Young Lady, spare my life.
This phrase felt rather ancient.
Miss Jun watched the woman kneeling before her, of course recognizing who she was.
She too was a contributor to that incident.
A smile appeared on Miss Jun's lips.
"There's no need to spare what need not be spared," she said.
Hearing this, Lingzhi, who had been crying, quivered and lifted her head bravely.
Young Lady, you're not angry?
Though she had remained in the young master's courtyard for nearly a year, she was never allowed to appear before him. No one mistreated her, but no one paid her any heed either.
Such a half-dead existence was enough to drive anyone mad.
She didn't dare to make a fuss in front of the young master; it was better to be half-dead than fully dead.
Hearing of Miss Jun's return yesterday, she suddenly saw an opportunity.
Despite the indifference she encountered these days, she heard everyone saying that the young master was fond of Miss Jun.
Since the young master liked Miss Jun, given Miss Jun's peculiar temperament, she would surely care about the past incident.
Only she and the young master knew what he had done to her back then; he definitely needed her to explain to Miss Jun.
This must be why he had not disposed of her so far.
Otherwise, like other families deal with so-called bed-climbing maids, he could have simply sent her away and sold her.
If he disposed of her, wouldn't that prove the past incident true?
Now she just had to defend the young master, convince the Young Lady that the past incident was false, then the young master would surely value her again.
Once this idea took root, she couldn't control herself anymore, sneaking over and hiding, waiting here. She originally planned to feign a chance encounter when the young master and Miss Jun passed by, but Liu'er, with her sharp eyes, noticed her.
So she was discovered, but it seemed Miss Jun wasn't very angry.
Lingzhi's eyes were filled with uncertain fear.
Fang Chengyu clasped his hands, his expression betraying his anxiety, unease, and a hint of disappointment.
The unease was naturally due to Lingzhi's sudden appearance.
Of course, Lingzhi had to appear at some point, or he wouldn't have kept her for so long and allowed her to roam the courtyard.
But after so long, he still had not figured out how to explain this to Miss Jun.
Not that he didn't know how to say it, but because he was too embarrassed to do so.
And as for the disappointment, it was because Miss Jun didn't seem to be upset upon seeing Lingzhi.
When the incident first happened, Miss Jun was not upset, which angered him because it meant she didn't care.
Now she still wasn't upset, which simply signified indifference again, this time without anger—just disappointment.
Upon hearing Miss Jun's words, Liu'er didn't share the complex feelings of Lingzhi and Fang Chengyu. She just snorted.
"What life is there to spare?" She echoed the sentiment and slapped Lingzhi on the head again, "Making it sound like my miss needs your worthless life, why would she want it?"
Lingzhi was struck again and bent down to the ground, sobbing.
"Enough, no more crying," said Miss Jun, "Are you looking for me?"
Through her tears, Lingzhi kowtowed.
"Stop kowtowing. Answer when asked, speak up!" Liu'er scolded impatiently, "Your crying and wailing, who is that for? Keep crying and I'll sell you off."
She said this without forgetting to cast an eye at Fang Chengyu.
This girl's words carried weight in their household.
Lingzhi dared not delay any further.
"Young Lady, please don't blame the young master for that incident, it was me..." she began, raising her head through tears.
But Fang Chengyu interrupted her.
"gongzhu, the incident was my idea," he said. "At that time, it was targeted at you, and it was really to do that thing with this girl. There's no other reason, it wasn't a pretense, it was, really, true."
With his words spoken, the three present were all stunned.
Miss Jun was fine, quickly regaining composure, as was Liu'er, who simply snorted.
"I knew it was true all along," she said.
Only Lingzhi, after a moment of astonishment, seemed at a loss.
Why would the young master say this? Was this a strategic retreat?
"No, that's not it." She stammered again as she knelt before Miss Jun, "It was me who seduced..."
"Lingzhi, stop saying such things, it's so embarrassing to speak like this," Fang Chengyu interrupted her again, "There's no need to play these games with gongzhu, it's so boring."
Embarrassing? Boring?
Lingzhi was even more at a loss for words.
Moreover, it was always the young master speaking; Miss Jun just watched calmly, neither rushing nor showing impatience.
"The reason I kept you was to prove that the incident back then wasn't your fault, it was my own idea," Fang Chengyu said, "As for the choices you made later and getting involved in all this, that's your business, and it's a separate matter from what I did."
He looked at Miss Jun.
"Gongzhu, what happened between Lingzhi and me was my own doing, and it was also real. I made a mistake, I'm sorry."
After so long, he finally said 'I was wrong,' which turned out to be easier than he had imagined.
Miss Jun laughed.
"There's no need to apologize; we weren't close back then," she said, "And besides, I deliberately kept you in the dark and led you on, so there's really no need for apologies."
Fang Chengyu looked at her, his fingers pinched together.
"Really?" he said, "But it's truly embarrassing."
Liu'er snorted.
"You're embarrassed, that's your business; what does that have to do with my Miss?" she said.
This time, Fang Chengyu didn't ignore her but looked at her instead.
"Because I'm embarrassed in front of gongzhu," he said. "I really care about that."
Liu'er rolled her eyes at him.
"My Miss doesn't care," she said with a huff.
She doesn't care.
Sometimes, 'doesn't care' are truly heartbreaking words.
Fang Chengyu looked at Miss Jun.
Seeing the embarrassment and unease on his face, Miss Jun couldn't help but laugh.
"As I said, we weren't close before, and I wanted to cure you, back then I wasn't so much your cousin as I was a Doctor," she said, stretching out her hand to Fang Chengyu.
Fang Chengyu held her hand, but his expression was still full of apology.
"What does being a Doctor mean? Regardless of culture or ignorance, everyone is treated the same. How could I be angry or care about what a patient does?" Miss Jun said.
Fang Chengyu blinked.
"What about now?" he asked.
"Didn't my Miss say it already? She's not angry now," Liu'er couldn't resist interrupting, fed up with such a slow person.
This time Fang Chengyu didn't pay attention to her, but only looked at Miss Jun.
Miss Jun smiled, patted his hand, then the smile faded.
"Now if you were to do the same thing again, of course I would be angry, and I would never forgive you," she said sternly.
A smile spread across Fang Chengyu's face, as if the ice and snow were melting and the clouds were clearing to reveal the sun, even the usually disdainful Liu'er couldn't help but stare blankly.
This guy, he really does look good when he smiles, even better looking than the son-in-law.
Such a thought was sinful; the son-in-law should be the most handsome in the world.
"gongzhu, what are you going to do now?" Fang Chengyu's voice rose, light and joyful, just like when they had been joking before.
"I'm going to read now, don't disturb me," Miss Jun said, letting go of Fang Chengyu's hand and walking forward.
Fang Chengyu followed her with a smile.
"Then I'll go look at the accounts," he said, "When I come back, shall I bring you something to eat? A new bun shop has opened on the street, it's especially delicious."
Miss Jun smiled without a word, the two of them walked on one after the other, Liu'er followed behind, kicking and playing.
In the blink of an eye, they were gone from sight, Lingzhi was somewhat dazed.
Just, walked away like that?
What about her?
She still hasn't said her piece.
*****************************************
Thank you to Jingsan Shao, Nanfang's Bing for the He's Bi reward. (*^__^*)
Thank you, everyone.