Chapter 96: Don't Mess with Me

  The girls teased Ati for a while, and then they started talking about the latest fashion trends in Chengdu.

  Unlike the other girls, Lu Xuan didn't understand these things, so she sat in the corner and picked up a book to flip through. She did this, and the other girls were now used to it, and no one thought it was inappropriate.

  Just as everyone was laughing and having a good time, a sweet voice came from outside, "Lu sister..."

  The voice came from outside the carriage, and judging by the tone, it was none other than Qian's daughter.

  Before all the women could react, Ati had already lifted the car curtain.

  Outside, Qian's daughter-in-law smiled at them with a hint of smile, different from yesterday. Today, she had put on light makeup, and her originally pale face had a touch of blush. Her eyes looking at Lu Yue also had more confidence and spirit than yesterday.

  When she saw the girls looking at her, the young girl curtsied to them and smiled with eyes like crescent moons, saying: "I heard Sister Lu and sisters chatting happily, so I came over. Sisters, please don't mind." As she spoke, the girl's gaze towards everyone was filled with a kind of closeness, a kind of affection.

  The girls glanced at her and didn't answer.

  Although there was no answer, the indifference in that expression and demeanor still made the girl's smile freeze instantly.

  After forcing a smile, the girl looked at Lu Xuan and called out intimately: "Sister Lu is well." With a sweet smile, the girl called out: "Sister Lu, Young Master Zhao said he has something to ask you about."

  When she mentioned Zhao Jialang, her chin slightly raised, and there was a hint of pride in her expression. Although these words were spoken to Lu Xue, they were also meant for the other girls: Look, I'm now one family with Zhao Lang, you should look at me differently from now on, shouldn't you?

  All the girls were stunned, and Lu Xuan hadn't spoken yet. Ati had already called out from one side: "Zhao Jiang? He's not familiar with Ayue, why would he call her?" As she said this, Ati gave her a cold glance, "You're not making it up, are you?"

  The girl was stunned for a moment, then looked away and said pitifully: "No, it's not."

  "Alright, you can go." Xiao Yan was impatient, she pulled down the car curtain with a swoosh and turned her head to smile: "What were we talking about just now? Let's continue."

  Just as she pulled down the carriage curtain, the girl saw Lu Yue sitting in the corner of the carriage, leisurely flipping through bamboo slips, and the other girls making merry.

  With just one glance, the car curtain blocked her line of sight.

  Standing stiffly for a moment, the girl returned to her own ox cart. Looking at her brother who was lowering his head and twisting his ankles to exercise, the girl pouted and said angrily: "How can they treat me like this?"

  "Sister, what's wrong?" The young man raised his head.

  Seeing her own brother, the girl burst into tears and wiped her face with her sleeve, sobbing: "Why do they all treat me like this? That Lu Shi is just like me, she also rented a donkey cart to come here, and she doesn't have any relatives in Chengdu either. Why did she get close to those people, can sit in their carriages, wear the clothes they gave her, and still put on an expression that looks down on everyone? She's clearly just as poor as I am, why do they only see her and look down on me? Clearly Zhao Lang likes me too, how come they still put on airs like that?"

  Listening to his sister's complaints, the young man lowered his head even further.

  Seeing her brother like this, the girl was extremely annoyed. She gave him a cold stare and said in a low voice: "You're really no help at all!"

  The young boy heard his sister's scolding and said seriously: "Sister, I will work hard."

  "You always say that you work hard and that the master appreciates you, but this time when the master recommended someone to the higher-ups, why wasn't it you?" As soon as he mentioned this matter, the young man's face turned pale. He said: "Sister, if I had money to give to the master, would anyone else have been recommended?"

  When the girl heard her brother say this, her face softened and she said in a low voice: "It's me who isn't, I shouldn't have said that." In an instant, she added: "However, Uncle's family has already agreed to send you to school. You must remember, once you arrive in Chengdu, you must work harder. Even if it's not for your own sake, you should do it for mine. If the Zhao family finds out you have talent, they will also look up to me more."

  The young man responded with a low "en". In the blink of an eye, he advised: "Sister, don't be sad anymore. Think about it, when we were in Xunyang, you were always worried that you wouldn't get married, but as soon as we arrived here, you met Master Zhao. From now on, you'll have someone to rely on, why do you need them to like you?"

  "What do you know?" The girl gave him a white eye, biting her lower lip and said: "I just can't understand it. We are all daughters of poor people, why do they value that Lu's family but ignore me? And what is the difference between that Lu's family and me? She actually looks down on people, she doesn't even bother to answer when I ask her questions."

  The young man was obviously a bit awkward with his words, and upon hearing this, he lowered his head even further.

  Just when all the women thought Qian had given up, she came again in the afternoon.

  Still smiling and calling out Luoyue's name, the girl didn't say much more, just leaned against the crowd of girls, listening to their chatter, occasionally chiming in with a word or two. Or, when the other girls ordered the maid to do something, she would hastily lend a hand.

  It seems that this Qian surname girl has made up her mind to join them.

  Lu Xuan glanced at her and picked up the book again to take another look.

  She became busy since she discovered that her memory and comprehension were beyond ordinary people. She wanted to use the shortest time to read through all the books at home, absorb more knowledge, and make herself comparable to those erudite scholars in just one or two years. In this way, she could greatly help her brother's studies.

  At that time, because books were precious, people who read books did not deal with them casually like later generations. For example, the Tao Te Ching has only a few thousand words, but some people can shut themselves up in the mountains and concentrate on reading it for decades. The Huangdi Neijing also has only a few thousand words, but even some talented scholars with remarkable memory would spend five or six years studying it word by word. Even relying solely on these few thousand words, because of differences in how people studied them, different understandings emerged, giving rise to various schools of medical thought.

  So Lu Xuan always felt that his knowledge was still insufficient and he needed to work harder.

  Before I knew it, another evening had arrived.

  When the crowd was busy setting up camp, Lu Xuan began her routine inspection. The people in the caravan also knew her habit and not only let her enter various secret places but even greeted her respectfully when she passed by. Wang Shang's guard, Cheng Dalangjun, followed closely behind her, being extremely attentive.

  Lu Yu walked like this, when she was three hundred steps away from the account pavilion by the creek, looking up at the sunset with a frown and thinking deeply. Suddenly, Qian Shi's voice came from behind her, "Sister Lu, what are you looking at?"

  Lu Xuan turned back.

  Standing in the sunset, a silver-white robe, Lu Yue's black eyes shone like jewels, and his whole person was even more handsome and moving, with a demeanor as elegant as jade.

  Rao has always been proud of her beauty, and Qian suddenly felt a sense of shame about her own appearance.

  However, she soon came to her senses. Looking at Lu Yue, Qian Shi first smiled sweetly, then looked wronged and called out: "Lu sister, I've been wanting to ask you, why didn't you care about me?"

  Lu Xuan looked at her and said lightly: "I'm not ignoring you, I'm just this kind of person."

  "Preposterous!" Qian glared at her and sneered, "You were laughing so obsequiously in front of Ati and the others."

  "Is it?" Lu Xuan glanced at her and stepped over her, "Let's just assume so."

  "Stop right there!" Qian shouted, scolding: "What makes you look down on people? I'll tell you, Lu, you're just clinging to those people. I've only followed Zhao Lang, but you, you try to please both Wen Jia Lang Jun and Wang Jia Lang Jun at the same time. You, you really have no shame!"

  As soon as she uttered her last curse, Lu Xuan suddenly turned his head around.

  Staring at Qian Shi with a poker face, Lu Yue curled her lips and said coldly: "It seems that Mrs. Qian is very proud of having hooked up with Young Master Zhao."

  "Are you any different?" Mrs. Qian also sneered, "Everyone just wants to live a better life, what's with the pretentiousness?"

  Lu Xuan looked her up and down before turning around with a cold laugh and walking away.

  Seeing her still being so arrogant, Qian's wife was furious. She hastily followed Lu Xuan and shouted: "Lu, what do you have to be proud of? What makes you look down on people? I hate people like you the most. You're obviously a prostitute who can get by with anything, but you always pretend to be superior."

  "As soon as the two words 'prostitute' came out, Lu Xuan's footsteps paused, then she slowly, slowly turned her head around."

  Turning her head, Lu Xuan narrowed her eyes and expressionlessly sized up Qian Shi's daughter for a moment before nodding and walking straight towards her.

  Intimidated by Lu's aura, Qian's wife retreated several steps back.

  Lu Xuan didn't hit her, she just walked past Qian's wife and said coldly as she left: "It seems you've climbed onto Zhao Jiang, feeling very pleased with yourself, thinking it's an honor... Hmph, unfortunately, I have always hated people who gain without effort."

  Having said that, she brushed past her.

  Watching Lu Yue's departing figure, Qian Shi's wife shuddered inexplicably and shrieked: "What do you mean by that?"

  "What does it mean?" Lu Xuan didn't turn his head back and said coldly: "You will understand soon."

  Qian's daughter was shocked and stunned for a moment before she quickly caught up with Lu Yue.

  But then Lu Yue arrived at the camp, and the young men and women had started a bonfire, gathering together to chat and laugh. Seeing Lu Yue approaching, A Ti hurriedly waved her hand and called out: "A Yue, A Yue, over here!"

  Lu Xuan turned and walked away.

  Arriving at Atai's side, Lu Xuan sat cross-legged and smiled: "Since there is nothing to do at night, why not play some music?"

  All the girls were taken aback, then burst into cheers. "Great! Great!" "What can Ah Yue do?" "Right, that day Ah Yue blew a tune with bamboo leaves that sounded extremely pleasant. Play another one."

  This kind of music performance is originally the work of singing girls, if it weren't for Lu Xuan taking the initiative, even if the young men and women had the intention, they wouldn't have brought it up. Now that she mentioned it, everyone is excited about it.

  Under the starlight, in the flames, the silver-robed Lu Yue was just a smile on her lips.

  Her smile, which had always been overly cold and distant, now revealed an indescribable beauty. Wen Qing and the others, including Zhao Jiang, were all mesmerized.

  Qian's wife, who had been following closely behind, saw the scene and snorted, muttering to herself: "You're shamelessly flirting with others, not even sparing Zhao Lang, yet you dare to say I'm the one. Thinking of this, she felt even more wronged."

  Lü Yuè didn't notice the crowd's abnormality, and after smiling, she said calmly: "What I'm best at isn't blowing on that bamboo leaf, but rather clear singing." Her eyes, as black and white as gemstones, glanced around at the young men and women, and Lü Yuè asked: "Is there anyone skilled in playing the qin? Will you accompany me with a clear song?"