Chapter 24: Don't Say What You Shouldn't Say
The news that Xie Wulang was throwing away earthworms in Shancaifang spread throughout Chang'an overnight.
This made Minister Xie, who was already overwhelmed with problems after being impeached by the censor and reprimanded by the emperor, even more irritable.
When Minister Xie lost his temper, Xie Ansheng was put in solitary confinement.
Upon hearing this news, Yu Mingshu exclaimed with delight.
Yu Dan was drawn to her overly excited state of mind and glanced at her, saying, "Sister, I saw you go to the pharmacy the other day. Could Xie Wu's matter be related to you?"
Yu Mingshu made a shushing gesture, "Don't say things you shouldn't."
Yu Dan turned to face her, rested his chin on his hands, and asked sincerely, "There's only one thing I don't understand: how did you manage to stuff that bag into Xie Wu's clothes?"
“These rich young masters, who would carry their money bag on their person?”
Yu Mingshu chuckled and finished speaking. Seeing that Yu Dan's eyes were burning with desire, practically screaming "eager for knowledge" on his face, he finally took pity on him and continued speaking.
"Yesterday at noon, Xie Wu's page was playing cards with someone under the corridor. A classmate who was passing by noticed a money bag lying at the page's feet and kindly reminded him."
People are often not afraid of trouble when they do bad things.
To vent his anger, Yu Mingshu searched through several pharmacies around Yong'anfang before finally buying this kind of earthworm that wouldn't wander off and was still alive, practically a live worm that was barely dead.
That incredibly realistic money pouch was quite expensive. She spent a dizzying amount of time browsing the tailor shop to find the same fabric as Xie Wu's. Even just a scrap of cloth cost her a full thirty coins.
Her plan was not well-thought-out.
Firstly, she was unsure whether passersby, upon seeing the money bag on the ground, would immediately alert the page or keep it for themselves.
Secondly, she was unsure whether the pageboy would notice anything unusual when he picked up the money bag and thus open it to check.
Thirdly, what she was most unsure of was when Xie Wu would open the money bag.
Fortunately, the students at Chang'an Academy were of high quality, and the pageboys were too engrossed in playing cards to be vigilant. Xie Wu, carrying his money bag, went into the casino without harming a single innocent person.
Everything was perfect.
But Yu Mingshu could never have imagined that his revenge plan, which he drafted in five minutes, would lead to some outrageous rumors.
On the afternoon of this day off, rumors were circulating in the teahouses and taverns of the East Market: the copper coins in Xie Wulang's pocket had mysteriously turned into worms. What did this mean? It meant that the Xie family's money was not clean, and that the Xie family were corrupt officials who colluded with the imperial court!
He Ting returned to the Marquis of Anyuan's residence from the capital and rushed to the west courtyard without stopping.
The moment he stepped into the courtyard, he almost instinctively dodged the spearhead that was thrusting towards him. He then raised his hand to block it, gripped the shaft in reverse, and gave it a sharp shake.
As if he had anticipated this, He Zheng decisively let go and kicked the gun barrel, forcing the other party to release his grip. He then snatched back the gun handle, swung his arm, and the flying gun pierced through the falling leaves, embedding itself firmly in the distant wooden stake.
Wood chips flew everywhere, and the sound was deafening.
He Zheng overlooked one thing: He Ting didn't come empty-handed.
He Ting took the riding whip from his waist and swung it at He Zheng. He Zheng's eyes widened, and his legs reacted faster than his brain, nimbly dodging to the right.
"No! Big brother! What did I do to offend you?"
Having missed his first strike, He Ting clicked his tongue, put away his riding whip, and looked at him with his arms crossed.
"Did you tamper with Xie Wu's money?"
"What did I do?" He Zheng asked, bewildered.
He Ting frowned. "Really not you?"
He Zheng also got angry, raising his voice two octaves: "What exactly happened?"
He Ting stared at him for a long time before finally dispelling his doubts and saying, "It's alright."
It wasn't until the person left the west courtyard and disappeared into the halo of the setting sun that He Zheng snapped out of his daze, turned his head, and pouted at Jing Hong.
Do you think he's mentally ill?
Jinghong dared not agree.
…
As night fell, Xia Man and Luo Yan went into the study to light candles, and only then did Yu Dan straighten his back and emerge from the pile of books.
Yu Mingshu sat directly opposite him, with five or six books piled up beside her, and a thick stack of manuscript paper under the books. Even the occasional dim light could not interrupt her concentration.
Yu Dan only knew that she had been writing furiously all afternoon, but he didn't know what she was writing. He got up, craned his neck to look at her pen tip, and asked suspiciously, "Sister, what are you writing? Has the teacher assigned so much homework?"
After writing the last word on this page, Yu Mingshu put down his pen, rubbed his sore wrists, estimated the thickness of his afternoon's work, and smiled with satisfaction.
"These are my review notes. They're not finished yet. I'll give them to you when they're done."
"Give me?"
"These were all packed for you, who else would I give them to if not you?"
Yu Dan stared at her wrist, his heart warming. It turned out that his sister had been busy for him all day, or perhaps all these past few days.
He was about to swear that he would work harder from now on and never let his sister down when Yu Mingshu stopped him.
"I know you're touched, but don't get emotional yet."
Yu Mingshu said, "As the saying goes, teaching and learning go hand in hand. By helping you organize your notes, I am actually helping myself consolidate the knowledge I have learned."
This is called being stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside.
Yu Dan pursed his lips, swallowed back the little bit of emotion in his heart, and said in a cheeky tone, "That's true, copying scriptures can also be used as calligraphy practice, it's really killing two birds with one stone."
Yu Mingshu's brow twitched. She put down her brush, stood up, and punched him. "You ungrateful bastard! I'm helping you copy books, and you're laughing at me!"
After taking the punch, Yu Dan felt much better and became much more obedient, tucking his arms between his legs, shrinking his neck, and begging for mercy.
As they were playfully fighting, a loud "bang" came from the back wall. The siblings froze at the same time and looked at each other.
"Let's go out and take a look."
The sky had darkened, and the evening clouds had drifted away, leaving only a pitch-black night sky, with a crescent moon appearing and disappearing among the clouds.
Luo Yan and the others also heard the commotion and followed with their lanterns. The group cautiously moved towards the base of the back wall, where they saw a dark figure. It was slender and could easily be mistaken for a bundle of firewood if not looked closely.
"Who's there?" Yu Mingshu called out.
"He moved!" Luo Yan saw the dark figure wriggling and quickly spread her arms to block Yu Mingshu.
She didn't dare to go any closer, so she stuffed the lantern into Xia Man's hand and said, "Go and take a look."
Xia Man swallowed hard, mustered her courage, stretched out her arm, and brought the lantern to the shadowy figure.
Finally, everyone saw a pair of dark, bright almond-shaped eyes.
"Zhou Fuling?" Qingque recognized the person first and exclaimed in surprise.
The little girl climbed over the wall, which was quite high off the ground. Even though she tried to protect herself when she landed, she still ended up with bruises on her arms and thighs.
Suddenly, she was illuminated by a warm yellow light, and she instinctively covered her face with her hand.
Upon hearing Qingque call her name, Zhou Fuling froze, then scrambled to her feet and knelt before the group, clasping her hands together.
"Sister Yu, please help me. Don't make a fuss. Let me hide here for two days! If my brother comes looking for me, please say you haven't seen me, okay?"
Yu Mingshu was stunned for a moment, and her first reaction was to go up and help her up.
At this moment, Wu Qiuniang was also startled by the commotion in the backyard. She put on her clothes and came over to inquire about the situation.
"What happened?"
Yu Mingshu turned to look at her mother and told her about Zhou Fuling's request.
Wu Qiuniang frowned, neither agreeing immediately nor refusing.
Zhou Fuling's voice trembled with tears: "Please, Aunt Wu, help me this once. I'll hide for two days and I won't cause any trouble for your family."
Feeling a pang of pity, Yu Mingshu gently put his arm around her shoulder and said, "Let's go inside."
After speaking, he looked at Wu Qiuniang's reaction and saw tears welling up in her eyes. She nodded heavily.
Back in her room, Wu Qiuniang instructed Qingque to cook Zhou Fuling a bowl of egg noodles.
The little girl was flattered and repeatedly refused, but was finally persuaded by several people to pick up her chopsticks.
From the moment Yu Mingshu touched her, he could no longer remain a detached bystander.
Zhou Fuling was too thin, just a skeleton, her face was sallow, as if she had fled from famine. Zhou Changchun ran a clinic and had a considerable income, how could he have raised his daughter to be so severely malnourished?
Zhou Fuling ate in small bites, but fearing that Yu Mingshu and the others would get impatient, she kept speeding up her chewing, making her look somewhat comical yet very cute.
Yu Ming said calmly, "No rush, eat slowly."
Yu Dan leaned against Xia Man and muttered softly, "How many days has she been starving?"
The little girl paused in her eating, her cheeks flushing.
Wu Qiuniang turned around and slapped Yu Dan, saying, "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
A moment later, Zhou Fuling finished her noodles, wiped the oil off her mouth, and explained in a low voice, "My father forced me to serve Liu, the wealthy man in the Ministry of Rites. I refused, so he starved me for three days."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the room gasped in shock.
Is this something a biological father would do?
Yu Mingshu silently grasped her hand, his brow furrowed with seriousness. "You escaped on your own today?"
"yes."
"Have you thought about what to do in the future?"
Zhou Fuling closed her eyes in pain. "I don't know... Last time I ran away from home, I didn't know where to go, so I went to my maternal grandmother's house, but they still found me. My maternal grandmother couldn't protect me either."
Yu Mingshu looked up and met Wu Qiuniang's gaze. Wu Qiuniang said helplessly, "Don't worry, we'll try to think of a solution for you in the next couple of days."
No sooner had he finished speaking than there was a rapid knocking at the door.
Zhou Fuling froze, terrified, and said, "It must be my brother! My father sent him. He's here to take me back!"
Yu Mingshu quickly reassured him, "You stay in the inner room and don't come out or make a sound. My mother and I will go out and deal with him."
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
