After taking the six boxes of scented paper from Chunlai Inn, Yu Jiao did not stay outside. She sat in the carriage. Through the gap between the swaying curtains, she saw a man dressed as a scholar walking away hurriedly with two cotton knee pads in his arms.
Yu Jiao looked a little dazed. Although it was already February, Kyoto was in the north and the weather was still cold. She didn't know if there was charcoal burning in the Imperial Examination Hall. Sister Fuling should have made him a knee pad...
Coming back to her senses, Yu Jiao couldn't help but laugh at herself in her heart. Why was she thinking about these things?
When passing by the clothing store, Yu Jiao asked Wei San to stop the car, and Jian Jia asked, "Miss, what do you want to buy?"
Yu Jiao shook her head and hesitated for a long time before she spoke, "Go to the clothing store and see if there are any thick knee pads. Buy a pair and send them to Kanjing Hutong."
After Jianjia got out of the car, Wei San drove back to Liu's house.
When it was getting dark, Jianjia came back and said that she had given the knee pads to Miss Fuling, but she did not see Yu Qizhe.
Yu Jiao did not ask any more questions. After that, she and Chen Yu were busy with the paper shop business, and also had to look after Wang Xueyan's newly opened incense pill shop. She had no time to think about it anymore.
Just as she was feeling sleepy, someone handed her a pillow. Xue Qingshang intended to get closer to Yu Jiao because of Xue Rong's childbirth. They used to live together in Zanmao Hutong, but she had never been to Liu's house. Recently, she sent her maid to deliver two invitations.
The last time Yu Jiao was out, she was not at home. It was a coincidence that she was here today. Madam Liu sent a message last night that Liu Yaozhen and her husband were coming over, and asked Yu Jiao to take Cui Mubai's pulse again to see if his health had improved recently.
Yu Jiao did not go out then. After the doorman came to report, Yu Jiao asked Jianjia to invite Xue Qingshang into the house.
When Xue Qingshang entered the room, the maid had already prepared tea and brought it in.
"Please take a seat, Lady County." Yu Jiao personally poured her a cup of tea.
After Xue Qingshang sat down, she smiled and teased, "It's really not easy to see you. You are even busier than me, the county lord."
Yu Jiao also smiled, "The county lady is joking. I was busy with the shop a few days ago and was not at home."
"Shop? Isn't Madam Liu the housekeeper in your house?" Xue Qingshang asked doubtfully.
"Of course it's my mother who's the housekeeper." Yu Jiao said, "The shop I'm talking about is opened in partnership with someone."
Xue Qingshang didn't ask any more questions, and smiled as she talked about other things. "In a few days, you should go to the palace to check my sister's pulse. I will pick you up then, don't forget."
"The Imperial Concubine is a precious person, so Yu Jiao will naturally remember it carefully."
"My elder sister has punished Wang Min. Didn't you have a grudge against him?" Xue Qingshang said to Yu Jiao, "But he didn't commit any crime. My elder sister demoted him to the seventh rank clerk in the Imperial Hospital on the grounds that he was not skilled enough. From now on, he can only identify and test medicines, and can no longer see patients."
Yu Jiao smiled faintly, "It's true that he is not very skilled."
Xue Qingshang sighed softly, "When I entered the palace, Rongpin treated me very well. Who could have thought that she was so vicious and treacherous? My sister found out that she was actually Empress Feng's person. When she was in the palace, my sister had a miscarriage because of Empress Feng."
Xue Qingshang shouldn't have told Yu Jiao about such secret affairs in the harem, but she obviously thought that Yu Jiao was in the same boat with them.
Xue Qingshang was still talking to herself, "My sister wants to wait until she gets pregnant before settling accounts with them..."
"County Lady, how did you get to know Brother Yu Wu?" Yu Jiao couldn't help but interrupt her. Knowing more is not necessarily a good thing. Yu Jiao was not at all interested in the struggles in the harem.
Xue Qingshang was obviously more interested in Yu Qizhe, and she didn't even realize that Yu Jiao interrupted her so stiffly in an attempt to change the subject.
The corners of her eyes curved slightly, and her lips pursed up. "Your fifth brother once matched a couplet I made in Xinglou. That couplet had been hanging in Xinglou for half a year, and no one could match it. Master Yu matched my couplet on his first visit to Xinglou. He is really talented."
Yu Jiao smiled slightly and nodded, but the smile in her eyes was very faint.
"Speaking of which, the imperial examination will be held tomorrow, and the candidates will enter the Imperial Examination Hall today. Why didn't you go to see your fifth brother off?" Xue Qingshang wanted to go, but she had no right to do so. She specially asked her maid to give Yu Qizhe a pair of knee pads and some food, but the man refused to accept them.
"Entering the Imperial Examination Hall today? I forgot about it." Yu Jiao was indeed so busy that she forgot about this matter. She didn't want to care about it and just ignored it.
"But it doesn't matter. Sister Fuling will go and see him off." Yu Jiao said again.
A trace of disappointment flashed across Xue Qingshang's face. She had originally thought that if Yu Jiao went to see Yu Qizhe off, she could go with them.
"The imperial examination is so important, why don't you go and see your fifth brother off?" Xue Qingshang wanted to persuade Yu Jiao to go over, "It just so happens that I also want to go to the Imperial Examination Hall to see the demeanor of those candidates."
Yu Jiao shook her head, as if she didn't understand Xue Qingshang's hint, "No, my eldest sister and her husband will come over later. My eldest sister is feeling a little unwell and wants me to take a look."
Xue Qingchang's face showed undisguised disappointment, and it seemed that she really cared about Yu Qizhe.
Yu Jiao nonchalantly picked up the teacup and took a sip. She couldn't help but wonder if Yu Qizhe knew that he was loved by a gifted girl like Xue Qingshang?
"The maid in my sister's palace said that when you left the palace, you were called away by Master Cheng. Master Cheng didn't make things difficult for you, did he?" Although Xue Qingshang felt regretful, she did not forget the other purpose of this trip.
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