Chapter 10: Making a gift for Young Master Ji?

Zhu Wansheng’s heart stirred, and she silently recited: Little Hua classmate, quickly give me some aluminum powder, the finer the better, don’t use any container, just put it directly in my hand.

After the aluminum powder appeared in her hand, Zhu Wansheng lightened her footsteps and walked towards the room.

The cold wind was still howling, and the wooden door was creaking and groaning.

Her hair had long since lost any semblance of style in the wind. By the faint moonlight, Zhu Wansheng’s heart trembled with each step she took.

She seemed to have never been so nervous before, hoping that everything was just an illusion, that there was no one inside, and that it was just the strong wind that had blown open the wooden door.

But things don’t always go as she wishes.

As soon as Zhu Wansheng’s foot stepped in, the next second, a white figure flashed quickly. Their hands moved almost simultaneously, Zhu Wansheng throwing the aluminum powder in her hand towards the person’s face, while the other person was empty-handed.

With this strike of aluminum powder, the opponent was thrown off balance and let out a muffled groan. But they seemed to be trained, instantly regaining their footing and immediately changing from a punch to a kick, hooking Zhu Wansheng’s left foot.

She hadn’t practiced martial arts, so her stance was unstable. In an instant, she fell face-first towards the inside of the door.

Her hand grasped wildly in the air, but there was nothing to support her. Zhu Wansheng fell face down, feeling as if all her internal organs had been displaced. Her nose instantly felt on fire, a warm flow quickly surging from her nostrils, followed by dizziness and blackness before her eyes.

Struggling to lift her head and look, she saw that the other person had already run far away.

They ran just like that, so it seems they weren’t after her life?

The whole incident happened in less than a minute, and it was pitch dark, so Zhu Wansheng couldn’t even see the person’s face clearly. She could only roughly judge that it was a woman. As she rushed over, carried by the wind, she smelled the scent of jasmine.

This was strange. The original owner had been arrogant and domineering for so many years without anyone coming after her. How come as soon as she arrived, someone targeted her?

Had she done something to offend someone?

Was it related to a man?

Or the rouge shop…

Zhu Wansheng wanted to get up but couldn’t muster the strength. How embarrassing, just lying on the ground like this. She could already hear footsteps coming from the side room; Lanfan must have heard the commotion and was rushing over…

Sure enough…

“My lady, how did you fall down again? Are you alright, my lady?”

Lanfan came running, directly picking up Zhu Wansheng and placing her on the bed, then hurriedly going to light a lamp.

The sudden brightness made Zhu Wansheng reflexively close her eyes. Seeing her face covered in blood, Lanfan was so anxious she was almost in tears, running back and forth in the room: finding a towel, pouring hot water.

“My lady, you’ve lost so much blood. Should we call for a doctor to take a look?”

Zhu Wansheng shook her head, “No need, I’m fine. It’s just a nosebleed, it’ll be fine after wiping it off.”

“My lady, you’ve been fainting a lot recently. Are you feeling unwell somewhere? And why is your face covered in such deep rouge?”

Zhu Wansheng wiped her face, and indeed the color was very deep. The woman from earlier hadn’t laughed at her appearance; fear truly can override any emotion.

“Lanfan, who is Xiaoer?”

Lanfan’s hand, which was wiping her face, noticeably paused, but only for a moment. Then she resumed her actions and shook her head, “This servant doesn’t know. Why does my lady ask such a question?”

Zhu Wansheng studied Lanfan for a few moments. After these few days of interaction, she had gained some understanding of Lanfan’s character: this girl had no scheming, she was straightforward and quick to speak her mind, and efficient in her work.

The only shortcoming might be that, like the original owner, she was somewhat domineering, always having punishment on her lips.

But overall, she was quite good. She had been taking care of the original owner since she was little, and thus was very trusted by her.

But at this moment, Lanfan seemed a bit strange. Although she was smiling respectfully while wiping her face and dealing with the blood, there was a hint of panic in her eyes, and she couldn’t control the pressure of her hands well, sometimes heavy and sometimes light.

This all started when she mentioned Xiaoer.

So, who exactly was this Xiaoer?

Zhu Wansheng propped herself up on her elbow, sat up straight, and raised her hand to stop Lanfan’s actions. “Lanfan, I really didn’t faint just now. Someone tried to harm me, I was kicked down by that person…”

Before she could finish speaking, Lanfan had already fallen to her knees with a thud: “My lady, it’s Lanfan’s fault. I shouldn’t have slept so deeply, letting you suffer like this. It’s Lanfan who failed to protect you properly. You can punish me as you see fit.”

“Then who do you think would want to harm me?”

Still kneeling, Lanfan rolled her eyes in thought and said: “I think the only one who would want to harm you is Master Gu. Only he can’t wait for something to happen to you. If something were to happen to you, with Old Master Zhu’s care for him, he would definitely be set free. That would make him so happy he’d laugh in his dreams.”

Zhu Wansheng wasn’t surprised by Lanfan’s answer at all.

But that person was a woman, and it seemed her goal wasn’t to kill her. If the other party really wanted her dead, they wouldn’t have come empty-handed, but with a knife or a weapon, and she wouldn’t have had the chance to be here investigating now.

Compared to Gu Yingqing, she was more inclined to think it was because she had started managing the rouge shop, and someone was unhappy about it.

The rouge shop?

Zhu Wansheng’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and she quickly got up and ran to the curio shelf.

Her hand circled inside the porcelain bottle, and her heart, which had been in her throat, finally settled down. Thank goodness, it was still there, the coral red, which she had specially hidden in the porcelain.

This Zhu family didn’t seem as peaceful as she had imagined.

It’s just that the original owner and her mother were too laid-back in their daily lives, so those with ulterior motives just turned a blind eye.

Now, she had barely looked at the shop and someone was already getting restless.

***

Because of the tossing and turning for half the night, coupled with the pitter-patter of rain outside providing perfect white noise for sleeping, Zhu Wansheng slept until noon.

She opened her eyes and struggled to turn over.

It hurt, really hurt. That fall from yesterday had left various parts of her body aching in delayed reaction. The person who ambushed her was truly vicious; that kick had come completely unexpectedly.

She wondered if her nose was still alright? It would be awful if it had been knocked crooked, that would really affect her appearance. She hadn’t even had a chance to fall in love yet…

Thinking of this, she frowned, her chest feeling stuffy. What love? She was already married now… and to a husband who disliked her…

The wooden door knocked three times.

Lanfan carefully entered, “My lady, lunch has been ready for some time. You hadn’t risen, so Lanfan had to boldly come in to call you.”

Zhu Wansheng gave an “Mm” in response.

She got up slowly and grudgingly, allowing Lanfan to dress her, her eyes still sleepy and her posture not quite straight.

She was listless, but Lanfan was full of energy, “My lady, you have dark circles under your eyes. We must find out who ambushed you and hang them up. I’ll whip them to death, let those ungrateful people taste the flavor of my whip.”

As she spoke, she touched the soft whip tied at her waist.

Zhu Wansheng glanced sideways at the whip, feeling somewhat rueful: the whip handle was inlaid with a silver wolf head, its gaze fierce, the whip body like a long tongue, made of raw cowhide, coiled around the waist like a snake, tied loosely for easy drawing.

One lash from this whip, coupled with Lanfan’s strength, would probably split the skin and flesh.

Zhu Wansheng considered for a moment before replying, “Mm, we should find them.” But right now, she had more pressing concerns. “Lanfan, help me get some silver later, quite a bit of it.”

While helping her do her hair, Lanfan responded, “My lady, are you going to buy a gift for Young Master Ji?”

Zhu Wansheng asked curiously, “Why do you ask that?”

“My lady, have you forgotten? It’s Young Master Ji’s birthday at the end of the month. You said earlier that you wanted to find some curious things for Young Master Ji.”

“In previous years, we’ve always given zithers or jade. Young Master Ji must be tired of those by now. This year, I want to give something special.”

Zhu Wansheng began to search through movie scenes: For the original owner, Ji Shubai’s birthday was of utmost importance, even more so than her own.

What Lanfan just mentioned about giving zithers and jade was just the tip of the iceberg. Along with that, there were birthday banquets, renting boats for lake tours, and even more extravagantly, releasing hundreds of sky lanterns, each personally written with blessings by the original owner.

Before marriage, Ji Shubai was still willing to give face. Although their interactions were few, they were harmonious. Occasionally, he would even play the zither for the original owner.

His momentary whims were life-saving medicine for the original owner, the source of her motivation, the catalyst for her reactions.

After marriage, no matter how much effort the original owner put into arranging invitations, Ji Shubai never gave her a good look, and even the gifts were forcibly given by Lanfan.

Zhu Wansheng couldn’t empathize. Putting in so much effort, yet Ji Shubai remained unmoved—was it truly a lack of love, or was their fate not deep enough?

Those memories replayed in her mind, but to her, it was just watching a sour drama of unrequited love.

Seeing her frowning and not speaking, Lanfan didn’t continue to ask, but changed the subject, “My lady, what are these objects on the table? They look novel, but I can’t guess their use. I left them scattered about, not daring to move them, afraid of messing up something important to you.”

Zhu Wansheng really liked this about Lanfan. Her brow smoothed out as she said, “It’s fine to leave these here, don’t worry about them. I’m using them to make some curious things.”

Lanfan blurted out, “Curious things? Is my lady personally making a gift for Young Master Ji this year?”

Her lady had never liked handicrafts before, but now she was willing to change herself again and again for Young Master Ji. This should have softened even a stone, should have warmed even the coldest heart, yet that Young Master Ji remained completely unmoved. Lanfan couldn’t understand it.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Wansheng laughed, “What nonsense, why would I make a gift for him?”