He had thought it was just a minor incident. As the Heir of Marquis Wu’an, he surely wouldn’t pay any attention to nobodies like them.

Class had just ended. Ancient Wen Heng packed up his things and was about to head down the mountain when Lu Ping called out to him.

"Brother Wen Heng, wait for me!"

Ancient Wen Heng turned to look at him, puzzled.

"Brother Wen Heng, I heard Mr. Nan call on you a few times just now. There are some things I don’t quite understand, and I was hoping you wouldn’t mind enlightening me."

Lu Ping grinned, but he was secretly impressed by this top scholar from Dao City and wanted to get on his good side.

Ancient Wen Heng never thought that answering a few extra questions would earn him a request to "enlighten" someone.

But since the man had already asked, Ancient Wen Heng could only respond politely, "I was just lucky. I happened to know the answers to those few questions, but I wouldn’t dare presume to ’enlighten’ anyone."

"You’re being too modest," Lu Ping said, walking up to join him. "There are a few things I’d like to ask you in private. Let’s talk as we walk."

Ancient Wen Heng glanced at Bai Jinglie and Shan Ke’an, who had already turned to leave. "Aren’t you going with them?"

Lu Ping paused for a moment, then immediately broke into a smile. "It’s fine. They’ll wait for me at the bottom of the mountain anyway. This gives us a perfect chance to talk."

Ancient Wen Heng was speechless. ’Do I look like I’m missing someone to slow me down?’

Deng Yuanhang was also speechless. ’This doesn’t seem to concern me. I’d better not get caught up in whatever trouble Junior Brother Wenheng is in.’

"Wenheng, I just remembered I have some things to do at home, so I’m heading off," Deng Yuanhang said. Without much hesitation, he disloyally abandoned his fellow disciple.

Ancient Wen Heng was speechless. ’Sigh... I really feel like doing a dramatic reach and shouting, "Don’t go!"’

"Perfect, we can talk as we walk," Lu Ping said, watching Deng Yuanhang’s retreating back with a hint of regret. He had been planning to share a bit of gossip about him, but it seemed he wouldn’t have to waste his breath now.

"Brother Wen Heng, ever since you made a name for yourself back in Dao City, many families there have had their eyes on you."

Ancient Wen Heng glanced sideways at him. ’I’m just a minor Scholar. Lu Ping is exaggerating.’

"Don’t be so quick to disbelieve it. If you all hadn’t left so quickly, you would have been snapped up to become someone’s prized son-in-law." Lu Ping couldn’t help but shudder at the thought that with them gone, that misfortune might have fallen on his own head instead.

Ancient Wen Heng paused. "...That doesn’t really have anything to do with me. After all, I’m already a married man."

Lu Ping looked him up and down. "You know, you’re not even as handsome as I am. You’re just a bit smarter, a bit taller, and I guess your nose bridge is a little higher... so how did you become so popular?"

Ancient Wen Heng was speechless.

"Alright, I’ll stop joking," Lu Ping said, cautiously glancing around. Seeing they were alone, he continued in a conspiratorial whisper, "At the banquet Prefect Xiao held that day, his second daughter was hiding in the back watching you all. The rumor is she was immediately captivated by your refined and dignified air. She supposedly made a bold declaration right then and there: she would marry no one but you."

"That concerns a young lady’s reputation, Brother Lu. You should speak with more caution."

"Oh, come on. Let’s not pretend we don’t know what’s going on. Why else would you all leave in the middle of the night? You must have heard something, right?"

Ancient Wen Heng put on a bewildered expression. "We’d been away from home for a long time. Isn’t it perfectly normal to want to go back?"

"So, do you want to know what the Prefect’s second daughter did afterward? It’s all directly related to you." Lu Ping searched his face for a flicker of panic but was disappointed.

To his surprise, Ancient Wen Heng just shook his head calmly. "My life has been perfectly normal. You must be mistaken."

"Speaking of which, you have me to thank for that."

Ancient Wen Heng was silent. ’So that’s what this is about,’ he thought. ’He’s here to call in a favor.’

"The Prefect’s second daughter had already sent out servants to find a way to break you and your wife apart. If they couldn’t separate you, she ordered them to arrange for some... accidents." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

At this, Lu Ping finally caught a dangerous glint in Ancient Wen Heng’s expression. But Wenheng merely listened in silence, not pressing for details.

"By chance, I found out about it. I used a little scheme to leak the news to the Prefect’s wife, which managed to put a stop to it for the time being.

For that alone, don’t you think you owe me one, Brother Wen Heng?"

Ancient Wen Heng cupped his fists and gave a genuine, deep bow. "Thank you for your righteous help, Brother Lu. Otherwise, as a mere commoner, I’m afraid I would have suffered greatly."

Although Ancient Wen Heng couldn’t be certain if the story was true, he could tell from Lu Ping’s expression that it wasn’t a lie.

The thought that he and Qianqian had nearly been ensnared in a malicious plot only strengthened Ancient Wen Heng’s earlier resolve.

Lu Ping had only meant to tease him a little, so he was caught off guard when Ancient Wen Heng thanked him so earnestly. It actually made him feel a bit embarrassed.

He flusteredly helped him up. "Really, it was just a coincidence. One of my men heard about it and told me, and I just quietly passed the message along..."

"Whatever the reason, your actions saved us from disaster, so you deserve my thanks." Inwardly, Ancient Wen Heng still didn’t understand. ’With so many unmarried Scholars at that banquet, why would a prominent official’s daughter set her sights on me?’

"But you don’t have to worry now. I just received word that Prefect Xiao has been demoted to a small county magistrate. He’s probably already on his way with his family to some remote County Government post. He won’t be a threat to you anymore."

Seeing the lingering worry in his eyes, Lu Ping went ahead and briefly explained what had happened next.

At that moment, neither of them could have imagined that the troublemaker they were discussing, Xiao Wanyu, was not on her way to a remote backwater as they thought. Instead, she had shamelessly followed her mother to Shangjing, using the convenient excuse of escorting her older sister to her wedding.

With this new connection forged between them, Ancient Wen Heng felt he couldn’t just let Lu Ping do all the talking, so he chimed in from time to time. As they chatted, Lu Ping began to feel as if he had found a kindred spirit and nearly followed Ancient Wen Heng all the way to his front door.

* * *

"Not bad, kid. In just one day, you’ve already found yourself a new playmate." The moment Lu Ping returned to his quarters, he found Shan Ke’an blocking the doorway.

"It just means I’m personable and good at socializing. You’re jealous, aren’t you!" Lu Ping said with a smug expression as he squeezed past him into the room. He poured himself a cup of tea; he’d been talking the whole way here and was dying of thirst.

He gulped down two cups before wiping his mouth contentedly. "What are you doing here? Didn’t you go out with the Young Master?"

Shan Ke’an sighed. "Give me a break. It’s been an endless day of socializing. My alcohol tolerance has been improving every day since we arrived, but even so, my body can’t take being forced to drink this much."

His cousin, Bai Jinglie, at least had his status as the Princely Heir to shield him; most people didn’t have the guts to force drinks on him.

"But it’s different for me. As the Princely Heir’s cousin, it’s like everyone directs their full force at me. One cup after another... who can stand that?"