Chapter 088

Chapter 88: No Rescue

Yu Zi Xuan did not think his double standard was wrong. He did not even think it was a double standard. He only felt that Yu Zhi Yi was changing the topic, so he pressed her: “Stop trying to distract me. I am asking you: will you help Sister Jiao Jiao or not?”

Yu Zhi Yi kept a cold face and said: “No.”

Yu Zi Xuan choked on his anger, pointed at her nose, and shouted: “Yu Zhi Yi, do you have a conscience?”

He snapped as if he had figured it out, and his voice went sharper: “Oh, I get it. You are still holding a grudge against Sister Jiao Jiao. You hate that she came back and took your parents’ love!”

He spat cruel words one after another: “You are an ungrateful wolf who bites the hand that feeds you! I really regret it. If I had known you had a heart like a snake and a scorpion, I would have told Father and Mother to throw you out long ago!”

Smack! A loud slap cracked across the quiet room like thunder, stinging the ears.

Madam Zheng’s face went pale green and white. Yu Zi Xuan clutched the side of his face that had been hit, his eyes blazing as he roared: “Yu Zhi Yi, how dare you hit me!”

Yu Ming Quan finally managed to push his wheelchair in. The moment he entered, he saw the scene and rushed forward, scolding: “Zi Xuan, watch your mouth,” then turning to his sister and softening his tone: “Yi’er, don’t be angry.”

Yu Zi Xuan stared at him in disbelief and snapped: “Third Brother, what are you even talking about? We are the ones who should be angry!”

Yu Zhi Yi lowered her hand, her face still blank, and looked at Yu Zi Xuan for a long time. [He is no longer the honest, sunny boy I remember.] [The brother I once treasured is gone, and I was the one who sent him away.]

Yu Zi Xuan felt a chill at the back of his neck under her stare. His rage faded without him noticing. He stepped back warily and demanded: “What trick are you trying to play now?”

Yu Zhi Yi lowered her eyes and let go of the last bit of hold she had kept for him, then said evenly: “Yu Zi Xuan, there are eight people in Yu Manor, including Yu Jiao Jiao. Any of them can scold me a few times. Only you may not. Because you owe me.”

She added, her voice calm and steady: “Today’s slap is a light warning. If there is a next time, I will teach you what upbringing and manners mean.”

She flicked her sleeve, put one hand behind her back, and looked over at Madam Zheng.

Startled by the sudden change, Madam Zheng felt a stab of fear when Yu Zhi Yi’s gaze fell on her. For a moment she worried this daughter, who looked a little like a madwoman just now, might also come over and hit her.

Yu Zhi Yi did not touch her. She kept her face wooden and said: “I will not commit the crime of deceiving the throne. Do not try this behind my back either. If we must face Your Majesty together one day, I will tell the truth.”

She closed the door on the matter with a final line: “Yu Jiao Jiao, I cannot save her, and I do not want to save her.”

She turned to leave.

As she passed Yu Ming Quan’s side, he caught her wrist. With quiet worry in his eyes, he said: “Yi’er, they only spoke in a moment of foolishness. Third Brother apologizes. Please don’t be angry.”

Yu Zhi Yi paused. After a heartbeat, she gently pried his fingers free and said: “Third Brother, you can come to Chancellor’s Manor to find me in the future. If you want your leg treated, I will help you.”

When the last finger slid from her wrist, Yu Zhi Yi felt no attachment to that cool, gentle touch. [No longing.] She left Yu Manor at a quick pace.

Madam Zheng exploded after she was gone, shouting: “Outrageous! That unfilial girl!” Her face showed no trace of kindness or weakness now, only disgust.

Yu Ming Quan was used to his mother’s sudden changes of face. He frowned and said: “Mother, this plan was never proper. We should not drag Yi’er into it.”

Madam Zheng, sounding calm and calculating, said: “She saved Your Majesty’s life. Having her save your sister would be the most fitting and the fastest way. If it fails, His Majesty will still remember the life-saving grace. He will not punish her much, and he will not blame Yu Manor.”

Yu Zi Xuan glared at Yu Ming Quan and complained: “Third Brother, why do you always speak up for that ungrateful wolf? Don’t forget, Sister Jiao Jiao is your real sister!”

Yu Ming Quan had heard words like these more times than he could count. He pinched the bridge of his nose, tired, and turned his wheelchair to leave Madam Zheng’s room.

Just as he was about to disappear around the corner, he heard Yu Zi Xuan shout with a noisy excitement: “Mother, I have an idea!”

Yu Ming Quan shook his head. [The family is panicking and grabbing at any cure.]

In his view, if little sister truly had not taken part in the assassination, then the Court of Judicial Review could not easily convict her. At worst, she would stay in jail a few more days. Her birth father was the Minister of Revenue, and her in-laws were the house of Duke Yong. [His Majesty will weigh all this.] If the Court of Judicial Review insisted that little sister was tied to the attempt on the throne, then both the Minister’s Manor and Duke Yong’s Manor would fall under suspicion. [That would be a huge storm.]

Besides, the Capital Halberd Guards were investigating the mastermind. Once they found who was behind it, little sister could be cleared. And even if all else failed, they still had Consort Yu.

[Whichever way I look at it, there is no need to pull Yu Zhi Yi into this.] He suddenly remembered what Yu Zhi Yi had said before leaving and let out a bitter smile. [My leg has no hope. No matter how sharp Yi’er’s mind is, this needs a doctor’s skill, not Mystic Arts.]

Back in Madam Zheng’s room, Yu Zi Xuan was talking fast, spitting as he spoke in his excitement: “Mother, do you remember Divine Physician Chun Yu?”

Madam Zheng’s eyes flickered with interest as she said: “Divine Physician Chun Yu? Of course I remember.”

Divine Physician Chun Yu was a famous healer across the Great Sheng Empire. People said he could bring the dying back to life and knit broken bones. There was no illness he could not cure.

Several years ago, Yu Zi Xuan had not been as quick as he was now. His mind was stuck at the level of a five or six-year-old child. Everyone called him a fool. As if his life were not sad enough, he had a vicious adopted sister, Yu Zhi Yi. Taking advantage of his dullness, that woman abused him in secret. The worst time, she beat him until he went limp and passed out. He did not wake up for seven days.

Luckily, Jiao Jiao searched far and wide for a famous doctor and by chance met Divine Physician Chun Yu while he was traveling. The divine physician came to Yu Manor and cured Yu Zi Xuan. From then on, Yu Zi Xuan could live like a normal person.

Thinking about the past, Yu Zi Xuan felt sick at heart and said gloomily: “How can I not call Yu Zhi Yi ungrateful? She almost killed me. If I weren’t lucky, the weeds on my grave would be several feet tall by now.”

Madam Zheng sighed with a face full of sorrow: “Yes. I never thought she could be so cruel.”

Yu Zi Xuan snorted: “Worse still, after that she took the credit for my recovery and claimed she cured me. Biggest joke in the world.” He waved his hand and added, “Forget it. I won’t talk about this. It is bad luck.”

He turned to the new idea and said: “I heard Her Highness the West Empress Dowager is not clear-minded now. Her condition is very similar to mine back then. If Divine Physician Chun Yu could cure me, he can probably cure Her Highness too.”

He laid out the plan cleanly: “If we invite him and he heals Her Highness, we will say he came only because of Sister Jiao Jiao. If His Majesty is pleased, he may release her.”

Madam Zheng’s eyes lit up as she said: “This might work.”