Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 189

A middle-aged man exclaimed, “His Majesty is being foolish, how could he trust Ji Wudao’s slander? Now he wants to go as far as to utterly destroy General Xiao and label him a traitor. Is this not enough to chill the hearts of loyal men?”

A rough, booming voice followed, “That dog Ji Wudao is cozying up to Shen Tian, framing me just to win the Emperor’s favor and take control of the troops in Xuanfu. But the Xuanfu army was trained from scratch by me, Xiao Ning. Does he think taking over command will be that easy?”

Yu Jiao peered carefully through a gap in the bamboo grove. A red pavilion lay nestled amidst the green stalks. Four people sat inside. One was broad and imposing; another wore the court attire of a provincial governor, likely Governor Yang.

The remaining two young men were dressed in fine clothes. One sat with his back to her, clad in a crimson-purple robe, making it hard to see his face. The other wore a light-blue cross-collared long robe, tall and slender, with a sheep-fat jade pendant at his waist. He was refined, elegant, and strikingly handsome.

The refined man spoke, “General Xiao’s hand… is it truly beyond recovery, unable to wield the Thousand Cavalry Lance again?”

“My hand is useless now,” replied the broad man in his rough voice. “Tonight, I’ll leave Qingzhou. The Emperor has ordered strict security at every city gate and is hunting me down. I don’t want to implicate you, Brother Yuanchen. Young Master Liu, Little Marquis Gu, both of you should return to the capital swiftly, lest others grow suspicious.”

Yu Jiao’s heart sank upon hearing this. She recalled the intense inspection at the Qingzhou city gates. Now it made sense, the Yang family was harboring a wanted criminal of the court. And she and Yu Fuling had stumbled right into it.

Everyone in that pavilion was someone with significant power and status, not people she could afford to provoke. Her instincts told her to quietly pull Yu Fuling away.

But at that moment, the maidservant Xiaodie, who had been guiding them through the western gardens, slipped quietly outside the archway. She bit her tongue and raised her voice in mock alarm, “Miss Yu! What are you doing here? I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Yu Jiao’s body jolted, her eyes sharpening with a chill as she turned toward the girl. Yu Fuling, too, looked flustered. She grabbed Yu Jiao’s arm, unsure of what to do. She hadn’t understood what was being discussed in the bamboo grove, but she knew enough to realize that eavesdropping on the host’s private conversation was a serious breach of propriety.

Footsteps sounded from within the bamboo. 

“Who’s there?” Someone called out sharply.

The little maid immediately dropped to her knees.

Governor Yang and the two young men emerged from the depths of the bamboo grove.

“What’s going on? Didn’t I order that no one is to enter the west garden?” Governor Yang’s face darkened as he looked at the unfamiliar Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling.

Still trembling on her knees, the maid stammered, “Master, these two are the female physicians brought by Third Madam Mu to treat the Lady. Miss ordered me to lead them to the Lady’s courtyard. But just now, Sister Huamei said that the Miss’s handkerchief was missing and told me to look for it along the way. I looked away for just a moment and… and somehow, they ended up in the west garden…”

“You lie! You brought us here yourself!” Yu Fuling shouted, her face red with anger. “When did your Miss ask you to look for her handkerchief? A maid came earlier with a message for you to buy rice cakes from the gatekeeper. Why are you slandering us?”

Yang Yuancheng frowned. His Yan-jie had never liked rice cakes.

The maid pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and held it up. “Master, I just found the handkerchief, this proves my words! Miss can confirm it too. Why would I falsely accuse two physicians without reason?”

Yu Jiao recognized it immediately, it was the same double-sided water lily handkerchief Yang Jiyan had shown them earlier. Now everything made sense. This maid had clearly been acting on Yang Jiyan’s orders, deliberately setting a trap for them.

Yu Fuling was still arguing. “That handkerchief was in your Miss’s hands just moments ago! She even showed us the embroidery in the courtyard. How could it end up with you?”

The man in the crimson-purple robe standing beside Yang Yuancheng suddenly frowned with impatience. He had striking, bold features, thick brows, star-like eyes, and a natural air of arrogance and nobility. He looked down at them with a smirk and spoke coldly, “You heard too much. Kill them.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than he lunged forward, reaching for Yu Fuling.

Yu Fuling paled in terror and let out a scream. Yu Jiao reacted quickly, shielding her. In the next instant, a pair of icy hands closed around Yu Jiao’s neck, tightening without mercy.

The pressure on her throat was unbearable. She instinctively clawed at the man’s hands, trying to pry them off, but his grip was far too strong, her struggles were like a mayfly shaking a tree, utterly futile.

Yu Fuling shrieked and hurled herself at the man, pounding on him with her fists. “Let go! Let her go!”

Yu Jiao’s vision blurred as oxygen slipped away. The suffocating darkness felt horrifyingly familiar. The blackness pulled her under, and for a fleeting moment, she thought, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to just give up and die like this.

Yu Fuling saw Yu Jiao’s face flush crimson from lack of air. She was nearly unconscious. Desperate, she bit down hard on the man’s hand.

Her teeth sank deep, drawing blood.

The man flinched in pain and slackened his grip. He kicked Yu Fuling away with force and prepared to twist Yu Jiao’s slender neck, but a cool, composed voice cut through the air, “Gu Yun, stop.”

The man, Gu Yun, snorted but obeyed, relaxing his grip.

Yu Jiao collapsed to the ground, her entire body weak. Her throat ached terribly, and she clutched it as she coughed violently, tears springing to her eyes as she gasped for breath.

Yu Fuling, having been kicked in the stomach, clutched her belly in pain. Her face was ghostly pale as she crawled to Yu Jiao’s side, sobbing uncontrollably, “Yu Jiao! Are you okay?”

Yu Jiao’s coughing gradually subsided. She shook her head and raised her face, eyes frosty with defiance as she glared at Gu Yun.

Gu Yun met her glare, sneering down at her as if she were an insect. “You have a death wish, do you?”

The refined man, who had stopped him earlier, glanced at Gu Yun in disapproval. “Don’t kill them.”

Gu Yun frowned. “Ziqi, you’re too softhearted. They clearly heard about General Xiao’s identity. If word spreads, it’ll bring endless trouble.” He glanced down at the bite mark on his hand, anger flaring again as he glared at the two girls.

The man addressed as Ziqi looked calmly at Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling. “Who sent you? If you confess, I’ll ensure your lives are spared.”

Yu Jiao felt cold to her core, her limbs numb. Never before had the cruelty of this world felt so real. If they couldn’t escape, she and Yu Fuling would surely die here.

She closed her eyes for a moment, forcing herself to stay calm. Then she said clearly, “We are sisters brought from the countryside by Second Master Mu of the Mu family to treat Lady Yang. We are not spies. As for why the young lady’s maid lured us here and falsely accused us, we truly don’t know. If you doubt us, you can summon Third Madam Mu to confirm our story.”