Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 49

The next morning, Yu Qiaoshan specifically checked the sky after waking. The weather looked completely normal, there was no sign of impending rain, so he pushed Yu Jiao’s warning from the night before out of his mind.

Everyone in the Yu family already knew that the father and son of the first branch were heading into the mountains to hunt. After cooking breakfast the next morning, Madam Song also made some flatbreads to take along, just like they used to do for such trips.

After breakfast, the Zhou father and son came over to fetch Yu Qiaoshan for the hunt.

Yu Fuling went into her room to grab the small bundle she had packed the night before, while Madam Song handed a thick piece of clothing wrapped in a bundle to Yu Jiao. “The mountain gets cold at night. Bring an extra layer.”

Yu Jiao accepted the bundle. “Thank you, Aunt Song. Do we have an umbrella in the house?”

Madam Song glanced outside. “The weather looks perfect, doesn’t seem like it’ll rain.”

Yu Jiao smiled. “Better safe than sorry.” She didn’t bring up the possibility of rain again.

Madam Song went to find an umbrella. Meanwhile, Yu Jiao saw Yu Qizhe stepping out of the house and called out to him with a bright smile, “I’m going up the mountain to find some herbs for you.”

He looked at the radiance on her fair little face and gave a slight nod before walking off, his expression cold as ever. Yu Jiao pouted slightly. She still couldn’t figure out why Yu Qizhe had been so distant with her lately.

Madam Song returned with an oil-paper umbrella, which Yu Jiao tucked into her herb basket. She and Yu Fuling each carried a basket on their backs and followed Yu Qiaoshan and the Zhou father and son out of the village toward the mountain behind it.

At the foot of the mountain, they passed a few village women picking mushrooms. They exchanged polite greetings, then continued their ascent.

The mountain behind Qingyu Village was called Qingyan Mountain. Since it stood directly behind the village, the locals simply referred to it as “the back mountain.” 

It was early summer now, and the entire Qingyan Mountain was lush and densely forested.

At the lower part of the mountain, there were still many traces of people coming and going, villagers who raised pigs and sheep often came here to graze their animals or gather pigweed.

As they ventured deeper, the signs of human activity dwindled. The Zhou and Yu fathers and sons walked in front, quietly scanning the ground for animal tracks and discussing things in hushed tones.

Yu Fuling and Yu Jiao followed behind, both focused on searching the ground carefully for medicinal herbs.

They walked for the better part of the day without spotting any game, but Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling managed to dig up quite a few herbs, mostly common ones like licorice and atractylodes.

The mountains, untouched by modern development and human intrusion, were teeming with vegetation and a wide variety of plants. As they went deeper, Yu Jiao began finding some rare herbs that even Yu Fuling didn’t recognize.

In the Yu family’s third branch, only Yu Mengshan had learned a bit of basic medicine from Yu Ruhai and had some knowledge of herbal remedies. When Yu Fuling got older, Yu Mengshan often took her into the mountains to dig up herbs and sell them. 

But Yu Fuling didn’t like reading or studying, so all the herbs she knew were ones she had seen at home. Watching Yu Jiao dig up one unfamiliar herb after another, Yu Fuling’s eyes lit up with curiosity. But her pride kept her from asking Yu Jiao directly, so she just held her questions in.

The Zhou and Yu fathers and sons had previously dug some traps in the mountains and planned to check if any animals had fallen in.

Since Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling had lagged behind while gathering herbs, Yu Qiaoshan sent Yu Zhixing back to inform them.

“We’re heading north to check the traps. Don’t wander too far. Follow the trail north and meet us there,” Yu Zhixing said.

Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling both nodded.

Yu Zhixing glanced around at the surrounding forest, a little uneasy. He added, “Don’t fall too far behind. If anything happens, shout for us!”