Love's Debt Comes Knocking - Chapter 7

“Young Mistress? Young Mistress?”

A faint voice drifted into her ears, like a gentle breeze dispersing the softness of spring. Wanzhu knelt gracefully by the bedside, watching as the young mistress’s eyelashes fluttered with signs of waking. Her voice softened: “Young Mistress, it’s time to rise.”

Lu Yang had no choice but to open her peach-blossom eyes, shimmering with allure, her delicate face flushed crimson, captivating the maids at a single glance.

After a brief moment of confusion, she propped herself up on her arms and sat up. Wanzhu hurriedly brought a cushion to place behind her back, allowing her to lean more comfortably.

Another maid stepped forward, holding a teacup to serve the young mistress as she rinsed her mouth.

After a night of tangled dreams, Lu Yang’s throat felt parched, her lips carrying a huskiness that made one’s heart flutter. As her lips touched the water, the moisture complemented their natural hue, accentuating the gentle softness of her face, which had just settled from the throes of passion.

Young Mistress Lu was born with a deceptively delicate appearance. Once the teacup was returned to the tray, another maid brought a basin of fresh milk and placed it at her feet.

Lu Yang’s calves were slender and pale, the fabric of her trousers draping naturally to outline a pleasing shape. She raised her hand to cover a yawn, weariness lingering at the corners of her brows.

Mei Zhen, without a word, lifted her feet and placed them into the wooden basin filled with milk. The milk exuded a milky fragrance as it submerged the jade-white feet of the young mistress.

A milk footbath not only relieved foot fatigue but also nourished the skin. Years of such care had left Lu Yang’s feet as smooth and beautiful as her hands.

What outsiders might consider an extravagant act was, for Lu Yang, a habit cultivated since childhood. She was truly a phoenix raised in the lap of luxury, yet remarkably free of arrogance. A testament to the care the matriarch had taken in raising her grandchildren.

Mei Zhen, Xiu Lan, Wanzhu, and Ju Shuang were the first-class maids in the young mistress’s quarters. Where there was first-class, there were naturally second and third-class maids as well. All in all, there were at least thirty to forty people in the courtyard. Regardless of their personal feelings toward Lu Yang, the matriarch trusted them enough to guard this courtyard, which at the very least spoke to their loyalty.

Lu Yang glanced at the sky outside: “What’s happening out there?”

Wanzhu replied softly: “The matriarch is punishing Steward Lu and the others.”

In the side courtyard, the steward wielded a soft whip, lashing it repeatedly against the backs of the household servants, tearing their clothes and leaving bloody marks.

The round-faced steward knelt on the ground.

As the sun began to rise, the matriarch gently lifted the lid of her teacup: “Do you resent me for punishing you?”

Her words sent a wave of fear through the crowd, paling their faces.

Lu Mao felt the matriarch’s words cut deeper than the whip against his flesh or salt rubbed into his wounds. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead: “Our lives were given to us by the Lu family. We failed to protect the young mistress—we are guilty. How could we dare resent you?”

“Good. It seems you still understand reason.” The matriarch lowered her gaze as the steward raised the soft whip high.

Having received generous wages from the Lu family, yet abandoning their master in a moment of crisis. The young mistress was benevolent and did not hold it against them, but the matriarch was far from forgiving.

Lu Yang was her legitimate granddaughter, the present and future of the Lu family. Anyone who dared harm the Lu family was simply courting death!

By all accounts, Lu Mao and his men had committed a grave dereliction of duty. And since they had failed in their duties, they must be punished.

“Is that so…” Lu Yang sighed softly. “Then let them be punished.”

Upon hearing this, Mei Zhen lifted her eyelids to look at her: “Is the young mistress not going to intervene?”

“I originally intended to, but upon second thought, I shouldn’t.”

“Why shouldn’t you?”

The maids in the room chattered away, emboldened by their mistress’s gentle nature. Lu Yang simply smiled.

The four maids exchanged glances. Mei Zhen’s slender fingers dipped into the milk as she massaged the acupoints on her mistress’s feet. Xiu Lan brought over the still-sleepy cat for amusement, while Wan Zhu creatively assisted. Ju Shuang, the youngest of the four at just seventeen, hopped onto the young mistress’s bed to knead her shoulders.

Comfortably attended to, Lu Yang stroked the cat’s head and spoke in a clear, gentle voice: “Without rules, there is no order. Grandmother has her own principles. To her, I am her only kin, but I am not merely her kin. I also bear the fate and future of the Lu family.

“I am not skilled in martial arts, so naturally, I need those below me to be diligent. If they are not diligent, the whip will fall upon them. If they cry injustice, it is because they fail to understand reason.”

She could not afford to falter.

Taking a step back, if that old woman had not thrown her into the dilapidated temple but had instead ended her life with a single stroke of the knife, what would have become of Grandmother? What would have become of the Lu family? And what of the countless merchants, large and small, who depended on the Lu family for survival?

Someone had to soothe Grandmother’s lingering fear and anger.

And someone had to shake the laziness and complacency from those people’s minds and bodies.

Lu Yang understood this well in her heart. Estimating the time, she wiggled her toes. Mei Zhen fetched a soft towel and meticulously dried her feet.

The four maids waited outside the bathing chamber for their young mistress to finish her bath.

The damp undergarment was tossed into the bamboo basket for dirty clothes. After a moment of secret embarrassment, the young mistress of the Lu family stepped into the bath.

Half an hour later, the maids saw a refreshed young woman of exceptional grace and elegance.

“Let’s go.”

Lu Yang led the way out.

Punishment was necessary, but it could not be excessive.

If Grandmother played the stern role, and she did not step forward to play the gentle one, she would be failing to honor the old lady’s intentions.

As soon as Young Mistress Lu appeared, she became the savior of Lu Mao and the others.

The old lady shot her a reproachful look, giving her granddaughter face, and signaled to the steward to respectfully put away the soft whip.

She wanted this beating to be etched into the minds and hearts of everyone in the Lu family.

The Lu family provided them with a place to live and ensured they lacked for nothing. Every person who served the Lu family—not only themselves but also their ancestors and even their unborn descendants—lived under the Lu family’s protection.

The Lu family had shown sincerity; they, in turn, had to repay it with unwavering loyalty and, when necessary, even their lives to protect her precious phoenix egg.

“Uncle Lu, please rise.”

Lu Yang personally helped him up.

Lu Mao, having nearly lost half his life, forced a pained smile.

Fortunately, the old lady’s beating had awakened them.

Having lived too long in smooth and easy days, they had almost forgotten that they were born as Lu family servants and would die as Lu family ghosts.

The generations of righteousness, kindness, generosity, and mountains of gold and silver accumulated by the Lu family were not to be taken for granted.

They had to possess value worthy of their masters’ regard.

They had to offer unwavering loyalty.

Lu Mao felt ashamed, unable to meet the young mistress’s clear, caring eyes.

Whether it was a ploy to win hearts or genuine sincerity, they were born into the Lu family’s service—lowly people lifted from the mud by the Lu family’s own hands.

That they were no longer lowly was because someone had elevated them.

Having once enjoyed a life of comfort and respect, how could they forget their inherent duties and obligations?

“Investigate!”

The old lady issued the command.

“I want to see who has the audacity to dare scheme against our Lu family!”

Wealth could move even the gods. Both the righteous and the underworld had to show some respect to the Lu family of Fengcheng if they wanted to live well.

Recently, the Lu family seemed to have gone mad, determined to track down a white-haired, wrinkled, and terrifying-looking old woman.

Old women were everywhere on the streets. Finding the specific one who had forcibly abducted the young mistress of the Lu family was no ordinary challenge.

But the Lu family was, after all, the wealthy and powerful Lu family.

During this period, Granny Zhuang, the Hundred-Faced Ghost Hand, had been living in great hardship. It was only when her fellow friends secretly sent her a message that she learned the little beggar she had captured and taken to the abandoned temple that day was not a beggar at all, but the Lu family’s most untouchable little god of wealth.

Someone in the martial world was selling her information, and the Lu family had already set their sights on her.

Fortunately, the Hundred-Faced Ghost Hand was not a reputation earned in vain, but could she hide for a while, or could she hide for a lifetime?

Upon closer reflection, she had not only offended the Lu matriarch but also failed to complete the task assigned by her employer.

Sending a little beggar to the eldest daughter of the Tao family was a surefire insult, but what about sending a glittering god of wealth?

To avoid trouble from the second young lady of the Tao family, Granny Zhuang didn’t even ask for her final payment, slipping away as fast as her feet could carry her.

The Tao family convoy traveled by land to return home, taking over half a month.

The carriage passed through bustling markets, the clear sound of bronze bells ringing all the way.

Accompanying the bells were the murmurs of the common people on the long streets—pointing, whispering, both subtle and not so subtle.

The eldest daughter of the Tao family had not yet arrived, but the stain of her lost virtue had already spread throughout the vast city of Luoyang.

“Young lady?”

Tao Yuan released the white handkerchief she had been clutching tightly. “It’s fine.”

“Welcome the two young ladies home!”

Tao Zheng stepped out of the carriage first, a white gauze wrapped around her neck. She glanced back at the other carriage, a flicker of fear flashing in her eyes.

Tao Yuan had truly wanted to strangle her.

This madwoman!

Suppressing her anger and her trembling fear, she fell two steps behind her elder sister.

Tao Yuan nodded to the steward and strode calmly toward the main hall.

The Tao family of Luoyang was one of the most prominent noble families. At this moment, almost the entire family had gathered in the main hall, waiting only for Tao Yuan’s arrival.

Aunt Miao wore a plain, lotus-embroidered long skirt. Though in her thirties, she showed no signs of aging, her eyes and brows filled with innocence and gentleness—who would have thought that the scandalous rumors now spreading like wildfire in Luoyang were all her doing?

She stood beside the man.

The two sons of the Tao family stood to the right of their father, one secretly pleased, the other secretly worried. The pleased one was Aunt Miao’s son, while the worried one was the legitimate eldest son, Tao Yuan’s own brother.

“Master, the young lady has returned.”

The man remained silent, merely standing there with a presence as imposing as a mountain or an abyss, pressing down on everyone so that no one dared to breathe too loudly.

A sudden breeze blew in.

Carrying a faint fragrance.

Tao Yuan stepped through the door, bowed respectfully, her face calm—so calm that it ignited the man’s fury.

“Kneel!”

Tao Yuan knelt.

“Do you know what you have done wrong?”

The scolding words rained down like a torrent of beans, but her expression remained unchanged. “I do not.”

“What do you mean, you do not? You have tarnished the Tao family’s reputation, and you still have the face to return?” Tao Zhen snatched the ruler from the table and struck her with it. Tao Yuan’s eyes grew even colder.

“Father!”

Both Tao Zheng and the eldest son spoke at once.

Tao Zheng knelt, her eyes brimming with tears. “Father, if you must strike someone, strike me. Do not strike my elder sister. She has… she has already suffered enough…”

These words were like pouring oil on the fire. The eldest son rose and approached Tao Zhen, kneeling before him. “Father, my sister has just returned. Mother is still waiting to see her.”

Aunt Miao was displeased that he had invoked his mother to plead for Tao Yuan. With a gasp of surprise, she cried out, “My child, what has happened to you?”

Tao Zheng touched the white gauze wrapped several times around her neck. The fear of near death from that day returned, and this time, she didn’t even need to pretend. Her lips trembled. “It was… it was my sister who choked me…”

“What?!” Aunt Miao immediately began to weep. “Eldest young lady, what has Zheng’er done to offend you?”

Tao Yuan chuckled softly, rising to her feet without waiting for her father’s permission.

She straightened her posture, her gaze shifting lightly, carrying three parts mockery and seven parts disdain. “Shouldn’t she die?”

The noisy main hall fell into an indescribable silence.

The implications of those words were simply too profound.

In Tao Yuan’s eyes, Tao Zheng deserved to die—but why did she deserve it?

In a flash of insight, the eldest son of the Tao family pieced everything together and slapped his half-sister across the face. “Was it you who harmed my sister? You heartless, ungrateful wretch!”

One swollen cheek wasn’t enough; he wanted to beat her into a pulp. The second son, snapping out of his shock, quickly pulled his dazed sister away, fuming with anger. “Elder Brother, you’re being too aggressive!”

“Enough!”

What a farce.

Having presided over the Tao family for years, what was there that Tao Zhen couldn’t see clearly now?

The legitimate daughter never acted without reason, while the illegitimate daughter was accustomed to playing the victim. For a moment, he truly despised Tao Zheng—hated her for ruining the family’s plans, hated her for turning against her own flesh and blood.

But was Tao Yuan entirely blameless?

Her greatest fault wasn’t her desire to strangle Tao Zheng. It was her naivety in trusting others and failing to protect herself!

The thought of losing a legitimate eldest daughter made Tao Zhen’s heart bleed.

“Go kneel in the ancestral hall. No food for three days.”

The words were directed at Tao Zheng.

Tears streamed down Tao Zheng’s face, but as she prepared to cry again, her eyes met her father’s cold, stern expression, and she was too terrified to make another sound.

“As for you, your mother will discipline you!”

While Tao Zheng headed to the ancestral hall to face her punishment, Tao Yuan turned and returned to the Burning Zither Courtyard.

“Young Mistress, the Madam requests your presence.”