Chapter 12 Old wounds had barely healed when new ones appeared.
A few days later, Yu Mingshu once again dressed in men's clothing and escorted Yu Dan to the gate of Chang'an Academy. She looked up at the plaque above the academy gate, still unwilling to give up.
Yu Dan was completely oblivious to her disappointment. He jumped off the carriage and grinned at her, saying, "Sister, aren't you coming in with me today?"
Yu Mingshu glared at him: "Stop showing off. I'll test you on what you've learned tonight, so don't be unable to answer."
Yu Dan, annoyed that she was a spoilsport, grabbed Xia Man and ran off in a flash.
He Zheng was probably addicted to being late, making Yu Mingshu wait for quite a while. It wasn't until the bell rang loudly from the academy that the people who were supposed to come didn't arrive, and the people who weren't supposed to come blocked her way.
Yuan Yi, dressed in his usual black robes and clutching a stack of letters, frowned slightly when he saw a petite figure he hadn't seen for several days. He then tucked the letters into his sleeve.
"Miss Yu, what brings you here again?"
Yu Mingshu felt as if a dark cloud had descended upon him. When he looked up and saw the man's face, he was stunned for a moment before remembering to greet him: "Mr. Yuan, I have come to see He Erlang today."
"He Zheng? What do you want with him?" Yuan Yi's brows furrowed even deeper.
Yu Mingshu rolled up his sleeves, revealing the scroll he was carrying. "Go return the book to him. I'll leave as soon as I return it."
"What book?" Yuan Yi raised an eyebrow.
Yu Mingshu handed over the storybook without changing his expression, secretly thinking to himself, "This Mr. Yuan is quite curious."
The man in front of me glanced at the title and immediately made the same expression as the old man on the subway looking at his phone.
Yuan Yi didn't even want to open the book and look at its contents. After hesitating for a long time, he asked, "You still read this kind of miscellaneous book?"
Fearing being seen as an ignorant fool, Yu Mingshu quickly denied it, saying, "It wasn't me who saw it. Yu Dan borrowed it from He Zheng, and I found out about it, so I returned it to him."
Yuan Yi's expression softened a bit. He handed the book back to her and said, "This kind of low-class miscellaneous book is full of fallacies and misleads the public. It is of no benefit to the imperial examination. You are right not to let him read it."
Seeing that he would not say anything more and would turn to enter the academy, Yu Mingshu suddenly felt his heart beating a little fast.
She took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and called out to him, "Mr. Yuan, I have another request."
Yuan Yi stopped in his tracks, his tone turning serious. "Yang Gong has already refused you regarding the matter from last time."
Yu Mingshu pleaded, "I would like to ask you, sir, to spare some time to revise one more article."
Yuan Yi looked her over again. "What do you mean?"
“I am eager to learn, but I am not fortunate enough to be admitted to the academy and become a disciple of Master Yang. I can only study hard on my own in private.” Yu Mingshu became more and more heartbroken as he spoke, and his voice became somewhat muffled due to the change in his emotions. “If I write articles in the future, may I ask my younger brother to give them to you, sir? I humbly request your guidance.”
Yuan Yi felt a little awkward at her sad and dejected appearance. He forced himself to remain calm and considered for a moment before saying, "Whatever you say."
"Then I'll take that as a yes?" Yu Mingshu's eyes lit up, afraid that he might change his mind, and she immediately bowed deeply. "Thank you, sir! Good people are rewarded, may everything go well for you, and may your fortune be prosperous!"
Yuan Yi fled in panic amidst her rapid-fire auspicious words.
Turning her head, she saw He Zheng, who had arrived at some point, leaning against her carriage with his arms crossed, watching the commotion.
The moment their eyes met, He Zheng was the first to tease, "The atmosphere at Chang'an Academy is not good. How did the upright and unyielding Yu Erlang learn to flatter?"
When Yu Mingshu felt embarrassed, he couldn't help but scratch his earlobe, look away, and slap the book "Strange Cases of Ancient and Modern Times" on him, saying, "The book has been returned, I'll take my leave now."
He Zheng reacted quickly, covering his chest to prevent the book from falling to the ground.
He looked up at Yu Mingshu's back, then looked down at the book... Paper is soft and thin, but when twisted into a roll, it's like a stick, and it hurts quite a bit when it hits someone.
What deep-seated hatred could this person harbor for him? His old wounds had barely healed when a new one appeared.
…
Back in Yong'anfang, several familiar faces gathered at the alley entrance. Yu Mingshu got out of the carriage and walked, sneaking up behind Zhao Niangzi to eavesdrop.
Aunt Wang had sharp eyes; she grabbed her hand and said with heartache, "Have you heard about what happened to the Zhou family?"
Yu Mingshu's heart skipped a beat, a vague sense of foreboding creeping in. "What is it?"
Zhao Niangzi quickly said, "The woman's corpse that I told you about yesterday was the one that was brought back from outside the city!"
"Has the deceased's identity been confirmed?" Yu Mingshu pressed.
Zhao Niangzi said, "Yes, it is indeed the Zhou family's lost wife..."
Before the words were finished, a heart-wrenching cry came from the end of the alley. It sounded like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl, and the sorrow in her voice was so moving that it touched everyone who heard it.
“The young master and young lady of the Zhou family went to their maternal grandparents’ home a few days ago, but they rushed back after hearing the news,” Aunt Wang said regretfully. “These two children are at the age when they should be engaged and getting married, but this kind of thing happened in the family, delaying them for two years for nothing.”
These remarks made Yu Mingshu uncomfortable. After a moment of hesitation, he decided not to hold back any longer and directly rebuked her, saying, "Aunt Wang, how sad it is for someone to lose a loved one! How can you only think about marriage?"
"I was just saying," Aunt Wang said, getting a little anxious when she saw her pale face. "I'm just a straightforward person with no ill intentions, so don't misunderstand!"
Song Sao's gaze darted between the two women. Suddenly, she grabbed Zhao Niangzi's arm and whispered a few words. Zhao Niangzi suddenly realized what was going on and looked at Yu Mingshu with a hint of regret in her eyes.
"Lan Ying, you're just too impatient. Ming Shu is still young and can wait."
When Aunt Wang heard Zhao Niangzi say this, she chimed in, "Yes, yes, she's still young, she can wait."
Yu Mingshu suddenly felt that she might as well leave this intelligence station at the alley entrance.
She wanted to hear gossip, but she didn't want to become the subject of other people's conversations.
Just then, the Wei family's gate was yanked open from the inside, the loud noise attracting the attention of Yu Mingshu and the others. She then realized that the Wei family's gate had been replaced at some point with a sturdy mahogany one.
A plump maidservant stormed out, yelling in the direction of the Zhou family: "Who's making a scene at a funeral! Crying like this in broad daylight is so unlucky! It's disturbing my mistress's pregnancy, let's see who can take responsibility for this!"
Zhao Niangzi, who had the most volatile temper, shouted, "You guessed right! There's a funeral on this street. Even the Prime Minister's mansion wouldn't allow its neighbors to mourn. If you ladies are so precious that you can't stand the sound of crying, why don't you move somewhere else?"
The maidservant, her face flushed with anger, pointed at the group of women gathered together in the distance, and after a long while, she uttered a harsh threat: "You just wait!"
As soon as Yu Mingshu saw her figure disappear into the courtyard, he hurriedly advised Zhao Niangzi, "She has only been here for a few days and doesn't recognize people yet. You should leave quickly, lest you cause trouble for your husband."
Zhao Niangzi thought the same thing. She hurriedly said goodbye to her good sister, spat at the Wei family's gate, and staggered home.
Seeing this, the other women also dispersed one after another.
Back home, Wu Qiuniang had already heard about the Zhou family's affairs. She turned around, went inside, rummaged around for a while, and came out with a plain-colored purse, stuffing some copper coins into it.
"I am so grateful to Doctor Zhou for his dedicated treatment. We should go and pay our respects to the Zhou family after this tragedy."
Yu Mingshu pressed down on his mother's hand and said, "Madam Zhou's body is still at the government office. Shouldn't we wait two days until the Zhou family officially holds the funeral before going there?"
Wu Qiuniang asked in bewilderment, "Since we already know the identity of the deceased, why are we still at the government office?"
Yu Mingshu said, "Madam Zhou's cause of death is unknown. Now that the government has taken on the case, it will naturally investigate it."
Wu Qiuniang thought for a moment and put the purse back. "I'll listen to you and wait a few more days."
…
Two more days passed, and a group of yamen runners dressed in the same clothes poured into Yong'an Ward, knocking on doors from house to house.
The slightly plump maid of the Wei family opened the door and saw the tall and burly man outside. She was stunned for a while before regaining her composure.
"What are you banging on! Do you know who lives here?"
The bailiff said with a stern face, "The government is investigating a case. We are ordered to ask Zhou's neighbors in the same alley to cooperate with the questioning. Please understand, Madam."
Just as the maid was about to speak, the heavily pregnant woman pulled her aside and stood in front of the group of yamen runners, her eyes filled with utter contempt.
"A bunch of blind and ignorant fools! Didn't my husband, Minister Wei, tell you that I only moved to Yong'an Ward five days ago?"
The yamen runner paused, then asked hesitantly, "Which Vice Minister Wei?"
The beautiful woman proudly replied, "Naturally, it's the Ministry of Justice, Vice Minister Wei Shifang."
The constable exchanged glances with his companion, then steeled himself and pressed on, "May I ask how the lady is addressed?"
My name is Huajian.
Upon hearing this, the yamen runner turned his back and whispered to his companion, "Isn't Vice Minister Wei's wife from the Zhang family?"
"Look at her belly."
Reminded by his companion, the head constable turned around and stared at Hua Jian's belly. He hadn't expected that this Vice Minister Wei, relying on Zhang Shi's connections to rise through the ranks, was also keeping a mistress far away.
After observing for a while, the head constable finally raised his hand and ordered, "Go to the next house."
Under the bright afternoon sun, three short shadows were cast in front of the Yu family's gate.
Yu Mingshu had already heard the commotion when the yamen runners knocked on the Wei family's door. Just then, Aunt Wang came to visit again about the marriage that hadn't gone through before, so the two of them went outside to check on the situation.
The Yu family's gate was wide open, saving the yamen runners some trouble. He explained his purpose using the same words he had just spoken, and then looked at the three women in front of him.
Looking around, the constable saw that Granny Wang was the only one who could manage things, so he asked her, "Is it just the three of you in this household?"
Aunt Wang hurriedly explained, "Sir, you misunderstand. I'm just a neighbor from the back alley, visiting for a bit."
Yu Mingshu also said, "My mother has been bedridden for many years, and I usually manage the household affairs with my two maids. Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have."
The bailiff pulled out a folded document from his waist, looked it over for a while, nodded and said, "Both of you live not far from the Zhou family, so you have to cooperate with the questioning. I'll ask you both together."
Yu Mingshu made way for them and invited them to the hall. He then had Luoyan and Qingque serve them tea, his attitude both polite and respectful.
The constable pulled out a charcoal pencil and asked with a serious expression, "Are you two acquainted with the Zhou couple?"
Yu Mingshu said, "Doctor Zhou treated my mother, but I have never met Madam Zhou."
Aunt Wang said, "I'm good at matchmaking for my neighbors. It just so happens that the Zhou family's son and daughter are both of marriageable age. I've been visiting the Zhou family quite often in the past few months, and I'm fairly familiar with the Zhou couple!"
The constable then asked, "What is the relationship between the Zhou couple?"
“The neighbors all say they had a very deep relationship,” Yu Mingshu said. “Two days before Madam Zhou’s body was discovered, Doctor Zhou even left his clinic and went out of town to look for Madam Zhou’s whereabouts.”
Aunt Wang remained silent for a long time.
The constable waited for her reply, his eyes growing increasingly intense. Finally, she withstood the pressure and said, "I did hear that the couple had a fight recently."
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