Lu Zai asked uncertainly, “Do you think he’s come to seek peace?”
Lu Guanying smiled wryly. “It doesn’t seem like it. If he were here to seek peace, why would he have provoked the old madam earlier?” He was by no means stupid. He had already realized why Song Qingshu hadn’t mentioned peace talks in front of Lu Zai and Lu You, and he understood the purpose behind his earlier high-profile behavior.
“What conflict?” Lu Zai and his son asked urgently.
Lu Guanying gave them a rough account of what had happened.
“No wonder the atmosphere in the room felt strange earlier,” Lu Zai mused, then frowned. “If he’s here to seek peace, his behavior doesn’t fit.”
Lu You said, “In my opinion, we should inform Lord Han as soon as possible and let him decide.”
Lu Zai nodded repeatedly. “Yes, Lord Han should know about this. Here’s what we’ll do: Wu Guan, you will accompany Song Qingshu on a tour of the city and keep him occupied. Guanying, you will leave immediately for Lin’an to meet with Lord Han and explain the situation.”
“Yes!” Lu Guanying was both surprised and delighted. Thanks to Song Qingshu, he was getting closer and closer to the inner circle. If things continued this way, he would soon become one of Han Dingxiao’s trusted men—it might even be possible for him to enter the court.
After Lu Guanying had left excitedly, Lu Zai said to Lu You, “Wu Guan, go find Song Qingshu and show him around Shanyin. I’ll speak to your mother and warn her not to cause any trouble during this time.”
“Alright.” Lu You nodded and went out to find Song Qingshu.
After Song Qingshu had left earlier, instead of going to the Shuangqing Hall library, he asked a servant for directions to the residences of Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang. Though the two women lived in the inner quarters, since Lu Zai had already instructed that Song Qingshu was to be received as an honored guest, he encountered no obstacles along the way.
Before he even arrived, he could faintly hear the sound of Lu Wushuang sobbing in the room:
“Cousin, Fool has a fiancée… Sob… I thought he and Miss Long were so deeply in love, and they knew each other first, so I accepted that. But now that Xiao Longnu is gone, he still never considered me. He’s engaged to some other woman… Sob…”
Then a soft voice consoled her: “Cousin, don’t be too upset. I know Big Brother Yang’s character very well. We’ve only heard this from that Young Master Song. It all seems very strange. It may not be as he says.”
Lu Wushuang perked up, her voice regaining some vitality. “You’re right! Big Brother Yang loves Miss Long so much. How could he marry another? That Song Qingshu must be making it up.”
But beneath Cheng Ying’s smile was a trace of bitterness. *Given Song Qingshu’s reputation in the wulin, he probably wouldn’t lie to two young girls.* However, she dared not voice this thought to her cousin. She picked up a towel and gently wiped her wound, chiding as she did so, “Why did you kowtow so hard? You’ve scraped a big patch on your forehead.”
Lu Wushuang pouted. “I was so angry! And when I thought of Fool’s fiancée, my blood just rushed to my head…”
Cheng Ying rinsed the towel, took some medicinal ointment from her robe, and applied it to her cousin’s forehead. “Don’t be so impulsive next time. Fortunately, Young Master Song was kind enough not to make you finish. Otherwise, at the rate you were going, you would have knocked your brains out.”
Lu Wushuang sat up straight indignantly. “Pah! If it weren’t for that b@stard, I wouldn’t have been so humiliated in front of everyone.”
Just then, a teasing voice came from the doorway. “Speaking ill of others behind their backs—hardly the behavior of a lady, is it?”
The two women looked up in surprise. In their haste to help Lu Wushuang inside, Cheng Ying had not closed the door. A handsome, upright young man stood at the entrance—who else but Song Qingshu?
Enemies see each other with heightened animosity. Lu Wushuang opened her mouth to curse him, but then remembered his reputation in the wulin. She weighed the disparity in their martial abilities, pouted, and swallowed her words.
Cheng Ying, more composed, smiled faintly. “Eavesdropping on ladies’ private conversations—hardly the behavior of a gentleman, is it?”
Song Qingshu was taken aback. She sat by the bed, her slender figure, her impossibly narrow waist, her dignified oval face—all accentuated her refined, unworldly elegance. He couldn’t help sighing, “I have long heard that Miss Cheng is gentle and refined. I did not expect you also have such a sharp tongue.”
Cheng Ying was surprised. “Young Master speaks as if he knows me?”
Song Qingshu smiled. “I have known you in spirit for a long time.”
Now it was Cheng Ying’s turn to be stunned. She had not expected any connection with him. Hearing this, an unconscious blush spread across her crystalline face.
How could she know that his “knowing her in spirit” came from having read *The Return of the Condor Heroes* in his previous life, not from any feelings in this world?
Beside them, Lu Wushuang pouted. “Smooth talker. Is this how you usually deceive young ladies?”
Cheng Ying, realizing her cousin had inadvertently embarrassed her, flushed deeply. She pinched her cousin lightly, protesting coquettishly, “Cousin~”
Unfazed, Song Qingshu said, “Miss Lu must have been deceived by a smooth talker before, otherwise why would she be so sensitive?”
He had struck a nerve. Lu Wushuang thought of the “Fool” who had called her “wife” all those years ago, then thought of his supposed fiancée, and sorrow welled up.
Cheng Ying shot Song Qingshu a reproachful look. *I finally managed to calm her down, and now you’ve brought it up again.*
“Surely you two ladies don’t intend to keep me standing out here? Is this your hospitality?” Song Qingshu spread his hands.
Lu Wushuang spat. “With those lecherous eyes of yours, all over my cousin—what kind of guest are you?”
“Wushuang!” Cheng Ying was genuinely annoyed. *Why do you keep dragging me into this?*
Having just finished his conversation with the Lu family and in good spirits, Song Qingshu didn’t mind trading barbs with the young woman. “Is Miss Lu jealous because I’m not looking at you?”
“Pah!” Unable to withstand his teasing, Lu Wushuang blushed and turned away.
“Young Master, please come in.” Cheng Ying had been thinking about Yang Guo’s fiancée and wanted to question Song Qingshu about it. Any other young lady of the Lu household might not have invited a strange young man into her bedchamber, but both she and Lu Wushuang were from the wulin and did not share the same concerns as sheltered gentlewomen.
Song Qingshu walked directly toward the bed. Lu Wushuang felt a wave of masculine, fiery energy press toward her. She shrank back. “What are you trying to do?”
Even Cheng Ying shifted slightly, putting a little more distance between them.
Stopping before the bed, Song Qingshu smiled. “What do you think I’m trying to do?”
Lu Wushuang blushed and spat, “Pah! Pervert!”
“I just want to look at your injury,” Song Qingshu said with a strange expression. “My, my. Such a young girl, and with such a dirty mind.”
Lu Wushuang wished she could crawl into a crack in the floor. But she was stubborn and refused to admit her embarrassment. “Hmph! I don’t need your fake concern.”
“Fine. If you want to be a cripple for life, suit yourself.” Song Qingshu turned to leave.
“Oh—” Cheng Ying instinctively reached out and grabbed him. Feeling the warmth of his skin, she quickly withdrew her hand and said awkwardly, “Young Master, please stay.”
Song Qingshu stopped. He smiled at her. “Miss Cheng’s hands are quite cool.”
Cheng Ying’s cheeks reddened. *This man is so frivolous.* Forcing away her flustered thoughts, she said, “Please, Young Master, help her.”
Lu Wushuang didn’t speak, but the longing in her eyes betrayed her. No girl wanted to be lame. Over the years, her limp had caused her no end of insecurity. The more insecure she became, the more sensitive. Sometimes, just catching someone glance at her injured leg would make her furious. In time, everyone in Shanyin knew that the Lu family’s Seventh Miss had a terrible temper and was not to be provoked.
“If I do it, what’s the price?” Song Qingshu spoke as if discussing the most ordinary transaction.
“Price?” Lu Wushuang bristled. “Didn’t I already kowtow to you?”
Song Qingshu said flatly, “First, the kowtows as payment were Old Madam Tang’s idea, not mine. Second, given our seniority, a few kowtows from you are only right. Third, even counting that, you only kowtowed five times—far short of the agreed thirty.”
Lu Wushuang fumed, “You’re the one who wouldn’t let me continue!”
Song Qingshu shrugged. “I didn’t want to see brains splattered everywhere and lose my appetite right before lunch.”
“You!” Lu Wushuang was so angry she nearly burst a lung. “How can there be such an insufferable person in this world? Fine! I’ll just kowtow to you again!”
She struggled to get up. Alarmed, Cheng Ying held her down and shot Song Qingshu a reproachful look. “What would it take for the Young Master to treat Wushuang’s leg?”
“Miss Cheng is truly perceptive.” Song Qingshu smiled. “How about this? If you both agree to one thing for me, I’ll treat her leg—I guarantee she’ll run faster than the fattest sow in the village.”
Hearing this, Lu Wushuang nearly fainted from rage. Cheng Ying gave him a long, deep look, her eyes sparkling as if they could speak. “Young Master Song, why must I also agree to one thing?”
Song Qingshu answered naturally, “Because I’m only willing to treat her for Miss Cheng’s sake.”
Cheng Ying, who had been perfectly composed, finally trembled at these words. Her face flushed crimson.
Lu Wushuang, who had just recovered, nearly passed out again. “You ba@tard! So you really are after my cousin!”