Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 206

After the two girls finished their medicine, it wasn’t long before dinnertime arrived. Yu Fuling rubbed her stomach and said, “I feel like I’ve been putting on weight lately! All we do here is eat and sleep, sleep and eat. I’m really not used to such an idle life.”

Yu Jiao chuckled. She was still young, and at that age where growing meant not worrying about gaining or losing weight.

For the past few days, Yu Fuling had been eating two bowls of rice per meal. Tonight, with effort, she limited herself to just one.

After dinner, they studied medical texts under the warm light of the lanterns. Yu Fuling, remembering her lost pouch, asked, “What if we never get it back? Was that jade your father gave you really valuable?”

Dipping her brush in ink, Yu Jiao replied in her hoarse voice, “It’s not worth much. My mother gave it to me when I last returned home. It’s more of a keepsake than anything.”

In Meng Yujiao’s memories, she held deep affection for her father, Meng Qingyun. Though their family wasn’t wealthy, he had always treated her with great love. He never let her do chores, nor had she ever worked in the fields. 

Sometimes Liu Sanniang would embroider things to sell in town to help with expenses, but Meng Qingyun never once let his daughter do the same. He had cherished and doted on her to the utmost.

If the jade pendant couldn’t be recovered, there wasn’t much to be done. Since Liu Sanniang had already gifted it to her, she likely wouldn’t ask for it back. Still, a vague sense of unease tugged at her.

Seeing Yu Jiao looking dispirited, Yu Fuling comforted her, “Who knows? Maybe Prefect Yang will find it tomorrow! I didn’t expect there to be thieves in Qingzhou, and a woman at that. That lady must have some nerve, stealing in broad daylight.”

Yu Jiao thought back to her past life. Her grandfather had taught her to always do good, but this world wasn’t so black and white. Good deeds didn’t always lead to good outcomes, and evil often went unpunished.

She had grown up following her grandfather, healing the sick and saving the dying, yet what had she received in return?

The thought of her senior brother, Fu Chuan’s, death made it hard to breathe. She set down her brush. “I’m going to sit outside for a bit.”

Noticing her expression, Yu Fuling wisely chose not to follow. Through the window, she watched Yu Jiao standing in the courtyard, head tilted up toward the full moon, her figure steeped in quiet loneliness.

The more time Yu Fuling spent with Yu Jiao, the more she realized how different she was from any girl she had ever known.

She used to admire Chen Rou deeply, perhaps even with a touch of envy. Chen Rou was beautiful, always soft-spoken and gentle. In Yu Fuling’s eyes, a proper woman should be like her, delicate and loveable.

But the longer she stayed near Yu Jiao, the more that admiration waned. Chen Rou hadn’t changed, still as lovely and tender as ever, but Yu Fuling’s perspective had shifted.

A woman didn’t need to be as beautiful or demure as Chen Rou to live a good life. Compared to fragile pretenses, she now preferred the strength in Yu Jiao’s resilience.

Yu Jiao stared up at the full moon, only then realizing the Mid-Autumn Festival was just a few days away.

In the past, she would cook up a table full of dishes for the occasion. Her grandfather and Fu Chuan would sit in the courtyard, drinking wine and enjoying her food under the moonlight. When they drank too much, neither would admit to being drunk. 

Her grandfather would test Fu Chuan on medical texts, and if he answered wrong, the old man would gleefully claim victory, boasting that even in old age, his tolerance was better.

In truth, Fu Chuan’s alcohol tolerance far surpassed the old man’s. Once her grandfather stumbled off to bed, Fu Chuan would help her clean up and sit with her on the rooftop to admire the moon.

Remembering those days, when both her grandfather and senior brother were still alive, her eyes reddened. She gave a faint, silent smile.

In the western garden of the Yang estate, Gu Yun and Liu Ziqi were still awake, seated in a small pavilion. A few small dishes and two jugs of wine sat on the stone table between them.

Liu Ziqi gazed at the moon in the distance, an amulet nestled in his palm. It was smooth and finely polished, clearly something often handled. He lightly touched the jade tassel’s green threads and sighed. “So many years have passed. I wonder if Sujian still remembers me as her brother.”

Gu Yun lifted his wine cup, took a sip, and looked at the amulet in Liu Ziqi’s hand. “How could she forget? Sujian was always clever as a child, and you two were so close. There’s no way she would forget you.”

Liu Ziqi gave a bitter smile, staring into his cup. “You didn’t recognize me either. So much has changed. If even you couldn’t tell it was me, how could she?”

“But you’re still you,” Gu Yun said quietly. “Not being recognized may be for the best, it lets you keep on living.”

“Sometimes I wonder if staying alive like this even means anything.” Liu Ziqi took a long drink, bitterness lingering on his tongue. His life had been bought with the lives of many others. To even ask such a question, he knew he had no right.

Gu Yun understood his pain. He stood and patted Liu Ziqi’s shoulder, then leaned against the wooden post. “I heard the Emperor is planning to use the silver intended for dredging the Si River to build a Taoist temple. That’s why the funds for the dredging still haven’t been approved. It’s been raining heavily in the north this year, if the ministers can’t convince His Majesty to release the funds, when the flood season comes and the rivers overflow, the people in the north will suffer immensely.”

Liu Ziqi tucked the amulet away and said calmly, “My father has submitted multiple memorials, all blocked by Cheng Ying. Shen Tian is working hard to curry favor with him, so he’s refusing to press the issue, afraid of annoying the Emperor.”

Gu Yun sighed. “Grand Secretary Liu really has it hard. Most of the Inner Cabinet is Shen Tian’s people. If the Emperor truly lets his own desires override the lives of countless citizens and allows a flood to devastate the north, it would shake the foundation of the nation itself. As they say, ‘When the people complain and the heavens change, it may mark the beginning of opportunity.’”

“Watch your words.” Liu Ziqi’s expression darkened as he warned in a low voice.

Gu Yun glanced around and said no more on the matter. “Must’ve had too much to drink. I’m going to relieve myself. Tomorrow, I still need to watch that little girl work on her lamb gut sutures. Don’t sit too long, get some rest.”

Liu Ziqi nodded. Once Gu Yun left, he finished the remaining half-jar of wine alone, then stood and walked slowly back to his room.

The next day, Yu Jiao visited the Yang estate again. Yang Yuanchun greeted her with a look of apology, explaining that the thief still hadn’t been caught and her pouch was nowhere to be found.

With the examiners about to enter seclusion for the imperial exams, today was the ceremonial banquet before the lockdown. After the banquet, the inner examiners would retreat to the restricted rear hall, while the outer examiners awaited the examinees the following day. Yang Yuanchun was swamped with responsibilities and could no longer spare time to help search for the pouch.

But before she left, he reassured her, “Miss Yu, I’ve instructed the constables to keep looking and arranged patrols in the streets day and night. If the thief strikes again, we’ll catch her, and with any luck, your pouch will be recovered as well.”

Yu Jiao already knew the chances of recovering the pouch were slim. She thanked him anyway and returned to the western garden with Yu Fuling.