Chapter 142: Yu Yi Delivers the Wrong Letter
“Then how about this? Let the men each write the four characters fu shou an kang—blessings of fortune, longevity, peace, and health. Once the written samples are collected, the women can embroider the characters according to those forms, and then the small stitched characters can be pieced together into larger ones. If anything is still lacking afterward, I can lead the embroiderers of Ni Yun Fang in finishing the remaining work. That way, the New Year tribute should not be delayed.”
“Good, that would be wonderful!”
Madam Jin was overjoyed. She had only come to check on Mu Yunyao, yet unexpectedly, a major concern weighing on her heart had been resolved.
“This matter will still need to be discussed with others, of course, but I imagine it is eight or nine parts certain already. You must be prepared—this is something that cannot be done without you coordinating from the middle.”
“Please rest assured, Madam. I will certainly do my utmost. Since it is a good thing that brings honor to Jingling City, then naturally I must contribute as much as I can.”
“Good. With those words from you, I can set my mind at ease.”
Now that the tribute matter had a direction, the smile on Madam Jin’s face grew all the more radiant. And when Su Qing directed the servants to bring in the dishes, Madam Jin praised the food lavishly as she ate.
Seeing how gentle and easy Madam Jin’s attitude remained, Su Qing gradually relaxed. Once her mind loosened, her arrangements grew even more thoughtful and attentive, and even her speech became freer and more natural.
After the meal, the two women sat together discussing how children ought to be raised. Su Qing told several embarrassing stories from Mu Yunyao’s childhood, and Madam Jin laughed until she could hardly stop.
Feeling rather embarrassed, Mu Yunyao found an excuse and slipped away. Madam Jin and Su Qing were in the midst of a lively conversation, so after teasing her a little, they let her go.
Once she returned to her own room, the smile on Mu Yunyao’s lips faded somewhat.
Jin Lan noticed at once.
“Miss, what is wrong? Weren’t you just happy a moment ago?”
“It is nothing. I only feel a little heartache for Mother.”
“Heartache for Madam?”
“You would not understand even if I explained. Go prepare a few things. Tonight I shall cook with my own hands and properly reward Mother.”
She would never stop her mother’s transformation simply because her heart ached for her. She would only support her silently from behind and do all she could to ensure that no one would ever have the chance to look down upon her.
“Yes, Miss.”
Madam Jin remained for nearly two hours before finally rising to leave. Before departing, she even arranged with Su Qing to come visit again in two days.
When Mu Yunyao entered, she saw Su Qing’s face still full of smiles, and only then did the tightness in her own chest loosen.
“So Mother and Madam Jin had a very pleasant talk.”
“Madam Jin is of high status, and yet she treats others with such warmth. That is truly rare indeed.”
Mu Yunyao smiled.
“Mother hardly ate anything at noon, and afterward sat with Madam Jin for so long. You must be hungry by now. I prepared a few dishes myself—come and taste them.”
“Very well.”
Watching Mu Yunyao direct the servants as they brought the food in, Su Qing let out a soft breath. For Yunyao’s sake, no matter how difficult it was, she had to force herself to adapt to dealings with women like Madam Jin and learn all those complicated social entanglements. Only then, when the time came to return to the Su family, would she be able to better protect Yunyao.
Mother and daughter happily finished their meal. After sitting together and chatting for a while longer, and seeing that the evening had grown late, they each returned to their rooms to rest.
Yet in Yuexi, the lamps in Yue Wang’s residence study burned late into the night.
Yue Wang held the letter in his hand and read it over again and again. An unreadable emotion flickered in his cool, sharp eyes. He had not expected Mu Yunyao to see through his identity as Yue Wang. Now that she knew, what did she think in her heart?
Eunuch Cheng brought over a cup of hot tea and carefully placed it by Yue Wang’s hand.
“Your Highness, you have already read that letter many times. Has something gone wrong on Old Qin’s side?”
Since the letter arrived ten days earlier, Yue Wang had kept it on his desk, drawing it out from time to time to look at it again. By now, he likely could have recited it backward from memory.
“Nothing is wrong.”
Yue Wang folded the letter shut, though his heart remained anything but calm. Just as Eunuch Cheng was about to withdraw, Yue Wang suddenly asked,
“Uncle Cheng, would you ever form other thoughts because my identity was different?”
Eunuch Cheng’s heart stirred. Recalling the letter Steward Qin had sent, he guessed that Yue Wang’s unrest came from the fact that Miss Mu had guessed his true identity.
“This old servant has attended Your Highness for many years. Whether you were a prince or an ordinary commoner, you would still be this old servant’s master. How could I possibly have other thoughts? For Your Highness to ask such a question—have you some particular concern?”
If Yue Wang cared this much about Miss Mu, then there was surely some place for her in his heart.
Yue Wang’s brows drew together, but he could not have said clearly what it was he feared. Ever since reading Steward Qin’s letter, however, his thoughts had begun to run wild on their own.
Now that Mu Yunyao knew who he was, would she fear him and keep her distance? Would she hold him in contempt? Or would she simply not care in the least? No matter which possibility he imagined, it filled him with an inexplicable vexation.
Seeing the changing expressions in Yue Wang’s eyes, Eunuch Cheng became more and more certain of his guess. After thinking it over, he offered a pointed remark.
“Your Highness need not overthink things. So long as someone truly cares for you, then no matter what your identity may be, they will always treat you the same.”
But Yue Wang’s brows showed no sign of easing. He merely nodded and lowered his eyes back to the memorials on his desk.
Eunuch Cheng did not dare say more and silently withdrew.
For the next few days, Yue Wang’s expression remained difficult and weighed down. Eunuch Cheng, seeing it, felt great concern and finally sought out Yu Heng to discuss it.
“How does that Miss Mu treat His Highness?”
Miss Mu and Yue Wang?
Yu Heng thought carefully, then quickly shook his head.
“When His Highness meets Miss Mu, all attendants are always dismissed from the study. I have never seen it myself, so I do not know whether it is good or not.”
Eunuch Cheng shot him a glare.
“When the crucial moment comes, you are no use at all—just like that boy Yu Yi, wasting grain for nothing.”
“Huh? Eunuch Cheng, were you calling me?”
Yu Yi came running in from the doorway. Seeing Eunuch Cheng, he hurriedly stopped and caught his breath.
“The weather grows colder and colder. Coming back from Jingling City, I still haven’t adjusted.”
“And what are you doing back here?”
“Oh, Steward Qin sent me back with letters. He instructed me that they must be placed personally into His Highness’s hands.”
Eunuch Cheng’s eyes lit up.
“Old Qin sent letters? Did he write one for me as well?”
Yu Yi pulled out two letters and looked them over. Perhaps Steward Qin had been too hurried, because nothing was written on the envelopes to indicate who they were meant for. Thinking hard over Steward Qin’s exact words, Yu Yi quickly shook his head.
“Steward Qin said only that I was to place the letters personally into His Highness’s hands. He said nothing about one for you.”
Eunuch Cheng glanced at the blank envelopes and thought that perhaps this time Old Qin had indeed written nothing for him.
“His Highness is in the study. Hurry and deliver them.”
“Yes.”
Yue Wang accepted the two letters. Judging their weight in his hand, the crease between his brows deepened. Then, after weighing them carefully once more, he opened the one he believed to be the heavier of the two.
The moment he unfolded it, however, his expression shifted.
Meanwhile, back in Jingling City, Steward Qin was all smiles as he sorted through the account books. Suddenly, he gave a start and muttered to himself,
“By the reckoning of the days, the letters should have reached Yuexi by now. I wonder whether Old Cheng has seen the letter I wrote him.”
To urge Old Cheng to work harder at making a match, he had gone out of his way in that letter to describe Miss Mu’s deep affection for Yue Wang.
And really, if Miss Mu had not constantly cared for and worried over Yue Wang, then how could she possibly have thought of stir-frying ginger tea and sending it over to help him survive the bitter winter?
There was an old saying: a goose feather sent from a thousand li away is light in itself, yet heavy with sentiment. But Jingling City and Yuexi were separated by not merely a thousand li, but several thousand, and Miss Mu had still gone to such lengths to prepare the ginger tea and send it over. Such feeling—why, it had to be immeasurably weighty.
“May His Highness soon carry home this golden doll of a girl! Once that happens, all the rest of us will finally be able to set our hearts at ease.”
