The water essence stones that Yu Shu got from the sea merchant, Boss Liang, were all specially selected natural crystals. They had different shapes. Some looked like clusters of corals, while others looked like frozen ice cubes. The bigger ones were as long as a child's arm, while the smaller ones were as small as a jujube.
The unpolished crystals seemed to be covered with a veil and didn't reveal their beauty. However, the bright color of the water was very unique.
Boss Liang had heard of Yu Shu's name and wanted to make friends with her. Under Pei Jing's persuasion, he sold her more than ten water essence stones for 600 taels and gave her a small box of pearls to play with.
Yu Shu returned with satisfaction. Next, she needed to find a skilled craftsman to create a few crystal ornaments. From the looks of it, the merchants had a wide range of contacts. Pei Jing really did know an old jade craftsman who could carve this water essence. However, he was not sure if the craftsman would be willing to help. Thus, that afternoon, he led Yu Shu to the south of the city to look for that Master Xu.
When Master Xu heard the purpose of their visit, he wasn't very enthusiastic. It seemed that he didn't want to waste time on these worthless' broken stones' in Yu Shu's hands.
No matter how hard Pei Jing tried to persuade Old Man Xu, he just wouldn't let go. Yu Shu looked at the small number of jade ornaments on the eight-treasure shelf in the living room. She walked closer to take a closer look. The quality of the jades couldn't be considered the best, but each and every one of them had unique craftsmanship and ingenuity. Looking at them, she was greatly moved. She turned her head to look at the stubborn old master, and in the blink of an eye, she had an idea.
"Is there a patient in Master Xu's house?" Yu Shu suddenly interrupted. Pei Jing and Old Xu, who were talking, turned to look at her.
Old Xu was suspicious, "My grandson, Ah Fu, had a cold a few days ago. How did you know?"
Yu Shu was not in a hurry to answer. She lifted her legs and walked around the living room, then walked out of the house. Old Man Xu became increasingly suspicious, so he also got up and walked out. Pei Jing secretly guessed that Yu Shu was playing tricks on him, so he followed.
Old Xu's house wasn't big. It had a courtyard with two entrances and three rooms. There were a few pots of flowers under the eaves. In the southwest corner, there was a well. Beside the well, there was an iron tree with green needles that grew to waist height.
Standing beside the iron tree, Yu Shu pinched the prickly leaves in her hand. She turned to Old Man Xu and said, "I can see that the feng shui of your house is quite good. It should be suitable for a family. This Fire Repelling Banana is indeed a good omen for you to have many descendants. However, this well is the eye of the house. Just because it is a prosperous thing like this, it will block the blessings of your ancestors. As time goes by, the children in your house will inevitably be plagued with misfortune.
Old Man Xu's expression changed as he said doubtfully, "Young Miss, please don't speak nonsense. This Fire-Repelling Banana was something that I had specially bought and placed there a month ago. How did it become a scourge in your mouth?"
Yu Shu wasn't in a hurry to explain. She smiled and said, "Coincidentally, I am also an exchange master. This year, I have just obtained an official title. If Master Xu doesn't believe me, can you hand over your grandson's birth data and let me read it?"
Old Man Xu treasured his grandson the most. He would rather believe that it was true, so he asked someone to prepare a pen and paper. When Yu Shu received the birth date, she immediately used the pen to calculate the date of Xu Afu's illness. She even clearly stated that the child had caught a cold because of the rain.
Her words were so convincing that Old Xu had no choice but to believe her. Pei Jing then opened his mouth and said, "Master Xu, if you believe the master from the exchange shop, why don't you listen to my niece? She is a proper Hidewon Master, why would she be afraid of lying to you?"
With Yu Shu's origins revealed, Old Xu didn't hesitate any longer. He immediately called for two apprentices and under Yu Shu's guidance, they carried the iron tree by the well to the backyard.
Back to business, Old Xu didn't have any reason to be unwilling. In the end, Yu Shu left a small piece of each color of the water essence and ordered the design. Old Xu didn't even accept the deposit, and only told her to come back in a month to collect it.
Yu Shu didn't want to wait that long. After clarifying the situation, she told Old Xu to let him carve two strings of beads and come back in five days.
At dusk, Yu Shu and Pei Jing were sent out by Old Xu. Sitting in the carriage, Pei Jing couldn't help but sigh, "Your ability to learn is getting better and better. Just by looking at the house, you can tell that there's a sick person in the house."
Yu Shu smiled and said, "Haha, I don't have such good eyesight. It's just that my nose is sharp. When I entered the house, I smelled a bit of medicine. That's why I dared to trick him."
Old Xu stayed at home and smelled the medicine, so naturally, he didn't notice it. She used to carry a medicine pot with her and brewed medicine every day, so she was more sensitive to the smell of medicine than most people.
"Ah? Then you said that the Fire Parting Bananas were fake? "
"It's true. That thing was placed incorrectly. If I didn't point it out, his child would have suffered a lot more." Yu Shu said seriously.
"That's good." Pei Jing secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He couldn't help but complain, "Nowadays, public morals are getting worse. There are always some people who don't follow the right path. Instead, they rely on their abilities and swindle others. Just like that Ji family, they colluded with someone to make a fake life sign. They insisted that your godmother brought bad luck to her husband, causing her family's wealth to be stolen. She ended up living on the streets. Luckily, she didn't lose her life. "
Yu Shu nodded, "When the forest is big, there are all kinds of birds. I can't control others, but I can control myself."
.....
Back to Wangji Tower, Yu Shu put the remaining more than ten pounds of crystals in the study room. She put it in a solid wooden box and temporarily put it in the shade.
In the evening, Xue Rui didn't come back for dinner. He sent Lao Chui to deliver a letter saying that he had something to do and might not come back tonight.
When Yu Shu saw the letter from Xue Rui, she shook her head and smiled. Unknowingly, they had lived in Wangji Tower for almost a month. They almost regarded this place as their home. Except that they didn't live in the same room, they lived almost the same life.
She needed to make a complete copy of the cases from the Supreme Court of Justice. She thought about it and decided that she would be able to return home within these two days. Without further ado, she would inform Xue Rui tomorrow, pack her things, and return home.
At the end of the month, there was an astrology lecture by Sima Kui. Yu Shu met two academicians in Taishi Shu Garden. Not mentioning Fang Zijing, academician Sima only had three lectures a month.
When the Supreme Court investigated the case, the observatory was sealed. Academician Sima simply suspended his lectures until Ji Xingxuan was arrested and put in prison.
Today was the first day that Yu Shu came to Sima Kui's class. She was identifying instruments in the garden of the observatory. She saw one or two familiar faces. Unexpectedly, Xin Liu also came.
"Lotus Room!" As soon as Xin Liu saw Yu Shu, he left the girl who was talking and ran up to hold her arm. He pouted and said coquettishly, "I thought you wouldn't come today."
Yu Shu saw that her complexion was good and her cheeks were round again. She couldn't help but pinch her cheeks and said, "Are you feeling better now?"
Xin Liu covered her face and nodded. She looked around and tiptoed to her ear and whispered, "Do you know that Ji Xingxuan died in prison? I heard that she couldn't stand the torture and hanged herself to escape punishment."
Yu Shu turned to look at her. Xin Liu's face was sad. It was not because of schadenfreude, but because of sympathy.
"I know. What did your family say? Do you still want to pursue the matter that she wanted to kill you?"
Ji Xingxuan was gone, but the Ji family was still there. Ji Huaishan had three sons. Yu Shu did not specifically ask for information, but she knew that after Ji Huaishan bit his tongue to commit suicide in court, the Celestial Commissioner seemed to have come forward to keep his body whole and had the Ji family send the coffin back to their hometown in Yiyang.
So Ji Xingxuan stayed alone in Jing and had no choice but to seek refuge with Ning Wang. But she didn't even have an elder who could help her.
Xin Liu said, "She's dead and the Ji family is in shambles. They don't even have a door, so where can they pursue the matter? My family's old ancestor will speak and the matter will be closed. The unlucky one is the Cao family. Even now, we don't know who Ji Xingxuan hired to kill Cao Youling. "
When Ji Xingxuan 'died', she was determined to be the mastermind of Cao Youling's murder and determined to be a contract killer. But the killer who strangled Cao Youling that night on the observatory was nowhere to be found.
Scholar Sima hadn't arrived yet. Yu Shu and Xin Liu were standing next to a sundial and chatting. Suddenly, a burst of loud laughter came from the south. The dozen or so people standing under the observatory turned their heads and saw a group of three or four young people walking over. There were both males and females, and among them was a girl dressed in pink. She had willowy eyebrows, a raised nose, and her hair was combed into a pair of peach-shaped buns. A thin gold necklace hung around her neck, shining brightly and blinding.
Xin Liu poked Yu Shu and raised his chin at the girl, asking, "Who is this?"
There wasn't a single young master and young miss of the Yi Xue aristocratic family in Anling that Xin Liu didn't recognize. This new face, she guessed that it was an outsider.
Yu Shu thought for a moment and said, "Seems to be from an aristocratic family in Jiangxi, surnamed Zhan."
Xin Liu frowned, "Is that the Zhan family of Tianyu Fengshui?"
Yu Shu asked curiously, "What is Tianyu Fengshui?"
Xin Liu was about to explain when he saw the group of people walking straight towards them.
"Nice to meet you, female fortune-teller." Zhan Xueyuan took the lead and saluted to Yu Shu. Her companions were a little slower. They glanced at Yu Shu and came up to greet her one by one.
Yu Shu nodded to them and was a little puzzled. Wasn't this Miss Zhan studying astrology under Jing Chen? How did she sneak into Sima Kui's class?
"A few days ago, I met Yu Suanzi in Rongsheng Hall. I didn't have the chance to greet you before you left. I hope Suanzi won't blame me for being impolite." Zhan Xueyuan smiled faintly at Yu Shu. On the surface, he appeared polite and polite, but in reality, his words were a bit crafty. He was clearly still remembering the afternoon of the murder, when the female student under Jing Chen's name had been summoned to the small building for questioning. At that time, Yu Shu had put on a show of strength.
Yu Shu raised her eyebrows and looked at the silly girl in front of her. She was too lazy to nitpick, so she didn't continue.
Zhan Xueyuan got snubbed, so she turned to talk to Xin Liu, "You must be Miss Xin Liu. I heard that you were sick when you entered the school. Are you feeling better now?"
Xin Liu smiled at her and nodded, but didn't say anything. She was a perceptive person. She could see that Yu Shu didn't like Zhan Xueyuan, so she certainly wouldn't try to get close to her.
Zhan Xueyuan got a soft rebuff again. She couldn't keep her smile, so she went to the other side with her companions.
As soon as they left, Xin Liu wrinkled her nose and said to Yu Shu, "Another one with eyes on her head. How did you know her?"
Yu Shu told her that she stayed at the observatory for one night after she fainted and the next day, the Supreme Court took over the case and questioned her.
After hearing it, Xin Liu looked at Zhan Xueyuan who was not far away and asked curiously, "Isn't she a student of Academician Jing? Why did she come here to join in the fun?"
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