Chapter 52 Serving Lord Lu Well
"Wait a moment!"
Ah Qi held Thirteen's hand, "Don't do anything yet."
Thirteen looked puzzled. "Why?"
"Because...because Lu Jinlan is a cunning person, she may very well be faking it, be careful not to fall into her trap."
Thirteen thought for a moment, "Seventh Brother is still cautious. You're right. The two of us are no match for her. We can't take risks without being absolutely sure of our chances."
Ah Qi nodded. He planned to wait until Lu Jinlan got up to wash, then use the excuse of being afraid of being discovered to retreat with Thirteen. But after waiting for a while, Lu Jinlan remained motionless, seemingly asleep.
Thirteen's murderous intent resurfaced. "Seventh Brother, she's fast asleep. Let's make our move."
Ah Qi was conflicted. Before today, he had indeed hoped that Lu Jinlan would die.
But today, he watched with his own eyes as she argued for a disaster victim who had nothing to do with her, watched her work tirelessly under the scorching sun at the entrance of the government office, watched her not even have time to drink water or eat breakfast, just busy with official business.
His master had previously said that Lu Jinlan was a wicked person who would ruin his master's important plans. When he first saw her, he had no doubts.
Because she was so glamorous, rising to the rank of fourth-grade official at a young age, and dressed in fine clothes and luxurious attire, her arrogant and self-assured attitude made people resent her.
Ah Qi always regarded her as a villain. Seeing her superb martial arts skills, he maliciously speculated that she must have learned some evil and crooked methods!
He hated her ever-present condescending, victorious attitude, and he hated even more the frivolous attitude she showed towards him.
He imagined Lu Jinlan as arrogant and domineering, perhaps even a bully who preys on women and men, and committing all sorts of evil deeds. Apart from a little talent, he had nothing to offer.
But today, he discovered that Lu Jinlan was completely different from what he had imagined.
She would bend down to listen to the old people's cries, speaking gently and patiently. Ah Qi didn't know what it meant to "fiercely defy a thousand pointing fingers, yet humbly serve the people like an ox."
He watched as Lu Jinlan worked herself to the bone, her mouth dry, and how she persevered even while frowning and clutching her stomach.
He couldn't help but ask himself: Is she really a bad person? Could someone like that be a truly wicked person?
Lu Jinlan had told him last time to learn to distinguish right from wrong and to think things through carefully. He had only wanted to visit her tonight to learn more about her and not to wrongly kill an innocent person.
But with Thirteen following him, he found himself in a difficult situation.
"Seventh Brother, let's do it!"
Thirteen urged him again, and Ah Qi thought for a moment, "No, it's so quiet, there must be an ambush inside."
Thirteen got anxious. "Where's the ambush? Forget it, you don't need to go. I'll go myself."
"Don't!"
The two were pulling at each other in the tree when they heard footsteps and stopped.
The governor of Beizhou, Yu Jifang, and Xiang Ruzhen passed by, and their conversation could be heard clearly.
Yu Jifang, exhausted after a long day, rubbed her aching back and neck and laughed, "Looks like I'm really getting old; even doing paperwork is making my back ache."
Xiang Ruzhen said, "I have some secret-recipe plasters from Jiu'an Hall in the capital. I'll bring you a few over in a bit."
Just as she was about to leave, Yu Jifang suddenly called out to her, "Wait a minute! Lord Xiang, are you very disappointed in me?"
Xiang Ruzhen paused, "A little, but Jinlan said it's not your fault."
Yu Jifang smiled, "Then what's so strange about it?"
She said it was all because the wind at the border was too cold, which chilled her blood.
Yu Jifang paused for a moment, remained silent for a long time, swallowed the bitterness in his heart, and then said, "Forgive my poor eyesight, but I didn't realize that Lord Lu, who comes from a wealthy family, could understand the difficulties of us poor scholars. Alas, it is rare to see a high-ranking official as incompetent as me."
Xiang Ruzhen quickly said, "Please don't say that."
Yu Jifang smiled, "But today was different. Although my body ached, I felt particularly happy. Working with my junior sisters made me feel like I was back in the academy. It reminded me of my past self, and my blood boiled again. You don't need to come to the government office tomorrow. I'll go and coordinate with the other government offices to get everyone mobilized."
"Okay, I'll go back to my room now."
Seeing that the two were about to leave, Ah Qi deliberately broke a tree branch.
Xiang Ruzhen looked over sharply, "Who?"
The two quickly leaped onto the roof and fled back to their hiding place without pausing for a moment.
As a result, the master discovered it again.
Slap! Slap! A resounding slap to each of them.
"What did I say? Don't alert the enemy. The master's instructions have changed; do not assassinate Lu Jinlan yet."
Ah Qi was taken aback, then heard his master say, "The eldest princess is trying to frame the master. Lu Jinlan, who serves the eldest princess, is a womanizer. I will find a way to arrange for you to infiltrate her side so that we can monitor their every move. You must not contact her in private anymore, lest you give yourself away and be exposed by her."
Thirteen hurriedly replied, "Yes, Master."
“But…” Ah Qi hesitated, “Could there be a misunderstanding? Even if the eldest princess wants to harm the master, Lu Jinlan might not be. She doesn’t seem like someone who can’t distinguish right from wrong…”
*Slap!* Before he could finish speaking, Ah Qi received another heavy slap.
Another bright red handprint appeared on his cold, stern face. He gritted his teeth and remained silent.
The master angrily said, "Ignorant boy! What do you know? You can't even read many characters. Do you know what pretense is and what the truth is? Foolish man, remember my teachings and learn to be obedient. Otherwise, you'll be deceived without even realizing it."
Ah Qi lowered his head and offered no further explanation.
"You are punished to kneel until dawn and reflect on your mistakes."
The master left, and the two knelt on the cold bluestone floor, accompanied only by the biting night wind.
Thirteen couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Seventh Brother, why did you stop me today?"
Ah Qi looked around and whispered, "To be honest with you, I'm afraid you'll mistakenly kill an innocent person. It's just the two of us here, so tell me honestly, do you think Lu Jinlan is a bad person?"
Thirteen shook his head. "I don't know, but our master ordered us to kill her. Even if she's not a bad person, she's still someone who opposes our master, so she deserves to die."
Ah Qi frowned. "If one day, the emperor is the one who opposes our master, should we also kill the emperor?"
"Shh! Our master is a loyal subject, how could he possibly oppose the Emperor? Seventh Brother, you're overthinking it. Just like Master said, we've never been to school, we don't know anything. Distinguishing right from wrong is for scholars, we're just assassins who can't see the light of day. We just need to be good knives in our master's hands, and we have to kill whoever he tells us to kill. Don't ask so many questions. Otherwise, Master will beat you again."
Ah Qi lowered his eyes and remained silent.
*
These past two days, Yu Jifang seems to have suddenly recovered from a bout of illness, like a poultry that had been slacking off. She's no longer shirking her responsibilities or making excuses when things happen.
With Yu Jifang leading a group of officials from Beizhou to distribute disaster relief funds in an orderly manner, Lu Jinlan and the others could put their minds at ease and shift their focus to the matter of the two previous instances of lost disaster relief funds.
Zhao Zhiyu and the three others were gathered together, worrying about how to infiltrate the Ling family army to find clues, when Cheng Yuanqing, the military commander of Beizhou, sent an invitation, inviting the eldest princess, Xiang Ruzhen, and Yan Wuxin to a banquet at the Beizhou camp, where they could also watch the troops drill.
Lu Jinlan read the invitation carefully twice and wondered, "I have never met this Commander Cheng before, we've never even met. There shouldn't be any grudge between us. Why did she invite all of you but leave me out? What did I do to offend her?"
Yan Wuxin laughed and said, "That's hard to say. Maybe she just doesn't like you."
Zhao Zhiyu said, "The Song family army and the Ling family army check and balance each other, and their relationship is very delicate. You are the son of General Song, and the Song family army will definitely be under your command in the future. Cheng Yuanqing is a confidante of the Ling family. She is unwilling to have too much contact with you, perhaps because she is afraid that the Ling sisters will misunderstand, which is understandable."
Lu Jinlan thought it made sense, but then another invitation arrived from outside. It was from Ling Xia, the garrison commander of Beizhou, who was inviting Lu Jinlan to a banquet.
Ling Xia is the niece of the Ling sisters. Shouldn't she avoid any suspicion from the Song family army?
The four of them were confused by the two posts. What was going on?
Lu Jinlan said, "Forget it, don't think about it anymore. Let's go to our respective banquets and we'll find out what they're up to when we get there."
When Lu Jinlan arrived at the Beizhou garrison, Ling Xia had been waiting for him for a long time.
"Oh, my dear sister, I'm so glad to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you all over Beizhou, your name is truly legendary. I've been looking forward to meeting you for so long, and today my wish has finally come true. Come on, please take a seat."
Ling Xia looked to be in her late twenties, exuding the air of someone who had spent many years in officialdom. She was extremely enthusiastic when she pulled Lu Jinlan along, but Lu Jinlan suspected she was up to no good. However, she didn't expose her and exchanged a few pleasantries. Then she brought up Ling Xia's cousin, Ling Zhaoren, earnestly trying to establish a connection.
The two of them kept calling each other "older sister" and "younger sister," making it seem like they were actually related.
After a few drinks, Ling Xia said, "Actually, I was looking forward to your coming, not just because of your talent. To be honest, I've hated reading since I was a child. I don't understand poetry or literature at all. But there's one thing we can definitely talk about."
Lu Jinlan raised her eyes. "Please explain in detail, sister."
"Men!"
"Haha." Lu Jinlan chuckled dryly.
Ling Xia said, "You are a romantic and talented woman, and I, Ling Xia, also love romance. If we're talking about the capital, you can find any kind of man you want, and I can't help you with that. But if we're talking about the Northern Continent, I dare say that the most handsome man in the entire Northern Continent has to pass my eye first."
Lu Jinlan rubbed his hands together, sensing a hint of conspiracy.
She curled the corners of her lips into a smile, feigning interest. "Do you have a man here? May I take a look?"
These words were exactly what she wanted to hear. Ling Xia clapped her hands and said, "Call all the young masters over so that Lord Lu can take a look."
Soon, a dozen young masters walked in, standing in a row.
Lu Jinlan scrutinized the man for a moment and found a pair of familiar phoenix eyes. The man probably thought he was disguising himself well, so he took a tattered fan and pretended to be a refined gentleman.
She smiled and took a sip of wine, then feigned criticism, saying, "Excuse my bluntness, but it's really nothing special."
Ling Xia said awkwardly, "You can't compare Beizhou with the capital, but there are a few good ones. Pick one. You'll be staying in Beizhou for a while, and you can't be without a man to keep you company."
Lu Jinlan glanced at her, "Then you help me pick one, but I can make it clear beforehand that I don't want one that someone else has used."
Seeing that there was a chance, Ling Xia quickly said, "I understand! Don't worry, I prepared all of these especially for you, and they're all clean. Don't worry, little sister, I'll pick the prettiest one for you. Hey you, Aqi, come and serve me."
It turns out his name is Aqi.
Ah Qi sat next to Lu Jinlan, pouring her wine and serving her food.
During the meal, Ling Xia kept urging Lu Jinlan to drink until he was so drunk that he collapsed on the table.
Ling Xia quickly winked, "Aqi, Lord Lu is drunk. Take her back to the yamen, and then stay by Lord Lu's side and take good care of him."
Ah Qi nodded and carefully helped Lu Jinlan up, but suddenly heard Lu Jinlan say, "No!"
Ling Xia was taken aback and asked nervously, "Why?"
Lu Jinlan closed her eyes and muttered, "I have a male tiger in my family, and he's jealous. Besides, my mother-in-law lives in Lingzhou next door. If word gets out, she'll come and nag me again."
Ling Xia breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's what you were worried about. Don't worry, the people here are very discreet, it won't get out. You can enjoy it without worry, little sister."
Lu Jinlan chuckled drunkenly, "Then I'm relieved. Ah Qi, let's go back to our bridal chamber."
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Author's note: I didn't keep up with the time limit, and I didn't reach the word count. I just finished fixing the bugs. Ugh, I'm going to kneel down for a bit.
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