Chapter Thirteen: Summoning the Substitute

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Only father and daughter remained in the hall. Wan Qiufeng cleared his throat. “Yue’er, about the dowry you mentioned just now...”

Wan Qiufeng dared not directly ask for Song Qiange’s dowry. It was known that a man who used his wife’s dowry would be ridiculed as incompetent.

Before her death, Song Qiange had said she left a substantial dowry for her daughter. To prevent Wan Qiufeng from using it, she entrusted it to an outsider.

When Wan Qiuyue came of age, someone would bring the dowry to her.

At first, Wan Qiufeng thought Wan Qiuyue was unaware of the dowry and paid it no mind.

No matter how Wan Qiuhui acted recklessly, he simply pretended not to see.

Today, Wan Qiuyue brought it up herself, so he had to inquire carefully.

“It was only after I fell into the water that I remembered Mother had told me about the dowry. It’s not in the mansion; she just said that after I came of age, someone would come for me.”

“Oh, you fell into the water? What happened?”

Wan Qiufeng showed no interest in the dowry but wore a worried expression, concerned about his daughter.

At that, she raised her sleeve and gently wiped away two clear tears on her face.

“It’s nothing, Father. I... I accidentally fell into the lake. It wasn’t my sister’s fault...”

Wan Qiufeng shook his head and slapped his thigh with a large hand. “It must have been Hui’er. Don’t cover for her. That Hui’er is so spoiled by me she’s become unruly! Don’t worry, Yue’er. I’ll teach her a good lesson!”

See? Wan Qiufeng clearly knew everything.

Judging by his disappointed expression, one might think he doted greatly on his second daughter.

“Father, Third Sister didn’t mean it. As long as she doesn’t interfere with me, we can get along peacefully.”

Wan Qiuyue’s magnanimity inevitably stirred a pang of ‘heartache’ in him.

“Good child, you understand. I won’t restrict your freedom anymore. You may leave the mansion as you please.”

“But since you’re a girl, I can’t help but worry. I must assign someone to accompany and protect you, is that alright?”

“All right, thank you, Father!” Wan Qiuyue outwardly smiled as she linked arms with him, but inwardly she rolled her eyes.

Ha, it sounds gracious, but it’s really just assigning a watcher.

“Steward Wang, bring the person up.”

No sooner said than Steward Wang entered with a young man trailing behind him.

“Not kneeling yet? Hurry!” Steward Wang kicked him hard.

The young man stumbled and knelt, his legs trembling uncontrollably, seeming to have injuries.

“Look up.” Wan Qiufeng ordered.

The young man slowly lifted his head, revealing a handsome, youthful face before Wan Qiuyue.

Yet his expression was cold and indifferent, eyes slightly reddened as if recently crying.

“What’s your name?” Wan Qiuyue asked.

“...” He curled his lips but said nothing.

“I’m talking to you! Are you deaf?” Before he could answer, the long whip cracked down on his back.

“Stop!”

Wan Qiuyue quickly intervened. Judging by this household, beating seemed routine; she wondered how often the servants were whipped.

“My surname is Pu. I have no given name.” Gritting his teeth, he replied angrily.

Wan Qiuyue said, “Then you shall be called Pu Lada.”

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“...”

Wan Qiufeng looked at him and instructed, “From now on, you’ll follow the Second Miss. You must protect her well and keep her from harm. Understand?”

“...”

“Are you even listening? You...”

Steward Wang, about to strike again, glanced at Wan Qiuyue’s glaring eyes and reluctantly withdrew his hand.

“Yes...”

Having settled matters in the front hall, Wan Qiuyue hurried back to check on her two cherished maids.

But after searching, they were nowhere to be found.

Pu Lada silently followed behind her.

Upon returning to her room, she found Bai Lu and Qiufen kneeling on the floor, scrubbing it after having just been beaten.

Wan Qiuyue could only shake her head helplessly and hurried forward to snatch the cloths from their hands.

She said nothing, merely sat down in a chair and watched them, a mixture of concern and anger in her eyes.

Seeing Wan Qiuyue’s anger, the two timidly called out, “Miss...”

“At this point, why are you still scrubbing the floor? Hurry and go apply medicine and rest!” Wan Qiuyue threw the cloths to the floor.

Though her tone was stern, her words were filled with care.

“Miss, we’re fine. This is just everyday life. You don’t need to worry about us. We also thank you for saving us just now!”

After speaking, they kowtowed several times, causing Wan Qiuyue to knock over the tea on the table in frustration.

“What’s there to thank for? I told you I will protect you both from now on. Today I was careless; injuring the guard and dragging you into this.”

Helping the two battered girls up, Wan Qiuyue patted their heads and recounted the events that had unfolded in the hall.

She explained she was now free to leave the mansion at will, her provisions restored, no longer forced to eat cold meals, and Bai Lu and Qiufen would no longer be whipped.

Then she beckoned toward the door, signaling the young guard to enter.

“This is Xiao Pu. Father fears for my safety outside, so he sent him to protect me. Bai Lu, prepare a room in the west wing for Xiao Pu. From now on, he’s part of our household.”

Wan Qiuyue smiled at Xiao Pu.

Xiao Pu raised his head, momentarily startled, then resumed his indifferent expression.

Qiufen frowned, scrutinizing him up and down, and asked doubtfully, “So thin and weak… can he really protect Miss?”

No sooner had she spoken than a cold gleam flashed. The sound of a sword being drawn and sheathed echoed, and the tray holding the teacup in Qiufen’s hand was cleaved in two by the sword’s light. The young girl opened her mouth in shock.

“Impressive swordsmanship!” Wan Qiuyue applauded.

“Tray! Teacup! You!” Qiufen glared angrily, making Wan Qiuyue laugh.

“All right, you can get replacements from the storeroom later. From now on, we won’t lack anything in this room.”

Wan Qiuyue smiled and waved them off.

Fortunately, the previous restrictions were lifted, and she could openly go out now.

But if Xiao Pu accompanied her, he might be more of a hindrance... What to do?

Just as she pondered, a familiar voice came.

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[System: Main storyline task 1-4 “Front Hall Incident” completed. Rewards: Decoy Summoning Whistle, 50 taels of silver. Main storyline task 1-5 “Encounter with Gong Chengling Again” unlocked.]

Wan Qiuyue: “Decoy Summoning Whistle? Oh, this is perfect timing. With a decoy, I can do whatever I want!”

[System: Don’t get your hopes up. The decoy only looks exactly like you. It can understand simple commands like reading, drinking tea, sleeping, but cannot speak or show expressions.]

Wan Qiuyue: “Fine, fine, better than nothing.”

With this decoy, she could deceive others temporarily.

Tomorrow she would take on the system’s assigned random encounter mission.

The new main storyline was to meet Gong Chengling again. Would they really meet so soon? The protective mirror she gave him last time should keep him safe.

She still had to dress as a boy to move about more conveniently. Phew, that’s enough for today. The world is vast, but sleep is the greatest.

The next morning, Wan Qiuyue instructed Qiufen to read in her room and not disturb her before dinner.

Blowing the decoy summoning whistle from yesterday, just as the system said, a girl appeared before her.

From head to toe, there was not a single flaw; even she admired it.

“Sit and read.” Wan Qiuyue commanded.

The decoy obediently sat at the desk and began reading.

It even turned pages automatically! As long as it didn’t speak, the illusion was perfect.

“This is settled! Time to slip away!”

Wan Qiuyue nodded in satisfaction, changed into yesterday’s boy’s clothes, donned a disguise, took a fan, and quietly leapt over the back wall while no one was looking.

Having lightness skill was truly a blessing.

She needed to go to the West Street pharmacy to find Shopkeeper Liu for the random encounter mission. But how to get to West Street?

Could it be she had to rely on that annoying navigation?

[Navigation: Bustling traffic ahead. Using Bustling Traffic navigation. At the next intersection, turn left.]

The navigation appeared obediently, though she didn’t want to use it...

Wan Qiuyue thought to herself she must memorize the route quickly to avoid needing the navigation.

[Navigation: Descend the hill in 300 meters.]

[Navigation: Go straight 100 meters to the destination on your right.]

An aged signboard came into view, inscribed with four characters: “Liu’s Pharmacy.”

The air was thick with the scent of medicinal herbs. Entering the shop, the large hall was completely empty.

Wan Qiuyue wandered about casually, then heard sighs from the backyard.

“Ah...”

“Master, please don’t sigh. We’ll think of something else.”

“At this point, what else can be done? Sigh.”

“We’ve consulted so many doctors and tried countless medicines, but there’s no improvement at all...”