Chapter 183 It's Just Because of the Name

Meanwhile, Sifeng was pondering a question, glancing occasionally at Zhu Zan who walked beside him.

"What are you looking at? If you have something to say, just say it," Zhu Zan said.

Sifeng approached with a grin.

"I never expected Miss Jun to be so formidable. Not only did she make a name for herself in the capital in just a few months, but she also managed to provoke Lu Yunqi," he said, "I thought provoking you was impressive enough."

Zhu Zan snorted.

"To say she provoked Lu Yunqi, you're really giving her too much credit," he said.

Zhang Baotang heard this and stepped forward.

"Second Brother, why is that?" he said, with a hint of anger in his voice, "Is it because that bastard Lu Yunqi has taken a fancy to Miss Jun? That guy is simply inhuman nowadays, snatching women and dragging them to his private residence every day, he's got more women than the Royal Academy..."

"He really thinks he's ascended to the heavens..." other young men interjected immediately.

Zhu Zan waved his hand dismissively.

"Can you guys think about something serious?" he said, "Where has this conversation gone?"

"It's not our fault, it's that Lu Yunqi who's not doing anything proper," Sifeng countered.

"Second Brother, what is the real reason?" Zhang Baotang asked.

Zhu Zan looked ahead with a smile.

"It's nothing, just a matter of a name," he said.

Just, a matter of a name?

Sifeng suddenly realized.

"Jiuling Hall, Jiuling..." he said.

Princess Jiuli.

The other young men also understood, their expressions somewhat weird.

"Is he sick or what?" Zhang Baotang shouted. "There are plenty of people named Jiuling in the world, he, he..."

He stuttered for a long time, unable to find the right words, and finally spat in frustration.

"He really is sick."

"Second Brother, is it really because of that? That's too ridiculous," another young man said, "Has Lu Yunqi lost his mind? Could there be another reason? I heard Lu Yunqi's women went to Miss Jun for treatment, could that have provoked him?"

"Would she fail to cure them? Could she let someone catch her on a point of illness?" Zhu Zan said. "There's no other reason, it's just that."

He paused.

"And it's not funny."

Because wasn't it the name that made him pay attention to Jiuling Hall in the first place? Wasn't it the name that made him protect that plaque?

Is this an illness?

If it is, can it be cured?

.............

"Yunqi."

"Yunqi."

As Lu Yunqi walked in, women from all directions in the courtyard surrounded him.

Lu Yunqi smiled and looked at each of them, extending his hand to welcome the embraces thrown his way.

Suddenly, a woman cried out.

"Yunqi, what's happened to your hand?" she exclaimed.

The women looked over and saw the bloodstain on the back of Lu Yunqi's extended right hand, with flesh turned inside out in one spot.

The women screamed one after another.

"What happened?"

"Someone come quickly!"

"Call for a doctor."

Lu Yunqi hushed them with a smile.

"Don't scream," he said.

Even though he said this with a smile, the women immediately quieted down.

"Yunqi, what happened?" one of them asked tearfully.

Lu Yunqi just smiled without speaking.

"Yunqi, does it hurt?" a female voice asked.

Lu Yunqi looked toward the speaker.

This woman was squeezed on the outside, gazing at him eagerly.

Lu Yunqi pushed the woman in his arms aside and reached out to the woman as he walked towards her.

Caught off guard by the surprise, the woman was motionless until Lu Yunqi embraced her.

Lu Yunqi's head rested on her shoulder.

"It hurts," he said seriously.

The other women snapped out of it and surged forward again.

"Yunqi, let me dress that wound for you."

"Yunqi, there's medicine, go get the medicine quickly."

The women spoke all at once, while Lu Yunqi remained motionless, resting on the woman's shoulder, letting them fuss and attend to his hand.

...............….

The incident at Jiuling Hall quickly spread throughout the entire city because it involved Lu Yunqi and Zhu Zan.

Even Ning Yunzhao, who was engrossed in his studies behind closed doors at the Imperial College, was no exception, and he even somewhat angrily interrupted Xiaoding's words.

"Why are you only telling me now?" he said.

Xiaoding looked at him with an expression that was both aggrieved and frightened.

The young master was always refined and rarely lost his temper, let alone spoke harshly to the servants.

"You said not to disturb you, to concentrate on your studies," he said cautiously.

He had said that, and he was someone who could both take up and let go of things. Since Miss Jun had already made it clear that it wasn't appropriate and she wasn't interested, he naturally wouldn't bother her anymore, and of course, he wouldn't let Xiaoding inquire about her news anymore.

But...

Not bothering her and not inquiring about her news was different from the current situation.

She was in danger.

Too dangerous, Lu Yunqi was a very dangerous man.

"How could you not speak of this matter?" Ning Yunzhao said.

Why couldn't they speak of such a matter? Xiaoding didn't understand, but as a servant, he didn't need to understand.

"Yes, yes," he replied in quick succession, "I was wrong."

Ning Yunzhao didn't ask any further questions and began pacing back and forth after leaving his desk.

"Some say Miss Jun didn't cure Lord Lu's woman's illness," Xiaoding said tentatively.

"Nonsense," Ning Yunzhao said.

"Some also say that Lord Lu took a fancy to Miss Jun, and the Duke of Chengguo's heir also took a fancy to her, so..." Xiaoding continued cautiously.

This time he was interrupted by Ning Yunzhao before he could finish the sentence.

"Ridiculous and laughable," he said, "the people of this world are really like this—all they can think of when they see a woman having an argument with a man is such a thing."

Xiaoding sheepishly said, "People are guessing wildly because they don't know the reason. Why don't we ask Miss Jun?"

Ning Yunzhao shook his head.

"Do we still need to ask? Isn't it obvious?" he said, "It's just because of the name."

The name?

Xiaoding looked at Ning Yunzhao, puzzled.

It was because of Jiuling Hall. He had told her this from the beginning, and now it had indeed come to pass.

Lu Yunqi was just such a crazed man who couldn't be measured by common sense.

Fortunately, this time the Duke of Chengguo's heir happened to pass by and intervened.

"And what about the Duke of Chengguo's heir?" Xiaoding asked carefully.

Ning Yunzhao smiled.

"For Lu Yunqi, I suppose," he said.

What did that mean? Xiaoding looked confused.

"It means there was no reason, just because of Lu Yunqi. Whatever can make Lu Yunqi uncomfortable, he would do it," Ning Yunzhao said with a hint of weariness, "Let's not pay attention to them anymore."

Xiaoding responded with a tentative "Oh."

"About Miss Jun, will you go see her?" he asked.

Ning Yunzhao looked out the window at the leaves falling in the wind.

"She doesn't need it," he said, "nor does she want it."

He returned his gaze to the desk, then paused and furrowed his brow.

"Since Lu Yunqi didn't succeed in one fell swoop this time, if the Fang Family is willing, they could prevent giving him another opportunity."

That is, if the Fang Family is willing.

............…..

In the backyard of the Fang Family, although the deep autumn was cool, Old Lady Fang and Lady Fang were still in high spirits, sitting in the pavilion, watching the lively play on stage.

This was a famous troupe that had just arrived from Taiyuan prefecture, specially invited by Fang Chengyu as an act of filial piety.

Perhaps because they had been running a business for too long, the women of the Fang Family actually preferred martial plays over literary ones. The stage was filled with the noise of gongs and drums, and swords and spears clashed and tumbled, drawing many maidservants to crowd around and watch.

Old Lady Fang didn't mind. In the past, the household had been quiet, so she had deliberately made it lively, which actually bothered her. But now it was different; she felt comfortable seeing all this liveliness.

On stage, the clown was kicked to the ground, performing strange and peculiar actions, eliciting laughter from everyone, and Concubine Yuan even held onto Old Lady Fang's shoulder as she laughed hard.

Old Lady Fang usually found such behavior by young women annoying, but now she didn't mind.

As they were laughing, the actors on stage suddenly stopped, and at the signal of the managers, they all retreated.

Old Lady Fang looked puzzled, only to see Fang Chengyu walking in.

The housekeeper also gestured for the surrounding maidservants and servants to leave, and the people quickly dispersed like water, leaving behind only Old Lady Fang, Lady Fang, and Concubine Yuan.

"What happened?" Lady Fang hurriedly asked.

Fang Chengyu lifted his robe and knelt before Old Lady Fang.

"Grandmother," he said, raising his eyes to look at Old Lady Fang, "please send the imperial decree to Jiuling Hall in the capital."

Sending the imperial decree to Jiuling Hall in the capital?

Lady Fang's face changed dramatically as she stood up.

"Chengyu, have you lost your mind?" she said.

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Thanks to The Last Gunshot?, The Ice in the South, Annabellquan, md12 for the reward of Ling Jiu.

Off to work again, though I wish I could live in drunken dreams every day, we still have to strive to learn and work, everyone cheer up.