Chapter 46 "Don't you want me to come?"...
Song Jie's carriage left the Pei residence and went to Mao'er Hutong. Sure enough, the small house where Qiao Bao'er used to live was now empty.
It wasn't until Cangshu was sent to inquire that they learned that Yusu, the female Taoist priest of Yuqing Temple, had taken Qiao Bao'er as her disciple.
Why would the female Taoist priest Yusu suddenly accept a woman she had never met as her disciple?
Even a fool could tell that Xie Yushu was the one who orchestrated this. Only now did he realize that Xie Yushu had a complete plan from the moment he arranged for Qiao Bao'er to have an abortion.
First, they would have the child aborted, then retrieve Qiao Bao'er's indenture, and finally, they would devise a way to make Qiao Bao'er a disciple of the Jade Maiden Cult, freeing her from slavery and converting her into a Taoist priest.
The reason she chose the Jade Plain Female Taoist Priestess was because she was the only one whom the Marquis of Yong'an dared not interfere with.
He even believed that Xie Yushu and Lady Meng Min, the wife of the Marquis of Yong'an, had reconciled, which was a move she had planned long ago.
No wonder she needed so much money; it turns out she had planned to free her mother from being a mistress and a slave.
I heard she's been looking at houses lately. Does she want Qiao Bao'er to start her own household?
These events sound absurd; no mistress could ever reclaim her indenture while her master was still alive, let alone escape slavery and establish her own household.
But Xie Yushu did just that.
Song Jie's feelings were complicated. On one hand, he was genuinely amazed by Xie Yushu's courage and methods, but on the other hand, he felt a lump in his throat because she could have just come to him and asked him to free a slave from slavery in just a few words.
But she didn't; she didn't even tell him these things.
He had assumed that their relationship had grown closer in the past two days... but clearly, she didn't think so.
"Miss Yushu accompanied Lady Yong'an Marquis back to the Meng residence tonight," Cangshu reported again. "There is something I'm unsure whether I should report."
Song Jie looked at him: "When did you become so indecisive? Just say what you have to say."
Cang Shu then said, "I've heard that Miss Yu Shu seems to have invited a massage doctor from the Imperial Hospital to the Meng residence tonight." This wasn't a big deal, but after inquiring about the massage doctor, he learned that "the massage doctor's name is Zhao Shu, and she's the only unmarried person in the massage department of the Imperial Hospital. I heard she seems to have made a fortune these past two days and is looking at houses and asking about prices everywhere."
Song Jie's brows furrowed slightly as he asked Cang Shu, "What does Zhao Shu look like?"
"I have never seen him before," Cang Shu replied truthfully. "But he must be quite handsome. When I mentioned the name to Physician Lu Kang, he immediately said he remembered him, praised his appearance, and lamented that his background was too poor, otherwise suitors would have been lining up at his door long ago."
Song Jie became displeased and blamed Cang Shu for being too verbose in his answer. He had only asked about Zhao Shu's appearance; who would know about the family background of a mere Imperial Medical Academy Doctor?
He looked out at the pitch-black sky, feeling agitated. After a while, having bathed and changed his clothes and prepared to go to bed, he suddenly asked out of the blue, "Send someone to the Meng residence to see if the massage therapist has left."
Cangshu didn't react for a moment, and after a slight hesitation, she answered, "Yes."
He made the trip himself and returned quickly.
The Prime Minister had not yet retired for the night; he was leaning against his bed reading a book.
He stepped closer and whispered, "I've inquired, and Zhao Shu hasn't left yet."
Song Jie closed the book and looked at him coldly: "Where is Xie Yushu?"
“Miss Yushu should stay at the Meng residence tonight,” Cangshu replied.
Song Jie sneered and asked sarcastically, "I suppose that massage doctor will also be staying at the Meng residence tonight?"
He didn't want to think too much about it. He was just a massage doctor. Maybe Xie Yushu had invited him to massage Meng Min's feet. But what massage technique could make him rich enough to buy a house after just one visit?
How much money did Xie Yushu give him? Would someone as shrewd as her be willing to spend so much money on a man just for a massage?
While he was indulging in ridiculous wild thoughts, Xie Yushu had no idea how the 1 point of green hat value from Song Jie had increased.
She had no idea that she had stayed at the Meng residence with Meng Min for four or five days. Everyone in the Meng household treated her with utmost courtesy. Even Meng Tingchun became reserved in her presence. Apart from the spoiled young lady of the Meng family, Meng Jinyue, who was always jealous, Meng Jinyue would get angry if Meng Min held Xie Yushu's hand, or if Meng Min gave Xie Yushu some snacks. She would even argue with Xie Yushu about who was closer to Meng Min.
She has the personality of an only child.
But Meng Jinyue has one good point: she expresses her jealousy and anger openly and never resorts to underhanded tactics. She also never mocks Xie Yushu for being an illegitimate daughter. She has her own pride and will fight openly if she wants to compete.
Meng Min's complexion improved day by day. Xie Yushu noticed that although she only hired a massage therapist for Meng Min once, Zhao Shu came to the Meng residence every night after that day, as if she had made an appointment with Meng Min. Moreover, she stayed later and later, and one day she did not leave the Meng residence until dawn.
The Meng family remained surprisingly calm about the matter, only instructing Zhenniang to let Zhao Shu enter and exit through the back door.
Xie Yushu originally thought that the Meng family was afraid that Zhao Shu would be seen entering and leaving the Meng residence so late, which would cause gossip. Later, when he was delivering medicine to Meng Min, he accidentally overheard Meng Min's sister, Meng Jing, who was now the head of the Meng family, saying to Meng Min inside the house: "...Even ten massage doctors would not matter, but you can't give him too much credit. You are a princess, the wife of the Marquis of Yong'an. He is just a plaything. If you want to, summon him over; if you don't, send him away."
"Sister, I don't want to go back to the Yong'an Marquis's mansion... Please don't be angry with me. I feel disgusted just looking at Xie Zhi'an's face now," Meng Min said softly.
Meng Jing sighed softly, "Minmin, are you willing to hand over everything in the Yong'an Marquis's mansion to someone else? If you are, then I won't try to persuade you. If you want a divorce, then go ahead. The Meng family can afford to support you."
The room suddenly fell silent. After a while, Meng Min's soft sobs could be heard. She said, "How can I accept this..."
"Minmin," Meng Jing's voice lowered, "Since you're willing to accept this, have you considered your future? Xie Zhian will bring home the child born to another woman sooner or later. Have you thought about how to deal with that?"
"Keep the child and leave the mother; I don't know what else to do," Meng Min said fiercely.
There are certainly better ways to deal with this.
Xie Yushu thought.
Sure enough, Meng Jing inside the room said in a low voice, "There is a better way than this. Xie Zhi'an was able to become the Marquis of Yong'an entirely thanks to you, and everything the Marquis of Yong'an has will naturally be inherited by your child."
“But I’ve injured my body…” Meng Min said.
“Your body can always be healed. It’s just that you’ve been angry for years and that’s damaged your health.” Meng Jing continued, “On the first day you came back, Yu Shu came to pay her respects and brought me some tonics and a prescription. She said it was a secret recipe she got from Physician Lu Kang of the Imperial Hospital. It’s specially for women who have suffered postpartum injuries to recover. I’ve had someone look at the prescription, and it is indeed a good one. You can stay in the mansion and try it with me.”
Meng Min hesitated, "But even if I recover, I don't want to share a bed with Xie Zhi'an. I find him disgusting..."
Meng Jing suddenly laughed and said nonchalantly, "I said that the one who inherits the Yong'an Marquis's mansion should be your child, but I didn't say that it has to be your and Xie Zhi'an's child."
Xie Yushu, satisfied, turned and left with the medicine, finally making Meng Min understand what the best solution was. Xie Zhian, that old man, had long since lost his sperm quality. In the original drama, Widow Ye also started burning moxibustion to protect her pregnancy from the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy, and managed to keep it going until delivery. Her son was born weak and sickly from a young age.
She had always suspected that one reason Meng Min couldn't conceive was Xie Zhi'an.
Since that's the case, why not try someone else? Anyway, as long as it's Meng Min's child who inherits the Yong'an Marquis's mansion, it doesn't matter who the father is.
But she absolutely could not say these words directly to Meng Min. Putting aside whether Meng Min could accept them, even if she did, she might be silenced by Meng Min if she ever had a disagreement with her in the future.
These words could only be spoken by Meng Min's closest confidant, and Meng Jing was the most suitable person to say them.
She returned to the small kitchen to warm the medicine, and then heard Meng Jinyue calling her all over the courtyard: "Xie Yushu? Where is Xie Yushu?"
She responded.
Meng Jinyue came running over like a pony, wearing short clothes and riding boots, and stepped in to say to her, "Xie Yushu, I want to have a horse race with you."
Xie Yushu looked up at her. She grabbed the riding crop with both hands and yanked it hard, making a "snap" sound. She was quite pleased with herself and asked her, "Can you ride? Do you want me to be kind and teach you?"
Xie Yushu smiled. Coincidentally, she had learned to ride a horse specifically when filming a short drama at the film and television city.
Meng Jinyue excitedly led her to choose a horse, intending to go horseback riding with her to the hunting grounds at the foot of West Mountain. However, Meng Tingchun reminded them that it was best not to go out, as the Emperor was going on a boat trip on the lake today, and all the streets of Bianjing were being cleared and guarded.
Meng Jinyue was very dissatisfied, saying that if they didn't take the main road and instead took a detour to Xishan, they wouldn't be stopped by the guards.
She seemed determined to go, but Xie Yushu suddenly refused, saying she wouldn't go no matter what, and didn't even give her a chance to back down. She made an excuse that she had a stomachache and went to lie down in the house.
She let Meng Jinyue outside angrily curse her: "Coward!"
She wouldn't leave the house even if she was scolded. Just kidding, she currently has 40 points of "charm value". Back when Wan Susu was forcibly taken by the emperor, she also had 40 points of "charm value". At this critical moment, she has to do everything she can to avoid the old emperor.
Moreover, the old emperor never goes boating on the lake early in the morning or late at night, but he did it precisely when she was about to go out today. She suspected that it was the effect of her "charm value," which made it certain that she would encounter the old emperor and other important figures.
She absolutely refused. Even now, thinking back to when the old emperor smelled the fragrance at Yuqing Temple, she still feels extremely disgusted.
"Host, why don't you redeem it first?" the system said. "Your 40 points of popularity are really very likely to end up like Wan Susu. You can't stay home forever."
Of course she had to go out, but not now. She wanted to wait for Xiaodao to return and for his status as a prince to be confirmed. Then, even if the old emperor set his sights on her, she would have a way to deal with him.
"What if Xiao Dao wasn't a prince?" the system asked. In fact, the original story ended abruptly, and Xiao Dao's status as a prince was never confirmed. He died in the palace turmoil during the assassination attempt on the emperor and never found his parents.
“He must be.” Xie Yushu lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. Did Song Jie know something?
※
It started raining in the afternoon after we went boating on the lake.
Song Jie accompanied Emperor Xiao Xu on a boat trip on the lake for an afternoon. Xiao Xu felt a bit better these past two days and suddenly decided to change his plans and go to West Mountain to admire the red leaves in the rain.
It wasn't until dark that Xiao Xu finally returned to the palace.
When Song Jie escorted Xiao Xu back to the palace, he was already exhausted. The rain made his hands and feet icy cold. Just as he was about to take his leave, he heard Xiao Xu ask as if he remembered something: "Does Minister Song know the youngest daughter of the Marquis of Yong'an?"
Song Jie's eyebrows twitched, and he looked up at Xiao Xu.
Xiao Xu leaned back on the couch and said with a smile, "Has she been betrothed to Pei Shilin, the third-ranked scholar? Are they already married?"
He was asking Xie Yushu.
Song Jie was puzzled and felt an overwhelming sense of disgust. An old man wouldn't ask a woman questions without a reason.
"Yes," Song Jie replied affirmatively, "We have been married for quite some time now, and Pei Shilin sent me a wedding invitation before."
Xiao Xu said "Oh" and then fell silent.
Song Jie bowed and took his leave, his face turning cold the moment he stepped out of the palace gate.
On his way back to the mansion, he kept thinking: What did the old emperor want to do by asking Xie Yushu if he was married? When did he see Xie Yushu? Could it have been at Yuqing Temple?
He coughed restlessly, and Cang Shu helped him down from the carriage. He kept thinking about this troublesome matter all the way into the mansion and courtyard.
He was worried that Xiao Xu had taken a liking to Xie Yushu.
Could it be? Hasn't Xiao Xu been deeply in love with Wan Susu all these years? Even though Wan Susu was taken by his uncle, he still tried his best to protect her…
"Prime Minister." Jiang Hua greeted him from the doorway.
He didn't realize why the cook, Jiang Hua, was standing in front of his bedroom door, nor did he realize why Pan Pan hadn't come out to greet him today. He simply pushed open the door and went into the room.
A faint floral fragrance filled the room. He paused for a moment, then looked up and saw Xie Yushu sitting at the table, eating something. Panpan was wagging its tail at her feet.
For a moment, Song Jie thought he was dreaming, but Xie Yushu turned to look at him, her eyes sparkling with a smile, and said, "You're back just in time. Jiang Hua just made steamed dumplings. Would you like to eat with me?"
Her voice was real, and the aroma of the steamed dumplings was real too.
She actually came.
Song Jie heard his own heart pounding. He didn't want to appear too happy, as if his emotions were being controlled by her, so he walked over without saying anything, looked down at her, and asked with a tight throat, "Why are you here?"
Xie Yushu looked up at him, and instead of answering, asked, "Don't you want me to come?"
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Author's Note: Sorry for keeping you all waiting, I've finally tested negative and can resume updates! Thank goodness, thank you for waiting. I will try my best to update more to catch up on what I missed, and I will also write the bonus chapter for my other story, "What to Do When the Villain Has an Appetite for Me?"
Please rest assured!
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