Chapter 236: Chapter 236: Related to Her Cousin

Yaoguang Pavilion.

Zhi Wan had also heard about Lu Jinglan’s disappearance and was discussing it with Shuang’er in her room when she suddenly heard servants outside greeting someone, "My Lady!"

The mistress and maid immediately stopped talking.

Zhi Wan turned her head and saw her aunt rush in, looking frantic.

"Wan’er!"

Zhi Wan quickly stood up. "Aunt."

Lady Wei strode forward, took her hand, and looked her over from head to toe, asking urgently, "Are you alright? Did the Old Madam and the others give you trouble?"

Hearing this, Zhi Wan understood why her aunt was in such a hurry.

She shook her head and said obediently, "Old Madam Lu and Lu Jinglan did come to Yaoguang Pavilion yesterday. They wanted to throw me out and have the servants beat me, but I spent 300 taels of silver to make the servants from Fushou Hall switch sides. They helped me tie up Lu Jinglan. Old Madam Lu and Lu Jinglan didn’t get the upper hand with me. In fact, Lu Jinglan even got a beating from Jiang Shi, who arrived later.

Jiang Shi and those servants helped me, so please don’t make things difficult for them, Aunt."

She explained what had happened yesterday in just a few sentences, but Lady Wei was terrified by what she heard.

’Wan’er was just a young girl who had only recently come of age. Even if she wasn’t as timid and weak as she usually appeared, she was facing the harsh Old Madam Lu and the malicious Lu Jinglan. How could a little girl like her possibly fend them off?’

’She must have been bullied terribly yesterday.’

"It’s all my fault for being careless and leaving you in the residence alone." Lady Wei was filled with regret and remorse.

"Aunt, I’m really fine. Lu Jinglan did slap me once, but I slapped her back. And after that, Jiang Shi gave her ten more slaps. He even knocked out her front teeth," Zhi Wan said, quickly trying to comfort her aunt when she saw the tears welling in her eyes and the look of remorse on her face.

"What? Lu Jinglan dared to hit you?" Lady Wei’s anger flared. "That beggar! How dare she?"

Zhi Wan paused, then answered truthfully, "Relying on Old Madam Lu’s affection for her, she slapped me the moment she entered the courtyard, trying to intimidate me. But I wasn’t afraid of her. Besides, I used silver to win over the servants from Fushou Hall afterward."

She had no intention of hiding what happened from her aunt. Since her aunt had asked, she would tell her everything, lest Old Madam Lu try to twist the story and blame her instead.

"The audacity of that bitch!" The thought of Wan’er being hit made Lady Wei so angry she wanted to chop Lu Jinglan into pieces.

"It’s alright, Aunt. I didn’t get the short end of the stick. Besides, Lu Jinglan seems to have disappeared now. You could call it karma," Zhi Wan said placatingly.

Lady Wei quickly cupped her face and examined it carefully.

A day had passed, but Zhi Wan’s skin was fair and delicate. Since Lu Jinglan had deliberately hit her hard, the faint marks of fingers were still visible on Zhi Wan’s face upon close inspection.

Seeing the marks on her face, Lady Wei truly felt murderous toward Lu Jinglan.

But she also blamed herself for being so foolish. She had let Lady Lou lure her away, giving Old Madam Lu and Lu Jinglan the opportunity to bully Wan’er.

"Does it still hurt?" Lady Wei stroked her face, her heart aching.

"It stopped hurting a long time ago," Zhi Wan said with a smile. To prove she wasn’t lying, she even pressed her cheek firmly. "See? It doesn’t hurt at all."

Lady Wei was both exasperated and amused. She quickly pulled down her mischievous hand and chided, "You silly girl."

A warmth spread through Zhi Wan’s heart.

She knew her aunt doted on her and was on her side. That was why she’d had the confidence to stand up to Old Madam Lu and Lu Jinglan the day before.

"It’s just... spending 300 taels all at once... my heart aches for the money," Zhi Wan said, deliberately putting on a pained expression to lighten the mood.

"You little miser. If a problem can be solved with silver, then nothing could be better. Thank goodness you’re so quick-witted," Lady Wei said with a laugh, then added magnanimously, "As for the 300 taels you lost, your aunt will reimburse you."

"Thank you, Aunt." Zhi Wan didn’t refuse this time.

Her aunt already felt incredibly guilty about yesterday’s events. If she refused, it would only make her aunt feel worse.

Lady Wei patted her head affectionately and brought up another matter. "It seems Lu Jinglan isn’t really missing. I think it’s obvious she’s just hiding."

Zhi Wan froze. "Hiding?"

Lady Wei nodded. "She lost face at your hands yesterday, so she’s certainly not going to take it lying down. She came up with this trick to force Old Madam Lu to seek justice for her."

She didn’t want to worry Wan’er, so she decided not to mention that back at Fushou Hall, Old Madam Lu had threatened to have Wan’er tied up.

Zhi Wan thought about it and felt her aunt’s reasoning made sense.

"In that case, she probably is just hiding."

’If Aunt had come back yesterday, I might have thought she’d sent someone to abduct Lu Jinglan. But she knew nothing about what happened and only returned today. So Lu Jinglan’s disappearance is definitely not her doing.’

’But in the entire Lu Family, who else held a grudge against Lu Jinglan deep enough to kidnap her from the residence?’

"Since she’s hiding, then she should just never come back," Lady Wei said suddenly.

"Aunt, what are you... going to do?" Zhi Wan couldn’t help but ask.

Lady Wei patted her hand. "Don’t worry. I will handle this. You just rest. This afternoon, the Embroidery Girl from the Brocade Building will come to take your measurements for your wedding dress. Also, I’ll take you somewhere tomorrow."

Hearing this, Zhi Wan didn’t press further, though she had a vague idea of what her aunt was planning.

’Is Aunt planning to use this opportunity to make sure Lu Jinglan can never return to the Lu Family?’

’That’s a pretty good plan.’

’This way, Old Madam Lu won’t be able to blame anyone.’

’After all, Lu Jinglan hid herself. Who’s to say some accident didn’t befall her along the way?’

Once Lady Wei left, Shuang’er asked in surprise, "Did Lu Jinglan really just hide herself away?"

Zhi Wan shook her head. "I don’t know either. But if she didn’t hide herself, what’s the alternative? That a thief really broke into the residence and abducted her?

The residence is heavily guarded. An ordinary thief couldn’t possibly get in, let alone snatch someone away without a sound.

But if she ran off and hid on her own, then everything makes sense."

Shuang’er nodded. "That’s true..." After a pause, she leaned close to Zhi Wan’s ear and whispered, "I thought perhaps the Princely Heir had someone do it."

Zhi Wan started. ’My cousin?’

She had actually considered her cousin as well, but he was in Yangzhou. Even if Jiang Shi reported the situation to him, he couldn’t have acted so quickly...

But then she remembered carrier pigeons.

The last time she wrote to her cousin, he had replied very quickly...

With this in mind, Zhi Wan warned, "Don’t speak of this to anyone. We don’t want to cause trouble for my cousin."

"I understand," Shuang’er nodded, then added with schadenfreude, "Still, Lu Jinglan’s sudden disappearance is so satisfying."

"Mm," Zhi Wan agreed, a pleased smile playing on her lips.

Lu Jinglan was always thinking about her cousin, constantly looking for chances to get close to him. She was quite annoying.

Now, she had vanished directly from the Lu Family residence. Barring any accidents, Zhi Wan would probably never have to see her again.

It really was quite satisfying!

After leaving Yaoguang Pavilion, Lady Wei went to Fushou Hall.

"Old Madam Lu, if you’re unhappy with Jinzhi marrying Wan’er, you are perfectly free to take it up with your grandson. Why must you come after Wan’er and torment a young girl?

It’s a good thing she’s alright, otherwise you might have earned yourself the ’fine reputation’ of abusing your granddaughter-in-law."

Old Madam Lu was already frantic over Lu Jinglan’s disappearance. Seeing Lady Wei enter and immediately start with the sarcasm, her face fell and she snarled, "That girl you raised is quite something! Both Jinglan and I suffered at her hands. What could possibly have happened to her? It’s my Jinglan who was tormented by her beyond recognition! And now she’s missing! It must have been that bitch Zhi Wan!"