Chapter 55
Li Yang loved telling ghost stories, and he was ready to let the two little ones have some fun. He sat down on a chair, had the maid serve him some tea, took a sip to moisten his throat, and then began to tell the story.
"Have you heard of this weird magic called black magic in Siam and Burma?"
Yueming and Bao Guosheng both shook their heads.
Li Yang gave Yun Kai a look that said, "Don't talk!" and continued, "A long time ago, there was a caravan carrying tea. The leader, who had studied at a Chinese school for a few years, was a skeptic. He never consulted divination before going out. Others told him to be careful when he went out, but he also taught them not to talk about strange things. Once, he was carrying some tea and salt to Siam and passed through Qingdong. He stopped at an inn. The inn was empty, and the owner warned them not to wander around at night because the British, after occupying Burma, were conscripting men to build the railway. The owner thought the British were conscripting Burmese men, not Chinese men, so he didn't take it seriously. One night, in the middle of the night, he suddenly heard a baby crying and a woman's heartbreaking cries. He thought the British were really conscripting men, and worried they might indiscriminately arrest his men, so he got up and went to the window to check. But he found no one outside, but there was a faint firelight near the boss's own residence."
At this point, Li Yang glanced at the two younger ones. Seeing that they were looking at him intently, he took a sip of tea and continued, "It's a big deal if the inn is on fire. What should he do if his goods are burned?" He hurriedly put on his clothes and went to the boss's place to see what was going on. If it was really a fire, he had to grab his goods first. He went downstairs alone and walked to the small bungalow where the boss lived. He smelled the aroma of meat. Could it be that it was not a fire, but that the boss was grilling meat tonight? He leaned close to the window and looked inside through the crack. Inside, he found pots hanging from the beams, a woman bound and gagged, thrown to the ground, and the owner frantically fueling a stove. It turned out to be a shady shop. A man of blood, he pulled a machete from his belt, kicked the door open, and rushed in, hacking the heartless owner to death. After untying the woman, she tore the cloth from her mouth and pointed at the stove, desperately crying, "My child, my child is in there." He kicked over the stove, only to find only half of the child was left, the rest of her body burned to ash.
"He'd killed someone, and this was a shady place, so how could he stay here? He called his men, loaded the horses with goods, and set off all night. We entered a mountain, and it was pitch black. Even with torches and lanterns, we couldn't see the road ahead. We had no choice but to stop and rest."
Hearing this, Yun Kai winked at Feng Xiaosai, who then quietly retreated.
"The horse caravan leader spread a tarpaulin on the ground, preparing to make do until daybreak before continuing his journey. As soon as he closed his eyes, he felt a heavy weight on his chest. When he opened them, he saw a child lying on his chest, its dark eyes glaring at him. He wanted to shout, but couldn't. He tried to reach out and shake the child off, but he couldn't even lift his arms. It wasn't until dawn, when a caravan member woke him, that he realized it was all a dream. Although he didn't believe in ghosts, he still felt a little scared, so he told a caravan member who knew a bit about fortune-telling. The member said that in Siam and Burma, ghosts were raised by people who used infant corpse oil sealed in Buddha amulets. He was afraid you might have been possessed by the Kumantong created by that unscrupulous owner. The horse caravan leader scoffed. Regardless of whether ghosts existed, what could a mute baby do to him even if it became a ghost? He was about to scold the caravan member to stop talking nonsense, but he saw the member looking over his shoulder with a look of fear..."
When Li Yang said this, his expression suddenly changed, and he pointed his trembling fingers behind Yue Ming and Bao Guosheng. The two of them turned around subconsciously and saw a man wearing a white mask standing behind them. They were immediately scared and cried for their parents and hugged each other.
Li Yang looked at the two people crying together, and was very satisfied with the effect of his storytelling. He went to the bookshelf to find the book he wanted and left happily.
Yun Kai laughed so hard at first that he slammed the table, but when he saw the two of them hugging each other, he got angry and went over to separate them.
He slapped Bao Guosheng's hand that was hugging Yueming's shoulder without any hesitation: "Let go, let go." After Bao Guosheng let go of Yueming in pain, he held Yueming's shoulders and prepared to teach her a lesson, asking her if she knew what it meant that men and women should not touch each other, and how dare she hugged someone without even looking at who was next to her.
As soon as he opened his mouth, Yueming threw herself into his arms, crying and hugging his waist tightly, not letting go: "Han Yunkai, there is a ghost, there is a ghost."
Yunkai's face flushed instantly, and he patted his shoulder and stammered, "It's...it's broad daylight! Then...where did the ghost come from?"
Yueming stamped her feet and cried, "Yes, yes, I saw it, it's right behind me."
Feng Xiaosai took the opportunity to hang the mask on the wall, coaxed the crying Bao Guosheng out, and waved to the maids to leave as well.
Seeing that there was no one in the room, Yunkai's feverish face faded a little. He coaxed softly, "Where is the ghost? It's just a mask. My brother is just scaring you for fun. If you don't believe me, look back." After that, he pushed Yueming away a little and held her shoulders to make her look back.
Yueming screamed and struggled to get into his arms: "I don't want to see it, I don't want to see it."
He was nearly strangled to death. Seeing that she refused to let go, he could only take a few steps back and sit on the chair. He then pulled her legs up and let her sit on his lap. He coaxed her softly while waiting for her to calm down. Gradually, Yueming was no longer so scared. She raised her tear-stained face and sobbed to Yunkai, accusing him, "Young Master is so mean!"
Yun Kai took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears and snot from her face. He said with a smile, "You scared Bao Guosheng to teach him the importance of surprise when telling stories. So my brother is bad for scaring you? You can't be so hypocritical."
Seeing that he didn't help her, Yueming twisted her body and cried unwillingly, "You are so bad, the eldest master is so bad."
Seeing that she started crying again after being coaxed, Yun Kai had no choice but to press her head onto his shoulder and coax her, "Okay, okay, the young master is just bad. Let's not play with him or listen to his stories in the future."
Yueming cried for a while, and although she was afraid, she couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Does anyone really use children to make ghosts?"
Yun Kai thought she was absolutely awful. She was clearly terrified yet still inquiring. He said to her sincerely, "Don't ask. Believe me, you'll regret it."
Yueming leaned her head on his shoulder and pouted, "I don't want to listen to ghost stories anymore."
Yun Kai took the opportunity to lecture her, "You were afraid and wanted to hug someone, but you saw clearly. Why did you just hug Bao Guosheng without caring about anything else? Even though he's a few months younger than you, he's still a man. Aren't you ashamed?"
After his lecture, Yueming realized she had been cuddling with Yunkai in an extremely intimate manner. She quickly jumped off his lap, not daring to say a word, and ran away so fast that Yunkai couldn't even catch her.
Yunkai looked at his empty hands and smiled. He was not shy when he should be shy, but was shy when he shouldn't be shy!
Because today was Bao Guosheng's first day studying with Yunkai, Yin Tai summoned the whole family for dinner. He also asked Bao Guosheng if he was getting used to Yunkai's situation, whether he was teaching well, and whether he was impatient.
Bao Guosheng replied that everything was fine. His second brother taught him very attentively, and his eldest brother also cared about him. The servants served him very attentively. In short, everything was fine and perfect.
Yueming curled his lips secretly after hearing this and said, "You may have forgotten how Han Liyang scared you to the point of howling like a ghost."
During the meal, a plate of roast pork was placed in front of Yueming. Smelling the fragrant aroma of meat, Yueming suddenly recalled the story that the eldest young master Li Yang told her in the morning. Some indescribable thoughts popped up in her mind, and her face turned green. She looked at Li Yang with some resentment.
Li Yang was bewildered by the look on his face. He thought, even if you hold a grudge, you shouldn't hold it against me. Although I told the story, the most frightening part was caused by Yun Kai! Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its creditor. Why are you acting so pitifully towards me?
Yun Kai, who was sitting next to Yue Ming, saw her face full of food, and then looked at the barbecue in front of her and immediately understood what she was thinking! He deliberately picked at the dishes on the plate, turning them over left and right, which made Yin Tai's face turn pale. He almost couldn't help but shout the family rules to make him improve his dining etiquette.
Yun Kai picked at the food for a while, then put down his chopsticks unhappily and complained to Tong Lin, who was standing beside Yin Tai, "You know I've been feeling a bit irritated these past few days, but why do you keep serving me grilled and fried dishes? How am I supposed to eat them?"
Tonglin, who was serving food to Yin Tai, was stunned by Yun Kai's complaint. "Is the Second Young Master angry?" Why hadn't Madam mentioned it before? Despite muttering to himself, Tonglin smiled and apologized, "Oh, it's my fault. I forgot the Second Young Master has been feeling unwell these past couple of days and needs a light meal. I'll go to the kitchen and make you some broom flower and shredded pork soup and white ginseng stewed eggs."
Yunkai glanced up and saw Yueming's eyes light up when he heard about Jinquehua. He said to Tonglin, "Alright, tell the kitchen to make a clear soup with Jinquehua, and don't add the shredded pork. This flower is supposed to be light and sweet, and too much oil will make it taste bad. And mix it with some fresh Masangpo (in case you forgot, this is sweet papaya), more vinegar and less chili and salt."
Tonglin knelt down and said yes, then hurried to the kitchen to order more dishes. The chieftain didn't think anything of Yunkai's commotion. What was wrong with a young master of a chieftain's mansion asking for two more dishes? Could he bankrupt the mansion?
Yin Tai gave him a meaningful look, a look so profound that Yun Kai's scalp tingled. He could only pretend to be thick-skinned and pretend that none of the food on the table was to his liking.
After dinner, the three of them prepared to return to their respective courtyards. Feng Xiaosai, without waiting for Yunkai's signal, asked Bao Guosheng if he wanted to see the horses in the stables. The Tusi Mansion had several magnificent Tibetan horses, much taller and more powerful than the ponies Yunnan people were accustomed to riding.
Bao Guosheng was very interested after hearing this and happily followed Feng Xiaosai.
Seeing that Yunkai and he were the only ones left in the corridor, Yueming said to Yunkai with a hint of embarrassment: "Thank you!"
Yun Kai was walking forward with his hands behind his back. Upon hearing this, he glanced at her and said jokingly, "I've helped you more than once or twice. The thank you you're saying is for that time!"
Yueming felt that this guy really couldn't be treated well. He had bullied him so many times and he didn't care. Now when he thanked him, he still had a face that looked like he wanted to settle the matter. He was really annoying.
She snorted softly and walked down the stairs. She walked a little further when she heard Yunkai calling her from behind. She turned and saw him standing in the shade of a tree at the foot of the stairs, staring intently at her. Looking at the moonlight not far away, Yunkai thought her eyes were so beautiful, a translucent brown, and when they were wide open, they looked exactly like Li Nu's. Just one look at them melted his heart.
It no longer mattered when her heart moved, when her intentions arose. All she knew was that, while she was still naive, she had already entertained other thoughts.
The evening glow filled the sky, the fragrance of flowers filled the courtyard, and the evening sun shone through the gaps between the branches, casting mottled shadows on his face. Jiji's eyes were deep and dark, and he spoke slowly, his voice low and gentle: "If you are afraid at night, let the maid sleep with you. If you don't get enough sleep, just sleep a little longer. It's okay to come to the study a little later tomorrow morning."
Looking at Yun Kai's handsome eyebrows and dark eyes, she suddenly recalled the scene that morning when she sat on his lap, held in his arms and comforted. An inexplicable sound struck her eardrums, and it took her a moment to realize it was her heartbeat. Like the beating of an elephant drum at a festival, it was so intense that it seemed to tear her heart apart.
She was flustered and didn't know how to respond. She grabbed at the corner of her clothes, unable to move forward or backward. She hesitantly agreed, "Okay, okay."
Seeing her bewildered look, Yun Kai smiled gently: "I knew you wanted to shirk your responsibilities."
Yueming lowered her head, hands behind her back, her toes rubbing the ground, quietly hiding her blushing face.
If it weren't for her young age, Yun Kai would have wanted to go up to her and lift her chin with his finger to see how shy she looked. He suddenly remembered going to a teahouse with her to listen to operas, and jokingly asking her if she envied the fate of talented men and beautiful women in operas.
She curled her lips in disdain and said, "Everyone dreams of the stories of talented men and beautiful women on the stage, but I don't envy them. The talented men and beautiful women written by the impoverished scholars of ancient times probably never even saw a real beauty. If I were to yearn for them, wouldn't that be like hitting my head against the door?"
Yun Kai probed: "Then what kind of person do you want to find?"
Yueming thought for a moment and said, "Find someone who's kinder, like my dad!" He knew that asking this father-loving man such questions was totally unnecessary.
Yueming asked him in return: "What kind of person do you want to find?"
Yun Kai glanced at her and said with a proud air, "Of course I want to find a lady who is kind, gentle, considerate, well-educated and well-mannered."
He said this, but he knew deep down that marrying a wife he loved was just wishful thinking. He was of noble status, so of course he wanted to marry someone who would benefit Prime Minister Yun. If the woman pleased him, he'd be lucky. A mutual love?! It was no easy feat.
Looking at the girl's raven-black hair, he felt that her gentleness, consideration, and status were no longer so important.
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