Chapter 90: From Beginning to Ending in Abandonment
Yu Mingshu spent the remaining few days of her holiday in comfort.
After the start of spring, preparations for this year's imperial examinations began. Although she wasn't the chief examiner, she was assigned an assistant role in the examination administration. Therefore, this should be her last period of leisure in the new year.
On the first day of duty after the New Year, just as dawn broke, the desks of the Imperial Household Department were already piled high with official documents.
Yu Mingshu was so busy that she didn't even have time to rest. At noon, she didn't even leave her room. She just ate a scallion pancake, wiped the grease off her hands and mouth, and continued working.
Just past the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), the gatekeeper knocked and entered. His gaze swept past the officials who were discussing matters, and he nodded to Yu Mingshu, who was in the center of the room, and gave a simple, honest smile.
"What is it?"
"Reporting to the Junior Chamberlain, Registrar Yu has sent someone to deliver a message, requesting that the Junior Chamberlain go to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office as soon as possible."
The title "Yu Zhubu" was unfamiliar to Yu Mingshu, and it took him a few seconds to realize that he was referring to Yu Dan.
"Business or personal?"
"That person didn't say."
"I understand, you can go out now."
Yu Dan would never disturb her work without a reason. Since he sent someone to deliver a message, something big must have happened.
Yu Mingshu quickly finished processing the official documents he had only half-finished, put the rest of the work aside for the time being, put on his cloak, and hurriedly left the capital city for the Jingzhao Prefecture.
Upon arriving at the location, they found a large crowd of people gathered outside the government office. The dense crowd eagerly scrambled to find out what was happening inside, and excitedly discussed the commotion with their companions...
The noisy working environment gave Yu Mingshu a headache just looking at it, and she wondered how Yu Dan managed to persevere.
She presented the imperial tally from the Crown Prince's palace, bypassed the crowd, and entered the government office through a side gate. Passing through the connecting corridor, she saw a woman standing in the main hall, arguing with the presiding official.
"Sister!"
Upon hearing Yu Dan's call, Yu Mingshu looked around and found him in a slightly quieter corner.
She leaned closer, frowning as she asked, "What case is this? What does it have to do with the Crown Prince?"
“It has nothing to do with the Crown Prince, but it does have a slight connection with you, my elder sister.” Yu Dan opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, glancing at the front of the hall from time to time.
Yu Mingshu said in a deep voice, "Just say what you want to say, don't beat around the bush, I'm very busy."
Yu Dan sighed deeply, as if he had made up his mind, and said, "This woman in the hall has come all the way from Youzhou, just to file a complaint against Marquis Pingyan, He Zheng."
Yu Mingshu's brow twitched. Of all the women from Youzhou, she could only think of one.
"Is her surname Yun?"
Yu Dan asked in surprise, "You know him?"
"I don't know him." Yu Mingshu shook his head, thinking to himself that it was just a gut feeling.
"Go on, what crime did she accuse me of?"
"She accused He Zheng..." Thinking of the shocking secret he had just heard, Yu Dan found it difficult to speak.
After stammering for a while, he finally uttered those four words—
"Starting with passion and ending with abandonment."
Upon hearing this charge, both men fell silent, while the conversation between the judge and Yunying in the distance could be clearly heard.
Yu Mingshu remained silent from the moment he heard the charge, and headed toward the jury area on his own.
Perhaps out of respect for the Crown Prince, or perhaps because he knew of her engagement to He Zheng, the official immediately and solicitously brought her a stool to sit down as soon as he saw her arrive.
"On the eve of the army's return to the capital, Marquis Pingyan, remembering my life-saving grace, drank with me to say goodbye. I have a low alcohol tolerance, and after only a few sips, I became unconscious. I only know that when I woke up, I was in bed, and Marquis Pingyan was lying on my pillow with his clothes disheveled."
Yunying recounted with grief and indignation, "Lord Pingyan acted immorally after drinking, not only refusing to grant me a title, but also threatening me with a knife to keep this matter a secret!"
The legal officer rubbed his temples and said helplessly, "Words alone are not enough. What evidence do you have to prove that Marquis Pingyan did these things?"
Yunying rolled up her sleeves, revealing a prominent scar on her arm. "This scar was inflicted by Marquis Pingyan with the Zhuofeng Blade."
The legal advisor retorted, "That's just your side of the story!"
Yunying raised her eyes and looked directly at the man in the neatly dressed official robes seated in the room, then suddenly smiled.
"There is an old wound between the ribs below the right chest of Marquis Pingyan. It is a very shallow mark, about three inches long."
"He has a red mole about the size of a sesame seed, about two fingers above his lower back on the left side of his vertebrae, and it feels smooth to the touch."
"What other testimonies would you like to hear, Military Advisor? I can tell you in detail."
A moment of silence fell over the hall, followed by a burst of more discussion.
Some people cursed the Yun family woman for being shameless, while others criticized the Marquis of Pingyan for his absurd actions.
Yu Dan cautiously observed his elder sister's reaction, only to find her face frighteningly gloomy, her right hand clenched into a fist peeking out from her sleeve, and her entire being enveloped in an aura of impending storm.
“Sister, you…you need to calm down first. What this woman from the Yun family said may not be true.” He advised in a low voice, “She might be sure that the legal officer can’t bring He Zheng here to take off his clothes and verify his authenticity, so she’s just making things up to smear He Zheng.”
Yunying's voice kept coming from behind. She also said that many people saw He Zheng running out of the Sangyang County Government Office in disheveled clothes.
Yu Mingshu pursed her lips, glanced at Yu Dan, and turned to leave the Jingzhao Prefecture.
Yu Dan hurriedly caught up with her, anxiously saying, "Sister, are you still going back to Chongrenfang today? This matter has already spread, He Zheng must know about it. Why don't you just ask him directly..."
Yu Mingshu simply said, "I'll stay at Yongningfang tonight."
Yu Dan was speechless, staring at her hurried departing figure, his heart filled with anxiety. "He Erlang, He Erlang, how dare you pursue my sister while engaging in such philandering?"
After hesitating for a moment, he followed them.
…
At that moment, someone sneezed inside the Eastern Palace Guard's residence.
Deputy Commander Gao immediately expressed his concern: "Has the Marquis caught a chill these past few days?"
He Zheng touched his forehead. "That's not true."
Just as the two were about to investigate why the cough was not due to a cold, Jing Hong burst in with a face full of anxiety and resentment.
"My lord! Something terrible has happened!"
He Zheng retorted, "What are you yelling about?"
Jing Hong didn't dare to look up, and his voice also lowered as his head drooped.
"Miss Yun went to the Jingzhao Prefecture to accuse her husband of... abandoning her after seducing her!"
Upon hearing this, under the strange and curious gazes of Gao Fushuai and others, He Zheng hurriedly left the Guard Commander's Office and headed straight for the Chamberlain's Office.
Upon arriving at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, it was learned that Yu Mingshu had gone to the Capital Prefecture in the afternoon and had not yet returned.
He Zheng panicked, fearing that Yun Ying was full of lies and deceit, and if Yu Mingshu believed her nonsense, he would not be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the moat.
He left the imperial city without stopping, and Jinghong led his horse to meet him. "My lord, shall we go back to Chongrenfang now?"
He Zheng glanced at the sky. If Yu Mingshu had really gone to the Jingzhao Prefecture, she would have heard Yunying's nonsense by now and would be furious, so she would never have returned to the official residence.
He made a quick decision: "No, go to Yongningfang."
As he expected, Yu Mingshu returned to her parents' home after leaving the capital, and even had all the unfinished work moved there.
However, when He Zheng arrived at the Yu family's gate, he was met with a closed door, which was locked by his good brother Yu Dan himself.
"Sanlang, please pass on a message for me, just one: do not listen to or believe everything you hear!"
Through the crack in the door, Yu Dan said resentfully, "Don't you two often meet secretly behind the wall? If you have something to say, go and tell her yourself."
He Zheng said anxiously, "Do you think I didn't go? I almost knocked the courtyard wall down, but she just ignored me!"
Yu Dan was still soft-hearted. After listening to his entrustment for a few words, he went inside to deliver the message.
Not long after, he came out with a reply.
“My sister said that you wouldn’t open your mouth when she asked you to tell the truth, and now she doesn’t want to hear it anymore.”
He Zheng inwardly groaned. He had only held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that Yunying wouldn't tarnish her reputation by making a fuss about what happened that night, and worried that saying too much would only make things worse, which was why he chose to keep it a secret. Who knew that this girl would really go crazy, acting as if she wanted to die with him!
Inside the courtyard, knocking came from the back wall again. Yu Mingshu put down the case file in his hand, opened the window and glanced out.
Upon closer inspection, they saw a figure climb over the wall.
She said coldly, "If you dare to come in, I will immediately report you to the authorities and accuse you of trespassing."
The other party had no choice but to retreat behind the wall, unable to express their grievances.
That night, Yu Dan carried a lantern to the front of the courtyard and knocked on the open wooden door.
"The door wasn't locked. If you have something to say, just say it." Yu Mingshu's tone was full of impatience.
Yu Dan entered the room, hung the lantern on a shelf to the side, sat down opposite her at the table, and carefully spoke: "Sister, it's not that I'm siding with He Er, but I feel there are many doubts about this matter, and the facts haven't been investigated yet. You can't just sentence him to death like this."
Yu Mingshu put down her pen, raised an eyebrow at him, and asked, "Are you finished?"
“No.” Afraid she would kick him out too, Yu Dan quickly raised his voice, “The physical characteristics that Miss Yun described in the hall cannot be taken as evidence. First, no one knows if she made it up, and second, she entered the military camp as a military doctor and treated He Erlang’s injuries. Perhaps she saw his upper body while treating him…”
"Putting aside her so-called evidence, don't you think this person's motives are unclear? What result can she possibly achieve by making this fuss?"
“If she wanted a title, she shouldn’t have made a scene at the Jingzhao Prefecture. Instead, she should have gone to the Duke’s mansion and told the Duke and his wife. If the matter was true, the Duke and his wife would have given her the title of concubine to save face.”
"By making such a big fuss at the Jingzhao Prefecture and spreading the news far and wide, He Zheng will at most receive a beating and have his salary reduced for a few months, but she herself will have her reputation ruined and be left with no way out."
Yu Mingshu listened to him and then remained indifferent.
"Have you ever considered that not all women who are assaulted by men hope to be 'taken responsibility' by the other party in order to gain a dispensable concubine status? You assume that Yun's actions are motivated by ulterior motives, which is why you find her behavior incomprehensible, but what if her motives are just revenge and venting her anger?"
Yu Dan was about to say something when she interrupted him, saying, "I know that for an orphan like her to come to Chang'an from Youzhou, there must be someone pulling the strings behind the scenes, but the thoughts of the person behind the scenes are different from her thoughts."
“In any case, He Erlang could not possibly have acted so immorally while drunk as she claimed,” Yu Dan said with certainty.
Yu Mingshu remained noncommittal. "What's your basis?"
“I don’t know how much this Miss Yun can drink, but I know very well how much He Er can drink. The strong liquor from that pass is not the same as fruit wine. He should be unconscious after three cups!” Yu Dan slammed his fist on the table and said, “Tell me, how can a man who is unconscious act with a woman?”
"Are you done talking?"
Seeing that she had no reaction to his long speech, Yu Dan became anxious. "Sister, do you really not trust his character?"
“I never said I believed Yun’s testimony. Without evidence, what she said might be true, or it might all be a lie. Maybe He Zheng didn’t drink with her that night at all, let alone lie in bed with her after sobering up.”
“But if the whole thing is a complete fabrication and never happened from beginning to end, He Zheng couldn’t possibly have guessed what the Yun family was going to report. So why would he feel guilty in front of me?”
Yu Mingshu chuckled lightly, "Before the incident, I gave him a chance to confess. Whether he felt guilty or had other concerns, the essence was that he would try to hide the truth first, and only when he couldn't hide it anymore did he think of explaining to me."
Yu Dan hadn't expected there to be a backstory to this matter. After a long silence, he stammered, "He must be regretting it now..."
Yu Mingshu said calmly, "Trust is a very fragile thing."
Yu Dan looked at her anxiously, "Sister, are you breaking up with He Er?"
He was met with silence.
If He Zheng had been vague about Yun Shi's identity that day and hadn't mentioned at all that he had been saved by a woman when he was injured, then she wouldn't have hesitated now.
While both involve a loss of trust in a relationship, concealment and deception are different.
Yu Mingshu looked away and reopened the case file. "Let me calm down first."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com