By the time Yuhe rushed to Lady Fang’s grave, her brother was already waiting.
She watched as he gently stroked their mother’s headstone, his expression steeped in melancholy. Hearing her footsteps, Lin Yuping lifted his head slowly. “You’re here, Little Sister?”
Yuhe didn’t bother beating around the bush. “Brother, I heard you’re looking to bring another sister-in-law into the house?”
Yuping’s cheeks flushed crimson, and he stayed silent.
“Why don’t you ask Mother first?” she pressed on. “If she agrees, I won’t object either.”
Yuping stood up, his posture stiffening as his face darkened. “Mother has been gone for over a year—how could she possibly agree? Besides, wasn’t this your suggestion in the first place?”
“Brother, I was foolish and ignorant in the past, speaking without thinking,” Yuhe said softly. “Do you know how our mother really died?”
Yuping simply couldn’t comprehend what had come over his sister today; her mood was so unpredictable, shifting from one extreme to another.
“She died of illness,” he grunted roughly, his tone laced with irritation.
“She did die of an illness, but that illness only started after Auntie Qu moved into our home,” Yuhe said, tears welling up in her eyes as she began to sob softly at the memory of Lady Fang’s passing. “And almost all of the medicinal decoctions she drank were brewed by Auntie Qu herself.”
“Later, when Mother refused to let Auntie Qu tend to her anymore, Father claimed she had grown confused from her sickness. Brother, you knew Mother’s constitution better than anyone—do you truly believe that?”
Yuping’s eyes snapped upward to meet his sister’s gaze, a volatile mix of shock, anger, and suspicion flashing in his expression.
“How many times has Father brought it up in front of you, urging you to transfer the other shop over to Yuxiang?” Yuhe continued, her voice trembling. “Seeing that you refused to yield, Auntie Qu turned around and arranged for you to take a concubine—a woman who just happens to be her own niece!”
“Why do you think that is? Do you still not understand?”
A glistening sheen of tears filled Yuping’s eyes, mingling with rising indignation.
“You only see that the woman is young and fair-faced,” Yuhe said bitterly. “Is my sister-in-law any less beautiful? She has no family to rely on and came to you with nothing, giving you her whole heart and soul.”
“Did you stop to consider her feelings when you treated her like this?”
“You used to despise Father for taking concubines, yet today, you are turning into the very man you hated!”
Every word landed like a direct strike to Yuping’s chest. No matter how dense he could be at times, the underlying truth hit him with brutal clarity. Overcome with shame, he collapsed onto his knees before Lady Fang’s tombstone and burst into bitter, helpless sobs.
Yuhe choked back her own tears. “Brother, we must avenge Mother. Otherwise, we won’t have the face to ever stand before her grave again.”
When Yuhe returned home, her spirits were subdued.
Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, Lady Cui sat in the courtyard sewing summer clothes for Yun’er. Inside the kitchen, Shuhuai was already rolling out buckwheat noodles.
The sight of his busy figure immediately lifted the heavy gloom in Yuhe’s heart. She stood quietly by the kitchen doorway, gazing at him until their eyes met.
Wiping away the lingering moisture from her eyes, Yuhe spoke with gentle warmth. “Husband, I’m back. Are we having noodle soup tonight?”
Shuhuai ignored her, keeping his focus entirely on his work.
Yun’er scampered out from beside the stove, her face bright. “Yes! Uncle made the minced meat topping, and there’s so much meat!”
Yuhe took the fire tongs from the girl’s hands. “Good girl, Yun’er. Let Auntie tend the fire; you go run along and play.”
In the past, Yuhe had always resented Shuhuai’s silent, wooden nature, feeling he lacked the sweet, charming words of other women’s husbands. It was only after living through her past life that she truly understood: Shuhuai expressed his devotion through actions, never empty promises.
Sadly, she had realized it far too late; his heart was no longer hers to hold.
The kitchen fell quiet, save for the crackling of firewood inside the stove.
Yuhe spoke up almost subconsciously, “Husband… I only realized today that my mother didn’t die of illness.”
“She was murdered.”
“I only hate myself for realizing everything too late… including how I treated you.”
As the words left her mouth, she buried her face in her hands and broke into soft, trembling sobs, her shoulders shaking violently.
Shuhuai froze, his hands coming to a sudden halt. A cold, mocking smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
That very night, in the Yuerong Court of the Li Mansion—
Li Yunluo sat before her vanity mirror as her maid Ling’er gently unpinned her hair ornamentation, unraveling her coiffure to comb through her soft tresses.
Dongyue lifted the doorway curtain and stepped inside, speaking softly to Ling’er, “You may step out first; I will attend to Young Mistress.”
Once Ling’er departed, Dongyue turned to Yunluo. “Young Mistress, I went to inquire. It is true—Lin Yuhe’s maternal grand-aunt’s sister is indeed a famous spirit medium in the nearby area. Quite a few nobles from the county town have sought her services.”
Yunluo’s expression turned solemn and dark. The realization that Yuhe might actually possess such mystical abilities sent an instinctive chill through her heart, putting her fully on guard.
Seeing her mistress remain silent for a long moment, Dongyue cautiously inquired, “Young Mistress… shall we still go to the Xie household tomorrow?”
“No,” Yunluo replied coolly. “We will wait until the Dragon Boat Festival.”
“We will give Xie Shuhuai the cold shoulder for a while. Men always fall for the game of hard-to-get. If you act like a mindless simp every single day, he will only grow sick of you.”
Dongyue blinked, utterly bewildered. “Young Mistress… what kind of dog is a ‘simp’?”
Yunluo pressed a hand to her lips and chuckled softly. “The kind like Lin Yuhe.”
The following morning, Madam Wu arrived at the Xie household carrying two laying hens, her two young children trailing beside her.
One look at her expression was all Yuhe needed to know that she had successfully brought her brother to his senses.
Madam Wu paid her respects to Lady Cui first, handing over some treats she had brought for Yun’er. Lady Cui’s demeanor was warm and gentle, and she warmly invited Madam Wu to stay for lunch. She held no grievances against Yuhe’s brother and sister-in-law; in fact, out of lingering gratitude for Lady Fang’s past kindness, she had never been truly heartless toward Yuhe either.
At this hour, Shuhuai was usually in his room studying his texts, so Madam Wu took care not to disturb him.
While the three children played merrily in the courtyard, Yuhe led her sister-in-law into the west room.
Tears of joy welled in Madam Wu’s eyes. “Your brother went back to the ancestral home last night and flatly turned down Concubine Qu,” she confided softly. “He even declared he won’t ever entertain the thought of taking a concubine again, promising to live a good life with me. Little Sister, I truly have you to thank this time.”
Yuhe took Madam Wu’s hands in hers, deeply moved. “Sister-in-law, I am the one who should be thanking you. If you hadn’t stopped me from drinking that abortion decoction that day, my remaining life would have been entirely meaningless.”
Hearing such mature, grave words come from someone so young brought a gentle smile to Madam Wu’s face. Remembering the main reason for her visit, she pulled a small pouch from her bosom.
“Little Sister, these five hundred wen are the silver from selling your dresses and jewelry,” Madam Wu explained. “If money gets tight for you, you must tell me.”
Her expression dimmed slightly as she added, “Though we aren’t wealthy by any means, we can still lend a hand where we can.”
Yuhe recalled her brother mentioning that he still had half a warehouse of old grain that he couldn’t sell. He had tried to get a good deal by purchasing surplus stock from several grain merchants who were relocating to the capital. Unexpectedly, the local farmers enjoyed a bumper harvest last year, and two more grain shops had opened up on Wencheng Street. As a result, Yuping’s business had plummeted into complete stagnation; if he couldn’t sell the grain this year, all the silver he had earned over the past few years would be entirely wiped out.
For the moment, Yuhe couldn’t think of a better solution either.
She couldn’t recall how this crisis had been resolved in her past life. Back then, the Min family was desperate to marry her into their household, so she had been entirely consumed with planning her grand wedding alongside Concubine Qu.
It was only a few days before the wedding that she uncovered Min Zheyuan’s true motive for marrying her. When she demanded to break off the engagement, Min Zheyuan—fearing she would ruin his reputation if she made a scene—attempted to violate her purity. Refusing to yield, Yuhe’s desperate words enraged him, and he smothered her to death with a pillow.
She had watched helplessly as her corpse was hurriedly buried in a mass grave by the Min family. Though her wandering spirit shrieked at the top of her lungs on that desolate hill, not a single soul could hear her. Terrified beyond measure, she had fled back to Shuhuai’s side, remaining by him for years.
“Little Sister? Little Sister! I must be heading back now to cook lunch for your brother.”
Madam Wu’s voice snapped Yuhe out of her painful memory.
After seeing her sister-in-law off, Yuhe took the silver from the sold garments along with the two taels of silver she had on her person, and handed the entire pouch over to Lady Cui.
Lady Cui gasped in utter shock at the sight of the pouch.
“Mother, I sold the dresses and jewelry Shuhuai bought for me in the past. Please give this silver to him,” Yuhe said softly. “Tell him to stop copying books for a living; I’m afraid his health won’t hold up under the strain.”
Seeing how much weight Shuhuai had lost since her return, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache for him.
Lady Cui clutched the silver in her hands, completely at a loss, feeling as though she were trapped in a dream.
Only when she saw Yuhe hoisting her bamboo basket onto her back to head out did she snap back to reality and call out, “Where are you off to?”