“Miss…” The wet nurse at the side hesitated, seeming somewhat worried that Zhu Yanyan speaking such shocking words would affect her reputation if word got out. Miss had been raised in the inner chambers and truly didn’t understand the sinister nature of people’s hearts… What if this Miss Shi wasn’t discreet…

“Don’t worry.” Shi Fa Ken gave the wet nurse a reassuring look. She still had professional ethics, after all!

But Shi Fa Ken was also somewhat alarmed. Looking at Zhu Yanyan’s appearance… it was as if she couldn’t live if Lu Chi didn’t marry her. But why would she be so deeply infatuated with a man she had only met once?

“Yanyan, when did you meet Young Master Lu?” Shi Fa Ken’s heart suddenly stirred as she asked.

She was also very curious about this point. By rights, Zhu Yanyan was raised in the inner chambers and should have had no opportunity to meet men from outside. For a family of the Zhu clan’s standing, unmarried young ladies had almost no opportunity to go out except to burn incense at temples. Even making jewelry or clothes was done by having people come to the house.

So… where exactly had she met Lu Chi?

Zhu Yanyan paused for a moment, seeming somewhat shy, yet also showing some other emotion – as if it were… fear?

“When I was eight years old, at Thousand Cliff Mountain.” Zhu Yanyan said softly.

Upon hearing this, Shi Fa Ken hadn’t yet reacted, but the wet nurse at the side was already shocked and pale.

“Miss…” she murmured.

She and Madam had both thought that Miss had simply gone out that day and caught a glimpse of that Scholar Lu on the street, becoming smitten at first sight. After all, that Scholar Lu did indeed have exceptionally good looks, but it turned out… there was actually such a backstory?!

Zhu Yanyan didn’t look at the wet nurse who was extremely worried about her, as if she had fallen into some wonderful memory.

“When I was eight years old, Grandfather retired and returned to his hometown. The whole family moved to Copper Gong Town, and when we passed through Thousand Cliff Mountain in Lan Province… we encountered bandits on the road.” Speaking to this point, Zhu Yanyan bit her lip, all color draining from her face. Even her frail body began to tremble slightly, as if she had fallen into an extremely terrifying illusion.

At that time, the women’s carriages were scattered by the bandits in chaos, and her carriage was left alone.

Zhu Yanyan was extremely beautiful. Even at eight years old, she was already strikingly attractive. Having been raised in the inner chambers since childhood, when had she ever seen such a terrifying scene? The accompanying guards were dead or wounded, and she was viciously dragged from the carriage by a terrifying scarred man and thrown to the ground.

The ground was covered in pools of crimson blood – the blood of the dead guards. She lay sprawled on the ground in a sorry state, directly meeting the unblinking eyes of a dead guard, and couldn’t stop screaming.

Then, that terrifying scarred man laughed loudly as he approached and pressed her down to the ground.

She stared wide-eyed in terror, suddenly losing her voice – she couldn’t even scream anymore.

Just when she thought she would die in such humiliation, suddenly a drop of warm, fishy red liquid splashed into her wide-open eyes…

It was blood.

Everything before her eyes suddenly twisted. That terrifying scarred man was silently flung away like a dead dog, and she lay there in a daze, looking at the young man who appeared backlit against the light.

“Are you alright?” He extended his hand toward her.

An extremely long, extremely beautiful hand. She saw that on the inside of his wrist, there was a strangely shaped tattoo – like a dragon yet not a dragon, like a snake yet not a snake.

She stared blankly for a long while without moving.

“Tsk, you little girl, are you scared silly?” The young man crouched down and leaned closer to look at her, then made a sound of surprise. Using his sleeve, he wiped away the blood that had splattered on her face, his voice carrying a note of amazement: “What a beautiful little girl.”

She still stared up at him blankly.

“Mute?”

She remained blank.

“So she’s mute.” The young man showed a look of regret.

“Big Brother Lu, you struck so viciously – does your father know?” From the side came another young man’s clear voice.

“He’s your father too,” the young man said impatiently.

“What are you dawdling for? If you’re not leaving, I’m going!” that person said again.

The young man clicked his tongue and looked back at the blank-eyed little girl, as if hesitating about what to do with her.

Just then, they heard someone calling from far away: “Miss! Miss!”

“Don’t be afraid, your family has come looking for you,” the young man seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Stay here obediently and wait. I’m leaving.”

Having said this, he stood up to leave.

The little girl, who had been staring blankly all along, suddenly moved and quickly reached out to grab his hand.

“What’s wrong?” The young man turned back to look at her.

She still wouldn’t speak and wouldn’t let go.

The other young man standing not far away laughed loudly: “Look how much this little girl likes you. Why don’t you take her home to be a bandit’s wife? Anyway, this world is so harsh to women – having experienced this today, her reputation is ruined. Even if she goes home, no one will want her.”

His tone was very cutting.

The little girl listened and seemed frightened by the cruelty in those words, shrinking back.

“Don’t listen to his wagging tongue,” the young man turned back to glare at that person. Seeing the little girl clinging to him in her dazed state and unwilling to let go, he was somewhat troubled. He felt around on himself with his other free hand, finally pulling out a jade pendant from his sleeve pocket and stuffing it into the little girl’s hand. Then he raised his hand to pat her head, saying softly: “This is my territory. I didn’t expect blind bandits to cause trouble here and frighten you like this. I hear that the world below the mountain is harsh to women. If you can’t marry in the future because of today’s events, bring this token to find me at Flying Jade Stronghold on Thousand Cliff Mountain. I’ll marry you.”

Having spoken, hearing that the people searching for her were approaching, the young man broke free from her grasp and left.

Zhu Yanyan was lost in memory, her gaze unfocused, her eyes showing terror, yet her originally pale face unconsciously took on a layer of crimson.

That day, she had experienced the greatest fear of her life, and also the first stirring of her heart.

“And then?” Seeing that she had only said one sentence before seeming to fall into prolonged silent reminiscence, Shi Fa Ken couldn’t help but urge her on, feeling that this simple sentence was already hair-raising to hear.

“At that time my carriage was left alone, and the situation was extremely dangerous. A young man saved me – his surname was Lu.” Zhu Yanyan paused, her face full of bashfulness as she said: “He also gave me a token and said he would marry me.”

Zhu Yanyan concealed some things and didn’t reveal everything… because Young Master Lu’s origins were somewhat problematic.

She had inquired afterward – Flying Jade Stronghold on Thousand Cliff Mountain… was a bandit stronghold.

Madam Zhu loved her daughter and knew the world was harsh to women, so she used thunderous methods to suppress the matter of her daughter being kidnapped. Therefore, none of the young man’s concerns that day came to pass, and Zhu Yanyan remained the noble eldest daughter of the Zhu family. It was just that she had been too frightened that day. After returning home, she had a high fever for days. After barely recovering, she became as timid and shy as she was now.

Hearing this, Shi Fa Ken was dumbfounded. So there was actually such a twist?

But this was simply too incredible…

“Yanyan, aren’t you mistaken? How can you be certain that the young man who saved you that day was Young Master Lu, just because he also has the surname Lu?”

Not to mention that Zhu Yanyan was now eighteen years old – ten years had passed. How could she recognize Lu Chi at a glance? Moreover, ten years ago, how old was Lu Chi? Could he already help strangers in distress and win fights? Furthermore… Lu Chi was clearly a scholar who read books, without the strength to tie up a chicken. Where would he learn any martial arts?

“I couldn’t be mistaken.” Zhu Yanyan shook her head with extreme certainty: “A few days ago when I went out to burn incense, I saw Young Master Lu once. I can be certain – he is the young man who saved me that day and promised to marry me.”