Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 59

“You… you used that hundred-year-old ginseng to treat Qizhe?” Yu Fuling looked at her, eyes filled with both gratitude and guilt. “Thank you… I’m sorry. I’ll never say you’re not good enough for my little brother again.”

That day when they came down the mountain in the drizzle, Yu Jiao had stumbled upon a rare hundred-year-old wild ginseng. Yu Fuling had watched enviously as she dug it up, she’d combed Qingyan Mountain countless times for herbs, yet had never found even a single ginseng root. But Yu Jiao, on her first trip, had not only found one, but a centennial one at that. 

Her luck was infuriating.

Fuling had sold herbs at the town pharmacy before and knew that even a 50-year-old ginseng could fetch forty taels of silver. A ginseng over a hundred years old? That would be worth a fortune.

Over the past few days, Yu Fuling hadn’t seen Yu Jiao take the ginseng out or even mention it to Old Master Yu. She assumed Yu Jiao wanted to secretly stash it away and sell it later. 

Still, considering that Yu Jiao was helping to nurse Yu Qizhe back to health, she decided to keep quiet about it and say nothing.

Since neither of them mentioned it, and Yu Qiaoshan and Yu Zhixing weren’t the type to pry, the topic never came up.

Now, seeing Yu Jiao actually use the hundred-year-old ginseng in Qizhe’s medicine, Yu Fuling felt deeply ashamed of her earlier assumptions.

Yu Jiao smiled. “It’s fine.” She had never cared about what Yu Fuling said before. In her eyes, Yu Qizhe was just someone irrelevant. She wasn’t Meng Yujiao, and she certainly wasn’t going to play the role of some bride sent to lift bad luck. She would leave the Yu family sooner or later.

Just as the medicine was almost ready, a burst of loud chatter came from outside the Yu family’s courtyard gate. Someone from the village shouted, “Doctor Yu, you’ve got an important guest! Aren’t you coming out to welcome them?”

It was noisy outside. Yu Fuling craned her neck to peek through the small window, while Yu Jiao remained focused on the medicine boiling on the stove, showing no curiosity at all.

The third branch of the Yu family, upon hearing the commotion, rushed to open the gate. The sight of the carriage outside made Yu Hanshan’s face light up with joy, he immediately recognized that it belonged to the Mu family. While warmly ushering them in, he signaled Madam Zhao to notify Old Master Yu.

A middle-aged man in a blue robe was the first to step out of the carriage. Not long after, Mu Yan followed. Unlike his arrogant demeanor during his last visit, this time Mu Yan dismounted the carriage outside the courtyard respectfully.

Yu Hanshan stepped forward to greet him. Mu Heng gave a polite smile and a slight nod.

“Master Mu, please come in,” Yu Hanshan said enthusiastically. From Mu Yan’s pleasant attitude, he guessed that Meng Yujiao’s prescription must have worked. Clearly, they weren’t here to cause trouble, this had to be a visit to deliver a consultation fee.

Mu Yan gave a signal to his attendant, who ordered two servants to bring down items from the carriage: two bolts of cotton cloth, one of brocade, and a wooden box whose contents weren’t visible.

Yu Hanshan’s eyes gleamed at the sight of the gifts. His grin widened as he took the place of the Mu family’s servant, personally assisting Mu Yan toward the courtyard.

Mu Yan cast a glance at Yu Hanshan but didn’t shake off his hand. The middle-aged man in the blue robe followed them in.

Outside the gate, villagers from Qingyu crowded around, craning their necks to peek into the courtyard and whispering about the Yu family’s sudden stroke of luck. What kind of fortune had they stumbled upon to have such wealthy guests delivering gifts?

Old Master Yu had already heard the news and came out to greet them in the courtyard, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

“Doctor Yu,” Mu Yan said, far more polite and cordial than during his last visit.

“Master Mu, please come inside,” Yu Ruohai replied, beaming as he led the guests into the main hall.

Once they were all seated, Mu Yan gestured to the middle-aged man in blue beside him. “This is Doctor Jiang from the Huichun Hall in town.”