“Young Mistress! At last I’ve found you. This humble one, Ping Xiyu, greets the Young Mistress.”
Only then did Lu Jinlan recognize her and quickly help her up.
Ping Xiyu’s voice trembled. “Ever since we parted in Yunzhou, I’ve constantly worried about you. Were you hurt just now? If anything had happened to you, how could I possibly answer to the Old Master?”
“I’m fine,” Lu Jinlan said hurriedly. “It’s my friend who’s injured. Please examine her.”
Ping Xiyu briefly took Xiang Ruzhen’s pulse and inspected the wound. “Fortunately, the injury itself isn’t severe—she’s simply lost too much blood. Some nourishment and rest will suffice. Our pharmacy is just a street away. I’ll take her back and care for her at once.”
Lu Jinlan had intended to withdraw as well, but Ping Xiyu advised her, “Given everything that’s happened today, Young Mistress, it would be better for you to remain here in case anything changes.”
Thus Xiang Ruzhen was taken to Ji’an Hall.
After resting for a while and feeling largely recovered, Xiang Ruzhen decided to return to the examination grounds. Ping Xiyu, unwilling to let her go alone, brought Ximo and Qing’er along.
By the time the four arrived, the exams had ended and the crowd was dispersing. Waves of people poured outward; searching for someone against the flow felt like fishing a needle from the sea. The four stood there, equally lost.
“Xiang Ruzhen of Mianzhou! Your injuries aren’t serious, are they?”
A middle-aged woman called out from the crowd. Xiang Ruzhen didn’t recognize her—likely just a spectator who’d remembered her name.
“Thank you for your concern. I’m fine now,” Xiang Ruzhen replied with a respectful bow.
Ximo tried her luck. “Have you seen Lu Jinlan?”
“Of course!” the woman said warmly. “She’s rented out that herbal tea stall over there and is treating people to drinks.”
The four thanked her profusely and hurried over.
After the uproar earlier, Lu Jinlan had considered hosting a proper meal for the out-of-town candidates who’d stepped forward to help. But thinking of Xiang Ruzhen’s injury, she wasn’t in the mood to organize a banquet. Doing nothing, however, would seem discourteous.
After a brief discussion, Yan Wuxin said, “When the crowd disperses, let’s greet everyone first. We’ll skip lunch. This afternoon, once the rankings are posted and everything’s settled, I’ll host a banquet.”
Lu Jinlan smiled. “It was my commotion. How can I let you pay?”
A flicker of guilt crossed Yan Wuxin’s eyes. “I have my reasons for hosting. I’ll explain later. In any case, I’ll make the arrangements.”
Yan Wuxin owned an estate on the outskirts of the capital, meant for leisure outings. By her account, the scenery was lovely, and there were attendants there. She would send Ye You ahead to prepare. After checking the posted rankings that afternoon, they would all go to the estate and enjoy a few days of relaxation.
Lu Jinlan considered it and agreed. After all, she wasn’t local; arranging accommodations for over a dozen classmates at short notice might prove difficult.
So after the event ended, the two stopped the out-of-town candidates. After sitting under the blazing sun all morning, everyone was parched and exhausted.
Lu Jinlan rented out a herbal tea stall, serving drinks while offering her thanks.
“Today we owe much to all of you valiant ladies for stepping forward. I’m deeply grateful. By rights, I should arrange a banquet immediately—but we still don’t know how Ruzhen is faring, and Wuxin and I must go check on her. Please return to your lodgings and pack. This afternoon, after we view the rankings, let’s all go to Wuxin’s estate, drink freely, and enjoy ourselves for a few days—how does that sound?”
Seeing some hesitation, Yan Wuxin quickly added, “There are no elders at my estate, and it’s spacious. Once you’re there, treat it like your own home. I’ll cover all food and lodging. If anyone wishes to tour the capital, I’ll arrange it.
“Whether or not we become classmates isn’t important—meeting is fate. Today, we stood together against injustice. That proves we share the same spirit. Helping Jinlan and Ruzhen is helping me. I sincerely wish to befriend you all. I hope you’ll honor us.”
At that, the group saw their sincerity and replied, “Then we’ll trouble you both. See you at the rankings.”
No sooner had they left than Xiang Ruzhen and the others arrived. Seeing her safe, Lu Jinlan and Yan Wuxin were overjoyed.
Ping Xiyu said at once, “Young Mistress, if you intend to host those out-of-town candidates, leave the arrangements to me.”
Lu Jinlan explained the plan she and Yan Wuxin had made. Ping Xiyu nodded approvingly. “Excellent. Our Young Mistress has just arrived in the capital. With friends as loyal and righteous as Young Lady Yan and Young Lady Xiang by your side, the Old Master in Yunzhou will surely feel at ease. I’ve reserved a banquet at Wangyue Tower. Please, Young Mistress, and you two young ladies, follow me.”
Back in Yunzhou, Lu Jinlan had often heard her mother speak of Ping Xiyu. Lu Jinchao once said Ping Xiyu had been born into poverty. When he first met her, she was only a girl of ten or so—little schooling, but exceptionally clever.
In those days, Ping Xiyu and her mother ran a roadside tea stall to make ends meet. Lu Jinchao happened to pass by one day, urgently needing to write a letter. He ordered a cup of tea and sat down to write.
The coarse tea was not to the taste of the wealthy. After a sip, he casually used it to rinse his brush.
The other customers clicked their tongues in displeasure.
Ping Xiyu observed the richly dressed guest and approached gently. “Sir, that bowl is meant for drinking.”
Young and arrogant at the time, Lu Jinchao took out a silver ingot. “I am Lu Jinchao of Yunzhou. Consider this payment for the bowl.”
Unperturbed, Ping Xiyu smiled and announced clearly to everyone, “Lu Jinchao of Yunzhou has purchased one tea bowl.”
Then she turned back to him. “You won’t be taking it with you, will you?”
He shook his head.
“In that case,” she continued, “may I smash it and set the shards on display?”
Lu Jinchao raised a brow. “Why?”
“These are all regular customers,” she explained. “If I wash the bowl and put it back, they’ll always suspect they’re drinking from the one used to rinse a brush. If I break it publicly, they’ll feel at ease. And if I display it, curious passersby will ask, and I can tell them the story. A tea stall once patronized by Lu Jinchao of Yunzhou—perhaps some will wish to taste it.”
Lu Jinchao laughed. “You have a head for business. Come with me.”
More than twenty years had passed. Ping Xiyu had grown from that clever little girl into a manager capable of commanding her own domain. She was Lu Jinchao’s trusted confidante, overseeing not only all Ji’an Hall branches in the capital but also auditing the Lu family’s other enterprises there and reporting monthly back to Yunzhou.
Lu Jinchao had given her a second life. In return, Ping Xiyu cared for Lu Jinlan more attentively than for her own child.
The young mistress had impulsively run off to the capital. For the next three years, Ping Xiyu would likely live in constant vigilance—if Lu Jinlan so much as lost a strand of hair, she would have to answer for it in Yunzhou.
During the banquet, Ping Xiyu mentioned the events of the birthday feast.
Yan Wuxin and Xiang Ruzhen were astonished. “You ran away to escape a marriage?”
“Don’t remind me,” Lu Jinlan groaned. “My mother picked out an absolute oddity. If you were me, you’d have fled too.”
Ping Xiyu hurriedly said, “I heard the Old Master mention that the only son of General Song is gentle and courteous, and well matched in family background. He would make a suitable principal husband.”
“Oh, spare me!” Lu Jinlan felt queasy recalling the plump ‘immortal boy.’ “If you like him so much, let your daughter marry him. I want no part of it. By the way—my mother must be furious that I ran off, right?”
Ping Xiyu smiled and shook her head. “Knowing the Old Master as I do, she likely only appears angry. She scolded a few times, yes—but inside, she’s probably delighted. At the banquet she even recounted how, at her own engagement feast, she brought your father home instead.”
“Ah?”
The three of them nearly had their jaws drop at this scandalous bit of elder gossip.
Ping Xiyu, however, refused to elaborate. She only said, “In her heart, she must be pleased—because you’re very much like her. Even though you ran off without a care, she still formally held the ceremony to establish you as Young Mistress in front of all the guests.”
Lu Jinlan blinked. “I wasn’t even there. How could she possibly conduct the ceremony?”
“Aren’t you born in the Year of the Pig? Housekeeper Zou found a little piglet, had Young Lady Jinqi hold it to bow before the ancestors, and receive the Young Mistress token.”
They stared for a second—then burst into laughter.
________________________________________
While they were laughing, Headmaster Ling Zhixu of the Royal Academy was conferring with the Minister of Rites to finalize the admissions list.
The Minister of Rites held Xiang Ruzhen’s name plaque. “This student has no background whatsoever. Even if she enters officialdom, she won’t amount to much. Are we certain we want her?”
Ling Zhixu replied, “Her martial examination encountered some complications. If she isn’t admitted, the public will not be convinced.”
The Minister nodded and passed Xiang Ruzhen’s plaque to the academic supervisor. “Very well—admit her. I hear Lu Jinlan performed astonishingly in the martial exam—better even than Xiang Ruzhen. Headmaster Ling, do you intend to rank her first?”
Ling Zhixu let out a long sigh, looking troubled. “There’s something odd about that one. I’ve heard that in Yunzhou she consistently ranked at the bottom of her class, yet at graduation she inexplicably took first place. The same happened in this martial exam—no one had heard of her excelling in combat. What I have heard is that she’s rather… romantic in her pursuits. And yet she somehow outperformed everyone. Can she really be first place? I’d say she’s first place in stirring up trouble.”
The Minister of Rites chuckled. “Isn’t that exactly the sort of person suited to first place? Besides, His Majesty praised her examination paper highly—personally marking it with a circle. We can hardly refuse her admission.”
Ling Zhixu pondered for a moment before making her decision.
________________________________________
The rankings had not yet been posted, but eager onlookers were already gathered outside the academy gates.
The three of them, however, were in no rush. They took a midday nap and only afterward strolled leisurely toward the academy.
As Lu Jinlan walked along, her system suddenly chimed.
[Congratulations on unlocking the “Rising to Fame” achievement. +10,000 Life Points.]
Looks like the list has been posted.
Lu Jinlan curled her lips smugly and immediately told Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin, “I have a feeling—I’ve definitely been admitted. And not just that. It’s a ranking everyone will be talking about.”
Xiang Ruzhen answered honestly, “Of course. Based on today’s performance, you’d be first and I’d be second. But I’m not that optimistic anymore. Things here are complicated. As long as we’re admitted, that’s enough.”
Lu Jinlan knew perfectly well how much she truly weighed in skill. Her explosive performance had been entirely thanks to stimulants; as a performance-enhanced contestant, she felt too embarrassed to say so outright.
Instead she declared, “I think Ruzhen should be first. The rest were clearly below me in ability—what right do they have to rank above me?”
Yan Wuxin lifted her chin proudly. “Exactly. If they rank you two lower, we’ll go demand an explanation from the Headmaster.”
Laughing and chatting, the three squeezed their way to the front of the posted list—
—and instantly froze in shock.