Chapter 85 Your Majesty, is Young Master Su pregnant...?
"Huh?" Fu Jun was a little confused: "Going on a long trip?"
Zhilan looked slightly surprised: "You didn't make any arrangements?"
Fu Jun frowned slightly, recalling Lu Zhisheng's reminder before he left the shop. Ye Lan told him to wait at the city gate early the next morning and also told him not to go alone.
"Is this what Ye Lan told you?"
Zhilan nodded in response: "That's right."
After a pause, seeing Fu Yun's expression as if she had just realized something, she asked again, "Could it be that she was wrong?"
Fu Yun did not give a direct answer, but gave an ambiguous reply: "Actually, it's not really a long trip. I'm just going to inspect the terrain in the mountains near the town. Su Mang and Su Zi were injured today and are being treated at the clinic. I need to make round trips every day these days, so I can't go too far."
Upon hearing this, Zhilan's eyes flashed with a deep chill. After a moment of silence, she said, "Ye Lan has already informed me of this matter. You handled it well. Even if they are servants of the Su family, they are still considered part of the Su family. Any evil deeds that seriously injure others must never be tolerated."
As Zhilan spoke, she looked steadily at Fu Jun and gently advised, "I know you are kind-hearted and don't want to hurt anyone. But as the young master of the Su family, you are being trampled on and humiliated by a few lowly servants. You should also reflect on whether you have been too lenient with them, which has made them so arrogant and conceited."
Fu Yun didn't speak. From Zhi Lan's perspective, she wasn't wrong.
Indeed, the original owner's timid nature led to the tragic experiences that followed.
If the original owner had stood up for himself when the first incident of humiliation occurred, how could those servants have dared to bully him so recklessly for so many years? It was precisely because he swallowed his anger and dared not resist that they became even more emboldened and fearless.
Seeing Fu Jun remain silent, Zhi Lan sighed inwardly and said earnestly, "Although you are young, you must understand that as the head of the household, you absolutely cannot do without some ruthless methods to intimidate those servants. You don't need to feel guilty about what happened today. They are just a few lowly servants, yet they dared to be arrogant and domineering in front of their master. You were already merciful by not killing these insolent slaves on the spot. Remember, whether it is an ordinary commoner or a master of high status, you cannot be too soft-hearted, otherwise you will only suffer losses and injuries. Moreover, you are now a merchant, so you must remember this even more."
Fu Yun nodded. Although it was the original owner of the body who was humiliated, not him, Zhi Lan meant well, so he obediently replied, "I understand. I will remember what you said and pay more attention in the future."
Zhilan breathed a sigh of relief and then instructed, "If you encounter any problems that are difficult to solve, you can ask Yelan for help. She will assist you."
【Ahhh! Mr. Fu, I can't hold back anymore! I want to ship them...】
Fu Yun sensed something was wrong and interrupted, "What? Are you acting crazy again?"
[Pah! You're the one who's crazy! Look, you were just saying the Empress doesn't treat you specially? She's been so earnest and worried about you being bullied, what more do you want?]
[In all her life, when has she ever cared about anyone this much? Going to all this trouble to remind you—as far as I know of this book, no one has ever received such special treatment. You should be grateful!]
Fu Yun's breath hitched. She knew there was some truth to what Xiao Ba said, but she still maintained her composure: "It's also possible that it stems from concern and care for a collaborator or friend. Think about it, in ancient times, when social status was clearly defined, how could Zhi Lan be interested in a lowly and unfavored illegitimate son? Besides, he's not from a powerful family; he's just the son of a fallen merchant. He won't be of any help to her in consolidating her power, especially since the court is still in a precarious state. A wise emperor like her wouldn't make such an unwise choice. The most important thing in life is to have self-awareness and not be too narcissistic."
But the Empress treats you differently! Doesn't that prove anything? Are you perhaps...?
Fu Yun immediately interrupted, "Stop, I feel like you can't say anything nice."
【You! I really don't know what to say to you. You're usually such a confident person, how come you falter in front of the Empress?】
Fu Yun was exasperated: "Alright, you should talk less and do more! Stop thinking about these trivial things all day."
Xiao Ba silently made a zipping motion on his little mouth, ceasing his guidance and reminders, worried that saying too much would seem ill-intentioned and easily backfire.
It's a shame that President Fu, despite his worldly wisdom, is emotionally clueless.
Fu Yun banished all distracting thoughts and did not respond to Zhi Lan's previous question. Instead, he changed the subject: "How is the investigation into the secret passage entrance going?"
Zhilan frowned slightly, seemingly having a headache: "So far, we have only found a few cellars, but we have not found the entrances to secret passages and chambers."
Fu Yun then asked, "Have you investigated all those unexpected places?"
Zhilan's expression turned serious, and she looked at Fu Jun with particular focus: "Do you know something?"
The hope in Zhilan's eyes made Fu Yun feel a little guilty. He shook his head, looking somewhat embarrassed: "No, it's just that based on my understanding of Su Tan, she should be a bold and careful person. You've probably heard that the most dangerous place is often the safest place."
Zhilan said, "You mean the entrance will be located in one of the most conspicuous yet most unexpected places in the Su family's residence?"
Fu Yun gently pressed her arms against the stone railing by the bridge, gazing at the golden, shimmering river surface under the afterglow of the setting sun, and answered with a resolute expression: "Yes, and it's a place we won't be paying attention to for a while."
Zhilan stood tall and graceful, facing the lake. Following Fu Jun's gaze, she looked at the river and fell into deep thought.
She unconsciously crossed her arms over her chest, then raised one forearm to rest against her chin, gently rubbing the skin with her thumb and forefinger, murmuring softly, "What exactly are these places that we haven't noticed?"
Fu Yun turned her gaze away from the river and faced Zhi Lan, comforting her, "Don't be too anxious. Sometimes it's like this; the more anxious you are, the less you can think of anything. Maybe one day you'll suddenly have a flash of inspiration and figure it out."
Zhilan was slightly taken aback, clearly not expecting Fu Yun to turn around so suddenly. She stared at Fu Yun for a moment, and then, as if she had just realized something, she immediately lowered her arms, straightened up for no apparent reason, and said in a serious tone, "What you said is absolutely right. Being too hasty is not conducive to thinking."
Fu Yun was charmed by Zhi Lan's unusual reaction, but she didn't tease her. Instead, she asked gently, "It's getting late. Have you had dinner yet?"
Zhilan recovered from her earlier embarrassment, her eyes slightly upturned, a pleased smile curving her lips: "What? You want to invite me to dinner?"
Fu Yun smiled slightly: "If you have the time, it's not impossible."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "But there's something I need to make clear beforehand. It's not that I'm stingy, but we haven't collected our revenue for today yet, so I can't treat you to a lavish meal at a fancy restaurant. I can only take you to a regular restaurant for a simple meal. Please don't mind."
Before Zhilan could respond, Fu Jun added, "Of course, if possible, I'll treat you to a big meal next time to make up for it, how about that?"
Looking at the dazzlingly smiling face before her, Zhilan readily agreed: "Sure! Anyway, the food in the palace gets a bit tiresome after a while, so why not change things up once in a while?"
Fu Yun smiled slightly, raised her right arm, and gestured for her to proceed: "Then, Your Majesty, please!"
Zhilan's breath hitched, a strange glint flashing in her eyes: "Your Majesty?"
"Oh." Fu Yun slapped his forehead and corrected, "No, it's Her Majesty the Empress."
The strange thing is that for a while, when my mother was watching short videos, she often heard the same lines repeatedly, such as "Your Majesty the Queen" or "Your Highness the Princess," "I am late."
And so, I was unwittingly brainwashed.
Fu Yun rubbed his forehead and explained, "It was a slip of the tongue, please forgive me."
Zhilan hadn't taken it to heart, and waved her hand, "It's alright, let's go! Take me to see the ordinary meal you mentioned."
The two smiled at each other, and then walked down the stone bridge together.
Neither of them noticed a figure slowly emerging from under a tree a hundred meters behind them.
She watched the two figures gradually disappear into the distance with a forlorn expression. After watching their backs vanish into the crowd, she remained silent for a long time before finally walking towards the stone bridge.
She stepped onto the stone bridge, standing where the two of them had stood, and gazed at the river in a daze.
"General, weren't you going to have a meal with Young Master Su? Why are you standing here alone admiring the scenery?"
Qian Qingling snapped out of her daze, withdrew her gaze, concealed the emotions in her eyes, and said expressionlessly, "He's busy, let's talk about it next time!"
Xing Fei sensed that the general was in low spirits, but didn't ask any further questions. She simply said, "How about we go to Qingming Pavilion together? It's almost time to change shifts. Let's go buy some tea to quench our thirst."
Qian Qingling pondered for a moment, then finally nodded: "Okay."
On the way to Qingming Pavilion, Xing Fei took the initiative to start a conversation: "General, have you noticed that Young Master Su's new friend, Young Master Cheng, has a personality somewhat similar to Young Master Su?"
Qian Qingling asked, "How do you know?"
Xing Fei: "Your style of doing things is very similar, didn't you notice?"
Qian Qingling shook her head and replied truthfully, "I didn't notice."
"Oh..." Xing Fei revealed a malicious smile and teased, "I understand. Your attention is all focused on Young Master Su, so how could you notice unimportant bystanders?"
In the past, when Xing Fei made teasing remarks, the general would definitely laugh and scold her a couple of times, but this time she was surprisingly silent and did not respond.
Xing Fei frowned slightly: "What's wrong? General, what happened?"
Qian Qingling: "It's nothing."
Xing Fei vaguely understood something, and his tone became more solemn: "General, did you express your feelings to Young Master Su, but he politely declined?"
Qian Qingling neither confirmed nor refuted, only asking, "What would you do if the person you like didn't like you back?"
Xing Fei immediately understood, knowing that he was almost right, and asked, "Does Young Master Su have someone he loves?"
Qian Qingling's eyes dimmed slightly, and she said in a low voice, "I don't know either, but when he was facing that person, he seemed to smile a lot, and they were all genuine smiles."
"This..." Xing Fei asked curiously, "Who is the person you're talking about?"
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