FID – Chapter 247

The woman’s reply made Lu Zhixia feel more at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

“It’s just a handkerchief. I happened to see you, so it’s nothing more than lifting a finger. You don’t have to take it to heart.”

Fu Yuzheng pursed her lips and said, “I’m not used to owing people. I will make a pot of tea for you, as a return of your kindness.”

She turned around and left after speaking, leaving Liu Zhixia no time to call her back.

Wid people around Feng Qingbai have such strong tendencies?

Even a woman could speak and act so decisively without leaving a room for refusal. Liu Zhixia smacked his forehead.

Fu Yuzheng quickly brought him a tea tray.

She wouldn’t return the handkerchief.

Just a pot of tea.

This way, they wouldn’t owe each other anything.

Otherwise it would always linger in her mind and make her unable to sleep.

The relationships around her were all for mutual use; there was never an exception.

Fu Yuzheng placed the teapot on the stone table and got ready to leave.

There really was no dragging at all.

Liu Zhixia sighed. “If Miss has nothing to do, why not sit down and have a drink?”

The woman frowned. This did not make sense.

“I don’t mean anything else. It’s just a cup of tea between friends, exchanging casual chats. It’s really boring to sit alone.” Lu Zhixia did not know which wire he had drawn. Knowing that it wasn’t appropriate, he still spoke and called her to stop.

Chances were probably due to being in a foreign place coupled with his restlessness, so he felt an urge to have a chat.

Fu Yuzheng was touched with the word friend and took a seat.

She did not have friends and never had extravagant expectations, but she was indeed a little curious about Liu Yusheng and Liu Zhixia, the two siblings.

She could not see the ambition that most worldly people have in them.

They have obviously climbed up to the King of Nanling, but they didn’t seem to grow any arrogance.

“Is Young Master bothered about whether to move out of the royal residence?” She heard the conversation at the dinner table while waiting outside the door of the flower hall.

“Indeed. I came to the capital with the intention of studying wholeheartedly. My thoughts are pure, but the capital is not an immaculate place. Living in the royal residence will bring many conveniences and inconveniences. Everything is fine. What worries me most is my sister being criticized, saying that she’s riding on somebody else’s coattails.”

“May I be bold to say something unpleasant? Young Master is overthinking it, and you are worrying about troubles of your own imagination,” Fu Yuzheng commented, “Since you know the capital is an impure place, why do you have so many worries? No matter what you do, as long as your heart is upright, people do things to make themselves better, not for others. No one can please the whole world.”

Liu Zhixia was speechless for a moment.

She really hit the nail on the head, without leaving any face.

“The capital is a place where power clashes most savagely. If I were you, I would take advantage of the power of the royal family. I would beg for it. This way I can get better treatment, get more resources, and get myself to reach my goals faster. What’s not to like?” The woman continued, “There’s obviously a weapon you can rely on, but you don’t want to. To put it nicely, you’re noble and virtuous, but to put it bluntly,  you’re pedantic. In officialdom, people like you die the fastest.”

“…” Lu Zhixia regretted it a bit, calling her to a halt.

The moment she spoke, not to mention saving his face, she also almost stripped him away.

The woman seemed to notice that her tone was too blunt and eased up a little.

“The Imperial Academy isn’t as good as you think. The people who can study there are all children of the royal family. The fighting inside is no less than that in the imperial court. 

None of the children from poor families ever stayed there long. Do you know why? It’s because they have no power.

People without power and authority are oppressed everywhere. If you suffer from injustice inside, with your virtuousness, do you want the King to help you or not? Do you think Miss Liu won’t be worried deep inside?”

“…” He couldn’t answer.

“You followed Elder Yang, and you’re bound to embark on the road to officialdom in the future. There are rules in officialdom. If you want to go far and well on this road, you need to adapt to the rules, master the rules, and finally play with the rules. Otherwise, you’ll serve as fertilizer for others to grow.”

The woman put her tea cup down with a thump. “I’m done with my tea. I’ll be going back to rest. The autumn night is cold, so don’t sit idle for too long, lest you’ll catch a chill.”

After that, the woman got up and walked away.

Really, she said she’d have a cup of tea and really had only a cup.

Liu Zhixia rubbed his face. Whatever irritation and worry he had were gone.

Finally, he looked at the tea cup and chuckled.

He read so many books in vain, and even needed a woman to see through things thoroughly.

Lu Zhixia drank the tea in his hand and also got up to leave.

He was going to officially enroll at the Imperial Academy tomorrow. He had to think about how to borrow Feng Qingbai’s power most appropriately.

He didn’t want to toil and moil but end up being someone else’s fertilizer.

After both people left, a man flashed out of the shadows, strutting around the stone table. He picked up the remaining tea in the teapot and poured it into his mouth.

“Tsk-tsk, under the moon and flowers, a romantic air. This nerd, Lu Zhixia, has some tricks. I’m the only regal isolationist. I could only sneak around when doing research…”

The next day, something major occurred in Nanling Palace.

Everyone in the palace, almost collectively, had a stomach ache.

Except for Feng Qingbai, Liu Yusheng, Liu Zhixia and Xue Qinglian, no one was spared.

Although Liu Zhixia has not been running the toilet, he was no better than the servants who robbed the toilet. He felt ill from head to toe, faint and weak.

He only got better when Liu Yusheng rushed inside and brought medicine for him to drink.

Feng Qingbai followed Liu Yusheng with a somewhat cold breath surrounding him. He went directly to Xue Qinglian’s room.

Looking at the situation, it was needless to say. It must be Xue Qinglian’s doing.

“Nannan, do you still have medicine available?”

“There’s more, but one bottle is enough,” Liu Yusheng replied.

This was a special potion she refined, which was more than enough to solve this symptom.

It was also because Liu Zhixia spent too little time at home these years, and wasn’t able to eat the food and water at home all the time  Otherwise, he would have fared fine this time from the long nourishment of her spiritual spring water. 

“Give me another bottle of medicine. I want to take it to Miss Fu.”

“To Miss Fu?” Liu Yusheng was stunned and looked at Liu Zhixia with a strange look.

Liu Zhixia explained, “Nannan, don’t think too much about it. I benefited from her advice last night, so I’ll count it as a thank you to her.”

Liu Yusheng smiled and handed over another bottle of medicine. “I was going to send it to her even if you didn’t say so. But since you want to give it as a thank you gift, you can send it.”

After a pause, she added, “But don’t disclose the antidote for the time being. Brother, you should also tell Miss Fu.”

“Is something wrong?” Liu Zhixia did not understand.

“No.” Liu Yusheng gestured for him to draw nearer and whispered the reason in his ear.

“Okay, I got it.” After saying that, he left Liuyun Pavilion and went to the courtyard where the servants lived.

Although Fu Yuzheng was also a servant, she had a special status in the Royal Residence, so she lived in a courtyard alone.

At this time, she was crouching by the door, covering her stomach and looking pale.

When she noticed the man coming, she closed her eyes hard twice in a row. He saw her in the most embarrassing state!