.
Of the five chairs, only the seat at the head of the table and the seat to the woman's right were empty.
Only a few servants stood on either side of the hall. The three men sat at the table, neither touching their chopsticks nor exchanging a word. The silence was eerily quiet.
There was a commotion at the entrance of the dining room. The woman stood up first, followed by the other two, who called out, "Father!" The woman, whose expression had been indifferent, smiled slightly: "My husband is here. Please sit down."
A middle-aged man dressed in the robes of a first-rank official came from the doorway and sat down at the table. A servant immediately brought over a porcelain basin. After washing his hands, the man looked around the table, his gaze landing on the only empty chair. He paused slightly and then said, "Hmm, everyone, please eat."
As the meal began, all the servants were dismissed from the hall. The woman turned her head and gave a wink to Chunxiao, the head maid. Chunxiao understood and left the dining hall with her head down.
As soon as she stepped outside, Chunxiao beckoned to a young maid with a childlike face and asked, "What's going on? Is the Second Miss still asleep?"
The maid was covered in cold sweat: "The second young lady only got up at noon, ate some snacks, and then went back to sleep. She really hasn't woken up yet. Madam sent someone to wake her a quarter of an hour ago, but she didn't expect Master to return so quickly today..."
The servants standing near the two heard it, but they didn't dare to raise their heads and remained silent. Chunxiao looked helpless: "Go and call her again quickly. Make sure she gets up and is dressed neatly before the master and madam finish their meal."
The maidservant responded with a "Yes" and hurried off to the east side of the mansion.
The east side of the mansion is the residence of the four adult children of the eldest branch of the Xie family. All four residences are empty courtyards. Only in the "Qiufang Courtyard" where Xie Yunying, the second young lady of the Xie family, lives, there is a group of servants standing outside the bedroom, waiting for people with trepidation.
Inside the bedroom, a square mahogany bed was surrounded by gauze curtains, and a carved copper basin with half-melted ice was placed beside it. A young woman in her prime was fast asleep under the brocade quilt.
The woman's eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly awoke.
"Beep... The host's soul has been safely transferred into the character's body."
"Host consciousness has been restored. Loading the tutorial..."
Xie Yunying slowly opened her eyes. At the same time, a cheerful electronic voice sounded in her head: "Hello, I am System No. 009. I will work with you, host, to complete this transmigration mission. It will be a pleasure to cooperate with you!"
Xie Yunying's first reaction was to frown.
She sat up, rubbing her shoulders, and exclaimed, "Damn! This bed is so hard!"
System: "This book is set in ancient China, where living conditions and other aspects were not as good as in modern times. Please understand."
Xie Yunying: "I just wanted to complain... I've already heard the main system explain the situation, but I'm just confirming again, is it true that after I complete your task, you can send me home?"
System: "Yes. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask me."
Xie Yunying sat cross-legged: "I do still have questions. By the way, what are your mission details?"
System: "Each transmigrator's mission will undergo subtle changes and adjustments depending on the plane they arrive at. Overall, the host's mission is to maintain the normal operation of the world and assist the system in eliminating dangerous factors that attempt to disrupt the world line and break the 'original plot'."
Xie Yunying suddenly realized: "I understand, it means we need to ensure that the plot of this book develops normally."
"That doesn't sound too difficult."
System: "Yes, but please don't be careless, host. There have been two alarms recently, indicating a surge in unstable factors. The system has determined that this mission is of the highest difficulty, namely the critical level."
Xie Yunying: "...Is this how you treat a complete newbie?"
System: "Don't worry, host! To ensure the success rate of the mission, the main system has arranged an initial identity for you that gives you a huge advantage. Your current identity is Xie Yunying, the eldest daughter of the Xie family, the number one family in Yanjing."
Xie Yunying perked up: "The number one family? They seem pretty impressive."
"So this character... is called Xie Yunying, right? What kind of person is she?"
System: "Xie Yunying, the only legitimate daughter of the Xie family's eldest branch in Yanjing, is fifteen years old. Her father is Xie Zhi, the prime minister who is the head of the civil officials in the court, and her mother is Madam Wang, the first wife of the Xie family's eldest branch. She is currently taking a nap and has just woken up."
Xie Yunying: "So what are my parents doing now?"
System: "Xie Zhi, Madam Wang, and your two half-brothers and sisters are currently having dinner in the front courtyard dining hall."
Xie Yunying slowly typed a question mark: "I'm taking a nap, but the whole family is eating together right now...?"
"No, although I don't know much about ancient customs, this doesn't seem right, does it? Am I being held in solitary confinement? Or am I sick?" Besides, what young lady would take such a long nap and not wake up even at dinner time?!
System: "Host, you're not in solitary confinement, nor are you sick; you simply overslept."
Xie Yunying: "......."
Xie Yunying sat up abruptly: "No, is it okay to do this?? Won't we be punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall?!" Even when she overslept at home, her mother would scold her!
System: "That's right, host! This is Xie Yunying's character design!"
"Xie Yunying was the second child of Madam Wang, the first wife. Madam Wang caught a cold during childbirth and was so weak that she almost had a difficult delivery, but because the baby was in the correct position, she was able to survive. Madam Wang regarded this daughter as her lucky star and spoiled her rotten, not allowing anyone to say the slightest bad word about her. Her father, Xie Zhi, was always strict in educating his children, but for some reason, he made an exception for his youngest daughter, Xie Yunying. All these factors combined led to Xie Yunying developing an arrogant and willful personality as she grew up, and her reputation for being spoiled and capricious was well-known among the noble ladies of Yanjing."
Xie Yunying's chin fell to the ground: "...Let me ask you something, am I supposed to be playing her? I can't be out of character, can I?"
System: "Theoretically speaking, yes."
Xie Yunying, a model youth of the 21st century, who always helps elderly women, always gives up her seat on the bus, and is a good child in the eyes of her parents and teachers, looked desperate.
System: "Xie Yunying is unruly, free-spirited, and acts solely on her whims. Sometimes she doesn't even listen to what Wang Shi says. However, there is one exception."
Xie Yunying pricked up her ears: "Who?"
System: "Xie Qingyu, the eldest son of the Xie family and the older brother of Xie Yunying, who shares the same father and mother."
"Xie Qingyu, twenty-five years old, is a man of strict self-discipline, gentleness, humility, and integrity—a true gentleman possessing benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom. He excels academically and could have entered officialdom through the recommendation system based on his noble lineage, but instead, he participated in the civil service examination alongside those from humble backgrounds and even topped the list. In his five years as an official, he has been promoted multiple times by the current emperor, achieving remarkable political success at a young age. At home, he always unconditionally obeys his parents' arrangements, a dutiful son and the most respected elder brother among his juniors. Xie Yunying, mischievous since childhood and considered a troublemaker by her family, dares not misbehave in front of this older brother."
"Xie Qingyu had an excellent reputation, without any blemishes. His colleagues in official positions all praised his character and abilities. The book says: Xie Qingyu was exceptionally handsome, with a complexion as clear as the wind in the pines and the bright moon. People at the time said he had the ability to 'recognize a rough stone by looking at a mountain and know a pearl by looking at a river'..."
Xie Yunying: "Wait, speak slowly. My Chinese isn't very good. What did those eight characters you just said mean?"
system:"......"
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