"What does this mean?"
Asking someone actively if they see any portents of doom in oneself?
Is this a joke or is she serious?
Did she do this to refute what that bell healer had just proclaimed, that someone has an ominous sign, by asking proactively?
Is this an insult?
The people in the alley all looked at the woman.
They had not seen this unfamiliar woman before; she was not one of their neighbors. Could she be from somewhere else who found the bell healers disagreeable?
Miss Jun was not angered and glanced at the woman.
"You don't have one," she said, stepping past the woman and ready to leave.
One has to admit the saying is true: both swindlers and beggars have thick skins.
The onlookers in the alley laughed at the spectacle.
Apparently not wanting Miss Jun to leave like this, the woman quickly followed her.
"Miss Jun, please look again," she said with a hint of plea in her voice, "I really do have an ominous sign."
The smiles on the faces of the spectators in the alley froze once again.
Judging by the woman's expression, if she was acting, she was far too invested in the role.
Miss Jun looked at her and smiled.
"My dear lady, you truly don't have any portent of doom; rest assured," she said.
The woman showed no sign of happiness; instead, she grew more anxious.
"Miss Jun," she still would not allow Miss Jun to leave and couldn't help but grasp the hem of her clothing, "I don't have one, so why don't you come to my home and see? See who has the ominous sign?"
Good heavens!
The onlookers in the alley stood gaping.
Miss Jun smiled helplessly, and before she could speak, the woman spoke again.
"Miss Jun, Miss Jun, please, I beg you, just take one look," she implored.
"I'll take one look, and if there's nothing, you need to find someone more skilled and not bother me anymore," Miss Jun said.
Those words sounded strange, didn't they?
As if asking her to examine a patient was a significant inconvenience?
Anyone with any self-respect who heard a doctor say such things would deserve to slap them in the face.
But this woman clearly did not know what pride was, as she appeared overjoyed at the suggestion.
"Great, great, great," she hurriedly agreed, fearing that if she was too late, the girl would change her mind.
With that, she hurriedly led the way.
Watching the group move off, those left in the alley still seemed dazed.
"Is she really being hired?"
"Could it be a paid actor putting on a show?"
"No, I've heard this bell healer is really selective about who she treats."
"Yes, yes, I heard that she refused to treat an old woman, saying that the woman was undeserving."
"What does 'undeserving' mean?"
"It seems like she chooses which patients she wants to treat."
"So that means she doesn't treat just anyone? She only deals with cases she knows?"
"It seems like it, and also not quite."
"Why bother thinking about it, let's just follow and see for ourselves."
After a burst of discussion, the people surged out of the alley, chasing after the three who had walked ahead on the street.
They turned a corner and arrived in front of a house.
While the facade was not that of a grand residence, it was still a home of substance.
The woman knocked on the door, and the gatekeeper looked at Miss Jun and her servants with a complex expression.
"This doesn't seem right, Third Lady," he said.
The woman glared at him.
"What do you know, being a man," she scolded in a low voice, "Don't talk nonsense."
Then she turned to Miss Jun with an apologetic smile.
As if she feared that the gatekeeper's words had angered Miss Jun.
Miss Jun smiled without taking offense.
"Miss Jun, please come in," the woman said.
The gatekeeper stepped aside, watching as Miss Jun followed the woman inside.
"Women and their belief in all this superstitious babble," the gatekeeper shook his head as he helplessly closed the door.
The mansion's repairs were meticulous, simple yet imposing, clearly reflecting its heritage.
"Miss Jun," the woman leading the way spoke softly, "our madam has a close bond with Douniang, akin to sisters. Before she left, she strongly recommended Miss Jun, saying that if we encountered any difficulties, we must seek your help."
Douniang, that must be the woman who came for medical help the other night, Liu'er thought. So she, too, had spread the word about Miss Jun.
Miss Jun smiled and nodded in response but remained silent.
Ask not too much, say not too much.
The woman leading the way felt relieved once again, becoming more convinced that Miss Jun was indeed a person of high capability.
Miss Jun followed the woman through a flower wall and arrived at the inner courtyard of the family's residence.
Under the eaves stood maids, children ran about in the courtyard, and from inside the house came the laughter of women, the air seemingly filled with the fragrance of cosmetics.
This place was where the women and children lived. Although some women and children needed to show their faces and run about to make a living, many more were kept within the depths of the mansion, moving only among their specific circle of relatives and friends, unseen by outsiders and unknown to them.
"Miss Jun is here," the woman informed the maids.
The residents of the courtyard all looked over, and the maids drew back the curtains.
Miss Jun watched these women and children, approaching them with a calm demeanor.
Indeed, she did not need a bustling grand opening celebration, nor did she need to gather a crowd to support her.
She had no need to win people's favor with generous and compassionate acts, nor did she need to loudly proclaim her miraculous healing abilities to become instantly famous.
What she needed was an opportunity, a secure opportunity to be accepted within the inner courtyards of the grand mansions.
She was slowly gathering a reputation within these inner courtyards, capturing the hearts of the women behind the high officials and nobles. One must not underestimate these women; often, they could determine the success or failure of a matter, the life or death of a person.
Her sister and brother were within the deepest part of these inner courtyards, and as she step by step made her way through, she would eventually have the chance to approach her sister and brother.
...
In the inner courtyard of the Lu Mansion, the maids and maidservants gathered, moving with light steps without a hint of noise, when two maids hurried in from outside.
"Where is the princess?" they asked in low voices.
The maids under the eaves pointed in a direction.
"In the garden," they said.
Originally, this street had been filled with many households, but with the developments around Prince Huai's mansion and the Lu Mansion, many families had moved away. Lu Yunqi's residence now spanned across the space of two properties, grand and spacious, particularly the garden, which was a lush, ever-blooming floral haven.
"Initially worried that the plants wouldn't survive, the master simply moved the soil from other people's gardens here, as deep as three feet."
In the garden, the two maids spoke with a smile, pointing at the vibrant flowers in full bloom ahead, while behind them lay a lake. They were now sitting in a pavilion, almost entirely made of colored glass, shining brightly with the reflection of the verdant water.
Princess Jiuli sat on a blanket on the ground, threading her needle through material on the embroidery hoop; her pleated skirt scattered around her like flower petals on the blanket.
Seated within a colored glass pavilion without any makeup, in a plain shirt and skirt, she appeared especially striking.
Occasionally she lifted her head to glance at the flowers before her, always with a gentle smile on her face.
"Yes, quite lovely," she would comment.
Her voice was always soft, and even seated, her posture was impeccably graceful.
This was a princess raised within the palace, one who was meant to be a proper Princess, adored by the former emperor and the prince.
The maidservants watched her with undisguised reverence.
The two approached her and respectfully greeted her.
"Princess, the master said he won't return today," they told her.
Princess Jiuli nodded with a smile.
"Alright, I understand," she said.
The maidservants then bowed their heads and stepped back, but one hesitated before stepping forward with tea.
"Princess," she knelt and said.
Princess Jiuli set down her needlework, took the tea, and continued to gaze at the flowerbed before her.
The kneeling servant couldn't help but look up.
"Princess, the master has taken another woman," she said quickly, "from the West City Gatekeeper's household..."
She seemed unable to continue.
Lowering her head, her voice became a whisper.
"The West City Gatekeeper's concubine."
Princess Jiuli looked at her.
"Oh," she said, returning the teacup to the maid's hands and picking up her needlework again, focusing on her embroidery.
The maid wore a puzzled and anxious expression for a moment, but didn't dare say more and retreated with the tea.
In stark contrast to the quiet inner mansion, the streets of the capital were at their most boisterous, inns and teahouses crowded with customers, wine vendors weaving through with their baskets, but amid the loud chatter, a commotion suddenly arose.
"Are you all deaf? Make way for our Seventh Master's private room!"
Two or three people stood in the second-floor corridor, shouting loudly.
Several worried attendants apologized to the guests inside the room.
Sitting among the common diners on the lower floor, Zhu Zan looked up.
"Who is this?" he clicked his tongue, "even more arrogant than us."