Chapter 37: Is an orphan girl worth my rushing to meet her?

Song Lingyi lowered her head and looked at the green dress she was wearing.

This was a new dress that she had bought with five taels of silver in order to save face, but compared to the Duke of Jin's Mansion, her little thought was obviously not enough.

"Lingyi, these three are the maids who served your mother. I will transfer them to Zhilan Garden to serve you. If you have any needs, just tell them and don't be formal with your aunt." Wang said in a gentle voice.

Song Lingyi smiled and agreed, "Thank you, aunt."

…

forecourt.

A person was kneeling under the corridor where light and shadow were dappled.

Qingyue walked up to him gracefully, raised her chin slightly, and said in a cold voice: "Do it yourself."

The man looked up and saw that it was the young servant who had argued with Song Lingyi at the gate. With a mournful face, he pleaded, "Sister Qingyue, I'm so wronged. I didn't even know she was my cousin. If I had known, I wouldn't have..."

Qingyue frowned: "You should be thankful that your cousin didn't pursue the matter, and that the matter didn't come to the attention of the Duke, otherwise you wouldn't be able to keep this skin!"

"Fifty slaps on the face. It's a great favor for you to come on your own."

Over the past few months, the Duke's Mansion had put so much effort into finding the cousin that even the servants themselves had seen it. If the Duke and the old lady knew that a servant had bullied the cousin, they would be severely punished.

The servant slowly raised his hand and slapped him hard in the face.

For a moment, the entire corridor was filled with the sound of crisp slaps. By the end of the beating, the servant's cheeks were red, swollen, and the skin was broken, and blood was oozing from the corners of his mouth. He looked extremely miserable.

…

Jinzun Tower.

The elegant room on the second floor is filled with curling tea mist and a warm and fragrant aroma.

Behind an eight-foot-high glazed landscape screen, a handsome young man in brocade clothes and a jade crown lies on a soft couch, dozing with his eyes closed, his posture lazy and unrestrained.

Knock knock knock——

There was a knock on the door of the elegant room, and a middle-aged man in a green official robe walked in with a nod and saluted respectfully.

"I have met the young master."

The young man's eyelids twitched slightly, but he didn't open his eyes. He just said lazily, "Have you found the person?"

"My lord, we have searched the entire city but still cannot find the whereabouts of the girl in the portrait. Perhaps she has not entered the city." The official in green robe answered cautiously.

Lu Qian opened his eyes, his lips tightened, his eyes were as dark and cold as usual, "You dare to come to see me when you haven't found the person?"

“…”

The official in green robes nodded and lowered his brows, so nervous that sweat broke out on his back.

The room was silent and the air pressure was getting lower and lower.

Just at this moment, the door was knocked again, and the person who came in was the servant who had served Lu Qian for many years and was also the young man who drove the carriage this morning.

Ah Zhu looked panicked, and kept shouting, "Young Master, there's big news! Big news!"

The young man on the couch tutted, his tone impatient: "Why are you making so much noise? Can't you see the official from Jingzhao Prefecture is here? Can't you be more calm?"

The official in green robes who was called out shuddered, his entire body numb. Even if the noise broke out, he wouldn't dare say anything.

Perhaps it was because what he was about to say was too important that Ah Zhu ignored the boy's scolding. He took a deep breath and continued to shout, "Young Master, it's my cousin. We've found my cousin!"

Before he finished speaking, Lu Qian suddenly sat up, his brows furrowed tightly, "What did you say?"

"Who found it? Could it be that dead-faced Pei Zhao?"

Hearing Lu Qian calling Pei Jia Erlang by his name and calling him a "dead fish face", the green-robed official was shocked and stunned.

Born into a prominent Wuyi family, Pei's son, a gifted scholar, entered the Wenlushan Academy at the age of eight and was already debating on behalf of his teacher at the age of fifteen. He was a renowned talent in Kyoto, a stark contrast to the dandy young master.

Ah Zhu shook his head: "No, the person came to the door on his own. Why don't you go back to the mansion to take a look?"

Since it involved family matters, it was not appropriate to discuss them in front of outsiders. Lu Qian raised his hand to signal the official in green robe to leave, and then stood up and sat in front of the chessboard.

"Why would I go back? Is an orphan girl worth my while to meet her?"

He had heard about his aunt's story a long time ago. It was ridiculous that she had offended her grandfather, upset her grandmother, and even severed ties with her family for a poor scholar.

I thought that scholar was capable, but after working in Huaizhou City for so many years, he was just a captain. Compared with the Pei family, he was not even worth mentioning.

Besides, my aunt and her family had been in Huaizhou City for so many years and had never returned to Kyoto to visit me once. Once they fell into poverty, they wanted to go to Kyoto for refuge.

He had no control over whether his father and second uncle wanted to use their connections and go to Huaizhou City to pick someone up, but the orphan girl came to him with a clear conscience to seek refuge with her relatives, which was not worth his respect.

"But the old lady has always been thinking about my cousin and she values ​​her very much."

"Have you forgotten that it was the Duke who allowed you to leave the palace, and it was you who personally issued a military order to find your cousin?"

"They've come to me on their own. If you don't go back, the Duke won't be able to say anything."

Azhu chattered in Lu Qian's ear like an old woman. He scratched his ears and said casually, "So what?"

"They don't know I'm in Jinzun Tower, so it won't matter if I go back tomorrow. Besides, there's a palace banquet tonight. If I go back early, the old man will definitely take me to the palace for the banquet. I don't want to go back."

"But... that's His Majesty's birthday banquet." Azhu was surprised.

My young master is becoming more and more daring, and he even dares to miss His Majesty's birthday party.

Lu Qian picked up a jade chess piece and played with it. "Your Majesty has been ill for a long time. He didn't attend the morning court, but wanted to hold a birthday banquet." The Second Prince probably had something bad to say, so he wouldn't go.

He kept the second half of the sentence in his heart and did not say it out loud.

"In short, everything is not suitable today. It is safest to stay in Jinzun Tower." He said.

Azhu was at a loss. As a servant, he couldn't interfere too much with his master's family.

"I'll go urge the Jingzhao Prefecture later. How can they speak up for the people if they can't even catch a little girl? I've been reporting the case for ages, but I haven't even seen a single person. What a bunch of good-for-nothings!"

“…”Azhu.

That's called reporting a crime. Are you sure it's not intimidation?

If the Duke knew that the young master had launched a city-wide search in Jingzhao Prefecture just to find a little girl, he would definitely be furious.

But Lu Qian didn't care. He was determined to repay the humiliation he suffered this morning double.

That girl's eyes are so beautiful. If I dig them out, she'll probably cry miserably...

clatter--

He placed a piece on the chessboard, his eyes dark and bright, with a hint of sarcasm.

"By the way, has Pei Zhao returned to Beijing?"

Azhu said, "Pei Erlang returned to Beijing this morning."

I don’t know what the grudge is between my young master and Pei Erlang, but they have been at odds since they were young.

The Lu and Pei families were close friends, and by their generation, their relationship was just fine on the surface. They'd fought each other in private, but it was always one-sided on the part of the young master. Fortunately, Pei Erlang was a generous person and would never criticize the young master in front of his elders.

Lu Qian snorted coldly, tapping his fingers on the chessboard, and teased, "He keeps saying he wants to find my niece for me, but he's been wandering around Xuancheng for so long, and I haven't seen him bring her back. He's really shooting himself in the foot by trying to stand up to me."