Chapter 94 The Dust Settles
Inside the city, things were fine. Yunxiu chose the street with the busiest people and walked no more than five miles outside the city when Lu Yunshu's men arrived.
She didn't bring many people with her when she came, and it was only thanks to Cui Hu who prepared manpower for her that Yu An was spared from disaster.
Yunxiu was stabbed, but after checking that the injury wasn't serious, she ignored it and jumped off the carriage, rushing straight into the courtyard.
Upon breaking down the door and seeing Xu Jingshu sitting comfortably on the tatami mat, drinking tea, the breath that had been pent up in his heart finally settled down.
"Everything went well?" she asked.
Xu Jingshu's complexion didn't look as bad as expected, and Cui Hu, wearing soft armor, was without blood and appeared to be unharmed.
"All is well. There aren't many skilled fighters in the Lu family, so the speed will be faster. How is it on your end?" Cui Huli asked from beside the couch.
Yu An let out a long sigh of relief, "Lu Yunshu had prepared men to silence us, thank you so much for your help."
Xu Jingshu interrupted, "I heard you took those letters to him? Did you give them to him?"
Yu An smiled slightly, but before she could speak, Cui Hu said, "The original letter is in my hands; the one she has is a forgery."
"That's good……"
Having just escaped from the jaws of death, she was still in shock. Just an hour earlier, she had been imprisoned in the Lu mansion.
Every bite of food was hard to swallow, and every day was unbearable. She had been longing for freedom for many days, and now it was time for her to do something.
Xu Jingshu: "Where are those things? I need them. By the way, I also need any other evidence you've secretly collected."
Yu An stared at her blankly until she heard her say that she was going to strike the Dengwen Drum, at which point she blurted out "No way".
“You are six months pregnant and cannot endure that suffering. If anyone should come, it should be me. I have my reasons and my position.”
"I have one too."
Xu Jingshu looked at her firmly and said in a calm voice, "The Yan family secretly pushed for my father's death and framed Grand Secretary Chu. Lu Yunshu knew he was wrong but still made a mistake and set a trap to frame a loyal official. As Xu Yun's daughter and Lu Yunshu's wife, no one is more qualified than me."
"Besides, between you and me, who has a more convincing testimony against Lu Yunshu?"
It was naturally her, Xu Jingshu.
Yu An was speechless and helplessly looked at Cui Hu beside her. Cui Hu's face remained calm, showing no intention of stopping her.
He's really willing to do that?
Before she could ask a question, Cui Hu said, "I agree."
“She is more suitable than you for this matter, and she has a better chance of appealing in court.”
“Prison is tough, and her health might not be up to it.”
“She herself said it’s okay, so what’s wrong with it?” Cui Hu glanced over slightly, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
Yu An opened her mouth but couldn't say anything. Then, belatedly, she felt a pang of emotion.
Since that's the case, why should she worry? She should just give it a try.
Yu An: "All the letters you gave me are in Cui Shijun's hands. I also have a letter that I got from Hu Shi, the wife of the late Sun Jingyuan. It is a letter from a young general to Cao Bowei, which is used to prove that the Yan family is colluding with Cao Bowei."
"However, I have to send someone to look for him at home."
Cui Hu: "I'll send someone to look for it right away."
Yu An: "Take my maid with you; she knows where it is."
Without further ado, the three decided to go early the next morning to avoid any unforeseen complications.
However, just as darkness fell, an uninvited guest arrived.
Cui Hu was in the front hall, while Yu An and Xu Jingshu were in the house in the backyard. After hearing the noise, Xu's mother's voice came from inside.
"Cui Hu, you have some nerve! What happened to the promises I made to you? You've completely broken your word!"
Yu An realized what was happening and was about to lock the door when, unexpectedly, the person had already barged in.
Xu's mother no longer cared about her; she only stared fiercely at Xu Jingshu, who was facing her directly.
The tension between mother and daughter was palpable, the atmosphere so stagnant it seemed to hold everyone captive, making it difficult to breathe.
“Come back with me,” Xu’s mother said.
Xu Jingshu: "I'm not going back."
Seeing that an argument was about to break out, Yu An had no choice but to leave. As soon as she stepped out the door, it slammed shut behind her.
Turning to look at Cui Hu in the front hall, he sat calmly on the tatami mat, showing no reaction.
Yu'an stood in the corridor connecting the front hall and the back courtyard, not knowing where to go. Before she could even process what was happening, she heard Xu's mother's stern voice from the other side.
"Xu Jingshu, you're not even listening to me anymore? What future do you have staying here? Are you planning to get pregnant with Lu Yunshu's child and elope with that good-for-nothing guy outside?!"
"It's not as bad as you say. I will divorce Lu Yunshu before he is punished. Even if it's just for the sake of the child, I can't live with him anymore..."
"And then elope, right?" Xu's mother paused for a moment. "Xu Jingshu, Xu Jingshu, I've really wasted my time teaching you. What did you say before? What's wrong with marrying Lu Yunshu? Why do you have to mess everything up and go against me?"
...
Xu Jingshu: "Fine, I'll take this opportunity to tell you why I have to go against you... From childhood to adulthood, whatever I don't like, you won't let me learn it. I like the pipa, but you insist that I learn it. I don't like reading the 'Precepts for Women,' but you make me copy it ten times. You keep saying it's for my own good, but there's not a single thing I really like to do."
“I don’t like going out and socializing, but you’ve taken on one banquet after another for me. I’m not a prostitute; I’m an upright person with my own thoughts.”
"You knew perfectly well that I had someone I liked, a marriage even my father approved of, yet you still ruined it, forcing me to get close to the Ji family. I don't like Ji Jinghe, I don't like him! They're already married, but you still forced me to bother them, to steal their place..."
"Didn't you force Cui Hu to say he would no longer contact me? Fine, I won't let you have your way. Even if I shave my head and become a nun, spending my whole life in seclusion, I will never marry anyone but him. If you force me again, I'll kill myself."
With a faint "bang," the room fell into a deathly silence.
“From childhood, I have painstakingly cared for you and raised you, only to have you become this disloyal and unfilial person. Xu Jingshu, you are truly despicable…”
"...In that case, I don't need to care whether you live or die. Your father is dead, so I'll treat you as dead. If anything happens, it will have nothing to do with the Xu family...From now on, we are no longer mother and daughter."
The sounds inside the house could be heard clearly from outside, and Yu An was certain that Cui Hu had also heard them.
Their gaze shifted from the door to Cui Hu outside, and they even forgot to breathe.
More than two years ago, the Xu family was in dire straits. Although Cui Hu did not hold an official position in the court, he was well-off and could easily help the Xu family return to a good life. She couldn't understand why Xu's mother disagreed with their marriage.
Perhaps compared to Ji Jinghe, a life with power and influence is safer. Besides, the Xu family's case hadn't been overturned yet, and they needed Ji Jinghe to clear the Xu family's name.
Yu An stood there, and after a moment's thought, the sound of the door being broken open rang out.
Xu's mother walked straight past her without glancing at her, and left without even scolding Cui Hu again.
Looking out the window, the Xu family's carriage slowly departed. When I went to pick up Xu Jingshu again, I saw two deep red marks on her fair face.
She slumped her shoulders, blinked slightly, and two clear tears streamed down her face.
Before Yu'an could utter any words of comfort, Xu Jingshu hugged her tightly, her sobs filling the air. Yu'an was speechless.
Every family has its own troubles. She lost her mother when she was young and her father when she grew up. Whenever she sees people whose parents are still alive, she feels envious.
Looking at the current situation, it seems that not all parents are fit to be parents.
Xu's mother secretly used Xu Jingshu's words to sever ties with Cui Hu and coerced her into marrying Lu Yunshu.
Even knowing that their own daughter had married someone who was colluding with their enemy, they still forced her again and again, all for their own selfish desires. What difference is there between parents like this and orphans?
On the morning of the day Xu Jingshu left, Yu An was still uneasy. On the other hand, Cui Hu was very serious and didn't say a word of advice.
"Are you really that at ease?"
“Everyone has their own destiny, and my worrying is useless,” he replied firmly, in his usual indifferent tone.
Yu'an rode her horse alongside him slowly down the street. "Last night, the misunderstanding was cleared up. You knew she wanted you to say something, but you didn't. If this is the last time you see her, you'll regret it."
Cui Hu glanced at her, unmoved, and instead retorted, "When you visited Ji Jinghe, you knew he liked to hear you talk about caring for him, but you didn't say anything, did you?"
Yuan:......
Well, I've become a busybody.
Cui Hu said he didn't care, but he was actually more nervous than anyone else. He didn't even go back to Jiuwan Mountain and stayed at Zhang Yanche's mansion from then on.
Unable to help, Yu'an simply stayed at home and made two sachets in three days. When she heard that Lu Yunshu and Yan Jun had been imprisoned and Zhang Yanche took out the ledger of the Lizhou smuggling case, pointing directly at the Yan family, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was slightly relieved.
Three days later, Ji Jinghe and Xu Jingshu, who were proven innocent, were released from prison at the same time. Yu An bumped into Ji Shu outside the prison gate.
The two stared at each other for only a moment before Ji Shu ran towards her without hesitation and hugged her tightly, saying, "I'm so sorry."
Yu An patted her on the back, "It's good that you're alright."
A moment later, a familiar figure emerged from outside the door. As the other person walked gracefully toward her, Yu An simply stood still, meeting his gaze without moving an inch.
His gaze remained as powerful as ever, silently seeming to tear her apart, to meld her into his own body, to melt her completely.
Unconsciously, her breathing became erratic. Yu An turned her gaze away and said, "Um... I'm here to pick up Xu Jingshu."
"I know," he replied in a low voice, without revealing his knowledge.
Yu An: "The Yan family can hardly escape their crimes, but the Chu and Xu families are not exactly innocent."
"Yes," he replied.
Yu An took a deep breath and saw Xu Jingshu being helped down the steps by a maid in the distance. With that, she felt reassured and met his gaze again.
"They're gone."
She stepped forward to greet him, only to find that Cui Hu had already arrived elsewhere.
Xu Jingshu smiled at her, "His Majesty has granted me permission to divorce Lu Yunshu, and I am now a free man."
Yu An paused for a moment, then looked up at Cui Hu.
The man reached out and took her arm to support her, saying, "Let's go home."
Xu Jingshu was already being received by Cui Hu, so her arrival was completely superfluous.
Baozhu feigned surprise to cover for her, saying in a moderate voice, "I told you Miss Xu was picked up, but you insisted on coming in person. You two aren't even that close, really..."
Yu An blushed with embarrassment, turned around and got into the carriage, almost as if she were fleeing.
She never expected that she would react so strongly when she saw Ji Jinghe again.
She couldn't tell whether it was because she had finally avenged herself, or because of that person.
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Author's Note: Yu An glanced up and down at Xu and Cui: Have these two started singing in unison? [Question mark][Clown]
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