Chapter 294: Young Master Luo, My Maid

A night of time passed very quickly.

After Luo Zijun and the other person emerged from the cave, they went straight into the tunnel and walked toward the exit.

Tonight, the two of them did not go out to hunt; they stayed in the cave the whole time.

Firstly, they had no heart for it; secondly, they had no strength left; and thirdly, they were reluctant to part.

There was no conversation along the way.

When they arrived at the exit, just as Luo Zijun was about to speak, the Moon Palace Fairy said coldly, "Shut up."

Luo Zijun closed his mouth, while inwardly grumbling: She had been moaning all night, yet at this moment she told someone else to shut up? What an overbearing woman!

"Whoosh!"

A pillar of light appeared, and the two quickly returned to the surface.

Only then did the Moon Palace Fairy turn her face away, looking at him as she said, "What were you about to say just now?"

Luo Zijun said, "Nothing, I just wanted to tell the Fairy that I need to push through to the next physical realm these few days, so I might not be able to come these next few nights."

The Moon Palace Fairy was silent for a moment, then said, "Understood."

"Mm."

Luo Zijun watched her, waiting for her to leave.

The Moon Palace Fairy did not leave immediately, however; she stood in place for a while longer, then said, "After your physical breakthrough, take the Fire Lotus Seed immediately, then go to the Diyuan to push through to the next soul realm; the effect will be better that way."

Luo Zijun said, "Alright."

The Moon Palace Fairy glanced at him again and asked, "Do you have nothing else to say to me?"

Luo Zijun thought for a moment and said, "Fairy, will you get pregnant?"

"Slap!"

"Shameless!"

The sound of a slap rang out.

The Moon Palace Fairy cursed in shame and anger, then her figure flashed, and she flew into the night sky and disappeared.

Luo Zijun held his face, looking up at the empty night sky, feeling somewhat depressed.

Wasn't it you who insisted that I speak?

Also, I was just concerned about whether you would get pregnant, how is that shameless? You drain my soul essence every night, isn't that shameless?"

Hmph, what an unreasonable woman!

Luo Zijun returned to his room, his soul returned to his body, and after reminiscing for a while with lingering feelings, he finally closed his eyes and entered dreamland.

When he woke up, it was already noon.

After getting up, the wind and snow outside had ceased, and the sun had finally come out.

"I need to find a quiet place to break through..."

After finishing lunch, he pondered for a while, and suddenly his eyes lit up as he thought of an excellent place.

He gave instructions to Xiaohuan and Ziyuan, then went out.

He decided to go to Daguanyuan.

The place there was very large, but there were very few people, and there were many hidden spots, such as rockery pavilions, school pavilions, various courtyards, halls, gardens, studios, verandas, and so on, and there were even some more secluded and private places for quiet cultivation, such as the Peach Blossom Dock where the winding paths lead to a secluded spot.

Breaking through there, it wouldn't matter even if he caused some commotion.

After all, that was his place, and the women inside were all people he had taken in; furthermore, he was quite familiar with those women, so there was no threat.

However, it was indeed not very appropriate for him to go there alone.

So, after leaving the Bai Mansion, he first came to the Chujian Bookstore and told Chujian.

As it happened, the bookstore was not very busy, so Chujian gave instructions to Xiao Lan and Bi'er, then took a carriage out with him.

"Brother Zijun, I know of a good place that is very quiet, where no one will go; I will take you there in a moment."

In the carriage, the two were talking, and Liu Chujian thought of a good place.

Luo Zijun asked what place it was, and Liu Chujian smiled and said, "Longcuian; it was originally built for Jia Mu to go to for quiet cultivation."

"Longcuian?"

Luo Zijun remembered; according to the books, that place was once where Miaoyu practiced quiet cultivation, and it was indeed quiet and remote.

However, in this world, there did not seem to be a person named Miaoyu.

Or perhaps, she had not appeared yet.

The two talked all the way and soon arrived at the entrance of Daguanyuan.

Just as the carriage stopped, the two heard a commotion coming from the main gate.

The gatekeeper, Shu Shen, was spreading her arms, blocking a young man in silk robes who was preparing to enter; behind that young man followed several people, and Jia Rong of the Ningguo Mansion was among them.

At this time, Jia Rong was pulling a long face and scolding Shu Shen: "You blind thing, move aside at once! If you annoy the young marquis, watch out for your dog life! There is nothing shameful inside; the young marquis just wants to go in and look around, what could possibly happen?"

Shu Shen still blocked the entrance, saying neither humbly nor arrogantly, "The people living in the garden are all female family members; Third Miss has given orders that no one else is allowed to enter. Master Rong, please forgive me."

Jia Rong said angrily, "Could it be that I cannot enter either?"

Shu Shen said, "Yes."

Jia Rong was furious: "You dog servant! Don't you see who built this garden? What kind of thing are you to dare to block us? If you don't move aside, don't blame me..."

At this moment, Shu Shen suddenly looked behind him and hurriedly said respectfully, "Young Master Luo."

The scene suddenly went quiet.

Jia Rong and the others all turned their heads to look behind them.

At this time, Luo Zijun brought Liu Chujian down from the carriage and arrived at the entrance.

After Jia Rong saw him, a flash of hatred appeared deep in his pupils, but a smile immediately appeared on his face: "Brother Luo, long time no see." Then he hurriedly introduced the young man in silk robes beside him: "This is the son of the Marquis of Weiyang; having heard of the scenery of Daguanyuan, he came here specially today, wanting to go in and take a tour."

"Marquis of Weiyang?"

Luo Zijun looked at the young man in silk robes before him, his expression faint, and he merely cupped his hands in a salute.

To think the Jia Mansion had fallen to such a state; the heir to the dignified Ningguo Mansion had actually begun to fawn over a marquis's son.

However, he had heard of this Wei Xiaohouye; he was now a high-ranking official of the imperial court, and the Queen trusted him quite a bit.

With the Jia Mansion having lost its title and now so poor they could barely hold onto their estate, it was understandable that they would want to cling to that powerful and influential marquis.

Wei Xiaohouye also gave a faint smile, cupped his hands, and said, "Young Master Luo, I have long admired you. I have no other intentions in coming here today; I merely heard that the architecture in Daguanyuan is luxurious and the scenery is excellent, so I wished to enter and take a look around."

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the entrance: "Young Master Luo, this person has ill intentions toward my young lady; he has been following us all the way from the street to here!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's gaze turned toward the source.

Standing inside the gate was a pretty maid dressed in emerald green; it was actually Zijuan, the head maid of Lin Daiyu.

It turned out that early this morning, Lin Daiyu had taken her maids to Bao'an Hall, and on the way back, seeing interesting items at a street stall, she had stepped off the carriage to take a look, just happening to be spotted by this young marquis sitting in a restaurant.

What kind of beauty was Lin Meimei?

Her appearance was elegant and pretty, her figure as slender as a willow, her temperament refined and otherworldly, like a fairy descended to earth; what man would not be moved upon seeing her? Xue Pan, that fellow, had his whole body go soft after just one glance, unable to move, let alone this lecherous Wei Xiaohouye.

So, after catching a glimpse of Lin Meimei's peerless appearance, he immediately rushed down from the restaurant regardless of anything else to strike up a conversation, but Lin Meimei immediately boarded her carriage and left.

Wei Xiaohouye was, of course, unwilling to give up; he immediately took his men and followed behind, trailing them all the way to Daguanyuan.

With Shu Shen guarding the entrance, he naturally could not get in.

Thus, he thought of Jia Rong, who had been fawning over him recently, and immediately took his men to find Jia Rong. Upon inquiring, he heard that Lin Meimei was still unmarried and was a talented and beautiful woman, one of the best in the Jia Mansion. He could no longer sit still and immediately had Jia Rong bring him here.

And so, the scene before them occurred.

Zijuan's words caused a silence to fall over the scene.

At this time, Wei Xiaohouye shook his folding fan, smiled slightly, and said, "A fair lady is a good match for a gentleman. I, Wei, am merely smitten with Lin Guniang at first sight; how could that be considered having ill intentions?"

Jia Rong, standing to the side, hurriedly laughed: "Exactly, exactly, the young marquis is right. A fair lady is a good match for a gentleman. The young marquis is unmarried, and Daiyu is unmarried; they are a perfect match in status and appearance, truly a wonderful pairing."

As he spoke, he immediately leaned in close to Luo Zijun and whispered, "Brother Luo, you may not know, but Wei Yanghou is now a high-ranking official of the imperial court, deeply trusted by the Queen, and currently controls the grain regulation for the entire Daliang army. If our Daliang remains safe and sound during this Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, Wei Yanghou will definitely be able to advance further, perhaps even becoming one of the ministers the imperial court relies on most..."

He kept rambling on, but Luo Zijun did not take in more than a few words, because at this moment, his gaze was fixed on the inside of the Daguanyuan gate.

Although only Zijuan was visible there, he could clearly sense that a group of people was hiding by the side of the gate; they were clearly the young ladies of Daguanyuan.

He guessed that Lin Meimei was likely among them.

"Brother Luo, the young marquis has no other intentions; he just wants to go in and have a word with Daiyu. If the two of them get along well, the young marquis says he will have Wei Yanghou come to ask the old lady and Zheng Laoye for her hand in marriage tomorrow..."

Jia Rong was all smiles, seemingly already fantasizing about the Jia Family clinging to Wei Yanghou and regaining its vitality.

After hearing his words, Luo Zijun looked at him with a strange expression and said, "When Lin Guniang marries, why would one need to ask the old lady and Zheng Laoye for her hand?"

Jia Rong was stunned upon hearing this and said, "Brother Luo, do you not know? Daiyu is a young lady of our Jia Family. The old lady is her maternal grandmother, and Zheng Laoye is her uncle. Now that her parents are both deceased, her marriage should naturally be decided by the old lady and Zheng Laoye."

Luo Zijun was even more puzzled: "But as far as I know, when the Jia Family was stripped of its title and Jia Da Laoye and the others were arrested, didn't your Jia Family prepare to drive these young ladies and maids away? Also, I remember when Lin Guniang was critically ill, almost at death's door, it seems not a single person from your Jia Family cared? There was even talk that someone was afraid Lin Guniang would die in Rongguo Mansion and bring bad luck, so they proposed throwing her out—is that not how it happened?"

Jia Rong immediately said, "No! Absolutely no such thing! How could we..."

"Zijuan!"

Luo Zijun immediately said toward the inside of the gate, "Come out and tell us, when your young lady was critically ill, what did you hear or see?"

Zijuan immediately came out, her eyes brimming with tears, and said bitterly, "When my young lady was bedridden, coughing up blood and on the verge of death, apart from Tanchun and a few others who came to visit, no one else dared to come near, not even the old lady... They said in private that my young lady's illness would spread to others. The mansion had already prepared my young lady's burial clothes and coffin. Xueyan even heard Lady Wang and others discussing that if my young lady died in the mansion, it would be very unlucky, so they were planning ways to send her away..."

Having said this, she wiped her tears and added, "Fortunately, in the end, Young Master Luo and Su Guniang saved my young lady. My young lady said that from then on, she would live in Daguanyuan and go nowhere else; she has nothing to do with the Jia Mansion anymore."

Luo Zijun's gaze turned to the embarrassed Jia Rong and said, "You see, Lin Guniang no longer has any relationship with the Jia Mansion. Who exactly does Wei Yanghou intend to marry by asking Jia Laotaitai and the others?"

Jia Rong's expression changed, and he squeezed out a smile: "Brother Luo, the maids might have misheard or misunderstood. After all, the blood of my Jia Family flows in Daiyu's veins. No matter what, her marriage is a major matter that should be decided by the old lady and Zheng Laoye. She is a young girl, without parents or support; if she doesn't rely on us in the future, who else can she rely on?"

Luo Zijun said, "She can rely on me."

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene fell into dead silence.

Jia Rong and the others stood with their mouths agape, their faces filled with astonishment.

The group of young ladies and maids hiding behind the gate also opened their eyes wide, looking at Lin Meimei to the side.

Lin Daiyu was stunned, her face instantly turning bright red.

At this moment, Luo Zijun continued: "Lin Guniang is currently living with me, and I am the one who saved her life, so naturally, she will rely on me in the future. As for her marriage... that will naturally be decided by me."

Jia Rong was dumbfounded.

The others also looked at each other in dismay.

At this time, a long-bearded attendant behind Wei Xiaohouye suddenly sneered and said, "On what grounds? Just because you are a mere matrilocal son-in-law of the Bai Family? Lin Guniang's status and position have not been stripped away; what right does a mere matrilocal son-in-law like you have to decide the marriage of a lady of a household?"

Zijuan suddenly said, "Young Master Luo certainly has the right! Young Master Luo saved my young lady's life and gave her a place to live. My young lady has already written a contract and pressed her handprint. My young lady is now a servant in Young Master Luo's household. Do you still say Young Master Luo has no right?"

Upon hearing this, not only were Jia Rong, Wei Xiaohouye, and the others stunned with expressions of shock, but even Luo Zijun himself was completely dumbfounded.

A contract? A handprint? A servant?

When did this happen?

How did he not know?

While Luo Zijun was in a daze, Liu Chujian whispered from the side, "Brother Zijun, it was Sister Su who had your Lin Meimei write the contract. In order to repay Sister Su for saving her life, your Lin Meimei wrote it without the slightest hesitation."

Luo Zijun: "???"

Did this really happen?

Lin Daiyu, Lin Meimei, Lin the Sharp-Tongued, the number one heroine of Dream of the Red Chamber, has actually become my maid?

(End of chapter)