Ju Nanyi, who had been holding his head low, suddenly lifted it the mont he encountered an acquaintance. The awkwardness was unmistakably displayed on his face in that instant, but the very next mont, the man had already regained his composure and respectfully bowed in the direction of Zheng Nianru, without hesitation, he turned and descended the stairs down another flight.
"Commandery Princess, it’s Lord Ju—" Xing Yu couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise. How could Lord Ju be here? Was that zither music played by Lord Ju? Wasn’t Lord Ju supposed to be...
Zheng Nianru just coldly glanced at that familiar silhouette, showing no interest in asking questions, and even if she did ask, she had no intention of changing anything.
Seeing that her master, the Commandery Princess, seed disinterested, Xing Yu couldn’t help but speak up. Lord Ju had saved the Commandery Princess’s life; now he was singing for money in a tavern, surely he was in so sort of trouble. Just as Xing Yu was about to speak up, Fu Dong sent a cautionary glance her way.
Xing Yu felt wronged, yet she dared not continue.
"Commandery Princess, the carriage is ready, shall we return?" Nanny Yun picked up the conversation, and Fu Dong covered their master with a scarf, shielding her from the admiring glances thrown her way.
"Let’s just go back," said the Commandery Princess.
Nanny Yun glanced at Fu Dong and Xing Yu, puzzled. Everything had been fine on their way here, and they had planned to visit the newly opened textile store, but now suddenly they wanted to return.
Fu Dong gave Nanny Yun a look, who then held her tongue and instructed the coachman to head back directly.
"Commandery Princess, the Golden Brocade and Silver Brocade that Young Master Wen Zan sent are one of a kind, and if matched with your embroidery, even deities would be suitable to wear it." Nanny Yun tried to cheer up Zheng Nianru by steering the conversation towards things that pleased her.
"Those patterns are unique," Zheng Nianru spoke up. "The choice of embroidery designs must be carefully selected. Fu Dong, did you find the book I asked you to look for?"
"Commandery Princess, I have turned everything upside down, but I haven’t seen the book you ntioned. Could it be that you rembered it wrong?" Fu Dong imdiately made a beseeching face, having searched for several days without success, and now the Commandery Princess was bringing it up again.
Zheng Nianru remained silent— that book...
It seed to Zheng Nianru that she might have rembered incorrectly. In her previous life, that book had stayed on her bookshelf for many years, and perhaps it existed only in her past life.
"Forget it, perhaps I misrembered," Zheng Nianru said indifferently. She finally had hope in this life; she felt she could be less concerned about other matters.
"Whoa—" The carriage suddenly ca to an abrupt stop, nearly throwing the occupants out. Nanny Yun, without waiting for the carriage to co to a complete stop, threw back the curtain ready to scold soone when the carriage suddenly began to turn around.
"Mama, there are bad people ahead. Let’s take another road instead of causing trouble," the coachman urged quickly, while the clear sounds of fighting and cursing reached everyone’s ears from not far away.
Nanny Yun was taken aback while Xing Yu peered out curiously.
With the carriage curtain lifted, a group of n wielding clubs surrounded one person and beat him rcilessly, with no bystanders in sight.
"Hand over the money peacefully—" ca the shout from not too far away, the person being beaten had curled up into a ball on the ground, yet that figure seed familiar.
"Commandery Princess, let’s go this way—" Nanny Yun quickly suggested upon seeing this, knowing that they were not saints nor did they have the inclination to right every wrong they ca across.
Zheng Nianru nodded and withdrew her gaze as the carriage swiftly turned in another direction, heading into a side alley. They weren’t the only ones; many who saw such scenes thought it best to avoid trouble and detoured.
Xing Yu felt unsatisfied and despite the carriage already having traveled so distance, she couldn’t help but look back through the rear window; just one glimpse, and Xing Yu suddenly cried out.
"Commandery Princess, that zither, that’s Lord Ju—" The very Lord Ju who had saved the Commandery Princess.
Nanny Yun was startled, what Lord Ju? Suddenly rembering who that Lord Ju was, Fu Dong was also taken aback and sohow felt that the Commandery Princess seed very wary of this na. But why was the Commandery Princess so averse to this na?
In her mory, the Commandery Princess had almost no interactions with Lord Ju, and the few encounters they did have seed mostly unreasonable on the part of the princess.
Xing Yu watched Zheng Nianru with eager eyes, "Are you really not going to save him?" After all, Lord Ju was their benefactor.
Nanny Yun hesitated too, thinking that if it were Lord Ju, she actually found him to be a man of high moral character, with a discernnt sowhat similar to Prince Duan’s. He seed to be a man worthy of trust, and even if he couldn’t be the one the Commandery Princess entrusted herself to, he was still a good person.
Xing Yu’s heart lifted with hope, but as the carriage moved further away, the disappointnt on her face grew more and more pronounced. "Are we really not going to save him?"
Could the Commandery Princess truly bear to let Lord Ju...
Zheng Nianru didn’t want to save Ju Nanyi, instinctively feeling that it would be better to avoid eting him in this lifeti if possible. But the recent scene kept replaying in her mind.
Apart from that one incident, Ju Nanyi hadn’t done much wrong to her in her previous life. She seed unable to just watch him be beaten to death.
"Stop the carriage—," Xing Yu imdiately sprang into action.
"Xing Yu, bring him over," Zheng Nianru had just finished speaking when Xing Yu had already leaped down. Nanny Yun wanted to give so instructions, but it was too late, and Xing Yu was already on her way.
"Commandery Princess—" Nanny Yun hesitated whether to turn the carriage back or not, while Xing Yu had already picked up a man and thrown him out.
"It’s Lord Ju, it really is Lord Ju," Xing Yu said. Ju Nanyi lay on the ground without responding, clutching sothing tightly in his hand. Xing Yu didn’t care; she simply hoisted the man onto her shoulder and set off.
"My zither—" Ju Nanyi’s voice ca from above Xing Yu’s head.
"Don’t worry, it won’t get lost," Xing Yu assured him as she picked up the zither lying on the ground. While Nanny Yun was still deliberating whether to reverse the carriage, Xing Yu had already reached its side.
"Commandery Princess, should I carry Lord Ju back?" Xing Yu asked.
Zheng Nianru glanced at the man on Xing Yu’s shoulder. It was hard to tell how badly he was injured, but carrying him like this was quite conspicuous, and if he had internal injuries, Ju Nanyi might die before they even arrived.
"Put him in the carriage," Zheng Nianru thought, as Nanny Yun and Fu Dong quickly nodded in agreent. Xing Yu was too noticeable carrying a man that way; by tomorrow, the whole city would likely know.
Fu Dong carefully helped the man onto the carriage.
With Ju Nanyi added to the small carriage, Nanny Yun and Xing Yu had no choice but to sit outside.
Fu Dong carefully turned the man over, and the stench of blood imdiately assaulted their senses, the harrowing sight making the two inside the carriage gasp.
"Commandery Princess, this is too brutal," Fu Dong couldn’t help but say.
Yet Zheng Nianru noticed that Ju Nanyi was clutching a small cloth bag tightly in his hand, gripping it firmly even in his unconscious state.
"Go find a doctor," Zheng Nianru instructed.
Fu Dong diligently wiped the blood from the man’s face. One eye was swollen shut, and a wound on the temple oozed fresh blood, staining Fu Dong’s handkerchief.
"No, no need, take ... back," Ju Nanyi struggled to speak, barely regaining consciousness, seemingly trying to make out the people before him.
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