Chapter 146: Yue Wang, Brief and to the Point
Mu Yunyao returned to herself. The bead of blood on her fingertip had already begun to clot. She took a handkerchief and wiped it lightly; her fingertip was clean again, and even that tiny pinprick no longer hurt. “It is nothing.”
What she had seen and heard today at the Cao Residence had stirred her heart more than she liked, making her think, unbidden, of her former self. In her previous life, when she had been Jin Wang’s concubine, that eldest miss of the Su family must have looked at her much as Madam Jin looked at Concubine Wang: nothing more than a plaything whose ambitions had grown too large.
In this life, she would never again become anyone’s concubine. She would also send that dear elder sister of hers safely and steadily into Jin Wang’s Residence. She wanted to see what sort of days two people so false to the bone could make of each other.
Several days later, when Mu Yunyao went again to the Cao Residence to discuss with Madam Jin what kind of embroidered cloth should be used for the New Year’s gift, she saw people clearing out the lotus pond.
Yin Hong led Mu Yunyao along the path. Seeing her gaze fall upon the pond, she softly explained, “Yesterday, Concubine Wang and Concubine Zhou had a little conflict. Concubine Zhou lost her grip and pushed Concubine Wang in. The lotus pond was full of silt. Concubine Wang had not been in the water for long before there was no sound from her. Madam felt uneasy whenever she looked at the pond, so she ordered it cleaned out and plans to have it filled in.”
Mu Yunyao smiled faintly. A ripple passed through her eyes, then vanished without a trace. “Madam has considered the matter well.”
After several days of coming and going, the cloth and embroidery thread for the New Year’s gift were finally prepared. The characters chosen by Provincial Governor Zhang were also sent over one after another. Mu Yunyao carefully selected them before instructing people to begin embroidering.
The characters for fortune, longevity, peace, and health had been written by elders with complete blessings, whom Provincial Governor Zhang had invited from various places. Although the original plan had been to ask the women of Jingling City who knew embroidery to help with the work, this birthday gift was, after all, to be presented to the Emperor. If the women’s needlework was not good enough, flaws would inevitably remain. In the end, after discussing it with Madam Jin, they decided that Mu Yunyao would embroider most of it herself, with the remaining portions completed by the embroiderers of Niyun Pavilion. These embroiderers had also been selected from the best in Jingling City, so they could still represent the women of Jingling.
Su Qing helped sort through the handwriting sent from different places until her eyes nearly blurred. “Yao’er, is this not far too much? How long will you have to embroider?”
Jin Lan and the others, who were splitting silk thread nearby, could not help nodding as well. “Exactly, Miss. Provincial Governor Zhang is too inconsiderate. New Year is already not far away, and the gift must be sent to the capital half a month early. The actual time available for embroidery is only about three months. How could it possibly be finished?”
Mu Yunyao looked up and gave a light smile. “I am not worried, so what are you all worrying about? Rest assured. Three months is enough.”
Su Qing could not help sighing. Swallowing down her heartache, she said, “Mother will go make you something to eat. For these three months, you need not concern yourself with anything else. Just focus on embroidering the New Year’s gift.”
Mu Yunyao smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Mother.”
When Steward Qin learned that Mu Yunyao would be helping prepare the New Year’s gift, he hurriedly bought a great many medicinal herbs and sent them over.
Mu Yunyao opened the box and looked at the whole ginseng root inside, its fine root hairs still intact. She could not help laughing softly. “Steward Qin, what you have prepared is far too precious. I am merely helping embroider a New Year’s gift. I cannot bear to use something this good.”
This ginseng looked to be a hundred years old. If she truly ate it, it would certainly overnourish her.
“Miss, you must not treat this lightly. Embroidery consumes the mind most of all, especially your embroidery. Those silk threads are split until they are almost invisible. An ordinary person’s eyes would blur from a single glance. It is only because your skill is superb that your needle falls as though guided by a spirit.”
As Steward Qin spoke, admiration rose in him, but so did a trace of distress.
For the sake of Niyun Pavilion and Buxian Tower, Miss Mu had already planned each step with great care and had labored greatly. Now, to please the Emperor’s heart, she had to work continuously for three months. He could not help much, so he could only do his utmost to search for tonics and send them over.
Warmth rose in Mu Yunyao’s heart. “Then you must keep careful watch over Buxian Tower and divide more silver to me each month. In that case, I will not feel tired.”
“Do not worry, Miss. The people I sent out have already taken root in Suzhou, Yangzhou, and other places. Very soon they will be able to begin roasting tea leaves and earning silver. It is only a pity that fresh leaves can only be picked during these few months. Once winter arrives, there will be no way to roast tea.”
These days, after tasting the joy of earning silver, Steward Qin wished he could enshrine every tea tree in the garden and have them produce fresh leaves every day.
“Silver can never all be earned. We are already busy enough as it is. If one bites off more than one can chew, one will only choke. Let us proceed slowly, step by step.” Mu Yunyao’s desire to earn silver was even more urgent than Steward Qin’s, but she did not dare be hasty. One wrong step could overturn the entire game. After all, the time she had left was less than a year.
Steward Qin also understood this reasoning. “Yes. It is already very good to proceed steadily.” Half a year ago, he had thought it would be enough if he could hold several tens of thousands of taels in his hands. Now, the silver passing through his hands each day was more than ten thousand taels. People truly could not be too greedy.
During the days that followed, Mu Yunyao rarely stepped outside. Every day, she stayed in her room embroidering the New Year’s gift.
Madam Jin visited her twice. Seeing that the embroidery was progressing well, she no longer disturbed her often. Instead, every so often, she sent gifts: sometimes jewelry and head ornaments, sometimes simple foods.
Mu Yunyao did not refuse and instructed Jin Lan to accept them all one by one.
More than half a month later, Steward Qin delivered Yue Wang’s reply.
Mu Yunyao moved her stiff wrist and fingers, feeling somewhat surprised. “I did not expect His Highness Yue Wang to actually send me a reply.” Only, she had not sent a letter last time. What reply was this supposed to be?
Steward Qin merely smiled, and his smile was especially brilliant. The way he looked at Mu Yunyao carried bursts of strange radiance, as though he were already regarding her as the future Princess Consort Yue—and the more he looked, the more satisfied he became.
Mu Yunyao was left rather bewildered by his gaze. After opening the letter, she found only three words written on the paper: I know now.
It truly was Yue Wang’s style, where each word was worth a thousand pieces of gold.
She could not help lifting her brows. Holding up the letter, she showed it to Steward Qin. “This… ‘I know now’… What exactly does His Highness Yue Wang know?”
Steward Qin’s eyes widened. In his heart, he could not stop complaining. Judging from Old Cheng’s meaning, His Highness clearly kept Miss Mu in his thoughts. Why could he not write a little more in the letter? With only three words—I know now—who could tell what His Highness was thinking?
Seeing Steward Qin struck speechless, Mu Yunyao felt it would be unkind to continue troubling the old man. “I will write a letter to ask His Highness Yue Wang, then. It just so happens I have not sent a letter for some time. By the time the letter arrives, the ginger tea should have almost reached Yuexi as well.”
Steward Qin quickly wiped away his cold sweat. “Good, good. Miss is still the thoughtful one.”
Fortunately, Miss Mu was understanding. If this were any other young woman, she might long since have become angry.
No, he still had to write a letter to scold Old Cheng. Miss Mu had divided the profits of Niyun Pavilion, helped open Buxian Tower, worked hard to obtain two golden-lettered plaques, and even sent ginger tea over a thousand li to His Highness. Even he, as an outsider, was moved just watching it all. How could His Highness not know how to say a few pleasant words to coax her?
Far away in Yuexi, Yue Wang suddenly sneezed, prompting Steward Cheng, who was reporting matters before him, to show concern. “Your Highness, the weather has turned cold. You should add a few more layers. Did Old Qin not send over two fox-fur cloaks? They were bought from Jiangnan. When Your Highness wears them, you look especially valiant and majestic. I will have someone take them out and air them. They can be worn tomorrow.”
Yue Wang nodded without speaking.
Another half a month passed. The merchant caravan transporting “tea leaves” finally arrived outside Yuxi City after traveling a thousand li. Unfortunately, before they could enter the city, a ferocious band of bandits rushed out, seized the tea leaves, and dragged them away.
Only after the bandits had vanished without a trace did Yuxi City’s garrison soldiers come out trembling. Seeing the caravan owner sitting on the ground, weeping loudly, one of them could not help but offer a word of comfort. “Stop crying. It is already good that they only took the goods and did not harm anyone. Hurry into the city and rest.”
“This officer, we want to report to the authorities! We ask the government to help arrest those bandits!”
“You can report it if you want, but let me tell you first: even if you report it, it will be useless. Those bandits cannot be caught.”
“Then what are we to do?” the caravan owner wailed. “We… we will rest for a while, then return to Jiangnan and buy another batch of tea leaves. I refuse to believe those bandits can rob us every single time!”
