Chapter 81 Transfer
The acupuncture and medication procedures took two days, and no one expected that Yu-An would remain unconscious for two consecutive days.
When I woke up, no one was in the room.
It was as if she had just had a deep sleep, except for the faint, dull pain in her chest that reminded her that it wasn't that simple.
She sat up and saw the teapot and towel on the bedside table. Judging from the shape of the corner of the tucked-in blanket, she roughly determined that someone had been here.
Ji Jinghe loved to fold his towels into long shapes and loved to drink cold tea.
She raised her hand and touched the teapot on the table with the back of her hand; it was indeed ice-cold.
Feeling weak, he didn't rush to call Baozhu over. Instead, he lay back down on the bed and stared blankly for a while. Just then, Baozhu came in with water.
"Thank goodness, the girl has finally woken up."
Yu-An: "How long did I sleep?"
Baozhu was both happy and sad: "You slept for two whole days, two days and two nights."
A slight tremor ran through Yu'an's chest, and she felt a mix of emotions she couldn't quite describe.
It's been so long...
"Call Yunxiu over; I need to ask him some questions."
After two days of unconsciousness, the investigation should at least make some progress.
To everyone's surprise, after Yunxiu revealed that the two men he had sent had died, Yu'an was speechless.
When did this happen?
"Just the day before yesterday."
The Yan family is not to be trifled with; the deaths of two people should be considered a warning to her.
"Withdraw our people first. We'll stop monitoring Songshan Temple for now. Let the rest of the family enjoy the New Year for the next two weeks."
Yunxiu agreed, "Then the Sun family members, shall they remain at the manor as before?"
"Stay here; it's safe here."
After Yunxiu left, Yu'an felt lost and dejected for a long time. Recalling the time she spent with Yan Ling and Yan Rongxue in her youth, she felt it was distant, like a dream, making even reminiscing about it seem unattainable.
She had slept for so long, and after eating, she was still weak all over. She lay in bed and fell asleep in no time.
The next day, Madam Qi sent her an invitation to her birthday banquet at her residence, but Yu'an refused outright.
Baozhu: "I've already refused twice before. Would it be inappropriate to refuse again this time?"
"I'm not afraid, I'm just afraid she won't suspect anything."
On the day of the birthday banquet, Yu'an sent someone to deliver a gift. When everyone heard that Yu'an was not going, they mostly sent a gift as well, making the banquet rather deserted.
As expected, the Qi family paid a visit the very next day.
Yu An, as usual, claimed to be ill and refused to see anyone.
Qi came again the next day and only then did she get to see Shang Yu'an.
"How could the illness be so serious?"
Yu An: "The cold has been dragging on for a while, and it has become more and more serious."
After several attempts, Qi Shi saw that she was becoming more respectful. "I brought some ginseng from the northern frontier. You can use it to make soup to nourish yourself."
"Thank you for your kindness."
Qi smiled and said, "No problem at all. If it's not enough, just tell me. I have more."
They were all just everyday official jargon, and Yu'an didn't take them to heart, letting them pass by unnoticed.
She beckoned to Baozhu to hand the item to Madam Qi, saying, "This is a purse I made for the child. Doesn't the boy love sweets? You can hang it on his waist before he goes to school; it'll be perfect."
Ms. Qi was delighted with it, saying, "I was just saying it casually, how did you end up actually doing it?"
“I’ll put it on his waist when I get home today and have him wear it.”
Yu An silently examined the pattern on the purse several times, the smile on her lips remaining faint.
After chatting for a while, Madam Qi was so happy she couldn't stop smiling. Yu An suddenly remembered something and her expression immediately became serious.
"I have something to tell you, but please don't betray me. I'm only saying this out of consideration for our past relationship. If you don't believe me, just consider it idle gossip..."
Qi's smile gradually faded. "Just tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone."
Yu An grasped her hand and said seriously, "It's nothing serious. It's just that during the Emperor's birthday celebrations, the princess would sometimes take me out to the streets, and I would run into many people. That day, I happened to run into the wife of Grand Secretary Yan talking about you."
"Do you know why no one wants to associate with you even after you've been in the capital for so long? It's all because of the Yan family's instigation."
“That day I was standing to the side, alone. They didn’t notice me when they were talking, and their voices were so loud that it was hard for me not to hear them.”
Yu'an patted her hand with a pained expression, "So dear sister, you should be careful. Don't be so sincere to everyone. Some people seem nice on the surface, but they are the most vicious when they talk behind people's backs."
At first, Qi didn't believe it, but when she thought of the dismal birthday banquet two days ago, she suddenly understood.
"I originally thought that no one attended the birthday banquet that day because of you, but it turns out it was because of her?"
"Is she the one who started making fun of me behind my back, saying I came from the border, and causing others to avoid me?"
Having suffered in this matter, Qi's emotions surged uncontrollably once provoked.
The bitterness and grievances were so overwhelming that Yu An needed to say more.
"That's just how people are. Some things are too harsh to say, and I can't tell you everything. Just keep it in mind. Don't be too upset about this. I wanted to tell you this before, but I was afraid you'd misunderstand..."
Qi: "Does she just look down on me?"
Yu An choked for a moment, looked at her without saying anything.
The silence at this moment was more heartbreaking than a serious explanation; Qi had already made up her mind about the answer.
“I used to keep sending gifts to the Yan family, afraid that I would mistreat them and make them look down on me. Now I realize how foolish I was.”
Yu An sat up and said calmly, "The Yan family is powerful, so we can just deal with them superficially. We don't provoke anyone, and we're not afraid of anyone, right? Just nod and greet them normally from now on, don't feel bad."
Qi Shi grew up in the border region and was different from the well-bred young ladies raised in the capital. Her behavior, speech, and even the tone of her voice were ridiculed by others in private, just like Yu An when she first moved to the capital.
Yu'an was so conflicted at the time that she poisoned someone, and Qi must have had her own unspoken emotions as well.
After seeing Qi off, Yu An breathed a sigh of relief.
"Girl, aren't you afraid she'll find out you're lying to her?"
No, it won't.
Qi was straightforward, but she wouldn't go to the Yan family to ask about these things; if she didn't ask, she wouldn't expose the truth.
Baozhu opened the box and glanced at the old ginseng. "Looks like we'll have some food today. Chicken soup."
"Tell someone to stew more, and send some to Zhuo'er and Madam Hu."
Baozhu scoffed and laughed, "My lord has already sneaked out to eat the good food of the Qiang people. He doesn't need this chicken soup at all."
Yu An waved her hand, telling her to hurry up and go. After the room quieted down, she couldn't help but think about it.
Chu Zhuo'an has not yet come of age; is it too early for him to talk about love?
On the fifth day of the first lunar month, the Imperial College resumed classes.
With no children at home, Qi would frequently visit Yu'an for leisure, becoming even more affectionate and enthusiastic than before.
"Your complexion hasn't been good since you caught a cold before the New Year. I have some nourishing medicinal herbs over there; I'll have someone send them to you tomorrow."
"No need." Yu An peeled an orange. "I'm just like this. I have weak blood and qi. I didn't eat properly for a while, so I'm deficient. It's nothing to worry about."
As they were talking, a maid from the Cao family rushed in.
"Madam, something terrible has happened! The young master got into a fight at the Imperial Academy."
Just like when Yu'an learned that Chu Zhuo'an had been beaten at the Imperial Academy, Qi rushed off to the scene as soon as she received the news.
Yu An accompanied him.
When they arrived, it was already time for the Imperial Academy Vice Director to give his address. Yu An didn't squeeze through the crowd to get closer, but instead took a look from afar. It looked quite serious.
The young master of the Cao family had blood on his forehead, which he covered with a handkerchief. His clothes and hands were covered in blood.
"Mother, they hit me with an inkstone..." The child cried in pain.
Qi was frantically trying to soothe the child when, before the Imperial Academy official could even speak, the child being reprimanded started yelling.
“If you hadn’t talked nonsense and worn those things inappropriately, we wouldn’t have hit you. You were just trying to play the victim in front of the teacher, so you didn’t get a good beating…”
Qi said, "What did he do to you? Is he worth you bullying him like this? Aren't you afraid the teacher will punish you?"
The two children kneeling on the ground held their heads high, showing no remorse whatsoever, but rather great pride and arrogance.
The Vice Director of the Imperial Academy said, "Madam Cao, today's events are the fault of both sides. What do you suggest for reconciliation?"
“Teacher, even if they are willing to reconcile, I am not. I want to find my father and let him judge the matter.”
"You stubborn rock, you've made a mistake and you still won't admit it?!"
The hall became noisy, and with the blazing charcoal fire inside, Yu'an felt breathless and her chest tight.
I felt dizzy, my legs went weak, and I almost fell to the ground.
When she came to her senses, a support came from behind her, steadily holding her up, and a fresh scent followed.
She looked up and was caught off guard by a pair of eyes.
Ji Jinghe didn't say anything, but quietly supported her until she fully recovered and could stand up normally on her own.
Without asking her why she came, he only glanced at the situation inside the hall and guessed a thing or two.
Passing by the Imperial College, he saw the Chu family's carriage there and followed it in. Luckily, he came in to take a look, otherwise, what if something had happened?
"This can't be finished right now, why don't you sit down first?"
He spoke in a low voice, seemingly not wanting to disturb others.
Before Yu'an could respond, a sudden, sharp pain shot through her chest, so intense that she almost lost her balance.
Without a word, Ji Jinghe helped her sit on a chair in the hall, took out a bottle of medicine from his pocket, and, finding the teacup on the table empty, went out to get some water.
She hadn't experienced this since waking up, but today, for some reason, her chest was throbbing with increasingly intense pain, making it difficult for her to breathe.
The crowd on the other side was still arguing, and the shouts of the Imperial Academy Vice Director during his reprimand could still be clearly heard...
"Chu Yu'an".
"What’s wrong with you?"
Hearing the commotion and curiously coming over to see what was going on, Duoluo saw the pale-faced person and raised her voice a few decibels. People around noticed and came over. The Imperial Academy Assistant hurriedly made his way through the crowd and bowed to Duoluo and Pei Chengyu.
"Princess Sijia, may Young Master Pei be well."
The Imperial Academy Vice Director was flattered and, seeing the two men's concern for the person in the chair, immediately ordered someone to bring hot water.
How much of this do you want?
Pei Chengyu said eagerly, "Let's take one first."
He held up a teacup and let Yu'an drink the water from his hand.
Duo Luo straightened up, and before she could speak, she saw Ji Jinghe standing at the door with a cup of tea in his hand.
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