Wizards all dread curses, believing that curses can come true.
Yi Qing thought Lu Tianxun was really being reckless. Although he knew something about gu worms from following Wu Min, he had never actually touched them. That Lin Mo was so elusive that Lu Tianxun might get cursed before even seeing Lin Mo's face.
"Madam, do you think that Lin Mo will show up?" Ruo Hong was quite touched.
"It's more realistic for you to pray that Lu Tianxun won't get cursed by gu worms," Yi Qing said and told Ruo Hong to put away the challenge letter.
The matter of Yunyang Academy hadn't been resolved yet, but Lu Tianxun was impeached. It was said that he was obsessed with heretical martial arts and unworthy to be the headmaster of Yunyang Academy anymore.
Yi Qing had never thought that the position of the headmaster of Yunyang Academy was such a coveted one. There were so many people eyeing it. As long as there was the slightest mistake, a crowd of people would pounce on it.
Thinking about how hard her general had it, she bought a roasted goose on the way back to reward him.
While she was sighing, she heard someone selling rice-field fish outside. She lifted the carriage curtain and took a look. They were really shiny rice-field fish. This kind of fish was a variant of carp. It grew in paddy fields, weighing no more than half a catty, usually only two or three taels. The meat was delicious and had a taste of rice flowers.
"Stop the carriage," Yi Qing called out and told Ruo Hong to buy all the rice-field fish, even the wooden basin that held the fish.
"If Madam likes to eat fish, this servant can tell the kitchen to buy some," Ruo Hong said as she put the wooden basin in front of the carriage, worried that it would dirty the carriage.
"It's okay," Yi Qing just happened to see them.
She hadn't cooked for Baozi and the others for a long time. After bringing back the rice-field fish, she excitedly told Baozi that she was going to cook for him. Baozi's eyes lit up when he heard that. Xiao Ran looked confused. He wondered what had happened to make his elder brother so happy.
Xiao Jinghan came back early today. When he got home, he saw the three of them peeling the fish in the backyard. Xiao Ran was squatting beside the wooden basin, playing with the few fish in it. Baozi could actually help.
Yi Qing peeled the fish like a surgeon. With one knife, she slit open the fish's belly without cutting the thin film inside, all the way to the gills. Then with one pull, all the internal organs and gills came out. It was quick and clean.
Xiao Jinghan tucked his robe into his waistband, squatted down, and helped Yi Qing scale the fish. "Why do you suddenly want to eat fish?"
"I heard that Lu Tianxun was impeached," Yi Qing had been thinking about it for a long time.
"Yeah. It's normal for him to be impeached this time because of what happened in the academy and the matter of Wu Min."
"I always thought he was just a teacher, but I didn't expect him to be impeached."
Xiao Jinghan laughed. "He is indeed a teacher, but he is a teacher at Yunyang Academy, and the headmaster at that. He is highly respected. You are still young, but in the future, his influence in the court will be immeasurable."
"If his influence is immeasurable, why would others dare to provoke him?"
"So they're taking advantage of this opportunity."
"I bought a roasted goose. We'll eat it tonight," Yi Qing felt that everyone had it so hard.
Xiao Jinghan looked at Yi Qing curiously. "What's going on today?"
"Nothing. I just heard that Lu Tianxun was impeached. I suddenly realized how hard it is for the general. Others are in such a bad situation just because of one impeachment. You've been impeached so many times. If it weren't for your numerous military merits, those people would have eaten you up, bones and all."
Only then did Xiao Jinghan realize that his wife was feeling sorry for him. He looked at Yi Qing with a beaming smile. "Fish is not as delicious as my wife."
Yi Qing almost cut her hand. "We're talking about serious matters."
Xiao Jinghan took the knife from Yi Qing's hand and peeled the fish himself.
Although Yi Qing didn't cut her hand just now, it made his heart skip a beat. He didn't dare let her peel the fish anymore.
Yi Qing didn't decline. Although Xiao Jinghan didn't know how to dissect, his knife skills were much better than hers. "I locked Jin Xiao up in the Duke Di's Mansion."
"Today?" Xiao Jinghan was surprised. "What excuse did you come up with?"
"How do you know I came up with an excuse?" Yi Qing looked at Xiao Jinghan in surprise.
"Duke Di cares so much about Jin Xiao. Without solid evidence, if you can lock Jin Xiao up in the Duke Di's Mansion, you must have come up with an excuse that can convince Duke Di and keep Jin Xiao in the dark."
Yi Qing thought that Xiao Jinghan must have been letting her off before. He could see through everything. "The result of the investigation you asked Tie Ying to do is back. Jin Xiao is the half-brother of Ping Xinian. He was missing for a while, and when he returned to the Jin family, his personality changed completely."
Xiao Jinghan suddenly understood. Before, Yi Qing had asked Lord Ghost to investigate all the women of the same age as Ping Xinian who were related to her by blood, but she hadn't investigated the men. "So how did you deceive Jin Xiao?"
"Does he need to be deceived? He's a patient and has to listen to me. I just said it was a new qi-stealing treatment method I invented. I've been fumigating him with all kinds of medicine every day," Yi Qing said proudly with a smile.
Xiao Jinghan thought that if Jin Xiao really wasn't Ping Xinian, then he could only be unlucky.
Yi Qing sent all the kitchen servants away. After making dinner, the family ate in the kitchen. It had been a long time since they had such a relaxing and harmonious meal.
After dinner, they went to see Wu Min and the maid who had been bitten by Wu Min. Then they saw a blaze of fire outside the courtyard wall.
"What's going on?" Yi Qing looked at the light outside.
"There are too many people who come to listen to the storytellers. They've paid a lot of money to make those storytellers tell stories all night," Ruo Hong said, trying not to laugh.
Yi Qing thought for a while. "You go and make a sign for Rongyantang quickly to promote our Rongyantang."
Ruo Hong was surprised but replied, "Yes."
Her madam really never missed any opportunity.
Although Yi Qing had locked Jin Xiao up, she didn't let her guard down at all. She still sent people to patrol carefully at night.
Yi Qing thought Jin Xiao would hold on for a few days, but something went wrong on the third day. Duke Di sent someone to call Yi Qing over. She saw Jin Xiao writhing in pain on the bed.
"What should we do?" Duke Di wanted to let Jin Xiao out.
"Wait a minute," Yi Qing said as she looked at Jin Xiao writhing in pain on the bed. "His body shape is changing."
Yi Qing's biggest doubt all along was that a person's appearance could change, but their body shape wouldn't. She never thought there was really a way to change the body shape too.
Duke Di took a closer look and really noticed that Jin Xiao's body shape was changing.
Actually, this change was also unexpected for Jin Xiao. He thought he could hold on for a few days with the honey bats. But the honey bats were smoked to death. That medicine was not only effective against the honey bats but also against him. When the illness flared up, he didn't have time to make any arrangements.
Changing one's bones through the medicine was extremely painful. Before, he had relied on the honey bats and didn't feel much. Now that the honey bats were gone, he would turn back to his original self, and the pain would double.
As Jin Xiao's body shape changed, his face also began to change. It wasn't a change in his appearance, but his skin became slightly looser.
"Ping Xinian, it really is you," Yi Qing said with a smile after seeing the changed body shape.
That's right. Jin Xiao was Ping Xinian. She had endured so much pain and even sacrificed her own face in order to come back for revenge. She never thought she would still be exposed by Yi Qing.