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“It’s nothing, your sister and her friends were just startled by a snake,” Madam Tongzhi replied.

Hearing about the snake, a few young men were eager to prove their bravery expressing their intention to catch the snake and thus avenge those slighted.’ Among them, Lu Yuhong was the most enthusiastic: “Snake soup is delicious, once we catch it, we can make it into soup!”

Such talk coming from Lu Yuhong attracted no ridicule. Had anyone else said SO, they likely would have been laughed at by the crowd.

But Lu Yuhong was different. His social standing was far above anyone else present.

Lu Yuhong was not a student of Anzhou Academy either. Today, he felt like mingling with the academy’s students during their outing.

On this account, those from Anzhou Academy were very careful and tactful in his company, afraid of upsetting him.

While Lu Yuhong spoke, his gaze fell on Wei Ruo who was on the other side of the fence.

Feeling Lu’s stare, Wei Ruo figured that this gluttonous young master from the Lu family had taken an interest in her.

Wei Ruo didn’t truly believe that all this commotion was because of a snake. Both Xiu Yaojun and Wei Qingwan’s reactions were somewhat off.

However, both were hiding the true nature of the situation for their own purposes.

Suddenly, several young masters left the compound, inspecting the surroundings in high spirits.

Even if they didn’t find the snake, giving the area a thorough check should put the ladies who were out enjoying the day at ease.

Wei Qingwan then returned to her original seat.

Wei Ruo continued to sip her tea and enjoy her pastries at a leisurely pace, never intending to expose Wei Qingwan’s lie.

Rather, it was Wei Qingwan who kept looking at Wei Ruo, feeling a sense of guilt or something similar, always imagining that Wei Ruo seemed to know something.

When Madam Yun got up and joined Madam Tongzhi and the others, Wei Qingwan initiated a conversation with Wei Ruo: “Do you not believe that I encountered a snake?”

We Ruo paused for a moment, then her lips curled involuntarily into a smile “If you had encountered a snake, why didn’t you all run out together? Why did they come out first and you came so much later?”

She hadn’t intended to expose Wei Qingwan, but since she insisted on asking, Wei Ruo was forced to speak clearly.

“I’m timid. Seeing the snake terrified me and my legs went weak,” Wei Qingwan explained.

“What about your sleeve then? When was it torn?” Wei Ruo asked.

“This…” Wei Qingwan glanced at her own arm, explaining, “It was torn by a branch in the peach forest.”

“So it was a tree branch. I thought you met a rogue in there, had a scuffle, then were rescued by a hero,” Wei Ruo answered with a mild smile.

Wei Qingwan went pale at those words, a look of fear flashed in her eyes. Wei Ruo just speculated that. In the original plot, Wei Qingwan was once rescued by Chu Lan at the Huafa Temple, and the instigator of that incident was she, the senseless supporting female character.

Having observed Wei Qingwan’s reaction, Wei Ruo was quite confident in her assumption.

“You can’t just say things like that, sister. That tarnishes my reputation,” Wei Qingwan said with a serious expression, attempting to feign calm.

“Not at all. You asked me first, didn’t you? Normally, I wouldn’t say a word more than necessary,” Wei Ruo responded with a light laugh.

Wei Qingwan turned pale at Wei Ruo’s smile, and bit her lower lip.

Wei Ruo did not bother to engage further. The only point of curiosity for her regarding the day’s events was who the heroic rescuer might be.

Was it one of the students from Anzhou Academy resting next door?

###

Lu Yuhong, Xiu Fengyuan, Wei Yichen and a few other students from Anzhou Academy went around the miniature courtyard of the Xiu family, and truly caught a snake.

Though they were students, they were well-versed in activities like riding and archery, therefore, catching a snake together wasn’t a problem.

Especially for Lu Yuhong, who was incredibly agile.

However, they didn’t know what breed of snake it was or whether it was poisonous.

Lu Yuhong was more concerned about whether they could use the snake to make a delicious dish.

While pondering over it, Lu Yuhong saw a man dressed in navy-colored silk and wearing a bamboo hat across the way. Immediately, he abandoned the snake and bid farewell to Xiu Fengyuan and the others.

Lu Yuhong ran towards the man: “Seventh Prince, what are you doing here?”

Lu Yuhong had come to Taizhou prefecture for Chu Lan. After meeting up with

Chu Lan, he was not only there to protect him but also to evade his grandfather’s strict rules.

Today was a beautiful day, so when he heard that the students of Anzhou Academy were going to have some fun, he left Chu Lan behind to participate in the fun.

He thought Chu Lan did not want to leave the house, so he was surprised to see him here.

“I had some business,” Chu Lan replied.

“Alright, be careful. We still don’t know who’s behind the attempt on your life

I’m afraid they might make another move,” Lu Yuhong advised.

“Mhm. I’ll be fine,” Chu Lan said, looking towards the courtyard.

Seeing this, Lu Yuhong asked, “What are you looking at?”

Nothing really,” Chu Lan replied.

‘Do you want to stay and have a meal with us?” Lu Yuhong asked again.

“No need, I have something to attend to in the north of the town,” Chu Lan declined politely.

“Are you going to see that Mr. Xu again?” Lu Yuhong asked.

Chu Lan didn’t deny it, so that was as good as a confirmation.

Lu Yuhong remarked, “I get it that you want to express your gratitude since he saved your life. But considering what happened the last time you went to see him, you will probably be given the cold shoulder again.”

Lu Yuhong didn’t quite understand why a capable doctor turned farmer had such hostility against officials. Perhaps his family was wronged by someone in power in the past.

“Whatever he was subjected to in the past has nothing to do with me. I only know that he saved my life and our previous interactions were quite pleasant. I consider him a close friend,” Chu Lan said.

After saying this, Chu Lan mounted his horse and sped off toward the northern town, without paying any more attention to the curious Lu Yuhong.

His own attendants also followed suit on their horses.

Lu Yuhong shook his head and sighed, “I really don’t get him. He is doing all this for a man. If you didn’t know better, you would think that his lifesaver is a beauty capable of toppling an empire! His life-saving grace is significant, yes, but if the man doesn’t want to associate with him, wouldn’t it be better to just’ offer him some silver coins?”

###

At noon, they all ate together in the courtyard. Madam Tongzhi had especially invited a chef who meticulously prepared the day’s meals.

Some dishes were prepared using freshly picked wild vegetables such as dressed pigweed, stir-fried shepherds purse and dried bean curd fried with water celery.

Wei Ruo found everything delightful.

Additionally, Madam Tongzhi specifically sent someone to Zuixian Residence to buy a few dishes. The dishes at Zuixian Residence were special and unparalleled; they were delicious and excellent for entertaining guests..