The next morning, Liu Tan sent someone to ask for a reply. Yu Shu readily agreed. The person who came said, "His Imperial Highness said that if Miss Yu needs to prepare anything, you can leave it to our subordinates to handle. If there's nothing else, we will send a carriage to take Miss to and from the guesthouse tomorrow morning."
Why would Yu Shu bother Liu Tan's people to run errands? She immediately declined and said that she would wait for someone to pick her up at home tomorrow morning.
As soon as Liu Tan's people left, Yu Shu went out with Yu Xiaoxiu. She had promised to take him to visit Aunt Cui when he recovered. If she didn't make time to go there now, she didn't know when it would be delayed.
The siblings rented a carriage and passed through the busy market. They carried two bags of rice and flour, a few catties of oil and salt, and weighed a dozen catties of hind leg meat in the shop. They pulled it to the alley in the east of the city.
Yu Shu asked Yu Xiaoxiu to stay in the carriage to look after things. She went in and called Aunt Niu, who was boiling water and cleaning, to carry the grain and rice into the courtyard.
Late in the morning, Concubine Cui had just woken up not long ago. She lazily combed her hair and was sitting in the main room, eating sunflower seeds. She looked at Yu Shu with the corner of her eyes as she moved things into the courtyard. When she saw the figure of Yu Xiaoxiu, who was the last to enter, she let out a cry of surprise. She waved the sunflower seed shells on her knees and ran up to her son in small steps. She hugged her son tightly and cried out sweetly, forcing out a few tears.
"You bastard, you separated our son. I thought I would never see you again. My son, you are so thin. Do you want me to die …"
The 'bastard' Yu Shu rolled her eyes and put down the oil pot in her hand. She walked over and fished out Yu Xiaoxiu, who was almost suffocated by Aunt Cui.
"Mother, please don't cry. Isn't little brother alive and kicking right now?"
Aunt Cui glared at her angrily and pulled Yu Xiaoxiu's hand into the house.
Yu Xiaoxiu looked at Yu Shu helplessly. When he saw his sister waving her hand, he let Aunt Cui take him away.
Mistress Cui pulled Yu Xiaoxiu into the room and closed the door. She muttered something to herself, but Yu Shu didn't want to listen. She went to the kitchen to take a look. Seeing that all the pots, bowls, ladles, and bowls were present, it seemed like they cooked every day at home. She went out and called for her maid Xiang Sui to a corner to question her.
"I haven't been here for a while. How does my mother spend her days? "
Xiang Sui understood that both of them now had to rely on Yu Shu, so she was very honest in front of Yu Shu. "Yiniang sleeps until the morning every day. After breakfast, she lies in the room and talks. In the afternoon, she talks with the aunties in the neighborhood at the door. There is no other work, so she goes to bed early after dinner. Oh, yes, the day before yesterday, Yiniang took me out. We went around the city and said, said … Yiniang didn't let me tell you. "
Yu Shu raised her eyebrows and gave her courage, "Don't worry, it will be fine."
Xiang Sui stammered, "From Yiniang's tone, it seems that she wants to find her former master in the capital."
Master?
Yu Shu was puzzled and suddenly remembered Aunt Cui's background. Aunt Liu, who lived in a large courtyard, once mentioned to her that her mother used to be a maid in a rich family. Her and Xiaoxiu's father was a scholar. When he came to the capital to take the imperial examination, he stayed in a rich family's residence. After a few visits, he got together with Aunt Cui. In the end, the scholar failed the imperial examination, so Aunt Cui was released by her master. She said that she was married to Yu Shu's father and was brought back to the south to start a family.
Unfortunately, Yu Shu's father was short-lived. Not long after Yu Xiaoxiu was born, he died in an accident. Later, there was a story about Aunt Cui being chosen by the third master of the Ji family because of her beauty.
Thinking of this, Yu Shu changed the topic. Presumably, Aunt Cui had been living too peacefully recently, so she wanted to find her former master.
"Okay, I know. In the future, if she wants to go out, just follow her. Don't stop her. Tell me later. " Yu Shu was not interested in asking about Aunt Cui's former master. This woman was not knowledgeable and couldn't do anything. Moreover, so many years had passed. Maybe they had already moved away. It was uncertain whether they could find the door.
Yu Shu and Yu Xiaoxiu stayed at Aunt Cui's place for lunch and dinner. From beginning to end, Aunt Cui's eyes never left Yu Xiaoxiu, as if he was her hope for the future.
After dinner, Aunt Cui wanted to force Yu Xiaoxiu to stay with her. However, Yu Shu dismissed her by saying that she had to go to school tomorrow. She dragged Yu Xiaoxiu away and promised to visit her at the end of the month.
Seeing that Aunt Cui was living a good life, Yu Xiaoxiu was finally relieved. After all, she was his biological mother. No matter how careless she was, she was still his flesh and blood.
*
*
*
On the 21st of February, the heavenly fire rushed to the bull. Good luck was in the east. It was suitable to go out and live in peace.
Last night, Yu Shu calculated the almanac. Today was good and there were no big ups and downs. So, she got up early to feed the horse and cleaned up. With He Fangzhi's permission, she took off her hat and put on a new dress. She brought some common tools and went to the front door to wait for Liu Tan to send someone to pick her up.
The carriage arrived at the door of the house on time. It was the same two guards who came to receive her yesterday. They politely invited Yu Shu to get on the carriage.
She didn't see Liu Tan in the carriage. Yu Shu asked the guards and found out that they were going to take her to the guesthouse where Liu Tan was staying. Then, they would go to the Chunlan River together in a sedan chair.
Yu Shu didn't have any objections to this. She knew that she couldn't compare to Shui Yun in terms of status. Shui Yun could make an imperial prince send and receive her all day long. She wouldn't dare.
When Liu Tan saw Yu Shu, he didn't waste time talking to her. One bowed with his hands in front and the other dispensed with the formalities. He introduced Mister Helan to the Qian Xi. After greeting him, he got on the sedan chair. One after another, they got on two sedan chairs and headed towards the Shuang Yang Association. The reason why they didn't take the carriage was because there were too many people near the Chunlan River. It wasn't convenient for a carriage to move. It was faster to squeeze and squeeze than a sedan chair.
The three palanquins stopped in front of the Qiongyu Building. Yu Shu followed Liu Tan and got off the palanquin. Then, she sized up the surroundings. She saw that there were many bodyguards standing guard nearby. They had surrounded the building in a circle. She then raised her head to look at the seats upstairs. Many people had already arrived.
Yu Shu and Mister Helan followed Liu Tan up the stairs from the west corner. Just as they were thinking about how to kill time later, they heard Liu Tan suddenly stop and say, "The seat next to Seventh Brother is the young lady of the Ji Family. You know her. She's from the Right Judge who was found to be practicing favoritism and cheating."
Knowing that he was talking to her, Yu Shu made a sound. She looked up at Liu Tan's back and pondered his meaning. She said in a low voice, "Your Highness, don't worry. This commoner will not cause trouble for you."
"Ha." Liu Tan gave an inexplicable laugh. Without turning his head, he walked upstairs.
Yu Shu blindly followed. When she reached the third floor, the scenery in front of her immediately changed. To the east, there was a long corridor. The floor was covered with thick Persian carpets. There were rows of tea tables and soft chairs. To the south, there was a railing with carved sculptures. Facing the Chunlan River, the view was vast. With every breath, there was the fragrance of the wind, making one feel comfortable.
Yu Shu didn't just admire the beautiful scenery of the river. She followed closely behind Liu Tan to his seat. On the way, she passed by a seat. She heard someone say in a strange voice, "Oh, Ninth Brother is here."
Yu Shu looked over and saw a youth wearing a small crown with golden wings sitting on the Grand Tutor's chair. With one foot on the footstool, he looked at Liu Tan with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. It was the Eleventh Prince, Liu Yi, the one who was on good terms with Ning Wang Liu Hao.
Seeing this tyrant, Yu Shu quickly looked away and lowered her head to look at the road. She was afraid that he would find trouble with her if he saw her. She was worrying too much. The banquet at the Princess fu had already passed. Liu Yi had long forgotten who she was.
"Eleventh Di." Liu Tan nodded at Liu Yi, who was half a year younger than him. Ignoring the sarcasm in his words, he walked past him and sat down on his seat.
Liu Yi lightly grunted and turned his head. For some reason, he didn't continue to pester him.
Yu Shu saw that next to Liu Tan's seat, there were two other soft seats, one on the east and one on the west. One back was embroidered with a golden rooster and the other with a five-colored snake. She guessed that they represented the Qian and Kun Seats. She waited until Sir He Lan sat down before choosing the last seat.
Not long after, more people came up. It was the Eighth Prince, Liu Du. Because Liu Tan was young, he stood up to greet his elder brother. Liu Du smiled and said a few words to him before sitting down separately.
Because of what had happened to Shui Yun, the fourth prince, Liu Si, had been banished from the capital overnight. So the seventh prince, Ning Wang, who had arrived late, had become the oldest among the princes present in Qiongyu Tower.
"Seventh Brother is here."
"Seventh Brother."
As soon as Liu Hao came up the stairs, the atmosphere immediately changed. Everyone on the floor stood up to greet him. Liu Tan was no exception.
Yu Shu knew that Ji Xingxuan was following Liu Hao. Very quickly, she found the figure of a veiled woman behind Liu Hao. This was the first time that Yu Shu saw Ji Xingxuan so clearly in public since the trial of the Supreme Court.
She was dressed in plain silver jewelry. She was still in mourning and had lost a lot of weight. She followed behind Liu Hao with light brows and eyes. A veil blocked people from peeking at her. It was impossible to see whether she was happy, angry, sad or happy. Instead, there was a faint sense of loneliness.
Because Yu Shu knew that Liu Hao had sent people to catch her and Shui Yun and then framed Liu Si, she became more suspicious of Ji Xingxuan. She couldn't help but look at her a few more times. She didn't know if she was involved in this matter.
"Hey, Ninth Brother, this is — —" Liu Hao noticed Yu Shu, who was beside Liu Tan. With just the right amount of surprise on his face, he turned to cast a puzzled look at Liu Tan.
Liu Tan glanced at Yu Shu and reluctantly explained to Liu Hao, "I'm attending the Shuangyang Gathering, so the seat can't always be empty. Martial Uncle Jing Chen helped me ask Miss Yu to temporarily take my place."
Hearing that Liu Tan was using Jing Chen as a cover, Liu Hao smiled and didn't ask any more.
Hearing Liu Tan's words, Yu Shu complained in her heart, but there was no change on her face.
Ji Xingxuan, on the other hand, acted as if she didn't even see Yu Shu, her enemy. She followed Liu Hao and walked past them without looking sideways and sat down.
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