Will You Be Good to My Mother and Me?

The boatman poled the light skiff, drifting and swaying along the inner river until they reached the Capital City. The Capital was the most prosperous place under heaven, yet the north side of the city remained a patch of gloom beneath the canopy of grandeur.

Here gathered the lowest-end handicrafts of the entire city, like dirt and filth, silently nourishing the glorious tree that was the Capital City.

Qingtiao tightened her thin clothes and leaped from the bow onto the shore.

The boatman asked with a chuckle, "Miss Qingtiao, when should I come to pick you up next time?"

Qingtiao shuddered and whispered, "No need to come for me again!"

With that, she lowered her head and ran off.

Although the place where she lived was remote, it was now breakfast time. The steam rising from morning stalls mingled with the thin mist, and the foggy streets were already filled with flickering shadows.

The luxurious yet thin clothing on Qingtiao's body was completely out of place in this environment, naturally attracting many strange gazes.

Sympathy, disdain, and lust—all were present.

These gazes felt like needles pricking her skin, making Qingtiao wish she were dead. She could only bury her head lower and quicken her pace, running straight toward her home at the end of the street.

"Bang!"

Closing the courtyard gate, she quickly slid the bolt into place and leaned against the door, sobbing silently.

At this moment.

A man's voice came from inside the room: "Qingtiao, you're back?"

Qingtiao hurriedly wiped away her tear stains, forced a smile, and entered the room, pulling the dessert she had swiped from the Flower Boat out from her bosom: "Husband, you must be hungry, right?"

On the bed lay a man with an honest-looking face.

His upper body was quite sturdy, but his legs were somewhat thin, and his ankles looked severely deformed.

Although the honest man wore a smile, his expression was indescribably bitter and haggard.

One look was enough to tell he hadn't slept all night.

He was Qingtiao's husband, Fu Gui.

"They... didn't make things difficult for you, did they?"

"No!"

Qingtiao stuffed the pastry into his mouth and stood up to pour him some cold tea: "After all, they are children of a great clan, so they were still quite polite. Are you choking? Drink some water if you are."

Fu Gui's eyes turned red: "I've made you suffer."

Hearing this.

The smile on Qingtiao's face could no longer hold, and she collapsed into her husband's arms, wiping away tears: "As long as you don't despise us, mother and child! Once we save enough money to heal your legs, we will leave the Capital City and never come back."

"Mm!"

Fu Gui responded, then fell silent, and the couple just held each other in silence.

After a long while, he asked in a low voice: "About how much longer will it take?"

"Ten days!"

"Ten days!?"

Fu Gui was both shocked and delighted: "Didn't you say it would take a long time?"

Qingtiao hurriedly reached into her bosom: "When I was returning by boat this morning, I ran into the Marquis of Southern Suppression's heir and his wife. They gave me this."

As she spoke, she opened the purse.

Inside were several gold beans, enough for an ordinary family to settle down and live in comfort for many years.

Fu Gui's eyes grew hot: "The heir is truly a good person, but is this... not enough?"

His legs had been examined by a doctor, who said that Young Master had struck too hard, and it was beyond his ability to fix.

He had to hire a famous doctor to break the bones and reset them, then use precious medicinal herbs to nourish the bones before he could recover as before. Although these gold beans were many, they were still short of the amount needed.

Qingtiao bit her lip: "That person introduced me to a new guest who will arrive in ten days and can pay me five times the reward."

Fu Gui: "..."

He fell into silence once more, his face twisted, his heart aching as if being shredded.

Qingtiao turned her back, her voice trembling as she asked: "Husband, will you treat us, mother and child, well in the future?"

"I will! Of course I will! Qingtiao, you..."

"I believe you!"

Qingtiao stroked her slightly protruding belly, tears streaming down her face.

The following days were neither sad nor happy; everything remained as usual.

The emotional breakdown on the boat that day seemed to be just an interlude, not affecting the "young couple's" interactions afterward, as if nothing had ever happened.

Yet Bai Yuji lived in great torment. Every night when she closed her eyes, she would think of the woman she saw while boating that day.

With a slap mark on her face, tears streaming down, shivering from the cold.

She did not forget to gather her skirt together, shielding her belly.

No matter how wretched things were, she surely still loved the flesh and blood within her.

Yet, it was precisely because of the child in her womb that she had piqued the interest of those twisted, powerful figures.

Bai Yuji felt conflicted, unsure of how she should view this person.

But every time she recalled Qin Muye saying, "We and our child are even more pitiful," she felt as if the sky were collapsing.

Before this.

She had only regarded these actions as a means of revenge; conceiving the Qin Family bloodline was merely a tool.

But now, she could no longer treat it so lightly.

Because the fetus in her plan not only carried the Qin Family bloodline but also half of her own.

It could have grown into a beautiful, adorable child.

"Ah!"

Bai Yuji cried out, jolting awake from her dream, gasping for air.

She wiped her forehead, her palms slick with cold sweat.

She shook her head and silently calculated the date, her expression suddenly stiffening.

The tenth day of the tenth month.

It was the day they had agreed upon.

Today, the young boys and girls and the Fortune Bead would be delivered to the suburban residence of the third son of the Yayu.

Their residence was in Jing County, less than five hundred miles north of the Capital City. A grand temple fair was to be held there today. Because the Ten Thousand Races Imperial Examination was imminent, the fair could not afford any disturbances, so the imperial court had dispatched several units of the Imperial Guard to patrol.

The Imperial Guard that Qin Yanying trained daily was among them.

As for herself, she had already laid all the groundwork, arranging a treatment regimen for Qin Muye in advance. He was supposed to be resting at home these past few days and could not catch a chill, so he had no way of going out.

When the time came, she only needed to mention wanting to go for a stroll, and Qin Yanying would certainly take her along.

Once they reached the designated location, it would take only a few words to lure Qin Yanying into the demon's nest.

Everything was perfect.

Yet, Bai Yuji felt an indescribable sense of panic.

She pinched her thigh, forcibly driving away that feeling of unease.

The Great Elder was right.

With the hatred of a destroyed clan and an exterminated race, no action she took could be considered too extreme.

Moreover, the Qin Family held a sensitive status; even if Qin Yanying committed a grave error, at most, she would only be imprisoned.

What did she have to reproach herself for?

"Hoo..."

"Hoo..."

"Hoo..."

Bai Yuji took three deep breaths before she calmed down.

Just then, footsteps approached from afar, and she hurriedly lay back under the covers.

A moment later, a knock sounded at the door.

From the other side of the door.

Qin Yanying's voice was very low: "Yuji, are you awake?"

"I'm awake! What is it, Aunt?"

Bai Yuji feigned the appearance of having just woken up.

Only then did Qin Yanying push the door open, entering the room with a steaming bowl of medicinal soup: "Seeing you listless these past few days, you must be exhausted from taking care of Muye. Aunt brought you some herbs to nourish your spirit; drink it quickly!"

"Thank you, Aunt!"

Bai Yuji smiled as she took the bowl and took a sip while it was hot. Feeling a stream of clarity wash into her mind, she couldn't help but pause: "Aunt, is this Soul-Nurturing Saliva? This is far too precious; where did you get it?"

Soul-Nurturing Saliva was a miraculous medicine for cultivating the spirit; whether for Daoist, Demonic, or Gu cultivators, it was an invaluable treasure.

A single drop was worth at least a hundred spirit stones, and it was the kind of item one could only hope for but never find.

Even if the Qin Family had come into some extra money, they could never afford to buy this!

Qin Yanying chuckled: "Isn't the imperial court covering Muye's medical expenses? I under-reported some of the costs."

Bai Yuji immediately saw through the lie: "Muye's treatment doesn't require Soul-Nurturing Saliva at all! I've heard Muye say that although the imperial court covers half the expenses, the Imperial Academy of Medicine audits everything strictly. Such herbs wouldn't be approved. Aunt, tell me the truth, where did this Soul-Nurturing Saliva come from?"

"You girl, why must you be so sharp?"

Qin Yanying laughed with a hint of reproach, then waved her hand: "I exchanged my stipend for it. My talent is mediocre; I doubt I'll ever break through to the Grandmaster level in this lifetime. Using cultivation resources would be a waste. I've been saving for years, and it just so happened to be enough to exchange for the Soul-Nurturing Saliva to help you nourish your spirit."

"It's too precious!"

"What is so precious about this? Mu Ye's health improving so rapidly is all thanks to your tireless efforts. Besides, you will be part of the Qin Family sooner or later; it's not as if this is being spent on an outsider."

"But I don't see that Mu Ye has any intention of marrying, and our social standings are mismatched..."

"He wouldn't dare! Don't you worry about this. If Mu Ye dares to say a single word of refusal, I'll break his legs! Even if he develops second thoughts, Auntie still acknowledges you. How about this? Tomorrow, Auntie will adopt you as my goddaughter, and then there will be no need to worry about such nonsense as social standing."

"..."

"Drink up, quickly!"

"Mm!"

Bai Yuji felt her eyes sting, and she lowered her head, sipping the medicinal soup spoonful by spoonful.

Once the soup was finished.

Qin Yanying took the bowl with a beaming smile: "Do you feel a bit more energetic?"

"Much better!"

"Then get some more sleep!"

Qin Yanying carried the bowl toward the door. Just as she was about to step out, she suddenly turned her head and asked: "Oh, that's right, Yuji. There is a temple fair in Anjin County today; it's estimated to be even livelier than the Capital City. Auntie has to go on patrol today, would you like to come along and look around?"

Bai Yuji's heart gave a sharp tug.

After a moment of struggle.

She smiled and nodded: "Alright!"