Chapter 73: Answering 'Yes' with 'No

Ning Yunzhao had already spotted the girl by the side of the road ahead.

She was dressed in a goose-yellow spring jacket, with a white skirt, standing out in the bustling street crowd like a dazzling spring flower.

It seemed like the first time he saw her in such bright colors.

Was this a new outfit that she had specifically put on for the occasion?

He had dared to extricate her in public, and naturally, she dared to show her support for him in the same way.

The smile on Ning Yunzhao's face grew even brighter as he approached the girl and nodded with a smile.

The noise of the street drums suddenly intensified.

Just like him, Miss Jun did not pay attention to the clamor, nor did she feel shy; she too smiled and nodded in response.

"Liu'er was even more enthusiastic, tiptoeing and waving her hand, shouting along with the onlookers on the street.

Seventh Chen followed suit, yelling out and putting on a love-struck facade.

Fang Jinxiu wished she could turn her head away in embarrassment; it was so humiliating.

What was wrong with her to follow along?

Because of Miss Jun's response, the street became even livelier, with laughter, shouts, and whistles rising and falling like waves.

Was this even still about the parade of palace graduates anymore?

Was anyone even looking at them, these palace graduates?

Does this girl not have a family to monitor her? Is it appropriate for them to flirt so openly in public?

Over four hundred disgruntled palace graduates wore looks of silent complaint amidst the joyful clamor of the street.

Standing on the upstairs veranda of a street-side tavern, a person drained his glass of wine in one gulp.

"Second Brother, what do you have to say now?" Sifeng patted him on the shoulder with sympathy and asked.

Zhu Zan held his wine glass, looking down from on high at the tumult beneath.

"Ptui," he said.

"Great!" Sifeng slapped Zhu Zan's shoulder and shouted in approval, "That spit is heartfelt and sincere, not pretentious or contrived, not admitting defeat nor offering blessings. Truly a representation of a genuine man."

Zhu Zan turned his head and spat at him again.

"Second Brother, they're just betrothed…" Zhang Baotang seemed to make up his mind and said, "Moreover, I think Miss Jun is quite nice to you too…"

Zhu Zan 'ha'-ed and interrupted.

"What kind of eyes do you have?" He glared and pointed downstairs, "Where do you see that this frivolous woman is nice to me?"

The brothers inside looked at him and then downstairs.

The top scholar had already walked away, and the street was crowded. The girl was still standing by the roadside, watching the departing team of palace graduates, composed amidst the encircling crowd.

Frivolous? She seemed very proper.

Zhu Zan swirled his wine glass, watching Miss Jun, following her gaze to Ning Yunzhao, shaking his head.

"Truly pitiable," he clucked his tongue, "another foolish boy trapped."

After that, he tossed down his wine glass, strode back to his seat, picked up a pot of wine, and began to drink heartily.

"Come, come, let's drink," Sifeng also encouraged everyone.

The brothers in the room responded with a chorus and began to drink noisily.

Zhang Baotang, however, pulled Sifeng aside.

"Who did Second Brother say is pitiable?" he asked in a low voice. "I think Second Brother is not acting normal."

Sifeng patted his shoulder.

"When you're not normal, you are normal. You're too young to understand; this is what normal looks like," he said, "Come on, drink. One drink dispels a thousand sorrows."

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

In contrast to the buzz on the street, it was as calm as usual inside Lu Mansion.

But as it was close to the Imperial City, the sound of drums and music for the palace graduates' hat ceremony could faintly be heard.

Princess Jiuli stood in the corridor, smiling towards the direction of the Imperial City.

"I watched the newly appointed palace graduates parade through the street once before," she said.

Before, when she was still a princess (junzhu).

The maidservants on the corridor smiled nervously without daring to answer.

"I remember a palace graduate who was so excited that he fainted, causing quite a stir among the ceremony officers," Princess Jiuli said with a smile, looking toward the maidservants and servants.

It seemed she would keep talking unless she got a response.

The maidservants and servants were somewhat tense.

Ever since they learned that their lord intended to take Miss Jun as a concubine and had an unpleasant parting with him, Princess Jiuli seemed to have changed.

She talked more than before and even asked about news from outside.

This was most alarming. The former Princess Jiuli never inquired about matters outside.

She wanted to ask, but they dared not answer.

"Who is the top scholar this time?" Princess Jiuli said.

As expected, she began to ask again.

"Princess, we don't know," a maidservant said with a smile, lifting her head, "We haven't been out, and Lord Lu hasn't been back these past few days."

Princess Jiuli smiled and did not ask further.

There was commotion outside the courtyard door.

"Lord Lu has returned," the maidservant reported.

As the words fell, Lu Yunqi had already walked in. The maidservants hurried to pay their respects, while Princess Jiuli stood on the corridor without smiling or moving, watching Lu Yunqi approach.

"What happened to Lord Lu's face?" she suddenly asked.

Lord Lu's face?

The maidservants couldn't help but lift their heads to look and saw that Lu Yunqi, who was approaching, had several bruises on his face and a slightly swollen mouth. He had clearly been hit.

Ever since Lu Yunqi had become a Hundred-man commander, no one dared to hit him, let alone now. Many would like to hit him, but very few could actually do it.

This was the first time they had seen Lu Yunqi like this, and the maidservants were visibly panicked.

Lu Yunqi did not answer and continued walking straight into the house.

This was clearly an indication that he did not want to answer the question. The maidservants hurriedly looked towards Princess Jiuli, waiting for her to command them to fetch medicine or something.

"Were you hit by someone?" Princess Jiuli asked again, without mentioning fetching medicine.

The maidservants looked somewhat tense.

But Princess Jiuli was not done.

"Was it because of Miss Jun that you got hit?" she asked.

The maidservants were so scared that they all lowered their heads.

It seemed that Princess Jiuli and Lord Lu were really about to have a falling out this time.

It wasn't unheard of for a princess to stop a Prince Consort from taking concubines, but given Princess Jiuli's status, coupled with Thousand-Man Commander Lu's status, if a quarrel arose, it was likely to be Princess Jiuli who would find it difficult to handle.

But it was also understandable; keeping numerous women outside was one thing, but this time Lord Lu wanted to take this woman as a concubine, and a concubine was different from a mistress.

Moreover, Miss Jun was no ordinary person; she had a prominent reputation. Once she entered, Princess Jiuli would probably have to step back.

So, Princess Jiuli really had to make an issue of it with Lord Lu, it seemed.

Lu Yunqi's footsteps paused.

"Yes," he said, before stepping into the room.

Princess Jiuli was either surprised or... delighted by the answer.

"Really?" she said, smiling, then followed up with more questions as she followed him in, "What happened? Was it Miss Jun who hit you?"

The maidservants and servants didn't dare to follow in; they all shrank back and clenched their teeth, scattering away.

"It was Zhu Zan who hit me."

Inside the room, Lu Yunqi did not erupt in anger, his expression remained impassive, and he promptly answered Princess Jiuli's question.

Perhaps it had been too long since she had dealt with the outside world, but Princess Jiuli found the name somewhat unfamiliar.

"Zhu Zan?" she pondered for a moment before saying, "Ah, the Duke of Chengguo's heir."

With that, she smiled again.

"Does he also know Miss Jun? Does he like Miss Jun?"

Asking another man if he likes a woman in the presence of a man who wants to take that woman as a concubine was not exactly a tactful thing to do.

"I don't know," Lu Yunqi said, looking at Princess Jiuli.

Princess Jiuli laughed.

"Though Miss Jun's family background is slightly humble, the Duke of Chengguo is a person who doesn't sweat the small stuff; he probably wouldn't mind it," she continued as if the topic was completely appropriate, "Could it be possible for Miss Jun to marry the Duke of Chengguo's heir?"

"It won't happen," Lu Yunqi said, "because Ning Chang says that Miss Jun is his betrothed."

Ning Chang?

Princess Jiuli was slightly startled; she had heard quite a few names today.

"Who is that?" she asked.

"The newly-awarded top scholar, from the Ning Family of Beiliu, Ning Yan's nephew," Lu Yunqi said.

Princess Jiuli laughed and looked outside.

"Turns out she's the fiancée of the new top scholar," she said, with a touch of admiration and joy, "After the grand state examination, Miss Jun can marry the top scholar."

"It won't happen," Lu Yunqi said decidedly.

****************************************

The annual meeting ends today, and after a long journey, there will be only one update. We'll return to normal tomorrow.

Thank you all for your understanding.