Han Jingyan led a group of house guards to the Main Courtyard. The smell of blood was strong as soon as they entered the yard. Looking at the disordered corpses that fell on the ground, Han Jingyan's heart shuddered as he thought of the unknown status of his mother's and daughter's life, whether they were still alive or dead, as his pace grew faster.
The Chief Steward looked inside and outside, all the way through, then he said, "Third Lord, I didn't see the Old Lady or the Third Miss." He didn't dare to say that he didn't see their corpses.
Han Jingyan yelled out, "Mother, where are you?" His mother was already too old to escape to other places, so she must be hiding somewhere inside the house.
Soon, a voice could be heard, "Father, I'm here with Grandmother."
Han Jingyan heard the sound come from the Small Buddha Hall. Thus he immediately led the Chief Steward there. As soon as they walked in, they saw Old Lady Han with Yuchen and Yurong.
Han Jingyan was overjoyed and cried out, "Mother, it's good that you're okay." Not only his Old Mother had been out of danger, but so was Yuchen, which was a real surprise.
The Old Lady was calm as she asked, "How is the residence now?"
Han Jingyan answered with a heavy face, "We have beaten the bandits away at the main gate. We haven't yet known where this group of bandits in the inner courtyard had come from. We have to wait until daylight to find out." It was already pitch black out there that he didn't dare to walk away right now.
Yuchen was not calm yet as she asked, "Father, what's going on? Why did some bandits attack our residence while the others break into the inner courtyard? " This kind of thing could be said to be quite appalling.
Han Jingyan was just glad that he was not on duty today. Otherwise, there would be no one to take charge of the residence, and the situation would have become even worse. "Today's situation felt very wrong. Unless there is a rebellion, it is impossible for there to be this kind of big movement. Also, these bandits were trying to fish in troubled waters." The most hateful thing was that he didn't know where the bandits' group who attacked the inner courtyard was from.
Yuchen's white face turned green, "Rebellion? Who's plotting rebellion?"
Han Jingyan did not speak, but the Old Lady understood that the one responsible was no other than the Crown Prince. She put the Buddha beads on her wrists and said, "You should quickly take the people to the Master Courtyard to take a look. I hope your Dasao (Qiu Shi) are safe and sound." Nowadays, the Old Lady didn't want anything else, merely wished Qiu Shi would be safe and sound. If something terrible happened to Qiu Shi, both of her grandsons would have to be in the mourning period. This matter would be extremely disadvantageous for the State Residence.
Han Jingyan did not dare to leave the Main Courtyard anymore. He was worried if, by any chance, this matter hadn't ended yet. "I'll tell the Chief Steward to bring some people to the Master Courtyard."
The Old Lady nodded and added, "Also, send someone to the Rose Courtyard. I wonder how the Fourth Girl is doing?"
Han Jingyan's face froze as he remembered the soaring flames that rose in the sky. The location of the flames seemed to be exactly in the direction of the Rose Courtyard. [+]
Upon seeing this situation, Yuchen anxiously asked, "Father, what's wrong? Did something happen to Si Meimei?" Momo Gui had a lot to do in the palace, and as soon as she noticed that there was something wrong in the palace, she immediately took Yuchen to the main room. The Old Lady immediately brought Yuchen and Yurong, who had run over, with her into the secret chamber. Although it was a little shocking to hear the sound of beating and killing outside, that was just about it.
Han Jingyan shook his head as he replied, "It's not clear yet." At that time, the place where the fire had started was in the direction of Yuxi's courtyard, but he couldn't say it for sure as he didn't have any detailed information on it yet.
Yuchen quickly said, "Father, you must ask someone to go to the Rose Courtyard to have a look. Maybe Si Meimei is hiding just like us!"
Before Han Jingyan could even respond, Yurong also said, ''Father, I wonder how Mother is doing right now? Father, I want to go to Biteng Courtyard to find Mother."
The Old Lady cut off Yurong's intention with her own words, "Nonsense. It's already a mess outside right now. What are you going to do with that? What can you even do when you get there?"
Hearing herself being scolded, Yurong didn't dare to utter a single word anymore.
Han Jingyan said, "I've already sent someone to look for her. There should be news coming soon." He just hoped that everything had gone well.
As soon as Yuxi put down her bowl and chopsticks, she saw Deng Shuang whiz up the ladder and shout, "Everyone, get ready. Someone is coming."
All the people inside the courtyard immediately dropped their bowls and chopsticks as they held wooden sticks in their hands. With their previous battle scene, everyone had become unafraid.
Chief Steward Han couldn't push the door open. Thus he shouted, ''Is anyone there? Someone, please answer. I'm Han Xing." There were so many deaths and people injured at the Main Courtyard side that he was worried that there would be worse than there. After all, although there were many dead maids and old women servants in the Main Courtyard, the Old Lady was fine. If something terrible happened to the First Lady, the residence had to be set up for a funeral.
When Yuxi heard this, she immediately told Deng Shuang to come down while she climbed up. "Is that Chief Steward?" she cried towards the gate.
When Han Xing heard someone finally responded, he hastily walked away from the gateway and went to a corner wall. Since Chief Steward was holding a torch, Yuxi wasn't worried that someone was impersonating him. Once she was sure that the man was indeed Chief Steward Han Xing, she asked, "What is the situation in residence right now?"
Han Xing shouted, "Don't worry, Miss. All the bandits have run away." Those bandits did not flee because people had beaten them badly but rather left by themselves. These people came mainly for money. Once they grabbed them, naturally, they would immediately run away.
When Qiu Shi heard Han Xing's words from inside the house, she hurriedly walked out and instructed, "Open the gate." With Han Xing here, certainly, the danger had been no more.
Yuxi disagreed and instead said, "It's better to let them come in through the side door!" Since it was still early in the day, she was still feeling absolutely ill at ease.
Han Xing replied, "I will just come in through the side door." Now that they were in this kind of situation, there was no guarantee that all the bandits had run away, hence, acted with caution at this time was the right way.
As Han Xing passed through the doorway and saw that Qiu Shi was safe and sounded together with Yuxi, he finally put his heart to rest. When he entered the yard, he noticed that everyone in the courtyard was safe, which gave him a big surprise, "First Lady, did the bandits come here?"
Deng Shuang pointed to a few damp spots on the ground and explained, "More than a dozen thieves came. We killed four, and that scared the remaining ten away. These are the places where the thieves laid when they died just now." The blood had been washed clean by a couple of old women servants, which was why they were wet.
When Han Xing heard Deng Shuang say things about killing without even blinking her eyes, he suddenly burst out, "Who is this girl?" He was sure that this girl was not a maid of the residence. [+]
Yuxi introduced, "This is Miss Deng, the niece of Zijin's martial arts Master." It was not a secret that Zijin was practising martial arts outside, so everyone in residence should have known about it.
Although Han Xing did not know why Deng Shuang was here, it was evident that it was all thanks to the presence of the two girls. Otherwise, the people in the Master Courtyard would have done nothing, "Thank you for Miss Deng's righteous cause." It was such a pity that if there were people like this girl taking charge of the Main Courtyard, the outcome would not have been so miserable.
Deng Shuang wouldn't dare to accept his gratitude. She still wanted to ask for a reward!
Qiu Shi asked, "How is the Old Lady? Is she hurt?"
Han Xing shook his head and said, "The Old Lady and the Third Miss are alright. Hence, First Lady doesn't need to worry anymore. My Lady, are Da Nainai and Eldest Miss here with you?"
Qiu Shi answered, "Your Da Nainai is inside the house, and I didn't manage to call over your Eldest Miss and Second Miss because of our emergency situation."
Yuxi actually inserted, "Chief Steward, Dasao has stirred her foetus vital energy. I've been told that Songxiang Courtyard has anti-abortion medicines, so please send some people there with Old Woman Hua to get them." She would absolutely not let Zijin leave her side but putting up a few retainers to do it was not a problem for her.
The Chief Steward readily agreed to Yuxi's request, "First Lady, Fourth Miss, since you both are alright, I will go and have a look at other places." Mainly to see how Eldest Miss and Second Miss were doing.
Han Xing was originally going to leave some people in the Master Courtyard, but Yuxi shook her head and said, "We don't need you to leave anyone here. Just take them all with you!"
As Yuxi saw Han Xing prepared to leave, she suggested, "The kitchen has just made some food, and they're still hot. How about Chief Steward have some to fill up the stomach?" Since they were currently in the fourth month, the nights were usually cold.
Han Xing looked at Yuxi as if he was looking at an eccentric, "You guys also made food?" These people even had the mood to make food in this kind of situation. They were powerful people!
Yuxi sheepishly explained, "I saw that everyone was looking exhausted after a long day which made me worry if their bodies couldn't support them, so I asked the cook to make some food. It's just to fill in the stomach. It's not really a big deal."
Han Xing had a whole new level of respect for Yuxi, "Fourth Miss has thought of it thoroughly. However, I still have to visit Eldest Miss and Second Miss, so I won't be able to eat." Then, he left with a bunch of people he brought.
When Old Woman Hua came to Yuxi's side, she stammered as she expressed that she wished Zijin to take the anti-abortion medicine with her. Since Zijin had a high martial force, it would be more reassuring to have Zijin with her. However, as soon as Old Woman Hua's words came out, the other people in the yard glared at her with hatred.
Zijin refused, "I want to stay with Miss." No one knew if all the bandits had really left. Just in case there were still more, wouldn't her Miss be in danger?
Old Woman Hua gazed at Qiu Shi with an earnest hopeful look on her face.
Mama Li was very disgusted with the way Old Woman Hua was acting. Everyone knew that Zijin was not bad in martial arts, and Old Woman Hua wanted to take away Zijin, who was responsible for their safety, just for her own sake, not to mention that the Lady and the Fourth Miss were still around. Mama Li put on a fake smile as she urged, "Mama Hua, go faster. Then, you can return early!"
Old Woman Hua had no choice but to toughen her scalp by taking four retainers to Songxiang Courtyard.
After Old Woman Hua's party went out, Yuxi asked the side door to be closed and had two old women servants watched over it, just in case.
Deng Shuang laughed, "Even if there are a few fish that slip through the net, we have nothing to fear."
Yuxi looked at Deng Shuang and asked, ''What if the other party attacks us with fire? Will you be able to resist it when the time comes?" It was a good thing those people (the bandits) didn't light a fire just now, or things wouldn't have been resolved so quickly.
Yuxi didn't know that it wasn't because the bandits didn't know how to set the fire, but they didn't dare to do so after watching the courtyard people martial arts value went significantly off the charts. If by any chance they forced their way through, those 20 people inside the yard would kill them all, and at that time, none would be able to escape unscathed.
The Chief Steward had come for a while, and although not one retainer from his group was left behind, the crowd was no longer afraid. The most dangerous moment had passed, and now it was just a matter of waiting for daybreak.
Three-quarters of an hour later, Old Woman Hua returned.
When Yuxi saw Old Woman Hua having weak legs, she asked, "What's wrong?"
Old Woman Hua handed the medicine in her hand to Yuxi and said, "This is Da Nainai's anti-abortion medicine." After saying that, she passed out.
Without waiting for instructions, some people immediately lent their hands in carrying Old Woman Hua into the room.
Yuxi handed the anti-abortion medicine to the cook, ''Go and make the medicine for Da Nainai. Also, get some food for the four of them."
The four retainers looked at Yuxi with faces full of gratitude.
Zijin looked at the exhausted Yuxi and said, ''Miss, you should go and rest for a while! There are the Deng sisters here and me. Everything will be fine."
How could Yuxi dare to sleep? "I will wait till dawn before I rest." Even if she laid in bed now, she still wouldn't be able to sleep.
That night was destined to be a sleepless night. No one was sleeping. Everyone was on their feet, waiting for daybreak, as only then would everyone be at ease.
Noob Translator's Musing
Yuxi finally has her rest in the next chapter. It must have been tiring.
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi