From the capital to Suzhou, the round trip would take at least a month. With Xue Rui secretly sending people to investigate, Yu Shu could not be at ease. She temporarily put aside the matter of helping Yun Hua find her son and did not mention it again.
The trip to the princess' tomb had greatly benefited her. This benefit was not material, but cognitive. Although the dark cloud that had been hanging over her head had not disappeared, the pressure brought to her by the words "Life Breaker" was not as great as before.
First of all, the importance of the Book of Mystery Maiden was far beyond her imagination. According to Yun Hua, it was related to the selection of the heir. It could completely control the politics and the current situation. Therefore, in order to lure Yun Hua to show up, Emperor Zhao Qing did not hesitate to let Jing Chen and her leave the capital and put himself in danger.
Yu Shu imitated Xue Rui's train of thought to assume Emperor Zhao Qing and Da Tidian's mentality. She compared the "Scourge of Mystery Maiden," "Life Breaker," and the Book of Mystery Maiden as a condition for the continuation of the Da 'an royal family's peace.
Then, Emperor Zhao Qing and Da Tidian's actions of luring the snake out of its hole proved that the Book of Mystery Maiden was more important than the "Scourge of Mystery Maiden," and the "Scourge of Mystery Maiden" were more important than the "Scourge of Mystery Maiden."
Yun Hua and Da Tidian's accounts of the method of breaking the Scourge of Mystery Maiden were very different. It could only be said that one of them had lied. Compared to Da Tidian, who stood on the opposite side, Yu Shu was more inclined to Yun Hua, who was using her.
In fact, she seriously suspected that the Book of Mystery Maiden was also a necessary condition for Jing Chen to break the Scourge of Mystery Maiden. Otherwise, why was Emperor Zhao Qing not in a hurry to break the Scourge of Mystery Maiden for Jing Chen when the Scourge of Mystery Maiden and the Scourge of Mystery Maiden coexisted? Instead, he delayed it.
Not only were they unwilling to force Jing Chen, but Yun Hua had no choice but to marry Princess Luyue. They should have realized that in front of the imperial power, any individual's will was bullsh * t.
In this way, could she understand that without the Book of Mystery Maiden, she could not be used to break the Scourge of Mystery Maiden for Jing Chen?
Yu Shu hoped that was the case. After careful consideration, it was as if half of the burden on her body had been lifted. She would no longer have to live in fear every day, worrying that one day the Emperor would issue a marriage decree and tie her and Jing Chen up to the bridal chamber.
The only thing she had to be wary of at the moment was the mastermind behind the murder in Taishi Shuyuan. If it was not Yun Hua, who else could it be?
.....
In the evening, Yu Shu returned to her house on Baochang Street from the Celestial Commissioner's office.
Lin 'er went to the main kitchen to get the food box. When he came back, he saw someone sticking her head out from under the camphor tree outside the courtyard wall, looking around. He slowed down his pace and went behind that person. When he took a closer look, he saw that it was Lady Cui's little maidservant, Xiang Sui.
"Sister Kaho? Why are you hiding here? "
Xiang Sui was startled by her sudden voice. She turned her head and recognized Lin 'er. With an embarrassed face, she stammered, "Madam, Madam heard that you have returned to the house, so she asked me to invite you to her place for dinner."
Lin 'er was a maidservant who had been carefully trained by the Consecrated People's Courtyard. She looked down on Xiang Sui's timid appearance, but she smiled sweetly. She freed a hand to grab her and led her inside.
"Come in with me. Let's talk inside."
Xiang Sui hurriedly agreed. As the head of the household, Yu Shu lived in the north wing. Day and night, there were maidservants who guarded the gate. Xiang Sui didn't dare to trespass. She didn't even have the face to go up and ask someone to let her know. If she hadn't met Lin 'er, she might have hidden here until the second half of the night.
Lin 'er didn't directly bring her to Yu Shu. Instead, she went into the room to report. After getting permission, she brought her in.
At home, Yu Shu wore a loose jacket with silk shoes and cloth socks. It was very loose. She sat on the couch with her legs bent. In her hands was a scroll of Kun Ling Bureau Rules. When she had nothing to do, she would flip through it. She had to memorize it by heart.
When she heard the reason for Xiang Sui's visit, Yu Shu's first reaction was that Aunt Cui was looking for her for no good reason. However, she couldn't leave her alone.
"You go back first. Tell my mother that I will go see her after dinner."
Xiang Sui felt as if she had been granted amnesty. She ran out the door and left.
Lin 'er flattened her lips. Xin' er, who was serving the dishes, saw this and secretly glared at her. She deftly arranged the bowls and chopsticks, scooped the soup, and pulled Lin 'er away. When Yu Shu ate, she didn't like people standing by her side to act as stakes. This was something that Yun Dou, who had been by Yu Shu's side, had warned her about when they entered the door.
The two maidservants went out. They didn't dare to go too far in case Yu Shu couldn't hear them. They stood in the corridor and whispered to each other.
"In the future, don't be so strange. If Mistress sees you, what will you do?" Xin 'er reprimanded this young sister who had been lucky enough to be picked out by Yu Shu from the Residential Courtyard.
"Jiejie, don't be angry. I know I was wrong." Lin 'er took advantage of her young age and hugged Xin' er's arm to act spoiled. Seeing that Xin 'er's expression had improved, she began to gossip.
"I've been walking around in the inner courtyard recently and heard everyone say that the Furen in the East Wing is hard to serve. Every day, she has to set out a table full of dishes for her three meals. There's no need to talk about chicken, duck, and fish. However, I can't see what Furen He orders in her room. If she doesn't have a portion, she will say something bad in her courtyard. If people hear it, they will gossip. Occasionally, they will lose their temper and even scold our Mistress. It's really too outrageous."
Xin 'er furrowed her brows. It wasn't that she didn't hear people talking nonsense these past two days. However, so what? Furen Cui was their Mistress's mother. It wasn't their place to control her. Even if they talked nonsense in front of Mistress, they had to be careful not to make Mistress unhappy. However, they couldn't pretend to be deaf and mute.
"Jiejie, I think someone should report this to Mistress. No one dares to say anything. How about I go?" Lin 'er volunteered. However, Xin' er shook her head.
"I know you have a sharp tongue and want to show your loyalty. However, it's not something we should learn. I'll go discuss it with Yun Dou tonight. She has been with Mistress longer than us, so she has less scruples when speaking. Even if she wants to curry favor, it's not our place. "
Xin 'er was, after all, two years older than Lin' er. She was thoughtful and persuaded Lin 'er with a few words. She didn't want to offend Yun Dou, the head maidservant in name.
.....
After the meal, Yu Shu strolled around the big garden. After digesting the food, she went to see Aunt Cui.
The luxurious house on Baochang Street was a big house with four entrances. The middle area was separated by a garden. There were two side courtyards on the east and west side. Yu Shu lived in the north side courtyard. Zhao Hui moved into the west side courtyard. There were two independent courtyards in the east side courtyard. One was Qingshi Zhai and the other was Yuyong Pavilion. Both were newly painted with red walls and green tiles. Aunt Cui occupied Qingshi Zhai alone.
At this time, Aunt Cui had already eaten dinner and was enjoying the new seasonal fruits provided by the kitchen. There was a small tea table with a few plates of pastries and a pot of fragrant tea.
Yu Shu entered the house and glanced around. Her eyes fell on Aunt Cui. She hadn't seen her for a few days. Aunt Cui seemed to have gained weight. Her cheeks were rounder. She looked brand new from head to toe. Her silk clothes were newly made. There was a long string of jade beads around her neck. It was a gift that Yu Shu didn't allow her to appear at the housewarming banquet and coaxed her.
"You're here." Aunt Cui was especially enthusiastic to see her today. She smiled and waved at her, "Come and sit. I just peeled the pomegranates. Try them and see if they're sweet."
She pushed the small bowl filled with red pomegranate seeds to Yu Shu. Yu Shu picked up two and put them in her mouth. The sweet and sour taste was actually not bad.
The expenses of the fu were all taken from the public account. Yu Shu didn't have time, so she entrusted the incoming and outgoing projects to Zhao Hui to manage. Every month, she would allocate a large amount of silver to the public account for her to use.
"Mother, why are you looking for me?" Yu Shu was sure that Aunt Cui didn't call her over to eat pomegranates.
"It's nothing important." Aunt Cui looked at her expression. Seeing that she didn't intend to continue asking, she had to take the initiative to say, "At the beginning of next month, it's Yin Furen's birthday. She sent me an invitation. I'm a shy person, so I want you to accompany me to the banquet."
Yu Shu refused without thinking, "I don't have time. You go by yourself."
Aunt Cui immediately pulled a long face, "It's just a banquet. You're still putting on airs here. I don't believe that you can't find half a day's time no matter how busy you are."
The Yin Furen she mentioned was the one in the former Assistant Minister Yin's Fu that Aunt Cui missed. She didn't think of anyone else.
Yu Shu raised her eyebrows and said, "I can find time, but how important is that Yin Furen? Is it worth for me to personally go to her house to congratulate her on her birthday?"
"Nonsense. She is the official Assistant Minister's Furen!"
"Bah," Yu Shu spat the pomegranate seeds that she had chewed clean into the small plate and sneered, "Isn't it just a fifth-level official's wife? There are at least a hundred or eighty fifth-level officials in Anling City. If you hit her with a pole, you can hit seven or eight of them."
Not to mention that her words were harsh, this Yin Furen once had ideas about her. She coaxed the brainless Aunt Cui and sent a matchmaker to propose marriage, hoping that she would fill in the hole for her family's infamous Third Young Master.
"You!" Aunt Cui was so angry that she couldn't catch her breath. She blurted out, "No, no matter what you say, I have already promised her. If you dare to not go, if you dare to not go, I will go out and say that you are not filial! I will say that you disobeyed your mother! "
Yu Shu's face turned cold. She frowned and said, "You promised her? Who did you promise? "
It seemed that the idea of visiting her house to congratulate her was not from Aunt Cui's own initiative. Someone had instigated it. Asking her, the dignified Miaoling Maid, to congratulate the Assistant Minister's Wife on her birthday was really embarrassing for that Yin Furen.
Aunt Cui dodged her eyes. She turned her head and said angrily, "I know that now that you are an official, you are arrogant and look down on others. But no matter what, the Yin Family is your mother's old master. If I let it go, it can be considered as half a master of yours. We can't be ungrateful. You can't turn your back on others just because you are rich. Anyway, I have said this. If you embarrass me, I will also embarrass you."
Yu Shu was amused by her unreasonable and shameless behavior. She rolled her eyes and immediately changed her attitude. She replied, "Don't worry.
"Okay, I will accompany you, okay?"
Concubine Cui quickly turned her face away and smiled. "That's my good daughter."
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