Chapter 025

Chapter 25: Go Lie Down for Ten Days or Half a Month

And then… nothing else happened.

You Bing Yue didn’t even brush the corner of Li Rou’s clothes. One inch before reaching her, it was as if she hit an unseen wall. The invisible barrier bounced her back hard. With a bang, she flew more than ten meters and landed outside the courtyard.

Yu Zhi Yi stared in surprise at the thin back shielding her and didn’t even glance at You Bing Yue. Li Rou, shocked by You Bing Yue’s sorry state, realized what had happened and her knees went weak.

Seeing the little maid trembling but still standing firm, Yu Zhi Yi felt a mix of things she couldn’t name. She patted Li Rou’s shoulder and asked gently: “Silly, aren’t you?”

Li Rou turned back with a smile uglier than a cry and said: “As long as young madam is fine.”

Yu Zhi Yi lowered her eyes and said, pressing down the emotion in them: “Don’t worry. She can’t hurt me.”

When Du Zi Heng rushed over, he saw You Bing Yue limp on the ground and Yu Zhi Yi speaking sharply to the person beside her. His eyes reddened as he shouted: “Yu Zhi Yi, how dare you!”

By chance, You Bing Yue had also managed to crawl up. She glared and yelled at the same time: “Vile woman, besides crooked tricks, what else can you do? If you have the guts, drop your defense array and fight me one-on-one!”

Her voice, shrill with rage, completely drowned out Du Zi Heng’s words. She didn’t hear him at all and kept spitting insults: “You dare seduce men, but you hide inside like a turtle!”

Du Zi Heng’s shout stuck in his throat. He had thought Yu Zhi Yi called You Bing Yue over, and after seeing Yu Zhi Yi’s ability, he worried You Bing Yue would suffer. She had suffered, all right, but not in the way he imagined. It looked less like being bullied and more like trying to provoke and then getting smacked down.

Silence fell, heavy and awkward.

He looked up and met Yu Zhi Yi’s eyes full of disdain. He opened his mouth to speak, but Yu Zhi Yi turned away, and the courtyard gate closed from the inside.

Bang.

The two doors met with a rush of air, like two palms slapping a face.

“You’re guilty, aren’t you? Open the door!” You Bing Yue kept shouting, forcing herself to stand though it felt like her organs had cracked. But because of the defense array, she didn’t dare step closer.

Watching the woman behave like a street shrew, Du Zi Heng suddenly felt… complicated.

Yu Zhi Yi didn’t care what happened outside and didn’t bother to see how Du Zi Heng got You Bing Yue to leave. This woman had provoked her again and again, and she was tired of it. She had wanted well water not to mix with river water, but the other side refused. If that was the case, then she could lie in bed for a while and reflect. This time, the array’s rebound was not as gentle as a few days ago.

Yu Zhi Yi gave an order: “Li Rou, go find Aunt Wen later. Tell her I’m short-handed here. Have her train Pan’er as fast as she can. I need people soon.”

Li Rou took the order and left.

Yu Zhi Yi didn’t want to bother dealing with You Bing Yue herself, but she also didn’t want the woman showing up every day. So she would give her something else to keep her busy.

When Aunt Wen received Li Rou’s message, she didn’t know why, but she still sped up Yu Pan’er’s training. The young madam had said to build Yu Pan’er’s steward skills.

Yu Pan’er’s ability was too poor. Just not being able to read could cut off her path. As the mistress’s right hand, one had to welcome guests, handle farewells, read account books, and even if she couldn’t do mental math, she had to at least understand numbers and keep records. An illiterate girl simply couldn’t do that.

So Aunt Wen hired a teacher to teach Yu Pan’er reading and writing. Yu Pan’er was already sixteen, her habits set. She never liked studying before, and now she couldn’t focus at all. After three days, she still recognized only a few characters and couldn’t write them. The lady teacher was so angry she smacked Yu Pan’er’s palms eight times over those three days.

That night, Yu Pan’er stared at her bright-red hands and felt the burning pain. Her eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness as she muttered: “That wicked woman just can’t stand to see me doing well. Saying I should learn to be a steward is just making things hard for me.”

She looked down on Yu Zhi Yi. First, because Yu Zhi Yi wasn’t the real young miss of the Yu Clan. Second, because everyone’s parents were just common folk, so why did Yu Zhi Yi suddenly become the Yu Clan’s miss and get to enjoy riches while she had to serve others?

If she were the master…

Her eyes lit up. Yes, if she became the master, she wouldn’t have to do these messy chores or wait on people. With her current status, she could only be a concubine at first. But that useless fake was so incapable that even a farm girl could humiliate her. Yu Pan’er had seen plenty of the inner courtyard’s dirty secrets. Defeating a useless fake and an ignorant farm girl would be easy.

It happened that now, aside from reading and writing each day, she had lots of time to “happen to meet” the young master.

Yu Zhi Yi didn’t need to send anyone to watch Yu Pan’er to know what she was planning, and she was very interested. You Bing Yue would be stuck in bed for at least ten days. This was a good chance. She hoped the girl would not disappoint her.

Just then, an excited voice called at the door: “Miss, miss!”

Zi Yuan had been out for two days. On the third day, she came back to Windward Pavilion, almost bouncing with excitement.

Seeing her expression, Yu Zhi Yi could guess the work went well, but she still asked: “How did it go?”

Zi Yuan beamed and said: “With your brilliant plan, those shopkeepers are now well-behaved.”

Most of Du Manor’s businesses were in the Capital City and nearby counties, more than twenty shops in all. When they saw that only a small maid had come, the shopkeepers didn’t take Zi Yuan seriously. Truth be told, even if the young madam had come herself, they would have only pretended to respect her. In their hearts, they looked down on her.

Zi Yuan had followed Yu Zhi Yi for years and had seen every kind of slight. She didn’t waste words. She threw down her trump card. One accusation after another, and then, in the gold shop’s manager’s mistress’s dressing table, behind the mirror, she found the real ledger. With that, the gold shop’s manager was nailed down tight. The other shopkeepers panicked and dropped their little attitudes. After that, everything went smoothly.

Zi Yuan reported the haul clearly: “Miss, this collection brought back 15,400 taels of silver and 500 taels of gold. I checked the account books. No problems.”

Yu Zhi Yi smiled and said: “Once the monkeys see the chicken get slaughtered, they all behave.”

She skimmed the ledgers quickly, and after confirming they were fine, she took them to Leaning Plum Courtyard.

By chance, Du Zi Heng was there. He was saying to Madam Yao: “The metropolitan exam is near. I want to focus on studying and don’t have the heart to manage the shops for now. Bing Yue has ability and nerve. When she recovers, I want to let her manage them for the time being.”

Seeing Yu Zhi Yi, Du Zi Heng looked uneasy. Yu Zhi Yi didn’t look at him. Seeing mother and son talking, she planned to leave, but Madam Yao said: “It’s fine. Yi’er, stay and listen to what foolishness this unfilial son is saying.”

Du Zi Heng fell silent, suddenly unable to keep talking.

Yu Zhi Yi hadn’t been interested, but seeing his embarrassed face, she changed her mind and said: “All right.”