Thousand-Man Commander Lu Yunqi, of course, recognized the young man. He was familiar with everyone from the direct and collateral lines of the court officials' families, friends, and acquaintances.
As a scion of the Ning Family of Beiliu, a family with generations of high-ranking officials and substantial income, he was born with certain conveniences.
Of course, Lu Yunqi held no prejudice against these people; maybe he once did, but now, no matter who they were, they were merely people.
Although Ning Yunzhao looked slightly surprised, his eyes were calm and did not possess the commoners' blend of terror and excitement.
However, since everyone was a person, it was not impossible to see expressions of terror. A tour through the Northern Administrative Court's large prison would suffice.
Lu Yunqi's gaze moved past him, landing on the girl.
The girl, much like Ning Yunzhao, had a calm and peaceful demeanor with nothing particularly notable about her.
His gaze swept over her and the carriage moved on.
Miss Jun's eyes followed the carriage.
The crowd around her began to move again, bustling and noisy.
"Let's go," said Ning Yunzhao, looking at the girl whose calm expression barely concealed her stiffness.
It wasn't fear.
When she had previously passed by the Jinyiwei at Jin Yun Hall, indifferent to their presence, she had not shown the slightest fear.
But Jinyiwei were not all the same, and Lu Yunqi, notorious as he was, could indeed be frightening and cause tension.
"Shall we try another place?" he suggested.
Miss Jun turned her gaze back to him.
Before she could reply, Ning Yunzhao raised his chin, gesturing towards Granny Wang's shop.
"Look, it's too crowded, everyone is going there to join the excitement and ask questions," he explained.
The eating environment would not be pleasant like this, and it was not for any other reason, such as her being afraid of the Jinyiwei or something similar.
"Let's join in the hustle and find out what they're saying," Miss Jun replied, and walked forward. Ning Yunzhao paused, then chuckled to himself.
Indeed, she wasn't afraid, and she had the curiosity of a young lady. He followed her with a smile.
Granny Wang's shop was small and crowded, the noise inside was deafening.
"...stop the noise, everyone. Who's eating? We're still doing business here," the owner, unable to cope, shouted while holding a ladle.
"...If you want to talk, at least buy some stinky tofu first."
The customers joked and either stepped outside or paid up, standing or sitting as they waited. Xiaoding, the servant boy, had already secured a spot for Ning Yunzhao and Miss Jun to sit. Liu'er followed and tried to sit down but was pulled back by Xiaoding.
"What are you doing?" Liu'er glared and pulled back her sleeve.
"There's no space here," Xiaoding said softly, thinking to himself that this girl wasn't even as observant as he was, lacking any tact.
"So where do I eat?" Liu'er asked.
Xiaoding rolled his eyes.
"You see, the place is crowded and it'll take a while; there's a fried cake stand outside. Let's buy some first and try them while we wait," he suggested.
Then Liu'er nodded in agreement.
"Miss, we'll go out and buy some fried cakes first," she said happily.
Miss Jun nodded.
Being a servant boy wasn't easy, especially for one serving a young master with a budding romantic interest. Xiaoding wiped his forehead, feigning sweat, and led the girl outside.
Waiting for the stinky tofu, Miss Jun showed no impatience but instead listened intently to the people surrounding the owner with questions.
"...Why did Thousand-Man Commander Lu come to your place?"
"Nonsense, obviously to eat stinky tofu," the owner replied with pride. But then, realizing there was nothing particularly praiseworthy about that, he began to worry about whether Commander Lu's visit would bring a bad reputation to his shop. He frowned but tried not to show too much concern.
Otherwise, the hat of disdain for Commander Lu would be firmly placed on his head.
"Actually, it's not that," he hastily added, "it wasn't Commander Lu who wanted to eat, it was that young lady..."
That was the explanation the crowd had been waiting for; their eyes all lit up with curiosity.
"Who is that woman?"
"I've never heard of Commander Lu having any sisters or relatives."
"You're blind, huh? Siblings aren't usually that close."
The owner, with a headache from the noise, banged his spoon repeatedly.
"You really don't know, or are you pretending?" he said. "That young lady is the Third Sister from the Qiao Family."
That's the girl who's said to have been taken in by Commander Lu's father, the tea-burning daughter of Old Qiao.
The crowd suddenly understood.
Miss Jun nodded in agreement and continued to half-turn her body to listen to the discussions on the other side.
The topic of discussion was nothing other than how Commander Lu came to fancy Third Sister Qiao.
"...At that time, Thousand-Man Commander Lu had the refined taste to appreciate cherry blossoms..."
"...Thousand-Man Commander Lu had the taste for flower viewing?"
The conversation had just started when someone interrupted.
Don't blame the interrupter; Miss Jun also had a complex expression. Yes, Commander Lu really had such refined tastes. It's a pity that, in order not to let himself go out, he never responded to my occasional suggestions of going to see the cherry blossoms.
He must have struggled to pretend to be someone completely unlike himself.
"... Anyway, on that day, Thousand-Man Commander Lu went to admire the flowers, and he entered Old Qiao's tea stall. At the time, Old Qiao was busy making tea, and like always, Third Sister was there to serve tea. In that moment, as she served the tea, he looked up and saw a face that could make the moon hide in shame and the fish sink for her beauty..."
"Cut it out. Third Sister Qiao has been tending to the fire and making tea since she was young, her face always covered in soot. What 'beauty to shame the moon' are you talking about?"
"What do you know? That's a different kind of elegance. Anyway, Thousand-Man Commander Lu took one look and liked her. Two days later, a sedan chair was sent to carry her into his residence, and Old Qiao's family ascended to the heavens in one step."
Miss Jun sat up straight and thoughtfully looked at Ning Yunzhao.
"Love at first sight," she said. "Do you believe it?"
Ning Yunzhao was somewhat amused to be asked such a question.
He had never imagined that one day he would be discussing another person's romantic affairs with a young lady.
He thought about it seriously.
"Not really," he said.
"You don't really believe in love at first sight?" Miss Jun asked.
Ning Yunzhao smiled.
Love at first sight, huh.
"Well, it exists," he said. "The heart's appreciation of beauty is universal, and many people will say love at first sight is due to beauty, attraction sparked by physical appearance, but sometimes it isn't."
Miss Jun looked at him intently.
Such seriousness was very respectful and sincere, without a trace of pretense.
This was also why Ning Yunzhao felt she was different from other girls and why he was willing to talk to her.
Because it really put people at ease.
This comfort made him indifferent to the topic of conversation, as if he were discussing philosophy with classmates.
"Often, the 'love' in love at first sight comes from oneself," he said. "It could be the love for something admirable, something one lacks, or even the possession of certain admirable qualities and conduct— that feeling when after searching through the crowd a thousand times, the person suddenly appears before you, and you just know this is the person you've been waiting for."
Just like that time during the Lantern Festival, playing chess under the tree. Even without seeing her face, just from the chess game, he knew the person playing was very...
With that thought, he froze for a moment, wondering where his mind was wandering. This comparison wasn't appropriate at this time.
He cleared his throat.
"So, the 'love' in this kind of love at first sight is mostly one's own feelings, and the other half is what the other person possesses. Looks are one aspect, but not the absolute," he said. "Otherwise, with so many beautiful women in the brothel, everyone chasing and admiring, also feeling emotions, that kind of emotion is not the kind that fits the soul."
As he finished speaking, the girl across from him smiled.
She didn't laugh out loud in the cramped teashop but covered her mouth and smiled with her hand.
"Your smile is making me feel embarrassed," Ning Yunzhao said earnestly. "Where did I go wrong? Tell me, don't just laugh."
Miss Jun smiled again and shook her head, regaining composure.
"No," she said thoughtfully and with a hint of openness, "it's just that I've never thought about such things, so I don't know if it's right or wrong."
Ning Yunzhao also thought about it and then smiled.
"To tell you the truth, I've also never really thought about such things," he said.
It was like two innocent children playing house, discussing being husbands and wives, serious yet somehow comical.
"It's all just idle speculation," he added, partly serious, partly open.
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Good morning. Hopefully, there won't be any distractions today.