The Cold Minister’s Obsession: Chasing His Wife - Chapter 13

“Sister Zhiyue, what’s wrong with you?”

Hearing the voice, Lu Zhiyue turned around, her face streaked with tears as she looked at Hua Qingyue. “Sister Hua, I’m fine.”

Crying like this hardly seemed like “fine.” “Don’t cry first. Tears won’t solve anything.”

At these words, Lu Zhiyue sobbed even harder. “It’s Concubine Zhou. She fell ill last night, but Third Madam wouldn’t let me call for a physician. At dawn, I thought to seek out my father, but Third Madam found out and made me stand here.”

“Concubine Zhou is ill?”

Hua Qingyue frowned. Though her mother was merely a concubine of Anning Marquis Manor, she had borne children for the Lu family. Could it be that even calling a physician when ill was forbidden? Life as a concubine in this household seemed harder than her own existence as an outsider.

Lost in thought, Hua Qingyue was startled when Lu Zhiyue suddenly knelt before her, choking back sobs. “Sister Hua, could you help me fetch a physician from outside the manor?”

With so many people in the manor, why was she asking an outsider like her instead of the Lu family? Hua Qingyue tactfully declined.

Undeterred, Lu Zhiyue pressed on, “Sister Hua, Grandmother said your grandfather once saved them. Surely you must have inherited his kindness. All I ask is for you to send word to Physician Li of Huichun Hall. I know you’re close to Third Brother—they won’t make trouble for you. Please, save my mother’s life. Help me, won’t you?”

Hua Qingyue sensed something amiss but couldn’t pinpoint what. She replied, “Sister Zhiyue, don’t panic. I’ll go to the duty hall right now and inform Eldest Brother of your situation. As the heir of the marquis manor, if something truly happened to Concubine Zhou—a member of the household—he would never stand idly by.”

She turned to leave, but Lu Zhiyue hastily grabbed her sleeve. “Sister Hua, no! Please don’t trouble Eldest Brother.”

“Why not?” Hua Qingyue was puzzled.

Lu Zhiyue feigned hesitation. “You haven’t been in the Lu household long, so you wouldn’t understand the affairs between the branches. It’s… complicated. In short, we mustn’t trouble Eldest Brother.”

She added hurriedly, “You should go quickly, Sister Hua. Don’t keep Eldest Brother waiting. I’ll think of another way to help my mother.”

With that, she covered her face and wept again, a pitiful sight.

Hua Qingyue handed her a handkerchief. “Here, dry your tears.”

“Sister Hua…” Lu Zhiyue’s red-rimmed eyes met hers. “Thank you.”

Without another word, Hua Qingyue turned and left.

She could have helped fetch a physician from outside, but she didn’t know what had transpired between Wu Shi and Concubine Zhou. Acting rashly might earn her Wu Shi’s ire as well. Whether Concubine Zhou was truly ill or not, informing Lu Yan was the safest choice.

And the fact that Lu Zhiyue didn’t want her to tell Lu Yan could only mean one thing: this was a trap meant for her.

Clearly, her instincts were right. She would have to be even more careful from now on.

Watching Hua Qingyue walk away, an unreadable emotion flickered in Lu Zhiyue’s eyes. Her mother had instructed her to lure Hua Qingyue out of the manor today, but she hadn’t expected her to be so wary. With no other options, she lowered her head and returned to Spring Rain Pavilion.

Hua Qingyue stood at the entrance of the duty hall, waiting for Lu Yan’s permission before a servant escorted her in.

This had been the routine for several days, but today, the wait felt unusually long.

She looked toward the duty hall. The servant who had gone in to report earlier still hadn’t come out. Seeing that the time set by the instructing matron was about to arrive, Hua Qingyue politely asked the guard at the door, “Brother, could you please go and announce me again?”

The guard glanced at her and shook his head. “No one enters the master’s courtyard without summons. There are specific guards for delivering messages. You’ll have to wait a while longer.”

After saying this, the guard resumed staring straight ahead without another glance.

Lu Yan’s courtyard was not accessible to ordinary people. Even the servants attending inside were carefully selected from the Fei Yu Army—skilled in martial arts and loyal only to him. No one else could enter, not even with a Fei Yu Army token. Yesterday, Tao Xi had mentioned that even Marquis Lu had to wait for Lu Yan’s permission before being allowed in.

She had no idea what extraordinary things were kept in that house that even his own family had to stay away.

It was said that a cousin from the household had once tried to sneak into Lu Yan’s courtyard after failing to approach him openly, intending to force a marriage. But before she could even reach his room, the guards inside had mistaken her for a spy and killed her with a single stroke of the blade.

Over time, everyone had silently accepted these rules.

Hua Qingyue stared anxiously when Tao Xi suddenly ran over from somewhere. “Miss!”

“Weren’t you supposed to be in the kitchen all morning?” Hua Qingyue asked in confusion.

“Not at all! We went through the initial screening, but then the kitchen steward said they had enough people, so I hurried back. I didn’t expect you still wouldn’t have gone in yet.”

It seemed the earlier incident hadn’t been a coincidence. Hua Qingyue didn’t press further to avoid worrying Tao Xi. “Let’s wait a little longer. Someone’s already gone to announce me.”

Another quarter-hour passed before the messenger servant finally returned. “Miss Hua, you may enter now.”

But what was the point of going in now?

On the first day, the instructing matron had made it clear: if one couldn’t arrive on time, they had to send word in advance. Otherwise, they would have to stand under the corridor for an hour before being allowed to learn etiquette.

She had just pitied Lu Zhiyue—now who would pity her?

Tao Xi also looked at her with a pained expression, but there was nothing she could do except massage her mistress’s shoulders later to ease her discomfort.

Resigned, Hua Qingyue stepped inside, only for Tao Xi to be stopped at the door. “The master ordered yesterday that no one enters unless on urgent business.”

“But my mistress is already inside!”

“Miss Hua is here to learn etiquette. What business do you have inside?” the guard said coldly.

“I—I don’t care! Wherever my mistress goes, I follow!”

The guard blocking the doorway lowered his arm, and as Tao Xi lifted her leg to step forward, a broadsword suddenly pressed against her neck. “I won’t repeat myself.”

“Tao Xi, go back first. I’ll be fine.”

Her words lacked conviction. Before Lu Yan, she was no different from fish on a chopping block—whether she was fine or not wasn’t up to her. Still, to reassure Tao Xi, she suppressed her fear and maintained a calm expression.

Slowly, she turned and walked inside.

Crossing the courtyard, she instinctively stopped under the corridor. Only after steadying herself did, she look toward the usual spot where the instructing matron taught them etiquette.

Beneath the pine trees today, not a soul was in sight—even Young Master Yu hadn’t arrived. She hadn’t received any notice of his absence, and just as she was puzzling over it, she spotted a figure standing beneath the opposite corridor.

With hands clasped behind his back, his broad silhouette exuded an air of aloof profundity.

Who else could it be but Lu Yan?

Her gaze shifted further back, and when Hua Qingyue caught sight of the scene inside, she was so startled that she lost her footing and collapsed to the ground.