Reborn: The First Rank "Madam"

C36 – Master Lu I Came Late on an Appointment

At fifteen minutes past midnight, Zuo Shaoqing opened his eyes in the dark. Perhaps he had woken up when he was used to serving food to Lu Zheng. At this point, he would wake up even if he was still sleepy.

He got off the bed, put on a thick fur robe and walked out of the yard. Under the cold night wind, he walked towards the Fu Yue Tower where Lu Zheng was at.

When he heard that Zuo Yunwen and Mrs. Xue originally planned to clean up Wu Heng City for this man to live in, he could not help but look down upon the miasma of the miasma. After circling around Zuo’s Mansion, he chose this small building that was separate from the rest.

Fu Yue Restaurant was in the back garden. It was a two-story house used for observing and admiring flowers at the Zuo’s Mansion Festival. The decorations were quiet and elegant.

Zuo Shaoqing paced back and forth outside of the door. After making sure that it was time, he knocked on the door. He didn’t want to let Lu Zheng think that he couldn’t wait to see him.

The one who opened the door was the blue-clothed attendant. Lu Zheng didn’t know if it was because of his order, but that person was not surprised to see Zuo Shaoqing visiting in the middle of the night.

Yinyi listened to Zuo Shaoqing’s deliberately soft footsteps outside the door and remembered the night he roasted the rabbit.

Zuo Shaoqing was a little perturbed, but when he remembered that Lu Zheng did not repay his debt, his steps became firmer.

He lowered his head and stood outside the main door. After taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth: “Master Lu, I’m here today to make an appointment.”

The door opened from the inside, but there was no one behind the door. If Zuo Shaoqing was still an ignorant scholar, he would definitely be scared by this scene. He once again sighed at the profoundness of Lu Zheng’s inner force and stepped into the room.

He quickly scanned the furnishings in the room. Even if he did not come to this building often, he could tell how much effort Mrs. Xue had put in here. Compared to this room, his small courtyard was like a beggar’s nest.

Looking at Zhong Liuyu’s real work hanging on the wall, looking at the blue and white porcelain vase standing next to the cabinet, and smelling the burning incense in the room, Mrs. Xue’s main house probably wasn’t much better than this.

Of course, these things weren’t worth mentioning in Master Lu’s eyes.

Lu Zheng didn’t sleep. He was sitting cross-legged on the soft couch in front of the window, cultivating with a serene expression and closed his eyes. If he didn’t open the door for him earlier, Zuo Shaoqing would have thought he was in a meditative state.

Zuo Shaoqing didn’t know what kind of martial art he practiced, but every time he would be able to practice it until he was covered in sweat and his clothes were all wet. Zuo Shaoqing didn’t know what martial art he was cultivating, but every time he was able to practice it he would be covered in sweat.

After waiting for an hour, Zuo Shaoqing’s legs started to feel numb. He started to suspect if Lu Zheng was deliberately making fun of him to avenge his previous disrespect.

A quarter of an hour later, just as Zuo Shaoqing was about to retreat, Lu Zheng opened his eyes. It was still that familiar golden light, which was especially dazzling in the dark night.

Lu Zheng didn’t even look at Zuo Shaoqing. After collapsing, he took off his wet clothes and threw them on the ground. Then, he walked behind the screen.

Zuo Shaoqing’s face turned red when he saw Lu Zheng undress as if no one else was around. Although he had seen Lu Zheng’s naked body before, it was understandable that Wu Tie was injured to the point that he couldn’t move.

He kept his head as low as he could, his eyes on his toes, his ears straining to hear what was going on behind the screen.

The sound of water came from behind the screen. Zuo Shaoqing wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he noticed that the temperature in the room had risen, and the heat seemed to have originated from the water bucket behind the screen.

Zuo Shaoqing was sure that even if a bucket of boiling water could turn cold in less than two hours, how did the bucket heat up now? No one had entered the room in more than an hour.

Just as his soul was wandering, a deep male voice came from behind the screen, “Come here!”

Zuo Shaoqing suppressed his surprise and walked around the screen. A white handkerchief was thrown in front of him. He reached out to catch it and looked at Lu Zheng doubtfully.

“Come here and wipe your back!”

Zuo Shaoqing’s mouth twitched. He really didn’t understand how he was reduced to being attendant. Wasn’t there a proper attendant standing outside?

“What are you waiting for?”

Zuo Shaoqing answered with an “Oh” and reluctantly stepped forward. He soaked the handkerchief in the water and then rubbed it on Lu Zheng’s shoulder.

When his fingers touched the warm water, he could not help but ask, “Why is this bucket of water hot? When did you bring it in?”

“Don’t you know that there is something called inner strength in this world?”

Zuo Shaoqing’s hand trembled and the handkerchief fell into the bath barrel. He stared at the back of Lu Zheng’s head with bright eyes and a sense of worship rose in his heart. He was even more determined to get a martial arts manual from Lu Zheng.

Zuo Shaoqing fished out the handkerchief from the bath barrel and carefully avoided the scab on Zuo Shaoqing’s shoulder. He sighed at the man’s strong recovery ability and casually found a topic: “I still have some trauma medicine, do you want me to get it for you?”

Lu Zheng raised his head and glanced at him, then replied plainly, “No need.”

Zuo Shaoqing was only casually saying that Master Lu didn’t have any good medicine, so how could he fall for his medicine? Zuo Shaoqing was just casually saying that Master Lu didn’t have any good medicine, so how could he fall for his medicine?

Lu Zheng didn’t say anything. He just laid lazily on the ground with his arms on the edge of the bathtub, allowing Zuo Shaoqing to vent his anger on his back.

Zuo Shaoqing got tired after wiping for a while. This kind of physical work was not suitable for a scholar like him. His hands were holding a brush with all his strength, so it definitely wasn’t for him to rub his back.

He threw the handkerchief into the water and said, “All right.” Then he handed a dry cloth to Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng washed the lower half of his body before standing up. Water flowed from his honey-colored skin and flowed into the water, causing Zuo Shaoqing to feel a burning sensation on his nose.

He stepped out of the tub and stood there with his hands spread out. He could see every muscle and scar on his body.

Zuo Shaoqing wasn’t unfamiliar with this action. It was the same way when he asked Luo Xiaoliu to help him put on his clothes, but … Why did he do all this? It’s not enough to finish rubbing your back, but you still have to wait for me to change?

It was a pity that Lu Zheng didn’t give him the right to refuse. Zuo Shaoqing resigned himself to drying Lu Zheng’s body with a dry cloth. When the cloth touched the lower half of his body, his eyes were almost closed, but even so, he was still able to catch a glimpse of something lurking in the black forest.

Quickly putting the jacket on Lu Zheng, Zuo Shaoqing took a step back and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Facing such a strong male body, the pressure was too great.

Fortunately, Lu Zheng stopped struggling and sat obediently at the table. Zuo Shaoqing put on the cloak for him. Although he knew that this man’s body was hot and not afraid of the cold, he couldn’t sit face to face with a man in a suit in the middle of the night.

Lu Zheng didn’t reject his action, but pointed at the chair opposite him, “Sit.”

Zuo Shaoqing knew the important matter had arrived, so his heart began to beat faster. He sat down next to the edge of the chair and almost fell down.

“Third Young Master of the Zuo’s Mansion? Or was it a bastard?”

“… Yes.” Zuo Shaoqing sat upright and waited for Lu Zheng’s next words. Instinct told him that it was definitely not something good.

“I heard that Third Master Zuo was heavily stabbed a month ago and he stayed in bed for 20 whole days before getting out of bed.”

Zuo Shaoqing’s heart skipped a beat, then he smiled and explained: “I can be considered to be related to Master Lu by fate. Actually, I recovered from my late injuries half a month ago, it’s just that because… So I lay in bed for a few more days.”

Lu Zheng did not evaluate the authenticity of his words. Instead, he said, “A bastard whom the matriarch doesn’t like actually has the ability to save a stranger on the mountain and even sends him gifts every night. Third Master Zuo is quite capable.”

“That hut… It’s a private property of late birth.” Zuo Shaoqing felt particularly pitiful after saying this. What he truly had was only a shabby little thatched cottage.

Afraid that Lu Zheng would be suspicious, he added: “Zuo’s Mansion aren’t heavily guarded, so I can leave during the night. Please forgive me for neglecting Young Master.”

The moment Lu Zheng stepped into the Zuo Family, he had already thoroughly investigated the entire Zuo Family. After all, he came here with the same goal in mind;

From the information gathered from the investigations, the only person in the entire Zuo’s Mansion who was different from the information listed was San Ye. If it wasn’t for the fact that Lu Zheng and Zuo Shaoqing had interacted with him before, they really wouldn’t have been able to tell that this seemingly weak scholar was unusually quick-witted and capable.

This was also the reason why he would personally come to the Zuo’s Mansion, and even the reason why he wanted to live here in the first place. He wanted to personally see this young man’s life in the Zuo Family, and he was extremely interested in finding out what exactly this variable in the Zuo Family was hiding.