Jun Jiuling

Miss Jun did not care that Lady Fang was dissatisfied. Her expression was gentle as she continued her explanation.

“So the marriage is fine, the Lantern Festival is fine. Whatever you want to do, you can do. Causing more liveliness is fine too. It will beguile them even further, as they will believe that you are going out with a last hurrah,” she said.

Lady Fang did not really want to talk about this anymore.

“Then Chengyu’s body can withstand it?” she asked.

“If he starts eating my medicine now, then by the time of the Lantern Festival, going out for a walk should be fine,” said Miss Jun.

Start eating medicine now?

The medical ingredients that Miss Jun had asked for had all been bought. They were all piled up in one of the storehouses. They didn’t look particularly special with all the other medicines, and she hadn’t said how she would treat Chengyu.

So now she was saying that the expulsion of the poison could begin.

Lady Fang couldn’t help but clench her fist tightly. Her heart began to pound.

Actually, when she had stopped Old Lady Fang, she had started to believe that Jun Zhenzhen could cure Fang Chengyu.

There was probably only one straw of a chance, but desperate people could not control themselves and would try everything just to be sure.

Lady Fang left perturbed. Liu’er jumped up and down happily.

“Young Miss, we get to go and see the lanterns,” she said, beaming brightly. “The lanterns on the last Mid-Autumn Festival were very beautiful, but they said that the 1st Month Lantern Festival’s were much better.”

Miss Jun recalled the instance. Her memories were very happy but not because of the lanterns, but because she had seen Tenth Noble Son Ning.

Whether or not the lanterns were pretty did not matter to the former Miss Jun. The present Miss Jun didn’t care about it either, but because she was more interested in something else.

“I heard that there is some gambling during the Lantern Festival,” she commented.

Liu’er nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. There is not much gambling at the Lantern Festival. I heard other people say that the profits from gambling at the Jiyun Hall on the 3rd day of the 3rd month are truly great,” she said. She added, quietly, “At that time, it completely becomes a gambling den.”

3rd month, 3rd day, Jinyun Hall?

This wasn’t in Miss Jun’s memories because at that time she hadn’t been in Yangcheng. She guessed that Liu’er must have heard of it from the other servant girls. As for Miss Jun, the only thing in her heart was marriage with the Ning Family. Naturally, she did not care for anything else.

“It’s a shame I can’t make lanterns,” said Miss Jun.

“Young Miss, do you want the the one thousand taels that Old Lady pledged?” Liu’er asked as she stared wide-eyed. 𝑏𝘦𝘥𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝑜𝑟𝘨

That’s right. Now Young Miss really seemed to like money.

“What do you need it for? It’s the Fang Family’s money. If you want something, you can just ask for it,“ she hurried to remind her.

The Fang Family’s money, of course, was their money.

Liu’er felt that this made much sense. If Young Miss asked Grandmother for money, could she not give it? That would be too merciless, inhuman.

Miss Jun smiled.

This was a matter of the purse.

“I just want to make some profits off others,” she said.

Liu’er did not understand.

“What profits?” she asked.

Miss Jun did not elaborate.

“I am thinking it over. There is still time, no need to hurry,” she said.

………………………………………………

Not disappointing the three sisters of the Fang Family, Old Lady Fang finally permitted Fang Chengyu to go see the lanterns.

This should have been a happy occasion, but the Fang sisters listened to the news with complicated expressions.

“I asked for clarification. Mother really went to ask Jun Zhenzhen, and Jun Zhenzhen agreed,” said Fang Yunxiu.

Fang Jinxiu slapped her hand against the table, twice.

“What is going on,” she said. “What is this, this Jun Zhenzhen already calls the shots in our family?”

“She said that Chengyu’s body was fine and could go see the lanterns.” Fang Yunxiu smiled bitterly. “You already know that Grandmother and Mother believe that she can cure Chengyu. Permission for Chengyu to go out must definitely come from her.”

Fang Jinxiu hit the table again.

“What is going on,” she said again.

After a moment, she lifted her head after thinking of something.

“Second Sister, what do you say?”

Since Fang Yuxiu had heard that Old Lady Fang had suddenly said that Miss Jun had to be asked and that Lady Fang went to ask, she had been silent.

At Fang Jinxiu’s abrupt question, she raised her head.

“The Ning Family did not come to interrogate us like Ning Yunyan said they would,” she said.

This out of context statement made Fang Yunxiu and Fang Jinxiu blank, then made them think about what she had said.

Fang Yuxiu had told them that after Jun Zhenzhen had insulted Tenth Noble Son Ning, Ning Yunyan almost went mad from anger. She said that she would definitely bring the invitation and smash it on their door.

But from the 12th month to the 1st, not one person from the Ning Family had come.

“That was the Ning Family not lowering themselves to Jun Zhenzhen’s level.” Fang Jinxiu snorted. “If they came here to quarrel with Jun Zhenzhen, how could that not lower their status.”

That was reasonable.

Fang Yuxiu fell silent again.

“And the Ning Family’s young misses never came back to Yangcheng,” she said in a low voice.

It wasn’t just the Ning Family’s young misses. The Zuo Family and Hu Family also hadn’t come to Yangcheng. It was like they had disappeared that night. Two days later, she and Jun Zhenzhen had gone out again, and they had not encountered any of those young misses.

The streets were lacking in young misses like there was an empty hole in the city.

“They just don’t want to have to deal with her,” said Fang Jinixu with a scoff.

Was that true?

“What else? What do you think it is?” asked Fang Jinxiu.

Fang Yuxiu did not say anything but looked thoughtful.

She thought that Grandmother and Mother could not have been so desperate as to try anything when she said she could cure Chengyu. Ning Yunyan, who had said that she wouldn’t drop the matter in the throes of anger, would not just be done because her family did not want to lower themselves to Miss Jun’s level.

Besides the Jun Zhenzhen that other people tell stories about, does she have another appearance?

No matter the unease in the Fang sisters’ hearts, Old Lady Fang’s pledge for a one thousand taels of silver in prize for making the best lantern was carried out.

Just as Miss Jun had said, once everyone learned of the Fang Family’s extravagant award, everybody believed that the Fang Family were not serious about the crippled young master’s marriage to drive away misfortune.

“Anyway, he is soon to be a corpse. This money would have all gone to waste,” everybody said.

Previously, besides the official families, only the business owners would make lanterns for the Lantern Festival. The lantern craftsmen’s wages all came from the merchants. But this time, the Fang Family had set up a prize. The craftsmen had a steady flow of money on top of their wages. This money needed not be supplied by the merchants, so the merchants increased the prize for the best lantern. Then everybody was happy.

As the authorities and merchants started joining in on the fun, the prizes got divided into several tiers. Anyways, there was a prize to be one and in time, all of Yangcheng began to work itself into a frenzy.

Since anyone's lantern had the chance to win the prize, the Fang Family servants also obtained Old Lady's permission and started making lanterns with renewed vigor. The house was even livelier than it had been at New Year's.

This was the first time Miss Jun had made a lantern.

"However, don’t do it in the house. Go to a lantern shop instead,” said Lady Fang.

Old Lady Fang also knew that Miss Jun had started to make medicine for Fang Chengyu. Her mind was concerned with only this. Additionally, this lantern shop was one of theirs, so there was no need to worry about meeting young misses from other families. Thus, she was able to send her off with a light heart.

Fang Jinxiu’s lips curled knowingly.

“She definitely is trying to push herself out there,” she said, winking at her sisters. “Tenth Noble Son Ning has returned.”

Fang Yunxiu stopped tailoring the red muslin she was using for her lantern.

“But she insulted Tenth Noble Son so. Tenth Noble Son Ning wouldn’t come to Yangcheng to admire the lanterns,” she said.

Comparing Tenth Noble Son Ning to a woman from a brothel would never pass. Whether it would be accompanied by anger or laughter, both were the framework for letting the word spread to the top of the streets and the bottom of alleys.

Tenth Noble Son Ning would definitely avoid such an environment.

Fang Jinxiu laughed.

“Aiyo, even if she doesn’t see Tenth Noble Son Ning, who knows if she will really regret insulting others or not.” She shook her head and scoffed. “Maybe she even hopes that Tenth Noble Son Ning will come and curse her out. She doesn’t think at all. Who could be as brazen as her.”

{She couldn’t have insulted Tenth Noble Son Ning for this purpose, right?} thought Fang Yuxiu.

It seemed now that the people of the Ning Family were avoiding Yangcheng. And the previously circulating gossip of how Miss Jun extorted the Ning Family’s silver also vanished without a trace.

“What sort of lantern is Miss Jun making?” she asked, changing the topic.

Fang Jinxiu was also curious. She made the servant girls go ask around, and not long afterwards they returned.

“She is said to be making a lantern that nobody has never seen before, especially big,” said the servant.

Especially big.

Fang Jinxiu’s lips curled.

“I said she was doing it in order to get into the spotlight.” She lowered her head, looking at the lantern in her hands.

It was a small lotus lantern. She had cut the red muslin herself. She had also drawn the Guanyin image on it. It was filled with her prayers for today’s glory to last forever, hoping that Fang Chengyu could step out of this rut and live well. Even if he remained crippled for the rest of his life, he would still be alive.

When she thought about this, a sour taste filled her heart. She was not in the mood to talk about other things and seriously continued making her lantern.

At the same time, Miss Jun was also seriously making a lantern. Though it would be more accurate to say that she was watching other people make lanterns. But whether it was making one herself or watching other people make it, the seriousness was real.