Chapter 521: Chapter 55: Yuanyang
The Zhou Mansion was preparing for a grand wedding and a full moon celebration. The servants had long since begun decorating, hanging red silks and festive lanterns everywhere.
Yet for some unknown reason, Zhou Ruxuan felt a sense of oppression and gloom, as if she couldn’t breathe.
Coming home.
She didn’t know when, but it had become a burden.
“Aunt.”
A youth passing by stopped in his tracks and spoke up:
“My mother says you’ve exceeded your monthly stipend again. On top of that, you took several extra Elixirs to aid your Cultivation.”
His voice drew the attention of quite a few people. The servants quickly distanced themselves, while several junior members of the Zhou Family shot her strange looks.
Zhou Ruxuan stopped in her tracks.
“My Cultivation has reached the Eighth-Grade Peak. It’s a critical time for advancing to the Seventh Grade, so I took some extra Elixirs.”
“Second Brother agreed to it.”
“Aunt,” the young man began.
“The Zhou Family may be a major clan in Taiyuan Prefecture, but there are too many of us, and the family’s resources are finite. If one person takes more, then others receive less. I’m asking this on behalf of my brothers and sisters, so I hope you won’t take offense, Aunt.”
“…I won’t,” Zhou Ruxuan replied curtly.
“I know what I’m doing.”
When she was born, her father was the Patriarch of the Zhou Family. Her mother passed away from illness not long after, and her father, feeling a sense of guilt, doted on her. Over the years, she had grown accustomed to taking more than her share of the family’s resources.
Many in the Zhou Family held grievances about this.
It was just never spoken of before.
Now…
Her father was no longer the Patriarch. Her second brother had taken a wife and concubines, fathering children one after another. With daily pillow talk influencing him, he no longer pampered her. Naturally, her access to family resources was being tightened, bit by bit.
Today’s confrontation seemed sudden, but in truth, it was only a matter of time.
Amidst the many strange gazes, Zhou Ruxuan walked into a room and handed over a token.
“Miss, you want to take over the northern mines?”
The steward sounded surprised, but then he nodded gently.
“I’ll see to it at once.”
“However, Miss, now that you have your own enterprise, according to the rules, you will no longer receive an extra share of the family’s resources…”
“I understand,” Zhou Ruxuan said with a wave of her hand.
“I’m a bit tired today. Once you’ve gathered all the materials related to the mining business, send them directly to my room.”
“Yes.”
The steward agreed.
Returning to her room, her personal handmaiden, Yuanyang, brought her some tea.
“Miss, someone from the Second Branch came today…”
“I know.”
Zhou Ruxuan cut her off.
“I’ve received many benefits from the family over the years. Others have long been unhappy about it. Now that I’ve fallen out of favor…”
“…it’s only normal for people to have a few things to say.”
“Miss,” Yuanyang said, her face full of indignation.
“What’s fair about any of this? It has always been the case that the most capable take the most.”
“Heh…” Zhou Ruxuan chuckled lightly.
“You’re quite philosophical about it.”
She then added:
“In a few days, you’ll go to the Zhu Mansion. You will live there from now on.”
“Ah!” Yuanyang was stunned.
“Miss, are you getting married?”
She had been at Zhou Ruxuan’s side since she was a child and was destined to be her dowry maid, so the prospect of going to her future master’s home wasn’t a surprise.
“No.”
Zhou Ruxuan shook her head.
“In the entire Zhou Mansion, you are the only one I can trust now. I’ve taken my share of the family business this time. Although I’ve handed it over to Zhu Ju to manage, I still need one of my own people keeping an eye on things.”
“You…”
“…are the most suitable.”
“Don’t worry, Miss!” Yuanyang’s beautiful eyes sparkled.
“I’ll definitely help you keep a good eye on the young master, and I’ll never let that vixen Qian Shiyao take advantage.”
Zhou Ruxuan rolled her eyes.
‘She did have that in mind, though. In the future, her focus would gradually shift from the Zhou Family to the Zhu Mansion.’
‘Placing one of my own people by Zhu Ju’s side would make things more convenient for me later on.’
‘Of course, I can’t completely distance myself from the Zhou Mansion. After all, I still need to obtain the Innate Pill from them to advance from the Seventh Grade to the Sixth Grade.’
*
*
*
Yangg Yi discovered that life in the Zhu Mansion was far more pleasant than he had imagined.
The patrol schedules were set a month in advance.
He woke at dawn every day to wash up, practice his martial arts, and go on patrol. Sometimes he helped the young masters and ladies in the rear courtyard carry things.
For martial arts practice:
Specialized Martial Arts Academy Disciples came to impart their experience, and from time to time, Nursing Director Zhang would also offer a few pointers.
For literary studies:
The tutor who taught the young masters and ladies of the rear courtyard how to read and write had his own private school in a side courtyard.
One could attend his classes two days out of every seven.
The monthly salary was not small either.
The pay was two taels of silver a month, enough for a single person to live a relatively extravagant life.
It didn’t require much hard labor, making for a stable and pleasant life, and there were prospects for advancement if one wished.
The only downside…
“Yangg Yi, hurry!”
Qian Hu shouted boisterously.
“Another young lady has arrived in the rear courtyard! We have to help carry her things. This one is from the Zhou Family.”
“Someone from the Zhou Family?” Yangg Yi was stunned. A barely perceptible cold glint flashed in his eyes. He hadn’t forgotten that one of the three people who killed his father, Hong Qingyi, was from the Zhou Family.
Zhou Jingren!
The current Patriarch of the Zhou Family!
Suppressing the killing intent in his heart, he asked in a seemingly casual manner:
“Is the Young Master going to marry that young lady from the Zhou Family?”
The relationship between Zhu Ju and Zhou Ruxuan was already known throughout the city. As a member of the Zhu Mansion’s Nursing Home, he knew this even better.
“No.”
Qian Hu shook his head.
“It’s the handmaiden of Miss Zhou. Her name is Yuanyang.”
“…” Yangg Yi was speechless.
“If she’s a handmaiden, why are you calling her ‘Miss’?”
“A handmaiden from the Zhou Mansion isn’t just any ordinary handmaiden! I heard she’s going to marry the Young Master in the future, too,” Qian Hu said, his eyes wide.
“Of course you have to call her ‘Miss’!”
“That’s called a dowry maid, and even if she is, she should be addressed as ‘Madam’,” Yangg Yi said, pausing for a moment.
“Forget it, do what you want!”
Yuanyang brought two large Che of belongings from the Zhou Mansion and was given her own room in the rear courtyard.
By the looks of it,
she really didn’t look like a handmaiden.
“You’re Qian Hu?”
“Is Qian Shiyao your sister?”
Yuanyang stood with her hands on her hips, looking down at the bewildered Qian Hu, her tone laced with undisguised hostility.
“Ye… yes, that’s me.”
Qian Hu had a brash personality, but he was exceptionally timid around women, a point Yangg Yi often teased him about.
Hearing her, he subconsciously shrank his neck back.
“You…” Yuanyang had been about to say more, but seeing his timid appearance, she lost her steam.
“Forget it. Go on, get back to work.”
“Yes.”
Qian Hu hastily agreed and dragged Yangg Yi out of the room.
“Women are tigers, that saying is really true! This Miss Yuanyang is even scarier than Miss Zhenzhen.”
“You really don’t know why she’s angry?” Yangg Yi looked at him with surprise.
“Why?”
“…Never mind.”
Yangg Yi sighed.
“By the way, Nursing Director Zhang just said that Miss Yuanyang brought the Zhou Family’s mining business from the northern mountains, and he’s sending some of the Nursing Home members to be on duty there. Do you want to go?”
“The mines outside the city?” Qian Hu’s eyes lit up.
“We can leave the city?”
“Well…”
He was overjoyed for a moment, then scratched his head and said:
“I’d like to go, but my sister probably won’t let me. It’s dangerous outside the city, after all.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll go,” Yangg Yi said, narrowing his eyes.
“The northern mines… there’s a dormant volcano there.”
‘Cultivating the Fire Separation Mysterious Skill there would allow my Cultivation to advance rapidly. Plus, the pay is better.’
‘The key was…’
‘I wouldn’t have to listen to Qian Hu’s snoring every night!’