"Your father is the same as you, a scourge. My entire life has been ruined by you and your father. (
”
Yu Shu looked at Aunt Cui's hateful gaze and was puzzled. However, after thinking about it, she suddenly realized that Aunt Cui did not like the poor scholar Papa Yu at all. She had been longing for the Second Young Master!
Connecting all the words that Concubine Cui had said, Yu Shu had a rough idea of the truth behind this' ill-fated relationship ': Concubine Cui was in love with Assistant Minister Yin when he was young, and she wholeheartedly wanted to become a servant girl and become the young master's concubine in the future. However, her intentions had long been seen by the young mistress, and with a little bit of trickery, she had lost her innocence.
Aunt Cui had been taken advantage of by Papa Yu and did not dare to say anything. Who knew that she would get pregnant secretly? In the end, she still broke the window paper and was sent away by Master.
Papa Yu brought Aunt Cui back to his hometown in the south and gave birth to Yu Shu, the child who had no illicit relations.
"… No wonder Mother never liked me." Yu Shu smiled bitterly. It was not just dislike, it was simply hatred.
Fortunately, she was not the original owner. Otherwise, if she knew what her birth mother thought, she would be heartbroken.
Concubine Cui turned her head and tacitly agreed with her words. She really didn't like this daughter. If she hadn't been pregnant with her back then, she could still have stayed in the Yin family and stayed in the capital. She wouldn't have had to live such a hard life with Papa Yu.
"Mother, are you thinking that if you had not been pregnant with me, you could still stay in the Yin Family?"
Aunt Cui snorted coldly when Yu Shu guessed what she was thinking.
Yu Shu sighed. This woman in front of her was not only pitifully stupid, but also ridiculously stupid.
It seemed that it would be difficult to wake her up without a lot of persuasion.
"Have you ever thought that if you continue to stay in the Yin Family, you can only be a servant girl for the rest of your life?"
"Being a maidservant is better than being shameful." Aunt Cui was full of resentment. "How wrong am I now, compared with the prisoner in that cell?"
"Far from it. They sleep on hay mats, while you sleep on soft blankets and beds. They eat chaff and pickled vegetables, while you eat fish, rice, and noodles. They are afraid, while you are looking for trouble."
As Yu Shu spoke, she looked at Aunt Cui's gloomy face and thought for a moment. He continued, "The last time I went to Assistant Minister Yin's residence to look for you, I saw Lady Yin. Do you think she's doing well?"
Aunt Cui said in a muffled voice, "She is the wife of the Assistant Minister. How could it not be good? "
"Is Mother envious?"
Aunt Cui didn't answer, but her sour eyes said it all.
Yu Shu asked her again, "How have you been doing all these years as Third Master Ji's concubine?"
"… What are you talking about?" Aunt Cui said with some grievance, "I'm a widow. I still have you two children behind me, and I've been bullied. "
"If it weren't for me and Xiaoxiu, you wouldn't be a widow. Would you have a good life as a concubine in the Ji family?"
Aunt Cui thought for a while longer this time. She pursed her lips and said, "I wouldn't have a good life. The women in Laoye's rear courtyard are very clever. "
"In Assistant Minister Yin's residence, there is only one wife of the Assistant Minister. Are there no other concubines? "Yu Shu asked persistently.
"Of course there are." Aunt Cui had stayed in the Assistant Minister's residence for a few days and had inquired about some things.
Yu Shu smiled and bent a leg. She moved closer to Aunt Cui and said, "Third Master Ji's legal wife died early. You've been in the Ji family for all these years, but there isn't even a wife to manage you. You've been living a miserable life. In Assistant Minister Yin's residence, there is a madam who can raise her eyebrows. There are also many concubines. If Mother hadn't left with my father and stayed in the Ji family, would you have a good life now? "
Concubine Cui's brain was like a block of wood. She couldn't even knock on her head, but she listened to Yu Shu's explanation one by one.
When Yu Shu asked her, she also asked herself. If that didn't happen, she stayed in the Yin family, won the Second Young Master's favor, and became a concubine. What would her life be like in the future?
Aunt Cui was stunned by this question.
After a long time, she quivered and came back to her senses. She looked at Yu Shu's smiling face in front of her and felt lost as if she had just woken up from a dream.
"Mother, have you thought it through?" Yu Shu held Aunt Cui's cold hand. "Without Father and without me, would you have a good life?"
"I, I …" Aunt Cui avoided Yu Shu's gaze. She felt inexplicably guilty and her mind was in a mess. She seemed to understand, but also seemed to be more confused.
However, Yu Shu didn't press further. She held Aunt Cui's hand and sat down at the foot of her bed. She said slowly, "It doesn't matter if Mother doesn't like me. You can scold me or say that I'm not filial. But you have to know that I'm your daughter. I'm your flesh and blood. We're mother and daughter, not enemies. There's no need to be cold to each other every time we meet. After all, who can harm the other? I came here today to tell you that now that your daughter has the ability, our family of three doesn't need to live under someone else's roof and live under someone else's face. "
"In a few days, I'll move my mother's household registration out of the Ji family. I've got a big house in the north of the city. It'll be repaired soon. I'll take you to live with me later. And Xiaoxiu, at that time, you'll be the real wife of our Yu family. Isn't it better than being a concubine's maid?"
After saying these words, she looked at Aunt Cui's expression again. There was no resentment at all. There was only contemplation.
"Think about whether what I said today is right or not." Yu Shu stood up. "I'll go back first. I'll see you in two days."
With that, she squeezed her warm hand again and let go.
Aunt Cui stared at Yu Shu's back as she left the room. Her heart seemed to be blocked by something.
***
After Yu Shu left Aunt Cui's place, she didn't go home. Instead, she went to Wangji Tower alone.
Today, she said a few 'heartfelt words' to Aunt Cui. Yu Shu didn't know if they moved her, but she missed her family again.
She couldn't know whether her parents and younger brother were living well in another world. She could only silently pray for their safety in her heart. She didn't even have someone to talk to.
At this time, she missed Xue Rui's company very much.
"Alas."
Yu Shu sat on the balcony on the third floor. She crossed her legs and looked up at the night sky above her head from the wide open patio.
She came to this world. She was originally a person without roots. Because of Yu Xiaoxiu, because of Jing Chen, because of Zhao Hui, because of Xue Rui, and even because of Ji Xingxuan, no matter if it was love or hate, it didn't matter if it was love or hate. With these restraints, she wanted to work even harder to continue living.
She recalled all kinds of things. She felt like she had a dream. Blessings and misfortunes, life and death. She could predict others, but she couldn't predict herself.
.....
It was late at night and the wind was blowing. Xiao Qing held a lantern and gently opened the curtain outside the patio. She walked in.
Seeing Yu Shu lying on the soft couch, she thought she was asleep. But when she got closer, she found that her eyes were open.
"Miss, it's late. Go back to your room and rest."
"Okay."
Yu Shu sat up. She rubbed her neck.
Xiao Qing inserted the lantern by the railing and squatted down to help her put on her shoes.
The two went downstairs one after the other. In the corridor on the second floor. She heard the sound of the backyard door.
Yu Shu stopped and looked downstairs. She saw someone running to open the door on the other side of the screen wall. She vaguely heard someone talking. After a while, two black figures came out.
Yu Shu thought it was Xue Rui who came back. She approached the railing and asked, "Is it your young master who came back?"
Gui Qi heard the question downstairs. He looked up and said, "Miss, you're not asleep, right? It's someone sent by the young master. I'll bring him up now."
Yu Shu was puzzled. It was so late. What could it be?
Gui Qi led them to the tea room on the second floor. Xiao Qing turned on the light. Yu Shu sat on the chair. When she saw the person coming in, she recognized him at first glance. He was Xue Rui's manservant named Hōtoku.
Hōtoku bowed to Yu Shu and strode forward. He took out a note from his collar and handed it to Yu Shu.
Yu Shu looked at the familiar handwriting on it. The year, month, day and hour were written in detail on one line. It was clearly a person's birthday. The other line only wrote a date.
June 11th.
Her eyelids twitched. She looked up and asked, "What else did my eldest brother tell you?"
Hōtoku said, "Young master said that you'll know what to do when you see this note."
Yu Shu frowned. She naturally understood Xue Rui's meaning. What was written on this note was surely the horoscope of a dead person, and the date of death was clearly written on it. Then Xue Rui wanted her to calculate the cause of this person's death.
Xue Rui had left the capital for seven or eight days. He said he was going out to investigate a case, but she hadn't heard anything about it.
What case was so difficult that he had to stay?
Yu Shu had a bad feeling. Xue Rui was probably in trouble.
"Where is my eldest brother now?"
***
It was nighttime in Pei County. Xue Rui was sitting in a room on the second floor of a restaurant. There were several statements by his side. They were the records of the suspects before and after Zhou Qing's murder.
Half a month ago, Zhou Qing had received a secret edict from the Emperor to head to the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces to investigate the illicit salt trade. The four bodyguards accompanying him were no weaklings, and the criminal was right under their noses. They must have made meticulous arrangements to take advantage of the loopholes and knew Zhou Qing's whereabouts like the back of their hands.
The case was not difficult to solve. Xue Rui had even deduced who the murderer was. However, he had no idea who the mastermind was.
Based on his extraordinary intuition, he had a hunch that if the case was not handled properly, he might be implicated as well.
Therefore, he did not act rashly and alert the criminals. He only ordered the local government to close the restaurant and prevent the news from getting out. Then, he ordered his men to keep a close eye on the suspects, waiting for them to give themselves away.
However, the other party was really patient. There was no sign of trouble for several days. Xue Rui did not want to act rashly, so he could only wait.
When it was almost dawn, Xue Rui felt a little sleepy. He put down his brush and was about to lie in bed for a while when he heard noises in the corridor outside. After a while, there was a knock on the door.
"Young Master, I'm back."
When Xue Rui heard Hōtoku's voice, he straightened his clothes and looked outside. "Come in."
Hōtoku pushed the door and entered. Xue Rui was about to ask, but he saw him turn to the side and make way for him. A man in a thin green robe walked out from behind him. He had a small box on his shoulder. He took off his pocket and his eyes were black and white.
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