Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 69

“Is this all the consultation fee the Mu family gave?” Yu Ruhai asked aloud.

Yu Jiao replied calmly, “The Mu family gave twenty taels.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, everyone in the room gasped. The family’s entire annual income from crops and selling herbs usually barely left them with ten taels in savings, and that was considered a good year. Over the years, Old Master Yu’s usual consultation fees amounted to just a few qian at most.

“We agreed before that I’d return the money for redeeming my freedom to you, and we’d split the remaining consultation fee evenly. Of these twelve taels, four are for my redemption.” 

“The remaining eight are the split. As for the consultation fees from treating the Zhou family and young master Qi from Zhang Village, that was just my way of showing filial piety, I won’t count those,” Yu Jiao explained evenly, not hurried or flustered.

Yu Ruhai’s face darkened at her words. He hadn’t expected the Mu family to give the consultation fee directly to Yu Jiao. All his careful planning had gone up in smoke. Still, he had no choice but to nod and silently tuck the money pouch away.

Madam Zhao quickly did the math in her head, Yu Jiao had made eight whole taels from that one consultation, and it was all her personal money now. Greed stirred in her heart. 

But seeing that the old man didn’t say a word, and remembering she had just finished arguing with Madam Zhang, she dared not speak up even though she was deeply dissatisfied.

Yu Ruhai remained silent, but Yu Jiao spoke up again.

“Now that I’ve repaid you for the redemption, shouldn’t you return my indenture contract?”

Yu Ruhai forced a stiff smile. “You came through the gates of the Yu family, you’re one of us. That contract? Who knows where it got tossed. I’ll look for it. When I find it, I’ll give it back to you.”

Seeing him brush it off, Yu Jiao didn’t press further. But she would definitely retrieve that contract from him one day.

After this brief interlude, Yu Jiao returned to the east room with the rouge the Mu family had given her as a gift. Madam Zhao reluctantly caressed the two bolts of cloth the Mu family had also sent. 

Meanwhile, Old Madam Yu, taking advantage of the distraction, ordered Madam Zhao to open the gate for the villagers who had been knocking, then quietly moved the two bolts of cloth into the eastern storeroom.

Not long after, lively voices rang out again from the main hall.

“We just came over to take a look! Who was that important guest who arrived at your house by carriage around noon? They brought so many good things too! Doctor Yu, when did your family get to know such a wealthy household?” Wang Shi, the curious neighbor from across the road, eagerly opened the floodgates of conversation.

Yu Ruhai swept away his earlier displeasure and thoroughly enjoyed the curious and envious looks from the villagers. He laughed heartily. “That was a senior relative of Jinshu’s classmate. He had developed a carbuncle on his back and came to seek treatment from me after hearing of my reputation. He’s recovered now and was so grateful that he insisted on bringing a few thank-you gifts.”

The villagers all looked envious. One of them, who had heard of carbuncle disease before, chimed in, “Doctor Yu, you can treat carbuncles? I heard those are deadly! Someone from Baijia Village in the mountains had that illness, searched far and wide for treatment but got no cure. In the end, he couldn’t stand the pain and drowned himself!”

The others, who hadn’t realized how dangerous carbuncles were, now looked at Yu Ruhai with newfound respect.

Old Madam Yu jumped in at just the right moment. “That gentleman from the Mu family had also gone everywhere seeking a cure. When he heard my husband could treat it, he came straight here. And look, just a few treatments and he was healed! Saved his life!”

The villagers immediately started showering him with praise. “Doctor Yu, you really are something! Your ancestral medical skills are amazing!”

Madam Zhao, wanting to flatter the old man too, added boastfully, “Of course! Our Yu family’s ancestral medical knowledge is top-notch! You all know Huichun Hall in town, right? One of the doctors from there actually followed that Mu gentleman to our house today, hoping to buy the formula my father used to treat the carbuncle!”

Huichun Hall was a famous and reputable pharmacy, even if most villagers couldn’t afford their medicine, everyone had heard of it. Their view of Yu Ruhai instantly changed again. Someone asked curiously, “So did you sell the prescription to Huichun Hall?”

Madam Zhao was just about to answer when Old Madam Yu interjected, “Of course not. Huichun Hall’s consultation and medicine fees are sky-high.” 

“Our old master has a kind heart. He figured that if he sold the formula to them, who knows if future patients suffering from carbuncles would be able to afford it. So he turned them down.”