Governor Mansion.
Dr. Zhang changed Lu Yuan’s dressing, applied fresh gauze, and admonished him earnestly, "Grand Commander, your wounds haven’t healed yet. You must reduce activities and rest more."
"Mm."
Lu Yuan glanced at the border map in his hand and responded carelessly with a single syllable.
Dr. Zhang knew he hadn’t taken his advice to heart and sighed helplessly, shaking his head.
The Grand Commander was ruthless to others, but even harsher to himself. People said he treated human lives like grass, but that wasn’t entirely accurate—he didn’t even care for his own life.
Dr. Zhang packed up his dicine case, cast a hesitant glance at Bao Shu who had her back turned to them, and asked, "Miss Bao Shu..."
"Ignore her."
"Understood, I shall take my leave now. I’ll return tomorrow to change the Grand Commander’s dressing again."
Dr. Zhang picked up his dicine case and left.
Bao Shu sat on the divan, her face turned toward the wall, fuming and shooting Lu Yuan the back of her head in protest!
The reason wasn’t complicated: last night, she had slept soundly, nestled in a cozy, fragrant embrace. But upon waking this morning, that warmth was gone. She’d spent the entire morning sulking indignantly about it!
Shangguan Ling and Qing Shuang entered the room at the sa ti—one fresh from the Imperial Palace, the other having just returned from enjoying the latest neighborhood gossip.
Shangguan Ling was about to speak when he caught sight of Qing Shuang and gestured to her, "You go first."
Qing Shuang said, "Miss ng wants to buy a house."
Shangguan Ling asked in confusion, "Wait, why are you always focused on her?"
Qing Shuang replied, "I’m not focused on her; it was a coincidence."
Shangguan Ling laughed, "Lu Family is at least half an hour’s carriage ride from here. Where did this ’coincidental’ encounter happen?"
Qing Shuang responded bluntly, "At Feng Shui Alley."
Shangguan Ling’s expression shifted slightly, "She... went to Feng Shui Alley to buy a house? That place is filled with haunted properties! Years ago, the Elder of the Thousand chanism Pavilion led so disciples in rebellion and hid there. Later, the Pavilion sent experts to clean house, killing even passing chickens. Only the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles’ inheritor escaped, saved by King Chu. King Chu took them to the border, and they eventually beca Madam Chu."
"Madam Chu grew up in the Chu Family, childhood friends with the Chu Grand Marshal. No one expected that one day she would personally destroy the family that raised her."
Reflecting on the Chu Family massacre, Shangguan Ling sighed emotionally.
Lu Yuan remained silent.
Shangguan Ling turned back to Qing Shuang and asked, "Does she not know that those houses are cursed?"
Qing Shuang replied, "She knows."
Shangguan Ling: "Then why still buy?"
Qing Shuang: "It’s cheap. Miss ng is short on money."
A sulking Bao Shu imdiately perked up her chubby ears.
After Qing Shuang left, Bao Shu climbed down from the divan.
As Shangguan Ling and Lu Yuan started discussing matters at the border, Bao Shu showed zero interest, sneaking out stealthily on all fours.
First, she crawled back to her room, retrieving a small bundle hidden under her bed. Then, she crawled back to Lu Yuan’s quarters, audaciously sneaking past Shangguan Ling and Lu Yuan’s feet before creeping into the inner chamber.
She opened the cabinet of a treasure shelf, spotting bundles of shiny silver notes inside. With her pudgy hands, she gleefully stuffed them into her little pouch like a seasoned thief!
Midnight.
ng Qianqian was jolted awake by a nightmare, sitting up in shock.
In the dim light of her room, the faint amber glow illuminated a languid yet handso figure, seated comfortably on the official chair adorned with tiger skin. He was casually flipping through her newly acquired novel.
Ever since his injury, he hadn’t visited for a while.
ng Qianqian knitted her brows, "Grand Commander, could you—"
Please stop appearing in her room in the dead of night!
Lu Yuan effortlessly tossed sothing to her.
She reflexively caught it and opened it, realizing it was filled with silver notes.
Lu Yuan asked arrogantly, "What did you just want to say to ?"
ng Qianqian: "Nothing."
"Hmph."
Lu Yuan flipped another page of her novel, comnting disdainfully, "Why is this one unfinished?"
ng Qianqian glanced at the bulging pouch of silver notes and asked, "What does the Grand Commander an?"
Lu Yuan said, "They’re Bao Shu’s."
"Hm?" ng Qianqian glanced around, spotting Bao Shu lying on her back inside the bed, snoring away, her stubby hands clutching a small milk pouch.
ng Qianqian gently pulled the blanket up to cover Bao Shu.
Lu Yuan flipped a few more pages, comnting, "It’s just a loan. Don’t overthink it."
ng Qianqian counted the silver notes—each face value was a thousand taels, totaling twenty. That made twenty thousand taels. Combined with the ten thousand taels she already had, she would still have two thousand taels left over after purchasing the house.
It was undoubtedly a tily lifeline.
Although the Lu Family would eventually return her dowry, the deadline was a month away, making it impossible to demand it outright.
ng Qianqian murmured softly, "Thank you, Grand Commander."
Lu Yuan raised a brow, "This isn’t a gift; it cos with interest—three percent."
ng Qianqian frowned, "Three percent is exorbitant interest, equivalent to loan shark rates. How can the Grand Commander use Zhaozhao’s funds to lend at such rates?"
Lu Yuan declared smugly, "Because I want to."
ng Qianqian: "..."
"If you don’t want it, I can take it back."
"I want it."
She couldn’t afford to offend this man.
"Do you know how to organize the Book Pavilion?"
"Yes."
"Go to the Governor Mansion tomorrow and organize it well—each portion of your work offsets one percent of interest."
The sky dawned faintly.
Lu Lingxiao exited the barracks. Ever since ng Qianqian publicly annulled their marriage, his mood had been sour. He desperately wanted to find ng Qianqian and question her reasons for doing so.
But urgent reports had once again arrived from the border, summoning him back to the military encampnt.
After spending the entire night in discussions, he barely had a mont’s rest before the young Emperor summoned him and Lin Wan’er to the Imperial Palace.
Being a soldier accustod to war, staying awake for three days and nights wasn’t a problem for him. This ti, however, he felt utterly drained—not physically, but ntally.
Lin Wan’er offered him ginseng soup: "General, I’ve prepared this for you. Drink it before heading to the palace."
"No need. Let’s get to the palace quickly."
Lin Wan’er looked at the rejection in Lu Lingxiao’s eyes, her gaze tinged with a complicated emotion.
The two of them boarded the carriage heading to the Imperial Palace.
Throughout the ride, Lu Lingxiao remained silent. It was evident that the annulnt had dealt a significant blow to his pride and caused him humiliation.
Lu Luo remarked, "General, the young lady these past days..."
Shen Yan cut her off sharply, "Quiet!"
Lu Luo turned her face away dejectedly, lifting the curtain to peer outside: "Oh! Isn’t that... the Eldest Young Madam? Where is she headed?"
Lu Lingxiao imdiately stood up and looked out the window, but the carriage was too fast, and ng Qianqian quickly disappeared from sight.
"Stop the carriage!"
Lu Lingxiao ordered.
Lin Wan’er made a gesture: "Your Majesty has summoned us about the border situation. Military matters are urgent; General, you must prioritize the greater good."
Lu Lingxiao frowned, "She wasn’t accompanied by her maid."
Shen Yan muttered under his breath, "What’s the point of caring now? Where were you earlier? Late affection is cheaper than weeds!"
Lu Lingxiao: "Shen Yan!"
Shen Yan ducked and slipped away.
Those in the Governor Mansion recognized ng Qianqian and politely welcod her inside.
ng Qianqian asked an attendant, "Excuse , where is the Book Pavilion? The Grand Commander requested that I organize it."
Clearly instructed by Lu Yuan beforehand, the attendant gestured inward, "Miss ng, please follow ."
"Alright."
ng Qianqian nodded.
The attendant led her forward, chatting pleasantly, "The Grand Commander ntioned, if you can’t organize it, no problem! At worst, you’ll owe an extra one percent interest."
How hard could organizing the Book Pavilion be?
She was confident she could earn that one percent interest relief with ease.
What she didn’t expect was that the Book Pavilion wasn’t located within the Governor Mansion itself but required passing through the west gate of the estate.
The attendant led her to a magnificent seven-story tower: "Miss ng, this is it."
ng Qianqian tilted her head upward, gazing at the imposing structure, and asked softly, "Which floor is the Book Pavilion on?"
The attendant smiled, "All of them."
ng Qianqian: "...!!"
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