HUS Chapter 26: Man-Eating Tiger
HUS Chapter 26: Man-Eating Tiger
Dec 11, 2025
Qingmei led Yang Can out of the flower hall, her small wooden clogs going "tap tap" on the flagstone ground, like a carefree little hen.
Suddenly, a scene from that rainy day flashed through her mind, Yang Can standing by the window, staring at her back.
Xiao Qingmei suddenly felt like prey being watched by a circling eagle. Her back felt itchy, her buttocks felt itchy, and she didn't even know how to walk properly anymore.
"Ahem, well... you walk in front." Finally, Xiao Qingmei stepped aside to the edge of the path.
Yang Can raised his eyebrows quizzically. Xiao Qingmei kept a straight face and said, "I... said that once we reach the outer estate, I have to give you face."
Yang Can was somewhat doubtful of this explanation, because a peach-blossom blush had appeared on her cheeks, that unique color of a young girl's shyness.
Yang Can didn't know what this little girl was thinking, but he went along with it readily enough.
Thus, it became Xiao Qingmei watching him from behind.
Mm, he's quite tall. If someone were to lean against his chest, their mouth would probably only reach his chest level, right?
His shoulders look very broad, but his waist is so slender. Isn't this what the matrons called a "dog waist"?
They say men with dog waists have great stamina. It's probably true, right? After all, when she was standing guard, her legs were already sore, but he was still going at it inside...
Thinking of this, Xiao Qingmei's pretty face flushed red again.
"Ouch!"
Xiao Qingmei was walking while her mind wandered. Yang Can suddenly stopped, and Qingmei couldn't stop in time, bumping right into his back.
Yang Can quickly turned around and said, "Are you alright?"
"Ugh, it's all your fault for suddenly stopping without saying anything."
Xiao Qingmei rubbed her nose and glared at Yang Can. Those almond eyes were misty with moisture, quite alluring actually.
As Xiao Qingmei spoke, she looked behind Yang Can, "Where is this?"
Before them was a small courtyard, nestled among greenery, with blue bricks and black tiles. Though the entrance was small, looking inside revealed another world.
Yang Can said, "This is where First Steward Li resides."
Xiao Qingmei had only recently arrived at the Yu family and wasn't very familiar with the outer estate. Yang Can had been Yu Chengye's adviser for over half a year, so he had been to Li Youcai's residence before.
Yang Can led Xiao Qingmei into Li Youcai's courtyard. As First Steward of the eldest branch, Li Youcai had his own small courtyard. The courtyard wasn't large, with three main rooms and two side rooms.
As soon as they entered, they saw two boys of about eleven or twelve crouching in the corridor, happily playing "catch the knucklebones."
Knucklebones were toys made from the joint bones of sheep's hind legs, similar to the game of jacks.
Yang Can called out, "Laixi, Wangcai, is First Steward Li home?"
Laixi and Wangcai were two young servants in First Steward Li's household.
Their names sounded rather vulgar, but in this era, those who served as slaves and servants mostly used humble names.
In the world Yang Can originally came from, the names of servants in wealthy households were also quite crude at first.
It wasn't until the Ming and Qing dynasties that those who could afford servants all became refined and cultured, with names like Moyan, Shijiu, Xiren, Dequan...
Laixi looked up and said happily, "Master Yang!"
He recognized the young master's adviser and quickly stood up, saying, "Master Yang, my master is home. Master, Master Yang is here!"
Laixi stretched his neck and called into the house. With his voice, Li Youcai emerged from the room, wearing a round-collared casual robe, tall in stature, with a beard curved like hooks.
This man was probably in his early fifties, with a plump face and spirited eyes. At first glance, he gave the impression of being gentle and generous.
He naturally recognized Yang Can. Standing beside Yang Can was a young woman, petite in stature, with a pretty face, large eyes, and a small mouth that seemed sweet even without smiling...
He recognized her too. Wasn't this Miss Qingmei, the young mistress's personal maid?
When Suo Zhanzhi moved into the eldest branch, Li Youcai had paid his respects to the mistress, so he naturally recognized Qingmei.
Li Youcai was slightly surprised. He quickly lifted his robe and walked down the stone steps with quick strides, cupping his hands with a smile, "Miss Qingmei, Master Yang, why have you two come? Please, come in quickly."
Li Youcai invited the two into the reception room. Laixi and Wangcai brought in a tea tray to serve tea.
The two boys' movements were nimble enough, but Qingmei glanced at their hands. These two boys hadn't washed their hands before making tea, and they had just been crouching on the ground playing "knucklebones."
Qingmei found it distasteful. She naturally wouldn't drink this tea.
Qingmei coughed and got straight to the point, "First Steward Li, I'm here on the young mistress's orders to bring Master Yang to see you."
"Oh?" Li Youcai obviously didn't yet know about Yang Can's appointment as Second Steward of the eldest branch. He looked at Yang Can with some confusion.
Qingmei said, "By the Clan Head's order, Master Yang will henceforth be Second Steward of the eldest branch. The young mistress has also approved, so she sent me to bring him here."
"Ah? Is that so?"
Li Youcai suddenly stood up and said with pleasant surprise, "When Master Yang was the young master's adviser, you and I got along very well. To be able to manage the eldest branch's properties together from now on is excellent indeed."
Yang Can stood up with a smile and said, "Yang is young and shallow in experience. Only because the Clan Head trusts me was I entrusted with this important task. In the future, I'll need First Steward's guidance and instruction."
Li Youcai stroked his hook-curved beard and said with a smile, "Master Yang is too modest. From now on, we two brothers can discuss matters concerning the eldest branch together. In any case, we just need to ensure we don't disappoint the Clan Head."
Xiao Qingmei stood up and said, "You can discuss all you want, but don't forget that in all matters, you must still consult with my young mistress. If you don't manage the eldest branch's affairs well, even if the Clan Head agrees, our young mistress won't agree."
Li Youcai's face was full of smiles, "That's only natural. It's our duty. Miss Qingmei can rest assured."
Qingmei smiled without warmth, "Whether I'm assured or not doesn't matter much. What matters is that you must put the young mistress's mind at ease."
Xiao Qingmei displayed a look of loyal service to her mistress.
Of these two stewards before her, Li Youcai was an elder of the eldest branch, and Yang Can was even more deeply detested by the Suo family, so Xiao Qingmei's pointed remarks were quite normal.
Xiao Qingmei said, "Alright then, this young lady still has matters to attend to in the inner residence. Now that I've delivered him, I'll head back."
Li Youcai and Yang Can quickly saw her out of the hall. The two men stood on the steps, watching Xiao Qingmei go "tap tap tap" out of the small courtyard.
Li Youcai stroked his curved beard on both sides and praised with clicking sounds, "Tsk, that little waist of hers sways so enticingly."
Hearing this, Yang Can felt somewhat uncomfortable, like a dish he'd picked for his own plate was still being coveted by others.
Yang Can cleared his throat and said, "Looking is one thing, but now you're praising her too. Be careful your wife doesn't hear and get angry with you."
Though the two hadn't been close before, one was formerly the young master's adviser and the other was the young master's First Steward, so they were fairly familiar with each other.
Li Youcai laughed heartily and said, "The day I'm too lazy to look at beautiful women is when my wife will get angry with me. Hahaha, let's go back inside."
The two walked back to the hall. Li Youcai called out, "Xiaowan, Xiaowan, Master Yang is here."
When the guests entered earlier, Lady Li already knew.
After all, this house had three rooms in a row, and Lady Li was in the left chamber. How could she not know?
Now that Li Youcai called out, the door curtain lifted, and out walked a lightly mature beauty with vermillion lips, phoenix eyes, and long eyebrows extending to her temples.
This young woman wore a lotus-pink spring shirt, fastened with a deep red gauze skirt. Her cloud-like hair was half undone, her powdered cheeks lightly flushed, and her pair of phoenix eyes had corners that tilted slightly upward, giving her a somewhat "spicy" appearance.
This woman's surname was Pan, given name Xiaowan. She looked to be only about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, a full half Li Youcai's age. She was young enough to be his daughter, and then some.
"So it's Master Yang who's come."
Seeing it was Yang Can, Pan Xiaowan's red lips curved slightly with what seemed like disdain.
"It's been quite some days since this humble one has seen Master."
As Pan Xiaowan spoke, she perfunctorily curtsied. Li Youcai quickly turned his back to Yang Can and glared at her.
Li Youcai knew his young delicate wife looked down on Yang Can somewhat, but they still had to maintain appearances. How could she be so blunt about it? After all, they would be working together from now on.
Yang Can cupped his hands and said, "Yang Can greets Madam. Right after New Year's, I accompanied the young master to Jincheng and only returned not long ago."
Pan Xiaowan gave a scoffing laugh. Just as she was about to speak, Li Youcai, fearing she would say something unpleasant, quickly feigned impatience and said, "Alright, alright, I still have things to discuss with Master Yang. Go quickly and make us two cups of good tea."
Li Youcai glanced outside and scolded irritably, "Those two clumsy brats Laixi and Wangcai can't even make tea properly. How can we receive guests like this?"
Pan Xiaowan gave Li Youcai a sidelong glance and said coolly, "They're just half-grown boys. Of course they're careless in their work. Naturally they're not as attentive as young girls would be in service."
Li Youcai's face immediately brightened with smiles, "You're right! Then tomorrow I'll go find a slave trader and pick out two suitable maids to bring back."
Pan Xiaowan gave a light scoff and said to Yang Can, "Master Yang, look at our master. He's so considerate. He drinks tea that's cooled three times over himself, yet always worries there's no one to serve honored guests."
Her phoenix eyes swept across like throwing a pair of willow-leaf daggers, glancing at Li Youcai with a half-smile, "Master, if you want to add a few more servants, it would give face to the household, which is perfectly fine. It's just that I, the one managing the household, worry. Our money box is already lighter than my vanity case. If Master buys two more maids, I'm afraid our rice jar will be empty in no time, and we'd only be wronging the newly arrived girls."
The dignified First Steward of the Yu clan's eldest branch, how could he possibly lack such resources that he couldn't even afford a few maid servants?
Upon hearing this, Li Youcai immediately understood. His wife was clearly mocking him for not being able to feed himself properly, yet still thinking about "adding mouths to feed." His old face immediately flushed red.
Pan Xiaowan wasn't finished. She continued sarcastically, "Oh right, Master, remember to have the poultry and egg farm send some fertilizer back home. That little vegetable plot in the corner of our courtyard, the soil has become so depleted. Aiya, even growing chives now, they're all withered and dry. If we scatter more seeds, won't both the old shoots and new sprouts all die off?"
Li Youcai's face turned red with embarrassment, fearing Yang Can would understand her veiled innuendos.
Li Youcai hurriedly said, "I know, I know. Look at you. Master Yang has come calling, and instead of serving tea quickly, you're going on about all these irrelevant things. Forget it, forget it, I'll make the tea myself."
After speaking, Li Youcai hurriedly left the hall and headed toward the tea room in the side chamber.
Pan Xiaowan gave a cold snort and watched Li Youcai leave with a stern face. When she turned to look at Yang Can's handsome face again, all that disdain and resentment suddenly transformed into a room full of soft, flirtatious spring light.
Yang Can lowered his eyes and saw a deep red skirt float before him, beneath which he glimpsed a pair of delicate embroidered shoes.
As Pan Xiaowan drew near, Yang Can's nostrils caught a whiff of the pleasant fragrance of "Lingling incense."
By his ear, there was suddenly a giggling laugh. Madam Pan said intimately, "Master Yang, why don't you dare look at me? This humble one isn't a man-eating tiger."
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