Chapter 19 Banditry
Chu Yu raised an eyebrow, "Lost?"
Yu Heyue lowered her eyes, looking pitiful.
Qiu Rong, standing to the side, explained, "We heard today that the eldest daughter is sick, so the family asked our daughter to bring some things over to visit her."
"After spending half a day taking care of her, our young lady also caught a cold and is resting at the manor for the time being."
"Our young lady didn't want to disturb the host family, and was thinking of using the same prescription for the eldest young lady, but she forgot the way after coming out."
Chu Yu chuckled silently upon hearing this, then turned to Chao Yue and instructed, "Then take the Second Miss to the pharmacy."
"good."
Upon hearing this, Yu Heyue silently raised her eyes.
After their eyes met by chance, she pretended to be uneasy and looked away.
With a deep, weary voice, he said, "Thank you, Prime Minister."
Chu Yu watched them leave and walked towards Yu Wanyin's bedroom.
When he arrived, all the lights in Yu Wanyin's bedroom were out, and Qing Song was also waiting outside.
Qing Song probably didn't expect Chu Yu to come over again, so she quickly explained, "Madam has taken her medicine and is already asleep."
Chu Yu casually replied, "It's alright."
He stepped forward and pushed open the door.
Qing Song wanted to say something, but seeing that Chu Yu had already gone inside, she fell silent and didn't say anything more.
Yu Wanyin is fast asleep right now.
Chu Yu walked to the bedside, naturally preparing to sleep there, but found that there was no place for him on the bed.
If there are no seats available, that's fine too.
Even the pillows and blankets were taken away.
Chu Yuleng stood by the couch for a long time.
This was a clear indication that she was trying to get rid of him; she had no intention of letting him stay overnight to care for her.
Chu Yu laughed. When his sister came, he wondered how affectionate the two of them were in private. After taking care of her, they both fell ill. When he came, there wasn't even a pillow or blanket for him. She had no intention of being intimate with him at all.
A moment later, Qing Song, who was outside, somehow saw the Prime Minister leave, looking very angry.
Yu Wanyin woke up the next day feeling quite refreshed.
The female physician was surprised when she came to examine the woman. "Madam, you've recovered quite quickly. I thought it would take three to five days. Did you eat something else?"
Yu Wanyin thought about it carefully for a while.
Suddenly, I remembered the bitter taste that appeared in my mouth during my nap yesterday.
But she wasn't sure if it was related to that. "No, it wasn't."
The female doctor explained, "Perhaps it's because the previous treatment was effective."
Yu Wanyin asked simply, "My sister is also sick right now, how is she?"
"The second young lady has a high fever today. I have already paid my respects to you, Madam, and I still need to go and see her."
Yu Wanyin nodded, "Then you go first, I'll be there shortly."
The female doctor nodded, stood up, and took her leave.
Qing Song stepped forward to help Yu Wanyin get up and do her makeup.
The guest rooms were in the east backyard, a bit far from the master's bedroom, so Yu Wanyin walked around the back garden of the Prime Minister's residence.
Behind the lush, rocky hill, one suddenly overheard the whispers of several servants.
“The second young lady is usually lively and innocent, but she is also haggard and weak when she is sick. No wonder the Prime Minister feels sorry for her, and I feel sorry for her too.”
Yu Wanyin stopped in her tracks.
Qing Song was also a little surprised.
"Besides, the lady is in poor health. She used to be as obedient to the Prime Minister as a block of wood. To put it bluntly, how could the Second Miss possibly win a man's heart? Look, the Second Miss is sick, and the Prime Minister spent most of last night having people take care of her."
The speaker sounded familiar. If Yu Wanyin remembered correctly, she should be Granny Lai from the Yu family. It seemed that this was how the news of her illness spread.
Everyone who heard this was curious, and someone inside whispered, "Really? You mean the Prime Minister wants to take his sister-in-law as a concubine?"
Granny Lai knew she had exaggerated a bit in her words. "I just noticed that the Prime Minister treats the Second Miss quite differently. It might not be obvious in a day or two, but as time goes on, the Madam can't serve her anymore, and he might start thinking about taking a concubine. But these two sisters are family, and it's better to have a close sister to help them than to let outsiders cause them to drift apart."
Qing Song frowned, about to rush out to argue, but was stopped by Yu Wanyin.
Yu Wanyin instructed, "Let's take a detour."
If she goes out now, she might not win face; instead, she'll become a laughingstock.
After all, it's a fact that she's in poor health and can't take care of him.
It is also true that the Prime Minister was as obedient as a block of wood.
She didn't like arguing in the courtyard, nor did she understand why people had to be so pretentious and go to such lengths to fight for a man.
Like the Nie family, they sought to consolidate their positions.
She became pregnant several times in a row over the years.
My first child was a girl, and I thought the next two were also girls, so I had an abortion halfway through the pregnancy. It turned out that one of them was actually a boy, but it was misdiagnosed as a girl.
Her last pregnancy resulted in the birth of Yu Shao, which severely damaged her health.
Yu Wanyin thought it was absolutely insane.
In this messed-up world, she'd rather live peacefully one day at a time than cause any trouble.
Her goal in the Prime Minister's residence was simply to survive.
Seeing Chu Yu's rules was also to make life a little easier.
Yu Wanyin sometimes thinks that she would be better if her father's political enemies hadn't impeached him, and that she wouldn't have this father at all.
She must be with her aunt and elder sister right now, so she doesn't need to think about these messy things.
Qingsong comforted her, "Madam, they are just gossiping and talking nonsense. Don't take it to heart. The Prime Minister treats you very well."
Perhaps thinking about her predicament of being trapped here, Yu Wanyin felt a little annoyed. "I know he treats me well, but I can't tie him down and expect him to have only me by his side."
Not only is it unnecessary, but it's also pointless to even think about.
Yu Wanyin thought, what if Chu Yu really took Yu Heyue as his concubine?
So, does that mean she can leave now?
Leave here and go to Shanshan to find your aunt.
Chu Yu wouldn't want to bring her back either.
Thinking about it this way, it's not all a bad thing.
Yu Wanyin went to the guest room to check on Yu Heyue.
Yu Heyue remained well-behaved, greeting her and chatting casually.
When Chu Yu returned the next day, Yu Heyue sent him a calming sachet, and of course, she had one too.
Qing Song looked at the exquisitely embroidered sachet with a hint of displeasure. "No matter what, you and the Prime Minister are newlyweds."
Yu Wanyin was focused on drinking her nourishing soup and didn't notice what Qing Song was saying. She casually turned a page of her book.
Qing Song always felt that his wife's face rarely showed any emotion.
It seems like they don't care about these trivial things at all.
Although the lady is not in good health, it's good that she doesn't care.
But it's also upsetting to watch others take advantage of loopholes.
Qing Song racked her brains for a while, then got up and went to the small kitchen.
About an hour later, he returned with a box. "Madam, the Prime Minister has been busy with official business in his study since he returned today. Would you like to go and see him?"
Yu Wanyin didn't quite understand. "Wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to go and see him while he's busy with official business?"
“Oh, Madam,” Qingsong handed her the box and helped her up, “of course it’s to see the Prime Minister.”
Yu Wanyin spoke, and had no choice but to close the book.
As Qing Song pushed her out, she said, "No matter what, the Prime Minister took good care of you when you were sick. Now that the Prime Minister is too busy to eat, you can go and bring him some food as a way of returning the favor."
Yu Wanyin thought so too, and decided to take the opportunity to stretch her muscles and go for a walk in the front yard.
When she arrived, Chu Yu was still inside discussing matters with Wu Zhou.
Yu Wanyin waited in the outer room for a while.
Chu Yu didn't seem to mind her presence when he spoke, and it probably wasn't anything important.
It wasn't until Yu Wanyin overheard them talking about the bandits' intrusion into the capital that she realized what had happened.
"Whether it's Shang'an or Jiangling, the old system of rewarding people for reporting crimes is useless. Right now, His Majesty is anxious. The Commandant of the Guards couldn't handle it, so he reported it to you, saying that if these evil bandits are not eliminated, they will surely turn their swords against Shang'an in the future."
Chu Yu asked directly, "Are they unable to find it, or are they deliberately hiding it?"
Wu Zhou replied truthfully, "It's hard to say."
"If we can't find it in Shang'an City, then we'll go to Jiangling. Someone must know about our old hideout."
Chu Yu's words were crisp and decisive: "Clean up the Jiangling stronghold. If any common people harbor them, they will be punished. The group hiding in Shang'an will definitely show themselves."
Yu Wanyin's brow twitched when she heard the words "kill them all".
The scene of Jiangling Mountain Village in my mind was now covered in blood!
Yu Wanyin stood up, supporting herself on the table, and walked straight into the inner room.
Qing Song tried to stop her but couldn't. "Madam."
Neither of the two people in the study room expected Yu Wanyin to barge in.
Wu Zhou bowed, "Madam."
"It's my fault for talking for so long, making Madam wait." Chu Yu gestured for Wu Zhou to leave first, then stood up and walked towards Yu Wanyin. "How are you feeling?"
Yu Wanyin didn't reply to him, but frowned and looked at him, "Is the Prime Minister talking about bandits?"
Chu Yu paused, not expecting Yu Wanyin to bring this up. "What's wrong?"
Yu Wanyin hurriedly said, "We cannot suppress bandits in this way."
“In the past, the methods of dealing with bandits, such as reporting and rewarding, and covering up and punishing those involved, were all based on the fact that evil bandits robbed money and harmed the people, and the people suffered greatly. Only then did they have no choice but to ask the government for help, so that officials and the people worked together to punish evil and promote good.”
"Even if we send troops to kill the bandits, it will be what everyone wants."
"Has Your Excellency considered that the old methods of dealing with bandits are no longer effective, and the people are protecting the bandits and concealing the truth from the officials, with bandits and the people becoming one? Then the problem is not between the people and the bandits, but between the officials."
"If we resort to bloodshed and violence at this critical juncture, it will only make the people more unstable."
Chu Yu looked at her and asked, "Why does Madam think there's something wrong with the official?"
"The Prime Minister knows better than I do, isn't the issue of official positions a big deal?"
"Does Madam know what that bandit did?"
Yu Wanyin choked up, "All I know is that in a peaceful and prosperous world, if everyone has a way to survive and officials are honest and upright, there won't be bandits everywhere."
If we're talking about the past, she would have thought that bandits were definitely evil, but now it seems that it's hard to say who is evil. "Bandits were once civilians too. If they are evil bandits, then of course they deserve to die for their scavenging, looting, and burning."
"But right now in Yingzhou, the people are living in misery, and banditry is rampant like never before. Does Your Excellency dare to say that all of them are evil bandits? Are there really no good people who have been forced into banditry by officials?"
Chu Yu said calmly, "But what they did was also something that is not allowed by law."
Yu Wanyin was speechless. "The things that officials do are all within the bounds of the law, so why do ordinary people have no room to survive? Are the laws created for officials or for the people? Were the things that the Prime Minister himself did also within the bounds of the law?"
An eerie silence fell over the room.
Yu Wanyin realized she had spoken too harshly as soon as she said it, but she refused to back down.
I'm afraid that if I back down...
That is an endless series of bloodshed.
For a moment, Yu Wanyin thought of Aunt Duan.
Her husband's death in battle brought her no glory; instead, she was falsely accused of defection, her family property confiscated, and her life as a widow was a dead end.
She saved many lives by practicing medicine, but she couldn't save the conscience of those in power.
Meanwhile, outside the study, Rong Si leaned against the front of the carriage with his arms crossed, silently listening to the argument inside.
"So what if I am like this?" Chu Yu's tone remained gentle. "If I were merciful, I would have died a thousand times over."
“Yaoyao is naturally reluctant, I understand. But you must also understand that I am subordinate to the king.”
"In this position, I can't care about so much. That's how the world is. I need to do many wrong things before I have the right to do what I think is right. On this path, even the wrong things are right."
"Whether their misery was caused by me or not, I will never be able to satisfy them. It doesn't matter, I don't care."
“No matter which bandit it is, they all want my life. If I let them go today, the knife will fall on my head tomorrow.” Chu Yu took another step closer. “Yaoyao, what I care about is, if one day, a bandit holds a knife to my neck and asks you whether you want him to live or me to live, which one would you choose?”
Yu Wanyin was speechless and turned her head away.
Chu Yu pinched her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. "If you want them to live, I will no longer care about these things, even if I die without a burial place in the future."
The room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
After a long silence, Yu Wanyin said, "Prime Minister, please pretend I said nothing today."
"I'm a little tired, I won't disturb the Prime Minister while he's handling official business." She pushed his hand away and walked out.
After Yu Wanyin finished speaking, she quickly left with Qing Song.
Before Chu Yu could even react.
Seeing that Yu Wanyin's expression was not good, Qing Song took a few steps after her, "Madam."
In the courtyard, Rong Si watched that slender figure leave.
Not long after, Chu Yu also came out of the house.
Wu Zhou, who was waiting outside, stepped forward. Chu Yu gave him an order, indicating that he was about to go out on business again.
Wu Zhouzhi met Rong Si, and Rong Si readily brought the horse over.
Chu Yu paused slightly as he got into the carriage, staring at Rong Si for a long time.
At this moment, the brim of Rong Si's hat completely covered his face.
Chu Yu gestured coldly, "Raise your head."
Rong Si raised his head an inch, and Chu Yu's hand had already pinched his face.
Those icy, smooth finger bones felt like they carried sharp blades, threatening to slash and tear his face apart.
Chu Yu stared at him intently for a long time, his tone no longer gentle yet sinister, "Unfortunately, she will blame me."
Chu Yu let go of his hand and got into the car.
Wu Zhou asked from the side, "Prime Minister, what about that bandit?"
"Never mind, we'll talk about it another day."
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