Chapter 54
Yueming held a grudge and didn't go to Yunkai for several days. Although Feng Xiaosai was also one of the accomplices, seeing how angry Miss Yueming was, he felt that his master had gone too far. He suggested to Yunkai, "How about you take some food and try to appease Miss Yueming? Miss Yueming is quite easy to appease."
Yun Kai stiffened his neck and said stubbornly: "Why should I try to coax her? I need to let her know what she can and cannot do."
Feng Xiaosai shut up, laughing in his heart: "Luckily you're the chieftain's son. Yin Taibang will find you a wife. Otherwise, you'll be a bachelor for the rest of your life."
The chieftain of the eighteen tribes, whom the chieftain had waited for days, finally arrived, bringing his youngest son with him. That evening, Yin Tai sent a servant to invite Yueming to a welcoming banquet. Yueming, who had been holed up in her own courtyard for days, finally ventured out.
When she met Yunkai on the alley, she rolled her eyes, snorted at him, and left with Ye Hu.
"Hey--" Yun Kai tapped his fan against his palm and said to Feng Xiaochong: "She has a really bad temper."
Feng Xiaosai didn't know what to say and could only smile.
Yun Kai quickly caught up with Yue Ming and said, "Hey, you haven't been out these few days so I couldn't tell you that the tailor is back. Should we invite him into the house?"
Yueming continued walking forward without even glancing at him: "No need, I have my own legs."
Yunkai hit a snag, and his face immediately turned awkward. He pouted and said dissatisfiedly, "You are so narrow-minded." After saying that, he took a step forward with his long legs and walked ahead of Yueming.
Yueming was furious when he called her petty. This guy was truly… she ran out of words to describe him. He was so shameless. Who had made her look like Zhong Kui? It was him, right? How could he still have the nerve to call her petty?
Yin Tai saw Yue Ming's lively little face and remembered the scene you described to her later in Tonglin. She couldn't help but want to laugh. She took Yue Ming's hand and said, "Good child, the second young master was naughty with you and I have asked the master to teach him a lesson. Don't take it to heart!"
Yueming, unlike her usual understanding self, hugged Yin Tai's arm and pouted as she complained to Yun Kai, "Madam, the Second Young Master is truly wicked. I walked around half the mansion with a black mark on my face that day, and everyone laughed at me."
Yin Taian repeatedly assured him, "No, no, everyone is scolding the Second Young Master, no one is laughing at you." Then he turned to Yun Kai and said solemnly, "What are you standing there laughing at? Come over here and apologize to Yue Ming."
When Yun Kai heard Yin Tai scolding him, he pouted and bowed to Yue Ming, saying nonchalantly, "I'm sorry, that's enough!"
Seeing his attitude, Yin Tai was about to curse when Chief Han and Li Yang came in with the Bao people.
The headman Bao asked his youngest son to pay his respects to Yin Tai and Yun Kai. When he saw Yue Ming, he smiled and asked, "Is this Mr. Lan's daughter?"
Yin Tai smiled and nodded: "She is Mr. Lan's. Mr. Lan went on a long trip, so I brought her here to keep me company." After that, he introduced her to Yue Ming: "This is Baotou from the Eighteen Tribes. I'm calling her."
Yueming bowed to the Baotou man and said, "Hello, Baotou man!"
Mr. Bao gave her a fake hand and said quickly, "No need to be polite, no need to be polite." Then he called his son over and said, "You should also come and greet Miss Yueming. You are of the same age, so you should be able to get along well."
Yun Kai frowned when he heard the words "they're of similar age and can play together." Why did it reveal such obvious desire for marriage? He thought that the Bao family was really imaginative. His son didn't even have a beard yet, and he was already thinking of finding a wife for him, and he chose Lan Yueming as his wife. What kind of dream was this?
After the greetings between Baotouren's son and Yueming, Yunkai, fearing that Baotouren might say something tactless and boring about their perfect match, immediately stepped in front of Yueming and said with a smile, "Please take your seats!"
During the meal, he forced Yueming to sit next to him. Yueming glanced at the people present and forgot that she was still angry. She whispered to Yunkai, "Why aren't the Third Miss and the Third Madam here?"
Yunkai covered half of his face with a fan and answered her: "The third wife is still sick, and my third sister is busy taking care of her." Yue Mingming understood that the third wife's house arrest had not ended yet.
The youngest son of the Baotou man across the street kept looking at her. Yueming leaned closer to Yunkai but looked away: "He is really dark. Compared to him, you are so white."
She had seen Yunkai's delicate skin and tender flesh, and she had only been discussing the matter, but she had made Yunkai blush, yet she felt a little proud. It seemed that in Lan Yueming's eyes, regardless of other things, his looks were definitely the best. He shielded his mouth with his fan and said to Yueming, "Compared to him, I even like Li Nu's coal miner's face much better."
Thinking of Li Nu's coal miner-like face, Yue Ming wanted to laugh, but suddenly remembered the day when he used the soot-smeared chimney to play a trick on her. Wasn't her face the same as Li Nu's? She rolled her eyes at him in anger.
Yun Kai got a cold look and wondered when she became so close to Li Nu. Did Li Nu offend her again?
Chief Han and Chief Bao exchanged cups and drinks, their conversation going back and forth in a hazy manner. They failed to reach an agreement on the actual matter, but they did find a job for Yun Kai. They asked him to take care of Chief Bao's youngest son and study with him.
What should he bring? Lan Yueming alone was already enough, and with Bao Guosheng on top of that, did he really treat him like a wet nurse? Yun Kai was about to object, but Han Tusi agreed with a smile: "Okay, okay, he has to teach Miss Lan anyway. If it's one pig, it's two pigs, no problem."
Yueming and Bao Guosheng, the youngest son of Bao Touren, felt offended.
Yin Tai went even further and directly let Bao Guosheng live in Yun Kai's courtyard. He said to Bao Guosheng with a pleasant face: "Good boy, you can live here peacefully. If you have any questions about academic matters, feel free to ask your second brother."
Yueming's brows twitched imperceptibly. No matter how kind and affectionate Yin Tai was to her, they couldn't get around their status. Bao Guosheng could call Han Yunkai "Second Brother," but she still had to call him "Second Young Master" in public. Although she didn't particularly care to call Han Yunkai "Brother," the difference still left her feeling a bit uncomfortable.
However, the black boy opposite looked dark and stupid, definitely not as smart as herself, so Han Yunkai was afraid that he would have a hard time. She felt pity and picked up a piece of meat for Han Yunkai.
Yun Kai looked at the meat in the bowl, squinted his eyes and asked suspiciously: "Have you licked it?" It's not that he is mean-spirited. She just rolled her eyes at him and now she is picking up food for him. Lan Yueming's attentiveness seems weird no matter how you look at it.
Yueming lowered her eyes and said calmly, "Yes, I held it in my mouth and spit it out for you."
Yunkai suddenly felt full.
Looking at Bao Guosheng who was happily digging for rice across from him, he prayed that the child would be more obedient and not be as awkward as Lan Yueming.
Yun Kai thought that with Lan Yueming and Bao Guosheng, his good days were over. However, he did not expect that Bao Guosheng was much better than Lan Yueming.
Others eat breakfast in their own rooms and come to the study after cleaning up. Unlike Lan Yueming, who would come to his study to eat breakfast just to get an extra quarter of an hour's sleep. He had many problems studying. One moment he said he needed to rest his eyes and took his cat to play in the yard. The next moment he said he was so hungry that his eyes were blurry that he couldn't read a single word and asked the maid to quickly bring tea and snacks.
Look, he's eating another piece of sachima. Look at Bao Guosheng, sitting upright, reading the book he gave him and taking notes. His penmanship is quite good.
Teaching students like this is a real sense of accomplishment! I wanted to use Bao Guosheng's lesson as a positive example to teach her a lesson, but when I glanced over, I saw her taking a bite of a snack and drinking a sip of tea, half of her face puffed up with satisfaction.
Forget it, forget it, just let her eat and wait for death!
Since the years are peaceful, Yunkai plans to take a break and go back to his room to read the book he recently bought.
He told Bao Guosheng to study hard and circle any questions he didn't understand so he could ask him later. When it was Yueming's turn, he told the maid, "Serve Miss Lan another plate of snacks."
When Yueming heard him asking for some snacks, she quickly stopped the maid and said, "By the way, change this tea for me. Replace it with Roselle tea. These snacks are so greasy. I want something sour to help me feel better."
Not only did Yun Kai say this, but even Bao Guosheng, who was concentrating on reading beside him, couldn't help but look sideways. You say you're tired of it after you've finished a whole plate?
Yun Kai returned to his room and lay down on the bed, crossing his legs and drinking tea while flipping through the storybook. After resting for about half an hour, he stood up, straightened his clothes, and prepared to go and inspect Bao Guosheng's learning results.
When he reached the door of the study, he heard the sound of chatting inside. He stopped and listened carefully. After hearing what they were talking about, he was furious.
Lan Yueming started chatting with Bao Guosheng, took him to drink tea and eat snacks, and told him the stories behind the snacks.
"...The general asked the cook what the name of this dessert was. The cook had been thinking about killing the horseman, so when the general asked, he blurted out, "Kill the horseman." The general misheard it as "sachima," so this dessert became known as "sachima."
Yunkai, listening outside, was speechless. Not only was she uneducated, but she was actually misleading the young people. "What's this about killing a horse?" "Sachima" is Manchu, isn't it?
Bao Guosheng even flattered her: "Wow, Miss Yueming, you know a lot."
Yueming said proudly, "My father and I have been to many places and heard many stories. I like ghost stories the most. Can you tell me some?"
Well, morning study turned into a storytelling session! Yunkai lifted the door curtain and walked in. Yueming saw him come in and said to him excitedly: "Second Young Master, Bao Guosheng wants to tell a ghost story, do you want to listen?"
Bao Guosheng looked confused, he didn't say that!
But seeing Yueming's expectant eyes, he could only bite the bullet and say, "If Miss Yueming wants to hear it, then I will tell you one."
Yun Kai raised an eyebrow. It had only been a short while, and they were already calling each other names. He really wanted to teach her some manners. Even though Bao Guosheng was a few months younger than her, he was still the son of a tribal leader. And yet she was calling him by his name so directly.
Looking at Bao Guosheng who was sitting next to her and telling a story haltingly, he decided to talk to her later. If he taught her a lesson in front of outsiders and made her lose face, she would definitely be angry again.
"When I was studying in Mengning, a classmate told me about a bizarre experience he had. One day during school break, he went up the mountain to look for orchids and somehow got lost. He called out a few times, but no one was around. He had no choice but to rely on his memory to find the way. Suddenly, he heard the sound of four or five children playing not far away. Overjoyed, he followed the sound, hoping they would lead him down the mountain. But after walking for a long time, the noise was still there. He could only hear the sounds, but no one was in sight. Finally, he met a man who was going up the mountain to collect wood. After asking, he learned that he had gone down the mountainside. The woodcutter showed him a shortcut down the mountain. He thanked him and continued walking. When he reached a flat area, he found several small graves, which looked like they were the remains of children who had died in infancy. He counted them and found exactly five. Recalling that he had heard the children playing but could not see anyone, he knew he had run into something unclean. He scrambled down the mountain and returned seriously ill."
After he finished speaking, he picked up his tea and took a sip. When he looked up, he found Yunkai and Yueming looking at him with disgust. That's it?!
Yueming rolled up his sleeves, took a sip of tea, and said to Bao Guosheng, "Just wait, I'll give you an example. Next time, you'll know how to tell a ghost story."
"My father told me that many people from the Huguang and Jiangxi areas traveled abroad to do business, and some contracted diseases and died in foreign lands. The Han Chinese believe in returning to one's roots, and they want to be buried in their own fields. This gave rise to a magical and strange profession in Jiangxi—" At this point, she even slammed the table with the storyteller like a clapperboard at the climax: "Corpse driver."
After the introduction, she asked Bao Guosheng: "Have you heard of this business?"
Bao Guosheng shook his head. The moment Bao Guosheng shook his head, he saw the smug joy in Lan Yueming's eyes that said, "That's easy now."
Yueming shook his head and gestured, "Speaking of this corpse driver, he's quite capable. In one hand he twists a cinnabar ghost-suppressing talisman, and in the other he rings a spirit-calling bell."
Bao Guosheng was completely attracted by Yueming's story and listened very carefully.
Yueming stood up calmly and continued, "The corpse-driving is done at different times. Driving a herd of corpses during the day would be terrifying! So, corpse drivers rest in charity cemeteries or dilapidated temples during the day. They wait until the dead of night before ringing their bells and continuing their journey."
"But there are always unexpected things. A farmer went out to work as a laborer in the mountains. He was returning home late. The night forest was pitch black, and he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He walked alone, trembling with fear. After walking for a while, he suddenly saw the light of a candle not far away. A lantern flickered in the woods. He was overjoyed and thought of picking up some dry wood and borrowing a torch from the lantern bearer to light a torch so he could get home quickly. He went to meet them, but felt something was wrong. He heard bells ringing, but no livestock. He could vaguely hear something shaking. He hid to the side and saw a man in a yellow robe, ringing a bell and leading a group of people in a line. Strangely, those people could only jump, not walk, and they had yellow paper stuck to their faces. Look, they jump like this."
She stretched out her arms and jumped two steps forward in the direction of Bao Guosheng, who listened with great interest.
"He had never seen this before and was feeling strange when suddenly someone patted him on the back. He turned around and saw a man with a cinnabar and yellow talisman on his forehead smiling at him and grabbing his neck." When Yueming said this, he suddenly stretched out his hands to Bao Guosheng's neck.
Bao Guosheng was listening to a story with great concentration when he suddenly felt a pair of hands reaching out to him. He screamed in fright and jumped onto the chair and curled up into a ball.
Yun Kai almost died of laughter. He knew he shouldn't laugh, but it was so funny. Lan Yueming was so bad that he really couldn't help it.
Yue Mingxiao collapsed in a chair, clutching her stomach and groaning. Even the servants beside her couldn't help but cover their mouths and turn their heads away to laugh.
Bao Guosheng got down from his chair and said to Yueming, "How can you scare people?"
Yueming laughed so hard that she was out of breath. "I, I'm teaching you...hahaha, the importance of telling stories that surprise people...hahaha."
Li Yang came to borrow a book from Yun Kai. When he lifted the curtain, he found the atmosphere inside was very lively. He smiled and asked, "What are you talking about? Why are you so happy?"
Yun Kai wiped away the tears of laughter and said, "It's a ghost story telling competition!"
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