“Pay all the silver, can your silver buy back my husband’s life? Everything was fine while Miss Xiang’er was managing the household, but you insisted to replace the earnest village headman but picked someone with the habit of bullying the low and fawning the high who even called us invalids and freeloaders and wanted to throw us out. Without us invalids, the Old Marquis would have died long ago! You this ungrateful thing!” One of the peasant women suddenly pounced forward to clutch Yu Miao Qi’s neck and even spat a mouthful of spit on her face. The deep-rooted hatred in her eyes was terrifying.
Yu Pin Yan and Old Madam did not stop them at all as they watched coldly. It was Zhong Shun’s wife who still had some sense of rationale as she joined Lin Shi to pull them apart then kowtowed to ask for forgiveness.
“What’s there to blame? By throttling her to death, you can save this Marquis from raising the hand.” Yu Pin Yan spoke lightly.
Old Madam hinted at Wan Qiu, who immediately went into the inner room and took out a sandalwood box, in which there were twenty gold ingots neatly arranged. Wan Qiu handed them to Zhong Shun’s wife and said, “This is from Old Madam, take it quickly to arrange the funeral.”
Old Madam then asked for pen, paper and inkstone then personally wrote, “It’s my Marquis Yongle manor that has let all of you down. I will definitely give you all an explanation today. For the time being, all of you should go back to arrange the funeral first. If there are elderly people in the family, my Marquis manor will oversee paying their last respects and it will also be my Marquis manor‘s responsibility to raise the children of those families. Keep this slip of paper. If my Marquis manor reneges, all of you just use it and go denounce us at the government official.” After writing that, she took a contract deed from Ma Momo and spread it out in front of Lin Shi then silently mouthed the question, “Do you remember the military order you made?”
Lin Shi was dumbfounded with a face full of disbelief, “Mother, what do you wish to do?” It couldn’t be what she thought, could it?
“Do what? Naturally divorcing you.” Yu Pin Yan stood up and spoke coldly, “You have half a month to go apologize to all the families. After that, take Yu Miao Qi and get out.”
Yu Miao Qi was also dumbfounded. She absolutely could not believe they were actually going to kick her out as well.
“Grandmother, Elder Brother, I’m the bloodline of Yu family! How can you drive me away? !” She questioned sharply. The muscles of her whole body were stretched so tensely from shock and panic that she almost turned into a stone statue.
“What is the bloodline of the Yu family? This Marquis does not acknowledge it. Clean up the mess you made and get out immediately. Except for Lin Shi’s dowry, not a single cent is allowed to be taken away!” After saying that, he picked up Old Madam’s handwritten note and carefully stamped his own private seal on it then cupped his hands and said, “The mishap is too serious, I have to enter the Imperial Palace to beg forgiveness from the Emperor. Grandmother, all aunts, I will go ahead first. If any of the aunts here have any difficulties in the future, just come to the door and ask for help. The door keeper will not dare to stop you.”
Old Madam waved her hand tiredly. The few peasant women took the slip of paper and kowtowed to express their eternal indebtedness then took their leave one after another once he was far away.
Lin Shi was still crying bitterly, shouting out her husband’s name repeatedly. Yu Miao Qi got up and casually wiped the spit on her face with the sleeve then pointed at the blue veins on her wrist as she spoke to Old Madam, “Grandmother, take a good look at this. This is the blood of the Yu family that is flowing inside. My father is Yu Junjie, who was once Marquis Yongle! I’m not someone of a different surname but my father’s bloodline! Grandmother, how can you bear to let father’s bloodline wander about in destitute outside?”
She has nothing else to rely on, merely this bit of blood left. The dead are often the most missed and she does not believe that Old Madam would not have the slightest bit of compassion when she mentioned her deceased son.
This trick, however, has long been used rotten by Lin Shi. There is no more compassion left instead of tediousness the most. Old Madam lifted her pen and wrote a huge word ‘Get lost’ on the paper then smashed the pen hard on Yu Miao Qi’s face.
Yu Miao Qi could not dodge it on time. The disheartened face of hers was covered with ink specks, she smiled then silently shed tears afterwards. Pointing at Old Madam, she then pointed at Lin Shi. She did not say anything in the end but stumbled away as if her heart was dead.
Only after Old Madam had ordered someone to throw Lin Shi out did she lie down on the couch, feeling both physically and mentally exhausted.
Yu Xiang only slept a little before she was awakened by the pain. Clutching the two hot water bottles, she groaned and grunted. When Yu Si Yu lifted the bed curtains, she snickered, “I heard you had your first menses in front of a house filled with guests today? What an utter disgrace.”
“So what? It’s all female guests who come and even if there is a bloodbath, who will have undue discussion about it? How’s the front?” Yu Xiang sat up halfway then took out one hot water bottle from under the quilt and stuffed it into her collar. The speed of blood loss was so fast that she felt cold everywhere.
Seeing the bulging top and swelling bottom like a pregnant woman in her fifth month of pregnancy, Yu Si Yu could not stop laughing then curled up her lips, “Will Elder Brother spare them after causing such a big mishap? He told them to clean up the awful mess then get out immediately and nothing can be taken away except the dowry.”
Playing with her own hair absent-mindedly, Yu Xiang laughed, “The dowry was taken care of by uncle and aunt, presumably there’s nothing left now. Mother said her dowry shops suffered a huge loss before she decided to embezzle the household income. This was said for the sake of absolving Yu Miao Qi without knowing she has hit the mark with this comment. Once the accounts are checked before they leave, Yu Miao Qi will be in a terrible fix.”
Yu Si Yu covered her mouth to hold back her laughter and asked, “Is that really true? Even if a few shops and a few hundred hectares of fertile lands were given to me, they can’t go so far as to fall low to the point of even skimping the few hundreds taels of Grandmother’s silver for food.”
Yu Xiang pulled the quilt up and wrapped herself into a ball, “I don’t know what she thinks. Maybe she thought those dowries have been stained in the hands of Grandmother and me these past years. So, once she took them back, she wantonly replaced the shopkeeper and source of goods. Poor management coupled with unstable sources of goods, who would not lose money if it was not her.”
Yu Si Yu sighed and smiled bitterly, “The mess she made is indeed too huge and the most prestigious noblewomen in the Capital have all been harmed. Originally, as one out of the three young misses in the Yu family she was the only ‘to grow out of the mud unsullied’, now, she is not from the mud but out of a manure pit. Do you think we can still get married in this life?”
“Even if you have a good reputation, you can’t marry into any rich and influential family. You should stop thinking about it and find an honest man to live your life in peace. I don’t expect to marry since the day I broke my leg, what does it matter if I have a good or bad reputation? I can do whatever I like as long as I am happy about it.”
“You are the only lady in the Capital whose life is most carefree.” Yu Si Yu nodded then felt the hard object in her sleeve and hurriedly took it out to hand it over.
She is carefree at the moment but won’t last a few days later. Thinking of her compelling elder brother, Yu Xiang smirked. She took the long brocade box then opened it and was stunned at once, “Where did you get the silver to buy such a precious gift?”
“Hey, it’s not from me. It’s from top scholar Shen. Quick, tell me what happened between you and him. He gave you such a valuable gift for your jiji, is it to your liking?” Yu Si Yu leaned forward and whispered.
Holding the box in daze, a sudden thought entered Yu Xiang’s mind but without waiting for her to dwell on it, she heard Tao Hong and Liu Lu shouting outside, “Second Young Miss, why are you here? Shouldn’t you wipe your face first, look how dirty you are.”
Before the words even faltered, Yu Miao Qi whose face was covered with ink specks had already walked past the two of them and entered the inner room. Her expression seemed calm but there was hidden madness within her eyes.
“Yu Xiang, I have to tell you one thing today, a major matter that could turn your whole life upside down. Do you want to know?” She slowed down her steps and approached the bed slowly then sat down with a strange smile at the corner of her mouth.
A major matter that will turn my life upside down is still hidden in my elder brother’s belly, what significance is your trifle matter? While Yu Xiang remained indifferently, Yu Si Yu became wary as she yelled at Tao Hong and Liu Lu, “Second Young Miss is possessed, why don’t you come over and pull her out!”