Follow-up

On the riverbank near Guiyan Forest, the Zhen family left people to search for suspicious individuals, and Lu Jiu took the opportunity to stay behind.

He recalled the face and eyes he had seen among the branches and leaves, and his heart was filled with anxiety. He guessed that she was hiding high in the tree, but after looking up in the forest for a long time, he did not see anyone.

When the Zhen family's boat returned, saying they had pulled the person who had fallen into the river out, he rushed over to see and immediately recognized him as a scholar from Wansong Academy.

He was skilled at painting and had a deep impression of the people he painted. He remembered the scholar who fell into the river as low-key and humble, but not very friendly and always kept his distance from other scholars.

Lu Jiu couldn't understand why Miss Lu would appear at the place where the scholar had his accident.

Fortunately, her face flashed by among the branches and leaves, and no one else saw it clearly. He had sharp eyes, but he was willing to keep her secret. When asked, he only said that he hadn't seen it clearly either.

Upon learning that the scholar named Song Baixuan was still alive and that the Zhen family had gone to fetch a good doctor, he figured he would be alright, so he made an excuse and rushed back to Wutong Lane.

As expected, no one was home at Miss Lu's house. He waited for a while at the alley entrance, and then saw the carriage from Prince Qing's mansion bring her back.

Seeing her get out of the car alone, still veiled, Lu Jiu stood rooted to the spot, the face he had seen in the forest flashing through his mind, and suddenly felt a little uncertain.

Seeing him staring at her, Lu Xi'er asked, "Young Master Lu, is there something you need?"

Lu Jiu glanced at the departing carriage of the Prince's mansion and smiled slightly, "I heard that Miss Lu has recently gained the Prince's favor and they often visit each other. It seems that this is indeed the case."

He sighed and said, “We artists are always bound to serve others. A few days ago, I was also asked by that Miss Zhen to paint according to her request and then teach her to paint. It took a lot of time, but it’s almost over. With Miss Lu’s musical skills, she probably won’t bore people. I’m afraid she’ll have an even harder time getting away than I do.”

Both of them make a living through their art, and when they talked about similar topics before, they shared many similar feelings.

But now, Lu Xier didn't want to talk about these things with him, saying, "That's true, but these kinds of things can also broaden one's horizons, and they're not all suffering, are they?"

Lu Jiu nodded blankly, and seeing her turn and leave, he didn't say anything more.

At this critical juncture, the fact that Prince Qing's carriage brought her back was clearly a deliberate attempt to help her conceal her whereabouts. Such assistance already demonstrated an unusual level of friendship, leaving him no room for objection.

He was lost in thought, unaware that Lu Xier had other things on her mind.

Lu Xier was invited to the Prince's residence and met Princess Duanjing. She was questioned and felt quite upset.

She herself said that she and the prince were in love, and even though she had offended the prince many times, the prince did not blame her and still allowed her to enter the manor, which is clear proof.

Lying like this was something she used to despise. But from that night on, there was no turning back.

She sighed inwardly, went back to her room to rest for a while, and heard a knock on the courtyard gate. She got up to open the gate.

When Aunt Man returned from outside and saw that she was unharmed, she was quite happy. "I knew it. The young prince is so easygoing, and the princess must be kind too. She wouldn't make things difficult for you."

Lu Xier welcomed her into the house, recounted the conversation at the Prince's mansion, and then asked, "Godmother, where have you been?"

Aunt Man smiled and said, "The people from the Prince's Mansion said they would only take you, which made me worried. I thought it would be better to make some preparations, so I went to find Du Jiniang at Kangping Tower. She has some dealings with that fake young lady from the Lu family, so I asked her to help us arrange a meeting. As long as we can see the person, we can find a way to control her."

“Manipulate?” Lu Xi’er’s expression darkened. “Godmother, we can’t always use such methods. If we use them too often, our hearts will be corrupted.”

Aunt Man said, "We didn't mean any harm; we just wanted to get back what was rightfully ours."

"We can't rush it. We can always find some legitimate methods."

As Lu Xier said this, she was not without anticipation for the meeting; she also wanted to get to know the fake lady.

*

When the Lu family's carriage left in the morning, Zhong Linlan sent Kunshan to secretly follow it, just in case. On the way back, the Lu family's carriage stopped halfway due to a pack of dogs running rampant on East Street. Kunshan took the opportunity to protect them, but was disturbed by the running dogs. He only saw the Lu family's young lady disappear into a narrow alley and her whereabouts became unknown.

He felt deeply ashamed and rushed back to tell his father that it was much later than expected. He had thought he would never find it, but his father had taken leave and searched around before calmly heading to Kangping Tower.

Inside Kangping Tower, after seeing off Aunt Man, Du Jiniang returned to her room to rest after working at the restaurant for a while. Just then, she saw someone emerge from behind the embroidered screen.

She was instantly wide awake. "Miss Lu, what are you doing here?"

Mu Qing gave a faint smile. "I would like to ask Lady Ji for a favor. Could you find me a carriage or sedan chair to take me back to the Lu residence?"

Seeing the injury on her face, Du Jiniang asked doubtfully, "If we send her back like this, won't they ask us questions? Should we think of a reason to give first?"

Mu Qing nodded. "Please trouble yourself, Aunt Ji, and help me find a reason."

Du Jiniang looked surprised, but remembering the benefits she had received, she suppressed her doubts and went out to ask the servants to prepare the carriage.

Before the car was ready, the owner of Yiyeju came to visit. Du Jiniang thought to herself that it was strange. Why would someone she never associated with want to see her?

Upon seeing the handsome Mr. Ye in the courtyard, Du Jiniang greeted him with her usual smile, but after a few pleasantries, he asked in a low voice, "Have you seen Miss Lu today?"

Du Jiniang was taken aback.

This immediately revealed the flaw in their plan.

Ye Yu said knowingly, "Is she with you? Let me see her."

Du Jiniang retorted in a low voice, "She's a young lady from a prominent family; you can't just see her whenever you want."

“She’s probably worried about going back to the Lu residence now.” Ye Yu smiled when she saw Du Jiniang’s strange expression. “Go tell her my name, and she will naturally see you.”

Seeing that Boss Ye's words were so convincing, Du Jiniang went back to her room to relay the message.

After a moment's thought, Mu Qing agreed and asked Du Jiniang to leave once the others entered.

Du Jiniang was quite annoyed. This room was originally where she rested. How could she let a strange man in and then have to leave to avoid him? But then she saw that Miss Lu, who was usually easy to talk to, had become unapproachable, as if she wanted to break up with him. This made Du Jiniang not dare to offend her, so she could only secretly comfort herself and consider it as returning the favor she had taken from her before.

Mu Qing didn't care what she thought. The thought that she knew he was an imposter but still fawned over him as the young lady of the Lu family and even took advantage of the situation made him feel better. Seeing A Yu, whom he originally didn't want to see, made him feel more at ease.

"Ayu, or should I call you Boss Ye? Please have a seat."

Ye Yu lifted his robe and sat down in the chair opposite her, chuckling, "Qingqing has become the young lady of the Lu family, and her words and actions are quite different from before."

Mu Qing said, "Aren't you the same? You used to be taciturn, but now you're very eloquent."

These words made Ye Yu's expression stiffen slightly. When she was in the village, in order to avoid attracting attention, she often disguised herself as a man and remained silent. Even when she was with Mu Qing day and night, she would avoid speaking as much as possible because of the resentment in her heart. When the two of them were together, Mu Qing would always be the one talking, and she would listen silently, only speaking a few words when necessary.

She wasn't like this by nature; she often felt like she was about to burst, but when she thought that Chief Mu was her enemy and looked at the dim-witted Miss Mu beside her, she would suppress her anger.

Now, when the past is brought up again, it's impossible not to recall that she once treated her true feelings with falsehood.

Ye Yu smiled helplessly, "I was young then and didn't understand that the things of the previous generation belong to the previous generation. As for our friendship of many years, we should cherish it. If you need anything, you can come to me and I will do my best to help you."

When her father was killed by Mu Kui, her favored mother also died. As the daughter of a concubine, she had no maternal grandfather and disliked being restrained. After the Zhang family fell, she wandered outside. On a snowy day, when she was about to freeze to death, she was picked up by Mu Qing and taken back to the mountain stronghold.

Mu Qing rarely had female companions of the same age, so she naturally became close friends with her sister.

Later, when Mu Qing wanted to kill Magistrate Jiang and ran to the Jiang family, A Yu covered for her. However, about ten other people from the village came to launch a night attack, and government soldiers were also lying in ambush nearby, causing chaos. Fortunately, A Yu saved her and brought her out, but after that, they went their separate ways.

Looking at the person in front of her, Mu Qing felt that both their demeanor and their words were incredibly reassuring.

She secretly reminded herself that they had grown up together, and when they separated five years ago, Ayu said they had a deep-seated hatred for each other. After many years, she changed her tune and said that the affairs of the previous generation belonged to the previous generation. Did she want to talk about feelings and loyalty? That musician had even stayed at Yiyeju for a while... She had been deceived far too many times.

Mu Qing considered carefully before saying, "I am very touched by what you have said. Is there anything else?"

Ye Yu paused for a moment, then said, "I just received news that the Zhen family rescued a scholar from the inner city moat. The scholar was injured by a sharp, thin object, and the injury was to a vital spot. This matter is unlikely to end well."

As she spoke, she looked up at the top of Mu Qing's hair, where several gold hairpins were neatly arranged. Not long ago, she had seen Mu Qing hurriedly washing one of the hairpins with her blood-stained hands in the attic.

Her eyes conveyed a very clear message, and Mu Qing easily understood her intention. Feeling both touched and frightened, he immediately stood up.

"Thank you for telling me. I have my own way of handling it. You don't need to worry about it."

Ye Yu sighed softly and didn't press the matter further.

As she was leaving, she watched Mu Qing and Du Jiniang board the donkey cart one after the other. Her gaze followed them into the distance, and she noticed that there were two more people by the dark courtyard gate.

The one in front is Zhong Linlan, who serves as an imperial censor. Seeing the donkey cart set off, he walked into the courtyard and called out to Boss Ye.

Ye Yu cursed her bad luck, but thinking of Mu Qing's situation, she also felt that more people meant more help, so she might as well drag one more person into the mess. Mu Qing had become estranged from her; despite being in big trouble, she refused to ask her for help. Perhaps it would be different with other people.