Lu Yuner was long accustomed to this. Instead, she smiled faintly and returned their greetings, causing the young men’s faces to flush red as they shyly turned away, stealing lingering glances at her retreating figure.

This Mingyue Tower was one of General Liu’s businesses, located on the west bank of the Liusu River in the southern market of the capital, far from the hustle and bustle of the city. It was indeed a quiet place for drinking and chatting with good friends, or composing poetry.

At this moment, compared to the bustling market earlier, the banks of the Liusu River seemed particularly quiet.

The full moon hung in the sky, its clear light like a veil of silver-white gauze draped down, making the rippling Liusu River shimmer with indistinct light and shadow, misty and intoxicating to the eye.

Suddenly, Lu Yuner’s almond eyes narrowed, her gaze locked firmly on the undulating river surface not far away. The next second her pupils dilated, and she immediately took off her outer robe and jumped into the cold river with a splash.

A short while later.

Lu Yuner’s clothes were soaked through, her hair wet and clinging to her temples as she looked seriously at the young man lying on the ground, now lifeless.

Her slender fingers immediately lifted the veil, revealing a face too beautiful for words.

Her features were cold yet alluring, with long willow-like eyebrows, a figure like a jade tree, and a coquettish tear mole adorning the corner of her left eye.

The young man’s ink-black hair was scattered on the ground, his clothes clinging tightly to his body, somewhat disheveled from the river water.

The neckline was slightly open, revealing fair and smooth shoulders and neck. His skin, like congealed cream, gave off a bewitching charm in the moonlight.

However, Lu Yuner instinctively pulled his clothes together, then said, “Excuse me.”

After emergency treatment, the young man was showing signs of regaining consciousness. Coincidentally, the sound of people searching came from the flickering firelight in the distance.

Lu Yuner pondered for a moment, then covered him with her dry outer robe that hadn’t gotten wet, and turned to leave.

It wasn’t that she wanted to do a good deed without leaving her name. It was because this was a female-dominated world, and what she had just done was already considered an act of taking liberties.

If someone saw, it would ruin this young man’s reputation. If he was already betrothed…

After thinking it over, she decided it was best to leave. People were already looking for him, so at least his life was no longer in danger.

As the firelight drew nearer, someone excitedly called out, “Young master, he’s over there!”

In a private room at Mingyue Tower.

“Hahaha!” A woman’s hearty laughter rang out from inside.

“I say, Lu Yuner! Lu Yuner! So you’re this late because you got a free bath somewhere, huh?”

Liu Lan looked at Lu Yuner’s soaked appearance in shock. She looked like a drowned rat, and Liu Lan couldn’t stop laughing.

The more she looked, the more she wanted to laugh. She couldn’t help bursting out again, “Pfft! Hahaha!”

Lu Yuner: “…” This heartless woman.

“Liu Lan, stop teasing sister Yuner.” Seeing the situation, Han Ranzhi quickly took a nearby outer robe and draped it over Lu Yuner, urging, “Hurry and call for some clean clothes.”

Only then did Liu Lan react, though the laughter in her voice didn’t diminish, “Alright!”

After a while, Lu Yuner changed into a plain white outfit. The three of them sat on the soft, silky carpet, with tea sets placed on a square table made of golden silk nanmu wood in front of them.

As for General Liu Lan, they met somewhat later. At that time, she had just returned to the capital from Huabei. At their first meeting, she was quite hostile towards Lu Yuner, finding fault with everything about her.

However, during a polo tournament, given that Lu Yuner came from a military family and had some foundation, she won three consecutive matches against Liu Lan. Liu Lan was still unwilling to accept defeat.

She challenged Lu Yuner to an archery contest, competing to hit the most targets within a set time. Although Liu Lan won in the end, she was thoroughly impressed by Lu Yuner’s three arrows fired simultaneously after time was up.

As they spent time together, she found that this person was actually quite good, except for her incorrigibly flirtatious nature.

At this moment, Liu Lan was lounging lazily on a cushion, hands crossed behind her head, with a roguish smile on her lips. “Sister Yuner, quickly tell us what happened?”

“It was due to rescuing someone,” Lu Yuner said with a smile.

Liu Lan immediately became interested, sitting up and leaning closer, her eyebrows raised, her tone full of gossip: “Rescuing someone? Was it a man or a woman?”

“Well…”

Lu Yuner didn’t know how to respond. Recalling that exquisite face, she couldn’t help but marvel, though it was purely admiration without any other thoughts.

Knowing Liu Lan’s love for discussing romantic affairs, and especially her fondness for the handsome men of the capital, if she were to find out, wouldn’t she…

At this point, Han Ranzhi spoke up, placing a cup of freshly brewed tea in front of Lu Yuner, “Alright, Liu Lan, leave sister Yuner alone! Since it was a rescue, it was a kind act. Why does it matter if it was a man or a woman?”

Lu Yuner took the cup, blowing on it gently while absorbing its warmth. Although it was March, the Liusu River was bone-chillingly cold.

If not for this body’s martial arts foundation, she wouldn’t have been able to walk away at that time.

“As her elder sister, I’m just concerned about our sister Yuner’s happiness! If it was a man, what if he offers himself in gratitude? Then wouldn’t our sister Yuner have struck lucky in love? Ranzhi, I’m not criticizing you, you’re married so of course you don’t have to worry. After all, you have your young husband in your arms every night, warm in your brocade curtains, enjoying nightly tenderness. But… our sister Yuner is still all alone, without even one man to warm her bed, to amuse her and relieve her boredom.” Liu Lan turned her gossipy gaze towards Han Ranzhi and continued.

As Liu Lan’s words poured into Han Ranzhi’s ears, her face reddened slightly: Indeed! It was fine not mentioning it, but once mentioned, she couldn’t help but think of her adorable young husband at home, her lips unconsciously curving upwards.

Seeing the happiness radiating from Han Ranzhi’s face, clearly struck by her words, Liu Lan thought to herself: Is being married really that wonderful?

Then, she cast aside these thoughts that had nothing to do with her, draping an arm over Lu Yuner’s shoulders in a carefree manner.

“Sister Yuner, tell your big sister honestly, when it’s late at night, don’t you feel lonely and empty at all? Desires need to be released, or they’ll cause harm if suppressed. How about I take you to a flower house one day to experience it? I promise you, they’re absolutely top-quality beauties, the experience is heavenly.”

At this moment, three invisible black lines appeared on Lu Yuner’s forehead: “…”

Here we go again.

When Han Ranzhi heard about taking sister Yuner to a flower house, she quickly interrupted: “That’s enough! Don’t lead sister Yuner astray. Sister Yuner is just keeping herself pure, unlike you, General Liu, with your fickle heart, fancying this young man today and that young man tomorrow. Besides, we came out today to discuss important matters, not to chat about other things.”

Only then did Liu Lan rein herself in, obediently saying: “Alright, I’ll listen to the Director of Studies.”

Then she lay back down, returning to her original comfortable position.