"Eldest Young Master is exceedingly clever, he's this small yet he can already eat on his own! Bai Shao, did you see it just now?" Song mama immediately recovered from her hatred and resentment, loudly laughing.
"I saw it! I saw it!" Bai Shao was overjoyed, hurriedly wiping away the milk from the corner of Eldest Young Master's mouth. "Second Young Master is now also six months old, but he can't stand up, can't sit up, can't crawl, and always wants the wet-nurse to hold him in her arms. She can't let it go, otherwise he will loudly wail. A good several times, he cried until he nearly died from lack of air. Now that's the behaviour of a fool!"
"A daughter needs to be raised in luxury, a son needs to be raised in poverty. Our Hou Household's Young Master could only have one wet-nurse at birth. When he became two years old he had to be weaned, when three years old he had to be independent; his bathing, washing, and wearing of clothes all couldn't be handled by other people. At five he entered school, at six learned martial arts. Our Hou family principles are righteous and distinguished, how many pillars and beams of the country had been forged by it..." Perhaps having recalled the current fallen state of the Hou Household, Song mama couldn't go on. She turned around to sneer, "Look at the bad seed that cheap whore is raising – four wet-nurses by his side, female servants in the dozens. He must not be cold, must not be hungry, even lifting his own arms and legs is too tiring for him. Moreover, after he grows up, he would still remain a wastrel!"
The little servant girl repeatedly nodded in agreement, and took out three silver spindles and several hundreds of coins from the parcel. She whispered, "mama, all this money is for our Peng Hao Courtyard's expenses. If it runs out one day, will Master really drive Eldest Young Master away?"
"Is there anything Wang Xianggan will not do? Merely driving Young Master away – I fear it's not that simple." Song mama fed him milk as she creased her eyebrows. Her whole body had a very gloomy atmosphere.
"I heard a brother* at a pillar say, say," The little girl wanted to speak but stopped.
*not blood related brother. A more accurate translation would be 'bro.'
"Say?" Song mother raised her eyebrows.
"He said that once, he heard the Empty Cloud Sect Master tell Master that since Eldest Young Master had returned to collect his debts, once the forty-two silver coins were used up, he would leave his fleshly body to be reborn again. He told Master to finish the funeral preparations. Master even hypocritically pretended to cry for a long while."
"Empty Cloud Sect Master, Wang Xianggan, aren't they all just birds of the same feather! One of them pretending to be a mysterious occultist, one of them inciting ghosts and committing sins. Sooner or later, there will be retribution!" Song mama put her index finger on her lips and warned, "This cannot be repeated in the future. Our Eldest Young Master will surely live for a long time. Although, although Young Lady had the same dream, but as long as this Soul Settling Mirror is here, and all expenditures are carefully managed, Young Master will be fine for a while. There is still plenty of time. What Young Master's fate truly is, we can slowly see, and slowly think of a solution. No matter what his origins are, since he was reincarnated into the belly of our young lady, he is our master."
"Bai Shao understands, Bai Shao will take good care of Eldest Young Master. These forty-two silver coins we can use more carefully, and use for a long time. My family can't even finish spending five liang of silver in a year."
"En, good child, quickly keep the money into the box and lock it, this is now all of our assets." Song mother touched the head of the little servant girl.
You Shu burped. In his heart he was afraid that his biological mother had also placed importance on that dream. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been fearful of revealing even her face from birth until now. His mother could not guarantee her own safety, his father was ruthless and uncaring; spoiling the concubine and suppressing the wife. And there was still that evil spirit lurking by his side, refusing to leave. He wanted to smoothly grow up, but it was truly a rather difficult task. Fortunately, the two people had brought over a few yin-yang mirrors, which could temporarily keep the demon in check. Furthermore, they were somewhat loyal to himself. It was great fortune amidst all the bad luck.
As he thought to that point, You Shu's eyes became glazed again. He was once again engrossed in meditation, and had long since dismissed the Empty Cloud Sect Master's assertion that he will die young.
After hanging up the soul mirrors, the Yin wind no longer patronised Peng Hao Courtyard. Instead, it was the people in other courtyards who – one after another – suffered from chills, dizziness, and swelling brains, fatigue, and other kinds of symptoms. In the beginning, no one cared. Until one day, even Concubine Lin was infected by this illness. Wang Xianggan then attached importance to it and invited the Empty Cloud Sect Master to investigate.
"乃是西面邪崇作祟."虚云观主指了指蓬蒿院的方向.
"It's the west side's haunting and harming." Empty Cloud Sect Master pointed in the direction of Peng Hao Courtyard.
Wang Xianggan's face blackened. He hurriedly asked, "Is there a way to end this?"
"First evict the evil spirit, then This Destitute Taoist* will do a ritual. Afterwards there will be no more issues." As Empty Cloud Sect Master flicked his horsetail whisk*, his entire image was that of a distinguished master.
*This Destitute Taoist: a humble way for a Taoist to refer to himself.
*Horsetail Whisk: A Taoist weapon
Wang Xianggan promised to do so repeatedly. He let the steward pack one hundred two liang of silver and handed them to a young Taoist disciple. Then he ordered people to take the Debt-collecting Ghost of Peng Hao Courtyard and send it far, far away to his hometown. After it has reached, he wouldn't even allow the ghost to enter his ancestral home, and will instead casually banish him to a rural village. Wang Xianggan's legitimate wife, née Song, fainted after hearing the news. When she woke up she cried and sobbed that she wanted her son. However, she heard the servant woman say that the young master had long since left.
On an old and shabby wagon, You Shu who had just turned one, was pinching a piece of walnut cake and slowly grinding at his new front teeth. Song mama held him, her facial expression extremely ugly. Bai Shao was gripping the money box and her eyes were slightly red. It could be seen that she had been crying previously.
"How can he be this ruthless? Really is a beast!" Song Mu mumbled to herself.
"More than that, he should be less than a beast!" Bai Yang added. Following that, she anxiously said, "mama, what are we going to do in the future?"
���Xin City* is Wang Xianggan's hometown. Now that the Wang family has, one after another, risen in power by relying on him, in Xin city the Wang Family is the local tyrant. Our means are little, strength is weak, going there can be considered as entering a tiger or wolf's lair. Née Lin's heart is hateful and her hands are eager. Once she gives the villagers a command or two, Young Master will be in danger. Give me a moment while I think, wait while I think." Song mama was distracted, as if her mind had no master.
*Xin City: Can also be translated as New City or New Town
"How about we bring along young master and escape!" Bai Shao tightly covered the money box, and suggested in a whisper.
Song mother silently pondered for a long time. Finally, she made her decision, "Alright, we'll escape! Fortunately, before we came to Peng Hao courtyard, Young Lady had already eliminated the other slaves. As long as we evade the Wang family's capture, our future days will be clean. We'll first safely and stably raise Eldest Young Master until he's big, then wait for him to succeed and return to meet the lady again."
You Shu's expression was slow and dull as he gritted his teeth. However, inside his heart he was secretly weighing the pros and cons. According to the current situation, there was a higher chance of surviving if they escaped than if they moved forwards to Xin City. Once he went to Xin City, he was meat on the chopping board. No matter how that so-called Concubine Lin wanted to torture and kill him, it would all be condoned. She could also kidnap him to control his mother. If he left, in this regard it would actually be a relief for his mother.
In that case, go! Thinking of this, he "yinyinyaya" yelled twice, and even used his small fist to hit the soft pillow beside him.
Song mama smiled as she saw this, then sighed. "Look, Eldest Young Master has also agreed. In that case, let us plan and discuss it well."
The pair planned. When they passed by a small town they let the coachman stop and carefully rested for a night. Fortunately, the Wang family did not care about the life and death of the young master, and only sent a steward and a coachman to follow. Song mama spent several hundreds to set up a table of good wine and good food. She invited the two people to enjoy it. During the banquet, she constantly urged the guests to drink wine and make speeches, until the two men were drunk to the point of intoxication. After that, she picked up the luggage and took off into the night with Bai Shao.
Since childhood, Song mama has grown up in the countryside. Driving a coach was no challenge for her, and with one night of effort they were already a thousand li* away. When the steward and the driver woke up, the money on their bodies had already been plundered. The people and coach were also no where to be seen. They wanted to send a letter to the main family, yet feared that telling the truth will get them beaten to death. So they simply fled as well.
*li: Ancient Chinese unit of measure, approximately equal to 500 meters.
For quite a long time, the Wang Family did not receive any news of the people arriving safely in Xin City, and could only send people to search. Finding the inn where the people had once stayed, only then did they discover they had scattered and fled. Wang Xianggan had disliked this son from the very beginning, and naturally didn't worry about his life and death. He put on an act and pretended to search for a few days then gave up. Concubine Lin was even happier to see her goal succeed, and said a good several nights of pillow talk. It led Wang Xianggan to directly wipe the Legitimate Son off the genealogy and use the excuse of 'death from a violent illness' to explain it to outsiders.
The only broken-hearted person in the Wang family was née Song, but when she carefully pondered over it in the dead of night, she understood Song mama's pains. She knew that if her son remained in the Wang family, sooner or later he would die. So why not leave. Since then, she closed her door to visitors, abstaining from meat and chanting prayers in hopes of accumulating some merit for her son, so that he can peacefully and safely grow up.
It is said that the most dangerous place is the safest place. Song mama did not hide far away, and instead came to the Da Ming Dynasty's Longxing region, Liangzhou. Liangzhou was only a three day journey from the capital. The land it occupied wasn't large, but was extremely prosperous. The top families of the Da Ming Dynasty were mostly founded in Liangzhou, where they built their ancestral homes and sent people to meticulously look after. Therefore, Liangzhou's security was very tight. There were officers and soldiers patrolling the street all day. She expected that the Wang family would not have the courage, not to mention the face, to send people and brazenly look for someone here.
Song mama's guess was correct. The Wang Family indeed did not dare to let people swarm there and act mighty, and search in Liang Province where the city's arrangement was complex. Instead, they announced news that the Legitimate Son had died of a severe illness. As such, the several people stayed in Liang Province.
Song mama did not dare to lightly use the silvers left by the lady, and had her own and Bai Shao's valuables and jewelry sold away. She rented a farmhouse in the suburbs, at a place called Jade Water Village, and relied on embroidery to make a living
Unknowingly, You Shu had already grown to the age of five. Because Song mama had decided to cultivate the eldest young master's talents, and return to meet with the young lady in the future with the intentions of seeing the young lady able to hold her head high again, she basically did not dare to use the forty-two silver. Although living in the countryside wasn't very expensive, when young masters grew to six or seven years old, he could go to school. A year of schooling's courtesy gifts* to the teacher will cost five or six silver coins, not to mention the various expenses of future civil examinations. If only a child student or scholar was being nurtured, forty-two silver coins were enough, but to cultivate a champion, it would cost at least more than a hundred or two hundred liang of silver.
*courtesy gifts: In ancient China teachers did not accept official school fees in exchange for teaching a child because it was deemed as vulgar. The scholarly pursuit of knowledge and the impartation of knowledge should not be tainted by materialistic objects like money. Hence, the teachers accepted 'courtesy gifts' instead. These were given to the teacher by the parent or guardian of the child, as thanks for the teacher's mentorship.
Even if Song mama worked harder, she could earn at most one or two taels of silver coins in a year. So, there was still a need to scrimp on clothes and shrink meals. As such, the days passed very anxiously, what they wore were coarse linens, what they ate were a variety of grain types, and only at the end of the year could they taste a little bit of meat. Fortunately, You Shu had transmigrated from the last days. Towards his present life, not only did he not feel bitter, he was very satisfied. To him, being able to eat his fill was the greatest happiness. As for the rest, there was no need to bother.
However, there are always a few things that are unsatisfactory in the world. The present days were indeed much better than staying at the Wang Family, but that debt-collecting ghost had also followed them here. Song mama did not forget to take away several Yin-Yang mirrors when she left. Each of them she suspended in the rented courtyard. The first two years they really worked, but the debt-collecting ghost absorbed more Yang and slowly condensed a corporeal body. It was no longer afraid of mirror's reflected light. From time to time, it would inflict harm on You Shu.