Chapter 50 is precisely yourself.
"I am Wuxin." Yan Wuxin straightened his sleeves and stood outside the door, asking, "Are you ready? Let's go find Ruzhen together."
Lu Jinlan glanced at the man beneath her. "I have to wait a bit. You go ahead."
The footsteps faded away again. Lu Jinlan said to the man, "I've already killed too many people today, I don't want to add you to the list. I'll let you go today, but don't come here to die again. Next time, I won't be so merciful."
As Lu Jinlan spoke, she pressed his acupoint and got up to change her clothes behind the screen.
The man was unmoved. "You'd better kill me now, or I'll come back. You killed my comrade, and I will avenge him."
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Jinlan frowned, ripped off the bath towel she was wearing, and slapped it at him.
The damp bath towel was quite heavy; it slammed down on the man's upper body, covering his entire face and neck.
The man lay there and groaned, then suddenly stopped talking.
Lu Jinlan said unhappily, "What does it have to do with me that your companion committed suicide? I admit you have some skill; I've never seen a man with your level of fighting ability. However, you are no match for me, so give up on that idea as soon as possible."
"I see you consider yourself a person of principle, and a person of principle should be able to distinguish right from wrong. I don't know why your master behind the scenes wants to kill me, and I'm sure you wouldn't tell me if I asked. But let me tell you, while I may not be a completely good person, I am certainly more upright than your master. Your acupoints will open up in a quarter of an hour. Go back and think about it carefully."
She had already changed her clothes, lifted a corner of her bath towel, and looked down at him.
"You didn't say a word, I thought you'd suffocated."
She smiled with her eyes lowered, stroking the man's moist, reddened eyes with her warm fingertips. "Your eyes are quite beautiful, what a pity."
She sighed, threw down her towel, and left.
What a pity? He frowned in confusion.
Fifteen minutes later, the man's vaginal opening opened on its own. He pulled open the bath towel and took a deep breath, feeling as if he had been dragged into the water by a water ghost and trapped there, struggling to breathe.
Her clothes, face towel, and hair were all soaked with the bath towel. A faint, refreshing fragrance lingered in the air—could this be the legendary scent of a woman?
He abruptly threw the towel aside, leaped over the window frame, and fled in a panic.
*
"Ah Qi, where did you go?"
An aged female voice came from behind, and the assassin froze. "Master, I...I'm going to assassinate Lu Jinlan."
"Did you succeed?"
Ah Qi lowered his head in frustration. "No."
The master sighed, "Although this person is young, her martial arts moves are shrouded in evil. Last time, even when you all ganged up on her, you were no match for her. How much more so this time when you are alone? Don't go again, lest you reveal your whereabouts and ruin the master's grand plan."
“But Master, Eleven grew up with us since he was little, he…”
"Shut up!" the master suddenly roared. "How many times have I told you? The most important thing for an assassin is to be cold-blooded and ruthless. Do whatever mission you're given. Don't overthink things. Putting your mind on useless personal grudges will only ruin you. Your master raised you all; your lives were given to you by your master. To die for your master is an honor. Eleven did a great job. You should learn from him, understand?"
Ah Qi pursed his lips, his clear black and white eyes darkened, and he replied in a low voice, "Disciple understands."
*
When Lu Jinlan met up with Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin, the two were discussing Yu Jifang, the governor of Beizhou.
Yan Wuxin: "This Lady Yu is a real old fox. His Highness scolded her for a long time, but not only did he not feel relieved, he also received a lot of rebuffs."
Lu Jinlan asked with a smile, "What did she say?"
"When His Highness questioned her about the presence of thieves in her jurisdiction, she said that she had no military power and was powerless to deal with it. When asked why she did not go out of the city to meet the imperial envoy when she knew he was coming, she said that her soldiers were all old, weak, sick and disabled, and that she was afraid that they would only cause trouble for us. When asked why she did not recruit new soldiers, she started to complain about being poor, saying that the finances were tight, the governor's office was penniless, and even her own nightgown was patched."
Yan Wuxin laughed as he said this, "Alas, this governor is well-versed in the ways of officialdom. She is neither greedy for merit nor for money, and when faced with problems, she simply shirks responsibility, yet she has still earned a reputation as an honest official."
Lu Jinlan frowned and said, "Isn't this just occupying a position without doing anything? Let's go, let's go meet her."
The three men found Yu Jifang in the back hall of the government office, where she was having dinner with her two husbands and three children.
Upon seeing them, the two husbands tactfully led the children to eat elsewhere.
Yu Jifang glanced at them and said with a smile, "Oh, the three special envoys have arrived just in time. Have you eaten? Someone, bring a few more bowls and chopsticks."
Lu Jinlan waved her hand, "No need to trouble yourself, we can't eat anymore."
Yu Jifang suppressed her smile, picked up a piece of chives with her chopsticks, and began to eat it while mixing it with rice.
The meal consisted of four dishes and a soup, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, which did not exceed her income level as a state governor. In fact, compared to most officials of her rank, it seemed rather meager.
The three sat down beside her. Yan Wuxin watched her eat heartily and teased, "Lord Yu has such a good attitude. If I were reprimanded by His Highness, I probably wouldn't be able to eat for three to five days."
Yu Jifang snorted, "People need food to survive. You can take being scolded, but you can't stand being hungry."
Lu Jinlan shook his head and leaned forward to ask, "The refugees from your Northern Prefecture have all fled to the capital. There are countless people from Northern Prefecture starving and unable to afford food outside. As their father and official, don't you feel even a little bit guilty?"
"What's there to feel guilty about?" Yu Jifang set off her chopsticks. "Did I make them become disaster victims? Heaven won't send rain, I've prayed and begged, but it's still a severe drought. What can I do? The imperial relief funds finally came through, and last year they were robbed just as they were about to be distributed. This year I thought of a solution too. I was afraid of being robbed again, so I figured things would get complicated if I waited too long. I distributed the relief funds as soon as they arrived, and guess what happened?"
Lu Jinlan hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"
"They were robbed outside the city gates and never even got there!" Yu Jifang said, taking another big bite of rice. "Tell me, is this my fault?"
Lu Jinlan said, "It's not your fault you were robbed, but why didn't you investigate further? You knew perfectly well who did it..."
Yu Jifang quickly interrupted Lu Jinlan, "No! Don't wrong me, I don't know! I don't know anything! Anyway, I've already reported the kidnapping to the court. Even the Emperor can't do anything about it, and you want me to investigate?"
Lu Jinlan glared at her, "Excuse my bluntness, but you are incompetent despite your high position!"
Yu Jifang laughed heartily, "Well said! Oh dear, today is the day I'm supposed to be scolded, everyone's giving me a piece of their mind. I say, do you really think this Governor of Beizhou is such a good position? Of the seventeen prefectures of Huaguo, the poorest, most dilapidated, and most difficult to govern are right under my feet. I have neither relatives by marriage nor family protection, do you think I'd get such a good job? Lord Lu, you're about to become General Song's son, aren't you?"
Lu Jinlan frowned and said, "Your information network is quite impressive."
“Officials who are not well-informed will suffer greatly. You have no idea how many times I’ve stumbled here. You just said I’m incompetent, and I admit I am. If I had a powerful mother-in-law with a large army, I would dare to lead my troops to rob back the disaster relief funds. But I don’t, so I deserve to be scolded here.”
Lu Jinlan said, "That's not the point. Even if you don't have any backing or connections, you should still give it your all. In this matter, you clearly didn't give it your all."
Yu Jifang's face turned cold, and she said angrily, "Why should I go all out? With a salary of two hundred taels of silver a year, why should I go all out?"
“When I was young, I worked so hard that I didn’t even care about my own family. I offended everyone and was assassinated seven or eight times a year. Did anyone praise me? The day after my ex-husband died, I was still handling state affairs as usual. Do you think I have no heart and don’t feel pain? I poured my heart and soul into my work, and what did I get in return? No matter what achievements I made, promotions every year had nothing to do with me. And you still think I didn’t work hard enough? Haha.”
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am almost forty years old. I have a husband and children to raise. I cannot bring my whole family to their deaths just because I want to be a great heroine. My three sisters, do you know how easy it is for someone who holds military power to kill a few people? It's as easy as crushing an ant."
Yu Jifang pointed to the side, "Leaving aside me, let's talk about Lingzhou next door. When the governor of Lingzhou sees General Song, she's as obedient as a little boy. Forget about taking it from her, even if General Song just asked her for it, would she dare say 'no'? Of course, General Song isn't that kind of unreasonable person. It's a pity I ran into the unreasonable one. Anyway, I've done all I can. I'm incompetent. As for the rest, those of you who are capable, please take care of it."
Seeing her attitude, Lu Jinlan and Yan Wuxin got up to leave.
After a long silence, Xiang Ruzhen suddenly spoke up: "Someone once said that an official should speak up for the people. If faced with a powerful enemy, he should not retreat or shrink back. He should not fear death, not complain about hardship, not care about gains or losses, and devote himself to the cause until his dying breath."
Yan Wuxin advised Xiang Ruzhen, "There's no need to talk to her about these things; she won't listen."
Sure enough, Yu Jifang sneered, "The person who said that is probably an idiot, or someone who talks without understanding the situation."
Xiang Ruzhen shook her head repeatedly, "But the person who said those words was yourself."
Yu Jifang froze, looking at her in disbelief.
Xiang Ruzhen: "Have you forgotten? This is your essay 'On Being an Official,' which you wrote for your graduation exam at the Royal Academy. It was very well written. The Dean included it in the collection of outstanding graduates and kept it in the library. The younger students are still reading and studying it to this day."
Yu Jifang's eyes reddened, and an uncontrollable awkward smile appeared on her face. "Those were all ignorant words written before I became an official."
Xiang Ruzhen said with emotion, "You were one of the most outstanding graduates of that Royal Academy class, and I have read many of your articles. I was born in Mianzhou, which is not far from here, and I heard of your great name when I was a child. You are a role model for students from poor families all over the world. Before I met you, I always thought that you must have your own difficulties. Even if they can't understand you, I can understand you."
"But I don't understand. Can you tell me why the person who said he would dedicate himself to the cause without regard for personal gain or loss has become like this?"
With red eyes, Xiang Ruzhen asked her, "Have you forgotten your original aspirations? When you wrote that article, did you think that becoming an official was only for promotion and wealth, or that you would just muddle through and become a corrupt official?"
Yu Jifang put down her chopsticks and awkwardly rubbed her hands on her knees. "You'll understand when you become an official."
"I don't want to understand!" Xiang Ruzhen said angrily. "If I become an official but become numb and indifferent to the suffering of the people, I would rather kill myself."
Xiang Ruzhen turned and left, and Yan Wuxin pulled Lu Jinlan along to catch up. Lu Jinlan turned around and saw Yu Jifang sitting there, leaving them with a forlorn and lonely figure.
As the three were leaving, they bumped into the steward of the government office. Lu Jinlan quickly grabbed her and asked, "How did Lord Yu's former husband die?"
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Author's note: This is the first update. The second update might be very late. I have to go out to run some errands. I'll write when I get back.
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