Chapter 100

Chapter 100: I Don’t Want You Anymore

Yu Zhi Yi noticed what was going on and stopped paying attention to Yu Jiao Jiao’s little tricks.

She faced Yu Zi and spoke calmly: “But Yu Zi, after you hurt me again and again with cruel words and helped Yu Jiao Jiao bully me, why do you think I would forgive you? When you do something wrong, you have to pay the price, don’t you?”

She laid it out one by one: “From the moment you threw away my protective talisman and defense bracelet, smashed the pillow where I drew a spirit-gathering talisman, and kept standing with Yu Jiao Jiao to scold me and target me, I stopped wanting you.”

She reminded him of his own past judgment: “Wrong is wrong. Any reason is just an excuse. Don’t think about making it up, because the harm is already done and you can’t fix it. Those were your words.”

Those words were from the year Yu Zi got his mind back. Back then, Yu Jiao Jiao pretended Yu Zhi Yi had pushed her on the path he walked every day. After Yu Zi caught Yu Jiao Jiao, he exploded and cursed Yu Zhi Yi as vicious.

At that time, Yu Zhi Yi still had a little hope for him. If someone else in Yu Manor had cursed her, she could have endured it. But it was him, so she couldn’t help arguing. She had said: “The truth is easy to check. Why didn’t you investigate and instead stood on her side? Do I have to be nailed to a pillar of shame for one mistake?”

Then she asked the key question: “Besides, what did I even do wrong? I was just a newborn baby then. I could not do anything.”

Yu Zi had answered coldly: “So what? Even if you did nothing, the harm is formed. You are not innocent.”

Now she returned his line without wavering: “Even if it wasn’t your fault that you forgot the past, the harm is formed. You are not innocent.”

She ended it: “So from now on, stop clinging to me.”

She flicked her wide sleeve, and Yu Zi felt a gust brush past as he stumbled a few steps to the side. When he steadied himself and looked up, she was already more than twenty meters away.

He collapsed to his knees and begged with a hoarse voice: “Sister Yi, don’t abandon me. I really know I was wrong…”

By the time Yu Zhi Yi returned to Du Manor, her mood had calmed.

From this day on, she and the Yu Clan were finished. The Yu Clan being demoted to commoners was the end they earned for themselves. She would never plan or scheme for them again.

Whether Yu Zi came today because he suddenly regained his memories and wanted forgiveness, or because he wanted to tug on her feelings so she would help the Yu Clan, she would not agree. Some things, once broken, are truly broken. A shattered mirror is hard to mend, and this mirror was already full of cracks.

In the afternoon, the steward came to report that someone had delivered an invitation.

Yu Zhi Yi did not have many friends in the Capital. The few who might send for her were the Yu Clan, Marquis Wu’an Manor, and Red Luan. She guessed right; the invitation was from Red Luan.

But Red Luan was not calling her to the Splendid Brocade Workshop. It was to Yiluan Charity.

Yu Zhi Yi gathered herself, changed into plain clothes, and took Li Rou out to the street.

Yiluan Charity sat on Chang Ping Street. Compared with Lin’an Street, where the Imperial Palace stood, this street was not as grand, but it still had plenty of foot traffic. The charity’s shop, however, was at the far end and not large. It had two floors, yet looked shabby next to the inner shops.

That was only the outside. Once inside, the place had its own little world.

The first-floor hall was about twenty square meters. Right at the door stood a tall, custom-made counter, different from common counters. On the front facing the entrance, the words “Yiluan Charity” jumped into view.

To the left of the counter was a separate work area. A huge square Eight Immortals table could seat three people writing on each side at the same time. Under the table were twelve drawers, one for each person.

Behind the counter rose a screen that reached all the way to the second-floor beams, painted with ink-wash mountains and rivers. Behind the screen was a small “customer area.”

Red Luan had explained it earlier: if others came to donate and do good, that area would be used to host guests. On normal days, it was where she and Red Luan discussed matters and checked the accounts.

Walking around the screen, Yu Zhi Yi found Red Luan already there, curled on a redwood couch and nibbling on snacks. Red Luan waved and spoke with a grin: “You’re here?”

She popped the last bit of pastry into her mouth and took a long drink of tea. Red Luan was beautiful, with foxy eyes that were soft and charming, but her rough, carefree movements cut the charm and made her feel easy to approach.

She took one look and spotted Yu Zhi Yi’s bad mood, then frowned and asked: “Did something happen?”

Yu Zhi Yi shook her head: “Nothing.”

[Strange. I usually keep a blank face. How did she see through it?]

Seeing she did not want to say more, Red Luan didn’t press. She pushed two booklets across the table and explained: “Here. The one on the left is our staff list, though everyone’s out on errands right now. Two are in the back checking the storeroom.”

She tapped the other: “The one on the right lists the people who need help and the plans we’re giving them.”

Yu Zhi Yi picked up the staff booklet first. Names were written by role, about a dozen in all after sign-in. The steward, Wu Shan, oversaw the whole operation. Under him was a bookkeeper named Li Ping Le, in charge of verifying accounts and paying out funds. Li Zhong led investigations into who needed help, and Yang Xue Tong arranged the actual aid. The rest were regular workers split into two teams, one under Li Zhong and one under Yang Xue Tong. Counting only employees, and not Yu Zhi Yi and Red Luan, the organization had twelve people.

Red Luan admitted without shame: “I’ve never done this kind of work before either, so we’re starting out blind and feeling our way step by step.”

She added with a firm nod: “But don’t worry. I already told Aunt Hong we’re not taking new orders for now. Even after I finish the clothes on hand, I’ll cut my order count. I’ll save my time and energy and will not let our charity fall apart halfway.”

Yu Zhi Yi voiced a worry: “Will that be bad? Your goal was to make real achievements so your father could see your ability.”

Red Luan lifted her fox-bright eyes and shot back: “Am I not doing well enough already?”

Yu Zhi Yi fell silent. It was true. Other seamstresses needed many years, even more than ten, to reach the rank of Gold-Ranked Seamstress. Red Luan had done it in just one year. Not only was she famous in the Capital, she was the top Gold-Ranked Seamstress at the Splendid Brocade Workshop. Her name even outshone the other four.

[If that isn’t ability, what is?]

Red Luan smiled and said what was on her mind: “I want my dad to see my ability, but that doesn’t mean I want to be a seamstress for life. I have a feeling that if our charity does well, the achievement will be far greater than being a seamstress at the Splendid Brocade Workshop.”

She said it straight: “Once I finish the clothes I’ve promised, I’m going to resign from the Splendid Brocade Workshop.”

Yu Zhi Yi blinked: “Resign?”

Red Luan laughed: “I’ll be the one to fire the Splendid Brocade Workshop first and free up the Gold-Ranked Seamstress seat to motivate others.”

Yu Zhi Yi hesitated and warned her: “You worked so hard to become a Gold-Ranked Seamstress. Quitting now would be a pity. And if your father sees this, he might think you don’t stick with things. That might make the past year look wasted.”