Pampered Poisonous Royal Wife Chapter 136

Chapter 136: Yue Wang Lacks Everything 

The two of them had eaten a little when Mu Yunyao noticed that Su Qing kept looking at her. She blinked.

“Mother, what is it?”

Su Qing was smiling, though there was a touch of emotion in her expression.

“It’s nothing. I’m simply happy.”

Mu Yunyao thought she was speaking of having saved Nan’er and the others today.

“Does Mother like that child Nan’er as well?”

But Su Qing shook her head.

“The reason I am happy is not because someone was saved today, but because of you, Yao’er.”

“Because of me?” Mu Yunyao did not understand.

“Yes.” Su Qing hesitated for a moment, then took Mu Yunyao’s hand and spoke slowly. “You once told me that in a dream you had seen the whole course of your life. Though you only touched lightly on many things, your mother can imagine how difficult every step must have been for you, how desperately you struggled, only to meet with no good ending in the end…”

Seeing tears in Su Qing’s eyes, Mu Yunyao hurried to comfort her.

“Mother, you yourself said it was only a dream. Perhaps Heaven pitied me, and that is why it warned me in my dream, so that I might know in advance what would happen and avoid it in this life. You need not grieve over it.”

At those words, Su Qing’s heart ached sharply.

“Yao’er, there is no need to deceive me. If it were truly only a passing dream, many things would have blurred and faded. How then could you have mastered embroidery in a single night, and also come to understand tea and medicine? Most of all, you are my daughter. How could I not notice the changes that have taken place in you?”

Mu Yunyao’s heart gave a violent tremor. In an instant, countless ways of concealing the truth rose to her mind. But when she looked up and met Su Qing’s eyes, so full of pain and tenderness, she froze where she sat.

“Mother…”

Su Qing drew her into her arms.

“I was afraid that what happened in your previous life would twist your heart. I was afraid that the Su family would fill you with hatred. I was afraid that all that hatred would change your nature. But now, seeing you as you are, your mother can finally set her heart at ease.”

Yao’er had not become cold-blooded and merciless. Instead, she had remained gentle and kind. Now Su Qing could truly rest easy.

Mu Yunyao leaned against Su Qing’s embrace, and tears fell straight down her cheeks.

“So long as Mother is here, I will never let hatred destroy me. So Mother must live a hundred years and stay with me forever.”

It was precisely because her mother was still with her that she had never allowed vengeance to take over completely, and had kept one tender place within her heart.

“All right. Mother will stay with you always. So you must remember: though no one asks you to practice every virtue beneath Heaven, at the very least you must act without shame before your own heart. Your mother asks only that you live safely and well. When I am old, I still intend to enjoy your filial care.”

Mu Yunyao nodded hard and wrapped her arms around Su Qing’s waist, pressing herself against her.

“It is so good to have Mother here…”

Su Qing stroked her hair, her eyes overflowing with love.

“Silly child.”

Now that the matter of her rebirth had been guessed by Su Qing, the great stone weighing on Mu Yunyao’s heart at last seemed to fall away. Her whole body felt lighter.

First, she clung to Su Qing, insisting on eight-treasure rice. Then that night, she refused to leave her mother’s room and insisted on sleeping beside her, leaving Su Qing both amused and helpless. She declared that she had somehow raised one very large baby, drawing secret laughter from Si Qin and the others who served her.

Mu Yunyao did not mind in the least. So long as she could lean against Su Qing, she felt perfectly at peace.

After several more days of rest and recovery, both Nan’er and Little Mao awoke, though their injuries would still require several months to heal completely.

“Miss, Steward Qin has come.”

Mu Yunyao set down the book in her hands.

“A few days ago, I said I wanted to speak with Steward Qin about something, but then Mother drew me into conversation and I forgot all about it. Invite Steward Qin into the flower hall, and have the things I prepared brought out. I’ll go meet him in the front.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“Greetings, Miss Mu.”

“There is no need for formalities, Steward Qin. These last few days have been busy indeed, and I even forgot to go to Jinxiu Garden to look for you. I hope Steward Qin will forgive me.”

“It is nothing. If Miss has some matter in mind, please just instruct me.”

Mu Yunyao had Jin Lan and the others serve tea, then motioned for them to withdraw. She lifted her teacup, took a sip, and after a moment’s thought, began,

“I imagine Steward Qin has already reported to Yue Wang that I know his identity?”

“Please forgive me, Miss. I did indeed report it to Yue Wang. I imagine he should receive the letter very soon.”

“These past few days I have been thinking. To borrow Jinxiu Garden from Yue Wang for the opening of Bu Xian Lou, and then to take forty percent of the profits on top of that—it can only be because Yue Wang has shown me favor and has chosen not to haggle over the matter. I am deeply grateful. So I have been thinking that I ought to do something for Yue Wang in return as well.”

Steward Qin froze, then smiled broadly.

“Miss is being far too courteous. In opening Bu Xian Lou, you have already helped Yue Wang greatly.”

If the two of them were to become one family in time, then there would be even less need for such calculations. He wondered whether Old Cheng had managed to talk sense into Yue Wang. Hah. All day long, that man knew only how to make noise about trivial things, yet when it came to actual business, he was no help at all. The next time he saw him, he would certainly give him a proper scolding.

“It is like this. Jiangnan is already nearing the end of the eighth month, and the weather has begun to cool. I imagine that in Yuexi (Western Guangdong), it must already be very cold.”

Steward Qin nodded.

“Yes. Yuexi (Western Guangdong) is bitterly cold. Frost and snow have already begun to appear.”

Those who had never been to Yuexi (Western Guangdong) would never be able to imagine its cruelty. At this time of year, things were still only bearable. In another two months, the cold there could freeze the very blood in a man’s veins. Each breath drawn into the chest felt like swallowing steel needles. Worse still, much of the land there was mountainous and barren, with not a blade of grass to be found. Once winter came, even fuel for warmth grew scarce. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, who could have imagined that His Majesty could be so cold-hearted as to exile his own son into such a place of utter extremity?

Mu Yunyao knew of Yuexi only by hearsay and had no true understanding of its conditions. Yet seeing the gravity on Steward Qin’s face, her heart stirred.

“It is like this. In my hometown, there is a kind of ginger tea that can be prepared. It is made chiefly from ginger and rice flour. When it is to be eaten, one need only stir it with hot water. It is convenient, and it drives out the cold. The ingredients are so plain that I only worry Yue Wang may disdain it.”

Steward Qin’s eyes lit up.

“Does Miss happen to have some of this ginger tea here? Might I have a bowl to taste?”

“Jin Lan, bring in the things I prepared.”

At Mu Yunyao’s instruction from the doorway, Jin Lan at once came in carrying a bowl and a pot of hot water.

Steward Qin hurried to look. In the bowl was a heap of pale yellow rice flour in which bits of scallion, ginger, and dried greens could faintly be seen. Even before water touched it, an enticing fragrance was already rising from it.

Mu Yunyao prepared it with her own hands, slowly pouring hot water into the bowl as she stirred with a silver spoon. Before long, the dry mixture had turned into a bowl of thick rice porridge.

Unable to wait for it to cool, Steward Qin lifted the bowl at once and blew on it once or twice. The rice flour was savory and fragrant, with just the right trace of ginger. The dried greens, once shriveled and crisp, had softened and opened again, and together with the little cubes of browned meat, they made for a mouthful that sent warmth spreading through the whole body.

“Miss, how much is this ginger tea worth?”

Steward Qin’s heart was pounding with emotion. He had spent five years in Yuexi with Yue Wang and had seen its harshness firsthand. Once winter truly set in, a bowl of this ginger tea might well be enough to save a life.

↞ Previous│❀ Table of Contents ❀ │ Next ↠