Chapter 23: Xiashan Jiang was wrong, it was a life-saving grace
"That's right..." Lu Tingwan asked shamelessly, "I just wonder if Lord Han could put in a few good words for Zhichunli with Cheng Pushe."
"Mrs. Cheng is as beautiful as a flower, and Cheng Pushe is a womanizer. Giving flowers to a beautiful woman will surely be a good story in Kyoto." Lu Tingwan imagined that Cheng Xianzhi could make the beauty smile and bring her happiness, so that she could be relieved of her current worries.
Cheng Xianzhi's eyebrows twitched slightly. He had been rather cold towards Gongsun Xue recently. What Lu Tingwan said was a solution. If he was going to give it as a gift, he had to make it known to everyone.
"Why should I speak well of Shopkeeper Jiang in front of Cheng Pushe?" Cheng Xianzhi raised his eyebrows. "Have you completed the task I asked Shopkeeper Jiang to do?"
Lu Tingwan's mouth stiffened. "Master Han, there's no need to be so ruthless. After all, we are friends who have shared life and death."
"Shopkeeper Jiang was wrong," Cheng Xianzhi looked up at Biluo, "It was a life-saving favor."
Then he lowered his gaze, his fingertips changing direction, "I saved you."
Lu Tingwan sneered inwardly and said, "Tsk."
As the sun rose higher, the thick fog in the mountains dissipated. He set out, grabbed his sword, and counted the hours. "The fog has cleared, time to descend the mountain."
Lu Tingwan looked up, the scorching summer sun piercing her eyes. She squinted to avoid it, and when she opened her eyes, she saw an extremely handsome face close to her.
He secretly sighed that this man was actually whiter than a woman, just like ice jade in a pool on a summer night. The outline was not sharp, but it just concealed the hostility in his eyebrows and eyes. It was hard to imagine that such a face belonged to a military commander who had struggled in the mire.
In just a moment, the silhouette had walked out of the distance, the tall figure moved away, and Lu Tingwan took a step to catch up.
Following the path they took up the mountain last night, just as they reached the foot of the mountain, they saw a team of black-armored soldiers lined up at the foot of the mountain. Lu Tingwan subconsciously hid behind Cheng Xianzhi.
"Master Han, how much hatred do these people have against you that they have been guarding you all night?"
Through the lingering fog, Cheng Xianzhi blocked her view and she could only vaguely make out that those people were dressed in black. She thought that the assassin from last night had come here just to lie in wait, waiting for the two of them to fall into his trap.
Cheng Xianzhi walked slowly and said, "These are the imperial guards. Manager Jiang was too frightened last night, so his eyesight is not working well?"
"Imperial Guards?" Lu Tingwan rubbed his eyes a few times, gradually becoming clearer. "How did the Imperial Guards know we were here?"
Cheng Xianzhi didn't answer. If the imperial guards didn't have some skills, Cheng Xianzhi wouldn't hold on to it.
The leader was the genuine Han Jinzhang. He clasped his fists and knelt on one knee, "I greet the General..."
Cheng Xianzhi raised his hand to grab the token on his waist, and Han Jinzhang immediately changed his words, "Sir, I am late."
Not far away, Lu Tingwan watched secretly but didn't dare to go forward. She was afraid that Cheng Xianzhi was also among them. She had never seen this person before. Then she thought, how could a man of his status come from afar just for the safety of his subordinates.
Mounting his horse, Cheng Xianzhi accepted the whip from Han Jinzhang and raised it to the men standing on the hillside. "Manager Jiang, I have something important to attend to, so I won't be returning to the city with you. I'll send someone to escort you back."
Lu Tingwan bowed silently, his horse's hooves kicked up dust and disappeared into the morning mist.
The remaining imperial guards escorted Lu Tingwan back to the city. Customers came to Zhichunli as usual. Since Lu Tingwan was not there, Feng Xin was in charge of the shop.
Luo Yunchu came to Zhichunli to look for her last night, and learned that she had not returned all night. He was worried and went to the farm, but she had not returned for a long time and had not sent any message back. He was afraid that something had happened. However, after the city gate was locked, he could not send anyone to inquire about the news, so he could only go to the farm to find out when the city gate opened.
When we arrived at the farm, we learned that Lu Tingwan had returned to the city before midnight last night.
Helplessly, he had to turn back into the city. On the way, he happened to meet the imperial guards who were escorting Lu Tingwan back to the city. Lu Tingwan saw the carriage and felt familiar with it. He greeted the imperial guards and changed to Luo Yunchu's carriage.
The imperial guards received Cheng Xianzhi's order and did not part ways with Luo Yunchu's carriage until they entered the city.
Lu Tingwan originally planned to go directly to Zhichunli. When Luo Yunchu saw her, her clothes were messy, her hair was no longer tied up in a crown, and she just casually tied her long hair up with a stick. She had light pink lip rouge and her eyebrows were just right.
After explaining the whole story to him, Luo Yunchu finally understood the cause of the incident and comforted her with lingering fear. However, Lu Tingwan acted as if nothing had happened. When they reached the entrance of Fenglin Lane, the carriage did not enter, but turned onto Changqing Street.
Lu Tingwan leaned against the car window and asked, "Why aren't we going back to Zhichunli?"
Luo Yunchu glanced at her from head to toe. "How can you go to Chunli in this state? You'd better go to my house first, take a bath and change into clean clothes."
Lu Tingwan originally wanted to refuse, but at this time, there were not only customers coming in to buy flowers, but also young ladies from various mansions coming to try on cosmetics. After thinking it over again and again, she had no choice but to agree.
Luo Yunchu placed her in a courtyard closest to his main house, and asked someone to boil hot water and prepare new clothes. It was the first time for the servants to see their master bring a girl back home, and the voices of the maids chatting and laughing fell into Lu Tingwan's ears.
"Young Master Luo has brought back a girl, who is currently resting in the guest house. When has our young master ever brought back a girl?"
"Yes, yes, the young master is quite attentive to her. The bath incense petals are all top quality. He even prepared a bottle of the hard-to-find rejuvenating cream in Zhichunli."
"Hmm?" one of them said, "Now that you mention it, that girl looks very familiar to me."
Tianshu called out to the crowd, "What are you all talking about? Don't you know that the master hates servants gossiping? If there's good work out there, the mansion won't make it difficult for you. If you want to leave, pack up and leave immediately."
The maids immediately fell silent.
After an hour, Lu Tingwan dressed up again as a man and was taken to Luo Yunchu's house by Tianshu.
Tea was boiled on the stove in the house, and some food was served. Lu Tingwan sat down opposite Luo Yunchu.
Luo Yunchu put a piece of cake on her plate, his eyes filled with pity, "You didn't come home all night, I was so worried in Zhichun."
Lu Tingwan took a sip of hot tea first, feeling comfortable after surviving a disaster. "Last night was also thrilling. Those people didn't mean to kill me, but by chance I ran into Han Jinzhang who was being hunted, and that's how I was dragged into danger."
"I hid in the ruined temple all night and didn't dare go down the mountain until daybreak. Only then did I get the escort of the imperial guards," she said, patting her chest. "Look, I'm sitting here peacefully."
"Then why were you wearing rouge when I saw you?" Luo Yunchu was uneasy.
Lu Tingwan was really starving. He kept chewing his food and said, "There were a few rouge flowers growing in the dilapidated temple. I saw they were blooming beautifully, so I picked a few and crushed them to use as lip balm."
She didn't think too much about it, nor did she think that Cheng Xianzhi would treat her as a woman. She was just instinctively curious about anything related to rouge.
"Then how did Han Jinzhang also encounter an assassin outside the city?"
Lu Tingwan ate half his fill and said calmly, "It's normal for people who live on the edge of a knife to have enemies. It's just my bad luck that I ran into one."
She didn't say much, just enough to get to the point, and kept talking about her own affairs: "Those people who are causing trouble for me are probably sent by the Chamber of Commerce. This feud has been formed. It seems that I have to be more cautious in my future actions in Zhichunli."
"Do you really think that being cautious now will calm things down?" Luo Yunchu put down his chopsticks and sighed, "I'm afraid it's too late."
He hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke, "Yanli, how about staying in Zhichunli for a while?"
Lu Tingwan choked and said, "Puff..."
Luo Yunchu handed over a handkerchief and wanted to wipe it for her, but Lu Tingwan stopped him and took the handkerchief to wipe it herself, "Is Zhichunli locked up?"
"Absolutely not." She said firmly.
Luo Yunchu had a good idea in mind and knew that she was not easy to discuss with, so he could only discuss the pros and cons with her: "I understand that Zhichunli is important to you, but compared to your life, you are more important. If you are worried about the rent of the shop, the interest you have given me in the past two months is enough to cover the rent for half a year."
"Luo Yunchu, this is not about money." Lu Tingwan said seriously.
"I know."
"Then why did you persuade me to close Zhichunli?"
"How can it be more important than your life?" Luo Yunchu said, "You are talented and smart, and you are a good material for business. After the storm has passed, it won't be difficult to start over."
Lu Tingwan's voice gradually became weaker, and he murmured, "I don't have time..."
The farm is also developing Yu Lu Paste, which was originally scheduled to be put on the market at the beginning of next month. Farmers have paid deposits. If Zhichunli closes, the development of Yu Lu Paste will also be halted, and the last batch of flowers in the flower farm will not be put on the market.
Furthermore, she knew that Han Jinzhang's case was progressing smoothly, and the assignment the Queen Mother had assigned to Cheng Xianzhi would soon be finalized. If Cheng Xianzhi...
As she thought about this, she became more and more distracted, and her hand on the teacup became unstable. Could the person who came to assassinate Han Jinzhang last night be the Queen Mother's men? Seeing her uneasy, Luo Yunchu asked with concern: "Yanli? What's wrong?"
Lu Tingwan's eyes flickered. "No, nothing, I'm just a little tired."
She swallowed a mouthful of tea and stood up with her eyes full of determination, "Luo Yunchu, I will not close Zhichunli. That is my way out of Kyoto."
Luo Yunchu's eyes were gentle, "Why?"
She made up her mind and decided to explain to him: "Actually, on the way back to Zhichunli from the Ministry of Justice that day, you asked me a question. I didn't answer you at that time, but now I want to tell you..."
"What's the matter?" Luo Yunchu moved a little and opened his feather fan slightly.
"I'm married," she observed his reaction, and seeing that he looked calm, she continued, "My father betrothed me to someone else as a concubine, but I haven't seen my husband in months."
Luo Yunchu then revealed an expression of disbelief.
"I grew up in Jiangling. My mother passed away, so my father brought me back to Kyoto. I originally thought he missed me and wanted to make up for the years he had wronged me and my mother. But three days after I arrived in the capital, my relatives, whom I had never met, put on a show in front of me."
She expressed her resentment, but her tone was not one of blame or resentment: "Originally, my elder sister should have been married as a concubine, but she had a lover in her heart and refused to marry, so she had no choice but to threaten me with death."
"What does that have to do with you?" Luo Yunchu's heartache was evident. It turned out that this was the reason why she married Cheng Xianzhi.
"That night, I stood in the courtyard as my stepmother and step-sister knelt before my father, begging him not to marry. Actually, I could guess that it was a setup they had set for me, just so I could ask for a replacement marriage myself."
"Since you know it's a trap, why are you still willing?" Luo Yunchu was puzzled.
Lu Tingwan looked at him and chuckled, "Do you think that even if I didn't tell them, it would just go away? They deliberately brought me back to Kyoto, not to find their lost family, but because I was useful. Even if they hadn't agreed then, they would have found other ways to get me married. But they chose a method that would save both of their reputations, preserving both their reputations and the dignity of a loving father and a filial son."
"Why shouldn't I help you?" Lu Tingwan said calmly. Her father's years of neglect and partiality did not create an insurmountable hatred in her heart.
Luo Yunchu clearly remembered that day in the Zhongshu Ling Mansion, she heard the two sisters talking behind the garden. They did not have any disagreements. Instead, Lu Tingwan was willing to get close to Lu Tingwu, and Lu Tingwu introduced her to the young ladies of various mansions at the banquet, paving the way for Zhichunli.
"My husband originally had a wife he loved, but my father coveted the family's wealth and status, so he sent me in. But no matter how wealthy that family is, it has nothing to do with me. I can only rely on Zhichunli. When I earn enough money, I will divorce him, leave Kyoto, and return to my hometown. There I will open my own shop."
"You're leaving Kyoto?" Luo Yunchu wondered. "You've made Zhichunli a great success, and it's time to expand your business. Is that the day you're leaving Kyoto?"
He naturally wouldn't understand.
"Yeah." Lu Tingwan responded, "Do you regret it?"
"What?"
Lu Tingwan looked relieved: "Do you regret liking me?"
Luo Yunchu paused for a moment, then replied sincerely, "No."
"But I'm married."
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