Miss Jun also heard what Prince Xian said, probably because it was Tenth Noble Son Ning who said it, she didn't feel offended at all, she just found it very funny, so she burst into laughter.
Dry heaving, crying, and then laughing.
She really seemed crazy.
Prince Xian tsked twice.
"Look at the mess you've made of the poor girl," he said with a grin.
"She really is sick!" Zhu Zan exclaimed, turning around as if to walk away.
But without taking a step, he turned back, stood in front of Miss Jun, pulled her up from where she crouched on the ground, and took out a handkerchief to roughly scrub her face.
"Snap out of it, whatever medicine you need to take, take it quickly," he said.
Miss Jun was nearly suffocated by his wiping, but it worked; her dry heaving stopped, and her tears and laughing were rubbed away.
Zhu Zan, with a look of disgust, tossed the handkerchief onto her.
"Playing crazy won't help you," he said, "Stay away from me."
Prince Xian also nodded, with a touch of sympathy.
"Yeah, young girl, even if you say you have a child for him, even if you die for him, he'll not care one bit," he said, "You don't know, but girls willing to die for him are a dime a dozen in the northern lands, and he wouldn't blink an eye."
Zhu Zan glared and spat out in disdain, while Miss Jun laughed once more.
So, it seems Tenth Noble Son Ning and Zhu Zan hadn't cut ties completely in the end; their relationship was still quite good.
"Prince, you jest," she said, as she opened her medicine chest and from a compartment within, she surprisingly pulled out a small mirror, a damp cloth, a comb, and even some rouge, deftly beginning to clean herself up.
In almost the blink of an eye, she had tidied up her appearance and turned back around to give a slight bow.
"My apologies," she said.
Zhu Zan and Prince Xian were astonished by her fluid movements, but before they could speak, Miss Jun had already slung her medicine chest on her back and walked away.
"This girl, she's like an old hand at this," Prince Xian finally recovered and remarked.
"Of course, she is an old hand," Zhu Zan snorted.
"But for an old hand to be so discomposed, she must be truly heartbroken," Prince Xian tsked, looking at Zhu Zan, "You really are a femme fatale."
"That's none of my business," Zhu Zan sneered, looking at the retreating figure of the girl, "She's heartbroken all day long."
Prince Xian made a curious noise.
"She's really familiar to you, isn't she?" he said, squinting his near-invisible eyes, "Why is she so heartbroken?"
Zhu Zan laughed.
"Being human, who doesn't have something to be sad about?" he said, flinging his hands behind him as he walked towards his home, "It's not a big deal."
Prince Xian smiled and glanced at the girl's departing figure before catching up with Zhu Zan.
"...Don't think you can just gloss over this by spouting a few truths about life."
"...This Miss, she's the Miss Jun that Sifeng mentioned, right?"
"...What troubles have you had at her hands?"
"...Not bad looking..."
.............................
When Miss Jun returned to Jiuling Hall, her emotions were back to normal, with no sign of anything unusual. Seeing her return, Seventh Chen, Fang Jinxiu, and Manager Liu, who had rushed over, all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Which government official's family were you at?" Manager Liu asked with concern.
"Did you face any difficulties?" Seventh Chen asked.
Fang Jinxiu didn't speak, but looked into her eyes and slightly furrowed her brows.
"It was just a minor official, nothing serious with the family's illness, just a sore throat," Miss Jun said, "A single prescription was enough, and since it wasn't far, I walked back on my own."
Manager Liu nodded.
"It's good to walk back," he said.
One should avoid riding in Jinyiwei carriages, it's unlucky.
Miss Jun smiled.
"I've brought the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts from home, for you, Miss Jun," Manager Liu said with a smile, deciding not to dwell on the less pleasant topic.
It's almost the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The day after tomorrow is the fifteenth.
It's here so quickly; this time last year, she hadn't died yet.
Miss Jun nodded with a smile.
"Let's see what my maternal grandmother has sent me," she said, smiling.
"It's quite a big cart," Seventh Chen also joined in the fun, "They've just carried it into the back garden, Liu'er is sorting it out."
Miss Jun smiled and went in. Yangcheng indeed had sent a large cart of Mid-Autumn Festival gifts. The bustling preparations had just finished as evening approached and twilight descended.
Since Seventh Chen and Fang Jinxiu had arrived, the shop assistants no longer stayed overnight. They locked the doors and left. After dinner, the four of them sat in the courtyard to discuss how to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival the day after tomorrow.
In the end, they decided to first dine at Manager Liu's and then go out to enjoy the lanterns on the streets.
"The lanterns in the capital will definitely be livelier than those in Yangcheng," Seventh Chen said happily.
"Should we make some of our own?" Liu'er asked.
"Of course, we should make some. That's keeping with tradition," Seventh Chen replied.
Watching Seventh Chen teasing Liu'er, Fang Jinxiu sat down next to Miss Jun.
"That…" she said, her voice slightly constrained, "are you okay?"
Miss Jun glanced at her.
"What?" she asked.
She lacked experience interacting with young girls. Fang Jinxiu wasn't talkative; since her arrival, neither had spoken much. Suddenly hearing this question, Miss Jun was taken aback.
"Here is different from Yangcheng, and Jinyiwei are not something the Lin Family can compare with. You must have been wronged, right?" Fang Jinxiu said, gripping her fingers and staring at the big tree in the courtyard.
Miss Jun understood and reached up to touch the corner of her eye. Though makeup covered it, a careful girl would still notice something amiss.
"No," she laughed, "I am a doctor. As long as patients give money generously, that is enough; I do not need courteous words, so there is no question of being wronged."
Fang Jinxiu made an affirming noise.
That made sense. Just like selling candy figurines, it was fair as long as buyers paid for them. The attitude didn't matter.
"My grievances are about something else," Miss Jun continued.
Fang Jinxiu was somewhat surprised, not expecting Miss Jun would continue talking to her. She made an affirming noise again and twisted her fingers but didn't speak.
"As for what, it's pretty similar to your situation. Despite having done nothing wrong, disaster struck regardless."
"It's both infuriating and helpless, with nowhere to appeal for justice. That's why it feels like a grievance."
Hearing Miss Jun get this far, Fang Jinxiu loosened her fingers and looked at the big tree, managing a smile.
Indeed, living well as the Fang Family's daughter, completely aligned with the family's enmity, yet to think Old Heavenly Father destined such an ending for her.
Indeed, it was both infuriating and helpless with no place to appeal for justice. Often waking up in the middle of the night and thinking about it, it truly felt like a grievance.
And for Jun Zhenzhen, a well-off government official family's daughter, suddenly her father died, and she had to seek refuge with her maternal grandparents. She thought she was going to have a good life, but ended up constantly on edge, dealing with overt and covert plots.
Just when her maternal grandmother's family's issue was resolved, she still had to manage the inheritance and navigate through all kinds of people.
Thinking of her background, it was also quite a helpless and grievous affair.
"Actually, it's not much. At least we are still living well," Fang Jinxiu said, "Having something to do while alive isn't bad."
That was true. Thinking like that, the feeling of grievance vanished. At least Old Heavenly Father had allowed her to live and address these grievances.
"I wrote to invite you here. Were you scared when you saw my letter?" Miss Jun looked at Fang Jinxiu and smiled, "You see, working here can indeed be quite frightening."
Fang Jinxiu rolled her eyes at her.
"Do you not already know if I'm scared or not?" she said.
Miss Jun laughed as she looked at her.
"Yes, I know you like me and wanted to help me," she said.
How shameless.
Fang Jinxiu glared at her.
"Where do you see that I like you?" she said indignantly.
Miss Jun was about to speak when there came a knock at the door. Before anyone had time to react, Fang Jinxiu had already jumped up.
"I'll go see who it is." She threw down those words and ran off.
Seventh Chen shook his head smiling and continued speaking with Liu'er.
Fang Jinxiu walked into the front hall, lighting a lamp and exhaling as she called out to open the door panel.
Standing outside was a young man who stepped forward as she opened the door.
As they looked at each other, they both paused in surprise.
"Third Miss Fang," Ning Yunzhao said, smiling surfacing on his face, "You've come."
Fang Jinxiu was still in shock as she looked at him.
"Tenth Noble Son Ning," she said, "What brings you here?"
Could it be...
"I am here for her," Ning Yunzhao said with a smile.
Not again!
Even in the capital like this?
When would it ever end!