In fact, Lu Chi himself didn’t know what had happened either. He had only just brought Yun Ge back, and by the next day, news had spread to the point where practically all of Tongluo Town knew about it. Just who was that wicked, smoking scoundrel stirring up trouble behind the scenes?

When he first caught wind of these rumors, his immediate thought was that he needed to go explain things to A Ke, but he was shut out completely—he couldn’t even get through the Shi family’s courtyard gate.

Just as he was fretting about this, a beautiful woman emerged with graceful, swaying steps.

“Am I causing you trouble?” she asked, standing at the doorway and looking at him.

Her voice was very pleasant to hear.

“It’s alright. Things will be fine once Chang Qiao arrives. Just rest well and don’t overthink it—we’ll still need to continue traveling later.” Lu Chi softened his expression to comfort her, then added with concern, “Before Chang Qiao comes, you’d better not show yourself easily. Right now, Tongluo Town is buzzing with gossip about you, and I’m worried someone might stir up more trouble.”

The woman nodded upon hearing this and smiled charmingly. “Alright.”

In the afternoon, a woman wearing a bamboo hat knocked on the Shi family’s main gate.

Jiao Jiao came to answer the door. She and He Ke Tian were taking turns guarding the entrance, defending against Scholar Lu’s potential return visits like they were guarding against thieves. Hearing the knocking, Jiao Jiao cautiously opened the door to peek out—a woman wearing a bamboo hat?

“Who are you?” Jiao Jiao asked suspiciously.

“Excuse me, is this the Shi family that does matchmaking?” came a clear, sweet, and gentle voice from under the bamboo hat.

From Jiao Jiao’s angle, she could see the woman’s pointed chin. Her wariness immediately relaxed—after all, no matter how capable Scholar Lu was, he couldn’t possibly transform into a woman. “Yes, who are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for Shi Fa Ke to arrange a match,” the woman said, seeming to smile slightly.

Hearing that she wanted to arrange a match, Jiao Jiao didn’t think much of it and invited her in, thinking that if her sister-in-law had some work to do, her mood might improve. Although her sister-in-law seemed perfectly normal on the surface, she had dry-chewed eight fist-sized red bean rolls for breakfast! And at lunch, she had devoured three large bowls of rice—quite worrying indeed!

Sure enough, when Shi Fa Ke heard that someone had come to arrange a match, she looked much more spirited.

“May I speak with you privately?” the woman in the bamboo hat asked softly when she saw Shi Fa Ke.

The voice coming from under the hat was warm and soft, very pleasant to hear. Shi Fa Ke was momentarily stunned because the voice sounded somewhat familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.

Where could it have been?

Shi Fa Ke couldn’t remember for the moment.

“Is that not possible?” Seeing that Shi Fa Ke didn’t respond, the woman in the bamboo hat asked again.

Her voice carried a hint of disappointment. Even though her face couldn’t be seen clearly, just hearing her voice made one’s heart fill with pity, as if refusing her would be a grave sin.

Naturally, Shi Fa Ke wouldn’t refuse her. She assumed the woman was simply shy—otherwise, why would she come wearing a bamboo hat? After all, not everyone was as bold as her eldest sister-in-law and third sister-in-law.

So she smiled and said, “Of course you can. Please come to my room and sit.”

Shi Fa Ke led her into her own room, asked her to sit, then turned to pour her a cup of cool tea.

When Shi Fa Ke turned back, ready to hand her the tea cup, she saw that the woman had already removed her bamboo hat. Shi Fa Ke was momentarily dazed—so the hat had been hiding such an enchantingly beautiful face.

It was an extremely beautiful face. Shi Fa Ke had seen many beauties—Lu Chi was beautiful, He Ke Xian was beautiful, and if men didn’t count, Aunt He and Aunt Lu were also rare beauties… but they were all different from the face before her.

She wasn’t just beautiful—she also possessed an indescribable charm. Every frown and smile, every gesture and movement, carried an ineffable allure.

She seemed accustomed to others being amazed by her beauty, so she paid no mind to Shi Fa Ke’s somewhat impolite staring. She simply smiled and said, “You’re Shi Fa Ke, Tongluo Town’s most famous matchmaker?”

The phrase “most famous matchmaker” made Shi Fa Ke feel rather pleased with herself. She chuckled, “You flatter me, you flatter me.”

So she was already this famous! Then she thought again—this voice really was very familiar. Such a pleasant voice shouldn’t be something she’d forget… but where had she heard it before?

Just as she was pondering this, she heard the woman continue, “I’d like you to arrange a match for me.”

Shi Fa Ke nodded and asked the routine question, “Then for whom are you arranging this match, and which family have you taken a fancy to?”

“I’m arranging the match for myself,” the woman said openly. After a pause, she smiled at Shi Fa Ke and added, “The target is Scholar Lu from Willow Leaf Lane.”

“Wh… what?” Shi Fa Ke straightened up abruptly, leaning forward slightly, suspecting she had misheard.

So now she was not only dreaming but also hallucinating? This was terrifying!

“I said I’d like you to arrange a match between me and Scholar Lu,” the woman smiled slightly and patiently repeated her words.

Shi Fa Ke was stunned. So she hadn’t misheard—this young lady truly had taken a fancy to Lu Chi.

“Miss, you don’t seem to be from Tongluo Town. May I ask your name and where you’re from?” Shi Fa Ke collected her startled expression and asked.

“Must I answer this question?” the woman raised an eyebrow.

“I need to understand both parties’ situations before I can go make the match,” Shi Fa Ke looked at her strangely, suddenly becoming alert. If she couldn’t even explain her identity and background clearly, how could she casually go arrange a match?

“My name is Yun Ge,” the woman laughed lightly, showing no intention of concealing anything. “Perhaps you’ve heard of me.”

Yun Ge?

…Wait, that Yun Ge?

Shi Fa Ke’s eyes widened suddenly. The courtesan Lu Chi had redeemed from the pleasure house in the prefectural city?!

“Are you the one Lu Chi brought back from the prefectural city…?” Shi Fa Ke looked hesitantly at the vivacious beauty before her, swallowing the final, somewhat offensive word.

“Yes, that’s me,” Yun Ge nodded, seeming completely untroubled by her former identity. While toying with a bracelet on her wrist, she said casually, “I heard Scholar Lu say you’re Tongluo Town’s most famous matchmaker, so I wanted to ask you to arrange the match.”

Shi Fa Ke took a deep breath, hardly believing that this Miss Yun Ge, who had ruined Lu Chi’s reputation and caused such an uproar throughout the city, had actually come brazenly to her to arrange a match…

“Lu Chi said he wants to marry you?” Shi Fa Ke looked at her and asked.

“Otherwise, why would I come looking for you?” Yun Ge looked surprised, as if Shi Fa Ke had asked a foolish question.

Still that warm, soft voice, seemingly without any aggression, yet truly detestable.

Shi Fa Ke nodded, struggling to suppress the inexplicable anger rising in her heart. She picked up the tea cup beside her and said expressionlessly, “I’m sorry, but I won’t arrange this match. Please leave.”

Serving tea to dismiss a guest—indeed, she now had the bearing of a professional matchmaker… However, at this moment, Shi Fa Ke felt no joy whatsoever.

But Yun Ge remained seated steadily, showing no self-awareness about leaving. Instead, she displayed a somewhat surprised expression. “Why? Scholar Lu said you agreed to arrange matches for him, didn’t he say his marriage was entirely in your hands?”

A vein throbbed at Shi Fa Ke’s temple. He had even told her that?!

“I did promise Lu Chi I’d arrange matches for him, but has he come to request one now?” Shi Fa Ke gritted her teeth and said, “If you want me to arrange a match, have him come and ask personally.”

“Are you unhappy? Why?” Yun Ge looked at her with apparent confusion, as if just noticing her displeasure. “I heard that several matches you arranged for Scholar Lu didn’t work out, and now one finally will—why aren’t you happy?”

Happy?

Shi Fa Ke was practically furious!

Yun Ge looked at her, then suddenly covered her lips and laughed softly. “Because I come from a pleasure house?”

Shi Fa Ke was taken aback. With Yun Ge being so frank, she felt somewhat uncomfortable instead.

“But the person who wants to marry me is Scholar Lu, and Scholar Lu doesn’t mind my past…” Yun Ge smiled slightly, elegantly shifting her sitting position, and raised an eyebrow. “What standing do you have to mind?”

Shi Fa Ke frowned.

“Or perhaps… you’re jealous?” Yun Ge suddenly looked at her and said slowly.

Shi Fa Ke was startled and looked at her incredulously. “What nonsense are you spouting? What would I be jealous of?”

“Jealous of my beauty, jealous of my talents, jealous that I’m favored by Scholar Lu,” Yun Ge said methodically, lowering her gaze to smooth her sleeves.

Shi Fa Ke was almost amused by her words.

But she didn’t laugh.

“Jealous… that Scholar Lu likes me,” Yun Ge suddenly looked up at her, rephrasing the last sentence.

Shi Fa Ke’s eyes widened suddenly, and she jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. “Complete nonsense!”

“See, I hit upon your true feelings,” Yun Ge looked certain of herself. She snorted with laughter. “Think about it—why are you so angry, so furious? You’re just a matchmaker, after all.”

Shi Fa Ke was stunned. Yes, she was just a matchmaker.

Lu Chi’s marriage, Lu Chi’s life… it wasn’t her place to interfere with any of it. If he truly liked Yun Ge, what standing did she have to object?

For some reason, thinking of this made her feel a bit sad.

“Fine then. Since you’re unwilling, I won’t force you,” Yun Ge sighed softly and stood up gracefully. “Just pretend I never came here.”

Her voice was light and soft, truly pleasant to hear.

Her movements also carried an indescribable charm that captured one’s heart.

Shi Fa Ke thought somewhat dazedly that Yun Ge was indeed very beautiful.

That Lu Chi liked her… was probably quite normal.

Yun Ge seemed to notice her gaze and glanced back at her, suddenly smiling with pursed lips. She put her bamboo hat back on and walked away.

That smile was truly one that could captivate with a single backward glance.

Shi Fa Ke’s heart immediately became chaotic as tangled hemp.

Outside, Jiao Jiao saw the mysterious woman in the bamboo hat off, then went to look for her sister-in-law. She found her sitting alone in her room in a daze, looking even worse than before.

“A Ke, what’s wrong?”

Shi Fa Ke looked up at Jiao Jiao. “The woman who just came—that was Yun Ge.”

“Which Yun Ge…” Jiao Jiao asked automatically, then suddenly her eyes widened. “The courtesan Scholar Lu brought back from the prefectural city’s pleasure house?!”

Shi Fa Ke showed a vexed expression. “Yes, that’s her.”

“She actually came to ask you to arrange a match?” Jiao Jiao’s expression was indescribable. “Could it be that Scholar Lu truly intends to marry her?!”

“Yes.” Shi Fa Ke nodded with a frown.

“He really doesn’t care about his reputation anymore? Frequenting brothels and being infatuated with prostitutes was one thing, but to actually marry her…” Jiao Jiao looked utterly incredulous.

“Right! Normal people would definitely think this improper! What’s wrong with my refusing to arrange their match?!” Shi Fa Ke suddenly slammed the table and stood up, saying angrily, “That woman actually said I was jealous of her! Complete nonsense!”

“Yes, yes, yes, she was talking nonsense,” Jiao Jiao was startled and quickly placated her, then asked curiously, “What did she say you were jealous of?”

“Jealous of her beauty, jealous of her talents, jealous that Lu Chi likes her!” Shi Fa Ke said furiously.

Looking at her sister-in-law who was about to breathe fire in her anger, Jiao Jiao silently took a step back… That woman had come to request matchmaking services as a pretense—her real purpose was to provoke, wasn’t it?

Clearly, she had succeeded.

Look, her sister-in-law was about to explode with rage.

“So… what does she look like? Is she beautiful?” Jiao Jiao asked curiously.

Shi Fa Ke gritted her teeth and reluctantly spat out one word: “Beautiful.”

Jiao Jiao felt like laughing but didn’t dare to.