Chapter 218 World Nine (Fifteen)
Mr. Lu asked again about Zhang Qingping's situation, and Manager Zhao answered truthfully, "Madam hasn't left the courtyard yet. After these days of calm and collected, I'm sure she won't act rashly in the future."
Mr. Lu frowned and said nothing. He didn't think that Zhang Qingping would change her usual foolish behavior just because she was confined to the yard.
Master Lu only learned of Lu Yuanhui and Zhang Qingping's affair on their wedding day. His first wife had passed away years earlier, leaving him without a mistress. Hearing that the Zhang family had a well-mannered daughter, he arranged the marriage. Unexpectedly, on their wedding day, Zhang Qingping stared at Lu Yuanhui in public, her face filled with sorrow, as if she had been misplaced. This angered the usually gentle Master Lu. However, the marriage was already finalized, and Master Lu could not bring himself to return Zhang Qingping to the Zhang family. He could only keep her at home, neither touching her nor giving her any real power, treating her like a mere decoration.
Master Lu knew Lu Yuanhui's personality well. Although Lu Yuanhui wasn't close to him as a father, he would never do anything that would overstep his authority. Regardless of what happened before, there was no way he would have anything to do with Zhang Qingping, who had just entered the mansion.
Ever since Zhang Qingping stepped onto Mr. Lu's bridal sedan chair, the bond between her and Lu Yuanhui was completely severed, and there was no possibility of continuing.
But Mr. Lu didn't expect that when Lu Yuanhui mentioned Zhang Qingping again, it was actually for another woman.
Now that Zhang Qingping is Lu Yuanhui's stepmother, he naturally cannot punish her, so he can only hand over this power to Master Lu.
When facing his former lover, Lu Yuanhui could tell the truth without showing any emotion, which made Mr. Lu sigh "cruel".
Master Lu has always been unhappy with Lu Yuanhui's current job. The position of commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard seems glorious and frightening on the surface, but in reality it is a life-and-death job. No one in the court dared to take on this job, so it was given to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Lu Yuanhui was originally heartless, and after staying in the Northern Pacification Office for a long time, he lacked the affection that an ordinary person should have.
Mr. Lu has always been thinking that Lu Yuan should be allowed to return to be a leisurely civil official, where he can write poetry and do no harm.
But Lu Yuanhui had been disobedient since childhood, and Master Lu could not control him, so he could only let him continue to serve as a Jinyiwei.
When Zhenzhu came back, her cheeks were red and swollen. The old women had beaten her with a palm-sized wooden board. They said she didn't know how to speak, so they asked them to control her mouth.
When Baoshan saw Zhenzhu's miserable appearance, he frowned, opened the tea lid, picked up the cooked egg inside, peeled the eggshell, and handed it to Zhenzhu, asking her to roll it on her face to reduce the swelling.
Even when Zhenzhu was slapped by the vicious old women, she still gritted her teeth and persevered.
Because she knew very well that those old women loved it most when others begged for mercy, and the more they cried, the more severe the punishment would be.
But at this moment, when the hot cooked egg rolled onto her cheeks, Pearl's eyes suddenly turned red.
She knew that if Baoshan had not pleaded for her today, it was possible that Manager Zhao would have sold her out, so why did he just slap her a few times?
Bao Shan said softly, "In the future, you must listen to Manager Zhao's teachings and don't say anything just because you think you can."
Zhenzhu nodded obediently. She had been in the mansion for a long time, and because the Lu family had few masters, she often gathered with other maids to gossip. She had thought it was no big deal in the past, but now she felt a little scared.
Baoshan took out a bottle of medicinal oil and told Zhenzhu, "You don't need to hold the lamp today. Go to bed early."
Zhenzhu held the precious fan tightly and put it into the porcelain bottle in her hand. The fan was still stained with the fragrance of the precious fan, which was fresh and elegant, as if it could heal all the pain.
Zhenzhu felt warm in her heart and did not refuse Baoshan's kindness. She thanked him softly.
Baoshan was carrying a lamp and heading for the small Buddhist temple alone. On the way, she heard crying sounds and stopped for a while.
It turned out that Manager Zhao was in charge of dealing with servants. Those with bad hearts or bad words would be expelled from the mansion or punished with a cane.
The person lying on the bench, screaming in pain, looked like Zhiyi, the maid beside Zhang Qingping.
Baoshan doesn't have much sympathy for people who are not related to him.
She just put on a face of reluctance and left the place quietly.
When Zhiyi climbed up from the bench, her clothes were soaked with sweat. With the help of other maids, she could barely stand.
Master Lu suddenly attacked and disciplined the maids and servants in the mansion. Zhiyi was beaten with ten sticks because she did not stop Zhang Qingping from doing disrespectful things a few days ago.
Not only Zhiyi, but all the maids in the yard, except those with calm temperaments and a few taciturn ones, were punished to varying degrees.
The little maidservant beside Zhiyi whispered, “During the day, I thought Sister Zhenzhu had suffered a great hardship, and her cheeks were red and swollen from being beaten.
Now it seems that the one who received the lightest punishment among us was Sister Pearl."
Zhiyi felt more and more sad.
When Zhenzhu returned to Baoshan, the injuries on her face had healed and her temperament was much calmer than before, only occasionally showing her former liveliness and agility.
Seeing that Baoshan had run out of blessing paper for offering sacrifices, Zhenzhu prepared to go out to buy more. She asked Baoshan if he would like to go with her.
Bao Shan lowered her eyelids, thinking that she had been confined in the mansion all day and could only passively wait for Lu Yuan to come back and look for her. It would be better for her to go out and take a look, so she nodded in agreement.
Because she was still in mourning, Baoshan wore a plain dress and covered her face with gauze.
It wasn't that Baoshan was proud of her beauty, but the incident with Ma Sheng still frightened her, so she wanted to use a veil to block the prying eyes of others.
After the master and servant left the house, Baoshan first bought some lucky paper. Her slender figure inevitably attracted attention. But her mourning attire clearly indicated she had recently lost her husband. While others knew she was a widow, the thin veil obscured her features, preventing them from clearly seeing them.
But a pair of clear autumn eyes were revealed, and the movement of her eyes was enough to make people lose their minds.
Many people pretended to pass by the precious fan accidentally, or pretended to drop their folding fans, or deliberately spoke loudly, but none of them attracted the beauty's attention.
There was a commotion on the street, and someone called out "Jinyiwei" loudly, and the rest of the people all moved away.
Everyone watched as the beautiful woman, who had been indifferent just now, looked outside, lifted her skirt and walked towards the street.
Zhenzhu handed the silver and money to the shopkeeper and hurried after him.
As if they were chasing a wanted criminal, more than a dozen prisoners fled in all directions. Their clothes were of various styles and soon they were mixed with ordinary people, making it difficult to distinguish them.
The Jinyiweis dressed in scarlet flying fish uniforms followed closely behind, stepped over the roadside shelves, jumped into the air, and with their handsome and agile figures, they quickly caught a prisoner.
Baoshan's beautiful eyes turned slightly, searching for the figure in the vermilion color.
Even though he was of average height, Baoshan could still see Lu Yuanhui.
Lu Yuan looked back with a very cold expression, his thin lips slightly pursed, and he didn't say a word from beginning to end. His hands and feet were full of ruthless strength, which attracted attention.
From beginning to end, Lu Yuanhui's expression was indifferent.
Even if a captured prisoner tried to escape, he did not show any panic. He hit the man's waist and back with the scabbard of the Embroidered Spring Sword and captured him.
In just a short while, thirteen people were captured.
Lu Yuan turned around and left, and Bao Shan could only see his broad back and strong waist.
Zhenzhu didn't recognize Lu Yuanhui. She followed Baoshan's gaze and asked curiously, "Miss, what are you looking at?"
Baoshan said softly, "Yes, sir..."
Lu Yuan turned around and paused, looking towards the soft and gentle voice. He saw a slender figure, as delicate as a willow swaying in the wind, with a plain gauze covering her face, so he couldn't see her features clearly.
But just by seeing those watery eyes, Lu Yuanhui could be sure that it was the treasure fan.
Baoshan also looked back softly, and their eyes met. The surroundings were in a mess, with even a few dirty pools of blood.
But Baoshan standing in the crowd seemed different from everyone else, and her presence could be spotted at a glance.
Baoshan called out "Sir" in a soft voice, but her eyes were clear and pure, as if it was just a simple call without any other meaning.
But that soft call was like the clear and spiritual sound of Sanskrit, slowly sinking into Lu Yuanhui's heart.
Lu Yuanhui's eyes darkened, his calm face still stained with the lingering warmth of blood. Looking at the treasured fan, no one could tell from his face what he was thinking.
A gentle breeze blew, and the gauze on the fan, which was already loose, was lifted off in an instant, revealing a beautiful face.
Her eyebrows are like green willows, and her eyes are like autumn water. It is a very pure face, but it contains thousands of emotions.
Lu Yuanhui stretched out his hand and grasped the gauze that was blown by the wind.
Baoshan didn't like the vague prying of others, so he lowered his head and tried to escape from the crowd.
But the bustling crowd made it impossible for her to get out, and she fell to the ground because of the pushing from others.
Baoshan stretched out his arms, trying to protect himself, after all, the crowd was surging.
If you step on her and hurt her, she will definitely suffer.
But the expected stampede didn't occur. Everyone watched the Jinyiwei commander, his cheek stained with blood, slowly approaching a certain spot, and then they retreated to the sides, scattering like birds and beasts. Lu Yuanhui stopped in front of the treasured fan and looked down.
Bao Shan saw the long boots and seemed to sense something, so she timidly raised her head. When she saw that it was indeed Lu Yuanhui, she called out softly, "Sir, why are you here?"
Lu Yuanhui only held Baoshan's arm and lifted her up from the ground. He looked at Zhenzhu next to him and his gaze fell on the blessing paper in Baoshan's hand.
Zhenzhu held her breath. She had heard of the name of the Jinyiwei and also knew that the young master of the Lu family was the commander of the Jinyiwei, commanding many Jinyiwei and using ruthless methods.
But today, Zhenzhu first saw Lu Yuanhui as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He looked... even more ruthless than the young master in the mansion. Zhenzhu still remembered how Lu Yuanhui had just chopped off the legs of the man who had tried to escape. Such a bloody scene had terrified Zhenzhu. She stared at the Embroidered Spring Blade, as if Lu Yuanhui would pull it out in the next moment and kill someone with an expressionless face.
But Lu Yuanhui just said in a deep voice: "Official business. Things are not peaceful recently. Go back as soon as possible."
After saying that, Lu Yuanhui stuffed the gauze in his hand into the soft fingers of the treasure fan.
Baoshan did not leave immediately, but searched her body. Seeing that there was no handkerchief, she sighed softly and walked to Lu Yuanhui.
She stood on tiptoe, her nose almost touching Lu Yuanhui's face, and there was a gust of fragrance from her soft sleeves.
Although it is not too sweet, it is almost enough to drown you in it.
Lu Yuan looked back with a gloomy expression.
The tip of the treasure fan brushed across Lu Yuanhui's cheek, and when his skin touched the warm blood, his body couldn't help but tremble.
But Baoshan still patiently wiped the bloodstains from Lu Yuanhui's cheek.
Although it cannot be wiped clean, it is not as scary compared to the blood on the face.
Only after Lu Yuanhui left did Baoshan unfold the gauze in her hand.
Although it was intact, it was stained with the blood from Lu Yuanhui's palm and was definitely unusable.
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