Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 7

Yu Qizhe pushed down the mess of emotions inside him. When he saw fresh blood oozing from the wound on Yu Jiao’s thigh, where he had just torn off a strip of cloth, he quickly picked up the medicinal wine and took a swig. But in his panic, he accidentally swallowed it instead of holding it in his mouth.

Yu Jiao saw this and couldn’t help but giggle. Her apricot eyes curved into crescents, sparkling with amusement. It was rare to see Yu Qizhe flustered. His usually pale and elegant face flushed with embarrassment, even his soft lips gained a bit of color. 

Avoiding Yu Jiao’s bright gaze, he lowered his head and took another careful sip, this time holding the wine in his mouth before spraying it gently onto the wound on her leg.

The sharp sting returned instantly. Yu Jiao stopped joking around, clenching her fists tightly and biting her lip to endure the pain.

Yu Qizhe glanced at her from the corner of his eye, taking in her quiet determination. As he sprinkled the powdered medicine onto her injuries, he suddenly felt guilty for not having ground the herbs more finely beforehand.

He carefully applied the powder over each wound, then wrapped the remaining medicine in paper. “This… it really won’t affect the effectiveness of the medicine?” he asked.

Yu Jiao, exhausted from the pain, leaned lazily against the wall. When she saw him glance at the paper packet, she smiled. “It won’t affect it.”

Though Yu Qizhe’s tone remained cool and distant, Yu Jiao could still hear the concern behind his words.

Her bright, clean smile made something stir in Yu Qizhe’s heart, but he quickly forced himself to harden his expression again. He set the medicine packet beside her, picked up the now bloodied basin of water, and walked out without a word.

Yu Jiao, already used to his cold and quiet nature, called out to his back, “Yu Qizhe, thank you.”

He didn’t respond, just walked out with the wooden basin, even remembering to close the cabin door behind him.

Now that her leg wounds had been treated, Yu Jiao felt much better. She closed her eyes, and before long, drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up, she opened her eyes to find complete darkness around her. Instinctively, she reached out for the lamp at the bedside, but all she felt was straw. Then it hit her, where she was now, she let out a self-deprecating laugh.

It was time to seriously think about how to live on, now as Meng Yujiao.

In Meng Yujiao’s memories, her relationship with her mother, Madam Liu (Liu Sanniang), had always been cold and distant. Her father, Meng Qingyun, on the other hand, had adored her, favoring her even more than her younger brother. Sadly, he passed away a year ago.

After Meng Qingyun’s death, Liu Sanniang’s dislike for Meng Yujiao had become more and more obvious. Sometimes, the way she looked at her was like looking at an enemy, not a daughter born from her own womb. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have agreed to let Meng Yujiao’s uncle sell her off to the Yu family for marriage to ward off bad luck.

Now, Meng Yujiao’s household registration belonged to the Yu family. There was no going back to the Meng family. And even if she could return, life with Liu Sanniang wouldn’t be pleasant. So for now, she’d make do at the Yu house, at least until she could reclaim her freedom. After that, she could go wherever she pleased and live however she wanted.

That day, Yu Jiao was awakened by a commotion outside. Her leg had mostly healed, she could walk now, and the wounds had scabbed over. Maybe it was because she was young, but her body’s ability to recover was surprisingly strong. Only the ribs in her chest still hadn’t fully healed.

She moved over to the small window and peeked outside quietly.

There was a big crowd gathered just beyond the Yu family’s courtyard walls. It was quite a scene. But the expressions on the Yu family members’ faces were anything but pleasant. They were in a heated argument with another family.

A sharp-looking woman in a dark red cross-collar robe spoke up loudly, “We already returned the betrothal gift. What more do your Yu family want? You gave five taels of silver, we didn’t keep a single coin! It’s your son, Yu Jinshu, who’s the problem. It’s been three years and he still hasn’t earned even a scholar’s title.” 

“My daughter from the Liu family has studied poetry, etiquette, and literature since she was little, she’s not marrying some backwater bumpkin! Stop making a scene and embarrassing yourselves in front of the whole village!”

Three years ago, the Yu family arranged a promising marriage for the eldest son of the third branch, Yu Jinshu. The bride-to-be was the daughter of a well-known scholar from a neighboring village. The Yu family had taken this engagement seriously, and the wedding was scheduled for after this year’s harvest. But now, the Liu family had come to break off the engagement.

Naturally, the Yu family didn’t want this to happen. There were only a handful of scholars in the nearby villages. The Liu family was seen as one of the few remaining scholarly households. If this marriage fell through, finding another match would be incredibly difficult.

Yu Jinshu’s parents looked livid. Madam Zhao, noticing more and more villagers gathering to watch, felt utterly humiliated. Burning with anger, she snapped, “Does your Liu family have no shame? You agreed to this marriage, and now you’re backing out? Don’t think we don’t know your daughter was secretly promised to someone else! You people are disgusting. Even if your daughter begged to marry into our family now, we wouldn’t want her!”

The woman who came to break off the engagement was Liu Zhangshi, the Liu girl’s mother. Unfazed, she replied, “Don’t throw dirt on my daughter’s name. We’ve never done anything so disgraceful. It’s your Yu family that failed to live up to expectations.” 

“Honestly, the only reason my husband agreed to this engagement back then was because of the fifth boy, Yu Wulang, who placed top in the county exams as a child. But now that he’s too ill to participate in future exams, the Yu family has no promising sons left. Water flows downhill, people aim higher, so don’t act like we’re the unreasonable ones.”

Back then, Yu Qizhe (Yu Wulang) had made a name for himself by sweeping the county exams at a young age. He was the pride of Qingyu Village, and everyone believed he had a bright future. Many wanted to marry into the Yu family because of him. But since he was still too young, the engagement was arranged with another eligible son.

“Bah!” Madam Zhao placed her hands on her hips, furious. “If you looked down on Jinshu so much, why did you send your matchmaker to our house over and over? You wasted three years of my son’s life! Now that you found a better match, you want to toss him aside? Don’t act like your daughter is some rare treasure. Go ahead, break off the engagement! My son will find someone better!”

With that, she turned to her husband Yu Hanshan and shouted, “Why are you standing there? Go get the Liu girl’s birth record from inside!”

Before Yu Hanshan could move, the Yu family’s matriarch stepped out of the main hall. Normally, she and the old master wouldn’t lower themselves to argue with someone from the younger generation, so they let Madam Zhao handle it. But now that Liu Zhangshi was being so direct and disrespectful, the matriarch couldn’t sit still any longer.

She walked out holding the Liu girl’s birth record. “Here,” she said, handing it to Liu Zhangshi. “Take your daughter’s birth record and go.”

Seeing the matriarch herself step in, Liu Zhangshi took the record with a polite smile. “Sorry to trouble you.”