Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 45

Yu Ruhai personally escorted Mu Yan to the carriage in the courtyard. He smiled politely and watched the carriage roll away before finally relaxing his stiff facial muscles and turning back to look for Yu Jiao.

Yu Jiao was in the kitchen, scrubbing the medicine grinder and spatula. After all, they had been in contact with goat droppings, it was only right to wash them thoroughly. She didn’t want to feel uneasy the next time she used them.

Peeking in through the doorway, Yu Ruhai asked, “Will Master Mu’s condition truly improve in five days?”

Yu Jiao’s expression turned a little impatient. The old man kept asking the same question again and again, wasn’t he tired? He just wanted reassurance, but she was the one growing weary of repeating herself.

“Some things don’t change no matter how many times you ask. You don’t need to keep confirming it,” she replied flatly, wiping the clean grinder with a cloth and placing it back on the stove.

Yu Ruhai, a little embarrassed, didn’t press the issue. But since he still needed her help, he pretended not to mind and continued with a warm tone, “Meng girl, what kind of powder did you apply to Master Mu’s back? I don’t even know when you prepared it.”

Yu Ruhai was clearly fishing for the formula. Yu Jiao saw through him, of course, but the recipe came from an old medical text, so she didn’t feel the need to keep it secret.

“It’s recorded in the Jingyue Quanshu,” she said. “Take one crucian carp, gut it, stuff it with goat droppings, and roast it until charred. Grind it into a fine powder and apply it dry to carbuncles on the back. The sores will heal and close without issue.”

Yu Ruhai was both amazed and curious. “It’s that effective? Jingyue Quanshu, is that a medical text? Who wrote it? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it.”

Yu Jiao had been drilled by her grandfather since childhood to memorize countless medical texts and classics. She could name famous physicians and their works with ease, and she replied fluently, “It was written by a doctor named Zhang Jiebin, courtesy name Jingyue. He’s long since passed, but the Jingyue Quanshu is worth reading.” 

“It covers febrile illnesses, the six divisions of Yin and Yang, organ theory, and pulse diagnostics in great detail. It’s incredibly insightful.”

Yu Ruhai was deeply intrigued. A book like that could greatly improve his own skills. “Meng girl, do you happen to have that medical book at home?”

Yu Jiao poured out the dirty water and let out a light laugh. “Of course not. I read it when I was young, under my master’s guidance.”

Still unwilling to give up, Yu Ruhai asked, “Can you recite it from memory?”

“Of course not,” Yu Jiao replied with a mental eye-roll. This old man really dares to ask for anything.

Disappointed, Yu Ruhai finally left the kitchen and returned to the herb room. There, he busily wrote down every detail he could remember of Yu Jiao’s carbuncle treatment method and tucked the notes into a medical manual. 

He planned to observe the results in five days. If Mu Nianjiu’s uncle really did recover, just this one treatment formula alone would be enough to make the Yu family’s name famous.

After tidying up the kitchen, Yu Jiao returned to the east room to help Yu Qizhe with his calligraphy practice.

But something felt off, Yu Qizhe was unusually cold today. Not that he was ever particularly talkative with her, but from the moment she sat down beside the writing desk, he hadn’t said a single word.

Normally, the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were already prepared for her. But today, the inkstone was dry. Yu Jiao had to do it all herself. She picked up the ink stick, added a bit of water, and started grinding. As she did, she glanced up to check Yu Qizhe’s expression.

He was leaning against the bed, his eyes lowered, silently reading a book of classic teachings.