Don’t Learn Mandarin Ducks

Evil Spawn from the Eastern Courtyard

Huayue likes the early morning in the General’s mansion the most. The Yulan Magnolia tree flowered, and if you walk by it, you'll pick up its mild scent, and the Lady has always loved the fragrance of Magnolia. When she heard a sound, she happily waved her hands to summon her.

Huayue gave a polite bow before bending down to support the Lady's knee while allowing her to stroke and smooth her hair.

"The magnolia has bloomed once more." Lady Zhuang [1] is in a good mood, “It’s a good day today”

"Yes, Lady Han and Miss Han [2] will come at Chen Shi [3]. The inner and outside courtyards have been cleaned, and the kitchen has also made the five-styled delicacies. The servants have enquired, Miss Han is skilled at Danqing [4], and so, the present prepared is the General's calligraphy."

Huayue smiled with curved eyes and said, "For this present, this slave has to frequently go and bother the General."

The lady chuckled and extended her index finger, saying, "You small kid really is brilliant, to be able to have any opinions on the General. It is considered that you have the skills and ability to obtain it; if I ask, he might not even give.”

Huayue quickly straightened herself up and moved her nose in close proximity to her crookedly pointed index finger before grinning even brighter and saying, "Isn't it because the general misses you, thus he spared this maid's life. The front hall screen has been erected, and the etiquette for Lady Han has not been neglected; do you have anything additional to order?"

Lady Zhuang nodded in satisfaction, before pushing herself up to dress, and smiled into the bronze mirror: "Is there anything more I can order? You must have carefully planned the arrangements.”

Huayue smiled, picked up the jade hairpin and put it on for her, and adjusted the hem of her skirt.

Lady Zhuang appeared demure and dignified in the mirror, but she now had a few extra hairs beside her temples. It makes sense that in the opulent General's Mansion courtyard the lady should be young and content, but Lady Zhuang is different.

She has a severe headache.

"Right," Lady Zhuang said, remembering something as she pressed the hairpin on the dressing table, "Has Jingyun woken up?"

Said to be troubled.

Despite her smile, Huayue was furious in her heart. Lady Zhuang would not be so enraged every two to three days that it would be difficult to sleep or take medicine for meals if it were not for the birth of Li Jingyun, the evil spawn who loves to cause trouble.

Li Jingyun is the General's Mansion's only son and a well-known aristocrat in Beijing. In his youth, the emperor held him in admiration and esteem. He was even more attractive as he grew older. In both the civil and military spheres, he was all top-notch among the princes and nobles. Everyone who speaks of him always ends with the compliment, “Young Master Li [5] is bright.” It makes sense that Lady Zhuang's life should be quite happy with such a child.

But it's unfortunate that this Young Master and Lady Zhuang were destined to have a tense relationship from the start and never developed a bond. Lady Zhuang could not bear to blame and the haughty Li Jingyun wanted a mile even when given an inch.

Huayue confidently entered the main house from the eastern courtyard.

Then……

Stopped at the entrance.

The house's doors and windows were closed tightly, and the guards were carefully positioned outside. It stands to reason that someone should be in the home.

Huayue raised her fingers to point at a human figure, before letting them drop.

Where a person should have been standing, a set of armor stood in place, its empty helmet stuffed with a cushion. The morning's fresh cucumbers were chopped into large strips, placed on the face, and transformed into a mocking smile.

Huayue nodded with a smile, before reaching out and grabbing the guard by the door, gritting her teeth, “This is the young master you’ve imprisoned?”

Because of her strangulation, the guard's face turned scarlet. "Yin... Housekeeper Yin, we've really been keeping an eye…”

Tossing him aside, Huayue approached the window and pushed it gently.

With a "squeak" sound, the stained window, which appeared to be locked, suddenly opened wide. Allowing the morning sun to stream in and warm the room with its orange rays, revealing a trail of footprints leading from the window sill to the front door.

… …

The training ground is not a pleasant place; the blood and sand had formed into a deep black color, the swords on the weapon rack smelled rusty, together with the sweat stains on the hilt and scabbard; and merely passing by there can offend someone. On a rest day, not even half a person in this world will be visible.

However, Li Jingyun felt at ease no matter how he looked at it; the far away Tianzhan Mountain, the golden sand in the broad land, and even the wind that was blowing dust all smelled like freedom.

He inhaled deeply, kicked the weapon rack with his toes, caught the spear that flew out, and asked the officer next to him, "A fight?"

Deputy General Qin Sheng complied, "Please enlighten me."

The swords are all sharpened, and there is no mercy between them. Despite Qin Sheng's belief that he had exceptional talent and strong talents, he was unable to defeat the young master with his brocade and jade attire.

The fox robes flew, the spear was stern, separating a few rays of the rising light, the eyebrows with black hair swept over with a murderous aura.

When Huayue first noticed the crowd, she was certain that the evil spawn was present. She had just taken one or two steps to push the troops aside and was about to reprimand when she noticed the flower spear slicing along the edge of the sword, sparks flying everywhere, and a loud golden ringing.

Li Jingyun stood against the backlight, his palms red as fire, his eyes sharp and piercing, and his sleeves covered in yellow sand, and the sharp spear stop half an inch in front of Qin Sheng's throat.

Hua Yue was astonished.

Cheers could be heard coming from every direction. Li Jingyun grinned and was about to concede when he looked up and noticed Yin Huayue standing among the recruits.

"..."

"..."

There must be a problem with his sight. How could she have discovered this location?

Li Jingyun took hold of Qin Sheng and started to walk in the opposite direction.

"What's been going on at your house recently?" he inquired as he walked.

Qin Sheng still has a sullen face and his voice which has not ease yet, and hoarsely said, “This subordinate is alone and widowed, what can happen?”

“That's good, I'll return with you later.”

After a brief delay, Qin Sheng asked helplessly, "Young Master, are you leaving the house without permission?"

“You must be kidding,” Li Jingyun sneered icily. "The General's Mansion is my home, and I merely came out for a visit, how could it be said as without consent?”

"So, Housekeeper Yin is aware of this?"

Looking away, Li Jingyun muttered, "Of course she knows."

After the words were spoken, the two walked around the echo wall [6] and stumbled across a crowd of people waiting at the crossroads. The person leading has their hands folded in front of them with a cold and icy expression.

Notes:

[1] The mistress of the house uses her maiden name

[2] Married women I would be using Lady and non-married would be Miss

[3] 7-9 am (in the system of two-hour subdivisions used in ancient times)

[4] Painting using calligraphy ink

[5] Novel uses “公子” which translates to son of a nobility but I will be using Young Master instead

[6]