Yu Jing was helped out of the ancestral hall. The boy's body wasn't strong, and he was shorter than her. He struggled to support her, who was about to faint from hunger, and his footsteps were a little unsteady.
As soon as she stepped outside, Yu Jing confirmed that she had indeed come to ancient times. She had only seen these richly ornamented buildings in the past. Bathed in the moonlight, it was so unrealistic, but it was so real.
Knowing that this boy was the younger brother of her previous self, Yu Jing didn't take the initiative to speak in order to prevent him from noticing anything amiss. The boy remained silent as well.
They didn't meet anyone along the way, and Yu Jing didn't notice that the boy was taking her on a secluded path. It wasn't until they walked more and more secluded, passing through those magnificent buildings, passing through a small forest, and arriving in front of a row of low, old single-story houses.
There were about four to five houses in this row, and in the courtyard, two middle-aged women wearing old-fashioned lined jackets and long skirts were fetching water from a well. When they saw the siblings return, one of them, who had a floral handkerchief wrapped around her head, quickly put down the bucket of water and ran over.
"Sigh, why didn't Young Master call this servant when he went to pick up Young Miss? It's such a long way, and it's so dark. What would we do if we stumble? Come, I'll support Young Miss, you go open the door."
Young Master? Young Miss? Although the people here had a slight southern accent, it didn't prevent Yu Jing from understanding what they were saying. She raised her head to look at the shabby house in front of her, and then thought about the exquisite buildings from earlier. She couldn't help but feel puzzled. Since they were Young Master and Young Miss, why were they living in such a place that was obviously for servants?
"Thank you, Aunt Liu."
The boy thanked her and let the woman support Yu Jing, while he ran forward and opened the door to the house in the westernmost corner of the courtyard.
With an adult supporting her, Yu Jing didn't have to forcefully support half of her body to lessen his burden. She was supported by Aunt Liu to the door, and with the help of the moonlight outside, she saw the boy skillfully light an oil lamp on the wooden table.
"Young Master, I'll get you something to eat. Hurry and get some water for Young Miss. She's been locked up for three days."
Aunt Liu helped Yu Jing to lie down on the bed and hurriedly left.
The boy poured a bowl of warm water and helped Yu Jing to drink it. He then fished out a wooden basin from behind the door and went outside to fetch water.
Yu Jing really did not have the strength to help. She lay on the bed and looked at the small room from the corner of her eyes. It was less than ten square meters, the floor was rough, and there was only a set of tables and chairs at the door, two old wooden cabinets by the wall, and two narrow wooden beds.
Yu Jing, who was proficient in mathematics, was not deeply involved in history and literature. Based on what she had seen so far, it was impossible to determine which dynasty she was currently in.
Where was this? Why was she locked up? Why was she living with a servant even though she was a Miss? What is her name now?
These were the most important things for Yu Jing to figure out. She turned her head and looked at the busy child. She couldn't help but think of Xiao Lei. Did he know that something had happened to her? When Mom and Dad received the news, they would probably hide it from him, right?
She hoped that they would not be too sad and live on. Only then could she feel at ease in the other world.
"… Little Brother." Yu Jing shouted. She didn't know how to address her little brother now, so she chose the most common title.
The boy, who was putting the clothes that were dried in the yard back into the cabinet, turned his head and looked at her strangely. Then he seemed to think of something and turned his head back. He said coldly,
"You should behave for a few days. Don't think about causing trouble again. Although Fourth Miss went back to the capital yesterday, the matter of you breaking her jade pendant still hasn't calmed down. If people find fault with you again, it won't just be a few days in the ancestral hall."
This child was not close to her. Yu Jing thought in her heart. But compared to this, what made it more difficult for her to understand was that the reason why her predecessor was locked up and killed was because of a broken jade pendant!
Who was Fourth Miss? Wasn't her predecessor also a Miss?
"Come, young master, come and eat. I've cooked some noodles. It's hot."
Aunt Liu walked into the room with two big bowls of steaming hot noodles. She put one bowl on the table and urged the boy to eat. She took the other bowl to the bedside and helped Yu Jing up. She sat by the bedside and fed her.
A bowl of noodles with a light broth and only a few vegetable leaves floated on it. Yu Jing had been starving for a long time and had no appetite. But she knew that her body couldn't stand it if she didn't eat, so she obediently opened her mouth and let her be fed.
She diverted her attention to look at the boy. She saw him sitting at the table with a big bowl of noodles in his hands, slurping it with relish. She couldn't taste the sweet or salty soup in his mouth, but when it entered his stomach, it became warm.
***
Yu Jing lay in bed for three days before she recovered. During these three days, Aunt Liu took care of her food and drink. Yu Xiu went to school in the morning and came back in the afternoon. Unless there was something urgent, he would not talk to her.
Thanks to Aunt Liu's enthusiasm and talkative, Yu Jing indirectly asked for some information she wanted to know. Only then did she know why a Miss had to live with a servant.
This was because she was not the Miss of this family. She and her younger brother had remarried together with their mother. This family's surname was Ji. Their biological mother was only a concubine in the Third Master's courtyard, and she was not favored.
And the reason she was locked in the ancestral hall was because she broke a jade pendant belonging to the Fourth Miss of the Second Master's family. The Third Master did not care about the family affairs at home, and Aunt Cui was timid and afraid of causing trouble. No one helped to plead for her, so she was thrown into the ancestral hall by the Matriarch in a rage and locked up for three days.
Hearing Aunt Liu's tone, Yu Jing knew how disliked she was in this family.
Concubine Cui only came to see her yesterday. Concubine Cui told her in an unkind tone not to cause any more trouble. She didn't even ask about her health and just threw a few copper coins to send her away. That was her biological mother.
In her previous life, Yu Jing might not have been loved by everyone, but at least she was popular and had many friends. Now, she had become a burden that her father and mother did not love, and even her own younger brother despised.
She even changed her name to Yu Shu. The remainder was the annoying part that could not be removed. How could she, who used to deal with numbers all day, endure this?
After being depressed for an afternoon, Yu Jing accepted her fate. She was now called Yu Shu. She had a brother called Yu Xiu whom she depended on for survival. She also had a mother who was indifferent to them as a concubine.
Thanks to her optimistic nature, she was able to accept this reality in such a short period of time. Otherwise, she would not have been able to take on the heavy burden of supporting the whole family by herself after her parents were laid off and her brother became disabled.
"Miss, you must learn your lesson this time. Don't cause trouble again. When you go to the private school tomorrow, learn some proper skills from the teacher. Don't let the young master always be implicated by you."
These were the words that Aunt Liu said the most in the past few days. It made Yu Shu more or less guess that she was an ignorant little girl in the past. She really did not know what she had done to Yu Xiu to make her only brother hate her so much that he didn't even want to talk to her.
"I know, Aunt Liu." Yu Shu had heard Yu Xiu's accent before. Coupled with her hoarse throat, it was not a problem for her to force herself to imitate his tone. If one did not pay special attention, they would not notice that there was a problem with her accent.
The sun was very good at noon. Aunt Liu sat in the yard cutting vegetables. Yu Jing moved a stool from the house and talked to her. Yu Jing wanted to help her, but she did not allow it.
Aunt Liu came to the Ji family with Aunt Cui. She was the servant who did odd jobs in the backyard. She was the only person who insisted on calling Yu Shu and Miss Yu Xiu young master.
"Young Master, you're back from school." Aunt Liu greeted him loudly. Yu Shu heard the voice and turned her head. She saw Yu Xiu holding a small gray cloth bag. He lowered his head and entered the small yard that did not even have a door.
Yu Shu was fifteen years old this year. Her younger brother, Yu Xiu, was two years younger than her. A twelve or thirteen year old boy was at the age where his body was growing. He was shorter than her by a lot and had a skinny figure. He had a cloth wrapped around his head and wore an ill-fitting shirt, which made him look shabby.
This made Yu Shu think of the pink silk dress in the closet. When she was home alone for the past few days, she had turned the house upside down, but she could only find one decent dress. The rest of the clothes were made of coarse cloth.
In the Ji family, the siblings were no different from servants except for the fact that they did not have to work to eat and could go to school. There were also a few servants living in the small yard. When they saw them, they either ignored them or called them by their names.
"Aunt Liu," Yu Xiu greeted Aunt Liu. He only glanced at Yu Shu before he lowered his head and went back into the house.
Yu Shu noticed that his footsteps were a little strange. She said something to Aunt Liu and followed Yu Xiu into the house.
"Xiaoxiu." Yu Shu called out, but Yu Xiu ignored her. He placed the bag with the books on the bedside table.
Yu Shu didn't know what to do with this child's stone-like personality. She didn't dare to act too close to him and provoke him. She could only give up on talking to him. She poured him water and stared at his back while thinking.
Upon closer inspection, she noticed that there was something different about him. Yu Xiu had just changed into his robe that morning, but it was now wrinkled and there was some dirt on his back, which seemed to be in the shape of footprints. Coupled with his slow pace, she, who had been a good older sister for more than twenty years, couldn't help but think of something …
This child got into a fight.
Without batting an eyelid, she walked over with the teacup. When she got closer, she confirmed her guess. No wonder Yu Xiu came back with his head lowered. There was a large bruise on his forehead and the corner of his mouth was bleeding. It was obvious that he had been beaten by someone.
Yu Shu suddenly got angry. She didn't have a good temper. In her previous life, because of her poor family, she didn't eat well or dress well. When she was in middle school, her younger brother, Yu Lei, was often looked down upon and bullied. She didn't want her parents to worry, so she hid it from her family. Later, when she was in the same high school as Yu Lei, she found out. For a period of time, she took her friends and followed Yu Lei after school to teach those brats a lesson.
In her mind, as an older sister, she should take care of her younger brother. She absolutely couldn't let him get beaten!
"My body is almost healed. I'll go to school with you tomorrow." Yu Shu stuffed the teacup into Yu Xiu's hands. In order to leave some dignity for the child, she pretended not to see the wound on his face. She turned her head and gritted her teeth.
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