CHAPTER 038
After dealing with the matter concerning Juzi, Lu Yun'er had been slightly delayed. She gently pushed open the door and entered, smiling apologetically, "Greetings, sisters! Sorry to keep you waiting."
Liu Lan waved her over with a smile, "You’re here, come and sit down. Try this new tea that Ranzhi brought back from Langzhou."
"Alright." Lu Yun'er sat down at the table. As soon as she entered the room, she caught a faint whiff of the tea’s fragrance. From the aroma alone, she could tell it was an excellent tea.
Han Ranzhi poured a cup of tea for Lu Yun'er and handed it to her, her expression doting. "Give it a try, how is it?"
Lu Yun'er accepted the cup and took a slow sip. After savoring it, she raised her eyebrows slightly, complimenting, "The taste is smooth, with a sweet aftertaste that lingers like a spring bubbling up beneath the tongue. It's truly a fine tea."
She set down the cup and, thinking they hadn’t seen each other in a while, asked, "Ranzhi-jie, was your trip to Langzhou smooth?"
"Everything went well. However, your brother-in-law didn’t return to the capital with me this time," Han Ranzhi replied, noticing Lu Yun'er's puzzled look. She then explained with a touch of joy in her voice, "Your brother-in-law is expecting, and it’s not advisable for him to travel long distances. The journey is tiring, and since I’m busy with official duties and he has elders in Langzhou to care for him, he’s staying there to rest."
Hearing this, Lu Yun'er’s face lit up with happiness. She beamed, "Congratulations, Ranzhi-jie! It won’t be long before you embrace the new role of motherhood."
In this world, aside from her original family, Ranzhi-jie was both a mentor and a friend to Lu Yun'er, almost like a family member.
When she first arrived, everything was unfamiliar, including the body she now inhabited. Without any so-called protagonist’s halo, she had to rely on her own efforts to grow step by step.
In this foreign world, she thought that as long as she fulfilled her duties, she could live a life of peace and stability, but nothing went according to plan. She had cried under pressure, been persecuted and nearly imprisoned, and had even killed to protect herself.
As a modern person who abided by the law, the act of killing was a tremendous ordeal for her, both physically and mentally, especially since the original owner of the body had never taken a life. This caused her to fall into depression for a time.
Fortunately, with the help and guidance of Ranzhi-jie, she managed to navigate her way through.
She was genuinely happy for Ranzhi-jie.
Liu Lan grinned broadly, winking at Han Ranzhi as she teased, "You two hadn’t been married for long and already have a child on the way. Ranzhi, you’re amazing! At this rate, you might have two in a year!"
Han Ranzhi laughed, "You can stop teasing me. If you could curb your flirty ways and find a good husband to settle down with, you might even do better than me."
"Is that so?" Liu Lan lowered her eyes in thought, her mind drifting to something, and a smile curved her lips. "I’ll give it my best shot."
Surprised by Liu Lan’s unexpected agreement, instead of her usual deflection, Han Ranzhi instinctively glanced at Lu Yun'er, wondering what was going on.
Lu Yun'er seemed to understand Liu Lan’s thoughts. Recalling the day at the Imperial Academy when Liu Lan suddenly left to chase after Sheng Qingzi, she had suspected something was up between them. However, given Sheng Qingzi’s usual attitude toward Liu Lan, it was clear that Liu Lan needed to change her ways and put in a lot of effort.
But since Liu Lan hadn’t openly mentioned anything, Lu Yun'er kept silent, knowing that Ranzhi-jie’s intelligence would eventually lead her to figure it out. She shook her head at Han Ranzhi, indicating that she knew nothing.
Suddenly remembering the important purpose of her visit, Lu Yun'er's expression turned serious as she looked at her two sisters. "Today, I have something important to discuss with you both."
It was rare to see Lu Yun'er so serious, so Liu Lan immediately adjusted her posture, and Han Ranzhi looked at her with the same gravity.
Lu Yun'er explained everything about Juzi and then took out a letter. "Please take a look, sisters."
Han Ranzhi opened the letter, and as she read, both her and Liu Lan’s expressions shifted from shock to intense anger.
With a loud "bang!" Liu Lan clenched her fist and slammed it onto the ground, her voice icy with fury. "Outrageous! These scoundrels are so bold as to embezzle vast amounts of silver! They must be tired of living!"
Liu Lan’s fury was understandable, as the matter involved military pay. According to the letter, the timeline matched the early days of the new emperor’s reign. The previous emperor had been corrupt and decadent, leaving the state treasury severely depleted.
Later, the empress issued new policies that gradually stabilized the nation’s economy. However, the economic foundation was still weak, and with the nation beset by external threats, the military pay became a critical issue.
Military pay wasn’t just the soldiers’ salaries; it also provided them with essential supplies and sustenance to improve their living conditions. Moreover, in battle, where life and death were at stake, soldiers often left their pay and possessions to their families as a small comfort for those who survived.
Though life at the front was tough, the soldiers fought fiercely to protect the nation. The actions of these corrupt officials, who lined their pockets at the expense of those risking their lives, were a betrayal that would chill the hearts of those soldiers who built the walls with their blood and flesh.
Now that the country is peaceful and the people live in harmony, this prosperity is thanks to those who sacrificed their own families for the greater good. Having followed her mother into Huabei from a young age, Liu Lan lived and ate with the soldiers, and she knew well the hardships of life and the dangers on the battlefield. When compared to these corrupt officials who seek pleasure, Liu Lan’s anger naturally burned even more fiercely.
When she reached the end of the letter, Han Ranzhi’s sharp, cold eyes showed clear bewilderment. She frowned, her hand trembling slightly as she held the letter, unable to believe what she was seeing. "Yan Luo? How could it be him?"
Seeing Ranzhi-jie’s strange reaction, Lu Yun'er sensed something was wrong. "What’s the matter, Ranzhi-jie? Do you know this person?"
Han Ranzhi’s serious gaze gradually deepened, as if searching her memory for something familiar yet distant. "Yan Luo was once a male scholar at the Imperial Academy. Though he was a man, he was exceptionally talented, with literary skills that rivaled any woman’s. He was then appointed to teach at the Women’s Academy within the Imperial Academy, despite his young age."
"Yan Luo and I are from the same hometown, so I know a bit about him. He’s about seven years older than me and was an orphan, adopted by a kind cloth merchant who treated him as her own child. After his adoptive mother passed away, he came to the capital intending to revive the family business and reopen a cloth shop. It just so happened that the new emperor had recently ascended the throne and was eager to recruit talents, regardless of gender. After passing the imperial examination with flying colors, Yan Luo ranked first among the men and became the first male scholar at the Imperial Academy."
"His story spread widely in Langzhou, though public opinion was mixed because he was a man. But in my eyes, Han Ranzhi, he was a man worthy of respect. However..." Han Ranzhi’s gaze returned to the letter, uncertain. "However, I heard he had long resigned from his position and returned to Langzhou."
"Returned to Langzhou?" Lu Yun'er asked, surprised by this unexpected detail, but it didn’t diminish her suspicions. "But if he returned to Langzhou, why didn’t he take Juzi with him? Even more puzzling, how did a scholar like him come to possess the Imperial Academy’s account book? Why would he leave such an important piece of evidence and not report it?"
At these words, Liu Lan suddenly realized something and speculated anxiously, "Something’s not right! This Yan Luo might not have returned to Langzhou at all—he might have met with misfortune!" She cast a worried glance at the two of them. "You have to understand, if this account book reaches the emperor, the heads of those corrupt officials at the Imperial Academy will roll! There’s no way those bastards would let him return safely to Langzhou. This could all be a ruse. After all, only the dead tell no tales!"
Han Ranzhi narrowed her eyes in thought, frowning. "I’ll send someone to Langzhou immediately to confirm whether Yan Luo returned. At the same time, I’ll report this matter to the emperor truthfully. But with so many eyes and ears in the palace, and given the significance of this account book, Yun'er, you must keep it safe. As you said earlier, those people have surely noticed something. Be extremely cautious."
"Yes," Lu Yun'er replied, fully aware of the dangers. From the moment she opened the account book, she had already become ensnared in a complex web. The enormous sums of embezzled silver undoubtedly pointed to a powerful mastermind behind the scenes.
As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Lan placed a hand on Lu Yun'er’s shoulder, a fierce glint in her cold eyes. "If anyone dares to harm Yun'er even a little, they’ll regret it. They must be tired of living."
Liu Lan had long been displeased with those old men at the Imperial Academy. If it weren’t for Yun'er telling her to hold back, she would have dealt with them already.
Lu Yun'er’s eyes curved into a smile, warmth flooding her heart as if she were wrapped in sunlight, warm and comforting.
Though she had known Ranzhi-jie longer, Liu Lan treated her just like a sister. She remembered when she was still inexperienced, almost thrown into prison by treacherous people. If it hadn’t been for Liu Lan standing up for her and proving her innocence before the emperor, she wouldn’t have come through unscathed.
Since then, she knew that in this world, human nature could be treacherous, and to survive, she had to grow stronger and become her own pillar of support.
At that moment, Lu Yun'er suddenly recalled something Sheng Qingzi had said. So it was him who had taught at the Women’s Academy. At the same time, memories of Liu Bing’s meaningful gaze when mentioning that male scholar, and the unnamed grave she had seen in the countryside during Qingming, flashed through her mind.
Her intuition told her that Liu Bing was no ordinary person—he might know something.
Meanwhile, at the Qin Residence.
A middle-aged woman dressed in brocade, exuding an air of nobility, wore a terrifyingly cold expression. Her face twisted in ferocious anger.
"If it hadn’t been for my people discovering this, how long were you planning to keep it from me?" Qin Jin stared coldly at Hu Lanzhen and Du Hongying, who knelt on the floor. Her gaze was icy and filled with a bone-chilling cruelty. "Useless! The two of you are useless! It’s been more than a year, and you still haven’t found it. And now, you can’t even deal with a filthy dog! What use do I have for you?"
Qin Jin might have seemed kind on the surface, but she was ruthless, willing to do anything to achieve her goals, no matter the means.
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