“Lu Lang?”
Liu Qingyan also noticed Lu Zheng picking up the copper coins. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Lu Zheng nodded.
On the other side, as the old woman and the plainly dressed young woman left Benevolent Heart Hall, the young woman transmitted to the old woman, “Big Sister, that boyfriend of Miss Liu looked at us strangely.”
The old woman nodded, then said with some puzzlement, “But I thought my disguise was perfect. How did he see through it?”
Just then, the two reached the entrance to Tongyi Alley and saw the Liu family gate wide open. Liu Qingquan bounced out of the house cheerfully.
The old woman: “…”
The young woman: “…”
“When we arrived, why didn’t you check who lives in this alley?” the old woman sighed.
The young woman felt helpless. In her mind, she thought, I was only focused on Benevolent Heart Hall. Didn’t you also fail to notice that Liu Qingyan’s family lives in Tongyi Alley?
No wonder Lu Zheng had looked at them oddly. They had literally appeared right outside his front door.
How could he not notice?
The young woman asked helplessly, “What do we do now?”
The old woman shook her head just as helplessly. “We only wanted to make initial contact. We never expected to make things worse.”
“Should we just tell her directly?”
“Won’t that scare her?”
“I don’t think so. It’s not bad news.”
“But still… that business from back then…”
“It’s all ancient history now. Besides, the Old Madam often regrets what happened. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have dared to come out on our own.”
The old woman thought for a moment, her eyes brightening. She smiled softly. “No rush. Since we’ve been exposed this time, we’ll just change our appearance tomorrow.”
The young woman said weakly, “That doesn’t seem right. What if we’re recognised again? How embarrassing.”
The old woman’s expression turned serious. “Don’t you trust my acting skills?”
The young woman shook her head quickly. “No, no. I do, I do.”
“That’s settled then. Come on. We’ll find Third Sister first. If the three of us appear together, it’ll be easier to dispel their suspicions.” The old woman’s cloudy eyes suddenly became lively, with none of the previous aged weariness.
Seeing no one around, the two turned into a secluded alley and vanished in the blink of an eye.
…
In the back hall of Benevolent Heart Hall, Lu Zheng, Liu Qingyan, and Du Yueyao sat together, looking at the Cloud Palace Treasure Mirror in front of them.
On the mirror’s surface, the old woman and the young woman entered the alley, waved their hands to set up an illusion barrier, and disappeared.
However, the barrier clearly could not block the Cloud Palace Treasure Mirror’s power. The three watched clearly as the two figures shifted and instantly changed their appearances.
The old woman straightened her back, grew taller, and soon became a young woman in a scattered-flower white-lotus feathered gauze dress. Her eyes were lively, clever, and charming.
The plainly dressed young woman also shimmered with flowing light, changing from head to toe into a emerald-green bamboo-patterned silk lily skirt. Her brows were like distant mountains, her eyes like bright stars. Her features were delicate and soft, inspiring tender affection.
“Wow, so beautiful.” Du Yueyao exclaimed.
Anyone seeing an old woman and an ordinary-looking woman transform into stunning young beauties would cry out in surprise. These two truly deserved the exclamation.
Though their charms differed, both were exceptionally lovely.
“Such powerful illusion technique. I didn’t notice at all.” Liu Qingyan said.
Lu Zheng nodded. “Neither did I.”
Du Yueyao sighed, then quickly realised and asked, “Why did they disguise themselves as ordinary people to visit Benevolent Heart Hall for treatment?”
“They came for Qingyan.” Lu Zheng frowned thoughtfully. “They seem to bear no malice and have some connection to Qingyan. I don’t know if it’s an old relationship or if they’ve mistaken her for someone else.”
“Ah?” Du Yueyao turned, confused. “How do you know?”
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow and smiled, pointing at the lips of the feathered-gauze woman in the mirror.
Liu Qingyan’s eyes lit up. “Lip reading?”
Lu Zheng nodded. “They seem to plan another disguise tomorrow, then come find us again. They want to build a relationship with you first.”
Liu Qingyan was utterly bewildered. “Why?”
“To acknowledge kin?” Lu Zheng shrugged, then asked, “They mentioned old matters and said the Old Madam regrets something. Could one of your ancestors have run away from a great white fox clan?”
“No way.” Liu Qingyan said with wide eyes. “I’ve never heard Father mention it. Mother’s side were ordinary white foxes too. I heard my grandmother awakened on her own.”
Lu Zheng asked, “Then where does your heavenly fox bloodline come from?”
Liu Qingyan: ???
Lu Zheng asked, “Have Uncle Liu and your mother cultivated the Heavenly Demon Nine Transformations Blood Refining Method? How did it go?”
Liu Qingyan’s gaze shifted. She bit her lip lightly. “Only Father showed phenomena, but just one tail.”
“It must be Uncle Liu then.” Lu Zheng nodded. “I don’t know how they tracked him down, but we might as well ask Uncle Liu first.”
“I’ll fetch him.” Du Yueyao said quickly, then rushed to the front hall, dragging Old Liu back with her.
“What is it?” Old Liu looked baffled. “There are no patients out front right now, but we can’t leave it empty.”
“I’ll watch.”
Du Yueyao put on a heroic, self-sacrificing expression. Her eyes showed reluctance, heartache, and the pain of unsatisfied gossip.
Liu Qingyan pressed her lips to hide a smile. Lu Zheng laughed too. “I’ll keep an eye. We’ll manage if patients come.”
“Yes, yes.” Du Yueyao nodded eagerly.
Old Liu could not help asking, “What on earth is going on?”
Lu Zheng began explaining what had happened. At the same time, in the mirror, the view followed the two women as they left and soon reached an abandoned temple on the outskirts of Tonglin County.
…
“Eh? Where’s Third Sister?” The lively young woman looked around but saw no sign of their third sister.
The delicate young woman had sharp eyes. She spotted writing in the corner of the temple wall and read aloud, “It’s rare to visit the Central Plains. I’ll leave the family search to you two. I’m off to play in the nearby prefectures.”
“That playful little vixen.” The lively young woman stamped her foot. “Every time we need her, she’s nowhere to be found.”
The delicate young woman shrank back. “What do we do now?”
“Of course we go drag her ba…” The lively young woman started, then sighed. “Forget it. Bringing her back would only make things worse. She’d probably give us away faster. We’ll do it ourselves.”
“Ah?” The delicate young woman blinked helplessly. “We still have to act?”
“Of course. At least make friends first, then talk later.” The lively young woman said firmly. “Let’s think. What should we disguise ourselves as this time?”
The delicate young woman: “…”
…
On the other side, Old Liu had heard Lu Zheng’s account. His eyes were wide, his face full of disbelief. “What? I actually come from a great clan?”
