Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 149

After the cremation, Lu Jin stayed to personally witness Master Huijue’s ashes being respectfully collected and placed in the pagoda cemetery before descending the mountain, looking utterly exhausted.

By the time he arrived in Qingyu Village, it was already noon. Upon hearing the news, Yu Qizhe felt a deep sorrow. Although Master Huijue had previously instructed that there was no need for a memorial visit, Yu Qizhe couldn’t sit still. After a quick word with Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling, he hurriedly left home with Lu Jin to return to Fahua Temple.

Noticing Yu Qizhe’s unusual expression, Yu Jiao guessed that Master Huijue might have passed and couldn’t help but feel worried for him.

The maize in the fields hadn’t been fully planted yet. The entire first and second branches of the family had gone out early to work the fields. Yu Hanshan stayed home to slaughter a pig, which he took to the market to sell. 

To avoid asking Yu Qiaoshan for help and giving the first branch another excuse to demand wages, he specifically asked some close friends to assist him and didn’t bother anyone in the family.

Madam Zhao used the excuse of making new clothes for Yu Jinshu and Yu Jinyan to stay home and avoid fieldwork. Everyone, of course, saw through her excuse. They all knew Madam Zhao wasn’t cut out for hard labor, so no one made a fuss about it.

Since they were using a seed drill, planting was much easier and didn’t require many hands. The couples from the first and second branches took turns handling the work, and by midday, Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling were sent back home.

Seeing Madam Zhao working on clothes, Yu Fuling also brought out some newly purchased fabric and pulled Yu Jiao along to help with cutting.

Yu Jiao had no talent for needlework and couldn’t even understand the measurements, so she just helped thread the needles.

Yu Fuling wanted to copy the Ruqun-style dresses worn by the ladies in town and make one for Yu Jiao. But Yu Jiao felt it was unnecessary, it was far too much trouble. Just thinking about the tedious stitching gave her a headache, even if she wasn’t the one sewing.

Yu Fuling was determined to make her a beautiful outfit. She saw it as her way of repaying Yu Jiao, who had bought fabric for everyone in the family. With high spirits, she focused intently on her sewing, and Yu Jiao simply let her be.

By mid-afternoon, the old lady’s youngest daughter, Yu Huangqi, arrived with her husband.

Old Madam Yu brought out all the best food from the house and sat in the room chatting with her daughter for quite a while.

“I had such terrible morning sickness earlier, couldn’t eat a thing and didn’t manage to come home to help with the wheat harvest,” said Yu Huangqi, sitting on the couch with her big belly, munching on a freshly washed melon. “Now that the fieldwork is wrapping up, Da Fu and I decided to come over. You haven’t finished planting the maize yet, have you? I’ll tell Da Fu to help out.”

As she turned to call for her husband to go work in the fields, Old Madam Yu quickly stopped her. “The couples from the first and second branches are already in the fields. There are enough hands. You and Da Fu rarely visit, how could I let my son-in-law go work?”

She turned to Meng Da Fu with a warm smile and said, “Don’t listen to this girl. Go sit with your father-in-law and have some tea.”

Meng Da Fu scratched his head and grinned, then gave Yu Huangqi a gentle warning, “Don’t get too chilled, and ease up on the fruit,” before heading outside.

Yu Huangqi rolled her eyes, grumbling to Old Madam Yu, “Honestly, it’s not like this is my first child. He’s always fussing over me like I’m made of glass.”

Old Madam Yu smiled kindly. “Da Fu just cares about you. Being extra careful never hurts.”

She had personally chosen Da Fu as a match for her youngest daughter, and over the years, he had always treated Huangqi well. Since marrying him, she hadn’t suffered any hardship.

“Where’s third brother?” Huangqi asked.

“He set up a pork stall at the crossroads in Zhengjia Village. Today’s his first day of business, so he’s probably quite busy. Who knows how it’s going,” Old Madam Yu replied.

“He’s selling pork now?” Huangqi was surprised but pleased. “So third brother’s finally starting his own business. That’s wonderful! You can’t save much just from farming. Third brother’s always been clever, if this takes off, maybe Da Fu can work with him.”

Old Madam Yu nodded with a smile. Looking at her daughter’s round belly, she grew a bit concerned. “Why is your belly so big this time? It doesn’t look like you’re seven months along, it looks like you’re about to give birth. Did you see a doctor?”

Huangqi looked down and touched her stomach. “I don’t know what’s going on. I had terrible morning sickness before, but I didn’t lose any weight. This pregnancy does feel heavier than before. I get exhausted even with the slightest movement. Da Fu did have the doctor check my pulse, but he didn’t say anything was wrong.”

“If the doctor says everything’s fine, then don’t worry,” Old Madam Yu said, smiling. “Maybe you’ve got twins in there.”

“No way. If it were twins, the doctor would’ve told me,” Huangqi replied, already tired from sitting for a while. She pulled a pillow from the couch, propped it behind her, and lay back while chatting.

Old Madam Yu added a blanket behind her back and said, “How about letting your father check your pulse?”

Huangqi yawned lazily. “Don’t worry, mom. I already gave birth to Da Ya. If something were wrong, I would’ve noticed. I’ll let Dad check when we leave.”

Old Madam Yu got up and pulled a tightly wrapped handkerchief from the corner of a cabinet, took out two taels of silver, and pressed them into Huangqi’s hand. “Some private savings I’ve stashed away, take it. Once you give birth, ask Da Fu to buy you some good food to nourish yourself.”

Huangqi tried to refuse. “Jinshu and Jinyan’s schooling costs a lot. You should save it for them. Da Fu has always been generous with me, and my mother-in-law already said she’d slaughter the chickens at home to help me recover after I give birth.”

“Just take it. I have money. The household’s income has gone up recently, so we’re not worried about tuition anymore,” Old Madam Yu said firmly, pushing the silver into her daughter’s hand.

Hearing that, Huangqi finally accepted the money. Her mother had given her silver in the past, but never this much. Surprised, she asked, “Did dad strike it rich from treating patients?”

“Your father doesn’t see patients anymore,” Old Madam Yu said, unsure how to explain. After all, the family’s recent influx of income had come from Meng Yujiao treating patients.

“He stopped seeing patients?” Huangqi was shocked.

Old Madam Yu nodded and slowly began recounting everything that had happened recently, from Yujiao climbing into Jinyan’s bed, to the family’s changes.

The once-tired Huangqi was now wide awake, eyes wide in disbelief. “Wait, mom, are you saying this is our Meng Yujiao? The girl I arranged for Wulang as a bride to ward off bad luck?”

Old Madam Yu nodded.

“She actually knows medicine? How come I’ve never heard anyone mention it before?” Back when the old man wanted to arrange a marriage to drive off bad luck for Yu Qizhe, none of the nearby villagers were willing to marry their daughters into the Yu family after hearing about his condition. That’s when the idea of purchasing a bride came up.

In Mengjia Village, there was a widow named Madam Liu with two children, living in hardship after her husband’s death.

Huangqi had discreetly mentioned the Yu family’s intentions to Madam Liu’s eldest brother, never expecting he’d agree so quickly, take the silver, and let her bring Meng Yujiao home.