Jun Jiuling

She could cure Chengyu. Those words were surprising, but more than that they were laughable.

“Old Lady, she…” Concubine Yuan blurted out, but she quickly swallowed down the rest of the words.

Lady Fang knew what she wanted to say.

Had Old Lady gone senile?

Firstly, Concubine Yuan’s status was too low to speak disrespectfully of Old Lady, and secondly, of course Old Lady was not senile.

Concubine Yuan thought of what had happened yesterday.

The reason Lady had been so mad that she wanted to sweep out Jun Zhenzhen by the end of the year was because of the conflict between Jun Zhenzhen and Chengyu.

The particular details of the conflict were not widespread among the people of the house, but she knew clearly that it had something to do with why Old Lady Fang and Lady Fang interrogated that little boy for every sentence.

Jun Zhenzhen had said that Fang Chengyu was poisoned and had said that she could cure him.

This sentence was too laughable and would be easily dismissed, but if someone believed it, then it might cause riot to run free within the Fang Family.

Concubine Yuan understood, and she was once again surprised.

“Old Lady, she…” she couldn’t help herself again. Then again she stopped herself, up to the point she made a strange choking expression.

Old Lady was really senile?

No wonder Lady Fang was wearing such a strange expression; the situation was too incomprehensible.

How could such words be believed.

“She said that her grandfather had passed down his very miraculous medical skills,” said Lady Fang, reaching out with a hand to rub at her forehead. She looked like she wanted to cover up her face, but she could not give up her properness. “Anyways, Old Lady believed her.”

Concubine Yuan didn’t know how to respond.

“Concern makes one go crazy. Young master is Old Lady’s sore point; when you are sick you will turn to any doctor. This is nothing.” She thought for a moment, then said, “Lady, don’t worry.”

When she said this, she paused.

She was thinking of saying that Jun Zhenzhen would be exposed for her lies, because Young Master would die.

However, hearing such words wouldn’t console anyone.

She really did not know how to say it.

“No matter how you say it, money cannot buy happiness,” she said softly. “Since Old Lady thinks this, allowing her to do as she pleases is all for Young Master.”

Lady Fang went blank, wearing an ‘I don’t know what to do’ face.

“Then I will go explain about the marriage to the scholar from Zhao,” said Concubine Yuan.

At least this year, Miss Jun would not be married out.

“As for the Ning Family…” she said next.

At this time, chatter was not suited to the hour. Right now, Lady Fang only needed a quiet moment to rest. When Fang Nianjun was alive, Concubine Yuan had been a very favored concubine. Now that Fang Nianjun was not here, she was still a favored concubine because she was a considerate person.

“Nothing is urgent,” said Concubine Yuan, with a soothing tone. She ended the conversation and left.

When she was exiting, Lady Fang suddenly felt awake.

“Keep it a secret,” she exhorted.

“Naturally, such a shameful matter has to be kept secret,” said Concubine Yuan’s face as she made a sound of agreement, then walked off.

When Lady Fang saw the door being closed, she sat up straight, somewhat at a loss.

Keep it a secret. There were some things that could stay a secret and some that could not.

What was said between Miss Jun and Fang Chengyu at the garden could not be kept a secret, so she could not hide it from Concubine Yuan. And she had to give an explanation to Concubine Yuan about not marrying out Miss Jun right away.

So Miss Jun giving Fang Chengyu treatment could not be kept a secret; it would be foolish to attempt it.

Lady Fang wasn’t that foolish.

“I feel that I am a bright person,” muttered Lady Fang to herself, though she paused after the sentence, adding a final word. “Maybe?”

But when she thought of Jun Zhenzhen and what had happened this time… She had done everything so carefully, just pushing the boat along the current, but it was suddenly overturned by just one sentence from Jun Zhenzhen.

She felt a little stupid.

………………………………………………………

Since they had said to keep it a secret, Old Lady Fang and Lady Fang did not look for Miss Jun again. Except for calling a stop to the marriage, the order about letting her into the garden still remained. Fang Jinxiu complained, and the servants discussed it like the house what was it was before.

Miss Jun also, like before, peacefully enjoyed the privileges special to her. Her morning training had become a habit and her bow, arrows, and straw target were well-used.

When she saw the fletched arrows hit the target, Liu’er did not applaud in praise.

“Young Miss, your hands have become rough,” she said, deeply worried.

Miss Jun laughed and set down her bow to wipe her sweat.

“Young Miss, where did you learn this?” asked Liu’er.

Miss Jun looked at the target and the fletching sticking out of the red center.

“Actually, I always wanted to learn this,” she said.

Although she could shoot the target with her bow, she actually had never learned before. When she learned something similar, it had taken a long time. She had originally spent one year learning how to throw arrows, and when it was finally time for her to learn how to shoot, Master had suddenly passed away.

Liu’er did not understand what she had heard, but did not question it further. She yawned and draped a cloak around Young Miss.

“Let’s go back,” she said.

Miss Jun did not make a motion to return, but instead asked the servants in the garden where the study room was.

The maidservants had been ordered not to allow Miss Jun to leave the courtyard or ask about the private affairs of the household. But since the study was neither outside nor a secret, one servant said she would lead the way.

“Young Miss, what are you going to do in the study?” asked Liu’er, not comprehending.

Although the children of the noble and wealthy families were raised to be knowledgeable in literature for propriety’s sake, they still believed that a woman’s virtue was to have no talent. The young misses who could read were regarded as pretty good. If they could write literature or poems, they were of outstanding talent. Of course, seeing as the majority of girls learned or wanted to learn feminine arts, the literary talent was little used. Most likely, only large scholarly families and the royal family would possess such daughters.

Miss Jun was the most ordinary of the noble girls. Since she had learned how to read the most basic of instructional books and how to write, books had been thrown away by her.

Reading books, it would be more honorable to learn how to embroider a spice bag.

So the study in the house was more of a decorative display. It was only when Tenth Noble Son Ning had returned for the Mid-Autumn festival that she had tried to study hard for several days to attract his attention.

“To read,” said Miss Jun.

To look at the study or to read books [1]? However, she did not ask anything else.

Young Miss was the greatest. Whatever Young Miss wanted to do, she would do, and Liu’er would arrogantly follow.

When she arrived at the study room, Miss Jun knew what Lady Fang had meant when she said that there was a large study in the residence.

This study was really big.

It was actually a library.

However, the library was obviously a decoration of the Fang Family. There was only one sickly male heir, and the women were all busy with the business.

The library only had one servant in charge of watching the gate and sweeping the floor. When the servant saw Miss Jun arrive, he disappeared in a wink of the eye, for fear that bumping into Miss Jun would cause much trouble.

Miss Jun walked into the library and wore a somewhat surprised face.

The tall, two-floored building was very open. There were two sets of stairs, which should really be called ramps. They twisted in a spiral through the room filled with books.

There was a similar layout to this in the temple library but it used stairs. Ramps like these were unique.

“This is for…” said Miss Jun.

Her words were interrupted by someone.

“For me, the cripple.”

Miss Jun raised her head and saw Fang Chengyu in his wheelchair, slowly being pushed on the ramp.

“Why are you here?” asked Liu’er in displeasure.

Fang Chengyu smiled.

“That is my bad. This place is very distant from the house. I believed that I would not run into Miss Jun here,” he said.

Was this taunting them that Young Miss would not read books?

{What’s there to make fun of for not wanting to read books.} Liu’er’s lips curled in derision. {Well, there’s nothing this cripple can do but read.}

“Young Miss, that’s right. Besides here, there is no other place for him to go,” she said, leaning close to Miss Jun and covering her mouth.

[1] Look at the study or to read books: in Chinese read and look have the same character (看）