Chapter 35: A Secret Showdown with Lu and Li, Crawling in the Shadows

The clinic was packed with people, and the bitter smell of Chinese medicine masked other odors. Coughs and sounds of pain could be heard from inside the rooms from time to time. As Qin Song walked to the door, his heart clenched involuntarily.

The head physician of the clinic was brought from the capital by Qin Daoji. He was a renowned medical expert in the capital, but he was still frowning in the face of this serious illness. He was so busy every day that he could not keep track of who came in and out of the clinic.

He only arranged for two people to stand at the door to distribute face towels and instruct them to cover their mouths and noses before burying himself in researching and testing drugs.

It just so happened that Lu Youchuan was wearing a face mask, which was quite conspicuous. In the clinic, everyone covered their noses with cloths, so they were less noticeable.

Since the Master was, after all, a distinguished guest of Qin Daoji, the clinic had set aside a small, secluded space for him in a corner.

"Master Shen's condition has stabilized somewhat, but he still has recurring fevers. If he can get through another three days safely, he should be able to pull through." The young messenger who gave Qin Song directions described Master Shen's condition.

Qin Song nodded his thanks and stepped inside. The white-haired old man was struggling to get up to sit for a while, but after being bedridden for many days, he was very weak and even turning over was difficult. It took him a long time to finally prop himself up.

Upon seeing this, Qin Song rushed in to help him up without even knocking. Lu Youchuan also slipped to his other side, and the two of them helped him sit up, one on each side.

Qin Song asked with pity, "Master, are you feeling better?"

Master Shen sat up straight on the bed, patted his chest to calm himself down, and glanced at Qin Song and the other man. His old, cloudy eyes showed no joy, but rather some anger. He sighed, "You shouldn't have come. You shouldn't have come."

Qin Song hurriedly replied, "Master, you are ill, and I am already ashamed that I cannot take care of you. How could I not have come?"

Immediately afterwards, another young voice rang out, "Teacher, you've suffered so much."

Qin Song immediately widened his eyes and turned to look at Lu Youchuan, "You... are you also a student of the Master?"

Lu Youchuan calmly pulled off his mask and looked Qin Song in the eye honestly. Before he could speak, Master Shen said, "Xun Zheng, Yunzhou is not a place for you. You are a second-rank official in charge of supervision. You should be upright and set an example for all officials. Your maternal grandfather sacrificed himself to help you climb to this position. Do you still remember the 'Dao' you promised him to uphold?"

Xunzheng is Lu Youchuan's courtesy name. However, unlike other dynasties, courtesy names are rarely used in this dynasty. They are only solemnly called out when teachers or superiors give special instruction.

Lu Youchuan firmly stated, "We must set things right and remain true to our principles for the people."

"Then what about your true feelings? Are romantic love important?" Master Shen asked, glancing silently at Qin Song.

Qin Song inexplicably recalled the scene from last night, and without remorse, he thought to himself: It is indeed very important.

Lu Youchuan's lips were drawn into a straight line, and he didn't respond.

Master Shen's expression grew even more solemn: "What I promised you, I will naturally do..."

It was probably due to qi and blood attacking his heart. As Master Shen spoke, he suddenly coughed. Qin Song and the other man quickly supported him and patted his back to help him catch his breath.

After finally calming down, Lu Youchuan handed a cup of water to Master Shen: "Teacher, don't worry. Xun Zheng knows what he is doing. Yunzhou is currently shrouded in mystery, and the court and the country in the capital are in turmoil. But upon closer inspection, the situation in Yunzhou is inextricably linked to the capital. Perhaps the chaos in Yunzhou is the key to clearing up the situation in the capital. I will inspect for two days at most and then return to the capital."

Getting to the point, Master Shen's emotions had calmed down considerably. "How is the capital city now?"

"Lady Lei is about to give birth. To ensure a safe delivery, His Majesty pardoned the Lei family and assigned Lei Heyang the position of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. In addition, after the Crown Prince was accused of being the mastermind behind the treason case, the Gong family only had one charge left: embezzlement and bribery. His Majesty dismissed it with a casual remark, and the Gong family's power has already made a comeback."

Upon hearing this, Master Shen tightened his grip on the water cup, saying, "The Emperor's heart is treacherous; the Great Yu is in grave danger."

Qin Song stood aside, full of doubts, but couldn't find a way to ask. Just then, the noise from the clinic grew louder, and the young doctor and the servants who helped take care of the patients hurriedly ran around.

Qin Song glanced towards the gate and immediately saw Qin Daoji being helped closer. "My father?"

She exclaimed in surprise, then turned to face the teacher, "Teacher, please rest well. I'll go outside and take a look."

After she finished speaking, she went out and left, and Lu Youchuan followed her out.

Upon arriving at the clinic, they discovered that the entire alley was packed with wounded soldiers from the grain transport team and the city defense forces, leaving no place to even step.

However, the injuries suffered by the grain transport team were not serious, and the medical center immediately proposed to open a new place for isolation and resettlement.

Before Qin Daoji and his daughter could exchange more than a few words, they were already directing their group to the inn that Prefect Xue had requisitioned.

Although Qin Daoji had injured his leg, he was clear-headed, organized efficiently, and acted decisively. Qin Song couldn't get involved at all, and she could only watch anxiously from the street.

The cold wind was biting, and Qin Song felt that Yunzhou City was really cold, and all sorts of matters were causing him a lot of headaches.

"Miss Qin." Qin Song was feeling melancholy when someone called her from afar.

Turning her head, she saw a handsome young man coming from the end of the long street. He hadn't had time to change his dirty robes, but the smile he gave her was as bright as the moon, which suddenly brought a bit of life to the desolate street.

She was pleased to see him, but the young man standing behind her like a shadow was extremely displeased, his desire to eliminate the newcomer was obvious.

Lu Youchuan coughed deliberately, and Qin Song immediately turned around.

This subtle reaction made him inexplicably curl his lips into a smile, but it was hidden by a black cloth, so his smile could not be seen.

However, Qin Song pulled a mask out of his sleeve and, without saying a word, put it on his face, saying, "Put it on."

Lu Youchuan unconsciously shrank back, his resistance evident. "Where did you come from?"

The dog-head mask is... unique.

Qin Song smiled and continued putting the mask on his face. "A little girl at the clinic didn't want it. Don't be disgusted. Li Yu knows you. You can't wear a black mask all the time, can you? It's too weird. Just like Tao Qingyang, it wouldn't be strange to wear a mask."

Lu Youchuan felt as if he had been pricked by something. Li Yu, Tao Qingyang, what annoying names!

He grasped her wrist. "Lord Qin knows me too. Why didn't you let me wear it when I saw Lord Qin earlier?"

Qin Song was stumped by her question. She had been so focused on her father that she hadn't thought about him at all. It was only because he coughed that she remembered the person behind her.

But there was no time to explain now, so she forcefully put it on him, saying, "I'll explain later."

The aloof and arrogant Lord Lu, wearing a dog-head mask, looked increasingly comical to Qin Song, who couldn't help but laugh.

Lu Youchuan also felt awkward, but since he couldn't see his own face, he could only see Qin Song's smiling eyes through the gaps in the mask. Soon, he was less resistant to the "unique" mask.

"Miss Qin, are you alright?" Li Yu finally came to her side, his gaze fixed intently on her.

His thin earlobes were slightly frostbitten, with a bluish-black tinge. There was a scratch at the end of his eyebrow, and the blood that had seeped out had dried into a scab. But compared to the other injured people waiting for treatment, it was nothing.

"I'm fine," Qin Song replied with a smile, and was about to ask them about their journey transporting grain.

Before he could speak, his gaze shifted to the "dog-headed man" behind Qin Song, his eyes filled with displeasure. "And who is this?"

Qin Song lied through his teeth, "The secret guards that Prefect Xue arranged for me are very useful."

Especially on the tatami mat.

Her mind was so polluted by color that she could easily drift into thinking about that kind of thing. Thinking about it, she smiled again.

Li Yu's mood darkened further at her smile, and he deliberately squeezed between the two of them. "Since you are a bodyguard, you should hide in the shadows. To follow your master openly is to overstep your bounds and deserve severe punishment."

...That's a mistake. There are many types of guards. Personal guards seem more reasonable!

Qin Song was silently struggling with how to explain, but Lu Youchuan spoke first.

He deliberately drew his sword and crossed his arms, letting out a cold sneer, "A guard should always be by his side. Anyone who dares to approach his master without permission may be killed with a drawn sword."

Li Yu paused upon hearing the sound, as if she had discovered something.

Qin Song remembered what the teacher had said earlier: Lu Youchuan's whereabouts should not be exposed. She quickly changed the subject, "By the way, I went to the clinic, but I didn't find Jiang Yue. I wonder how she is."

Qin Song was indeed thinking about Jiang Yue. He had planned to visit her after visiting the Master, but he saw her father first, so he put the matter aside.

Li Yu stopped paying attention to Lu Youchuan and turned to Qin Song: "She has woken up, and Chen Xing took her back to the yamen."

"That's great, let's head back first." Qin Song's eyes lit up, and after saying that, he turned around and walked back, with the two behind him following.

Back at the yamen, Lu Youchuan followed closely behind, with Li Yu clinging to him like two cuddly pets.

Upon arriving at her residence in the west wing, she deliberately stopped and looked back at the two people behind her.

As usual, when Li Yu approached her bedroom door, he appeared calm and composed, but his hesitant and uneasy demeanor could not fool her.

But today was different. He was constantly on guard against Lu Youchuan, and followed her all the way to the door of her residence.

Qin Song stepped into the room and deliberately asked, "Shall I come in?"

She doesn't mind; it just depends on whether they dare to do it.

Li Yu seemed to realize where she was just then. Her eyelashes trembled uncontrollably. She suppressed her unease and deliberately looked at Lu Youchuan, as if asking him to know his place.

Lu Youchuan was wearing a dog-head mask, which was obviously comical, but his movements and posture were cold and arrogant, making him look completely out of place.

He didn't even glance at Li Yu, quietly turning his back to the house, truly like a guard protecting his master at the door.

Li Yu began to feel irritated, wishing he could be the bodyguard so that she could at least openly and closely follow Qin Song, even if it meant having him squat outside her room and sleep all night.

Just as he was feeling annoyed, Chen Xing's voice came from behind him, "Young Master, Miss, you're finally back."

Li Yu suddenly stopped being annoyed, because he now had a reason to stay.

His two maids lived in the outer room of Qin Song, and Jiang Yue's illness came at just the right time, giving him the opportunity to enter and leave Qin Song's territory.

"Is Jiangyue feeling better?" Li Yu suppressed his excitement and asked in a cool and indifferent tone.

Shen Xing was touched, thinking to herself that the young master was a good person. Not only did he offer to send the two unknown girls on a business trip, but he also cared about their well-being.

Shen Xing said excitedly, "Thank you for your concern, young master. I'm much calmer now, but I don't seem to have much energy."

"Want to come in and have a look?" Qin Song raised his hand to hold the door frame, half teasing and half genuinely inviting him in.

Li Yu, having finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel, feigned politeness and said, "I apologize for the intrusion."

The seemingly calm guards are different.

Lu Youchuan, who remained calm and collected throughout and believed he had the upper hand, gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and glanced coldly at his opponent. If he were truly a guard, and if there were any unauthorized men who approached his master, the other man would probably already be dead on the spot.

Of course, he actually deserved to die more.

Unfortunately, the mask obscured his presence, rendering his intimidation ineffective. Li Yu met his gaze calmly and stepped into the house.

A cold, desolate breeze swept through the room, making Lu Youchuan feel increasingly uneasy, and his fingers unconsciously pushed away the hilt of the knife.

His gaze swept towards the doorway, where a pretty little face leaned out, resting on the doorframe. Taking advantage of the moment when Li Yu and his servant walked into the house, she smiled and pushed off his mask, kissing him on the cheek.

Like a spring breeze melting the ice, Lu Youchuan loosened his grip, and the blade, which had been protruding a few inches, suddenly fell back into its sheath...

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Author's Note: Oops, I fixed yesterday's typos, and it locked my account [laughing and crying emoji]

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Having just eaten meat with Lu, I naturally have to be a little more indulgent. There were originally two more plot points in this chapter, but I can't finish writing them all. See you tomorrow, love you all~