Jun Jiuling - Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Fang Jinxiu made a face and then let her go .

"If you wanna go, then go," she said .

Fang Yuxiu smiled with pursed lips . She grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward .

Fang Yunxiu didn’t understand, but she always listened to her sisters, so she followed after them without hesitation .

Fang Jinxiu followed Fang Yuxiu to a small pavilion and sat down . The servant girls were dispatched to fetch tea and refreshments, leaving the three sisters to talk .

"You believe she didn’t hurt Chengyu?" Fang Yunxiu asked .

Fang Yuxiu eyed Fang Jinxiu . Fang Jinxiu’s resentment showed on her face .

Fang Yuxiu didn’t wait for Fang Jinxiu and said, "I do believe . "

Without waiting for Fang Yunxiu’s question, she answered .

"Because I don’t think she’s that stupid," she said .

Fang Yunxiu seriously listened to her . Fang Jinxiu also turned around .

"She is famous for being dumb," she muttered .

Fang Yuxiu ignored her .

"Since becoming Young Lady, if she really wanted to plot against Little Brother, then even if Grandmother protected her, how could Mother forgive her?" she said gently . "She is a bright person . She won’t jump into a hole . "

Just like when she dealt with Zuo Yanzhi, she would not do things that hurt herself .

Fang Yunxiu nodded and looked at Fang Jinxiu .

Fang Jinxiu pulled a face again .

"Yes, I don’t think she would do such a thing . "

Just as Fang Yunxiu and Fang Yuxiu thought she wouldn’t say anything, Fang Jinxiu spoke in a muffled voice .

Fang Yunxiu and Fang Yuxiu were carefully listening to her . They did not dare mock her for fear she would get angry .

"But that’s not because of whether she is stupid or not . Rather, it’s if she really wanted to harm someone," she paused, "she would already have had many opportunities . "

For example at the Jinyun Hall, she had slapped away the drugged tea she was about to drink . When they faced off against Registrar Lin, she had pulled her behind her .

Perhaps it was different with Fang Chengyu . Just because she didn’t hurt her didn’t mean she wouldn’t hurt Chengyu also .

But her goal was to dominate the Fang Family . If she didn’t even care about Fang Chengyu and plotted against him, then she would be even more ruthless to the sisters . She would be better off eliminating them entirely .

The three were silent .

"When you were at the Jinyun Hall, what exactly happened? Was she the one who arranged for what happened to Miss Lin?" asked Fang Yunxiu thoughtfully .

Lin Jin’er was sent to the temple by the Lin Family . Although it was publically declared that it was because of an an illness, people knew that it had something to do with the Jinyun Hall .

Though the rumor wasn’t so despicable . The man was not a mute beggar but some distant relative, a scholarly man .

But it still wasn’t something that the Lin Family could tolerate . They held firm to their family’s principles, and could not abide by any illegitimate children, so they sent Miss Lin to the temple .

This was the theory that circulated among the people in Yangcheng, but, of course, the daughters of the Fang Family did not believe it .

Fang Jinxiu had never spoken of what had happened in the Jinyun Hall on that day .

At her elder sister’s query, she fell silent for a moment .

Finally, she said, "Actually I don’t quite know what happened . When I entered, she left with Miss Lin . " You should know, I chased them out so I wasn’t with her . The next time I saw her she was playing pitch-pot, and then that thing with Miss LIn happened . "

Fang Yuxiu smiled .

"You know how Miss Lin planned to lure her into that room?" she said .

Fang Yunxiu and Fang Jinxiu looked at her .

Registrar Lin had also asked that question, and Jun Zhenzhen said that she had to speak with him privately .

"Miss Lin said that Tenth Noble Son Ning wanted to see you," Fang Yuxiu said .

Fang Yunxiu and Fang Jinxiu were surprised .

"Really?" Fang Yunxiu asked .

Fang Yunxiu’s lips curled into a smile . Then she looked at the servant girls bringing back all sorts of teas and refreshments .

"What else can those girls think of other than boys?" she said .

The servant girls entered, quickly but orderly setting up cushions on the table, then pouring tea and arranging plates .

Fang Yunxiu took the tea and sipped it slowly, then used her handkerchief to wipe her mouth .

"You can’t deny it; these things are all sorts of unsavory," she said .

"It’s just a pity that she doesn’t believe in those things anymore," Fang Yuxiu said with a smile . "And of something you don’t believe in, you are wary . "

Fang Jinxiu didn’t say anything, but her expression was strange .

It wasn’t because the servant girls were there, but rather because she was thinking of a certain matter .

No, two matters .

She had said that sentence to Jun Zhenzhen twice .

Noble Son Ning wants to see you .

Once in the middle of the night, and once outside the city .

Compared to the thing at the Jinyun Hall which occurred in the daylight, a person should be more suspicious and wary at those times .

But Jun Zhenzhen only looked surprised and followed her without hesitation .

Did she have no fear? Or was it confidence?

If Jun Zhenzhen wanted to hurt her, there would have been many opportunities . But if she were to hurt her, there were also many chances .

Then where was all this… 

Fang Jinxiu bit her lip, and worried a snack between her teeth .

Fang Yuxiu saw she had gone still and smiled with understanding .

The sisters sat in silence and drank their tea when they suddenly heard laughter . They lifted their heads to see Jun Zhenzhen and Liu’er walking along the road .

When the pair felt their gazes, they looked over at them .

Liu’er wanted to continue laughing, but she remembered Young Miss reminding her that though she can’t make everyone happy, she can at least prevent them from getting angry at her .

That said, as someone who was supposed to have admitted to fooling the Fang Family, she should not make such an expression .

Liu’er lowered her head and obediently greeted the three young misses .

Fang Yunxiu nearly jumped in fright . She got to her feat and returned the greeting back warmly .

Fang Yuxiu and Fang JInxiu just stood there without moving .

Miss Jun bowed to them too, but she did not say anything and continued walking along with Liu’er .

"How could she be so happy," said Fang Jinxiu .

One of the girls heard this and stepped forward .

"Second Miss, when I went to the kitchens to get the refreshments I heard Lady forgive Young Lady," she reported .

All three of them looked at her without speaking .

"She probably was afraid she would cause trouble again . That would be even worse for Young Master," said another servant girl . "Young Lady mentioned that she wanted to go back to Young Master . "

All of the servant girls couldn’t help but gasp in alarm .

"Don’t worry, don’t worry; Lady didn’t agree," said that servant girl hurriedly . "She just permitted her to go and wait on him everyday . "

A collective sigh of relief .

"Okay, don’t talk about her anymore," Fang Jinxiu said impatiently .

The young lady was not a pleasant topic for these three young misses . The servants all went silent .

"The flowers are blooming in the garden; the young misses should go take a turn," one servant girl suggested .

March was over halfway through . The lovely spring sunshine shone on abundantly green vegetation . The garden was starting to become delightful .

The capital was already brightly colored in flowers .

The view was magnificent for those seated in a four-story building by the Xuanwu Lake in the capital . The people around surged and faded like waves, the cherry blossoms bloomed like clouds .

The young men had all changed into their spring clothing, simple and clean, but people who could sit in the Qingfeng Hall were not ordinary people .

Ning Yunzhao had been leaning against the railing for ages, so much so that his cup of tea had gone cold .

"What are you thinking about?" asked his friend behind him . "Is it possible you have lost yourself upon seeing a beauty?"

"Miss Wu Xiaoxiao loves cherry blossoms the most . Didn’t she pass by downstairs just now?" one of the other noble sons mentioned .

Wu Xiaoxiao was an entertainer in the capital’s high-class brothel . In the Royal Academy[1] she was chosen as as the premier beauty . Those with looks and talents will be pursued, and any time young men gathered together, she was an indispensable topic .

But when this was said, someone spit out all of the tea in their mouth and started to choke .

"Yunling, were you always this easy to startle?" everyone asked .

Ning Yunling beat his chest, then turned to look at Ning Yunzhao .

"I’m fine, I’m fine," he said . "I just thought of a joke in my hometown . "

The group of noble sons would naturally ask what the joke was, but Ning Yunling waved them away and didn’t speak of it .

"Yunzhao, what were you looking at? You stood there for a good half a day . " Attention turned back to Yunzhao .

Ning Yunzhao smiled, looking at the cherry blossoms outside .

"I wonder if the flowers in Yangcheng are blooming," he commented .

Flowers were nice, but that’s not something that would linger on the mind . Their noble faces turned up in surprise . The one worthy of thinking about is someone related to flowers .

"So Yunzhao was missing home," some teased .

"One rarely thinks about home . It should be he has someone in his thoughts," someone else teased .

Ning Yunzhao kept smiling, turning his head to look at the floor below . Suddenly, his expression stilled .

"What is it? Is there really a beauty passing by?" asked the other noble sons .

Ning Yunzhao was not smiling anymore . His eyes were fixed below .

"That’s Thousand Man Commander Lu," he said .

Thousand-Man Commander Lu?

There were many people surnamed "Lu", and also many who could fill the position of Thousand-Man Commander, but in the capital, there was only one person that Thousand-Man Commander Lu referred to .

The Jinyiwei Suppression Forces’ Thousand-Man Commander Lu Yunqi .

Although he was a man, in some aspects, he was just like Wu Xiaoxiao . He was a person of interest in conversations in the capital .

All the noble sons present couldn’t stop themselves from rushing up to the railing .

[1] Royal Academy: official school of music, dance, and theater in the Tang and Ming Dynasties