The corpse had been carried away, but there hadn’t been time to clean the blood covering the floor, leaving the shop filled with an indescribably foul smell. Lu Hang seemed oblivious to it as he slowly walked through the bloodstains to Ming Shu’s side. He had rushed over from his official post, still wearing his crisp official robes, though his hair, usually neatly bound under his black official hat, was somewhat disheveled with a few strands hanging by his temples. His young face showed no trace of youthful naivety, his brow radiating an imposing presence.
Indeed, becoming an official had changed him.
Ming Shu had already stood up, turning slightly to hide her injured arm, trying to avoid Lu Hang’s gaze. Lu Hang didn’t pursue it, only asking for the doctor: “Has a doctor looked at this wound? Where is the doctor?”
Ying Xun answered on her behalf: “The doctor has just left, but he already bandaged Lady Lu’s wound. It’s only a flesh wound, nothing serious. Please don’t worry, Lord Lu.”
Lu Hang turned: “Then how serious would it need to be to count as serious?”
His tone was calm, but the sarcasm in his words left no room for politeness.
Ying Xun was left speechless. Ming Shu came over, still holding her arm, and said: “Brother, I am fine.”
“I’ve given you too much freedom, making you think you can meddle in everything?” Lu Hang remained calm.
This calmness was like thin ice on a winter lake – seemingly peaceful on the surface, but who knew what turbulent currents lurked beneath?
Following usual practice, it was best not to argue at times like this. Ming Shu wisely kept quiet. Ying Xun, feeling the matter arose from the case, felt he should say a few words on her behalf, taking the blame upon himself: “Your sister’s injury was due to our inadequate handling of the situation. We failed to protect her. If My Lord wishes to blame someone, blame me, not your sister.”
Ying Xun’s words did nothing to quell Lu Hang’s anger. Ming Shu noticed his eyes growing colder, and she quickly said: “Brother, this has nothing to do with Constable Ying. I was injured because of my rash actions.” She then urgently said to Ying Xun, “Please don’t say anything more.”
“My family matters don’t require Constable Ying’s concern.” Lu Hang didn’t turn around, just stared at Ming Shu and asked her, “Now, will you come home with me?”
“Yes!” Ming Shu nodded vigorously.
Lu Hang turned to leave, and Ming Shu could only wave goodbye to Ying Xun before following her brother. Lu Hang stopped at the curtain, lifting it high so Ming Shu wouldn’t have to duck to exit, and then followed her out. Ying Xun stood in place, watching the two depart.
Having rushed over, Lu Hang had come on horseback, with his horse tied to a hitching post by the street. Ming Shu, injured on one side, couldn’t climb up and stood frowning beside the horse, pondering how to mount it. Before she could think of a solution, she felt warm hands on her waist.
Before she could react, her feet left the ground as Lu Hang gripped her waist and lifted her. Before she could even utter a surprised cry, she was seated sideways on the horse’s back. Without a word, Lu Hang turned to untie the reins, then smoothly mounted the horse and yanked the reins hard.
The horse reared up with a whinny at his pull, causing Ming Shu to fall back against Lu Hang’s chest. This time, Lu Hang didn’t bother with propriety between men and women, his left hand gripping her waist to prevent her from falling while his right hand controlled the reins. With a sharp command, he spurred the horse forward. Seated sideways, Ming Shu was held firmly in his embrace, not daring to move an inch.
Soon, the horse turned onto the main road, and Lu Hang urged it into a gallop. The wind whistled past their ears, disheveling Ming Shu’s hair completely. Leaning against Lu Hang’s chest, absorbing his warmth, she could no longer consider whether such close contact was proper. Only one thought remained in her mind.
Brother’s furious temper this time wouldn’t be as easy to appease as before.
Upon reaching home, Lu Hang still wordlessly lifted her down from the horse.
The sky had darkened, and Madam Zeng had already prepared dinner waiting for the two to return. Seeing the siblings enter – one with a cold face, one clutching her arm – she couldn’t help but ask: “What happened to you two?”
“Mother…” Ming Shu slowly released her arm.
“Heavens above, what happened to your arm?” Madam Zeng was startled by her injury.
“It’s nothing, just accidentally fell,” Ming Shu quickly said, secretly glancing at Lu Hang as she spoke, and feeling slightly relieved when he didn’t expose her lie.
If Madam Zeng knew this was an arrow wound, she would worry herself sick.
“I’ll serve the food. Mother, help her change her clothes,” Lu Hang said coldly before turning toward the kitchen.
Madam Zeng suspiciously accompanied Ming Shu upstairs, helping her change while asking: “What’s wrong with your brother?”
“Brother is angry with me, very angry. Mother, is there any way to calm him down?” Ming Shu carefully pulled her arm out of her sleeve and asked.
“How angry?”
“Well… a bit more angry and he might disown me as his sister?” Ming Shu said dramatically.
“That serious?” Madam Zeng raised an eyebrow, helping her into clean clothes and patting her shoulder.
Lu Hang never got angry without reason, and if he was erupting now, that only meant…
“Good luck, take care of yourself.”
After changing clothes, Ming Shu came downstairs with Madam Zeng to find the table already set. Recently, as the family’s income had gradually increased, they weren’t living as frugally as before. With more money at her disposal, Madam Zeng had improved their meals, almost always including meat and fish.
Tonight was no exception, with five dishes for the three of them – sweet oil-braised eel strips, soy-braised pork knuckle so tender it fell off the bone, wine-preserved goose feet, drunken river shrimp, and a light jade tofu soup. Ming Shu’s eyes lit up at the sight, her mouth watering as she eagerly sat down at the table.
Among the dishes on the table, except for the soup, there wasn’t a single one she didn’t love.
She was grateful the injury was to her left hand, so it wouldn’t affect her eating speed.
“The goose feet and drunken shrimp were sent over by Mrs. Wang next door. Since we’re moving, she sent over these two specialties of hers for you to try,” Madam Zeng said while gesturing for the siblings to start eating.
Ming Shu waited for Madam Zeng to finish speaking before picking up her chopsticks, reaching first for the pork knuckle.
Pak! – Her chopsticks were knocked away by Lu Hang.
Ming Shu looked at Lu Hang, but he did not explain. She didn’t dare challenge him at this moment, so she changed course and reached for the eel strips instead.
Pak! – Her chopsticks were knocked away again.
Ming Shu looked to Madam Zeng, who shook her head, extraordinarily showing no intention of helping her. She tried for the goose feet – knocked away, then the river shrimp – still knocked away.
This meal… was becoming impossible to eat.
“With an injury, these oily and heavily seasoned dishes won’t help the wound heal and might leave a scar. The alcohol-preserved dishes are especially off-limits,” Lu Hang finally explained methodically.
“Brother…” Ming Shu watched helplessly as Lu Hang delivered a piece of pork knuckle to his mouth, the honey-like sauce making his lips glisten. She licked her lips, her craving nearly bursting through the top of her head.
Lu Hang showed no mercy. He usually didn’t eat with such flourish, but now seemed to be putting on a show specifically for Ming Shu. He savored each bite with extreme care, occasionally making sounds of appreciation as if lost in the deliciousness of the food, making anyone watching develop an enormous appetite.
Ming Shu bit her chopsticks while staring at Lu Hang – he was venting his anger, taking revenge!
“Have some soup, it’s light and won’t cause any problems,” Madam Zeng, seeing what was happening, held back a smile as she ladled some soup for Ming Shu.
Ming Shu took a few sips – it made things even worse. The soup was so bland it only emphasized how delicious the food in Lu Hang’s mouth must be.
She could only watch helplessly as Lu Hang cleared most of the dishes while she picked at her rice with her chopsticks, barely making a dent in her bowl even after a long while.
“Why are you staring at me? People with injuries need to watch what they eat,” Lu Hang showed no signs of yielding. Seeing that Madam Zeng had also finished eating, he stood up to clear the bowls and plates, not even letting Ming Shu touch the remaining meat and fish dishes.
Once Lu Hang entered the kitchen, Ming Shu turned to Madam Zeng with a pitiful expression: “Mother, look at Brother! I… I’m not full, I’m still hungry.”
“Alright, alright, your brother has a point – you should indeed watch what you eat when injured. Wait a bit, I’ll make you a bowl of noodles…”
Before Madam Zeng could finish consoling Ming Shu, Lu Hang had already lifted the kitchen curtain and emerged with a porcelain bowl, placing it in front of Ming Shu.
“Will you eat this?”
A savory aroma reached Ming Shu’s nose. Looking down, she saw a bowl of warm wontons, with seaweed and dried shrimp floating on top. Though not as rich as the earlier dishes, it was still very appetizing, likely prepared by Lu Hang while she was upstairs changing clothes.
“Yes!” Ming Shu nodded emphatically. “Thank you, Brother, you’re the best!”
Lu Hang stood beside her, watching as she ate the wontons one after another. Only when she was nearly finished did he say: “Starting tomorrow, you’re not allowed to go out anymore. Stay properly by Mother’s side. Mother, please keep an eye on her for me.”
Ming Shu’s porcelain spoon fell back into the bowl with a “clang.” Now even dragon meat wouldn’t taste good.
She had been grounded by Lu Hang.
Late at night, after washing up, Ming Shu dejectedly lay in bed.
Her mood wasn’t good, not only because of being grounded but also because of what had happened during the day. She felt some inexplicable emotions bottled up in her heart that she couldn’t release. She lay with her eyes open until some unknown hour before finally drifting off into a hazy sleep.
The sleep wasn’t peaceful. Again, it was that chaotic, empty darkness where she kept running, with enormous fear like this endless darkness seemingly about to swallow her at any moment. The howling wind mixed with the approaching sound of swords rang in her ears as she could only keep fleeing.
No one would come to save her. She ran until exhausted, falling into the chaos, and when she stood up again, she somehow held a dagger in her hand.
The dagger was dripping with blood, and she was raising it high to stab down at someone lying on the ground – once, twice, three times…
Blood splattered all over her face, but she seemed unaware, the emotions bottled up in her heart seemingly finding release with each stab of the dagger.
But the next moment, overwhelming fear suddenly engulfed her, wrapping around her. She stood up trembling, staring at her own hands – they were aged hands that didn’t belong to her.
The dark ground turned into a mirror, and she saw herself holding the knife.
She had become Lu Chunlian.
A beam of light fell from above, and Tang Li sat in the light staring at her, his otherworldly gaze seeming to say:
See? You’ve finally become one of us.
The dream ended there.
She woke with a start from the nightmare, covered in sweat, her heart full of confusion.
Why had she become them?
When daylight broke fully, Ming Shu took a long while to get up and go downstairs.
Everything in the house had already been packed up, with boxes moved downstairs by Lu Hang. Today was their moving day, specifically chosen as an auspicious date, and Lu Hang had taken leave to help.
“Ming Shu, come with me to check on Old Lady Li,” Madam Zeng said, emerging with a food box after spending half the morning wrapping up the pots and pans from the kitchen.
The food box contained soft pastries suitable for elderly people that she had steamed early in the morning. They were moving away and wouldn’t have many chances to return, and Madam Zeng, having cared for Old Lady Li for so long, had developed genuine feelings for her. She wanted to make some treats the old lady liked before leaving.
Because of her hand injury, neither Madam Zeng nor Lu Hang would let her help with the work. Ming Shu was just sitting idle, so she immediately nodded at the suggestion and ran to her mother’s side, following Madam Zeng out the door.
When they arrived at Old Lady Li’s house, mother and daughter discovered that Wei Zhuo had also come to visit the old lady.
“The old lady spoke with me for a long while this morning, and has just fallen asleep from exhaustion, I’m afraid…” Wei Zhuo was just coming out of the old lady’s room when he saw Madam Zeng and Ming Shu with some surprise. He quietly closed the door as he spoke.
Madam Zeng and Ming Shu began to bow to him: “Commander…”
Before they could complete their bow, Wei Zhuo stopped them.
“No need for such formality. Here, I am still just Wei Zhuo,” Wei Zhuo said. Today, like before, he wore ordinary clothes to visit the old lady, without any trace of official airs.
“We wouldn’t dare, you are still the Commander after all,” Madam Zeng shook her head, presenting the food box and explaining their purpose.
“Thank you for your thoughtfulness. During this time, I’m also grateful for your frequent visits to keep the old lady company. Wei is deeply appreciative,” Wei Zhuo had a maid accept the food box while expressing his thanks and accompanying Madam Zeng out.
“You’re moving today?” Upon hearing they were moving that day, Wei Zhuo showed rare regret, seeming to want to say something but holding back.
Ming Shu caught some meaning in this and said to him: “Uncle Wei, are you going to miss me? If you do, come visit us at our new home sometime. I’ll have my brother keep you company.”
“Ming Shu!” Madam Zeng scolded softly upon hearing this.
Wei Zhuo laughed heartily and said frankly: “Very well. Your brother is a fine young man. Our last meeting was too brief to talk much. If there’s a chance, I’d like to chat with him more.” Then he asked about her wound, “I heard about what happened to you. Children shouldn’t be so mischievous. This injury… let it be a lesson. Don’t act so rashly next time.”
“I know, you’re being as long-winded as my brother,” Ming Shu immediately frowned.
“Ming Shu, don’t be so impolite,” Madam Zeng tugged at her sleeve.
Wei Zhuo wasn’t bothered at all, and seemed quite pleased: “It’s fine. Since you call me ‘Uncle,’ can’t an uncle say a few words to you?”
“Alright, alright, Uncle Wei, say what you will, I’ll take it,” Ming Shu sighed, pretending to be resigned. “Who made me the most lovable one!”
“This child.” Madam Zeng was at a loss with Ming Shu.
Wei Zhuo burst out laughing. After a while, just as he was about to ask if they needed any help with moving, his expression suddenly turned serious as he looked behind Madam Zeng and Ming Shu.
“The Commander is in good spirits, actually condescending to come to such a place.”
A voice came from behind the two.
Ming Shu turned sharply, then covered her mouth while looking at Madam Zeng.
Five steps behind them stood Lu Wenhan.