Chapter 28: Golden Phoenix
Hua Family.
After Madam Yao pulled her daughter back to the room, she brought out the braised delicacies, desserts, and fruits that had been prepared long ago: “Knowing that your Fifth Sister was going out, I knew you would definitely come back. These were prepared by your Father and your Third Brother and Sixth Brother for you.”
Hua Changxi picked up a braised pig’s trotters and started gnawing on it: “Mother, you don’t know how bad the food in the Labor Department is. Look, I’ve gotten so thin from hunger.”
Madam Yao looked at her daughter, whose complexion was even more rosy than when she was at home, and found it somewhat amusing: “Since the Labor Department is so bad, why don’t you just come home?”
Hua Changxi quickly shook her head: “I don’t want to. One must see things through to the end. Since I’ve entered the Labor Department, I must make a name for myself.”
“I want my Grandfather and Grandmother to see clearly that it’s not just boys who can achieve great things; girls can do it too.”
Madam Yao never discouraged her children’s enthusiasm. She sat beside her daughter and looked at her with concern: “The Labor Department must be very hard work, right?”
Hua Changxi shook her head: “It’s not hard. In the Labor Department, I’m responsible for washing medicinal herbs, which isn’t hard for me at all.”
The laborers all did physical work; how could it not be hard? Madam Yao only felt that her daughter didn’t want to complain in front of her. Knowing her daughter was strong-willed, she wouldn’t ask if she didn’t say.
Hua Changxi didn’t see Hua Minghe and couldn’t help but ask: “Mother, where is Father? Why don’t I see him?”
Madam Yao’s expression showed worry: “Your Father has been assigned a case and has left the capital to investigate.”
Hua Changxi frowned and put down the pig’s trotters: “Why has he left the capital to investigate again? How long will this take?”
Madam Yao shook her head: “Your Father didn’t say, only that he would return once the case was concluded.”
At this moment, Hua Liulang entered. He first asked Hua Changxi how she was doing in the Labor Department, and then said: “Mother, Grandfather is calling for you to go to the Main Hall.”
Upon hearing this, Hua Changxi’s face fell: “Grandfather and Grandmother are going to scold and reprimand me in public again.”
Madam Yao was silent for a moment and pushed the half-eaten pig’s trotters back to Hua Changxi: “You eat first, and we’ll go over after you’re done.”
Hua Changxi ate slowly, dawdling for over fifteen minutes before following Madam Yao and Hua Liulang to the Main Hall.
In the Main Hall, all the Hua Family Members were present.
Old Master Hua looked at Hua Changxi, seeming to want to say something but hesitating. Finally, he glanced at Old Madam Hua, signaling for her to speak.
Old Madam Hua: “How have you been in the Labor Department of the Medical Affairs Department?”
Hua Changxi immediately began to complain: “Grandmother, I’ve suffered so much in the Labor Department. Look, haven’t I gotten thinner and darker?”
Old Madam Hua looked at her ninth granddaughter’s fair and rosy face and really wanted to spray her with a mouthful of water. Gritting her teeth, she said: “You’ve truly suffered greatly.”
Hua Changxi nodded vigorously: “Isn’t it suffering? But don’t worry, Grandfather and Grandmother, for the sake of the Hua Family, I can endure hardship. I will definitely achieve something in the Labor Department.”
“When I return after achieving success, I will definitely return in glory, bring honor to my ancestors, and illuminate the family’s reputation.”
“So, Grandfather and Grandmother, can you please not only focus on the male children in the family but also allocate some resources to the female children? Perhaps if the family cannot produce a Kirin Son, it can still produce a golden phoenix.”
Old Madam Hua was amused: “A golden phoenix? Are you referring to yourself?”
Hua Changxi was a little embarrassed: “Perhaps it is me.”
She was a transmigrator, after all. It was one thing not to have obtained a cultivation opportunity, but now that she could cultivate, was it too much to fantasize about being a golden phoenix?
“Therefore, Grandmother, you can invest in me in advance now. Have Third Brother and Sixth Brother visit me more often in the Labor Department and bring me good food and drinks. When I become successful in the future, I can also help the family.”
Old Madam Hua snorted: “If I don’t let your Third Brother and Sixth Brother see you, will you not help the family?”
Hua Changxi said righteously: “Of course. Grandmother, you were also born into a merchant family. You should understand the principle that there is no reward without effort, right? You want to share in the spoils without investing, isn’t that just freeloading?”
Old Madam Hua’s hand itched slightly: “Hua Jiuniang, you’ve really grown capable. After a month in the Labor Department, your skin has become thicker. No, not only is your skin thick, but your mouth has also become more venomous.”
“Tell me, what you said to your Uncle-Grandfather today, was that appropriate?”
Hua Changxi’s expression was indifferent: “Why isn’t it appropriate? What I said is all the truth.”
Seeing her stubborn demeanor, Old Madam Hua was furious: “Your mouth will bring trouble to the family sooner or later.”
“Your eleventh brother is going to the Martial Arts Academy with your Uncle-Grandfather’s grandsons, and we are counting on them to look after him.”
“And your Fifth Sister is also counting on the Earl’s Mansion for support. We can’t speak directly to the Earl’s Mansion, so we have to beg your Uncle-Grandfather to mediate.”
“And you, you’ve gone all out to offend them. Do you know that by doing this, you are harming Fifth Sister?”
Hearing this, Hua Changxi became angry: “I harmed Fifth Sister? Who is harming Fifth Sister? Who forced Fifth Sister to become a concubine?”
“If the Great Clan Elder’s family is the main culprit, then you are accomplices.”
“If you hadn’t forced Fifth Sister to become a concubine, she wouldn’t have suffered the humiliation from the Marquis’s Mansion’s steward and nanny today and wouldn’t have dared to utter a single word.”
These words struck a nerve with Old Master Hua. His face turned ashen, and he raised the teacup on the table and smashed it to the ground. His chest heaved, and he glared at Hua Changxi with immense anger, looking thoroughly enraged.
Seeing this, Madam Yao quickly gave Hua Liulang a look.
Hua Liulang, bracing himself, stepped forward to grab Hua Changxi and dragged her out of the Main Hall.
As they were about to exit the Main Hall, Hua Changxi turned back and shouted.
“Believe it or not, with your attitude today of leaving everything to the Hua Tai couple to handle, if anything happens to Fifth Sister at the Marquis’s Mansion, the Marquis’s Mansion will only notify the Hua Tai couple. By the time the Hua Tai couple informs us, it will be too late.”
Hua Liulang saw his sister fanning the flames and used all his strength to pull her away: “Jiuniang, how did your strength increase? I can barely pull you anymore.”
Hua Changxi paused: “Perhaps it’s because I’ve been doing more manual labor.”
Hua Liulang: “Didn’t they say that laborers are always bullied? How come after entering the Labor Department, you haven’t learned to be obedient, but your temper has only gotten worse?”
Hua Changxi said meaningfully: “People are different.”
Why was she so confident today?
It was because her Realm Points had broken through 1000, and her Martial Force had increased significantly. Once her realm further improved, even with the Marquis’s Mansion’s high-ranking martial artist guards, she would dare to storm in.
Speaking of martial artists, Hua Changxi grabbed Hua Liulang: “Sixth Brother, let’s go to your room.”
Hua Liulang was confused: “Why are we going to my room?”
Hua Changxi: “The family’s martial arts manuals are all with you. I want to take a look.”
Hua Liulang smiled: “What, you want to practice martial arts too?”
“Can’t I?”
They arrived at the room where Hua Sanlang and Hua Liulang shared. Hua Changxi pushed the door open directly: “Sixth Brother, don’t underestimate me. Be careful, one day I’ll become a martial arts master and scare you to death.”
Hua Liulang didn’t take Hua Changxi’s words to heart at all. He smiled and went to get books, quickly taking out three books from the bookshelf: “Capital Martial Academy Anecdotes,” “Lingbo Microsteps,” and “Five Finger Mountain.”
“Five Finger Mountain?”
Hua Changxi was the first to flip through “Five Finger Mountain”: “The name of this cultivation method is quite imposing.”
Hua Liulang looked puzzled: “Where is it imposing? I think it’s quite ordinary.”
Hua Changxi said “Oh” and casually remarked: “I read a storybook before. In the storybook, a monkey was suppressed by the Buddha’s Five Finger Mountain.”
“Sixth Brother, the martial art you practice in the courtyard every day, isn’t it this Five Finger Mountain?”
Hua Liulang: “Yes, I practice Five Finger Mountain.”
Hua Changxi showed regret: “Then the power of this Five Finger Mountain is a bit weak. I see you practicing in the courtyard every day, but you haven’t achieved anything.”
Hua Liulang was speechless: “Five Finger Mountain is very powerful. Father copied it from the Ministry of Justice’s library after he made a contribution. It is said that a Grandmaster who uses Five Finger Mountain can kill anyone within fifty meters.”
“Your Sixth Brother is currently a First Rank martial artist still in the blood-refining stage, so of course, I can’t unleash the power of the Cloud-Splitting Palm.”
After finishing “Five Finger Mountain” and “Lingbo Microsteps,” Hua Changxi then flipped through “Capital Martial Academy Anecdotes.”
“Martial artists: First Rank refines blood, Second Rank refines bones, Third Rank refines organs, Fourth Rank opens meridians, Fifth Rank purifies marrow, Sixth Rank breaks shackles, Seventh Rank internal energy transforms into Gang Qi, Eighth Rank Gang Qi is released externally, Ninth Rank Grandmaster can borrow Heaven and Earth Power.”
“Ninth Rank can borrow Heaven and Earth Power.”
What did that mean?
Borrowing Heaven and Earth Power, was it like her being able to cultivate?
Hua Changxi looked thoughtfully at the introduction to martial artists at the beginning of “Capital Martial Academy Anecdotes.”
Seeing his sister motionless, Hua Liulang waved his hand in front of her: “Stunned?”
Hua Changxi snapped back to attention and smiled at Hua Liulang: “Sixth Brother, this book, ‘Capital Martial Academy Anecdotes,’ was brought back by Eldest Brother, right?”
Hua Liulang looked at “Capital Martial Academy Anecdotes” with some disdain: “I begged Eldest Brother for a long time to bring back two more martial arts manuals, but Eldest Brother only brought back ‘Capital Martial Academy Anecdotes’ to fob me off.”
Hua Changxi flipped through “Capital Martial Academy Anecdotes”: “The stories in here are quite interesting.”
Hua Liulang snorted: “What’s interesting about it? It’s all about fights and brawls among people from the Martial Arts Academy. I’m not a child who likes to read stories; I want to practice martial arts.”
Hua Changxi smiled at him: “Sixth Brother, I have a way to help you rapidly increase your Martial Force.”
Hua Liulang’s eyes widened instantly: “Really? How do I increase it?”
Hua Changxi: “By taking Pills.”
Upon hearing this, Hua Liulang’s face fell: “I know taking medicine can rapidly increase Martial Force, but the problem is, do I have the Silver to buy medicine?”
“Do you know that a Qi and Blood Pill used by a First Rank martial artist costs five taels of Silver? With our family’s situation, can we afford it?”
Hua Changxi didn’t say much. She could refine Pills up to the Sixth Rank, but she didn’t have any Medicinal Herbs to use right now. “Sixth Brother, you must treat me well. Perhaps I can really get you some Pills.”
Hearing his sister say this, Hua Liulang finally felt a glimmer of hope: “Aren’t I treating you well?”
Hua Changxi shook her head: “No, you’re not. I’ve been in the Labor Department for a month, and you haven’t come to see me.”
Hua Liulang scratched the back of his head: “Grandfather and Grandmother didn’t allow it.”
Hua Changxi snorted: “You didn’t go just because they didn’t allow it? I was actually hoping you’d come to see me.”
Hua Liulang knew his sister’s intentions: “You were hoping I’d bring you good food, weren’t you?”
Hua Changxi: “Just tell me, will you come to see me or not?”
Hua Liulang quickly nodded: “Yes, yes, I will definitely go.”
