Chapter 199 - The Woman That Night

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“I’m looking for you for serious matters.” In the purple bamboo forest, Yan Ruyu looked at Xu Shao and said, “I suspect that Young Master Yan suspects me.”

Xu Shao frowned and subconsciously said, “What did you do?”

“I…” Yan Ruyu wanted to say something but hesitated. She turned around and looked into the silent bamboo forest. “What do you mean by that? The truth always comes out. You know this logic better than me, right?”

Xu Shao pondered for a moment. “Prefecture Xu’s arrangements are very clean. He can’t find anything. Why do you think he suspects you?”

Yan Ruyu sighed. “I can’t say. I’m just a little worried because I’ve been feeling uneasy recently.”

“Did you forget to take your medicine again?” Xu Shao frowned at her.

Yan Ruyu’s eyes turned cold. “I’m not sick!”

Xu Shao slowed down his tone. “You’ve lost your vital energy and blood. You need to recuperate carefully.”

Yan Ruyu turned her face away indifferently, clearly not taking this advice to heart.

“What does Yan Jiuchao suspect you of? Does he think that you’re not the children’s biological mother, or does he think that you’re hiding something from your past?”

Yan Ruyu shook her head. “He didn’t tell me anything. I guessed it myself. He’s not in the Capital anymore. Do you think he went to investigate what happened back then?”

Xu Shao said, “Prince Yan’s death anniversary is coming soon. He’s only going to the imperial mausoleum to sweep Prince Yan’s grave. Don’t think too much.”

Yan Jiuchao had indeed left the Capital in the name of visiting the grave.

“The imperial mausoleum is in the same direction as Gong City.” Yan Ruyu looked at Xu Shao and said, “Aren’t you worried that he’s going to Gong City on the cover of going to the imperial mausoleum? You’ve cleaned up Prefecture Xu, but what about Gong City? What about that residence?”

Xu Shao said, “No one knows that you’ve been to Gong City, and no one will link Gong City to the entire matter.”

Yan Ruyu wanted to say something, but Xu Shao raised his hand. “Alright, this matter ends here. Don’t worry and be the biological mother of the little masters. I’ll plan everything else for you.”

When Yan Ruyu returned to the manor, she did not eat. Instead, she sat in the study and drew a portrait.

Cai Qin stood quietly at the side and helped her prepare the ink.

Yan Ruyu drew a few in one go, and almost every one of them was the same. Cai Qin usually didn’t say much, but at this moment, she couldn’t help but ask, “Miss, why didn’t you draw a face?”

In the painting was a half-naked woman’s back. She was standing in the bathtub, surrounded by steam. The woman’s face was half-turned, but the outline of her face and facial features were empty. Only her black hair fell, covering half of her beautiful back.

On the lower right side of the beautiful back, near the dimples, there was a small green birthmark. Half of it was exposed, and the other half was hidden in the black hair.

“Is this you, Miss? So beautiful,” Cai Qin said sincerely.

Yan Ruyu laughed self-deprecatingly. “It wasn’t me.”

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Cai Qin exclaimed in surprise, “Who could that be?” Then she looked at the empty face and said, “Why didn’t you put on a face?”

Yan Ruyu only answered her second question. “Because it’s not her face.”

It was covered in red spots and was as black as mud. Once, she also thought that that woman was like that until she happened to see her beauty coming out of the bath one day. Although it was only her back view, she was so beautiful that it was suffocating.

She had never known that a person’s skin could be so good. It was as delicate as white porcelain and also like top-grade jade. How could such a beautiful woman have a disgusting ugly face?

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Cai Qin did not understand Yan Ruyu’s words. She wanted to ask, but she was worried that she would offend her master.

After Yan Ruyu finished the last stroke, she put down her brush and said, “I also wanted to see what she looked like. Unfortunately, not long after, she got someone to take her away. After that, she gave birth. After that…”

What happens after that? Cai Qin pricked up her ears.

Yan Ruyu did not continue. She stroked the beautiful back of the painting and said, “Prepare the carriage. I’ll go to the Young Master Manor to visit the little masters.”

Cai Qin said, “Miss, the little masters have been sent to the Xiao Manor. Have you forgotten?”

Yan Ruyu’s hand paused and she said in a daze, “Yes, I forgot.”

… .

“Young Master, who’s in the painting? Is it the little masters’ biological mother? What does she look like? Why don’t you let me see her?” Shadow Six muttered unhappily.

They had already returned to the inn. On Old Master Zheng’s side, the Young Master had sent a few sacrificial soldiers to save Old Master Zheng’s son. Since they were willing to help, it meant that they had gained something from this trip. Therefore, he guessed that the scroll must be a portrait of the little masters’ mother!

However, he did not understand why his Young Master did not let them see it. Could it be that the little masters’ biological mother was so ugly that she could not be seen?

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Of course, it was not that she was too ugly to be seen, but that she was too revealing.

Yan Jiuchao closed his eyes and suppressed the desire in his abdomen. “There’s no face in the painting.”

But there was something else.

Yan Jiuchao asked Shadow Six to prepare a calligraphy treasure. He raised his pen and drew half of a birthmark on the paper, and the other half was covered by her black hair. He felt that this birthmark was familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

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Shadow Six and Shadow Thirteen came over.

Shadow Six looked at it for a while and also felt that it looked familiar, but he couldn’t remember it for a while. On the other hand, Shadow Thirteen said with a solemn expression, “Young Master, this… why is it so similar to the totem on Slave Bi?”

After hearing his words, Yan Jiuchao’s eyes flickered. He drew the ball of green flames on Slave Bi’s body and covered half of it with his hand. The half that was revealed was indeed identical to the portrait.

Slave Bi was a member of the Ghost Clan. This was the mark of the Ghost Clan.

If this painting was real, then the woman who spent the night with him was fromt the Ghost Clan too?

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The reason why the Ghost Clan was called the Ghost Clan by the people of the Central Plains was entirely because of their elusive style. The people of the pugilistic world had said that they were divine. In fact, no one had seen them before. They only knew that they were originally a small clan in Southern Xinjiang that was good at Gu poison. Because their Gu poison was too domineering, they were feared by both the court of Southern Xinjiang and the pugilistic world. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, they retired.

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There wasn’t a single member of the Ghost Clan in the Southern Xinjiang, let alone the Central Plains. If the woman that night was really from the Ghost Clan, then how did she come to the Central Plains? And what did she come to the Central Plains for?

“Young Master, I remember a rumor about the Ghost Clan in the pugilistic world,” Shadow Six suddenly said.

“What rumors?” Shadow Thirteen asked.

“I wasn’t talking to you!” Shadow Six glared at Shadow Thirteen and turned to Yan Jiuchao.

Yan Jiuchao repeated Shadow Thirteen’s words. “What rumors?”

Shadow Six said, “Actually, there are many rumors about the Ghost Clan in the pugilistic world, but there’s only one that concerns women. Eighteen years ago, the Ghost Clan’s Grand Wedding was held, but on the day of the wedding, the bride fled.”

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Shadow Thirteen said disdainfully, “She could get married eighteen years ago. I’m afraid she wasn’t young then. You mean, our Young Master slept with an old woman three years ago?”

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Shadow Six glared at him. “Do you have any brains? How can I mean that?”

“Then what do you mean?” Shadow Thirteen asked.

Shadow Six said, “Have you never thought that perhaps she escaped to the Central Plains? She’s been in the Central Plains for so many years, how could she not be married? If she gives birth to a daughter, won’t she be half a member of the Ghost Clan?”

Yan Jiuchao tapped his fingertips gently on the table and revealed a thoughtful expression.

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… .

“Madam!” The little maidservant stomped her feet and tried to dissuade Shangguan Yan for the 100th time. “Can we not go? What’s so good about a dilapidated village? You’re the matriarch of the Xiao Manor. How embarrassing would it be if others knew that you went to a place like the countryside!”

Shangguan Yan coughed lightly and said, “I’m just trying to make him happy. I did something wrong, so it’s only right to coax him. He likes stinky tofu, so I’ll buy it for him personally. This way, he should calm down.”

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She refused to admit that she wanted to eat stinky tofu!

The little maidservant placed her hands on her hips and said, “Madam, you did something wrong! You shouldn’t have stuffed people into Master’s room. Fortunately, Master didn’t touch them. What if he did? Would you be happy if she really gave birth to a bastard?”

Shangguan Yan sighed. “I also want to leave a descendant for the Xiao family, right? Someone has to inherit such a big family asset, right?”

“One, two, three. Can’t Madam see them?” The little maidservant pointed at the little munchkins sitting in front of her.

The little munchkins did not understand what they were saying, but they were happy as long as they could see Wanwan and the others. They nodded obediently at whatever the maidservant said.

The maidservant raised her eyebrows and said, “Look, even the little masters are more sensible than you, Madam!”

Yes, yes, yes. They were all so sensible. The little munchkins widened their black eyes and sat up straight. Their little hands were placed properly, indicating that they were really super sensible!

The maidservant continued to slander her madam. “Don’t let the concubine’s son take advantage of it. You married into the Xiao family, so the Xiao family’s assets will be yours. After you’re gone, it’ll be Young Master’s. After he’s gone, it’ll be the Little Masters. In short, you’re not allowed to leave a single cent for outsiders!”

The words went in through Shangguan Yan’s left ear and left through the right ear.

Suddenly, Xiaobao covered his stomach and cried out. He was going to poop.

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Shangguan Yan asked the coachman to stop the carriage. The maidservant led Xiaobao to the front to relieve himself. When Dabao and Er’bao saw this, they also covered their stomachs and wanted to relieve themselves. The triplets were probably like this. If they were hungry, they would be hungry together. If they wanted to eat, they would eat together. If they wanted to shit, they would shit together.

There were no toilets on the way, so the three little lads squatted in a row by the roadside to poop.

Xiaobao couldn’t shit. Dabao and Er’bao could not shit either.

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The three of them squatted on the ground without their pants and played with the foxtail grass in front of them.

Although this was a fork in the road, it was deserted. There were no carriages along the way. The little maidservant never expected a carriage to speed over from the side path. Although it did not hit them, it ran over a mud pit and mud splashed all over the little munchkins’ faces.

The maidservant was immediately furious. She shouted at the carriage, “Who is so bold? Don’t they have eyes when they walk? Can’t they see the children beside them?”

The carriage stopped.

The little maidservant shouted, “You made my little masters like this! You have to compensate!”

“What’s wrong?” Shangguan Yan heard the commotion and alighted from the carriage, walking over.

The maidservant took out a handkerchief and squatted down to wipe the little munchkins’ faces. “Madam, look! The mud is all over the little masters’ faces! It’s so dirty!”

The three little lads looked at Shangguan Yan innocently.

Shangguan Yan picked up the three little fellows and helped them put on their pants. “Forget it, they didn’t mean it.”

“What do you mean by that? They almost bumped into someone, but they didn’t even apologize!” The maidservant’s voice was loud, as if she was deliberately saying it for the other party to hear.

A large palm wearing a leather glove reached out from the carriage and lifted the curtain on the side. Another hand reached over and pressed his arm. The man in leather gloves understood. He retracted his killing intent and put the curtain back.

Then, the carriage left.

The little maidservant stomped her feet in anger. “He ran so fast! What kind of person is he!”

Shangguan Yan also looked at who she was insulting. She usually did not get involved with two types of people—unrelated people and people who were too dangerous. The carriage just now gave her the feeling that it was the latter.

Shangguan Yan looked in the direction of the carriage. It seemed that… They were also going to Lotus Flower Village.

Lotus Flower Village.

Yu Wan was sitting in the room and giving Little Bruiser homework. Shopkeeper Cui had sent over the questions for the past years. The questions were not as complicated as she had imagined. Most of the questions were memorization and calligraphy. The scope of the questions was the Three Character Classic and the Thousand Character Classic. Yu Wan had asked around. The next entrance examination for the school was in June. After that, he could enter the school.

It was already late March, and there were less than three months left. It was quite difficult to memorize the Three Character Classic in such a short time.

Little Bruiser could no longer go out to play with Zhenzhen, nor could he go to the fields to look for Stone and the others. Every day, he was pressed into his room by his sister to study and write!

Little Bruiser felt a headache coming on!

“If you miss a word, memorize it again,” Yu Wan said sternly.

Little Bruiser said, “Sis, I’m hungry.”

“Eat after you’re done,” Yu Wan said mercilessly.

Little Bruiser carried it on his back aggrievedly. “The world is black and yellow, the universe is desolate, the sun and moon are full, the stars and nights are wide, the cold comes and goes, harvest in the autumn and keep in the winter…”

Yu Wan was multitasking. As she listened to her brother reciting, she calculated the accounts on hand. She had received a reward of a hundred taels from the palace, which was enough to make up for the materials owed by the construction site and the wages of the craftsmen. The workers had already received it, so there were still a few supervisors and old masters left.

“… Gold gives birth to beautiful water, the sun rises over Kun Gang—”

“It’s jade that comes from Kungang,” Yu Wan corrected Little Bruiser.

Little Bruiser was speechless. Wasn’t she calculating the accounts? How could she tell that he had memorized it wrongly? After that, Little Bruiser deliberately recited a few mistakes. Yu Wan found them all. At the same time, Yu Wan finished calculating her accounts.

“You made so many mistakes. I think you want to be punished.” Yu Wan looked at Little Bruiser indifferently.

Little Bruiser hurriedly waved his hand. “No, no, no! I don’t want to be punished!”

“Copy it.”

“No!”

“Then let’s do it twice.”

“Huh?!”

Just as Little Bruiser was about to explode, Shuanzi panicked and went up the door. “Ah Wan! Something happened at the construction site! Hurry up and take a look!”

Little Bruiser craned his neck.

Yu Wan looked at him. “Don’t even think about it. When I come back, you’d better have finished copying it twice.”

Little Bruiser wilted. Sis was too bad, too bad, too bad!

Yu Wan followed Shuanzi to the construction site of the factory. From afar, she could hear Aunt Zhang and a woman cursing. Yu Wan knew the woman. Her name was Miao Niang and she was from the Wu Family Village. Miao Niang’s man was a carpenter and worked at the Yu Family’s construction site. Miao Niang had nothing to do at home, so she asked Yu Feng if she could come and help. Yu Feng thought that someone had to clean the construction site, so she hired her over to do the cleaning.

Miao Niang was quite diligent, but she has a habit of stealing.

The men had long discovered it, but it was hard to say because she was a woman. Moreover, there was nothing much for her to take from the construction site. At most, it would be a few leftover cornbread and buns. Miao Niang had a child at home. Shuanzi’s brother had caught her once but she cried and said that her child was starving. He warned her not to do it again, or he would not be polite to her.

Unexpectedly, Miao Niang did not learn her lesson. After lunch today, she went to steal buns and was caught by Shuanzi’s brother. He was angry and wanted to cripple her hand. She retorted and said that he had wronged her.

She relied on the fact that she was a woman and Shuanzi’s brother did not dare to touch her. Unexpectedly, Shuanzi’s brother stepped forward and kicked her into the mud pit!

Miao Niang’s man was furious. He called a few other craftsmen from Wu Village who had also come to the construction site to work and started fighting with Shuanzi’s brother.

Erniu saw that the situation was not right and quickly went to mediate. In the end, he was accidentally injured and his head hit the bed, creating a large wound that was a few inches long.

Blood flowed all over the ground. Everyone was frightened.

When Aunt Zhang heard that something had happened to her son, she put down her work and rushed to the construction site. When Yu Wan arrived at the scene, Aunt Zhang was squatting on the ground. She covered Erniu’s wound with a cotton cloth and cried as she scolded Miao Niang, “Why is your heart so black… You stole from us… Get lost and go back to your village… Why did you come to our village…”

“You, you, you… Why are you angry at me? We didn’t push him! It’s him!” Miao Niang held her finger and pointed at Shuanzi’s brother.

At that time, it was indeed Shuanzi’s brother who knocked Erniu down, but he did not see Erniu. He was also pushed by the people from the Wu Family Village.

“Stop arguing!” Yu Wan glanced at everyone coldly. Aunt Zhang and Miao Niang, who were still arguing just now, instantly fell silent.

Yu Wan walked up to Aunt Zhang and Erniu and turned around to look at the crowd. “You’re all standing here in a daze. Don’t you have to do anything? You won’t get your salary if you’re just in a daze!”

Shuanzi tugged at his brother’s sleeve. “Brother, let’s go.”

Shuanzi’s brother looked coldly at the craftsmen of the Wu Family Village and walked away to do his own thing. Soon, the remaining craftsmen dispersed.

Yu Wan squatted down. “Aunt Zhang, let me take a look.”

Aunt Zhang trembled as she removed the blood-stained cotton cloth. She cried and asked Yu Wan, “Ah Wan, will Erniu be fine? He lost a lot of blood…”

Yu Wan took out a clean handkerchief from her purse and touched Erniu’s skull through the handkerchief. “The bone is fine. It’s a flesh wound. I’ll bring Brother Erniu to stitch it up first.”

“Stitch… stitch?” Aunt Zhang was stunned.

Yu Wan nodded. Erniu’s wound was much longer than Yu Song’s last time. It would not heal if it was not stitched up. Seeing that Aunt Zhang was still worried, she said patiently, “Aunt Zhang, don’t worry. I’ve treated my second brother’s wound before. I’m confident.”

Aunt Zhang had only seen her treat cows, but she did not know that she also knew how to treat people. However, since she said so, she must indeed be confident. Moreover, her son was seriously injured and could not wait to go to town to find a doctor. Aunt Zhang asked Erniu to follow Yu Wan.

Yu Wan cleaned Erniu’s wound and prepared a needle and thread. “Brother Erniu, it might hurt a little later. Bear with it.”

Erniu blushed and nodded. “I’m fine. I’ve been injured in the military camp before. This is a small… Ah—”

With one needle, Erniu screamed.

Erniu went in vertically and came out lying down… He fainted from the pain.

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Aunt Zhang: “…”

“Ahem, I was a little heavy-handed.” After all, it was always for pigs. “But I stitched it quite well.”

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After all, the pig skin was so thick, right? Human skin was so easy to stitch.

… .

After treating Erniu, Yu Wan went to the construction site. She separately learned the situation from the parties involved and the witnesses. It was basically the same as what Shuanzi had said. It was Miao Niang who stole something first, followed by Shuanzi’s brother who taught her a lesson. After that, there was Miao Niang’s man who was beaten up by the crowd.

Yu Wan said indifferently, “I invited you here to let you do your work well, not to cause trouble at the construction site. Miao Niang, this isn’t your first time. My temple is too small to support a great Buddha like you. You don’t have to come tomorrow.”

Miao Niang was shocked. “What? You want to fire me?”

Yu Wan said indifferently, “Yes, you didn’t hear wrongly. I want to fire you.”

Miao Niang couldn’t take it anymore. She placed her hands on her hips and said, “Call your big brother over! Your big brother was the one who hired me over! If anyone has to fire me, it should be him. When did it become a girl’s turn to speak!”

Yu Wan’s eyes turned cold. “If you continue to be noisy, I’ll fire your man too!”

Miao Niang fell silent.

“And you.” Yu Wan looked at Shuanzi’s brother and the craftsmen of the Wu Family Village. “Since it’s your first offense, I’ll only deduct ten days’ worth of salary from you this time. If there’s a next time, pack your bags and leave! Of course, those who want to leave now can do so too. You have skills, and the craftsmen in town also have skills. At most, I’ll spend a few more taels of silver. Our Yu family doesn’t lack this bit of money! I invited you here because of Grandpa Wu! Do you really think our Yu family can make a fortune by saving these few taels of salary?”

The craftsmen of Wu Village, who had originally planned to threaten Yu Wan with their collective resignation, lowered their heads in unison.

The salary Yu Feng gave them was indeed less than the old craftsmen in town, but it was higher than other villages. The Yu family could spend money to hire better craftsmen other than them, but they could not find a better job.

With this thought in mind, they would accept it even if their monthly salary was deducted. They originally thought that as long as they formed a group, they would be able to threaten this girl. Who knew that this girl was so powerful that she was not inferior to men?

“Shuanzi’s brother, are you alright?” After the craftsman left, Yu Wan stopped Shuanzi’s brother, who was walking back with his head lowered.

Shuanzi’s brother turned around. “Sorry for the trouble.”

“No, I know that you’re doing this for my own good. Brother, you don’t have to take what I said just now to heart.” Someone had to step forward and be the bad person for Miao Niang. It wasn’t that Shuanzi’s brother didn’t have the demeanor of a man. He had put down the burden of a man.

Yu Wan handed Shuanzi’s brother a small medicine bottle. “Here.”

Shuanzi’s brother was stunned at first, then he looked at his fist. It was actually a bloody mess. He smiled. “I didn’t notice.”

He took the medicine bottle. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Yu Wan said.

Shuanzi’s brother looked at her steadily. “You look so similar to your mother.”

Yu Wan smiled. “That’s right. Everyone says so. I look like my mother, and my brother looks like my father.”

“You do look like your mother.” She’s quite beautiful.

“By the way.” Shuanzi’s brother took a few steps and suddenly thought of something. “The Zhao family seems to have moved back.”

“Huh?” Yu Wan was stunned. Zhao Heng owed her three hundred taels of silver, and he still had the cheek to move back?

Brother Shuanzi frowned and said, “I passed by his house just now and saw a carriage parked outside his house. Someone was moving his luggage.”