Chapter 79. Her situation was even worse than hers.

The words swirled in my mind, and a strange feeling slowly arose in my chest, as if it had been hollowed out, leaving me feeling empty.

Yu An paused for a moment, "Ji Jinghe brought me back that day?"

Baozhu: "Yes, after I saw the girl off, I was summoned away by Lord Wang Jie."

Yu An took a breath, which meant that the Sun family had not sent anyone to deliver any message to her.

"Summon someone to arrest the servant who delivered the message to me that day. I want to see whose orders he was on."

“Yunxiu went to catch it, and this morning the body was found by a passerby relieving himself in the weeds by the roadside outside the city.”

He died...

Yu'an had no choice but to call Yunxiu over. Yunxiu understood her master's intentions and also brought over the person who was living with that servant.

"When the coroner examined him, there was only one stab wound on his body. He did not struggle before he died, which means that the murderer must have met him before. The murderer stabbed him in the heart without warning, killing him instantly."

Yu An turned to look at the person kneeling on the ground, "When did he leave?"

"I only saw him pack his bags, but I only heard him say that he was saving them to use when he went home for the New Year. I never expected that he would run away in the middle of the night."

"He also paid back the small amount of money. I asked him where he made his fortune, but he didn't say anything. He just told me not to ask around."

The dead cannot testify, and it is difficult to verify, but it does corroborate other things, such as the enemy already knowing that she brought the Sun family to the capital.

"Yunxiu, move the Sun family to the capital, preferably in a bustling area, close to your residence, so that it will be difficult for others to take action."

After giving her instructions, Yu'an was watched by Baozhu while she ate. She managed to eat a few bites before Ji Shu arrived.

Baozhu threw down her spoon, "Our household is really a hot commodity..."

Yuan:......

This girl.

It's really strange. After she woke up, it was as if everyone could sense it, and they came one after another.

Seeing Yu'an's expression, Ji Shu looked distressed: "Why did you suddenly become like this again? Does my brother know?"

Yu An remained silent for a while, not wanting to respond, but finally spoke up: "He knows."

"No wonder my brother got into such a mess. He's been really distracted lately. He only came home after he was removed from his position as Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies. Even when Grandmother asks him questions, he barely says a word."

“You got criticized, of course, and what could it be for…” Yu’an stirred the soup in her bowl. “You don’t need to say anything, I already know.”

Ji Shu pouted, a hint of mischief in her eyes: "What do you know?"

"Please spare me, considering I'm poisoned."

"What?! You've been poisoned?"

Ji Shu only knew that Ji Jinghe's reprimand by the Emperor was related to her, but she didn't know exactly what it was about. She came to see her today not only to find out, but also to ask her about it.

Yu took a breath and carefully explained the whole story to her.

Ji Shu slammed her hand on the table: "Using you to deceive my brother? In this kind of thing, whoever benefits is the one who did it."

It's probably the Yan family.

Ji Shu was also puzzled. It was such an obvious trap, so why did Ji Jinghe fall for it and cause such a mess? It was as if he had lost his mind and stopped thinking altogether.

Hearing Ji Shu's words, Yu An could no longer explain herself, and even felt a little guilty. The chicken soup in her mouth tasted bland and tasteless.

“My brother is really confused. Because of this, Grandmother’s illness has gotten worse. The imperial physician has changed several prescriptions, but she still hasn’t gotten better… If my brother had caused less trouble, Grandmother would have gotten better.” Ji Shu said with exasperation.

Yu An bit her lip, the words on the tip of her tongue, but she ultimately chose to swallow them back.

She didn't care what Ji Jinghe did, nor would she appreciate it, but the old lady was different. When she was in the Ji family, the old lady took good care of her. If she was really seriously ill, she had to go and see her out of both courtesy and reason.

Yu An comforted Ji Shu for a few words and coaxed her to feel better before letting her leave.

After taking several doses of medicine, Yu'an gradually recovered and resumed making sachets to sell for money.

Unlike before when I was under pressure, now I do it whenever I have time, and I have more leisure time.

What she values ​​now is sending Chu Zhuo'an to participate in the military examination after the mourning period is over.

Once he was settled, she no longer needed to worry about the Chu family.

It was only after noon when hurried footsteps could be heard outside the corridor. Baozhu rushed in and whispered, "Miss, a rare guest, a rare guest..."

"Xu Jingshu has arrived and says she wants to see you."

What a rare guest!

Since it was his second time entering the palace, Yu'an couldn't refuse, so he had someone invite him in.

Several days had passed, and Yu-an couldn't quite recall when the two had last met.

“My daughter is still ill, so please, Miss Xu, do me the honor of having our daughter entertain you in her bedroom.”

Yu'an inwardly chuckled at Baozhu's temper, then stood up and stood at the door to greet her.

Unbeknownst to each other, they had changed a great deal in each other's eyes.

Xu Jingshu changed into a married woman's hairstyle, her belly was slightly protruding, and she already looked like a new mother. Her clothes also became simple and elegant, unlike her previous flamboyant style.

The two men curtsied and sat down one after the other at the table.

"I haven't congratulated you yet since your case was overturned. I brought some gifts today, please don't mind them."

Her tone remained unchanged, always indifferent, making it seem as if she didn't care about anything.

Yu An smiled and said, "That's too much of a courtesy. I didn't give you any gifts when you got married either, and now you even have a child."

Knowing she wasn't joking, Xu Jingshu couldn't laugh either. Marriage and childbirth had never been things she was happy about.

"I'm not here for pleasantries; I have something to tell you," Xu Jingshu said, her tone turning cold.

She took out a bag of envelopes from her sleeve; they were blank.

After a brief exchange of glances, Yu'an understood her meaning and reached out to open the envelope to read it.

It was a tattered piece of paper, burned down to a small fragment, with only one line of text remaining on it—

"The Ji family is already on its last legs, leaving Ji Jinghe with no chance of recovery."

Yu An's heart tightened, and she looked up at her again. "So you came to see me last time just to talk about this?"

Xu Jingshu remained noncommittal.

Yu An: "Where did you come from?"

Xu Jingshu remained silent, seemingly unwilling to speak.

Yu An packed the things up and placed them back in front of her. "You should have given this to Ji Jinghe, not shown it to me. If you came to me today simply because of this matter, then you can go back now."

Xu Jingshu choked, propped herself up on the table to stand up, and said with a hint of annoyance, "You think I didn't look for him? He just refused to see me..."

"I've looked for him five times, but he won't see me, he won't see me... Are you satisfied now?"

It seemed as if emotions suppressed for many days were shouted out in this sentence, a mixture of resentment and anger that was hard to ignore.

Yu An looked at her in surprise, unsure of what to say.

She never speculated about their affairs, nor did she ever care, but she never knew they were like this...

“Chu Yu’an, you don’t need to show off in front of me. I know I’m not as good as you now. I came to see you today because of this matter. I also heard about your divorce from Ji Jinghe. But compared to me, he’s willing to listen to you and only listens to you. So, I’m entrusting this to you.”

"I don't trust anyone else but you..."

She has both courage and wisdom; only when this thing is in her hands can it be used to its fullest potential.

With Xu Jingshu standing in front of her, Yu An noticed her protruding belly again.

She beckoned, and Baozhu understood. Reluctantly, she moved a few steps and helped Xu Jingshu back to the stool.

Silence fell over the room.

"Then you have to tell me where you got this from. I'll feel more at ease holding it once I know."

Xu Jingshu lowered her head, let out a long breath, and after a long while, she uttered a very soft sound.

"My husband, Lu Yunshu."

With a sudden realization, Yu An was speechless.

Seeing this, Baozhu took the Xu family's maids and went out.

"...I found it in the charcoal brazier in his study, more than two months ago."

They weren't around at the time, and she kept it hidden for over two months before finally giving it away today.

When they couldn't find the person, they were so anxious that they almost went to Jiuwan Mountain.

She finally waited for the person to return from Lizhou, but Ji Jinghe didn't see her, so she had no choice but to make up her mind to come here.

Unexpectedly, news of their divorce broke as soon as they returned.

"As long as there's any new information, I'll definitely send someone to deliver it, remember that..."

“Xu Jingshu”.

Yu-an stopped her.

"Since you know we're divorced, you should know that I have nothing to do with Ji Jinghe anymore, so I won't interfere in his affairs. If he won't see you, you can go to Zhang Yanche. If that doesn't work, go to Jiuwan Mountain and find either of them. That would be better than me. How can a woman like you and I possibly manage things..."

"Do you know Jiuwan Mountain?"

Xu Jingshu froze, her gaze immediately fixed on her, her face showing defensiveness.

Yu An looked away. "I stayed at Tantuo Temple for three months and by chance met Cui Hu and spoke with him."

As soon as she finished speaking, her face turned ashen; she couldn't find any words to describe Xu Jingshu's expression.

"Who told you that? Cui Hu?"

Yuan:......

"He told you everything, but what about me?"

Does she not care about her reputation at all?

Xu Jingshu struggled to her feet, her steps unsteady, and stopped again before she could walk.

"Chu Yu'an, from now on I will only deliver the items to you. If you want to keep them, then keep them; if not, you can do with them as you please..."

She left so decisively that Yu'an didn't even lift a step to see her off before she disappeared from the house.

Baozhu hurried in, and seeing Yu'an's serene expression, her smile gradually faded. "Miss, you..."

"Nothing happened," Yu An replied first.

Baozhu stammered, "She cried when she went out just now. I thought..." I thought she had stood up for herself and scolded someone until they cried.

Yu An took the envelope from the table and put it into her dressing case. "From now on, when the Lu family servants bring things, tell them to treat them well, understand?"

Baozhu was puzzled and wanted to ask why, but seeing her listless appearance, she simply agreed and didn't say anything more.

The key contents of the Xinjiang River have been burned, so there is little point in keeping them. However, it is still appropriate to keep them in case the handwriting is being verified.

Xu Jingshu's words and actions deeply moved her, though she didn't know exactly why.

Lu Yunshu worked for the Yan family. If we broaden the scope of the matter, the downfall of the Xu family and the death of Xu Yunshu are inextricably linked to her.

Xu Jingshu, who was already unwilling to marry, is now facing even more difficulties in the Lu family due to this additional relationship.

"Did Xu Jingshu say something to the young lady that made her feel sorry for her?"

Baozhu was known for holding grudges. Staring at her, she lowered her voice but spoke clearly, "Shouldn't that be wrong?"

“No.” Yu’an sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought, and said, “It’s just… it’s just that we feel a bit of sympathy for each other.”

However, Xu Jingshu's situation was even worse than hers back then.

Time flies, and the end of the year is just around the corner.

When Baozhu was buying some New Year's goods, Yu'an helped her unpack them. There was a notice tied to the outside of the rope. When she unfolded it, it was a missing person notice.

"The shop owner insisted on giving me one; otherwise, I wouldn't have taken it."

There are so many of these notices on the street, it's hard to find them. For ordinary people, they're just a piece of waste paper.

Yu An laughed: "I guess the boss took the money and couldn't send it out, so he forced it on me."

There was more than one notice, which not only depicted the missing person's portrait but also showed the clothes and jewelry they were wearing when they went missing.

"A fourteen-year-old girl has gone missing. What a pity! The human traffickers deserve to die..."

Baozhu: "Who says it isn't?"

The sachet in the painting looked familiar; she felt like she had seen it before, but the patterns were all very similar, and she couldn't quite place it.

The matter was dropped, and Yu'an didn't throw away the portrait, but put it on her desk.

Duoluo would occasionally escape alone and hide in the Chu residence, and this became more and more frequent as the year drew to a close.

This person talks too much and is picky. Sometimes even Yu'an can't help but complain about him, but she can't say it out loud and can only mutter a few words in her heart.

This is the first New Year since returning to the Chu family mansion. Chu Xingjian is not here, so only Yu'an and her brother Chu Zhuo'an are putting up couplets.

"We're running out of paste. Go back and get some more. I'll stay here," Yu An said reassuringly.

Chu Zhuo'an obediently went inside to look for her, while Duo Luo slipped out of the mansion gate again.

"If you weren't afraid of being discovered here, why did you come out again?" Yu An asked casually.

Duoluo changed into the modified Hu clothing made by Yu'an, and held onto the ladder at her feet. "I just came out to see you. It's the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the little New Year for you Han people. We're waiting for you to come back and have a feast."

Yu An laughed and scolded, "You greedy cat."

Duoluo: "I ran into the Ji family's carriage when I was riding back and forth today. Hey, aren't you worried about Ji Jinghe at all? So heartless..."

"He's heartless, arrogant, and ungrateful. Why should I worry about someone like him?"

"We were husband and wife, after all. Even now that he's become the target of public criticism, you don't care?"

"Serves him right."

Yu An returned to her work with a carefree attitude, completely unaware of what was happening behind her.

A figure stood outside the mansion gate, and two words, neither too loud nor too soft, fell into his ears, causing his defenses to crumble completely.

"Oh, Imperial Censor, you've arrived?" Duoluo only then noticed.

Seeing Ji Jinghe's dark face, he must have heard what was said earlier, so he quietly slipped away.

Yu An turned to look at the man, who was completely open and honest, without the slightest change in expression.