Luo Tang was also a shrewd schemer. Knowing that Zhe Qing valued gratitude and loyalty, Lin Huaijin exploited this psychological weakness to keep her under control.
However, since she and Zhe Qing had only just met, Zhe Qing certainly wouldn’t believe her words.
Zhe Qing remained silent.
Tilting her head to study her, Luo Tang naturally didn’t push the matter further. After all, domestic affairs of this sort were personal matters between a mentor and her charge, and wielding gratitude as a weapon of coercion was simply a common trick employed by the world.
When Zhe Qing offered no reply, Luo Tang didn’t press either. As the two of them stood side-by-side in the covered corridor, an awkward stalemate hung in the air.
“Prime Minister Zhe, your annual official salary shouldn’t be meager, yet look at the fabric of the robes you’re wearing,” Luo Tang pointedly remarked, gesturing toward Zhe Qing’s attire. “Is a life of pure poverty and integrity supposed to look like this?”
Luo Tang’s words were razor-sharp, yet her eyes danced with amusement, completely lacking the piercing edge she had shown upon their first meeting.
Listening to her critique without offering a defense, Zhe Qing simply said, “Shall I have a couple of outfits made for you instead?”
A faint smile touched Zhe Qing’s lips, as though she were listening to some amusing joke. Yet seeing the young maiden looking back at her with absolute sincerity, she felt compelled to add, “The Empress Dowager often bestows fine garments. If you like them, I can send some your way.”
“You can gift them to me?” Luo Tang discovered a fresh piece of intelligence, though a second later she reconsidered. “Wait, no. That’s not the point. I’m asking about your problem, if you have fine clothes, why on earth don’t you wear them?”
The amusement fading somewhat from her face, Zhe Qing realized that the young maiden before her appeared sharp-witted on the surface while harboring a streak of innocent naivety underneath. Pondering for a moment, she asked, “What on earth are you trying to accomplish?”
“I want to break away from my family and set up an independent household. Is that allowed?” Luo Tang laid her cards on the table. “All of my family’s assets have mysteriously vanished.”
“Vanished?” Zhe Qing frowned in puzzlement. “What do you mean by that?”
“My maternal uncle embezzled my money. It’s as simple as that, do you understand?” Luo Tang let out a heavy sigh. “Think about it: I spent the entire night keeping vigil for you, wiped your body down, and fed you water. Consider this a way to repay that favor.”
Nodding slightly, Zhe Qing’s gaze softened a fraction. “To be frank with you, my mentor and the Grand Commandant’s estate do not get along.”
“If she doesn’t get along with them, why is she keeping you on a leash? What is your actual standing here?” Luo Tang remained baffled. “I’ve lost my memories and don’t understand the complex dynamics at play here. Why don’t I treat you to a meal, and you can explain the relationships to me?”
Narrowing her eyes slightly, Zhe Qing let her aura build up. “You claimed you weren’t Luo Tang before, and now you’re claiming you lost your memories. Which statement of yours is actually true?”
“No, no, hold on, stop right there,” Luo Tang grabbed onto the core issue. “The Grand Preceptor is at odds with my uncle, so why on earth did she let me walk right in and watch you get punished by kneeling?”
Zhe Qing observed, “Your reaction time is rather slow.”
Collecting her thoughts, Luo Tang offered a knowing smile without answering. Zhe Qing understood the implication well enough; operating within official circles meant mastering the art of a double life, saying one thing to a person’s face while plotting against them behind their back.
With a self-deprecating chuckle, Luo Tang pivoted. “Alright, let’s set that aside. I’m treating you to a meal, how about that?”
“Tell me who you really are first.” Zhe Qing refused to be easily duped by a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl overflowing with mischievous ideas.
Her statements were disjointed, clearly laying traps and deliberately trying to cozy up to her.
Clutching her stomach, Luo Tang complained, “I’m starving. Let’s go outside and talk the food at your estate definitely doesn’t taste good anyway.”
“Let’s go eat outside! I want to go outside!” A voice drifted down from the branches above.
Luo Tang looked up to see a woman perched on a nearby tree branch. She wore her hair in the style of an unmarried maiden, yet appeared to be around thirty years of age.
Hasting over, Zhe Qing reached out a hand toward the woman. “Elder Sister, climb down.”
Dropping down effortlessly, the woman walked right up to Luo Tang, reached out, and patted her head. “You are so pretty.”
Her eyes remained glued to Luo Tang, and while her behavior resembled that of a young child, she possessed an elegant, delicate frame paired with gentle, serene facial features. She piped up, “Did you just say you spent the entire night in the same bed with my younger sister?”
Hearing this, Luo Tang instinctively moved to clap a hand over the woman’s mouth, suddenly recalling from Zhe Qing’s journal that she had an elder sister who suffered brain damage in childhood yet possessed exceptional culinary skills.
Her name was A-Gui.
Turning to Zhe Qing, Luo Tang asked, “You call her Elder Sister, and she calls you younger sister—how on earth is this seniority arranged?”
Zhe Qing explained, “She is my elder sister, a child taken in and raised by Teacher.”
Understanding dawned on Luo Tang. She suspected this adopted child likely possessed a deeply significant background of her own, but she simply nodded and asked instead, “Why is she called A-Gui?”
“Her birth horoscope was overly harsh; only the character for ‘ghost’ could suppress it,” Zhe Qing explained before adding with a hint of confusion, “How did you know her name was A-Gui?”
With a mysterious smile, Luo Tang took A-Gui’s hand and declared, “I’ll take you out for a good meal.”
Naturally thrilled by the prospect, A-Gui immediately started complaining to Luo Tang, “That old hag is such a skinflint, we eat boiled cabbage and tofu every single day. Look at me, I’m skinny enough to be just skin and bones!”
Zhe Qing wisely kept her mouth shut.
The preceding exchange had cast an even deeper aura of mystery around the young maiden.
The Lin residence possessed a carriage, but it was a plain, battered cloth-covered carriage that simply couldn’t catch Luo Tang’s discerning eye.
Are they deliberately putting themselves through unnecessary hardship?
She had never witnessed an aristocratic estate whose exterior appeared so prestigious while its internal operations were practically rotting away.
Quickly adjusting her mindset, Luo Tang smiled and asked Zhe Qing, “I have to say, your household has a rather unique way of thinking.”
This time, it was Zhe Qing’s turn to smile silently without offering a rebuttal, having heard similar remarks from others in the past.
Still, having a carriage was vastly superior to walking on two legs, so Luo Tang unceremoniously clambered inside. A-Gui followed right behind her, and Luo Tang waved back at Zhe Qing. “Come on, Elder Sister—er, Sister Zhe.”
Zhe Qing climbed in after them, maintaining her stern, unsmiling expression throughout.
Conversely, A-Gui immediately started chattering away incessantly. “Last night I sneaked a piece of meat, and it was so fragrant! In the middle of the night, the old hag went out for a late-night snack, and I followed her straight to the kitchen, there was such a huge chunk of meat!”
“Younger sister, let me tell you, she steals meat to eat!”
Zhe Qing heard every word as though she heard nothing at all, maintaining her calm, coolly detached profile. To Luo Tang, she looked the very picture of ascetic detachment.
Luo Tang couldn’t help wondering whether Lin Huaijin was also an ascetic, emotionless person; otherwise, how else could she have raised someone like Zhe Qing who seemed entirely immune to worldly passions?
Later generations of historians always labeled Zhe Qing as the greatest treacherous villain of the Qi Dynasty, corrupt without being greedy, yet muddle-headed.
Yet looking at the woman before her, she bore zero resemblance to a treacherous villain. Exactly where had history gone wrong?
Puzzled, Luo Tang propped her chin in her hand and pondered the entire journey. Though she couldn’t find an answer, based on the contents of Zhe Qing’s journal, the woman was certainly no fool.
The world often feared greed, failing to realize that “muddle-headedness” was the ultimate taboo in officialdom.
When a leader’s eyes and ears were blocked, much like a physician who clearly diagnoses where an illness lies yet deliberately pretends not to see it and lets the body rot and decay that was the true definition of being muddle-headed.
Luo Tang found herself stealing glances at Zhe Qing once again. Sitting right before her with a calm expression, dressed in simple, elegant robes, she looked like someone who lived in quiet, unbothered detachment from the world. She wasn’t one for idle chatter; once seated, she remained completely silent. Her deep, fathomless eyes and formidable presence naturally kept people at a respectful distance.
Yet that night, Zhe Qing had also revealed a rare tenderness, wrapped in a faint mist of vulnerability. Beneath her icy exterior lay a profound feminine charm.
Truth be told, Zhe Qing was an exceptionally striking beauty. Having laid eyes on countless individuals across her lifetimes, Luo Tang appreciated true beauty, and a woman like Zhe Qing was a rare sight indeed.
Women in this world could be cold and detached, bright and dazzling, or soft and alluring. But someone who appeared coldly breathtaking from afar while harboring a delicate, melting tenderness close up was a genuine rarity.
Furthermore, a woman holding such a lofty position in government possessed a seasoned aura accumulated over years of wielding power, something ordinary women simply did not have.
The carriage finally came to a halt in front of a bustling tavern. Rich aromas of wine and roasted meat drifted through the air, acting like an irresistible temptation that instantly made one’s mouth water.
Stepping inside first, Luo Tang was greeted by the tavern keeper, who took one look at Zhe Qing, narrowed his eyes slightly, and hurried forward to bow respectfully. “Prime Minister Zhe.”
Nodding in acknowledgment, Zhe Qing instructed, “I’m here for a meal; no need to make a fuss.”
Luo Tang watched closely. A-Gui craned her neck, looking around and instantly scanning the entire main hall with lightning speed before piping up, “Private room.”
“This way, please.” The tavern keeper respectfully led the three of them upstairs.
A-Gui happily trotted along behind the keeper, pausing only to greet Zhe Qing cheerfully along the way.
Once inside the private room, Luo Tang rattled off a string of expensive dishes, prompting the tavern keeper to nod repeatedly. She added, “And bring some desserts, honeyed red bean pastries and iced curd.”
A-Gui’s eyes lit up brighter and brighter before she turned to Zhe Qing and asked, “Where on earth did you hook up with such a wealthy benefactor?”
Before she could finish her sentence, Zhe Qing quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, correcting her: “You should be asking where I made her acquaintance, not where I ‘hooked up’ with her.”
Nodding earnestly, A-Gui rephrased: “Then where did you make the acquaintance of this wealthy benefactor?”
Zhe Qing lapsed into silence, offering no response.
Satisfied with her own understanding, A-Gui stopped pressing the matter and turned her attention back to Luo Tang. “Elder Sister, will you come to my house again tomorrow?”
“Not coming,” Luo Tang flatly refused. Go to your house? There’s nothing to eat or drink there, and the carriage is falling apart. You’re all out of your minds.
The tavern keeper personally served a pot of fine tea, pouring a cup for Zhe Qing first, followed by Luo Tang, and finally placing a cup of sweet red fruit juice in front of A-Gui.
The tavern keeper seemed intimately familiar with the preferences of this particular pair of sisters.
Luo Tang smiled, picking up on the underlying subtext. Pulling her chair closer to Zhe Qing’s side, she whispered conspiratorially, “Is this tavern actually yours?”
An ordinary tavern keeper would never recognize Zhe Qing on sight like that, especially since Zhe Qing didn’t seem like the type to frequent drinking establishments often.
Secondly, the keeper was intimately familiar with Zhe Qing’s preferences and also well-aware of A-Gui’s mental condition.
“My treat today,” Zhe Qing murmured, taking a sip of tea. Her long, slender eyes curved slightly under Luo Tang’s intense, concentrated gaze, the corners of her eyes involuntarily flexing into a delicate arc. Her smile felt entirely genuine, stripped of its previous ethereal aloofness.
Luo Tang chuckled wryly, taking a sip of her own tea. As expected, Zhe Qing is a master of putting on a false front while secretly doing as she pleases.
Taking another sip, however, her expression shifted slightly, and she stared at Zhe Qing in sheer disbelief. “This is Lingnan’s Yanyang tea, the Emperor himself doesn’t even get to drink this! Where on earth did you get it?”
Indeed, this person is all appearance, her pathetic displays of poverty are completely faked.
It wasn’t that the tea was entirely unavailable to the imperial household, but rather that private supply fell drastically short of public demand, meaning prime tea leaves required exorbitant sums to acquire through private channels.
Glaring at her while gnashing her teeth slightly, Luo Tang demanded, “Return my gold nuggets!”
Zhe Qing couldn’t help laughing softly. The girl was exceptionally sharp, picking up on tiny, obscure details and instantly deducing the truth behind them.
Who wouldn’t adore a clever person?
Taking another sip of tea, Zhe Qing replied, “Didn’t you want to learn about what’s going on in the capital? Consider this your tuition fee.”
Furious, Luo Tang let out a series of huffs, then proceeded to gulp down mouthfuls of the expensive tea. Since the tea was worth a fortune and she used to have to scrimp and save to afford it in the past, she was determined to drink enough cups to get her money’s worth back.
Setting her teacup down, Zhe Qing looked at her closely and said, “You claim you come from a hundred years in the future. Let me ask you a question.”
“Ask away. I’ve read your journal,” Luo Tang blurted out before instantly realizing her mistake. She hastily corrected herself with a soft cough, “I mean… I’ve seen your artwork it was a painting of a spring landscape.”
She aggressively shoved another gulp of tea down her throat, instantly leaving her mouth puckering with bitterness.
Unfazed by her blatantly obvious lie, Zhe Qing wore an amused smile that seemed to blend humor with profound, unfathomable depth. Luo Tang lowered her gaze, her dark hair framing her snow-white, beautiful face. Though she possessed the cunning of a wolf, she stubbornly insisted on masquerading as an innocent little white rabbit.
With a soft, amused chuckle, Zhe Qing intentionally asked, “Tell me, whom do I marry in the future?”