Married to a Villainous Minister - Chapter 90

Madam Song didn’t dare mention that she had known it would rain today. She simply smiled and said, “We really were lucky. And it’s all thanks to your family’s ox cart, Auntie. If not for that, the harvested wheat would’ve just been left out in the fields to get soaked.”

Seeing Song Chun accept the thanks graciously, Madam Wang didn’t press the matter further. She smiled and said, “Your family has many capable hands. If it were someone else, there’s no way they could’ve gathered all the wheat in a single night.”

“Auntie, we haven’t cooked yet at home. I’ll be heading back first,” Madam Song said, excusing herself.

No one could’ve expected that the rain would last for three full days without stopping. The entire village was worried sick.

Only the Yu family’s grains remained untouched by the rain. After this incident, the attitude of the Yu family members toward Yu Jiao subtly shifted once again. Slowly but surely, they started to feel that her words were not to be taken lightly.

Yu Gancao and her husband didn’t stay long, they braved the rain and returned to their family home.

Although the grains were safely brought back, they couldn’t be shelled using the millstone due to the weather. They had to be pounded by hand, bit by bit. Watching this, Yu Jiao truly experienced the meaning of the ancient saying, “Who knows that each grain on the plate is the fruit of hard toil.” 

Without the support of industrial civilization, every task required personal effort, and every necessity came with hardship. Especially in a time where food was the foundation of survival, grain was precious beyond measure.

Over the past few days, Yu Jiao had focused on preparing herbal decoctions for Yu Qizhe. In her spare time, she stayed in his room practicing calligraphy. Perhaps because of her dedication, her handwriting had gradually begun to take shape. 

Yu Qizhe even personally copied a version of the Thousand Character Classic for her to use as practice. Yu Jiao didn’t enjoy the long, elaborate four-character phrases. Before long, copying them made her drowsy. Still, she forced herself to continue writing, but the more she wrote, the sleepier she became.

Yu Qizhe leaned against the headboard reading, but after a while, he noticed that the sound of the brush gliding across the paper had ceased. Looking up, he found her fast asleep at the desk. She was still holding the brush in her hand, but the ink had already smeared across her porcelain-like face.

She must have been sleeping soundly. Her cheeks, which had grown slightly plump from being well-fed at the Yu house, were tinged with a delicate pink, glowing with health and beauty.

On closer inspection, there was a faint red mole near the end of her eyebrow, soft like diffused cinnabar, accentuating her bright, delicate features. Her usually lively almond-shaped eyes were now gently shut, hiding their usual mischief and charm.

He didn’t like how she always seemed to have everything under control, as if nothing could truly affect her. She never appeared to take things to heart and could walk away from anything at a moment’s notice.

But now, her quiet, defenseless sleeping face gave a strange sense of peace.

Yu Qizhe was startled to realize he had been staring at her for quite some time. Though there was no one else in the room, his ears still turned slightly red.

He stood and took a clean outer robe from the cabinet, gently draping it over Yu Jiao. Then he sat back down with his book, though he found himself unable to keep reading.

In truth, he had already read every book in this room multiple times, to the point he could recite them by heart. He sat in silence for a while, then rose again. Taking a handkerchief from his sleeve, he walked softly to the table. Dipping it lightly in clean tea water, he began to gently wipe away the ink stains from her cheek.

The ticklish sensation made Yu Jiao frown in her sleep. Her delicate brows furrowed as she subconsciously reached out toward the source of the irritation.

Yu Qizhe didn’t have time to pull his hand back before she grabbed it. Her small, soft hand wrapped around his fingers. He froze slightly, and as he came to his senses and tried to withdraw, she tugged on his hand, pulling it toward her chest with a slight pout, as if dissatisfied.

Yu Qizhe didn’t dare forcefully pull away, afraid of waking her. He even softened his breathing. He stood stiffly at the desk for a long while. The hand she held onto slowly went numb, and eventually, his entire arm lost feeling.

But the fingers wrapped in her small palm were still warm, as if scorched by a gentle flame.

He continued to stand there silently. Only when half of his body had gone numb did he carefully move his arm, letting his fingers slip from her grasp.

Yu Qizhe froze for a moment, then let out a silent, self-deprecating laugh. She had already loosened her grip some time ago, she’d long since fallen into deep sleep. Yet he hadn’t noticed.

He flexed his numb arm and noticed that night had already fallen outside. The girl sleeping at the desk didn’t seem like she would wake up anytime soon, and lying on the table for so long couldn’t be comfortable.

After a brief hesitation, Yu Qizhe bent down and gently lifted her into his arms, walking toward Yu Fuling’s room.

She was feather-light in his embrace. Though Yu Qizhe was lean, carrying her was effortless. Her slender waist was barely a handful, yet soft and warm to the touch. Even through her thin clothes, her skin seemed to radiate warmth. 

His arms stiffened again, and he had to take a deep breath to ease the tension.

At this time, no one else was around. Since getting his prosthetic, Yu Mengshan rarely lays in bed. He was a restless man by nature and had spent the past two days in the main room pounding grain.

Yu Qizhe gently pushed open the door to the side room. Just as he was about to enter with Yu Jiao in his arms, Yu Fuling lifted the bamboo curtain and walked in. At the sight of him carrying Yu Jiao, her eyes widened in surprise and excitement, as if she had uncovered a shocking secret. She was just about to say something when Yu Qizhe glanced her way.

Sensing the warning, Yu Fuling quickly shut her mouth. Only then did she realize Yu Jiao was asleep.

Suppressing her excitement, she whispered, “She’s asleep? Mother just finished cooking. I came to call you both for dinner.”

Yu Qizhe replied softly, “Save her some food. Let her eat when she wakes.”

He carefully laid Yu Jiao down on the bed, but as he did, she stirred and wrapped her arms around his waist, seemingly unwilling to leave his warm, broad chest.

Yu Fuling, watching from the side, blushed deeply. She stammered, “I… I’ll go help Mother serve dinner,” then fled the room.

Yu Qizhe stood silently for a moment, preparing to pull her arms away. But Yu Jiao rubbed her cheek against his chest, making his entire body tense. His breathing deepened. After a pause, he gently laid her flat on the bed, unwrapped her arms from around his waist, pulled the quilt over her, and swiftly left the room.

Only after stepping outside into the cool rain did Yu Qizhe calm down. His elegant, refined features returned to their usual aloof composure. Remembering that he wasn’t supposed to get wet due to his condition, he quickly made his way to the main room.

Yu Jiao didn’t wake until deep into the night. Yu Fuling was nearby doing some needlework. Finding herself lying in bed, Yu Jiao sat up, her voice still hoarse with sleep. “What time is it?”

“It’s just past the start of the hai hour (9–11 PM). You were sleeping so soundly. Little Brother said not to wake you. There’s food saved for you in the kitchen,” Yu Fuling said with a smile, deliberately bringing up Yu Qizhe.

Yu Jiao remembered practicing calligraphy in Yu Qizhe’s room before falling asleep. Now that she was in bed… could it be that he had carried her back?

Thinking of his cold, composed, gentlemanly demeanor, it didn’t seem like something he would do.