Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 188

The maid delivered the pound tea cakes, neatly wrapped. Yang Jiyan didn’t touch them and instead instructed the maid to place them on the stone table. “If that’s not enough, I’ll have the maids pick more,” she said.

“No need to trouble yourself, this is more than enough,” Yu Jiao replied, setting down her tea cup and glancing up at the osmanthus tree in full bloom.

The three of them sat in silence for a while, unable to find much to say. Yang Jiyan’s eyes wandered over Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling’s clothing. With one look, she recognized the outfits as coming from the city’s renowned Embroidery Pavilion. “The seamstresses at the Embroidery Pavilion are known for their exquisite craftsmanship,” she said. “You two have good taste, buying their clothes so soon after arriving in town.”

Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling had never heard of the Embroidery Pavilion, but since Miss Yang recognized the craftsmanship immediately, they figured it must be quite famous in Qingzhou.

Yu Fuling tugged uncomfortably at her outfit. She was used to rough cloth and hadn’t quite adapted to wearing fine garments like these. It still felt to her like she was wearing something that didn’t belong.

Yang Jiyan continued, “The Embroidery Pavilion is especially famous for their double-sided embroidery. My mother once invited a seamstress from there to teach me needlework. This handkerchief was embroidered by me.” She smiled proudly, pulling a handkerchief from her sleeve. One side depicted a lotus bud about to bloom, the other a fully opened flower. She chuckled lightly, “Did you ladies buy your clothes for the double-sided embroidery as well?”

It was Yu Fuling’s first time seeing double-sided embroidery. The designs were perfectly symmetrical on both sides, with such meticulous detail that not a single backstitch could be seen. The lotus flowers looked incredibly lifelike. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “I didn’t know such a skill even existed, this is the first time I’ve seen it!”

As she spoke, she lifted her skirt slightly to inspect the embroidery, curious to see if hers was double-sided too.

Yang Jiyan frowned slightly at the improper gesture, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes. Her tone carried a touch of mockery. “So you don’t even know what double-sided embroidery is?”

The embroidery on Yu Fuling’s skirt clearly wasn’t double-sided. She looked a bit embarrassed, her face reddening as she smoothed her skirt back down.

Yu Jiao responded calmly, “We only arrived in Qingzhou two days ago and haven’t heard of the Embroidery Pavilion before. The clothes were a gift from Third Madam Mu. We come from a small town, we’ve never even heard of double-sided embroidery.”

Yang Jiyan didn’t respond. She held her handkerchief delicately, pinky slightly raised, her expression aloof and haughty. She clearly had no further interest in chatting.

Two country girls who didn’t even know what double-sided embroidery was, how could they possibly understand the latest cosmetics, dresses, or hair accessories trending in Qingzhou? Trying to converse with them was pointless.

Her mother had really given her a worthless task. These girls were better off being accompanied by a maid, not someone like her. Yang Jiyan didn’t believe for a second that Yu Jiao could cure her mother’s illness.

In her past life, there had been no so-called country girl doctor. Her mother’s illness had never been cured. After her father’s promotion and their move to the capital, her mother had passed away in the thirteenth year of Emperor Mingzheng’s reign.

The memory left Yang Jiyan feeling stifled. She had no desire to continue sitting with Yu Jiao and her sister. She turned to a maid nearby, “Has Brother Xu woken up yet?”

The maid, Yang Jiyan’s trusted personal servant, understood her mistress well. “The young master just woke up,” she replied cleverly. “His nurse said he’s been crying and asking for you.”

Yang Jiyan stood, back straight and poised. Looking down at Yu Jiao and her sister, she offered a polite smile. “I’m terribly sorry. My little brother is still young and gets upset if I’m not around, I’d better go check on him.”

“Please don’t worry, Miss Yang,” Yu Jiao said, standing as well. “We’ve sat for a while and enjoyed the osmanthus flowers. We won’t keep you.”

Yu Fuling quickly rose too.

“In that case, I’ll have someone escort you to my mother’s courtyard,” Yang Jiyan said, beckoning a young maid to guide them.

“Don’t forget the osmanthus tea,” she added, pointing at the package on the stone table.

The little maid picked up the tea and led Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling away.

Yang Jiyan watched their retreating backs, her smile fading and eyes glinting coldly. The Mu family was clearly trying to curry favor with the Yangs, yet they brought in two country bumpkin imposters? Did they think the Yang family was blind?

She waved her personal maid over and whispered a few words into her ear. The maid looked hesitant. “Miss, isn’t that… a bit too much? The West Garden is housing an important guest. Master has forbidden anyone from disturbing them. If something goes wrong, he’ll be furious.”

“What are you afraid of?” Yang Jiyan sneered. “If anything happens, it won’t be blamed on you. Just say those two insisted on going to the West Garden. Push all the blame onto them.”

The maid had no choice but to comply. “Understood.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Yang Jiyan said sharply.

The maid quickly left the courtyard to catch up with Yu Jiao’s group.

She intercepted them in front of the East Wing and turned to the young maid leading them. “Miss suddenly wants some cloud pastries from town. Once you’ve escorted the ladies, stop by the gatehouse and let them know.”

The young maid, Xiaodie, was puzzled. Her mistress didn’t usually like cloud pastries. Still, she curtsied to Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling and stepped aside to ask the senior maid, “Which shop does Miss want the pastries from, Sister Huamei?”

Huamei glanced at Yu Jiao and her sister, then leaned in to whisper Yang Jiyan’s instructions.

Xiaodie’s eyes widened in fear, she glanced nervously at the two guests. “Sister Huamei, if Master finds out, he’ll beat me to death.”

“Miss will protect you. But if you fail her, she’ll sell you off,” Huamei warned in a low voice.

Xiaodie trembled. Not long ago, after recovering from a high fever, Miss had sold several maids from the courtyard, and not just anywhere, but to the most degrading of brothels. Xiaodie didn’t want to end up like that. She could only nod in agreement.

Huamei smiled and said aloud for show, “Don’t get the wrong kind, Miss only likes the ones from Xiangyun Zhai.”

Xiaodie muttered a faint reply and returned to Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling’s side. Then, with Huamei watching, she led them not toward the East but toward the West Garden.

Yu Jiao had a sharp sense of direction. Likely because she’d spent her childhood living on a mountain with her grandfather and often ventured out alone to gather herbs, she was good at remembering paths. She noticed the girl was taking a different route than before but assumed the maid was simply in a hurry to fetch the pastries and had chosen a shortcut, so she said nothing.

They emerged from a narrow alley into a garden filled with blooming flowers and greenery. Passing through an arched gate, they entered a bamboo grove. The late summer cicadas chirped intermittently from the bamboo branches above, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Yu Jiao noticed they still hadn’t arrived at Madam Yang’s courtyard and began to feel suspicious. This so-called shortcut seemed longer than their original route. She was about to call out to the maid when faint voices echoed from deeper within the bamboo grove.