Chapter 224

Chapter 224: Bringing a Severed Hand Back to Life

A woman’s hateful scream still echoed in the dark: “Yu Zhi Yi! Yu Zhi Yi! I will kill you!”

Yu Zhi Yi opened her eyes. The voice seemed to circle her ears. She rubbed one ear and pushed the familiar sound out of her mind.

After washing up and eating breakfast, she used the time before her shift to visit a small courtyard house in the Capital.

Her marriage to Du Zi Heng was not all loss. She had won Chancellor Du’s and Madam Yao’s care, and she had found someone who could help the people with disabilities at the Quehan Institute.

Stopping at the gate of the courtyard she had visited only once, Yu Zhi Yi knocked.

A long time passed before the door opened from within. A man she had met only once looked puzzled and asked: “Miss, who are you looking for?”

Last time, Yu Zhi Yi had not shown her face. Du Zi Heng had handled everything, so Su Yuan Lin did not know her.

She smiled and stated her business: “My surname is Yu. I am the owner of Yiluan Charity.”

In the Capital, anyone with status knew the hidden patron of Yiluan Charity was a fifth-rank court official, a lady official specially appointed by the emperor. People talked even more about her other identity: the ex-wife of Chancellor Du’s son.

Even though no one had deliberately hyped their divorce, the news had spread through the city by now. As for the reason, people argued nonstop. The most common rumor said Du Zi Heng tangled with other women, and Yu Zhi Yi could not accept it and demanded a divorce. That guess was not the truth, yet it was not totally unrelated either. It was simply the shallowest part of many causes.

Yu Zhi Yi had no interest in explaining. She only looked at the man before her, hoping her matter with Du Zi Heng would not affect their work together.

Su Yuan Lin soon guessed who she was and asked in surprise: “Young Madam Du?”

Yu Zhi Yi shook her head and answered calmly: “I am no longer Young Madam Du. If you must use a title, call me Proprietor Yu or Official Yu.”

Realizing this woman was different from others, Su Yuan Lin did not argue about titles. He asked instead: “What brings you here, Proprietor Yu?”

Yu Zhi Yi explained: “Earlier, Du Zi Heng came to find you for me. He asked you to help me encourage someone.”

Zhang Tuwa now had a reason to live. Scholars are often prouder than people in other fields; even power sometimes cannot make them bow. But Su Yuan Lin was different. He had also come from the bottom and understood the hardship of people at the bottom.

Zhang Tuwa’s health had improved a lot. He smiled every day. When he saw Old Man Zhang slowly regain the will to live and make friends with the neighbors, he finally relaxed and began to enjoy life. Later he figured it out himself: even if he could not do much, as long as he kept living, his father would keep hoping. Father and son were both trying to live well for the other.

Many people at the Quehan Institute were not so lucky. Some disabled women had families who dumped them there like trash, with no hope placed on them at all. It was good if those families did not force them to steal from the Institute to support the household.

Su Yuan Lin looked confused and asked: “Isn’t Zhang Tuwa already motivated to live?”

Yu Zhi Yi replied: “This is not about him. Old Man Zhang and his son are doing well. You don’t need to do anything more for them.”

Su Yuan Lin let out a breath. It was enough that his efforts had not been wasted. He did not like painting with his mouth in front of strangers. He had pride too. That posture felt too ugly. If not to spark Zhang Tuwa’s will to live, and without Du Zi Heng talking him into it, he would never have agreed last time.

He soon found he had relaxed too early, because Yu Zhi Yi continued: “I set up the Quehan Institute for poor people with disabilities. Though they have missing parts, they are not fully paralyzed. They still have hope. I want to ask you to show your superb skill in painting in front of them, so they can see that even with heavy flaws, a person can still shine and give off heat.”

Su Yuan Lin frowned and said coldly: “Official Yu, why would you think I would keep making a fool of myself in front of outsiders?”

This had nothing to do with who asked. He simply did not want to paint before anyone now. No matter how good the result, it was not the same as a normal person. Others paint with their hands, but he paints with his mouth. It sounds inspiring when said out loud, but doing it is ugly. Sometimes he could not control his saliva. If he were alone, he could lift the brush away the first moment and wipe the shaft clean. In public, he could not secretly wipe it. He had no interest in such shame.

Yu Zhi Yi only looked at him, thoughtful, neither explaining nor leaving. He knit his brows. The polite look he had kept because she was Du Zi Heng’s ex-wife turned cold at once, and he snapped: “Even if you are a fifth-rank official, you cannot force me to do what I don’t want. I would rather die than… what?”

“I can heal your hand,” Yu Zhi Yi said.

Su Yuan Lin stared, shocked, and asked as if he had misheard: “What did you say, Official Yu?”

She repeated, voice steady: “As an exchange, I will heal your hand.” Seeing his doubt, she added: “In the Five Arts of mountain, medicine, fate, physiognomy, and divination, my medicine is decent. Your hand is a dead end to common physicians, but for me, as long as I have the right materials, making your hand well again is not a problem.”

Then she said plainly: “I am a Daoist cultivator. I have no reason to lie about this. Lying brings me no benefit and would only harm my Dao heart.”

Su Yuan Lin’s eyes flickered hard. He had heard rumors about the woman before him. To be honest, he had taken them as wild tales, not because he doubted her skill, but because he thought none of it had anything to do with him. But now…

He lowered his voice and said: “Official Yu, I still need a sign your promise could be real before I can decide.” After all, his hand was not simply injured. The palm had been sliced away.

Yu Zhi Yi nodded: “Fair.” She thought for a moment, then said: “I will come find you tonight.”

Su Yuan Lin blinked: [At night?]

Before he could say more, Yu Zhi Yi turned and left.

He worried that a man and a woman alone at night could look bad. Yu Zhi Yi had the same worry. She was not afraid people might see them together at night and talk. She was more worried about being seen together in broad daylight and dragged into gossip. She did not fear rumors, but if a long-tongued busybody came to jabber right to her face, that would be annoying.

The file at the Ministry of Justice that day did not involve a murder. It was another case of finding a missing thing. Yu Zhi Yi used a quick divination and solved it with ease. Her work for the day ended there.

When she returned to Yiluan Charity, Princess Consort Ping was in the reception room, tasting tea and sweets.

Princess Consort Ping looked up, warmer than last time, and greeted her with a smile: “Official Yu, you are back?”

Yu Zhi Yi glanced at her face and asked, puzzled: “Has Princess Consort Ping run into trouble again?” She saw no sign of disaster or evil aura and found it strange.