Chapter 68 Severance
Just as Yu An was about to look up, Ji Jinghe stopped her.
The two of them took off their clothes in the dark and lay down on the bed as usual.
Yu An was nervous, but Ji Jinghe liked to see her cautious demeanor, and his face was full of ease.
"What did you do today?" Yu An asked in a low voice as she lowered the curtain.
Ji Jinghe: "I didn't do much, I just listened to some things."
Yu An was speechless and rolled her eyes: "You're not telling the truth again."
Ji Jinghe pretended to turn over and pulled her into his arms. When she tried to dodge, he quickly tightened his arms around her, saying, "Someone's watching, don't move."
He deliberately moved closer, until their breaths were touching.
“Ask him, then he won’t hear you,” he said matter-of-factly.
Yuan:......
Perhaps because they had been sharing a bed for so long, she was no longer someone who was easily embarrassed. With a clear conscience, she stopped thinking about other things.
"It's about the question from earlier. Tell me honestly."
She didn't come here because of him and Shen Qiulan. She traveled all the way to Lizhou, and if she gained anything, she should know, and she has the right to know.
Ji Jinghe patted her gently, as if soothing a baby to sleep, "It's about the Shen family estate. I had Wei Ji and the others investigate, and everything is normal."
Although I had anticipated this, I was still slightly disappointed.
Yu An frowned and asked in a very low voice, "So what have you been doing these past few days?"
"We found a batch of unusual goods; it seems someone was smuggling salt and iron. We caught them, but unfortunately, they pulled out a scapegoat. We still need to continue the investigation," he said.
"What about Qian Zhang?"
"I was deeply involved."
Four words are enough to prove Ji Jinghe's true intentions; he knows them very well and has a lot of knowledge about them.
He has the patience to be the one waiting for the fish to bite.
"So, because of this matter, you're avoiding seeing your uncle today?"
Yu An then realized what was happening, and she didn't believe it.
Ji Jinghe raised his hand and rubbed her temples. "You don't want to see me, do you?"
His reply was confident and assertive, with a touch of casualness.
After a few words, Yu'an felt uneasy. Her anger, which had been gradually subsiding, was now burning up again because of him.
Seeing that she was annoyed, Ji Jinghe immediately restrained himself and put his hands and feet in their proper places.
"Don't worry..."
How can I not be anxious?
Yu An broke free from his hand, propped herself up, and said seriously, "Ji Jinghe, people learn from their mistakes. It's no fun to use the same tricks repeatedly."
It serves as a warning, and also as a way of drawing a clear line.
She trusted him this time, which is why she agreed to come to Lizhou.
She also hoped that Ji Jinghe would understand that she was no longer a delicate flower kept in seclusion. Even if she was, she was a flower that had been washed by wind and rain, splashed with mud, dirty, half-dead, but would come back to life!
He can be protected, but not like this.
Ji Jinghe looked at her quietly without saying anything. Yu An didn't say anything either. She moved her pillow away and shifted to sleep on the side.
After arriving at the Shen family's house, Yu'an couldn't sleep soundly. Perhaps Ji Jinghe left too quietly and too early, so she didn't even notice when he called her.
He kept Qingque behind and sent someone to tell her that Qingque knew everything, and that she could ask Qingque any questions she wanted, and that he would not hide anything from her in the future.
After a good night's sleep, Yu'an calmed down and felt no unease when she heard those words at the breakfast table.
Based on what Ji Jinghe said last night, even if we ask, the answers will probably be the same as before.
What she needed was something truly relevant to the Yan family; she wouldn't bother listening to anything else about being a "scapegoat," as it was pointless.
It's always more reassuring to do it yourself, so the next day, Yu-an went out again by car.
Baozhu complained slightly: "It seems that the old man has been busy for nothing these days, disappearing for days and nights, and in the end he caught a scapegoat."
This incident caused quite a stir; they even saw notices posted on the street.
Yu An sighed, "It seems our opponent is capable; he won't get any advantage from us. This matter is quite troublesome."
After spending time together, she knew Ji Jinghe's personality all too well.
This person doesn't do useless work, and won't easily make a move before he's sure of the outcome.
Since they were able to get him to take action, it means they had some confidence. The fact that he missed two opportunities only shows that he was also constrained in this situation.
The two specifically sought out a place with many slave traders. Yu'an claimed she wanted to buy a maid and led Baozhu through the market.
"My lady, my lady, look at our goods here. They're all newly found, without any household registration, and very cheap."
The matchmaker pulled Yu'an's arm and whispered the last sentence in her ear.
Yu An paused, stopped, looked at the people around the matchmaker, and asked with a smile, "What I need are people who can serve the master. These people are ignorant and I'm afraid they can't do the work and won't meet the master's standards."
The matchmaker, seeing that she was dressed simply, assumed that she was someone who worked for a wealthy family.
Without a shred of doubt, only a face full of enthusiasm for making money, he said, "Wife, I don't know how many have been sent to the Shen family through my connections. Can our family be bigger than the Shen family? Take a closer look, all the workers here are skilled laborers."
Yu An glanced at it. "Can you speak?"
The matchmaker immediately seemed to understand something and excitedly said, "I have both those who can speak and those who can't."
Yu An was stunned for a moment, then took a deep breath and pretended to be a Taoist priest: "Is this true? Can a deaf-mute person still work?"
The matchmaker clicked her tongue. "Madam, are you really unaware or just pretending? Look around this market, which business doesn't have these connections? Rich people love these mute people who can't speak..."
After wandering around the chaotic market for a while, Yu An finally got to see a sight she had never seen before.
One after another, living lives are sold and bought and sold, to people from all over the world, not even those from this place called Lizhou.
She hadn't met many people over thirty; most of them were teenagers or young adults, around the same age as her.
“Girl, I was bought from here. I used to look just like them…”
Yu An raised her hand to wipe away her tears, "Don't cry."
Baozhu is an orphan. She was bought into the household when she was still young. Yu'an learned about this from Chu Xingjian, which is why she has treated her this way all these years.
“Look, girl, there are so many parents here looking for their children. Do you think they can find them?” Baozhu pouted, her voice filled with grievance.
Yu An comforted her and led her into the carriage first.
Moved by the scene, Baozhu secretly made up her mind to make getting close to the two deaf and mute maids in the Shen family her top priority. Within two days, she brought Yu'an the most important news.
“Girl, I remember Uncle Zhuang saying last time that those deaf and mute servants had tattoos. Guess what I saw today.”
Baozhu leaned closer and whispered, "Those two maids also had them on the back of their necks. I saw it with my own eyes."
Just as Yu'an was about to ask for details, Baozhu took the pen from her hand and drew the approximate shape. "She glanced at it and that's the shape, but I don't remember the exact appearance."
Uncle Zhuang didn't explain things clearly that day, perhaps because he himself didn't remember what the tattoos looked like, but at least there was new information, so she wouldn't have stayed here for nothing.
Baozhu: "They are both very cautious. I have been actively flirting with them for so many days before they are willing to look at me more. I will see how things go and see if I can get more information out of them."
Just as Ji Jinghe said, it's pretty much a definite yes or no.
Now that they are living under someone else's roof, neither she nor Ji Jinghe can use their skills. If they were in the capital, she would really like to find a way to take the two maids to Uncle Zhuang to confront him.
Baozhu found them secretly. The servants of the Shen family were like mother hens protecting their eggs. As soon as they saw her talking to those two, they started to watch her openly and secretly, as if they were afraid that she would say something.
Yu An understood the situation and planned to return to give Ji Jinghe a heads-up and see how he would proceed.
He has a lot of information outside, so even if he can't think of a way to prove it, he can prepare in advance.
Qingque said he would be back early today, but when it was almost time to eat, he was still nowhere to be seen.
Baozhu: "Master is back, but he was called away by Master Shen and hasn't returned yet after a long time."
Yu An held the medicine bowl, looked at Shen Qiulan on the bed, exchanged a brief glance, and then said nothing.
With her complexion improving, Shen Qiulan also had the strength to speak.
"What do you mean they chatted for ages without leaving the house? Do they still have things to talk about between them, uncle and nephew?"
Baozhu replied truthfully, "I didn't know that. I heard it from the servant at the door."
Shen Qiulan pushed away the medicine bowl that Yu'an handed her, and said weakly, "Go and find Jinghe. Tell him that I asked him to come and I have something to say to him."
Yu-an: "He should come back on his own soon, Mother-in-law, you might as well wait a little longer."
Shen Qiulan shook her head: "I can't wait any longer. Tell him to come back as soon as possible. I have something to say to him."
For some reason, she suddenly became anxious. Yu'an was puzzled but helpless, so she asked Baozhu to go and call her, but that didn't work either. Shen Qiulan insisted that she go and call her herself.
“I don’t trust anyone else to call me. You go and call me, and tell them it was me who called me. I have something urgent to discuss. If I don’t say it, my voice will go hoarse again.”
Shen Qiulan urged her on, so Yu'an had no choice but to hand the medicine bowl to Granny Cao and go herself.
Yu An pondered this inexplicable abnormality and went to Shen Yi's study based on her memory.
The Shen family mansion was large, and most of the servants had moved to the new courtyard. There were fewer people in the front yard, and fewer lights were on. As Yu'an was walking through the corridor, she happened to hear voices.
I couldn't help but stop and want to find out more.
"...Jinghe, between you and me, uncle and nephew, what matters are outsiders more important than this? What good will it do you to make this a big deal? If the Shen family falls, your mother will be all alone. Even if you don't think about me, you should think about your mother. It wasn't easy for your mother to raise you and Ji Shu."
...
Ji Jinghe said something, and then Shen Yi said, "Your maternal grandfather left a will for your mother before he passed away. If you don't believe me, you can go back and ask her. I want to see what kind of person you would do for that woman. A person who doesn't even want his own parents, does he deserve to stand between heaven and earth and serve as an official in the court?"
"Your mother worked tirelessly for the Ji family for decades, and this is how you repay her..."
"My uncle meant that I should continue to live in this muddle-headed way, and even my maternal grandfather said the same thing."
“We are family. What good would it do for the Ji family to bring down the Shen family? You foolish nephew.”
Through the glass window, the two figures inside were not clearly visible; they were just two blurry black blobs, flickering in and out.
Hearing Ji Jinghe's wavering tone, my already anxious heart became even more uneasy. When I heard another sound from inside the room, just as I was about to continue listening, I seemed to hear a series of hurried footsteps behind me.
Yu An instinctively hid in the flower bushes beside her, and after the servant had passed by, she immediately turned back the way she came.
Stepping on the bluestone bricks, Yu An felt dizzy. When Shen Yi brought out Old Master Shen and Shen Qiulan, Yu An really couldn't imagine what Ji Jinghe would do.
Yu An couldn't figure out what he had said to her these past few days.
When she returned home, Shen Qiulan saw that she had come back alone and couldn't help but ask her.
Yu An: "Oh, we couldn't find him. We'll have Qing Que go look for him later."
Seeing that Shen Qiulan had finished drinking the medicine, Yu An stood aside without moving, saying that he was going back.
Shen Qiulan noticed that her complexion was not as good as before, and she became suspicious, but she did not dare to speak up, so she could only ask Granny Cao to see her off.
Granny Cao was shrewd; as soon as they left, she followed Yu'an and asked, "Why does the young mistress look unwell? Could it be that she has caught a cold?"
Yu An shook her head: "No."
Granny Cao: "Madam feels sorry for you. You've been taking care of her every day these past few days, and it's made Madam feel bad too. It would be good for you to stay in your room and rest..."
"It's alright, it's just a few steps away. You've all been taking care of me, so I'm not tired. Please pass on a message for me, telling my mother-in-law not to worry."
She's just being a servant; there's no need to complain behind her back. She's never been that kind of person.
After dealing with the situation, the master and servant returned to their room without further ado.
When you have nothing to do, you don't have time to think too much.
After all, they are connected by blood. Even if they are not close, they are still relatives. Shen Qiulan is unaware of this now. If she knew, she would definitely be the one to stop Ji Jinghe from continuing his investigation.
Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety have been of paramount importance, and she did not believe that Ji Jinghe would defy his elders for her sake.
Seeing her sitting on the stool, Baozhu patted her gently, "Miss, it's time to eat. Are you still waiting for me?"
"I'm not waiting any longer." Yu An gradually came to her senses and let out a long sigh. "Let's serve the food first and ignore him."
A sense of regret welled up in my heart, and I couldn't muster any interest.
Ji Jinghe returned late, and before Yu An could ask, he took the initiative to tell her about meeting Shen Yi and Shen Qiulan.
Yu An ignored her and sat by the couch, busying herself with needlework, looking serene and content.
Ji Jinghe assumed she was just too lazy to bother with him, so he didn't pay any attention to it.
"My mother said you went looking for me earlier but couldn't find me. You didn't look well when you got back. Did something happen?"
Yu An replied casually, "It's nothing."
Before Ji Jinghe could ask anything, Yu An put down what she was holding, got up, and went to the clean room, thus interrupting the conversation.
Recently, the Shen family has been quiet, and Ji Jinghe has been unemployed at home. With only a little over a month left, Yu An is secretly anxious, but she can't bring herself to say it. She watches him take his time every day.
Seeing that she had been sullen for several days, Ji Jinghe assumed that she was bored at the Shen family's house, so he suggested that she go out to play.
"If you want to go out, go out yourself. I'm not going; it's cold outside."
"Is it because the food here doesn't suit your taste?" I noticed that she only eats a few bites at each meal these past few days.
“I’m not as picky as the old man. I can eat anything that’s fit for human consumption.” She choked back for no reason.
Shen Yi confronted Ji Jinghe, which explained everything. The more Yu An thought about it, the more powerless she felt. The bad guy was right in front of her, but she couldn't catch him because she didn't have solid evidence.
Ji Jinghe, unaware of her thoughts, assumed she was in a bad mood. He put down his book, looked at her for a while, and then left.
The courtyard allocated to the couple by the Shen family was not large, but it was well-equipped. The small kitchen in the courtyard was only used when Baozhu cooked special meals for Yu'an.
Baozhu was startled when she saw the person coming from the doorway. She jumped up from the stool with a start, still chewing half a biscuit in her mouth, and stammered, "Sir...Master..."
...
Yu'an worked alone in the room for more than an hour. When she saw that Baozhu hadn't come, she went out for a walk and came back to find two or three dishes on the table.
Baozhu stepped forward and took off her coat, smiling as she said, "Miss is back."
Yu An glanced at the table and walked straight to the couch.
Baozhu: "Does the young lady not need to eat?"
"I just took a look around, but I didn't have much of an appetite. You can take this away."
Unexpectedly, this was the case. Thinking of the blisters on Ji Jinghe's hands caused by the hot oil, Baozhu couldn't bear it and struggled to say, "Miss, you should eat some too. You didn't eat much at noon. If you don't eat now, you'll be hungry tonight."
Yu An didn't take it seriously: "I had enough tea at noon, so I shouldn't be hungry easily in the evening. You can take it away, or leave it for the old man."
Baozhu dawdled, standing in front of the table for a long time without making a move. Yu'an also became puzzled and asked her what was going on.
So, they decided to go all the way and make things clear.
When Yu An heard that it was Ji Jinghe who did it, she hesitated for a moment.
Baozhu: "Miss, why don't you try a bite? The master said you've been in low spirits lately and wants to cheer you up..."
Two light stir-fries, one meat dish, and one hot soup—it was quite presentable.
A wise man keeps away from the kitchen; she never imagined someone like Ji Jinghe standing in front of the stove.
Since the person has already made a mistake, why not cut the losses in time? Rather than leaving things unclear, it's better to cut ties cleanly from the start.
Yu An looked away from the table, picked up the embroidery pole, and said coldly, "Tear it down."
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