The Charm of a Powerful Woman Spreads Across the World

Chapter 6

Yu Chi Huaiyang naturally knew about his wife's worries, but he pretended not to know. How could the Yu Chi family manage without a male grandson to inherit the family business?

"Ru Feng is a child of the Yuchi family, so we can't hold him to the same standards. We need to cultivate his sense of responsibility from a young age. It's only natural that he should be punished for his mistakes. Don't make him do anything," Yuchi Huaiyang warned, glancing at everyone.

No one answered; everyone remained silent.

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Ancestral halls, the most common type of clan hall architecture here, are places for enshrining ancestral tablets and conducting sacrifices. They are regarded as symbols of the clan and are the center where clan authority and divine authority intertwine. In the center of a typical ancestral hall, there are usually a dozen or so ancestral tablets, along with some flowers and fruits.

The general impression of ancestral halls is that they are very solemn places, and there is often a chilling wind, and they may even be haunted.

At this moment, the ancestral hall that Ru Feng was facing was indeed filled with gusts of cold wind. Apart from the burning incense, the ancestral hall was pitch black, but a little moonlight still shone in from outside the door.

Ru Feng knelt in the middle as instructed. Fortunately, her grandfather showed her some compassion and didn't make her kneel on the washboard. Instead, he gave her a relatively soft cushion. "It's just one night and one day," Ru Feng thought easily.

It's so unoriginal. Her modern grandfather always made her kneel before the ancestors, and now her grandfather is the same. It's making her impatient. Ru Feng pouted and touched her flat little belly. She was so hungry, especially after a vigorous workout in the afternoon.

Ru Feng stared at the apples and bananas on the altar with gleaming eyes. Was this some kind of torture? To put these on her when she was starving was practically an insult, making her see them but not be able to eat them, and be driven to madness by hunger! And perhaps because it was dark, the fruit smelled especially fragrant and tempting!

Ru Feng tried hard to ignore the tempting food and focused on reciting all the poems she could remember.

Before she could finish reciting, a small voice called out, "Little brother."

Ru Feng immediately turned around to look and spotted a small figure.

"Sister, what brings you here?" Ru Feng asked softly.

"Little brother, it's so scary here, it's so dark." Ru Xue sneaked in and found Ru Feng by following his voice.

"It's alright, the people worshipped here are our ancestors, they won't harm us," Ru Feng comforted, holding Ru Xue's hand.

"Here, little brother, this is a steamed bun I secretly took from the table. Eat it quickly, you must be starving." Ru Xue lovingly patted Ru Feng's still bald head and took out a hard, dry steamed bun from her bosom.

"Did anyone see you come out?" Ru Feng asked instead of taking the steamed bun.

"No, I brought it after they were all asleep. Eat up, Grandpa won't know," Ruxue urged.

Ru Feng resisted the temptation and sighed. In modern times, if it were that older sister who brought it, she would eat it immediately without saying a word, because she knew that the older sister must have gotten rid of the grandfather or father's surveillance to bring her food. But this older sister...

Sigh, let's not get our hopes up.

So Rufeng suddenly said loudly, "Sister, I can't eat. Since I did something wrong and even made Grandpa apologize on my behalf, I should be punished! A real man should take responsibility for his actions, so I can't eat. You should go back quickly."

Ru Xue was stunned when she heard this: "Little brother, what nonsense are you talking about? You are still so young, how can you be hungry? Eat quickly, no one will know."

“Who says nobody knows? Our ancestors are watching. I, Yuchi Rufeng, keep my word. If I say I won't eat, I won't. Sister, you should go back now,” Rufeng urged.

Before Ruxue could say anything more, Rufeng continued, "Sister, if you keep tempting me to make mistakes like this, I'll never call you sister again. Let's go."

When Ruxue heard him say this, she couldn't help but shed tears: "But you are still so young, how can Grandpa be so cruel?" Her younger brother usually has a big appetite and loves to eat. Now he can't eat all of a sudden. Isn't that just torturing him?

"Grandpa is being kind to me; he hasn't even told me I can't eat for three days yet. So, sister, you should go back quickly. I'm fine. If you stay here and Grandpa finds out, I might punish you even more severely." As Ru Feng spoke, she could only wipe away her tears with heartache.

Those glistening teardrops shone especially brightly in the dark night.

"Alright then, I'm leaving." Ruxue left the steamed bun behind and prepared to go, afraid that her younger brother's words would come true.

"Wait, take the steamed bun with you, I won't eat it." When Ru Feng handed over the steamed bun, she really wanted to take a bite right away. Why hadn't she thought it was so delicious before?

Since Ru Xue saw how resolute Ru Feng was, she had no choice but to go back home crying and carrying the steamed buns.

As soon as Ru Xue left, Ru Feng wiped the sweat from his forehead. Ugh, why is it so tiring to persuade someone? Grandpa should know the news by now, right?

Ru Feng was right. After Ru Xue left, a dark figure did indeed rush to report to Yu Chi Huai Yang. At that moment, Yu Chi Huai Yang was stroking his beard and smiling with satisfaction after hearing the report. "This child is teachable," was his thought.

In the dead of night, when all was quiet, Ru Feng guessed that the person watching from the shadows had relaxed, so he quickly took out the steamed bun in his pocket and chewed it secretly, afraid of making a sound.

Ah, Mother was so wise. When Rufeng was brought to the ancestral hall, her mother secretly gave her two big steamed buns, since Grandpa had gone out at the time.

That night, neither Yuchi Huaiyang nor Yuchi Song slept, and Yuchi Ruxue cried all night. Only the child's mother slept.

The next day, the secluded courtyard of the ancestral hall suddenly became lively. Servants came in one after another to clean, and it could take them half a day to sweep up just a few fallen leaves. Meanwhile, the sturdy man in the ancestral hall knelt upright and motionless.

If someone were to look closely, they would notice that her eyes were closed.

Hehe, sleeping on your knees is a piece of cake for Rufeng; she can sleep standing up.

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Chapter 012 Seeking a Master

That night, Ru Feng was carried out. Everyone thought she had fainted, but only she knew that she had fallen asleep.

In the dining room, the table was laden with exquisite and delicious dishes, all of which were Ru Feng's favorites.

Ru Feng was eating slowly and deliberately, with his parents and Ru Xue sitting next to him, looking very distressed.

"Little brother, eat slowly. You haven't eaten all day. Don't eat so fast, or you'll get a stomachache," Ru Xue said as she helped Ru Feng put some food on his plate.

Ru Feng looked at Ru Xue's red and swollen eyes and resisted the urge to sigh. She had already been eating slowly enough, but her sister was still making a fuss.

"It's alright, just don't do it again. Learn from your mistakes." Yu Chisong patted Ru Feng's head affectionately.

"Hmph, he'll only stay out of trouble if the sun rises in the west!" the mother scoffed.

Ru Feng was too busy eating to say anything.

"Do you know you were wrong this time?" Yu Chi Huaiyang, who was slowly wiping his sword with a cloth, suddenly said leisurely, without even glancing at Ru Feng.

Ru Feng tried hard not to look at the gleaming sword, swallowed what was in his mouth, and replied, "I know I was wrong, and I won't do it again!" Even if I do it again, I can't let it fall into your hands. Although this punishment is nothing to me, it's never good to do too much. I have to leave some reputation for people to gossip about.

"It's good that you know you're wrong," Yu Chi Huaiyang replied slowly.

After finally filling his stomach, Ru Feng took the handkerchief handed to him by Ru Xue to wipe his mouth, and then told her the result of her consideration.

"Grandpa, how do you rank in the martial arts world?"

Yu Chi Huaiyang, who was wiping his sword, paused for a moment before saying, "Why are you asking this?"

“I think I have good aptitude and I’m willing to work hard, so why shouldn’t I learn from the person with the best martial arts skills and the most knowledge? I think I can learn more and know more in the same amount of time.” Ru Feng slowly expressed his thoughts while observing their reactions, mainly his grandfather’s opinion, since he was the head of the family.

“That makes sense. Do you want to go out and learn some skills?” Yu Chi Huaiyang put down his sword, handed it to the steward beside him, and asked with interest.

“Grandpa, even if I learn all your skills, I can only reach your current level. To surpass you, I must learn from someone more skilled than you. Only then can I bring honor to our Yuchi family. Grandpa, I believe this is what you would want to see, right?”

"Hmm, well said!" Yu Chi Huaiyang stroked his beard and nodded slowly.

"I disagree! Grandpa, Rufeng is still so young, how can you bear to let him suffer outside?" Lin Yilan quickly voiced her objection.

“Yes, yes, Ru Feng is still so young.” Yu Chi Song quickly echoed his wife’s words, mainly because Ru Feng was a girl. He and his wife’s idea was to let Ru Feng dress as a boy for a few years, and then change her back into women’s clothing when she grew up a bit. That way, even if her father was angry, there would be nothing he could do, because by then her father would be old, and perhaps he wouldn’t have such strong feelings anymore, or maybe he would have already passed away.

For Yuchi Song, a scholar, war was too barbaric and too bloody. Even if he had a son, he would not want his son to follow this path. Hadn't the Yuchi family sacrificed enough for the country for generations? Now that the family was dwindling, he believed it was the result of the Yuchi family's heavy sins. So when his wife said she didn't want to have any more children, he didn't force her. For him, the safety of his family was the most important thing now.

When he was a child, his father went to war, and his mother cried every day at home. That's why he didn't want to blindly follow his father's ideas and always insisted on being a scholar.

"What do you know? That's just women's thinking. Spoiling Rufeng like this all day long is only harming him. Rufeng is so intelligent, it would be a waste not to find someone to teach him. We can't ruin this child's future just because you're reluctant to let him go! I was originally planning to send him away in two years, but now that Rufeng has brought it up, I think it's time. While Rufeng is still young, let's lay a solid foundation first, so that he can train in the army after he returns from his studies." Yuchi Huaiyang was making his plans.

Unfortunately, Lin Yilan and the others didn't accept Yu Chi Huaiyang's well-intentioned arrangements. Instead, they were panicked and worried about Ru Feng leaving home at such a young age. Although Ru Feng had always behaved differently from other children and sometimes seemed quite mature, she was still only six years old. They wondered if she could take care of herself outside, and whether she would encounter any danger.

After dismissing all the servants, Yuchi Huaiyang continued:

"I plan to find the very famous Ruthless Swordsman as my master. He is not only skilled in swordsmanship, but also very knowledgeable. He can be said to be knowledgeable in astronomy and geography. My Yuchi family also has a famous swordsmanship, but it is used to kill enemies on the battlefield. In my opinion, if you learn Ruthless Swordsmanship, then learn our Yuchi family's swordsmanship, it will be twice as effective with half the effort."

Hearing this, Yuchi Song breathed a sigh of relief: "Father, although I am just a scholar, I have heard of the name of the Ruthless Sword. It is said that he is eccentric, kills without hesitation, is both righteous and evil, and is unpredictable... Father, can you bear to let Rufeng follow him to learn? Aren't you afraid that Rufeng will end up with that kind of personality?"

Lin Yilan patted her chest and said, "He sounds just like a devil. I don't agree with Rufeng learning from him."

"Nonsense! That's just an outsider's misunderstanding of him. I've met him. He's exceptionally eloquent, very polite, and deeply in love with his wife. How could someone with love in his heart be the kind of person you're describing?" Yu Chi Huaiyang glared coldly.

"Alright, even so, how do you know they'd be willing to take Rufeng as their apprentice?" In short, Yuchi Song simply didn't want Rufeng to leave.

"Of course I said that because I was confident. I helped him back then, so he promised me a favor: teaching Rufeng is a piece of cake." Yu Chi Huaiyang said with a hint of pride.

Ru Feng, who had been listening intently, became incredibly excited when he learned how powerful Ru Xue's Heartless Sword was. His eyes lit up with a frightening light, which at least startled Ru Xue.

"Grandpa, you go and contact the Ruthless Sword. I'll talk to Father and Mother."

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Pine Forest Courtyard

"Dad, Mom, if I stay at home, I'll definitely keep causing trouble, and what happened today might happen again. Most importantly, I'm a girl, and as I grow up, my female characteristics will become more and more obvious. Aren't you afraid of being discovered? There are no secrets that stay hidden forever! But if I go out and come back in eight or ten years, I'll be all grown up by then. When I return, I can disguise myself, and no one will know I'm a girl." Ru Feng paused, took a sip of water, and noticed her parents' good reaction; they were thinking it over.

"Besides, if I become highly skilled, no one will be able to bully me in the future, even if I disguise myself as a man." Most importantly, Ru Feng was tired of staying at the Yu Chi Manor. Her grandfather wouldn't let her leave, so she wanted to escape on her own. She was too young before, but now she's six and can take care of herself, which is why she suggested finding a master.

After much persuasion from Ru Feng, Yu Chi Song and Lin Yi Lan finally reluctantly agreed.

So, Ru Feng prepared to leave home to learn a trade!

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Chapter 013 Master

Although they agreed, Lin Yilan still shed tears when she left, and Yu Chisong was also filled with reluctance.

Outside the gate of the Yuchi family's house, a chorus of weeping filled the air, startling passersby and drawing their attention; even stray dogs avoided the area.

"Mother, sister, please stop crying. It's not like I'm never coming back. I'm just going to learn a skill." Ru Feng was wearing a gray cloth robe and a light green hat. She had a matching bundle slung over her back, which contained a few changes of clothes and some valuables. She had basically taken a third of the Yu Chi family's belongings. She couldn't just give it up; her mother's tears were enough to drown her.

“But I’ll be away for at least a few years. How can I bear to leave you? You’re a piece of my own flesh and blood!” Lin Yilan kept wiping away her tears with a handkerchief, while Yu Chisong gently patted her back.

Ru Feng felt a chill and quickly whispered, "Mother, Father, after I leave, you can be intimate with each other without having to worry about me anymore. You should be happy."

Lin Yilan paused in her sobs, looking at Rufeng in surprise: "What nonsense are you talking about? You're just a child, how dare you say such things to your mother! What have you learned all these years!" Her face involuntarily turned red.

Good, at least he's stopped crying. I quickly went to comfort the other one.