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Chapter 49: Kung Fu

After learning that Qin Fu was pregnant, Wen Ruyu immediately sent someone to offer her congratulations.

Not daring to send over any tonics, fearing they might be too strong for the baby, she only sent a piece of fine fabric from the house to convey her good wishes.

Actually, since the baby hadn’t been born yet, there was no need to send anything valuable—this was just a gesture of Wen Ruyu’s goodwill.

Because they lived on the same alley, with only a few dozen households, Wen Ruyu would often send Zhao Shu to pay respects. Sometimes, Qin Fu would also come over to chat with Wen Ruyu and the others.

However, the old lady of the Xu family wasn’t in good health, and the entire household relied on her to manage things. Now that her husband had gone to the countryside to take the imperial exam, Qin Fu, as a woman, naturally didn’t dare to go out casually.

This day, Qin Fu received her mother-in-law’s permission and came to the Lu family for a chat.

When Qin Fu and Zhao Shu were together, they inevitably talked about their husbands.

Sitting on a chair, Zhao Shu sighed, “Songnian and the others should be starting the exams soon, right?”

Qin Fu reminded her, “The exams start in August. By now, they should have already settled in the countryside.”

Zhao Shu sighed, “Once my husband starts studying, he can’t let go of his books. The weather is so hot—who knows if he’s eating properly.”

Wen Ruyu wasn’t too concerned.

First, she wasn’t their actual mother. Second, they had plenty of servants accompanying them on the trip. If they ran into danger, there were people to protect them.

Lu Songnian and the others were all scholars traveling together. As xiucai (licentiates), they held a certain level of importance. Even if they encountered bandits, the criminals likely wouldn’t dare kill them all.

If a group of scholars were harmed, the court would surely take the matter seriously. If it was a small bandit group, it would likely be wiped out. If it were a major bandit group, Lu Songnian and the others wouldn’t be foolish enough not to find a detour.

Even if they were captured, scholars still had some value. Instead of being killed, they could be taken back as strategists.

Death? Probably not.

As for whether Lu Songnian was eating well, Wen Ruyu didn’t know. But she had an appetite herself.

The hot weather dulled the appetite, so she’d start her meal with a refreshing sour fish soup, followed by a piece of Dongpo pork that melted in her mouth without a trace of greasiness.

The vegetables included crisp snow peas and cauliflower, which had recently been introduced domestically.

For afternoon tea, she had a bowl of sweet tofu pudding, topped with mint water—refreshing and sweet.

After finishing the tofu pudding, Wen Ruyu felt like having more, so she called, “Tao’er, come here.”

Chuntao quickly came in and asked what Wen Ruyu needed.

Wen Ruyu said, “Go to the kitchen, have them remove the seeds from the melon and bring it here for me to eat.”

Tao’er responded and went down to the kitchen.

Of course, if Wen Ruyu was having melon, Zhao Shu and Qin Fu were served as well.

The melons weren’t large, so each person got one, sliced and plated. Since Chuntao couldn’t carry all of them alone, she called a young maid to help.

On the way back, they saw Fener walking out of the room, looking rather upset.

Chuntao rolled her eyes behind Fener’s back, then went into the room.

While the ladies ate melon, the young maids had nothing to do.

In the afternoon, as the heat subsided, some maids stepped out.

One maid saw Fener sitting in a daze under the eaves and approached her.

“Fener-jie, the sun is strong out here. Be careful not to get heatstroke.”

Fener had seemed in low spirits these past couple of days—no appetite, sighing constantly.

“What’s wrong?” the maid asked, sitting down beside her. “Are you missing Third Master?”

Many in the household already knew about Fener and Third Master.

When the maid mentioned “Third Master,” Fener finally raised her eyes with some spirit.

Earlier, the mistresses had been chatting about their husbands. Though Fener was not officially a concubine, she still thought about Lu Ke.

But they were lawful wives, free to express longing. Fener, on the other hand, dared not say much.

She felt gloomy knowing that she, who served the old lady’s room, had ended up entangled with Lu Ke, uncertain of her future.

“Sigh!”

Just as she let out a sigh, another maid came out carrying two pieces of melon—she ate one and brought the rest over.

“Old Madam and Madam are sharing melon. Would you like some?”

The maid next to Fener took a piece and tried to split it to share with her. “Sister, want some?”

Fener, chest heavy with sorrow, had no appetite. “You eat. I can’t.”

With that, she turned and went back inside.

The two maids looked at each other, puzzled. “Is she suffering from heatstroke?”

They cared for a moment, then quickly moved on, smiling and eating their melon.

In summer heat, a slice of chilled melon from the well—sweet and cool—was the perfect remedy.

Now that Wen Ruyu was getting older, eating cold and fruity things in summer often left her feeling unwell.

So, before dinner, she would sunbathe her back.

After seeing off Qin Fu, the houseboys brought out her bamboo bed.

The maids fetched water, splashed it on the ground three or four times, then doused the bamboo bed twice. Once it cooled, Wen Ruyu came out.

The sun was about to set, so she basked in the evening glow for a short while.

After half an hour, the sun had almost disappeared.

Wen Ruyu didn’t feel hot, so she stayed outside a bit longer.

The maids were lighting lamps indoors. The sunset, combined with the lamplight, and the maids in colorful clothing walking back and forth, made for a pleasant scene.

Lu Mingzhu had returned from school and came to dine with Wen Ruyu.

The girl had just learned to play the flute and sat beside her, playing the tune “Jade Tree and Blossoms.”

The sound was hauntingly beautiful and mysterious—so chilling it brought a coolness to the hot summer day.

Wen Ruyu didn’t enjoy that kind of tune and started requesting songs.

“Play ‘Ten Thousand Years of Joy’ instead.”

Lu Mingzhu obeyed and changed the tune.

After listening for a while, it was time for dinner. The mother and daughter ate together and chatted before going to bed.

The next day, Wen Ruyu heard that Lu Baining had brought two girls home.

At first, she was almost furious, thinking he had picked up two more women from somewhere.

But once Lu Baining brought them in and explained everything, she realized she had misunderstood.

Still, beautiful women often seemed harmless, and she was skeptical of Qingluan and Hongyu’s martial skills.

The two knew they wouldn’t be convincing without a demonstration.

So they put on a swordplay show—moving with lightning speed.

Just the opening moves would have been enough to kill someone in Wen Ruyu’s condition.

She was finally convinced that these two truly had extraordinary abilities.

No wonder they were so beautiful yet dared to act at night.

With such skills, even ten strong men couldn’t get close to them.

She thought of fictional characters like Cui Qie and Yin Niang—supposedly just legends.

Though Qingluan and Hongyu might not be able to kill without a sound, they really could scale walls and rooftops.

So it turned out, there really were people in ancient times with superhuman abilities.

She heard they had lived in seclusion with their master for years and was intrigued.

When they met Wen Ruyu, both women treated her with great respect, even predicting she would have an extraordinary future.

Zhao Shu and Lu Bainian, overhearing this, were delighted—one thinking her husband would succeed, the other hoping to make a name for herself.

Qin Rong stood nearby, her face calm.

Just then, she accidentally met Hongyu’s gaze—who was smiling at her.

Qin Rong frowned slightly.

Hongyu, sensing it, quickly looked away.

Knowing the two had real skills, Wen Ruyu thought about asking them to teach her daughter a few self-defense moves.

Qingluan flatly refused, “Though our martial arts are meant only for women, we can’t teach outsiders who aren’t part of our sect.”

Wen Ruyu was disappointed.

In their sect, once you join, you can’t marry and must live in seclusion.

Even if Lu Mingzhu could accept not marrying, she couldn’t accept being separated from her mother.

Wen Ruyu herself, even if willing, lacked the health—and she was too fond of her comfortable life.

Relying on herself for everything? Impossible in this lifetime.

Just as she was feeling regret, Hongyu spoke up, “But basic self-defense—some ordinary hand-to-hand techniques—that we can teach.”

Wen Ruyu’s disappointed eyes lit up again.

“In that case, I ask you two immortals to teach my daughter a few self-defense techniques.”

Lu Mingzhu didn’t object. She always listened to her mother. If her mother wanted her to learn martial arts, even if it was tough, she would not complain.

Lu Bainian, hearing this, asked, “If it’s just basic self-defense from other martial styles, can men learn too?”

He wasn’t good at studying. As a child, he had used his literacy to read Water Margin and Journey to the West, so he had a fondness for martial arts.

Qingluan and Hongyu, since Wen Ruyu requested it, didn’t object and agreed to teach her two children.

But they wouldn’t stay long—at most two to three months before leaving.

“Just a few sets of techniques. That’s enough time to teach them,” they said.

So Wen Ruyu arranged for them to stay in guest rooms, treated as part of the household.

To thank them, she also set aside fifty taels of silver to gift when they left.

She had asked how they traveled and made a living, and learned they knew some medicine and treated people for money.

So, their finances weren’t as comfortable as imagined.

Giving them money was the most straightforward and helpful gesture.

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