Fortunately, the heavens ultimately cherished her. Just as she was in a crisis, she encountered such a young man who saved a damsel in distress. （ Hey! Wake up! It was clearly just that slippery servant boy who saved you. ） Sang Luzhi secretly glanced at the exceptionally handsome man before her with the corner of her eye, feeling her heart thumping rapidly and heavily. She was, after all, an official's daughter. At first glance, the man's clothes seemed ordinary, but the fabric was superior quality brocade that the Jiangning Textile Bureau only presented to the imperial palace, and the craftsmanship was also from a master. If he were not the son of a prince or marquis, how could he afford to wear such clothes?
"No need for thanks. It was just a chance encounter, so I lent a helping hand. But for a young lady like you, regardless of the reason, you should not be traveling like this. You must know that the world is treacherous, and you never know when disaster might strike."
Facing Sang Luzhi's sincere gratitude, Lu Yunxiao had no expression on his face. The words he spoke sounded like concern, but his tone was extremely indifferent. He did not even think about covering up her female identity for her.
Sang Luzhi's face flushed, and she secretly thought that he had seen through her female identity at a single glance. It seemed he was certainly not some pampered son of a noble family. How much experience must one have to train such a sharp eye?
While astonished, a sense of slight shyness and secret joy rippled through her heart. She lowered her head and whispered, "The Young Master is right. I... I will not be so reckless in the future."
Lu Yunxiao did not pay her any more attention and instead turned to look at the iron-faced man, observing the half of his face exposed with some doubt. Having experienced such an event, this person remained so calm and silent. Even he could not help but admire this level of self-control. But why was such a person so weak and powerless? Even Zhao Yun could handle those dozen scoundrels, yet he could only take a beating. No matter how one thought about it, it did not make sense.
What a strange person.
Lu Yunxiao thought to himself, but he had no intention of delving into the person's identity. He looked up at Zhao Yun and Mu Yun in the distance, and the two servant boys, knowing their Master was about to leave, hurried over to serve him.
"Is the Young Master heading to Jiangnan? That happens to be on our way."
Seeing the direction the three were heading, Sang Luzhi quickly asked. At the same time, a guess gradually surfaced in her mind, making her maiden heart, which had already developed a sense of longing, beat even more rapidly.
Lu Yunxiao frowned and gave Sang Luzhi a faint look. According to his intentions, saving these people was already having done everything possible. He did not want to bring three burdens along to Jiangnan for disaster relief, especially since there were two women here, and two very attractive women at that. If any unpleasant rumors were spread, did he want to wait for those impervious to reason censors to impeach him?
As if seeing the coldness in his eyes, Sang Luzhi's guess resurfaced in her mind. Finally, she gritted her teeth, stepped forward, and gathered her courage to say, "We will not cause the Young Master any trouble on the road. To be frank, I am the daughter of the current Director of the Imperial Hospital, named Sang Luzhi. Although I am hiding this from my father, I truly wish to do something for the Jiangnan commoners. After a great disaster, the spread of an epidemic disease is most feared. I dare not say I can take on any heavy responsibility, but having a family tradition of learning since childhood, I am slightly versed in medical skill. Perhaps I can contribute a small effort for the Jiangnan commoners."
Lu Yunxiao's eyes narrowed slightly. Hearing these words from Sang Luzhi, he understood that she had likely guessed his identity. He could not help but feel some admiration, secretly thinking that regardless of her actions, her discernment was quite good. But as soon as he thought of that daughter of the Dean with whom he once had an intimate relationship, he could not help but feel a bit of annoyance. He said coldly, "Medical skill is merely a minor art. As the daughter of the Director of the Imperial Hospital, you must have lived a life of luxury since childhood. Why bother learning these things and needlessly sully your purity as a woman?"
The affair between Lu Yunxiao and Xia Qingyu could be considered a secret of the Marquis's Estate. Such an unglamorous matter could not possibly become known to everyone in just a few days. However, Sang Luzhi was also from a prominent family and had studied medicine since she was young. Whenever the wives and daughters of various noble households fell ill, they liked to invite her for treatment if they were acquainted. Therefore, she had many friends in the Capital City. Plus, her father was a friend of the former Director of the Imperial Hospital, so she had heard about the relationship between that husband and wife. Hearing this now, she could not help but ponder to herself, thinking that if he really was Lu Yunxiao, he was probably thinking of his ex-wife and taking his anger out on her.
She was not angry, however. She bowed slightly and said solemnly, "How can the art of saving lives be called a minor art? If there were no medical skill or doctors in the world, what would it be like? Take you, for example, Young Master. You are naturally a dragon among men, but can you say that from childhood to now, you have never sought medical help? Can you say you will never need a doctor to visit your door in your entire life? As for a girl like me learning medicine, that is not hard to understand. If I had no talent, I should naturally be content and focus on needlework every day. However, since I have the talent, if I were to waste this heaven-sent gift just because I am a woman, would that not be a waste of a precious resource?"
Lu Yunxiao remained silent. Sang Luzhi's words reminded him of Xia Qingyu. He thought of how that woman had been married to him for five years without ever revealing a word about her medical skill, yet at the most critical moment, she saved his grandmother's life with one move, which was like slapping him hard in the face. By comparison, although this girl was a bit arrogant and ignorant, she was much more noble than that insidious and deep woman. And because of this nobility and her current fearless demeanor, she appeared somewhat frankly cute.
Thinking of this, his cold expression softened slightly. He nodded and said indifferently, "What you said is not wrong, Miss." After saying this, he did not say another word and turned to leave.
Zhao Yun and Mu Yun watched Sang Luzhi's impassioned speech and couldn't help but exclaim internally. They thought, "Goodness, is our Master destined to be entangled with fierce women for the rest of his life? He just divorced the one at home, and now, just by saving a woman on the road, she has the same temperament." But come to think of it, this Miss Sang was at most at the level of that former Madam before she was divorced. Compared to the sharpness of that Master after she was divorced, she seemed to lack quite a bit of cultivation level.
But this had nothing to do with them. The one who should be worried was her future husband. Therefore, seeing Lu Yunxiao start walking, the two nodded slightly to the three masters and servants beside them without a second thought and followed him.
Sang Luzhi was stunned, then a slight smile appeared on the corners of her mouth. She secretly thought that this was fate bestowed upon her by the heavens. If she were to be coy and proud now and let this fate slip away, wouldn't she be a fool?
Even so, she was somewhat annoyed by Lu Yunxiao's coldness, but she could not let that man discover this annoyance. Therefore, she had to glare at the iron-faced man beside her and said bitterly, "Are you a block of wood? Someone saved you, and you don't even know how to say thank you. What are you still standing there for? Why aren't you leaving? Are you waiting for those people from earlier to come back and continue robbing us?"
Lu Yunxiao did not stop his pace, but his eyebrows furrowed slightly. He thought to himself: Are all women so unreasonable and prone to taking their anger out on others? Or is it that the Directors of the Imperial Hospital are all people who don't know how to teach their daughters? Forget it, this is someone else's business after all, what does it have to do with me?
Since it had nothing to do with him, Lu Yunxiao did not pay any more attention to the three masters and servants behind him. He walked all the way until evening.
Facts proved that even a Young Marquis who was skilled in both civil and military affairs and deeply favored by the Emperor could not predict the future. So, seeing the red sun setting in the west with nothing but a straight official road ahead and behind, Lu Yunxiao prepared to spend the night in the wilderness.
Just looking at the originally clear sky gradually becoming overcast with dark clouds, and finally even the red sun being hidden behind the clouds, he could not help but smile wryly. He thought, "Well, everything has been smooth sailing these days, but today of all days, I have to sleep in the wilderness, and today of all days, the sky, which has been clear all day, is going to rain. Is it true that blessings never come in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly?"
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Then, Sang Luzhi, dressed in men's clothing, finally reached him. Looking at him, she asked worriedly, "There is no village in front or a shop behind us here. Is the Young Master planning to sleep in the wilderness? But it looks like it is about to rain."
Lu Yunxiao scanned the green mountains in the distance, wondering if he should really go up the mountain to find a cave to endure the night. It was a pity that he hadn't expected this situation, otherwise, it would have been good to bring two tents. Anyway, that lazy guy Zhao Yun didn't carry much, so adding two military tents wouldn't crush him.
Seeing that he did not speak, Sang Luzhi pursed her cherry lips and whispered, "You don't look like a narrow-minded person. What? Are you angry and ignoring me just because of the few words I said this morning?"
Lu Yunxiao glanced at her without speaking. Instead, Zhao Yun behind him finally couldn't help but mutter, "Who is our Master? Would he lower himself to your level? Don't disturb his train of thought, otherwise, we will really have to sleep in the wilderness tonight."
Sang Luzhi thought that in such a godforsaken place, if I don't disturb his train of thought, could he conjure a house out of thin air? Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly saw Lu Yunxiao's eyes narrow slightly, as if he had seen some unexpected sight. She quickly followed his gaze and saw three people faintly coming down from a green mountain about a mile away from the official road.
The mountains on both sides of this road were not high, and strangely, they did not grow any trees, only some craggy rocks and wild grass. Such mountains were common in the North but rare in the South. Although they were mountains, they were isolated, with no rolling mountain ranges or dense forests, so they could not provide shelter for animals. At most, there were some hedgehogs, wild rabbits, and wild chickens. Therefore, although there were many such isolated mountains in this area, it was impossible for people to hunt or gather fruit, otherwise, this place would not be so sparsely populated.
It was currently spring, and the wild grass and flowers on the mountain also looked like they had just started to grow, so Sang Luzhi really did not understand what those three people coming down from the mountain were doing. Especially looking at their hairstyles and the color of their clothes, they should be three women.
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Heh heh heh! That... everyone has guessed it, right? Ao wu, please use your strength to cast some Recommendation Ticket for tomorrow's reunion, and give me a few Collection, ao wu!
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