Chapter 122 (This is a fragment of a longer text, possibly a title or heading. A direct translation isn't meaningful without context.)
When Zhang the guard smiled, Fu Yun felt a little embarrassed. She straightened her posture, sitting up straight, looking dignified, gentle, and refined.
Seeing his feigned seriousness, Zhilan chuckled inwardly, and her anger dissipated instantly, though she didn't show it in front of him.
Otherwise, he would probably think the matter was already resolved and stop taking it seriously.
So she lowered her voice, deliberately making it sound cold: "Su Zixin, you'd better not go back on your word, or I won't mind taking you back and keeping you as a pet."
Fu Yun felt a chill run down her spine. Without thinking, she immediately raised three fingers to show her support: "I will, I promise."
He glanced at Guard Zhang discreetly and saw that she was looking straight ahead and not paying attention to the commotion here. She seemed to be intimidated by Zhilan's cold glare, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhilan said no more and dismissed them, saying, "Since this illness is curable, you two may leave! The medicine can be delivered to Young Master Su's residence."
"Yes," the doctor replied respectfully, bowed, and left the room.
After bowing to Zhilan in a gesture of respect, Guard Zhang left the room.
After drinking two cups of tea and resting for a while, Fu Yun felt much better and then called Zhi Lan to leave the room where the military officers were resting.
Fu Yun originally planned to return to the training camp to help Cheng Jincheng and Lu Zhisheng, but Zhilan disagreed with him doing so.
She gestured for Fu Yun to look up at the sky; the sunlight was getting increasingly intense, indicating it was already midday.
After noon, the sun will only get stronger. Given his current physical condition, he should not be exposed to the sun for extended periods, otherwise he will be at risk of heatstroke. At that point, it won't be as simple as taking a few doses of medicine; rather, the illness will strike suddenly and he may be bedridden for a long time.
Fu Jun was also a little conflicted. He didn't think that the heat from the sun would pose any threat to him, but the sharp pain in his chest after running had lasted for a long time and hadn't gotten better, which was really annoying and forced him to accept reality.
Su Fuyun's physical condition is really too weak, which has repeatedly shattered his understanding that men should be born with strong physiques, leaving him with no confidence in the resilience of this body.
It's inevitable to worry that if someone gets heatstroke, they don't know how much time will be wasted, and all the planned things will be put on hold again.
Thinking of this, Fu Yun sighed inwardly and finally decided not to insist on going to the competition. Instead, she followed Zhi Lan's advice and chose to return to her newly moved-in residence to rest.
Well, health is the foundation of everything. Only with a healthy body can one focus on their career and achieve twice the results with half the effort.
There's no time to back down now; getting better is the top priority.
Zhilan returned to the new house with Fu Yun. As soon as the two sat down in the hall, Fu Yun saw more than twenty people gradually standing outside the door.
Fu Yun: "?"
He looked at Zhilan with a puzzled expression, the doubt in his eyes was self-evident.
Zhilan said, "These are the servants who are responsible for taking care of your daily life and managing this mansion for you."
Fu Jun was even more surprised: "I am a businessman, and this is just a private house. How can it be called a mansion?"
Zhilan raised her eyebrows slightly and gave Fu Jun a meaningful look: "Didn't you see the plaque above the door just now?"
Fu Yun was slightly taken aback and immediately felt embarrassed. On the way back, she was so engrossed in chatting with Zhi Lan that she didn't notice any changes on the lintel.
After all, when they moved in yesterday, there wasn't even time to put up a signboard above the door.
Fu Yun originally planned to find a carpenter to order one after the competition, but she didn't expect that Zhi Lan had already made arrangements in advance.
Seeing Fu Yun remain silent, Zhi Lan curled her lips and casually reminded him, "Have you forgotten that you are already my person? Your status is no longer that of an ordinary merchant, but that of the respected mistress of the harem. Although you do not live in the palace I bestowed upon you, in my eyes, you are already my appointed noble consort. What is wrong with granting you a mansion outside the capital?"
Fu Yun: "..." If I remember correctly, concubines in ancient times were not allowed to have their own independent residences, right?
The strong rule, and rules are made by people. As the ruler of a nation, who dares to gossip behind the Empress's back?
Fu Yun: "That's true. Anyone who wants to live a little longer wouldn't be foolish enough to come to the Empress and criticize her decision."
"What? You're not satisfied with my arrangements?" Zhilan's voice was noticeably colder.
Fu Yun immediately stopped communicating with Xiao Ba via telepathy and said with a dry laugh, "No, no, whatever makes you happy is fine with me."
Zhilan's cold expression softened slightly, and a faint smile curved her lips: "In that case, I will have them all come and recognize their masters."
She said coldly, "Come in, all of you."
As Zhilan finished speaking, about twenty people walked in in an orderly fashion, heads bowed.
They all bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Master."
Zhilan nodded and pointed to the middle-aged woman at the head of the group: "Her name is Wen Jing. She is the head steward of your household. From now on, you can entrust any matters to her for arrangement."
Fu Yun looked up at the middle-aged woman and inexplicably felt that her elegant and beautiful features looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere not long ago, but she couldn't remember where.
Zhilan didn't pay attention to Fu Yun's calmness at this moment and continued, "As for the people behind Wen Jing, they are the accountant, cook, guard, servant, stable boy, and so on."
"Of course, you are their master. It doesn't matter if they don't recognize all of them at first. There's no need to worry about it. As long as they recognize you and are loyal to you, that's enough."
Fu Yun: "..." So this is all arranged for him?
Actually, he wasn't used to being waited on at all. Even when he lived in such a big villa with his parents, they didn't hire a permanent housekeeper. They only hired hourly workers who would come to the villa occasionally to clean.
The reason they don't hire a permanent nanny is that, for them, home is a haven for their souls and a space for personal privacy.
The three of them shared a surprisingly consistent view: they preferred to be free and unrestrained at home, undisturbed by outsiders.
Thinking of this, Fu Yun felt a headache coming on. He wanted to say that he didn't need so many people to serve him, but he couldn't find a suitable reason to refuse Zhi Lan's kindness.
He wasn't ungrateful, and he knew perfectly well that Zhilan had her reasons for doing this.
Well, a matriarchal society is not a peaceful modern society. Just Mu Xin alone is a ticking time bomb, not to mention the increasing number of competitors in the future.
Zhilan turned to look at Fu Yun and asked gently, "Do you have any questions or other requests? You can raise them all at once."
Fu Yun shook her head, her feelings a mix of emotions. She felt a little uncomfortable with so many people coming and going at home, but she was also deeply moved by Zhi Lan's thoughtfulness.
Of course, he felt more apologetic than anything else. He said apologetically, "I'm really sorry that you put so much effort into this house."
Zhilan frowned, about to speak, but Fu Jun quickly added, "Just thanking you is obviously not sincere. How about this, when we're both not busy in a few days, I'll take you to a secret base. I guarantee you'll be interested. We can use it as a thank-you gift. What do you think?"
“Okay!” Zhilan agreed readily, her expression relaxed and her eyes smiling. “Then I’ll wait and see.”
She turned to the crowd and said, "You may all leave now!"
"Yes." Before leaving, everyone secretly glanced at Fu Yun several times out of the corner of their eyes.
After these people left the hall, Zhilan spoke again: "Someone come here."
The next moment, Fu Yun saw a somewhat familiar figure, who took small, quick steps to the door of the hall.
He bowed humbly and said, "This servant greets Your Majesty."
The high-pitched voice sounded somewhat familiar; I think I heard it not long ago.
After bowing, the man lowered his eyes and stood quietly by the door, holding a tray with a teapot and tea set in his hand.
Soon, five people followed behind this person, each carrying a tray with colorful pastries arranged on white jade porcelain plates.
It was obvious that these people were just waiting for Zhilan's order to come in and serve tea.
Fu Yun looked closely and realized that the person carrying the tray at the head was actually Xiao Jingzi. No wonder her figure and voice seemed familiar.
He was somewhat surprised: "Why did he leave the palace?"
Zhilan disagreed, saying, "He was originally a servant assigned to you by me. You are his master, so he naturally has to follow you wherever you are. From now on, he will take care of your daily life personally."
Fu Yun: "!" No way! Wasn't the previous batch enough? They need another personal attendant?
This would cost him half his life, wouldn't it? He didn't want someone nagging him every day, "Master, it's time for your meal; Master, it's time for your rest; Master, it's time for your return," and so on.
If he had a little megaphone next to him every day, wouldn't he go crazy?
Fu Yun began with difficulty, "That..."
Zhilan glanced at Fu Jun and asked, "Hmm?"
Fu Yun forced a smile and said, "I don't need a personal servant. Could you let Xiao Jingzi go back to the palace? Don't leave him here with me."
Zhilan's tone left no room for refusal: "No, he is your capable assistant in supervising your recovery. You can have any of the servants in your household pack their bags and leave whenever you don't want them, but he is the only one you can't have. He must stay."
Fu Yun's mouth moved faster than her reaction: "Fine!"
After agreeing, he almost slapped himself. What did he mean by agreeing? He had said he would give up everything for freedom, and this was the result?
He was speechless with himself. Where were his bottom line and principles? Had he swallowed them all?
Someone tell him why he can never speak with conviction when facing Zhilan.
Seeing that Fu Yun had compromised, Zhi Lan's eyes flashed with a sly smile. She glanced outside and said coldly, "Come in."
"Yes, sir." Xiao Jingzi quickly called to the people behind her to follow.
Once all the pastries were neatly arranged on the table, Kyoko stepped aside to wait.
Zhilan waved her hand, signaling them to leave.
Xiao Jingzi hurriedly said, "This servant takes his leave."
After saying that, he quickly led the other five people out cautiously.
After everyone had left, the two began to drink tea and chat.
When Fu Yun asked about the secret passage entrance, Zhi Lan didn't hide anything from him. She told him that Lingzhou City was quite large, and it wouldn't be easy to search the entire city. Even with a large number of people, they only managed to destroy about ten of their secret passages.
The search should not be too high-profile; it should only be conducted in private to avoid alerting the suspects.
Once they get wind of it and leave the inner city to hide in the outer city, it will be difficult for us to capture them all at once.
Fu Yun pondered for a moment and then spoke his mind: "How about this, we release the news directly to the public that the secret passage has been fully investigated, and that the prisoner, after being severely tortured, confessed to deliberately provoking conflict between the two countries and has now been secretly executed in death row."
"Furthermore, the imperial court has issued a secret order that anyone caught treasonous and seeking personal gain will be executed without exception, and their entire family will be exterminated."
"Most importantly, the more believable these rumors are, the better. Ideally, they should be so convincing that it's hard to tell the difference between them."
Zhilan frowned slightly, and after a moment of silence, she pondered, "What is the purpose of this action? Isn't this too risky? Won't all those who haven't been caught yet flee upon hearing this news?"
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