Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 108

After hearing everything, Yu Jinshu found Yu Jinyan’s words from earlier increasingly reasonable. He said, “Mother, you’ve misunderstood. It’s likely that Old Master He was cured by Meng Yujiao. Otherwise, why would the He family send her back? After learning what happened at home, Jinyan and I went to the He residence to investigate.”

“What did you find out?” Madam Zhao asked curiously.

The He family was one of the wealthiest households in the city, and it didn’t take much effort for Yu Jinshu and Yu Jinyan to locate their gates. When Zhou Shitou claimed that Yu Ruhai had caused someone’s death, Yu Jinshu went up and spoke to the He family gatekeeper, pretending to be from the coffin shop in the east of the city. He said he’d just finished crafting a fine coffin and asked if the He family would like to buy it for their old master.

The He family’s gatekeeper beat him with a stick and cursed him loudly, saying that it was Yu Jinshu’s own family who had someone die, while their own Old Master He was alive and well, sure to live a long life. He drove him off, calling him bad luck for coming to their door.

Yu Jinshu was chased off, dirty and bruised, after taking several hits.

After hearing this, Madam Zhao’s eyes gleamed with insight. “So according to you, the He family released Meng Yujiao because Old Master He recovered. The He family won’t come looking for trouble anymore?”

At the same time, in the east wing, Yu Jinyan was also sharing what they’d learned at the He residence with Yu Ruhai.

Calm and thoughtful, he analyzed the situation for his grandfather, “If the He family let Meng Yujiao return, she must have cured Old Master He. They’re unlikely to cause more trouble.”

Yu Ruhai felt much more at ease after hearing this, but still asked suspiciously, “But I asked Meng Yujiao directly, and she told me Old Master He hadn’t recovered. If she really cured him, why would she lie?”

Yu Jinyan couldn’t guess Meng Yujiao’s reasons either. Seeing how his grandfather had aged noticeably over just a few days from all the stress, he spoke gently, “If she hadn’t cured Old Master He, the He family would never have let her go so easily. If they wanted to cause trouble, they would’ve come knocking right after she returned.”

Yu Ruhai agreed that it made sense and felt greatly reassured, regaining some of his spirit.

Yu Jinyan added, “Grandfather, Grandmother, you mustn’t make things difficult for Meng Yujiao anymore. If she really did cure Old Master He, our Yu family might need to rely on her in the future.”

Yu Jinyan saw things clearly, after the He family’s dramatic visit, Yu Ruhai’s reputation was ruined. It was unlikely that anyone would seek him for treatment again.

Yu Ruhai felt both frustrated and depressed. He had just loudly declared that Meng Yujiao would be driven out of the Yu family, fully severing ties with her. Now that he knew the truth, he was filled with regret, not for his actions, but for being misled by Yujiao’s silence about the He family’s true situation, which caused him to jump to the wrong conclusion.

After Jinyan’s persuasion, both Yu Ruhai and his wife, Old Madam Yu, finally calmed down. That evening, neither of them appeared at the dinner table. Instead, Madam Zhao brought their meals to their room.

Yu Hanshan sat at the table but didn’t utter a word, completely different from the arrogant man who had threatened Meng Yujiao with a broom earlier that day.

The meal passed quietly. After helping Madam Song wash the dishes, Meng Yujiao went to Yu Qizhe’s room to practice calligraphy. She hadn’t written anything while staying at the He residence, and the habit made her itch to pick up the brush again.

Seeing that Yu Qizhe had laid out all the fine xuan paper on the desk for her, it was obvious he intended it for her use. Holding the brush, Yu Jiao casually remarked, “From now on, you should use the good paper too. I earn enough from consultations to buy plenty of paper, ink, and brushes.”

Yu Qizhe raised his brows slightly, his peach blossom eyes glittering with amusement as he teased, “Alright. Since you treat me with such deep affection, once I pass the imperial exams, I swear I won’t be another Chen Shimei. I won’t abandon the wife who stood by me through poverty.”

Yu Jiao hadn’t expected such a bold joke and was caught off guard. Her face reddened slightly as she glared at him with her soft, almond-shaped eyes. “Who’s your ‘wife of hard times’? When you pass the exams, go marry your Chen Rou girl. I won’t stand in your way.”

Hearing Chen Rou’s name didn’t stir Yu Qizhe in the slightest. His gaze burned as he stared at Yujiao. “We may not have formally wed, but we’ve shared a bed. From now on, you are my wife.”

The word wife rolled off his tongue with such tenderness and passion that Yu Jiao’s ears turned red. She glared at him shyly, her moist almond eyes full of emotion, making anyone who looked at her go soft inside.

Before she could respond, Yu Qizhe suddenly thought of the two annoying guys from the third branch and added, “Since you’re my wife, you shouldn’t get too close to other men. From now on, don’t pay any more attention to Jinyan or Zhizhou.”

Yu Jiao’s face flushed even deeper. “You’re not even asleep yet, and you’re already dreaming? My husband must be someone I truly love, mutual affection is the only foundation for a real marriage.”

Yu Qizhe went silent. His long peach blossom eyes quietly studied her for a moment, no longer joking. He held the book in his hands, his thoughts in turmoil. Am I falling for Meng Yujiao?

Impossible, Yu Qizhe told himself, stunned and distracted for a long time.

Seeing that he had quieted down, Yu Jiao bowed her head and resumed practicing calligraphy. It took quite a while for the heat in her face to fade. She rubbed her burning ears. Yu Qizhe teasing her with that handsome face of his, completely unfair!

After writing for about half an hour, she yawned a few times and, feeling sleepy, returned to her room. Yu Fuling was already asleep. Yu Jiao blew out the lamp and climbed into bed.

In the middle of the night, a chill wind carrying rain woke her. She opened her eyes to see Yu Fuling shielding the flickering lamp and heading to the window.

“Is it raining?” Yu Jiao asked.

Fuling, seeing she was awake, shut the window and sighed, “There’s been so much rain this summer. Go back to sleep. I’m just going to check whether Qizhe’s windows are closed.”

Yu Jiao, still sleepy, lay back down and quickly drifted off again.

The next morning, it was still raining. Fortunately, the weather had been dry the past few days, so the villagers had already harvested their wheat. The rain now saved them trouble when it came time to plant again, the fields wouldn’t be too dry.

Yu Jiao planned to go up the mountain again to dig for medicinal herbs. After breakfast, she made herself some pancakes in the kitchen and found an umbrella.

When Madam Song realized she was planning to venture into the mountains again despite the rain, she wanted Yu Zhixing to go with her. But the little girl Jie Geng was crying and clinging tightly to Yu Zhixing’s neck, refusing to let go or let anyone else hold her. He couldn’t get away.

Yu Qiaoshan volunteered to go with Yu Jiao, but she refused. She noticed that Madam Zhang looked a bit displeased, it wasn’t really appropriate to go out in this heavy rain. Besides, she always had to trouble the first household when she went to the mountains, and she was starting to feel guilty about it.

Worried about her safety, Yu Mengshan gave her a hatchet and tucked it into her herb basket in case she encountered wild animals.

After Yu Jiao left the courtyard with the basket on her back, Yu Qizhe stuffed a pillow under his blanket to make it look like he was still sleeping. Taking advantage of the family’s distraction, he quietly snuck out to follow her.