Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 207

After a night of being smoked with yellow sulfur by shiliuhuang, the sheep intestines had turned noticeably whiter. Making catgut threads wasn’t a particularly difficult task, but it did require care and patience, it was tedious work.

Today, Gu Yun surprisingly held his tongue and didn’t say anything inappropriate to upset anyone.

After Yu Jiao finished preparing the unevenly sized catgut threads, she had the Yang household servants brew some dong quai and safflower with a medicinal stove. The threads needed to be boiled and then dried. 

Unwilling to keep going back and forth to the Yang residence, she simply took the threads back to the Mu household and, once dried, stored them neatly in a wooden box within her medical kit.

In a blink, it was already the eighth day of the month, the day for the students to enter the examination grounds. The Mu household had a carriage ready early in the morning, loaded with bedding and food prepared for several examinees.

Because Mu Nianjiu was taking part, Mu Yan personally escorted them to the examination compound.

“Little brother, do your best in the exam, but more importantly, take care of your health. Your well-being matters most.” Yu Fuling stood at the gate of the examination compound, her mind drifting back to three years ago when, after the children’s preliminary exams, Yu Qizhe’s health sharply declined. Though she hoped he’d pass, she was far more concerned about his physical condition.

Yu Qizhe nodded. “I understand, Sister.”

Yu Jiao also wanted to say a few encouraging words, but then she remembered the story of Fan Jin going mad after passing the exams and thought it was better not to put too much pressure on Yu Qizhe. 

After thinking it through, she finally said, “Just do your best and leave the rest to fate. If it doesn’t go well, it’s not the end of the world. You won’t starve just because you’re not a juren.”

Over the past two days, the second lady of the Mu household had been sending her iced pear syrup and herbal jelly. Yu Jiao’s voice had improved significantly.

Standing nearby, Yu Jinshu sneered at her words, curling his lips in disdain. “Exactly, Fifth Brother. You’ve been sick for years. Failing the exam won’t be anything to be ashamed of. Not everyone gets lucky like those flukes who make it to the top with sheer dumb luck.”

Yu Qizhe responded coolly, “Second Brother, you’d best worry about yourself. After all, one doesn’t become a jian (student official) just by offering grain and luck alone.”

Yu Jinshu’s face darkened, glaring angrily at Yu Qizhe. “You—”

Yu Jinyan quickly pulled him back. “Second Brother, just leave it. Don’t make a scene in front of everyone. We’ll be searched soon and have to turn in any hidden notes. Let’s head in.”

Yu Jinshu glanced toward Mu Nianjiu and saw that Mu Yan was chatting with him, not noticing what had just happened. He snorted and carried his luggage toward the entrance of the compound, Yu Jinyan following close behind.

Yu Zhizhou looked at Yu Jiao, then turned to Yu Qizhe. “Don’t let what Second Brother said bother you. Say what you need to say to Sister Fuling and Yu Jiao. Then hurry up and come inside.”

With that, he too walked toward the gate.

Yu Fuling glanced at Yu Jinshu’s back and muttered under her breath, “I don’t believe Second Brother will pass this time. Right, Yu Jiao?”

Yu Jiao wholeheartedly agreed, nodding. Yu Jinshu spent all his cleverness scheming elsewhere, he was no great scholar, that was for sure.

Seeing the two girls so united, Yu Qizhe smiled. Then, noticing Yu Jiao’s voice had recovered quite a bit, he gently patted her head and said warmly, “You and Sister take good care of yourselves. Don’t fall ill again.”

Perhaps she’d been patted on the head so many times that she was finally getting used to it.

“Miss Yu?” Yang Yuancheng’s voice suddenly came from the side. “Are you here to send your brother off?”

Yu Jiao looked up. Yang Yuancheng had just stepped down from a carriage, accompanied by two servants carrying travel bags. As one of the exam proctors, Yang Zhifu was required to stay inside the examination compound with the candidates for the duration of the test.

Yu Jiao gave a polite bow. “Lord Yang, this is my fifth brother.”

Yu Qizhe also greeted him respectfully, with neither humility nor arrogance.

Yang Yuancheng gave Yu Qizhe a once-over. The young man was youthful and strikingly handsome. Smiling, he said, “Already passed the children’s exam at your age? Impressive.”

Mu Yan had finished speaking with Mu Nianjiu and came over, smiling. “Lord Yang might not know, but Miss Yu’s fifth brother here was the top scorer in the children’s exam three years ago. At thirteen, he earned the rare xiao sanyuan.”

Yang Yuancheng took a closer look at Yu Qizhe, seeing in him the poise of a true scholar. He smiled and said, “So Miss Yu’s brother is this talented, I had no idea. She never mentioned it.”

“You flatter me, Lord Yang,” Yu Qizhe replied calmly.

“What is your name?” Yang Yuancheng asked.

“Yu Qizhe.”

Yang Yuancheng silently took note of the name, smiling as he said, “I hope, come results day, I’ll be sending someone to deliver good news to your family.”

The results would be posted on the outer wall of the yamen. His words were a subtle show of favor, though it was impossible to tell if he truly meant it.

“Father,” came a voice from behind them.

Yang Jiyan approached with a fluttering heart. She had spotted Yu Jiao and her sister from the carriage and had hurried over. Her gaze lingered on Yu Qizhe as she tried her best to smile sweetly, her voice a bit breathless. “I saw the Yu sisters from the carriage and came to greet them.”

Yang Yuancheng assumed that whatever tension had existed between Yang Jiyan and Yu Jiao had been resolved after the last incident. 

Seeing her now take the initiative to greet Yu Jiao, he thought she’d matured and smiled, saying, “Jiyan’s here to see me off. Since you ladies are free, why don’t you stroll around the market together?”

“I was just about to invite Sister Fuling and Yu Jiao to browse some clothing and jewelry shops,” Yang Jiyan said softly and demurely.

Seeing that most of the examinees had already entered the compound, Yang Yuancheng handed Yang Jiyan a pouch and instructed, “These young ladies aren’t familiar with Qingzhou. Show them around and be a good host.”

“Yes, Father,” Yang Jiyan replied sweetly.

“It’s time to head in,” Yang Yuancheng told Yu Jiao. “You and your brother should keep it brief, don’t delay too long. I’ll be heading in now.”

At the gate, Yu Zhizhou noticed the man speaking to Yu Qizhe was wearing an official’s robe and said, “The man talking to Fifth Brother, is he one of the proctors this year?”

Mu Nianjiu looked over and recognized the embroidery on the robe. “I think that’s the Qingzhou Prefect.”

“You’re saying that’s the prefect?” Yu Jinshu blurted out.

Mu Nianjiu nodded. Just then, Yang Yuancheng approached the entrance. The two proctors doing body searches bowed and greeted him, “Lord Prefect, welcome.”

Yang Yuancheng gave a slight nod and entered.

“He really is the prefect,” Yu Zhizhou whispered. “So Yu Jiao really does know him.”

Yu Jinshu felt a wave of frustration wash over him. He regretted walking away so early, if he’d stayed, he might have had the chance to exchange a few words with the prefect and make a connection.

“Sister, Yu Jiao, I’m heading in,” Yu Qizhe said. After Yang Yuancheng left, he didn’t even spare a glance at Yang Jiyan and simply took his leave from his sisters.

“Go on, now,” Yu Fuling said. “Yu Jiao packed lots of medicine in your bag. Each packet is labeled, if you feel unwell, take the right one as soon as possible.”