Chapter 115

Chapter 115: Not Impossible Either

Old Man Zhang’s son was still missing.

Yu Zhi Yi sighed. Misfortune always finds the weakest point. She felt a bit soft-hearted, but Old Man Zhang was a beneficiary of their charity, and his only wish was to find his son. She could not hide the truth.

She said, “Elder Zhang, pack a few things and come stay at our shop for the night. At first light tomorrow, we will go find your son.”

Old Man Zhang had just been marveling that Wu Liang turned out to be a heinous killer. At her words, he snapped his head up: “Lord, is that true? You really can find my son?”

Yu Zhi Yi nodded, though her expression was not good. Luckily she often kept a blank face, so others could not read her. Elder Zhang thought nothing more of it.

The uproar from yesterday was huge. “The scumbag who broke off his betrothal then killed the woman’s family of eight,” “The lowlife who murdered a young examination candidate and stole his identity,” “The schemer who tried to swallow a dead-branch household by tricking the wealthy orphaned girl of You Zhuangzi”-any one of these would shock the city. All three came from the same case.

And the case was linked to the youngest female director at the Ministry of Justice.

In no time, the Capital buzzed with talk, and Yu Zhi Yi became famous overnight. In the past, when people mentioned her, they said, “that fake daughter of the Yu Clan.” Later, they said, “the Chancellor’s Manor daughter-in-law.” Now when they brought her up, they skipped the labels and spoke of her by name alone.

When Yu Zhi Yi heard the rumors outside, she was refining merit light. She had not been able to save the dozen lives Wu Liang took, and the one who saved Old Man Zhang was not her but You Bing Yue. But she brought the buried injustice to light and gave the dead their due. Heaven rewarded her with more than ten rays of golden light. Also, when she tricked Prince Xiao Yao before, Heaven did not reclaim the earlier golden light it had given her. At first she thought Heaven’s bookkeeping was delayed, but now it seemed Heaven did not plan to take it back. After all, she had already refined the merit into Spiritual Energy. This discovery put her in a very good mood.

In the afternoon, Red Luan came calling: “Sister, amazing! You don’t act often, but when you do, it’s big!”

Red Luan’s eyes burned as she looked at Yu Zhi Yi, like two little suns too bright to stare into.

Yu Zhi Yi was praised like this for the first time. She touched her nose and said, “I only did my best.”

Red Luan said, “Thanks to you, our charity is famous now.”

Yiluan Charity had opened, but because it did not advertise or sell things, many people were curious yet did not dare to walk in. The staff went out to look for people in need, but since there had never been a charity before, folks did not trust it. Even the Imperial Court did not care for the old, weak, sick, or disabled. Why would the rich care? They did not even know what the charity was after, but they were sure it was after something. So even after opening for a while, the only person who accepted help was Old Man Zhang.

But Yu Zhi Yi’s display yesterday showed people her strength. Add her official status and Steward Wu Shan shouting “Big Boss,” and everyone saw the connection between the charity and Yu Zhi Yi. That gave the charity more credibility. Now many people came to ask questions. The one they asked most was: What exactly does Yiluan Charity do?

Red Luan said, “Before, we had to work very hard to find those who needed help. Now it’s different. They will come to us on their own, and that saves us some manpower.”

Yu Zhi Yi, however, had a different worry: “But… will it attract people who just want freebies?” She did not underestimate human greed. She had met many like that before. [Even in an army, the strong can bully the weak. Some greedy bullies take the rations of new recruits or those weaker than them.] If even people who had risked their lives for the country could act like that, then common folks would be even more tempted.

Red Luan laughed: “Relax, I already planned for that. Our Investigation Unit is for exactly this. For anyone who asks for help, we will verify their identity. We won’t foolishly hand out money just because someone says they need it.”

Yu Zhi Yi finally relaxed. Her Heavenly Eye also had limits. She could not sit in the office and watch everyone herself. With a sound structure like this, she could save a lot of effort.

Red Luan then asked, “By the way, how is Old Man Zhang’s son?”

Yu Zhi Yi fell silent. Just as she was about to speak, Red Luan raised a hand and cut her off: “Forget it. Don’t tell me. I’ll see when we get there.” From Yu Zhi Yi’s face, she had guessed the news might be bad, maybe the son was already dead. She knew she would get sad if she heard details now. Although she would learn it sooner or later, [people all die sooner or later too, but don’t we all hope to live a little longer?]

The next morning, Yu Zhi Yi changed into plain clothes, ready to go to Yiluan Charity. As soon as she stepped out of Windward Pavilion, she saw Du Zi Heng standing outside. His handsome face opened into a warm smile: “Going to Yiluan Charity? I’ll take you.”

Yu Zhi Yi said, “…Don’t you need to go to the Ministry of Personnel?”

“It’s still early. I can go later.” He was only an eighth-rank minor official and did not need to attend court. The Ministry of Personnel started work at the hour of Si, and it was still early, so he was not in a hurry.

Yu Zhi Yi did not want to get tied to him and refused at once: “If you want to see us find Old Man Zhang’s son, you would have to skip work. He is not in the Capital City. We will need at least a full morning for the round trip.”

Du Zi Heng’s smile stiffened, a bit disappointed: “I see.” Then he said, “Then I’ll just take you there and go to work.”

Yu Zhi Yi was about to refuse again when Chancellor Du, for once, returned early. Seeing the two standing in the doorway, he asked in confusion: “What are you doing there?” It was not quite like going out or coming in.

Du Zi Heng said, “Zhi Yi is going to Yiluan Charity. I’m taking her.”

Chancellor Du slapped his forehead: “Look at me, I forgot about that. There will be lots of people going to gawk today. You can help keep order.”

Yu Zhi Yi: “…”

She suddenly remembered something and swallowed her refusal. Du Zi Heng could fight. [Having one more bodyguard is not a bad idea.]