Hua Qiyue took Tianci and left, meeting Lvxin and Youshui outside. Their hearts dropped at Hua Qiyue's dazed look.
On the carriage ride home, people pointed and murmured.
"That's the daughter of Hua's Mansion. I've heard she's ugly and useless, but… she doesn't look ugly or useless."
"Yes, she's quite the beauty."
"Look at how she holds herself! She's obviously rich."
Hua Qiyue quietly watched Tianci twist his shirt between his fingers.
Hua Qiyue knew that there must be many shadows inside Tianci's heart. She'd need to talk to him when they got home.
"We need a medicine that only the Medicine Saint has. According to Prince Nan, it will likely be very difficult to get. We may need to start getting information about the Ji family," said Hua Qiyue gloomily.
It occurred to her that Tianpi might have that kind of medicine. She'd have to ask him about it later.
Lvxin grimaced.
"It is said that medicine means everything to the Medicine Saint. Every year, countless people come to beg him for medicine, but seldom get what they want," said Lvxin as she gently poured a cup of tea and handed it to Hua Qiyue.
Hua Qiyue took a slight sip and said, "That's right. So, whether we can get that medicine remains unknown."
Youshui smiled and took a look at Tianci. "Miss, I'm sure having you around will do Tianci a lot of good."
Tianci nodded heavily in agreement.
Meanwhile, Lvxin and Youshui were feeling very uneasy. Hua Qiyue had slapped the arrogant the Hua Xiaoyi. Although the Hua Xiaoyi was always obstinate, her mother was much loved by The Old Madam, and loved Hua Xiaoyi by association.
"Miss... what should we do now? If the Hua Xiaoyi comes to Old Madam to complain..."
"Complain?" Hua Qiyue snorted. "If she dares, she will suffer more." For those who had bullied her, she showed no mercy.
Youshui furrowed her brows, but said nothing.
After all, it was good that their Miss had changed, since even the maids had been fed up with the old days of constant humiliation.
After Tianci finished his meal, Hua Qiyue asked Youshui to dress him in his new clothes. Once they were on, Tianci cheered up.
Hua Qiyue sent for Butler Wang, who joined her for a conversation in the inner hall. A short time later, Butler Wang walked out with a pale face and hurriedly left with his head down.
Hua Qiyue strolled out with a satisfied smile and said, "Let's go to Grandmother's and enjoy the show." She took Tianci's hand and headed to the Old Madam's courtyard.
In the hall of Fu Xin Yard, the Second Concubine had just finished her complaint when Hua Xiaoyi and the Third Concubine came to the yard in an aggressive manner and brought resentment about Hua Qiyue.
The Old Madam frowned. Her granddaughter had changed quite a lot and seemingly overnight.
When Hua Qiyue was a baby, her Qi meridians had been broken. No one knew who had done it or why. She had immediately changed for the worse, even fearing her own wet nurse.
Yet, now she was slapping other daughters of the household? What had changed?
"I never thought that Qiyue would be so bold..." she said. "Wait for now. I will speak to Qiyue when she visits."
"Grandmother, although Qiyue is dutiful, she hides a rare medicine herb in her yard. She has gone too far," Hua Mengshi said casually.
The Old Madam appeared more sullen. Hiding a source of medicine and income such as this from the family was, indeed, a sign of disrespect.
It was known to all that the Old Madam was in poor health, catching frequent colds in addition to headaches and dizzy spells.
With access to rare herbs, she could recover quickly and lead a better and more comfortable life.
At this point, Hua Qiyue walked in, holding hands with Tianci and followed by Lvxin and Youshui.
There was dead silence in the hall.
With half her face swollen, Hua Xiaoyi stared daggers at Hua Qiyue, who appeared to be perfectly calm. When she spoke, it was in a refined and polite manner.
"Grandmother, this is Tianci, my adopted son.
He was born in a well-off family, but was abused by his maids and poisoned by someone in the house. Due to the poison, he cannot speak. I hope you will excuse him for not addressing you directly."
The Old Madam nodded slightly and looked at Tianci gently. She said, "What a poor child! Qiyue, you should treat him well."
Hua Qiyue gave a soft smile and answered, "Grandmother, please feel reassured. I will certainly treat Tianci well and regard him as if he were my son."
Hua Xiaoyi could not hold back her anger, stepped forward to point at Hua Qiyue and yelled. "Grandmother, this bitch slapped me in my face. She beat me for no reason.
Grandmother, please do justice for me!"
The Third Concubine's face clouded over at Hua Xiaoyi's words.
Although the Third Concubine tried to teach her daughter well, she was obviously too impetuous to listen.
Now she was so arrogant that she dared to call her legitimate elder sister a bitch in front of an audience.
Before Hua Xiaoyi could collect herself, Hua Qiyue slapped the other side of her face.
Old Madam's face fell. She said nothing, but watched with increasing vexation.
"Openly disrespecting your legitimate elder sister, bringing shame on the Hua family's name... you deserve a beating." Hua Qiyue stared defiantly at Hua Xiaoyi.
Everyone in the room was frozen in shock.
Even Tianci looked fearful. Hua Qiyue patted his back softly and said, "Do not fear, Tianci. I am only cruel to those who insult me like that."
"Grandmother, you've seen Hua Xiaoyi make impertinent remarks. She's also shouted in my yard, calling Tianci a bastard and attempting to spread rumors that I had a child out of wedlock. That's why I taught her a lesson," Hua Qiyue said in a low voice.
She wasn't wrong. If word spread, people would think that the Hua Mansion couldn't even discipline one of their own daughters for extreme impropriety and disrespect.
"Grandmother... "Hua Xiaoyi was rather defiant, but she was pulled by the Third Concubine firmly and pushed to kneel down.
The Third Concubine dropped to her knees too and said, "Old Madam, I apologize. It is my fault for failing to teach Xiaoyi well."
Seeing her mother kneeling next to her, Hua Xiaoyi felt her heart racing. This wasn't what she'd expected
"I suggest you take her back to your yard and use this opportunity to teach her now!" The Old Madam said disdainfully and took a sip of the fragrant tea.
The Third Concubine hastened to thank the Old Madam for her kindness and dragged Hua Xiaoyi away.
The Second Concubine and Hua Mengshi looked at each other, their faces gloomy.
Hua Qiyue at present was like a calm and mysterious killing god who was able to use every unexpected means to display severity against them.
Seeing Old Madam's somber face, Hua Qiyue smile slightly and signaled Lvxin to present the luxurious box in her hand to Nanny Liu.
"Grandmother, I've brought you a surprise."
Nanny Liu took the box, opened it ,and handed it to the Old Madam.
The Old Madam took a glance at the box and was taken aback at the sight of the Long Red inside.
"Grandmother, this herbal medicine is named Long Red. I happened to get its seed from a mysterious monk when I was in the Rongfu Temple. When I planted it in my yard, it grew completely within a few days. But I wasn't convinced the monk had told me the truth — it could have been poisonous. Instead, I asked Butler Wang to sell it to Tong An Pharmaceutical Store in my name, and the shopkeeper confirmed it was Long Red. No I am comfortable presenting this to you."
Hua Qiyue gave a faint smile at the shock on the Second Concubine's face.
Second Concubine Cheng realized she had underestimated Hua Qiyue.
Hua Mengshi clenched her hands tightly, digging her fingernails into the palms. She was boiling with rage. "Hua Qiyue, who would give you Long Red seeds? This is a rare herbal medicine for alchemy!"
Common people seldom had a chance to see such a rare herb, but Hua Mengshi was a Qi Artist of Soaring Cloud Completion, and even she had never seen this kind of Long Red before.
Seeing the brilliant Long Red, the Old Madam's mood brightened considerably. "The aroma is really pleasing. I like the Long Red very much.
Although her grandmother had not paid much attention to Hua Qiyue before, it was understandable. The old Hua Qiyue had been afraid of her own shadow.
"I am glad you like it. Nanny Liu, please remember that Long Red should be stewed at a boil for two hours, then lowered to a simmer with for 12 hours. Needless to say, Long Red has many benefits — it can strengthen the body, drive out hundreds of poisons and diseases, and even improve one's appearance. Any pharmacist would kill to get their hands on it," Hua Qiyue said with a smile.