Nonsense! She’s Not a Bad Woman! - Chapter 73

“Sister, you…” The words nearly escaped Joe Wanyan’s lips, but she swallowed them back, pressing her lips together and ultimately saying nothing.

Yun Heng took it all in—the scene, the subtle shifts, the unspoken tension. His clear, flowing eyes flickered slightly as they landed briefly on Joe Yihuan.

Seeing the atmosphere tense, Yun Yao quickly tried to ease things. “Everyone’s had quite the adventure. Now that we’re home, let’s rest for a while. We can have dinner together at dusk and talk about everything then!”

Chang’an returned with a plate of grapes, washed meticulously several times, only to find the study filled with people. It wasn’t until he saw Yun Yao that he understood—the young lady had returned, bringing along a group of friends she had likely made outside.

Just in time, Chang’an had arrived, and Yun Yao instructed him to arrange accommodations for the guests.

The once lively study quickly emptied, leaving only Yun Heng behind.

He half-closed his eyes, gazing at the plate of grapes Chang’an had just brought in—the very grapes Wan Yan had requested not long ago.

After a moment, he picked up the plate and headed toward the Liuguang Pavilion.

On the way back from arranging the guests, Chang’an noticed his master moving toward the pavilion. “Master, the guests have all been settled.”

Yun Heng responded lightly, without turning his head.

Chang’an asked again, “Are you taking the grapes to Miss Joe? I can deliver them if you like.”

“No need.”

Chang’an halted, saying no more, silently watching his master’s retreating figure. After a while, he sighed softly.

Uncle Zhang had said that one jar of Serenity Pills and one jar of Calm Mind Pills were wasted—they hadn’t served their purpose. Now, he couldn’t help but feel the same. Two full jars consumed, and yet the heart remained unsettled.

If not for Miss Joe’s arrival at the Apothecary Valley, he would never have imagined his master could display this side of himself.

“She didn’t burn the apothecary on purpose; she had a reason.”

“She is a noble lady—being carefully tended to is only natural.”

“She is gentle and easily bullied. She was taken here innocently, yet she forgave me out of kindness.”

“She’s not a bad woman.”

Chang’an recalled the solemn tone his master had used to say these words, thinking that surely, something extraordinary must have taken over him.

Yet…

When Miss Joe smiled at him, he felt as though everything she did was inherently right.

Liuguang Pavilion

“Miss, you’re really alright! Father and Mother were worried sick! They even had the news blocked so no one would hear about your disappearance—they didn’t want your reputation harmed.”

Joe Wanyan replied calmly, “Three days ago, I had Yun Heng send a letter home. It should have reached my parents by now, letting them know I’m safe.”

Zi Yuan circled around her several times, thinking how much Miss Joe must have suffered without someone attending to her these past days.

But seeing her lively and well, Zi Yuan couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud.

Watching how Master Yun had tended to Miss Joe, she realized—her lady hadn’t been brought to the Apothecary Valley to suffer. She had been treated like royalty.

Indeed, her lady was a flower cherished by all. Only the blind and foolish wouldn’t be drawn to her.

“Was the Crown Prince really worried about my disappearance?”

Zi Yuan nodded. “His Highness was very anxious at first, rushing day and night to the Apothecary Valley. But Miss Joe Yihuan couldn’t endure the cold and fell ill with a high fever. The prince had planned to have her stay behind and recuperate, but she insisted on following, forcing him to split his attention to care for her as well.”

Zi Yuan jabbered endlessly, alternating between speaking and scolding. By the end, she seemed ready to storm up to Joe Yihuan and spit right in her face.

Her anger didn’t stop at Joe Yihuan; she even dragged Xiao Ying and that Liuyanran into her tirade.

“Miss, you have no idea! That Liuyanran treats Joe Yihuan like she’s her own daughter! I’ve never seen anyone with a brain that has a hole that big! She’s not her parent, yet she fusses and fusses—so disgusting!”

Joe Wanyan couldn’t help but chuckle at her exaggerated expression.

Zi Yuan pouted. “Miss, you’re laughing at me again. Oh, by the way, Miss, did Master Yun give you any ointment to remove your scars?”

Joe Wanyan remained silent, simply undoing a few buttons to reveal the area on her shoulder where the injury had been.

Now, not a trace of the scar remained. Her skin was as smooth and pale as a peeled egg.

“Truly a divine healer,” Zi Yuan marveled. “It only took two or three days, and there isn’t a single mark left.”

Perhaps it was also thanks to the prior use of Wanyan Jade Ointment—the combination of both had brought about such a remarkable effect.

“Miss, what’s in all these stacked boxes?” Zi Yuan asked, having noticed the piles of wooden boxes behind the folding screen earlier.

Joe Wanyan smiled lightly, a hint of pride on her face. “It’s butterfly grass! Yun Heng said all of this is for me. Not only that, he’ll have people deliver butterfly grass to me every year from now on.”

Before the apothecary was burned, she had moved each box of butterfly grass back to Liuguang Pavilion herself. Exhausted and drenched in sweat from the effort, she had bathed and refreshed herself before returning to the apothecary to continue her work.

“Butterfly grass?!” Zi Yuan gasped. “Then every year, Miss will have butterfly grass to make powders and cosmetics!”

Miss Joe had loved the butterfly grass her maternal grandfather had sent before, but later it had become impossible to buy, and she had been heartbroken for quite some time.

Joe Wanyan’s eyes sparkled with joy. “Yun Heng truly is someone worth befriending. Coming to the Apothecary Valley this time was far from wasted. In fact, I should thank him for not fully understanding the situation and bringing me here by force.”

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and both lady and servant instinctively turned toward the entrance.

He Chi Yu appeared, draped in a frost-white brocade cloak, a jade crown atop his hair, exuding natural nobility and an imposing aura.

His deep eyes were veiled in a layer of frost, unreadable and cold. The north wind whipped at his flowing robes, while the winter sunlight cast him in a halo, almost divine, as if a painting had come to life.

“Your servant greets Your Highness,” Zi Yuan was the first to bow.

Joe Wanyan rose, her tone calm and respectful, devoid of the earlier liveliness. “Your Highness, your servant greets you.”

Chi Yu, though of royal blood, was never haughty. To all, he was gentle and courteous. But beneath that mask, none could fathom the depths of his true nature.

Having experienced injustice, being born into royalty, being who he was—he despised those full of scheming hearts.

For Joe Wanyan, this was the first time she had seen him like this, and it felt unfamiliar.

“Thanking someone who violated the law and harmed you—I think you’re wrong.”

“You shouldn’t thank him. You should beg me to kill him.”