Chapter 37: A Clue

All things have a spirit. Orange must be reminiscing about someone when seeing the object, with mixed emotions.

Judging from its usual range of activity without being discovered by others, Orange seems very familiar with the layout and environment of the Imperial Academy.

At first, I thought it was a stray dog, wandering without a fixed home, at ease anywhere in the world.

Now thinking about it, Orange couldn’t have appeared at the Imperial Academy for no reason. Could its owner be someone who previously held a position at the Imperial Academy?

The only reason Orange was left behind now was that its owner had abandoned it.

Or perhaps had passed away.

Lu Yuner lowered her eyes in thought. Regardless of the reason Orange was left alone, what it needed now was care and affection. She had no intention of making Orange take out the box out of curiosity. Instead, she gently comforted it, her eyes inadvertently revealing a sense of heartache and sorrow as she said softly, “Orange, be good, it’s alright!”

Qiu Yi beside her had also guessed the situation and watched quietly, her heart softening at her master’s delicate tenderness, the corners of her mouth gradually curling up.

Her master was truly wonderful!

Instead, Orange pushed the box to her feet and gazed at her with sincere eyes. Lu Yuner understood its meaning.

It trusted her.

She picked up the box from the ground, gently patted off the dust on the surface, and observed it carefully. Only then did she discover that this cylindrical wooden box was made of rot-resistant wood, with no visible seams on the surface. It looked extremely well-sealed and seemed to have been well-preserved.

Lu Yuner looked at it for a long time but still didn’t know how to open this cylindrical box. Just as she was wondering how to solve this, Orange suddenly raised its uninjured front paw and pointed to both ends of the cylinder.

Following its indication, Lu Yuner looked at one side of both ends and found a small groove. She gently pressed it with her index finger, and the central circular compartment of the cylindrical wooden box began to loosen. With a slight pull, she found what seemed to be a book curved inside.

Lu Yuner put the box on the ground. The moment she took out the book, Orange suddenly approached her, resting its furry head on Lu Yuner’s wrist, gently nuzzling, as if trying to tell her something.

Meeting its gaze, she clearly felt Orange’s whole body trembling, giving her an intangible sense of pressure. It wasn’t Orange causing this feeling, but the book in her hand.

Lu Yuner shifted her scrutinizing gaze back to the book, suddenly feeling a great heaviness in her heart, causing her to tense up. What exactly was in here that made Orange so afraid?

At this moment, Qiu Yi picked up the lamp and came to Lu Yuner’s side to provide light. The lamplight cast on her beautiful profile as she gazed deeply at the book in her hand.

Since the box was already opened, Lu Yuner decided to take a look. Slowly opening it, she found it full of text. After reading for a while, she realized it was actually an account ledger, with each income and expense entry related to the Imperial Academy, and the amounts were enormous.

“My lady, there are significant issues with these figures,” Qiu Yi, who managed all expenses of the Lu household, immediately spotted the problems in the ledger.

Lu Yuner frowned, her gaze firmly fixed on the ledger. “Indeed, it’s not right.”

“My lady, this seems to have fallen out of the ledger, please take a look.” Qiu Yi suddenly noticed a letter slipping out of the ledger. She picked it up and handed it to her master.

Lu Yuner took it with one hand, opened the envelope, and found several yellowed sheets of paper inside. But because they had been sealed in the wooden box, the writing on them, like the ledger, was still legible.

She opened them one by one to read. What met her eyes was beautiful handwriting, graceful and neat yet with a subtle strength in the brushstrokes. It was clear that the person who wrote this letter must have been someone of both gentleness and strength.

As she delved deeper into the content, her bright eyes froze, her pupils contracted, and her expression gradually became solemn. Qiu Yi, holding the lamp, widened her eyes, as if seeing something incredibly shocking, and exclaimed in surprise, “My lady, this… this is unbelievable! Who would have thought…”

Qiu Yi shook her head in disbelief, her words trailing off due to the content of the letter, too shocked to speak.

From the moment she discovered the problems with the ledger, Lu Yuner knew there must be a huge secret behind this. Besides the content of the letter, what puzzled her even more was Orange’s owner.

Who exactly was this Yan Luo?

Why would they have such an important ledger?

Lu Yuner composed herself, carefully put away the ledger and envelope, and spoke with sudden seriousness, “Qiu Yi, this matter is of utmost importance. Remember not to breathe a word of it, or it will surely bring fatal disaster. Also…”

Lu Yuner looked gently at Orange, recalling its condition when she first saw it, and how emotional it had become today. It was likely that this person called Yan Luo had already fallen victim to villains.

Add to that the knife wound Orange had received, it was clear that someone had already discovered it.

“Also, from now on, Orange cannot leave the mansion or be seen by outsiders. Remember, we must ensure Orange’s safety at all costs.”

“Yes, my lady. You can rest assured.”

Lu Yuner raised her hand, and Qiu Yi immediately came to her side. Lu Yuner whispered in her ear, giving a few more instructions.

About half an hour later, at Mingyue Tower.

“What’s wrong? Who upset General Liu today?” Han Ranzhi sat at a square table made of golden silk nanmu wood, preparing tea as usual while waiting for someone.

On the table was a set of elegant glazed tea ware. The teacups were decorated with flowers and plants, the tea water was clear, and the tea leaves unfurled instantly when steeped in hot water, releasing a rich aroma.

This tea was specially brought back by Han Ranzhi from Langzhou. It had a lingering sweetness and refreshing taste, with a natural fragrance that gave a rich, mellow feeling.

Liu Lan, originally a person who loved alcohol but didn’t drink tea, had gradually come to enjoy tea after spending time with Han Ranzhi and Lu Yuner.

The aroma of the tea was enough to tell its quality. Liu Lan walked to the table and sat down, smiling, “Who else could it be? It’s none other than little sister Yuner!”

“It seems you lost the competition again!” Han Ranzhi had heard as soon as she returned that the two had started sparring again. With Liu Lan’s personality, she wouldn’t give up even if she hit a wall.

It’s just that she had been away for quite some time this time, and Liu Lan had told her in detail about everything that had happened during these days, which made her feel a bit guilty towards little sister Yuner.

Liu Lan picked up the teapot on the table and poured herself a cup, smiling deeply, “You know, after all this time, little sister Yuner is still so harsh on me, showing no mercy at all. But for some reason, I now find little sister Yuner more and more to my liking. Ah! If only she were my real little sister!”

Han Ranzhi’s lips curved into a smile, suddenly remembering Liu Lan’s words from before. As an elder sister, she should indeed care more for her younger sister. Unfortunately, in her years in officialdom, coming from a humble background, she truly didn’t have many people who sincerely befriended her.

Moreover, all the colleagues she knew were also familiar to little sister Yuner.

For example, the Deputy Chief of the Court of Judicature, Ouyang Pan. Somehow, Ouyang Pan’s younger brother, Ouyang Jinghe, had met little sister Yuner once and immediately took a liking to her. So she and Ouyang Pan had set up a meeting with the intention of matchmaking the two, but little sister Yuner had politely declined.

Ouyang Pan was quite straightforward and didn’t insist, letting things take their natural course. However, her brother Ouyang Jinghe still harbored thoughts of little sister Yuner. But today, she happened to meet Deputy Chief Ouyang who was handling a case, and during their casual chat, she mentioned that her brother had found a good marriage prospect and would be getting married in a few days.

Han Ranzhi smiled and said, “Since you like little sister Yuner so much, and she’s also at the age to start a family, why don’t you look among those gentle and virtuous brothers in your Liu family to see if there’s anyone suitable for little sister Yuner? Try to set them up. Who knows, it might work out, and she might really become your sister-in-law!”

“If it were earlier, it might have been possible!” Liu Lan’s eyes lit up with joy upon hearing this, but then she shook her head, her eyes crinkling into a smile, her tone filled with deep meaning, “But little sister Yuner is already spoken for. Although it’s not certain now, who knows what might happen in the future!”

She understood little sister Yuner quite well. She wouldn’t actively flirt around, but as for young master Su’s feelings towards little sister Yuner, that was another story!

Hearing Liu Lan’s words, Han Ranzhi still found it hard to believe. Although she knew a little about the situation between little sister Yuner and young master Su, there was no need for little sister Yuner to offer herself in marriage just because she had saved young master Su.

Moreover, when these two first met at the Imperial Academy, when young master Su was about to fall, little sister Yuner reached out to steady him. She was also present at the time and didn’t notice anything unusual.

Not only was young master Su of noble birth, but his mother was also Princess Yun, enjoying a status second only to one person in the entire kingdom. It’s not that little sister Yuner wasn’t worthy of him, it’s just that this kind of thing was really…

Anyway, she was half skeptical for now.

Seeing through Han Ranzhi’s thoughts, Liu Lan leaned the upper half of her body forward, getting closer to Han Ranzhi and said, “When you see them together, you’ll naturally understand that indescribable feeling, you know what I mean. Oh, and don’t tell little sister Yuner what I just said!”

Liu Lan returned to her original sitting position, picked up the teacup and brought it to her lips, gently blew on it, then slowly sipped. She let out a soft sigh: “It’s just that sometimes I feel like little sister Yuner is hard to figure out. Sometimes she seems very close to us, and sometimes she feels very distant. Ranzhi, do you ever get this feeling?”

Hearing this, Han Ranzhi, who had just picked up her teacup, paused slightly. So it wasn’t just her who had this feeling.

However, she felt quite happy about it, considering it a sign of growth.

She had known little sister Yuner earlier than Liu Lan, having met her when General Lu was still alive. But at that time, she looked particularly young and carefree.

“Youth knows no sorrow” – that must have been what she was like!

Since the passing of Mr. and Mrs. Lu, and her promotion by His Majesty to Minister of Revenue, she had to grow up quickly to deal with the treacherous officials at court. Many times behind closed doors, she would cry in front of her, perhaps unable to bear the pressure, saying things she couldn’t understand, rambling to vent her feelings, but afterwards her mood would improve considerably.

Perhaps she had experienced too much over these years, and the whole person had settled down a lot compared to before, becoming more steady and having more of her own opinions.

She had indeed changed from a naive young girl into a capable woman who could stand on her own.

She felt very gratified about this.

At this moment, the sound of approaching footsteps came from the corridor outside the room. Han Ranzhi snapped back to reality, put down her teacup, and smiled, “She’s here.”