Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 51

Yu Jiao gently pulled her hand back. “I should be able to.”

Yu Fuling instantly came alive, so excited she couldn’t contain herself. Her lips curled into a wide smile as she repeatedly asked for confirmation, “Really? Are you serious? Is that really true?”

Yu Jiao raised a finger to her lips and softly hushed her, “Keep it quiet for now. I’ll take care of Wu-ge’s condition in secret.”

Yu Fuling covered her mouth with her hand and nodded rapidly. Pressing her palms together, she bowed deeply to Yu Jiao. “If you can really heal Qizhe, I won’t ever be mean to you again. I’ll do whatever chores you want at home. Meng Yujiao, I… I’ll be grateful to you for the rest of my life.”

Yu Jiao smiled softly. “That’s not necessary. Just ease up on me a little in the future.”

Yu Fuling looked ashamed, her cheeks flushing slightly. Embarrassed, she mumbled, “I’m sorry. It was my fault. I’ve been unfair to you. If you’re still mad, go ahead and scold me!”

“Enough of that, let’s hurry and find Uncle and the others,” Yu Jiao said lightly. She hadn’t taken any of Fuling’s earlier behavior to heart. 

The girl liked to pick on her a bit, but she wasn’t malicious like Madam Zhao or Old Madam Yu. Besides, the original Yujiao had made mistakes and left herself open to criticism. Yu Fuling’s fierce protectiveness over her little brother was understandable.

After all, she was still just a young girl. Now that she knew Meng Yujiao might be able to help Yu Qizhe recover, Fuling’s steps were noticeably lighter. She chatted away cheerfully with Yu Jiao, with none of the earlier hostility or distance between them.

The two walked north along the forest path for quite a while until they finally spotted Yu Qiaoshan and the others. Before they could approach, Yu Zhixing gestured at them and whispered, “Quiet down.”

Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling slowed their steps. Not far ahead, Yu Qiaoshan and the Zhou father and son crouched on opposite sides, bows fully drawn, eyes locked intently on something ahead.

Yu Fuling tugged Yu Jiao down into a squat. In the distance, a wild boar was rooting around the ground with its snout, completely unaware that it was being targeted and that it would soon be riddled with arrows.

The atmosphere was tense, not even allowing for deep breaths. Zhou Xiang slowly raised his hand and gave a signal. In perfect unison, the three men lose their arrows.

Two struck the boar’s body, and one lodged into its eye. The boar let out a sharp, piercing squeal and began thrashing violently, kicking with all four hooves and attempting to bolt in panic.

Yu Qiaoshan and Zhou Xiang quickly knocked more arrows and shot again. The new barrage drove the boar into a frenzy. Screeching wildly, it charged straight at them. Yu Qiaoshan and Zhou Xiang dropped their bows, grabbed their hunting knives, and prepared to meet it head-on.

Meanwhile, Yu Zhixing positioned himself in front of Yu Jiao and Yu Fuling, shouting, “Get back! Hurry, move out of the way!”

Yu Fuling grabbed Yu Jiao and ran, yelling anxiously, “Come on! When wild boars go crazy, they charge at anything!”

Yu Jiao had wanted to stay and see how they took the boar down, but Fuling dragged her off at full speed. The two of them quickly fled the danger zone.

“Do you think they can take it down?” Yu Jiao asked, panting.

Yu Fuling was also catching her breath. “Of course! Uncle and Uncle Zhou are both great hunters. Especially Uncle Zhou, he served at the Datong military camp when he was younger. Everyone in the village loves going hunting with him, they can always pick up the leftovers.”

Yu Jiao nodded in understanding.

After a while, Yu Zhixing came to find them. His face was streaked with dust, and his clothes were disheveled. He looked a bit worse for wear as he said, “The boar’s dead. You can come over now.”

Just as they were about to follow him, a loud rumble thundered across the sky.