CHAPTER 17

Song Yuanzhi was at a loss. She had never expected that Lu Shaoyou, who was only mentioned briefly in the original novel, was still alive. For a moment, she didn’t know how to react. However, seeing how happy Madam Qin was, Song Yuanzhi also smiled subconsciously, “That’s great!”

Yes, the original is the original, but since she has traveled through the novel, it is not surprising that the plot has changed. Otherwise, she would have still been locked up in Xuanyuan Yu’s other courtyard.

It’s great that the plot has changed, especially for a war hero like Lu Shaoyou, who was able to come back alive, which is a great blessing for the country and the people.

Madam Qin held Song Yuanzhi’s hand, smiled with fine lines on her eyes, and said with a look of relief, “I knew you were a lucky child. You drew a very good fortune in the temple, and now Ah-ji has good news! The fate between you and Ah-ji was really destined by God!”

Song Yuanzhi was embarrassed. “I just shook the fortune stick box casually. It is because of the great blessing of the Marquis that I dare not take credit for it.”

“If I say you are blessed, then you are blessed.” Madam Qin wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. “You don’t know, after hearing the news that Ah-ji was missing, I really wanted to go with him! I burned incense and prayed to Buddha all day long, hoping that the Buddha would save his life. I would even accept losing arms and legs. But there was no news about him. It happened that you drew that good fortune, which gave me some hope. Now that there is news about Ah-ji, I am relieved!”

Song Yuanzhi didn’t know what to say, so she could only whisper to comfort Madam Qin, ” Marquis of Zhenbei has guarded the border, resisted foreign enemies, defended the country, and has done immeasurable merits. Even if it wasn’t the fortune stick I drew, Marquis would be blessed by God and return safely.”

“You are such an honest child. If it were someone else, they would have flattered me and taken this great credit so that they would have the confidence to marry in our family.” Madam Qin smiled and patted the back of Song Yuanzhi’s hand. “But don’t worry. If that brat dares to bully you, just tell me, and I’ll take care of him for you.”

Song Yuanzhi was embarrassed. Her husband, who died in the war, was coming back. She had originally planned to be a widow, but now she had a husband, and he was someone she had never met. It was really exciting. But the problem was that she was ready to be a widow but not ready to get married.

Even though Song Yuanzhi was such a reckless person, she felt a little confused at this moment.

However, Song Yuanzhi’s embarrassment was seen by Madam Qin, who thought she was embarrassed. Madam Qin laughed in her heart and sent Song Yuanzhi to look around. “Don’t worry, Ah-ji is not a bad person and is handsome. He will definitely not let you down! Yurui and Yurong, take your miss to the Marquis’s courtyard to have a look.”

“Isn’t this inappropriate?” Song Yuanzhi refused subconsciously.

“There’s nothing inappropriate in it, as you’ll be living there in the future. It’s a good opportunity to go over and take a look. If there’s anything that doesn’t suit your taste, tell me immediately, and I’ll ask someone to change it right away! I happen to be free, so why not take you to have a look?”

Song Yuanzhi thought that Madam Qin was too generous. No matter how heartless she was, she could not do such a thing as give orders about her husband’s residence before she even got married.

However, Madam Qin had good intentions, and Song Yuanzhi could not refuse her kindness, so she could only follow Madam Qin’s wishes and go to Lu Shaoyou’s yard.

The Zhenbei Marquis Mansion covers a large area and has only two masters. The place is very spacious, and many courtyards are empty. Madam Qin is not like other old ladies who insist on occupying the main house to show their status. She chose a courtyard that suits her best and moved in, and then kicked Lu Shaoyou to the main courtyard. The courtyards of mother and son are relatively close and not far from the main hall.

Song Yuanzhi came out of the main hall, walked through the corridor, entered the corner door of the inner house, then walked around the rockery, passed through the corridor, and finally arrived at the main courtyard.

Stopping in front of the main courtyard, Song Yuanzhi felt a little embarrassed. How did things develop to this point? Why did she come to the main courtyard to see the furnishings of the house for no reason?

Madam Qin was very excited. She took Song Yuanzhi’s hand intimately and walked into the main courtyard.

As soon as they opened the door, they saw a tall and sturdy sycamore tree in the yard. There was a person leaning under the tree, looking up at them lazily.

The golden sunlight sprinkled on the handsome face of the young man. His thick and long eyelashes left a long shadow under his eyes, which flickered with the trembling of his eyelashes. In the sunlight, the young man’s handsome features were more delicate, his fair skin was almost transparent, and his smile was an indescribable beauty.

Madam Qin raised her eyebrows and was about to speak, but she saw that the other party had quickly stood up straight, bowed, and clasped his fists. “Greetings, Madam, Miss Song.”

Madam Qin blinks and coughs. “I’ll bring Miss Song over here for a look. You can follow along. If Miss Song sees anything that doesn’t suit her, just tell him and ask him to change it.”

Song Yuanzhi looked at Madam Qin in confusion, then looked at Yu Zhi and asked curiously, “So he is the guard in the Marquis’s courtyard?”

Madam Qin raised the corner of her mouth and said with a smile, “I guess so.”

Song Yuanzhi was even more confused. What did it mean to be considered as such? She asked Yu Zhi again, “Didn’t you say before that you were guarding the bamboo forest?”

Yu Zhi’s expression remained unchanged, and he said calmly, “Now I have been transferred to guard the main courtyard again.”

Song Yuanzhi really couldn’t understand the duties of the guards in the Marquis’ Mansion, but thinking about the fact that this elder brother was working as a secret guard outside and was transferred all over the Marquis’ Mansion, she guessed that this elder brother’s status in the Marquis’ Mansion was not low and that the more capable he was, the more work he would do, and he would be everywhere.

Madam Qin glanced at her son teasingly and took Song Yuanzhi for a walk around the yard. She was still talking, saying that the flowers were not pretty, and asked Song Yuanzhi to pick a flower she liked. Then she said that the decoration in the house was too cold and hard and that some small items should be added. She also asked Song Yuanzhi for advice.

Poor Song Yuanzhi; although she looks like a fairy, she is actually a rough man at heart. She always thinks that as long as the yard can be used for living, it is enough. She has no effective suggestions at all. She was so anxious that she almost couldn’t keep a calm and steady expression on her face.

It was Yu Zhi who spoke up to help her out. “I’ve remembered everything Madam has ordered. I’ll ask someone to do it right away.”

Madam Qin smiled triumphantly and gave her son a victorious look. After seeing his deep eyes, she decided to stop while she was ahead. She patted Song Yuanzhi’s hand and whispered, “I still have the account book to look at. Please help me take a good look here to see if he has changed it as I said.”

Song Yuanzhi was confused. What was going on? Could it be that Madam Qin was no longer able to order the guards in the mansion?

Madam Qin saw that her son’s lips had been pursed into a thin line. She knew that he was on the verge of a fit, so she explained in a low voice, “He is the most useful person around Ah-ji and is loyal to Ah-ji. I can’t afford to offend him.”

It turned out to be the guard of Zhenbei Marquis. No wonder he was so imposing and acted like he was at home in the Marquis’s mansion. Song Yuanzhi nodded to show her understanding. After Madam Qin left, Song Yuanzhi suddenly remembered that when she escaped from Xuanyuan Yu’s villa that day and bumped into Yu Zhi, she seemed to hear him hum softly.

Song Yuanzhi didn’t care about it before, but now that she thought about it, she couldn’t help but ask Yu Zhi, “When we first met, you weren’t the secret guard sent by the Madam to protect me, but you just came back from the border?”

Yu Zhi was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

Song Yuanzhi blinked, thinking of his low hum that day, and couldn’t help asking, “The battlefield is dangerous; are you okay with your injuries?”

Yu Zhi’s eyes gradually warmed up, and he nodded calmly, “It’s not a life-threatening injury.  I have recovered after resting for a while.”

Song Yuanzhi felt relieved but couldn’t help asking, “Madam just said that the Marquis is still alive; did you know that?”

“Cough, cough, cough—” Yu Zhi suddenly coughed loudly, which scared Song Yuanzhi so much that she quickly told Yurui to call a doctor for him. However, no one knew what was wrong with this man, but he was coughing so badly, and he still firmly stopped Yurui from calling a doctor with gestures.

Song Yuanzhi was a little angry. “You can’t hide your illness and avoid seeing a doctor. Your body is your own. You’re coughing like this. Is it because your previous injury hasn’t healed yet? We still have to ask the doctor to come and take a look!”

It took Yu Zhi a long time to stop coughing and catch his breath. He was secretly annoyed that he had lost face in front of Song Yuanzhi. He forced himself to ask Song Yuanzhi, “Is the Marquis still alive?”

Song Yuanzhi suddenly realized, “So you heard this great news, and you were so excited that you couldn’t stop coughing!”

You zhi:.

“Yes, I got excited when I heard the good news.”

Song Yuanzhi sighed for Yu Zhi’s loyalty to Lu Shaoyou and then lowered her voice to remind Yu Zhi, “Madam told me about this matter. I think the Marquis has other plans. You must not spread it, so as not to disrupt the Marquis’s plan.”

Fake guard Yu Zhi—the real marquis Lu Shaoyou: “You are right, I was too excited.”

“It’s not your fault. You are loyal, and you must be excited to hear the good news that the Marquis is still alive. It’s my fault. I thought you knew the news a long time ago, so I asked you that.”

“It has nothing to do with Miss. I was not careful enough.”

Song Yuanzhi waved her hand and said, “Alright, stop putting the blame on each other. We didn’t guess what the Marquis was thinking, and we weren’t careful enough.”

Lu Shaoyou: …

“Miss is right. I don’t understand the Marquis.”