Chapter 37: A Good Match
Jin'er trembled at this reprimand, her head sinking lower. "Young mistress, please calm your anger. This slave…"
She hesitated, leaving her words unfinished, which only made Song Hemei more anxious. "You've served me since you were young. Among those closest to me, you are the most intelligent. Some matters I trust only you to handle personally. But look—have you lived up to that trust? Tell me plainly what happened. Otherwise, go serve whoever you listen to instead, and don't ever step into my courtyard again!"
Jin'er knocked her forehead against the ground, her voice choked with tears. "It was the eldest young master."
She knocked her head twice more. "Young mistress, during the day, before I could even leave the residence, the gatekeeper brought me to see the eldest young master. He said there was no need for me to carry out your instructions—I only needed to stay outside until dusk before returning. He also said that Young Master Yu was no good man, that he had deceived you with sweet words, and that you absolutely must not be allowed to entangle yourself further. This slave only wanted to keep you from going astray!"
Song Hemei's expression sharpened. So it really was her elder brother.
No wonder he had looked so strange during the day—he had already suspected her involvement with Yu Yeqing.
Had her sister-in-law told him?
But she had no time to investigate that now. Clenching her teeth, she pointed a trembling finger at Jin'er. "Just wait. I'll settle accounts with you when I return. Once at the Shao residence, and now again—I truly don't know where your loyalties have drifted!"
Ignoring Jin'er, whose eyes were brimming with fearful tears, she gathered her skirts and rushed out the door.
Her heart was pounding inexplicably fast. This premonition was not good. But even when she imagined the worst, she couldn't figure out what might have happened. The more confused she grew, the thicker the uncontrollable unease became. Her steps quickened, and even the carriage felt too slow. She decided to go straight to the stable and fetch a horse.
But as soon as she reached the stable, she saw a servant boy standing guard, as if expecting her arrival. He stepped forward and cupped his hands. "Second Miss, the eldest young master says that since you are now with child, it is inadvisable for you to leave the residence."
Song Hemei's face darkened. "Step aside."
Ignoring the servant's obstruction, she strode toward the tall brown horse. But the boy retreated a step, blocking her, his expression pained. "Miss, the eldest young master was serious this time. His orders—this servant dare not disobey. Perhaps you should go see him first."
Song Hemei halted. She understood that servants caught between masters had no easy path. Despite her anxiety, she couldn't bring herself to make things difficult for the underlings. Turning around, she headed toward her brother's courtyard.
By now, the sky was mostly dark. The household servants had already lit lanterns along the covered walkways.
Two servant boys stood guard at the entrance to her brother's courtyard. Seeing her approach, they still had to announce her before letting her in.
Song Yunyao came out wearing only his undergarments, a robe draped over his shoulders. Inside the room, Qiu Wan had her hair half-down, not emerging but peering out curiously.
Song Hemei's gaze swept over them—she knew the couple had already retired. She frowned instinctively and looked away. "Brother, I need to speak with you."
Song Yunyao knew he couldn't keep this hidden from her for long, but he hadn't expected her to care so much about that Yu fellow, discovering the clues so quickly.
He sighed softly and walked toward the side chamber. "Come, let's talk privately."
Matters like this couldn't be overheard by even the most trusted servants, and his bedmate was hardly tight-lipped—she mustn't know either.
Once the siblings entered the side chamber and closed the door, Song Yunyao spoke first. "I know what you want to do, but I truly don't understand you. Even if you want something, couldn't you pick someone better?"
He sat in an armchair, looking at his younger sister standing before him with a cold, stern expression, and sighed again. "Staring at me like that won't help. That Yu fellow can't be relied on. I only gave him a few pointed words, and he was scared out of his wits—gone overnight. How can someone like that be dependable? Aren't you afraid he's such a coward that one day he'll spill everything about your affair? How will you face that?"
Song Hemei fixed her eyes on her brother, not letting a single flicker of his expression escape her.
She didn't believe a word of this provocation, nor did she have time to argue with him about whether Yu Yeqing was really that kind of man.
She asked stubbornly, "Where is he? Why won't you let me see him?"
Song Yunyao raised a hand to his forehead. In truth, he wanted to know where the man had gone too.
Last night, they had only thrown him into the river. Today, he had planned to send someone to check on the Yu girl's condition.
If she couldn't survive, let her die on her own.
If she could still live, then have someone save her and bring her to work in the household. One, she would be grateful and loyal. Two, it would prevent her from getting suspicious and causing trouble. Three, it would even count as a good deed, a merit.
But when they went today, they found the Yu girl was nowhere to be seen. Then he sensed that someone seemed to be inquiring about yesterday's incident. Fortunately, heavy rain last night had washed away all traces.
He suspected some enemy had gotten wind of it and planned to use this as leverage.
But seeing his sister so determined not to let it go, Song Yunyao naturally couldn't tell her the truth. After a moment's thought, he relented. "If you really want to see him, you can. But it's already dark now, and everyone knows you're pregnant—it's not suitable for you to be out. Tomorrow, change your clothes and go secretly on your own. I suppose you won't give up until you've seen for yourself."
Song Hemei's hand clenched inside her sleeve. Her brother's words only made her more worried.
She hesitated, not answering. Song Yunyao put on a stern face. "Mei'er, you need to weigh what's important. Even if you go to see him today, the result will be the same. Do you want to undo all your hard work just to prove your brother wrong?"
He stood up and tightened his robe. "Enough. Go back and rest early. Even if you're worried about him, one night won't make a difference."
He walked out, leaving Song Hemei standing alone in the room.
This matter hung over her like a held breath, making her whole body tense. She didn't believe a single word her brother said. Whatever had happened, she had to see for herself.
She returned to her room, tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep. As soon as the sky began to lighten, she changed into the coarse clothes she had prepared and went to the stable to fetch a horse. This time, no one stopped her. The path was clear all the way to the Yu residence.
Her heart rose to her throat. She looked around the courtyard—everything seemed unchanged, much the same as before. A glimmer of hope rose in her heart. She took a few quick steps to Yu Yeqing's room, only to find the door wide open and empty inside.
The bed was as tidy as ever, but the scent of ink in the room was not as strong as before. It felt as if a fist had struck her chest, a dull pain spreading, her heart beating wildly in panic.
Her mind went blank. She didn't even have time to calm her uneasy heart before she rushed out and went to Minglian's room.
That room was a mess. Shallow mud tracks marked the floor, and the bedding was still rumpled on the bed. It gave her an inexplicable feeling that they had left in a hurry—otherwise, how could Yu Yeqing have allowed Minglian's room to be so untidy?
Song Hemei took two deep breaths, pressing a hand to her thumping heart as she swallowed hard.
Don't panic. Think slowly.
He hadn't taken his belongings. With the ailing Minglian in tow, where could he have gone?
Right—Madam Qi, his aunt.
At that moment, she was immensely grateful that during idle chat with Minglian, she had casually asked where Madam Qi lived. It wasn't far—half an incense stick's journey.
She hurried out, mounted the horse, and rode straight to the place she remembered. The village houses weren't easy to find, but she recalled that since Madam Qi had two sons about to marry, the courtyard should contain at least three tiled rooms. Recently, Yu Yeqing had given her a large sum of money, so surely he had bought things for the family home.
Following this lead, she was quite fortunate. She spotted a household with two newly made red lanterns and two gourd decorations hanging at the gate. She went straight over and knocked on the door.
It was still early. A woman's voice answered grumpily, mumbling as she came to open the door. When she saw Song Hemei, her sleepy eyes flew wide open. "Second Miss Song! What brings you here?"
She raised a hand to smooth the hair at her temples, looking embarrassed. "The, the house is a mess—please forgive me, miss."
Song Hemei raised a hand to cut off her polite excuses. "Where have Young Master Yu and Miss Qi gone?"
Madam Qi's gaze flickered for a moment. She stammered, as if about to brush it off with something trivial.
Song Hemei directly pressed a pouch of silver ingots into her hand, her tone dropping. "I don't like nonsense."
Madam Qi hesitated for a moment but still took the pouch. "Aiya, he's gone, that's it. He's gone off to live a good life. Second Miss, don't look for him anymore. He won't come back."
Song Hemei's head buzzed at these words.
What good life could he be living?
He wasn't a young lady who could marry into a good family. Unless—could he be marrying into someone else's household?
No. If he had wanted to be a live-in son-in-law, he could have found a family two years ago. Why pick this moment? Even if he disliked being entangled with her, would he truly prefer to be entangled with someone else?
Or—had he gone to the capital for the imperial examinations?
Madam Qi kept chattering on about how Yu Yeqing wouldn't be back, and that his position as a study companion was vacant, offering to recommend her two sons for Song Hemei to choose from.
Song Hemei felt as if a piece of her heart had been hollowed out in an instant. The world spun before her eyes, her heart plunging helplessly, thumping loudly in her ears.
Her lips moved. When she spoke again, her voice had grown hoarse. "No need. Please don't tell anyone I was here today."
She turned around, leading the horse as she walked away. The sky, already not bright, had grown even darker, as if it would rain again.
Song Hemei walked slowly, like a lost soul, powerless and helpless.
He had just left like that—without even a goodbye.
Her nose stung, and tears began to gather in her eyes, blurring her vision. She sniffled and wiped them away with her hand.
It really hurt so much.
Only now did she realize how much it hurt that Yu Yeqing had left.
She couldn't quite tell whether it was resentment at his silent departure or genuine unwillingness to let him go. But she knew that at this moment, her whole heart felt as if it were being tightly squeezed by a giant hand, aching and squeezing, making it hard to breathe.
Fine raindrops began to fall from the sky again. By the time she returned to the Song residence in a daze, she fell ill, burning with fever and barely conscious. Using this illness as an excuse, she bit her lip and cried for a long time, hidden under her blanket.
When she was exhausted and drained of strength, she vaguely heard her mother sigh softly beside her bed, just like when she was a child, worried about her sickness.
"This child—grown up now, yet still crying over a fever."
A pause. Her mother gently stroked her head. "A bout of illness isn't all bad. Women with child often run a fever."
"My good Xiao He, bear with it. The Shao family heard you were ill and sent over many fine things."
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