Chapter 3
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Xue Yao, an eight-year-old with a light and flexible body, couldn’t get seriously hurt from the fall.
However, the Old Madam sat on his legs before he had a chance to prepare, causing a painful twist in his ankle.
Of course, the injury was not severe, but Xue Yao had no idea how much benefit his filial piety would bring for saving his grandmother.
Immediately, the Old Madam affectionately carried him back to the temple’s front yard, called for the maidservant, and hurriedly sent for the physician.
To show off his skills, the physician exaggerated the child’s injury, making it seem like the slightest delay could lead to a permanent disability. The Old Madam was even more distressed.
Mentally an adult, Xue Yao knew his injury was less severe than what was portrayed. He was afraid that if the Old Madam cried excessively, his act might be revealed, so he made funny faces and told jokes to cheer her up.
The Old Madam, in her sixties, was naturally soft-hearted towards children. Seeing this young child, who was wholeheartedly cheering her up after being almost crippled by her, brought tears to her eyes. This stirred the entire household, and soon, people filled every corner, inside and outside the house.
Even the head of the Xue family, Xue Qi, who held the prestigious position of Minister of Revenue, stood respectfully by Old Madam Xue’s side.
Some attendants and maidservants from the outer courtyard, unaware of the situation, whispered among themselves in the inner courtyard. They all believed that the Old Master’s headache had worsened, anticipating that something significant was about to happen.
It wasn’t until Xue Yao fell asleep in the Old Madam’s room that the Xue family members left the room along with the Old Madam.
The details of the incident then spread from the inner courtyard through the maids.
It turned out that the storm was caused by the second son of the third branch.
It was quite strange because this boy was usually someone who went unnoticed.
Even the manual laborers in the Xue family’s main courtyard knew that the third branch was a dead end. No matter what tasks they were ordered to do by the third branch, they couldn’t expect to earn a single penny as a reward. So, people generally treated the third branch’s Master and Madam with indifference, let alone their concubine-born son.
Truly, no one expected that this child would suddenly shine so brightly in front of the Old Madam. In the future, the Old Madam might increase the rewards for the third branch, and the Old Master might use his connections to help the Third Master with his official career.
In any case, things were likely to change in the Xue household.
Even Madam Chen from the third branch noticed a change in the attitude of the servants in the outer courtyard.
Realizing that this was all thanks to that concubine-born child’s achievement, Madam Chen wasn’t happy at all. In fact, she felt a jealous pang. When she returned to her quarters, she gave her own son a harsh scolding, blaming him for not being astute and not knowing how to gain favor.
Xue Qiong was only ten years old this year. Because of his good memory and quick learning, he excelled in his studies, not just in reciting poems but even in grasping the content of the Four Books. Dearly loved by his parents and without any competitive environment, he naturally lacked the scheming of a child prodigy.
He left his mother’s scolding in a daze, feeling rather puzzled, and secretly delighted about Xue Yao’s mishap.
Though they were half-brothers with different mothers, influenced by their mother’s attitude, Xue Qiong knew from a young age that Xue Yao wasn’t a brother but a rival. Whenever the Old Master and Old Madam distributed gifts, they had to share equally.
Due to his legitimate status, Xue Qiong naturally held himself in higher regard than Xue Yao. That was why he had often bullied Xue Yao, who was two years younger.
After contemplating in his room for a while, Xue Qiong began to understand his mother’s intentions. He realized he also needed to find a way to please the Old Madam, but he couldn’t go to the extent of breaking his leg like the foolish Xue Yao.
•••
When Xue Yao woke up, he found himself surrounded by magnificent furnishings and realized he wasn’t in his own room.
At the moment, he was sleeping in a cozy side room inside Old Madam’s residence, but he had no idea how long he had been asleep.
It was starting to get light outside, and the maidservant sleeping on a mat next to him was still undisturbed. It was probably around four or five in the early morning.
As soon as he woke up, he remembered the system’s mention of the 75 Whitewashing Points and that he had enough to access the exchange interface.
Without wasting any time, Xue Yao closed his eyes without hesitation and entered the mental space to see what treasures were available in the exchange interface.
After some exploration, he finally located a glowing cube at the bottom layer of the interface, as guided by the system.
He examined the item inside the glowing cube. It wasn’t a fixed item but kept changing. Sometimes it was a cabbage, other times an egg, and occasionally an uncut slice of salmon.
Judging by their appearance, they were all fresh.
Could this cube be used for food exchange?
Xue Yao was a bit excited. While food couldn’t prevent the Long Aotian, Prince Ning, from digging into his tailbone, at least it could satisfy his cravings.
Since he arrived in this world, he had had enough of the poverty in the Xue family’s house. If this cube could allow him to exchange food freely, it would be like having takeout!
Swallowing, Xue Yao hurriedly tapped on the glowing cube. A 3D projection option immediately appeared in the cube: “Do you want to open the Basic Food Exchange Mart? Required Whitewashing Points: 130.”
“……” Xue Yao glanced at his Whitewashing Points balance in the lower left corner: 82.
What kind of heartless system was this!
If it was a bit expensive to exchange for a chicken leg, he could endure it. But why did opening the cube also require so many Whitewashing Points!
He had saved the Old Madam’s life, but he only got an additional 75 points. Where could he earn another 50 points?
Upon further consideration, he felt that something was fishy. He had earned 6 points for taking the blame for Concubine Zhou earlier, but for saving his grandmother’s life, he received only 75 points.
Could it be that the Whitewashing Points only calculated the credit he got for preventing the Old Madam from falling and didn’t connect the fall with the potential death of the Old Madam in the future? So, it wasn’t counted as saving a life?
This system didn’t come with an AI for explanations at any time, leaving Xue Yao unable to confirm his hypothesis.
However, the Whitewashing Points were set in stone, and there was no bargaining with this unscrupulous system. Even if he grumbled inwardly, there was nothing he could do about it.
Xue Yao, feeling disheartened, prepared to exit the mental space. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a basketball-sized glowing sphere that had been circling the Rubik’s Cube, much like the Earth orbitting the sun.
Xue Yao made an effort to concentrate his consciousness on the luminous sphere, causing it to instantly stop moving. His virtual body shifted instantaneously in front of the sphere.
He cautiously reached out and tapped the sphere, and like a Transformer, it transformed into a… green prize-winning toy machine with a clattering sound!
The machine had a total of five screens. Above it, a row of lights displayed the words【Twist of Fate Good Luck Machine.】
Xue Yao instantly liked the name, considering it so auspicious. He quickly controlled his consciousness and gripped the joystick on the left side of the machine.
An explanation popped up above the joystick: 【Cost of Whitewashing Points: 10 points per try.】
His financial situation made Xue Yao hesitate. He stared longingly at his balance of 82 Whitewashing Points. He thought that if he could just earn another 50 points, he could dine lavishly and have takeout whenever he pleased. Spending 10 points on a gamble was a hard choice.
However, as soon as he opened the exchange interface, the itch in his heart grew strong. After much deliberation, he couldn’t bring himself to exit. He quietly decided to give it only one try. If he didn’t win anything, he would never touch this “Good Luck Machine” again.
So, he spent 10 Whitewashing Points and pulled the joystick.
The five screens simultaneously began displaying different images. In just about three seconds, they froze from left to right into a single frame.
The image resembled a colorful, complex two-dimensional code. Because the image was so intricate, Xue Yao couldn’t tell if these five images were identical.
However, the machine soon played a cheerful tune of a little girl’s voice: 【Congratulations, you’ve won! Prize: One silver ingot; Weight: Five taels. We wish you a pleasant spending experience!】
In just a second, Xue Yao calculated it. Considering the prices at the bustling markets in the capital city, five taels of silver could buy him two thousand meat buns!
This investment was definitely a win!
Considering the stinginess of this system, with 130 points, he could only open one cube in the mart, and the items inside might not be that cheap. Perhaps one egg would cost him 1 point.
Now, he had only spent 10 points and won five taels of silver, which, if converted into eggs, would be enough to circle the Earth!
This stroke of good luck made Xue Yao want to continue, but he was a person with self-discipline, knowing when to quit while ahead.
After all, opening the mart was the long-term plan. He couldn’t waste too many points on uncertain benefits. So, he stopped here.
The Good Luck Machine projected his prize in front of him.
A brand new tael of official silver.
Below the silver, there were two options: “Withdraw” and “Temporary Storage (free for the first 3 days, extension costs 1 point per day).”
Xue Yao, considering himself an eight-year-old child, still sleeping in the Old Madam’s room and carrying silver on him, thought it might easily be discovered. Therefore, he chose to temporarily store it.
Early in the morning, as soon as the Old Madam had gotten up and tidied herself, she came to the warm chamber to visit her well-behaved grandson.
Seeing Xue Yao’s rosy little face and high spirits, the Old Madam was delighted and had a lavish meal brought to the table. She even personally fed Xue Yao vegetables and soup.
While they were halfway through the meal, Madam Chen from the third branch, along with her son Xue Qiong, came to pay their respects to the Old Madam.
The servants in the room were somewhat puzzled.
The Old Madam was an easygoing mother-in-law who had dispensed with the elaborate formalities of her daughters-in-law in her younger days and disliked people coming to her doorstep uninvited. She hadn’t expected Madam Chen to suddenly pay a visit today.
Of course, the Old Madam couldn’t refuse her goodwill and face. She had Madam Chen and Xue Qiong take their seats and slightly restrained herself. She handed her chopsticks to the maidservant and asked her to feed Yao’er.
Apart from festive occasions and birthdays, Xue Qiong had never eaten in the Old Madam’s room before. Seeing the delicious spread on the table, his eyes almost popped out!
Watching the maidservant continuously serving dishes into Xue Yao’s bowl, Xue Qiong subconsciously rushed to snatch the biggest piece of fish belly and the most tender meaty bits from the sweet and sour spare ribs.
The Old Madam seemed not to lift her eyes, but she had already noticed everything clearly, evidenced by the hint of displeasure crossing her face.
Madam Chen was close to being infuriated. Under the table, she pinched her son’s leg.
Before coming, she had taught her son how to get close to the Old Madam, how to say auspicious words, and how to act coquettishly to win favor.
Inside the room, mother and son had rehearsed it all, but unexpectedly, as soon as they entered, her son couldn’t speak a word as his eyes were glued solely on the dishes on the table. She was genuinely infuriated and wished she could kick her son in the rear!
Looking across at Concubine Zhou’s bastard, she was surprisingly selective, sending all the good dishes to the Old Madam’s bowl with a sincere expression that not even adults could fake.
What was going on? Madam Chen began to suspect.
How did this little brat suddenly turn into a different person? He used to be as wooden as a log!
Xue Yao wasn’t aware of what was going on in Madam Chen’s mind. Winning five taels of silver put him on an elated mood and grateful to the Old Madam for giving him the opportunity by falling. He expressed his gratitude sincerely and not in a feigned manner.
His foot injury had healed within three days, but he was given a five-day leave.
When he returned to the palace for his lessons, he noticed that the Third Prince and several other attendants were dejected and devoid of their usual arrogance. They were as meek as quails in the study hall, listening attentively, without even whispering to each other.
Certainly, something significant had occurred during his absence in these few days.
Could it be that Long Aotian had suffered a setback?
No, the Seventh Prince was only three years old now. He would need stilts to reach the Third Prince’s face, so he couldn’t possibly have hit him.
After school, Xue Yao sought out another attendant named Qinghe to inquire about what had happened in the past few days.
As soon as he asked, Qinghe vented his grievances, “You’re lucky. You took leave when trouble arises. The other day, His Majesty personally came to the study room to inquire about His Highness knocking over the wooden horse of the Seventh Prince. His Majesty claimed it was us unruly kids who incited the brothers to fight, and he rewarded me with a thorough thrashing!”
With that, Qinghe extended his hands, which were wrapped in gauze, and looked at Xue Yao with tearful eyes. “The beating aside, I also had to transcribe books. My hands had only just recovered from swelling today, and that day, they were so swollen and bruised when I got home. Brother Yao, I gritted my teeth and didn’t confess anything. You were the one leading that day!”
Taken aback, Xue Yao hastily pulled Qinghe into a corner of the palace wall. “I understand your situation, Brother. If they want me to transcribe books, I’ll just have to do it. If I have time today, I’ll take you to the restaurant to have a good meal to recover!”
Qinghe shook his arm away. “Do you think I have the appetite for that? The problem now is not just transcribing books. His Majesty ordered us to appease the Seventh Prince within five days, seek his forgiveness, or else all of us will be kicked out of the palace! Your father works at the Ministry of Rites, so it’s easy for him to find you another opportunity to re-enter the palace, but my future will be completely ruined!”
Xue Yao felt his heart racing!
To be honest, he could indeed return to the Third Prince through his father, but this matter would certainly require a lot of maneuvering.
With Master Xue’s poor background, revealing this matter would undoubtedly result in a severe beating!
Xue Yao’s heart started pounding madly.
After calming down, he carefully recalled that there was no record of an event involving him, a lowly extra, in the novel!
This was a real calamity.
Appease the Seventh Prince within five days.
If he managed to appease him, would he still get his ear chopped off twenty years later?
Prince Ning was clearly someone who held grudges!
What should he do? If he failed to appease His Highness, not only would he face a severe beating from Master Xue in five days, but twenty years later, Prince Ning would come for his ear and tailbone.
NOOOOO!
No matter what, he had to make things right!
He was just a chubby three-year-old cub, definitely a baby glutton. Maybe he could be appeased with a mouthful of food!
“What are you staring at? Scared out of your wits?” Qinghe nudged him.
Xue Yao snapped back to reality and said firmly, “Don’t worry. I have a plan. This afternoon, we’ll pay a visit to Consort Xi’s residence to apologize to the Seventh Prince.”
Qinghe was astonished. “Are you trying to say I didn’t get enough beating? Dare to call Consort Xi for more scolding!”
If you enjoy this novel, support the Translator ginevre on her ko-fi account :))
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
