Chapter 9. Only... Yu He'an himself remains...
Yu He'an was exceptionally intelligent and passed the imperial examination at the age of ten.
The Master regarded him as a model among the disciples of aristocratic families, and gave him special attention when assigning lessons. Famous scholars also wrote commentaries on him one after another.
In the morning, I listened to the Master explain the classics and discuss principles at the Imperial Academy; in the afternoon, I had to stay in the study to read and practice calligraphy.
Old Madam Song forbade her to leave the mansion alone, but she always wanted to go out of the mansion to play and wanted to eat the candied fruit from Xinghua Lane.
We could only leave the Marquis's mansion after Yuhe'an finished her afternoon studies. I led her through the long back alley of the mansion, and after turning a corner, it took another 15 minutes to reach Xinghua Alley.
The candied fruit sticks up tightly, and they often arrive at dusk.
She couldn't buy it nine times out of ten, but the one time she did manage to buy it, she was always exceptionally happy.
But the wait for Yu He'an was always too long, and she would always fall asleep at the other end of the desk.
At that time, the desk was too high for her, and her feet could never touch the ground. After sleeping on it, her legs would always go numb and her hands would feel weak.
After she took another nap and fell down, a low couch appeared in the study. When Yuhe was at peace, she would openly rest on the low couch.
"What are you thinking about? Why are you laughing so happily?"
Yu He'an quietly walked up to her side without her noticing, casting a large shadow. The pleasant scent of cedar grew even closer. Startled by the sudden appearance of the figure, she leaned back and scolded, "Brother, why do you walk so quietly?"
Yu He'an lightly stomped her foot on the ground, making a faint sound, and raised an eyebrow at her. "No sound?"
The childish actions overlapped with Yu He'an's memories, and it seemed that they had rediscovered some of the intimate atmosphere from their childhood.
It seems that between them, it was only she who had distanced herself for five years, and now she has come back.
Happiness and joy filled my heart.
She made room for Yu He'an, pulling him down to sit beside her. "There's a sound. I can hear it now."
"What are you thinking about?" Yu He'an followed her lead and sat down an arm's length away from her.
"Let's go eat some candied fruit in Xinghua Lane in a few days." She lifted Yu He'an's sleeve, revealing a large red patch on the side of her right hand and wrist, as if something had been pressed down on it.
Yu He'an paused, her eyelashes lowered, and she didn't respond.
"Brother, be careful when you read. Don't let the book crush your hand. Where did you put the medicine I brought yesterday?"
Yu Tan got up and found the ointment on the small table. She went to the outer room to wash her hands, twisted open the ointment, and gently applied it to the back of Yu He'an's hand. The blisters had completely disappeared, and a shallow scab had even formed at the edges.
It will be fully healed soon, but it looks like it will leave a scar.
Yu He'an glanced at her and said softly, "I'll be more careful not to let the book press down on my hand next time."
She inexplicably felt that Yu He'an's words had a hint of mockery.
Yu Tan put the ointment back in its place. It was already completely dark outside, and Lan Xin was waiting for her outside with a lantern.
She pretended to walk around the room, saying, "Brother, what smells so good?"
Yu He'an wrinkled his nose and sniffed. The room only had the usual incense, mixed with a bit of the pungent smell of medicine. If you sniffed carefully, you could also smell a faint scent of epiphyllum, very light, which you could not smell at all unless you were very careful.
Yu He'an frowned and shook his head: "It doesn't taste like anything."
“Brother, this is your incense. I’d like to ask for a piece.” She walked to the incense burner and pretended to smell it again. “This is the scent.”
"Let Changming fetch it for you." Yuhe'an knocked on the window and called Changming in.
Changming bowed and said, "My lord, is it time to serve dinner?"
"Go and fetch a piece of incense."
Changming's gaze lingered on Yu He'an before shifting to Yu Tan. "Incense?"
Yu Tan said with a grin, "It's for me."
Lanxin craned her neck and peered inside eight times. Yu Tan asked for incense and then took Lanxin back to her own Lanfang Courtyard.
After Yu Tan and her servant left, Fengxu Courtyard returned to silence.
Yu He'an's actions of holding the book and his expression remained unchanged, but Changming inexplicably felt that his emotions had turned cold.
"Would you like to have dinner, my lord?"
He had been with Yu He'an since childhood, and was a servant in the Marquis's household. He had seen the siblings together in their childhood.
He had assumed that Yu Tan would stay at Fengxu Courtyard for dinner, so he specifically instructed the small kitchen to prepare food for Yu Tan.
Although the siblings are only two years apart, their tastes are completely different. Yu He'an prefers light flavors, while Yu Tan prefers sweet and spicy flavors. They can't eat together at all, and their meals have to be prepared separately.
Yuhe placed the scrolls down and looked down into the pitch-black courtyard.
After a long silence, he said in a deep voice, "Go and investigate Ji Yushang's recent movements, the people and things he has been in contact with in business, and everything that is not important."
"Yes." Changming originally thought that Yuhe'an and Yutan were estranged and that he no longer intended to care about Yutan's affairs. He was delighted to see the ice breaking between them today.
*
Lanfangyuan.
After a good afternoon nap, Yu Tan was in a great mood. She even drank an extra bowl of soup at dinner. After eating and drinking her fill, she lay on the soft couch to digest her food, casually flipping through the account books that Hui Xin had compiled.
"My wife is still the same as when she was a child. Every time she goes to my husband's place, she is in a great mood and can drink two more bowls of soup. My wife, your face looked like this when you were a child." Lanxin gestured with her hands to resemble a round plate, turned around and lit the lamp by the soft couch, and placed the candied fruit on the low table.
"Really? I don't remember." Yu Tan looked at Lan Xin suspiciously.
Although Lanxin, Qiaoxin, and Huixin were all her personal maids, Lanxin had grown up with her since childhood and had served her since they were in her grandmother's courtyard, so they were closer.
"The old lady's maid, Chang, scolded you, mistress, forbidding you from going to see your husband. You cried for three days, your eyes swollen like walnuts." Lanxin held up three fingers with great seriousness. "It was only when the old lady took you back to your hometown of Yuyang for a short stay that you stopped making a fuss. Five years ago, we spent the New Year in our hometown of Yuyang. Jiang Langjun even made you a crossbow and took you bird hunting..."
Back then, Bianjing was very hot, and Madam Song missed her hometown, so she took her back to Yuyang and lived there for two years. Not long after they left, Yuhe'an participated in the autumn imperial examination.
He passed the imperial examination and was riding high on success.
That year, she was eleven years old, and Yu He'an was thirteen. They were truly young and successful.
Then she went from wanting to go to Yuhe'an but being stopped by Granny Chang, to being annoyed that Yuhe'an wouldn't come to play with her, and then as she got older, she couldn't find an excuse to go anymore.
Yu Tan doesn't cough at the slightest breeze. With Old Madam Song lifting her curfew, she can now take Lan Xin to Xinghua Lane to buy candied fruit, and even go further...
Later, Yuhe'an left the manor to study, and three years passed before he was gone.
Yu Tan glared at Lan Xin reproachfully: "You can't remember important matters, but you remember these things very clearly."
"Aren't these important matters?" Lanxin winked playfully. "Anything concerning my wife is important."
"You smooth talker, please go and change your wife's incense." Yu Tan tapped her head while holding the ledger, thinking about how to make more money.
Huixin rushed in, her face flushed and her eyes brimming with excitement. She turned and closed the door behind her.
He ran to Yu Tan's side, knelt down and pressed himself against her: "My lady, I have a big business deal."
Yu Tan looked up: "Hmm?"
"I have learned that the Western Regions court favors tea, porcelain, and cloth. What we sell for twenty coins here can fetch ten or even twenty times more there."
When the caravan returned, the goods they bought from the Western Regions were extremely popular in Bianjing (Kaifeng).
"If a caravan makes one trip, it earns five hundred taels; in two months, it can earn a thousand taels, which is more than all our shops combined."
The Tagan Desert separated the Great Zhou Dynasty from the Western Regions, making it extremely easy for caravans to encounter accidents.
“It’s no easy task to maintain a caravan, especially one that knows the routes well. Do you have any information about caravans that travel frequently?” Yu Tan frowned, lost in thought.
"My lady, how did you know? I overheard two merchants talking about it at the tavern last night, and he even specially recommended the leader of the caravan."
After listening to the entire business process, I felt it was about 70-80% reliable before returning to the manor to report to my mistress.
Yu Tan propped her head up with her hand: "Someone deliberately leaked this information to you."
Huixin took a half step back. She had only heard the news and had never considered this possibility.
"My lady, then... I was too hasty... I know I was wrong."
Yu Tan said firmly, "Do it."
When fishing, you always have to throw out some bait, and she'll be the kind of fish that eats and runs away.
Huixin looked up in surprise: "Ah? My wife..."
How much of your jewelry did you pawn?
Huixin whispered, "Three thousand taels of silver, my lady. I originally only planned to put in five hundred taels..."
"I cast all of them."
"My lady...shouldn't we be more careful?"
careful?
She just wanted to make a big profit. Yu Tan closed her eyes and sighed silently.
Even if he is kicked out of the Marquis's mansion in the future, he will still need money to protect himself.
The thought of being kicked out... made her fingers curl up helplessly.
But if this fake doesn't leave, how unfair is that to the real heiress?
It's bad enough that she's taken over someone else's place, but she also...
She covered her face with the ledger to block out the light.
His tone had turned somewhat cold as he said, "Do as instructed."
"Yes." Huixin bowed and left the room, then suddenly remembered, "Madam, the caravan leader said that if we want to cooperate, we need to meet in person to discuss it."
"Let's cooperate first, and we'll meet again after the first batch of merchants have finished their business."
With 500 taels, one can earn 1,000 taels in one trip.
She could get six thousand taels from those three thousand taels, which would be enough for her to spend...
Even if it's risky, she has to try.
"My wife..."
Yu Tan rubbed her eyes: "Just convey my words verbatim, and they will agree."
The incense in the incense burner burned, and wisps of smoke rose up, filling the entire room with the scent of cedarwood.
Yu Tan lay with the account book face down for a while, but she still couldn't fall asleep. It seemed she had guessed wrong again. What had made her fall asleep? Frustrated, she fiddled with the account book.
After feeling dejected for a while, he carefully checked the accounts again.
The clapper sounded at midnight.
She moved back to the canopy bed, lay on her back, and stared blankly at the sky-blue canopy.
The cedarwood scent is preventing her from falling asleep; could you please stop her from having nightmares?
It was Qiaoxin's turn to be on night duty tonight. She spread the quilt under the canopy bed and looked at her with a gentle smile, "My wife, go to sleep. The incense smells nice tonight, but it's a bit chilly."
"Let's try it tonight. If it doesn't work, we'll change it tomorrow," Yu Tan mumbled in response, and finally drifted off to sleep.
“It’s no use, it’s not cedar resin.” Yu Tan sighed, lowering her eyes, and quietly waited for the daylight to break.
*
For a whole month, Yu Tan went to Feng Xu Courtyard every afternoon. In the first few days, she would struggle to find an excuse, but later she simply sat in the study, leaning against the soft couch and reading her miscellaneous books or account books.
As long as she didn't bring it up herself, Yu He'an wouldn't ask her why she came. She would sit quietly behind her desk reading and let her do whatever she wanted. She was very happy and felt more at ease.
In the past month, she had asked for everything in the study, even the low couch, but none of it was used. If there was anything she couldn't bring back to her courtyard...
That leaves only... Yuhe An himself.
How is she going to move this?
A note from the author:
Thank you for the landmine [lop-eared rabbit head], cat lover.
Thank you Zhang Evasion, who's been lazing around on the roadside, for the nutrient solution [lop-eared rabbit head].
I've started posting comments! Feel free to contact me! [droopy-eared bunny head]
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