Jun Jiuling

Naturally, Manager Gao would tell Old Lady Fang what had transpired. After all, she had instructed him to accompany Miss Jun in making her lantern. Now that the Lantern Festival was over, he was to report to her.

When she heard Manager Gao say that someone lit the lantern and walked away with five thousand, Old Lady Fang merely smiled, as if she had known this was going to happen.

She looked at things the same way as Manager Gao. Miss Jun had done this for the fame, attempting to look ostentatious and elegant to sweep over her damaged reputation.

“Miss Jun seems to take it easily, is unaffected,” Manager Gao said with a smile.

Old Lady Fang scoffed.

“She didn’t publicize this because she was afraid of losing face. How is she unaffected?” she refuted. “She shouldn’t think that it would be so easy. Many people here know what she is worth.”

“Mother, mother.” Lady Fang ran in from outside, elated. “Chengyu ate over half a bowl of rice.”

In this household, a fourteen-year-old young master eating half a bowl of rice was an occasion for joy. It was both laughable and pitiful.

Manager Gao sighed inside, but smiled just like Lady Fang.

Old Lady Fang’s expression was also joyful, but somewhat stiff.

Because though Lady Fang could not say some things in front of outsiders, Old Lady Fang still knew what she was actually saying. Mother, with Jun Zhenzhen’s medicine Chengyu was able to eat over half a bowl of rice.

These past few days, Chengyu’s medicine was what Jun Zhenzhen allocated. Yesterday, Fang Chengyu was not only attentive enough to look at lanterns for half a day, but today he had actually been able to keep down rice. It should be known that previously he would be exhausted from just talking. And because he ate so much medicine, he would not eat much of ordinary fare.

They knew Fang Chengyu’s illness very well. They had found many doctors over the years to try and detoxify the poison, but never had any doctor’s medicine produced such a great effect.

Was it possible that the Jun Family really had such a mystical drug recipe?

She had just spoken of Jun Zhenzhen’s worth, but right now she had to give it another thought.

Manager Gao excused himself. Old Lady Fang told Lady Fang of the five thousand tael lantern.

“This is a good thing after all,” commented Lady Fang. “People want to have a good reputation. It is better than her who did not care about her reputation.”

This was true.

Old Lady Fang smiled, but after thinking of a hypothesis, her expression grew grave.

“Is it possible that the person who poisoned him gave her a way to detoxify the poison and is helping her do this?” she asked.

So many people in so many years being unable to detoxify the poison that Jun Zhenzhen could. This was really hard to understand.

“Mother, we have always had people watching her. She has not had any suspicious contact with other people, let alone being able to exchange words in private,” said Lady Fang.

“What about when she was in Funing?” said Old Lady Fang.

Then they really would not know.

If that was true, then the enemy’s plans were really too long-term.

“So long, Since the Old Master’s time, it has indeed been a very long time,” Old Lady Fang mumbled.

Lady Fang’s eyebrows creased.

“Mother, do you believe that the master and the old master were deliberately harmed like she said?” she said quietly.

Old Lady Fang fell silent.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Right now, I know nothing.”

Her belief in her control of her life and the road she was walking had all been destroyed by Jun Zhenzhen. She had become uncertain of many things.

Lady Fang was still silent.

“There are many things I am uncertain of, but there is one thing I know,” she said. Her expression was incomparably resolute, on the verge of being crazy. “I want Chengyu to live.”

If Chengyu could live, no matter what other people wanted, she would give it.

……

“How is Little Brother today?” asked Fang Jinxiu as she entered Fang Yuxiu’s room.

“Should we go see him?”

Because the whole family had gone to see the lanterns after nearly ten years, they and their little brother had many things to talk about. So in this first month, they had often gone to visit Fang Chengyu.

They were probably feeling that they didn’t have long to be together with everyone.

Fang Chengyu was born in the third month and was about to reach his fourteenth year. The doctors had said that he would not live past fifteen, so he had only one year left of life.

“The servants said that Miss Jun went to see Little Brother,” Fang Yuxiu said.

Fang Jinxiu was stunned, and then furrowed her eyebrows.

“What is she doing there?” she asked, her face wary.

“Don’t know. Grandmother and Mother brought her there,” said Fang Yuxiu. Then, pensively added, “Fang Chengyu has been very well recently.”

“So wouldn’t he feel poorly because of her aura?” Fang Jinxiu said angrily, standing up. “I will go and see.”

“Third Sister!” shouted Fang Yunxiu hastily.

Fang Jinxiu had already run out.

Miss Jun was sitting in front of Fang Chengyu, studying his face.

They were sitting very close. Fang Chengyu did not feel uncomfortable because of this, and was instead smiling.

“Am I so nice to look at?” he even asked.

“Chengyu, don’t play around,” Lady Fang said softly.

“Mother, on that day many people said I was very good-looking,” Chengyu said, somewhat shyly. “I think it’s true.”

Who could be harsh to a youth acclaimed as such after being cut off from the world for so many years?

He cared about this praise, longed for it to be true. This was human nature, not mocking or trying to make trouble.

Lady Fang looked at him, and her expression softened.

“Of course it’s true,” she said resolutely, then looked at Miss Jun.

She did not need to use such an imploring expression. Miss Jun was already smiling.

“Little Cousin is very nice to look at,” she said, her voice serious and without any insincerity.

Fang Chengyu nodded and smiled.

“Older Cousin is also very beautiful,” he said.

Being beautiful or ugly was not important in life. Old Lady had no interest in listening to these things.

“Zhenzhen, how long does he have to take this medicine?” she asked anxiously.

Miss Jun looked at the bowl of concoction on the table, its strong scent wafting up to her noise.

“Until the wedding,” she said. “Add another half dose.”

“You have to add more?” asked Lady Fang.

This medicine was really unpalatable. She had tried it secretly and found it much more disgusting than the medicines Fang Chengyu had taken before.

“Of course,” Miss Jun said, smiling at the youth in the wheelchair. She swept her eyes over him. “Then he will have more strength after the wedding.”

More strength after the wedding?

What strength?

Old Lady Fang and Lady Fang blanked. Although they had both lost their husbands, they had been married before. The naturally knew what happened after a wedding.

Those things, indeed, required strength.

Although they were already this old, when the thought flashed through their heads, mother- and daughter-in-law both flushed.

And the one walking through the entrance had just caught that sentence. Fang Jinxiu was also bright red when she saw Miss Jun evaluate Fang Chengyu.

Although she was not married, she was always brave. She had snuck a glance in a very inappropiate book and had come away with a vague knowledge.

“Jun Zhenzhen.” She coughed. “You really are shameless.”

Miss Jun frowned, not really knowing why she was being insulted. She suddenly realized what they meant as the three generations of Fang Family women could not hide their embarrassed and awkward expressions.

She had been married before, but she had never thought of such a thing.

Miss Jun’s gaze went to Fang Jinxiu, who had never been married, and frowned.

“You are the shameless one,” she said.

……

Whether it was shameless or not, no matter how resentful Fang Jinxiu was, there was no way of preventing the first month from ending and the second month to come.

Although it was still New Years before the 2nd day of the 2nd month, the Fang Family did not have a New Years atmosphere. They were in another kind of festive mood.

The day of Young Master Fang and Miss Jun’s wedding was finally here.

In Bei Liu, Eldest Madam Ning sighed leisurely as she turned the page of a history book.

“Tomorrow, Miss Jun will become a wife of the Fang Family, she said. “Another girl has grown up.”