Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 18

Madam Song gathered the dirty clothes that the family had changed out of. Yu Jiao followed behind her, carrying a wooden basin, as they headed to the river at the edge of the village to do the laundry.

The river flowed down from the mountains. The water was crystal clear and clean, you could even see schools of fish playing at the bottom.

Madam Song found a flat stone that jutted out from the river and placed the clothes basket down beside it. She squatted on the stone and began scrubbing the clothes.

Yu Jiao, holding her own dirty clothes, squatted down next to her and started washing too.

As Madam Song watched the quiet and obedient girl at her side, she couldn’t help but feel a bit conflicted. When the girl was calm and well-behaved, she had a gentle presence. But ever since that spat over hot water with the third branch, it was clear this young girl had a stubborn streak.

“Meng girl, how old were you when you returned to Changkui?” Madam Song asked casually.

Yu Jiao thought for a moment. The original host didn’t remember much about her early childhood, those memories were fuzzy at best. But it seemed she returned to Mengjia Village around the age of seven or eight.

“Only seven or eight? It’s really impressive you still remember so much medical knowledge from back then. You’re a clever child,” Madam Song praised with a smile.

Yu Jiao smiled faintly. “My master was very strict. Every day, he made me memorize lots of medical texts and identify countless herbs. If I failed to recite the books or misidentified a plant, I was punished.”

Yu Jiao’s father had died young. Since she was little, her grandfather had raised her as the heir to the Yu family’s medical legacy. He was always rigorous, almost harsh, when it came to medical training. 

When it came to punishment, he had a whole repertoire of tricks. Every time, it was her senior brother who had to come to her rescue. Thinking of her grandfather, Yu Jiao felt a warmth rise in her eyes.

“You must’ve endured a lot growing up studying medicine, huh? But your master probably meant well, being so strict. Otherwise, how would you have learned so much at such a young age?” Madam Song said gently.

Yu Jiao nodded. Her grandfather had only been harsh when it came to medicine. Otherwise, he’d always doted on her dearly.

Before they could finish washing the clothes, Yu Fuling came over.

“Meng Yujiao, Grandpa’s calling you back,” Yu Fuling said curtly, as if speaking to Yu Jiao was beneath her.

Madam Song, worried that Madam Zhao or Old Madam Yu had been gossiping in front of the old man and that he was about to scold Yu Jiao, asked, “What does your grandfather want with the girl?”

Yu Fuling replied, “Someone from Zhang Village came to see a doctor. Grandpa told me to come get her.”

Hearing that a patient had come, Madam Song quickly said, “Meng girl, go on home then.”

Yu Jiao rinsed her hands in the river and stood up, following Yu Fuling back to the village.

Along the way, Yu Fuling stole glances at Yu Jiao. Yu Jiao remained quiet the whole time, and since Fuling didn’t speak, she didn’t see the need to say anything either.

Just as they were approaching the village, Yu Fuling couldn’t hold it in anymore and said sharply, trying to sound fierce, “Hey! Meng Yujiao, even if Grandpa favors you now, if you ever bully my brother again and humiliate him, you’re dead meat!”

The day Yu Jiao had made a scene, Yu Fuling, still unmarried, had been sent back to her maternal grandparents’ home by Madam Song. Now that she was back and saw Yu Jiao still comfortably living in the household, she had pestered Yu Mengshan for the full story. Only then did she learn that Yu Jiao had earned the old man’s favor because she could practice medicine.

Yu Fuling had always been protective of her frail younger brother, and she held strong opinions about the disgrace Yu Jiao had brought upon him.

Seeing Fuling puffing herself up like a cat ready to pounce, Yu Jiao couldn’t help but laugh and responded mildly, “Alright, I won’t bully him anymore.”

Yu Fuling felt like she’d just punched a pillow, she hadn’t expected Yu Jiao to be so obedient. Her stern expression faltered, and she turned her head away, refusing to say another word.

Back at the Yu family’s main hall, five or six people from Zhang Village were waiting. Word about Zhou Huai’s miraculous recovery had spread like wildfire around the village and had soon reached Zhang Village.

Zhang Village was the countryside estate of a wealthy family from the city and had quite a reputation, though not a good one. Within a ten-mile radius, they were known for being difficult to deal with.

The patient was the head of Zhang Village. His son had suffered from epilepsy for years, with frequent episodes. The story about Zhou Huai had morphed into tales of curing epilepsy by the time it reached Zhang Village, so Zhang Laosan, the village head, had come straight to the Yu household with his people.

“Doctor Yu, my boy’s got epilepsy. If you can cure it, start prescribing medicine now!” Zhang Laosan urged when he saw Yu Ruhai still taking pulses.

Yu Ruhai held the boy’s wrist, feigning calm. “Be patient.”

In reality, he was panicking. His eyes kept flicking to the door, hoping Yu Jiao would return quickly. Epilepsy was a chronic, recurring condition with complex causes. Even prescribing something to control the seizures was hard, let alone curing it completely.

Yu Ruhai couldn’t help but resent the Zhou family. If they hadn’t gone around bragging, how would Zhang Laosan have come knocking? What if Meng Yujiao couldn’t treat this either? What then? He was getting more and more anxious.

“Village Head Zhang, there’s been a misunderstanding. Zhou Huai didn’t have epilepsy, his was a case of fright-induced disorder caused by sexual overexertion. Very different from your son’s symptoms,” Yu Ruhai tried to explain.

Zhang Laosan frowned and looked down at Yu Ruhai. “So you’re saying my son can’t be treated?”

The burly men behind him all stared menacingly at Yu Ruhai. His heart nearly leapt out of his chest, he’d heard that Zhang Laosan kept thugs on his payroll for rent collection. Were these guys them?

He stammered, “N-no, it’s not that he can’t be treated… I just… need time to consider the right prescription.” Right at that moment, Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling returned. Yu Ruhai let out a breath of relief and quickly called Yu Jiao inside.

“Meng girl, this boy has epilepsy. See if there’s a treatment,” he said.

Yu Jiao looked at the boy sitting obediently in the chair. He was about eight or nine years old. She reached out to take his pulse, but her hand was suddenly blocked.

“Doctor Yu, are you messing with me? Trying to fob me off with a little girl?” Zhang Laosan said coldly.

Yu Ruhai rushed to explain, “Village Head Zhang, you don’t know, this granddaughter-in-law of mine studied under a renowned physician in the capital when she was young. Don’t let her age fool you, her medical skills are exceptional. Zhou Huai’s condition was cured by her.”

At this point, Yu Ruhai didn’t care about pride anymore. He just wanted to shove this mess entirely onto Yu Jiao.

“Never heard of a woman practicing medicine. If she can’t cure my son, don’t blame me if your whole Yu family suffers!” Zhang Laosan threatened, face full of hostility.

His son had been born late in life and was especially dear to him. Yet he’d been plagued by epilepsy, and even the best doctors in Changkui County had failed to help. His bright, well-mannered boy was being tormented daily by this illness.

Yu Jiao said nothing. She dodged Zhang Laosan’s hand and placed her fingers on the boy’s wrist. After taking his pulse, she said to him, “Open your mouth.”

The boy hesitated, looking at Zhang Laosan before slowly opening his mouth.

Yu Jiao raised a hand and gently pressed his cheeks. “Open wider.”

The boy’s throat twitched awkwardly, and he began to cough.

Yu Jiao said calmly, “Do you have a handkerchief? Have him spit the phlegm into it.”