CHAPTER 030
The sky was overcast, with thick clouds obscuring the light, making everything appear gray and murky, as if the world had been steeped in dirty water. In contrast, Su Qingwan, dressed in a white robe, looked like a piece of pure, translucent jade. His entire being radiated a noble and serene aura as he walked along the path, holding a book. His robe fluttered gently, making him appear as graceful as the wind.
Compared to the surroundings, he stood out as exceptionally clean and pristine.
Even just a glimpse of his side profile was enough to leave a lasting impression.
However, his beautiful face was marred by a hint of sadness.
Qin Yaxue hurried over and stopped a few steps away. She had long heard that the young lord Su was an unparalleled beauty, pure and otherworldly. Though she had seen him from a distance before, hindered by the scar on her face, they had never been properly introduced. Today, however, fate seemed to be on her side.
She adjusted her appearance once more, took a deep breath, and confidently stepped forward to greet him. "Greetings, young lord Su. I am—"
Before she could finish introducing herself, the person in front of her walked past her as if she didn’t exist.
Qin Yaxue’s brow twitched involuntarily. Unwilling to be ignored, she quickly caught up, bowing respectfully. "Young lord Su, I am Qin Yaxue from Ruixing Hall."
Su Qingwan suddenly stopped, frowning slightly. His indifferent gaze fell on Qin Yaxue. Couldn't she see he was in a bad mood? How dare she pester him!
Seeing him stop, Qin Yaxue was momentarily stunned by his beauty up close, then quickly smiled ingratiatingly. "I've long heard of your talent and grace, young lord Su. Meeting you today, you are indeed—"
"Good dogs don’t block the way." Su Qingwan’s expression turned cold, his displeasure evident as he glanced at Qin Yaxue, his tone dripping with disdain.
With that, he flicked his sleeve and walked away.
Qin Yaxue was left standing there, her face flushed with embarrassment. The phrase "Good dogs don’t block the way" hit her like a slap in the face.
As the daughter of the Minister of Rites, Qin Yaxue had always been surrounded by flattery and adulation. Never before had she been so openly disregarded. Clenching her fists, she bit her lip and stared daggers at Su Qingwan’s retreating figure.
Then, as if to console herself, she sneered, "Of course, as the son of Prince Yun, he naturally holds his head high. But the days are long. I refuse to believe I can't win you over, young lord Su."
Meanwhile, Lu Yun'er, feeling the weight of the two large bags she was carrying, decided to take a break under a tall tree. She placed the bags on the ground and leaned against the trunk to rest for a moment.
She glanced at the bags, thinking about how heavy they were when she had first picked them up after getting off the carriage. In addition to the few pounds of braised bones she had asked Qiu Yi to prepare, the rest of the contents were also packed by Qiu Yi, though she wasn’t sure what was inside.
She briefly considered leaving some of it behind, but the servants had mentioned that Qiu Yi had painstakingly prepared everything, and she didn’t want to upset her.
What exactly had Qiu Yi packed in these bags?
Lu Yun'er was lost in thought when she suddenly heard Liu Lan calling out to her.
"Yun'er, how are your preparations for this afternoon’s polo match coming along?" Liu Lan asked with a mysterious smile, her tone probing.
Lu Yun'er turned to face her, her bright eyes sparkling. She didn’t bother to hide anything. "Pretty well. What’s this? Are you here to scout for information?"
"Hahaha! To be honest, you’re the first person to make me feel both admiration and apprehension!" Liu Lan draped an arm over Lu Yun'er's shoulder, smiling slyly. "I both love and hate you! Thinking back to that last polo match... Well, even though it’s been a while, I can’t help but be cautious around you! You caught me off guard with your ruthless play. But... I really like your style—clean, decisive, and utterly cool!"
Liu Lan never held back on compliments when she found someone worthy.
Lu Yun'er smiled warmly, not bothering with false modesty. "Thank you for the praise."
"Hahaha! Don’t mention it! But... did you just come back from your residence?" Liu Lan glanced at the bags on the ground, knowing that Lu Yun'er had recently moved into the Scholar's Institute and had reduced her course load. This suited Liu Lan just fine, as it meant they’d have more time to practice together.
Yes, the undefeated General Liu's first taste of defeat had come at Lu Yun'er's hands.
But Liu Lan had a strong spirit. Ever since that loss, she had been eager to best Lu Yun'er.
Unfortunately, Lu Yun'er was always busy, either with work or resting. By the time she was free, Liu Lan would have to return to the Hua North Army Camp.
Now was the perfect time.
Lu Yun'er nodded. "Yes, I just brought some things from home."
Liu Lan grinned. "Let me help you carry them back to your courtyard."
"Sure!" Lu Yun'er was about to hand her one of the bags when Liu Lan suddenly called out urgently, "Yun'er, you carry them yourself. I have something to attend to. I’ll see you later!"
"Hey! Sister Lan, you—" Lu Yun'er looked up, but the figure in front of her had already disappeared.
She watched as Liu Lan ran off after Sheng Qingzi, who seemed to be walking away hurriedly, as if trying to avoid Liu Lan.
Lu Yun'er was puzzled. What was going on with those two?
Seeing that her free labor was gone, Lu Yun'er could only rely on herself. As she entered the courtyard, she noticed that Juzi wasn’t around, likely off playing in the back mountain.
The back mountain was a dense and expansive forest that was usually deserted, so there was no need to worry about Juzi being discovered.
Lu Yun'er carefully placed everything down, starting by taking out a few pounds of braised bones and putting them in Juzi's large bowl, knowing that when Juzi returned, the smell would draw her to the treat.
Just then, a few knocks came from the courtyard gate.
Lu Yun'er quickly put down what she was holding and hurried to the gate. With a creak, she opened the door.
Lu Yun'er was visibly stunned. After experiencing that strange dream yesterday, she felt an indescribable emotion when she saw Su Qingwan standing before her. His ink-black eyes gazed quietly at her, his face pale, but he said nothing.
For a moment, the two stood in silence, simply looking at each other.
As Lu Yun'er looked at the face before her, she couldn't help but recall the dream from the previous night. A subtle, complicated expression flashed in her eyes as she lowered her gaze and asked, "Scholar Su, is there something you need from me?"
For some reason, after that dream, she felt a bit guilty. She had told him not to pester her, yet in her dream, she had shared an intimate moment with him. It was clearly a case of her actions not matching her words, even a bit hypocritical.
Seeing her seeming displeasure, Su Qingwan felt a pang in his heart. He softly asked, "May I come in and talk?"
He had already made up his mind to change his approach.
Lu Yun'er felt it was inappropriate. "Scholar Su, if you have something to say, you can say it here."
Su Qingwan hesitated, "I..."
Suddenly, there was a loud crash from within the courtyard, followed by the sound of painful whimpering.
Lu Yun'er instinctively turned her head, sensing something was wrong, and immediately rushed back into the courtyard. Out of curiosity, Su Qingwan followed her in, closing the gate behind him.
Upon entering the courtyard, Lu Yun'er saw Juzi lying weakly in the grass, whimpering in pain. She was startled to see blood gushing from Juzi's injured right front leg and hurried inside to grab the ointment and bandages that Qiu Yi had prepared for her.
Why is there an injured dog here?
Su Qingwan was equally shocked. As Lu Yun'er turned to go inside, he quickly moved to Juzi's side, placed his book aside, and squatted down, taking out a handkerchief in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Juzi, scared by the unfamiliar face and its own injury, curled up in fear.
Su Qingwan's eyes were filled with compassion. He softly murmured, "Don't be afraid, I'm here to help you."
His voice was gentle and soothing, almost as if it had a magical power to calm the animal.
Su Qingwan tried again to approach, and when his hand finally touched the fur on Juzi's injured leg, seeing no resistance, he smiled in relief and quickly used the handkerchief to stem the bleeding.
Lu Yun'er returned in a hurry, holding the medicine, but her steps halted suddenly at the sight before her.
Su Qingwan was crouched down, his soft hair gently falling over his face. His fair hands held a handkerchief that was pressed against Juzi's bleeding wound, now soaked with blood. His fingers, stained with the scent of blood, were filled with urgency and concern.
She hadn’t expected that the young scholar would be so bold.
There was no hint of disdain in his demeanor; instead, it seemed genuinely sincere.
Lu Yun'er finally snapped out of her daze, quickly walked over, and said softly, "Let me take over."
"Alright," Su Qingwan quietly moved aside.
"Juzi, be good, let me take a look," Lu Yun'er crouched down and carefully examined the wound on Juzi's front leg. A grim gash met her eyes, with the flesh around it a bit blurred but, thankfully, the bone wasn't harmed. The fur around it had clumped together due to the blood.
Thankfully, there was no poison.
Lu Yun'er's expression grew complex, her eyes filled with pain as her cold gaze softened. A trace of suspicion crossed her mind.
This was clearly a knife wound. Who could have been so cruel?
Where had Juzi come back from?
Lu Yun'er quickly brushed aside her confusion, gently applied the ointment to Juzi's wound. Juzi, having been trained by Lu Yun'er, knew not to make any noise in the courtyard, so she bit back her pain and whimpered softly.
The sound of Juzi’s painful whimpering felt like a blade to Lu Yun'er’s heart. She had worked hard to nurse Juzi back to health, and now, only a few days later, Juzi had suffered such a terrible injury.
"Don't worry, Juzi. You'll be alright, it's going to be okay..." Su Qingwan stood by, helping her comfort Juzi with a gentle voice. Seeing this, a strange light flickered in Lu Yun'er's eyes, but she quickly returned her focus to bandaging Juzi's wound. She was just about to reach for scissors.
"The scissors are here." Suddenly, a pair of scissors was handed to her, and she found herself locking eyes with Su Qingwan.
Lu Yun'er blinked in surprise as she took the scissors. "Thank you."
After treating Juzi's wound, Lu Yun'er carried her into a small room, deciding to take her back to the mansion to recover.
As Lu Yun'er walked back outside, she approached Su Qingwan, saying thoughtfully, "This dog is called Juzi, a stray I found when I moved into this courtyard. According to the rules of the National Academy, it’s not allowed to keep pets here, so I’ll be taking Juzi back to the mansion to recover. I ask that Scholar Su keep this matter confidential."
"Hmm, I’ll listen to whatever Yun'er sister says." Su Qingwan's eyes sparkled as he said with a gentle smile, "So, it's named Juzi. Did Yun'er sister name her?"
Lu Yun'er nodded, "Yes, I named her based on the color of her fur."
"That's a lovely name," Su Qingwan replied with a soft smile.
Seeing him smile, Lu Yun'er couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, possibly due to lingering effects from the dream. Just as she was about to look away, she noticed the blood on his hands. Su Qingwan seemed to realize this too and glanced at his hands.
"Scholar Su, please wait a moment." Lu Yun'er quickly went to the kitchen to wash her hands, then returned with a basin of water, which she placed on the stone table in the courtyard. "Scholar Su, please clean your hands."
"Alright," Su Qingwan said with a slight smile, stepping over to Lu Yun'er and extending his hands.
Lu Yun'er blinked in surprise, "Scholar Su, this is...?"
Su Qingwan raised his hands a little higher, looking serious, "Yun'er sister, could you help me roll up my sleeves? My hands are covered in blood, so it’s inconvenient."
Lu Yun'er paused for a moment, considering. If she avoided this too much, it would seem overly pretentious. After all, he had helped her a great deal. She then responded straightforwardly, "Alright."
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