Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 145

From another perspective, at least he wasn’t the type of man who flirted around.

“It’s all Grandfather’s fault, my good future sister-in-law ended up becoming my sister instead,” Yu Fuling grumbled, clearly displeased.

Yu Jiao chuckled softly. Even if things had been different, she wouldn’t have become Yu Qizhe’s wife. The whole idea of “parental orders and matchmaker’s words” held no weight with her. If she were ever to marry, it would be for love, true love.

“Where’s the fabric shop in town?” Yu Jiao asked aloud.

The question quickly pulled Yu Fuling’s attention away. “It’s on Nuanhuai Street, just past the intersection. Are you planning to buy fabric?”

Yu Jiao nodded and pulled out the torn fifty-tael banknote from her sleeve. “First, let’s stop by the money house to exchange this.”

“This can still be used?” Yu Fuling was surprised. She had never used a banknote before and didn’t know a torn one could still be valid.

“I’m not sure either, but it’s worth a try,” Yu Jiao replied. Since banknotes were meant for convenience, it stood to reason that some might get damaged. Surely, she wasn’t the first person to accidentally tear one.

Yu Qizhe gave them a definitive answer. “I read in a book that damaged notes can be exchanged.”

Most farming folk lived their whole lives without ever seeing a banknote, silver coins were the most they’d save. It wasn’t just Yu Fuling who assumed a torn note was worthless; the rest of the Yu family thought the same. That’s why Yu Hanshan had panicked when he saw Yu Jiao tear it.

Feeling like she’d learned something new, Yu Fuling whispered, “If it does work, let’s not mention this to third uncle or grandmother.”

Yu Jiao nodded in agreement.

The three of them headed to the money house. Yu Jiao handed the banknote to the clerk and explained, “I accidentally tore this note. Can it still be exchanged?”

The clerk took the note, examined the small tear, and seeing it wasn’t seriously damaged, nodded and asked, “Would the young lady like to exchange it for silver?”

Yu Jiao still had over twenty taels of silver on hand, and she wasn’t eager to carry heavy silver ingots. So she replied, “No, I’d prefer to keep it deposited here.”

The clerk filled out a receipt, had her press a red ink fingerprint on it, and then handed her a brand new banknote.

After safely storing the new note, the three of them went to the fabric shop on Nuanhuai Street. Inside, bolts of cloth in all sorts of colors and patterns dazzled Yu Fuling’s eyes.

At home, any new clothes always went to the boys first. The daughters were rarely considered. Yu Fuling could only remember getting a new outfit once when she was little, during the New Year, when her mother, Madam Song, still had some dowry money left and reluctantly used it to make her something nice.

But that dowry money had long since been spent.

Yu Jiao wasn’t familiar with how much fabric was needed for clothing, so she directly asked the clerk, “Is one bolt enough for a whole outfit?”

The clerk smiled as he explained, “A single bolt is enough to make a full set of clothing for an adult man.”

With that clarified, Yu Jiao turned to Yu Fuling and Yu Qizhe. “Pick two bolts each in whatever patterns you like. Oh, and Fuling-jie, pick one each for Auntie Song and Uncle Mengshan too.”

Yu Fuling was stunned by her generous tone. She gaped in disbelief. “Yu Jiao… are you saying you’re buying fabric for me, our little brother, and our parents too?”

Yu Jiao nodded with a smile. “Yes. I think everyone at home could use some new clothes.”

Yu Fuling was overjoyed but also a bit conflicted. She was touched by Yu Jiao’s thoughtfulness, but she knew that Yu Jiao had earned her money herself. While the idea of new clothes was wonderful, spending so freely made Fuling uneasy.

She quickly took Yu Jiao’s hand. “No need! Just get something for yourself. We all have clothes to wear.”

“But now I’m also Uncle Mengshan and Auntie Song’s daughter. I can’t wear new clothes while they go without. This is me showing filial piety, you’re not allowed to interfere.” Yu Jiao smiled, knowing Fuling’s sensible nature. 

“You call me sister, don’t treat me like an outsider. Third aunt just made new clothes for Yu Jinshu and Yu Jinyan. Wu-ge is about to take the provincial exam, he should also look presentable. Don’t be shy. If you really feel bad, just help me make the clothes, you know my needlework is terrible.”

Hearing that, Yu Fuling finally stopped objecting, though she still said, “One bolt is enough for me.”

Yu Jiao let her have her way and then turned to Yu Qizhe. “You pick two bolts you like.”

Yu Qizhe didn’t protest like Fuling. He wasn’t picky, being a man, he didn’t have a keen eye for patterns or colors. He pointed at a bolt of dark crow-blue fabric. “This one.”

Yu Jiao picked out two bolts for herself, one in lake-blue and the other in a honey shade with a cloud pattern. Fuling chose a smokey-pink tone. Together, they picked a pine-brown fabric for Uncle Mengshan and a tea-colored one for Madam Song.

The clerk, who had assumed they were just modest country folk, was taken aback by the big purchase and immediately lit up with a flattering smile. “Would the young lady like a carriage arranged to send this home?”

It would be a pain to carry so many bolts of fabric back themselves. Yu Jiao was about to say yes when Fuling, ever frugal, whispered, “We can carry it. Hiring a carriage will cost extra.”

Yu Jiao smiled. “No way, I’m delicate, I can’t be overworked.”

She turned to the clerk. “Please arrange for a carriage.”

The clerk happily went outside to find one. Just as he left, Yu Jiao picked out one more bolt of bamboo-green fabric. “I’ll take this one too.”

Fuling looked at her, confused. “Why another one? We’ve already got so much…”

“Yu Zhizhou is also taking the exam. For Eldest Uncle’s sake, I’ll get this for him too.” They’d leaned on Eldest Uncle’s household a lot during their herb gathering trips up the mountain. Yu Jiao didn’t think much of Yu Zhizhou personally, but for the sake of the rest of the family, she included him.

Fuling hugged Yu Jiao’s arm and said sincerely, “You’re so kind! If eldest aunt finds out, she’ll be over the moon. After how smug third aunt was yesterday, eldest aunt must have been feeling pretty bitter.”

Yu Jiao smiled. She found herself liking Fuling’s affectionate gesture more than she expected.

Yu Qizhe, however, frowned. Though the current Yu Jiao was nothing like the one from the past, and he’d almost forgotten the incident where she tried to seduce Yu Jinyan, it had still happened. He didn’t like seeing her treat Yu Zhizhou and his side of the family so generously.

Seeing her cheerful smile, Yu Qizhe said nothing but kept his thoughts to himself.

Yu Jiao, unaware of his inner conflict, was thinking of how back in her original world, students preparing for exams often bought practice papers and study guides ahead of time. She turned to Yu Qizhe and asked, “Do you have enough writing supplies? Since the exam’s coming up, do you need more books?”

Hearing how fully she was thinking of him, Yu Qizhe’s heart warmed, and his earlier irritation vanished. He shook his head. “I don’t need anything else. We’ve got plenty of books at home.”