Chapter 5 Second Brother
Second Brother
Ling Xi did not anticipate this reaction, and she clearly panicked. Subconsciously, she turned and looked behind the screen. Behind the four folding screens of embroidered scenery, a single shadow put down a cup of tea and calmly stood up.
After receiving a hint of direction, Ling Xi composed herself and smiled: “Miss Wang, don’t joke.”
“Miss Wang?” Wang Yanqing leaned on the jade-colored five-leaf pillow, and cocked her head, “I am Miss Wang?”
Her eyes were clear and focused, and when she looked around, she did not seem to be pretending. Ling Xi did not know what to do, so she looked towards the screen. Wang Yanqing also followed her gaze and saw a red shadow outlining the scenic folding screen. The screen was simple and refined, but his appearance was flashy and standing full of presence.
Wang Yanqing could not clearly see his face and could only tell that he was tall, straight, and everyone in the room was afraid of him. Wang Yanqing did not know why, so she blankly stared at him. He locked eyes with her for a moment, then turned to leave.
After he walked out, the maids in front of the bed both let out a sigh of relief. Wang Yanqing silently watched their faces, and asked: “Do you both know me?”
After Lu Heng left, he immediately called for the doctor. The Imperial Guards walked on a thin thread and often received injuries that could not be publicly dealt with. During these times, he could not look for an imperial doctor, he could only request a private traditional doctor. The Lu family had led the Imperial Guards for generations, and they had connections everywhere. After Lu Heng entered Beijing, a few trustworthy doctors from Anlu followed.
Not long after, the doctor arrived and bowed to Lu Heng. Lu Heng turned towards the room and directed the doctor inside to check the situation.
He took a seat in the hall and waited patiently. After a while, the doctor emerged wiping away his sweat. When he saw Lu Heng, he could not stop stammering: “Commander, this girl…”
Lu Heng sat atop a red circular wooded chair, and calmly looked into the doctor’s eyes: “What happened to her?”
“She seems to have… amnesia.”
Lu Heng raised his eyebrows and oddly smiled at the doctor. The doctor also thought it was bizarre and continued stammering: “When Miss fell to the ground, she was cushioned a little by the net, her inner organs are all fine, but her head hit a rock. Maybe that is how she lost her memory. I checked her. She can feel sensations, she has normal awareness of her body, and she also has basic common sense. She just doesn’t remember anyone.”
Lu Heng smiled softly: “She has also lost her memory. What a coincidence.”
“The brain is very precious, and she has all the symptoms after hitting her head. What’s more, this girl’s amnesia is not uncommon. In the medical books, there have been people who have knocked the back of their heads and woken up without recognizing their parents or children. There are also people who have taken a fall and woken up as a child. This girl is not panicking or yelling, she has just lost her memory, and that is considered pretty good.”
Lu Heng tapped his fingers on the armrest and said thoughtfully: “Yes. If she has truly forgotten, that is a good thing.”
The doctor turned his gaze down, not looking into Lu Heng’s behavior. Lu Heng thought for a moment and asked: “How long will the amnesia persist, is there any cure?”
“This…” The doctor looked embarrassed, “no one knows what happens in the brain. Maybe her head will clear when her injury recovers. Maybe… she will never recover.
Lu Heng was silent for a moment and then he suddenly smiled. The doctor looked up and he felt goosebumps all over his body. Lu Heng waved his hand, his voice calm so you could not hear the slightest emotion: “You can go prescribe the medicine.”
The doctor could not decipher Lu Heng’s intentions, so he mustered up his courage and asked: “The girl has a serious condition, I am not sure what medicine the Commander wants?”
Lu Heng slowly leaned back with one arm resting on the chair, and he looked to the doctor with a smile: “Medicine for recuperation.”
The doctor understood, the girl’s condition did not need to be cured, so he could just provide a tonic to build her strength. The doctor cupped his hands, and immediately, another staff from the Lu Mansion came over to lead the doctor away.
After the doctor left, Lu Heng played with his fingers. This situation became much more interesting. Fu Tingzhou’s little sister fell into his hands, and coincidentally, in this fortunate timing, she lost her memory. Lu Heng did not believe in ghosts, but at this moment, he felt someone from heaven was helping him.
Lu Heng was calculating things in his head and opened a cup of tea. He took two sips when the maid, Ling Xi, hurriedly ran straight from the room and greeted Lu Heng: “Commander.”
Lu Heng put down his tea and asked: “Did she speak, what does she remember?”
“Miss Wang still does not know what is going on, she does not even remember her last name. However, she remembers that she has a second brother and that their relationship was very close.”
Lu Heng softly tutted his tongue, so affectionate, he was moved when he heard this. It’s a pity that Fu Tingzhou wanted to marry a proper wife and Wang Yanqing’s deep affection was doomed to be fed to the dogs.
Lu Heng spoke: “Go back and inquire. Since she remembers that she has a second brother, she will likely remember their correspondence.”
Ling Xi hesitated, her expression looked somewhat baffled. After Lu Heng noticed, he asked calmly: “Is there anything wrong?”
Ling Xi went to speak, then hesitated. Finally, she spoke in a tone that was not easy to describe: “Commander, Miss Wang… is unusual. She can read our expressions, this servant thought she had concealed it very well, but she could tell at a glance that I was lying.”
Ling Xi was not an ordinary maid. She trained in the Imperial Guards and could partly be considered a spy. So, when one round had not yet passed and Wang Yanqing said “you are lying” right to her face, Ling Xi and Ling Luan were greatly frightened.
Ling Xi and Ling Luan knew that this was a problem, so while Ling Luan continued settling Wang Yanqing, Ling Xi hurriedly came out to inform the Commander. Lu Heng knew the levels of Ling Xi and Ling Luan. No matter how useless these two were, ordinary people could not read their facial expressions. They both said that it seemed Fu Tingzhou’s adopted sister was really skilled.
Lu Heng grew interested. It was rare to find meet these kinds of people in person. He flicked his sleeve and got up to leave. When he walked out, he stopped and turned to ask: “You said she only remembers having a second brother?”
The Commander’s expression seemed somewhat meaningful, but Ling Xi did not understand, and cautiously replied: “Yes.”
Lu Heng stood at the doorway, the sunlight outside reflected on the flying fish atop his garment, its dazzling flash could blind any onlookers. Lu Heng was still for a while, then he suddenly pressed between his eyebrows, and could not help letting out a smile.
Second brother…
Above Lu Heng, he had an older brother that was currently in his hometown of Anlu observing the mourning period for his parents. He was in a house and the second sibling.
Wasn’t this a coincidence?
·
The sun was warm, and the field was blue, the smell of warm incense enveloped the house. The smoke from the room’s special lotus-looking incense burner ascended in curls in the direct sun. Wang Yanqing lay on the Stepping Bed*, holding the hand heater calmly, however, her eyes noiselessly swept across the room.
Wang Yanqing woke up not remembering anything. She did not know who she was or who any of these people were. She could only rely on her first instinct — reading faces. Even an uneducated savage could judge good and evil by watching a stranger’s expression. Wang Yanqing was now like a “savage”. She had no memory, so she carried no inclinations, she purely relied on the information that she could read from their faces to determine if they were good or bad.
After just this period, Wang Yanqing already recognized that even though there were many people in this room, there were two in charge, Ling Luan and Ling Xi. Just now they spoke with Wang Yanqing and casually asked all kinds of questions. Wang Yanqing watched their facial expressions and subconsciously felt that they were not telling the truth. After Wang Yanqing brought it up, the two women seemed taken back. The maid called Ling Xi immediately left, leaving only Ling Luan in front of the bed. This time, no matter what happened, Ling Luan refused to speak.
However, this did not stop Wang Yanqing from reading her expression. Ling Luan stood at the bedside, her head lowered, and hands bound in front of her to interrupt the world’s prying eyes. Ling Luan thought that she was concealed very well, but in Wang Yanqing’s eyes, it was still like black ink on white paper, clear as day.
The corner of Ling Luan’s lip was turned down, her chin held tight. Although her eyes were cast down, her eyebrows were pulled down and slightly pinched. Wang Yanqing also did not know what was going on, but she subconsciously felt that Ling Luan pursing her lips and holding back her chin indicated that she was trying to repress her own emotions. She knew that the slight pinch in her brow meant that she was concentrating on something and struggling a little. Wang Yanqing looked toward Ling Luan’s body, and sure enough, both of her hands were tied in front of her, and a finger subtlety rubbed on the back of her hand.
Wang Yanqing was curious and asked: “Are you really nervous right now?”
Ling Luan froze and the movement of her fingers immediately disappeared: “No.”
The changes in Ling Luan’s body and facial expression were very slight, and they disappeared in an instant, but Wang Yanqing still caught them. When she asked just now, Ling Luan’s eyes quickly widened a little.
She was astonished. It showed that Wang Yanqing was right.
Wang Yanqing did not understand. They said they knew her, so why were they acting nervous and surprised? Wang Yanqing carefully watched Ling Luan, trying to find more clues. She did not know that while she was watching another, someone else was watching her.
Lu Heng stood outside of the room and had watched everything that happened just now. Ling Xi stood behind Lu Heng, she said exasperatedly: “Commander, it is not that we were not trying, but this Miss Wang is very unusual. It is like she has mind-reading abilities. She can guess what we are thinking every time.
Lu Heng crossed his arms full of interest, and when he heard what she said, he laughed lightly while shaking his head: “It is not that she has mind-reading abilities, but she can read faces.”
Ling Xi became more baffled: “But Ling Luan was not showing any expression.”
“People do not only express themselves only when they cry and laugh, some people can decipher someone else’s thoughts from very subtle signs their body makes.” Lu Heng thought that Wang Yanqing’s experience unprecedentedly generated some tender feelings towards her, “when she was very young, she became homeless and orphaned, in the following ten years, she lived under someone else’s roof. It is possible that her ability to read faces came from then. Now she has lost her memory, but her instinct remains intact.
This was the first time that Ling Xi had heard of someone who could read intentions from slight changes, she creased her eyebrows, feeling embarrassed: “Commander, is this woman staying?”
Hearing this, Lu Heng smiled softly and walked inside. This person was so interesting, how could she not stay?
Wang Yanqing heard movement at the door and subconsciously turned to look. The winter sun was bright and pale, and a figure stepped in against the light as if adorned by colorful lights. When Wang Yanqing saw his bright red clothes, she immediately thought back. This was the man from just now.
Who is he? Why did he come back?
They had seen each other when she had first awoken, but at that time, she did not see his full appearance. She only knew that he was tall, with wide shoulders and long legs, and he had a nice figure. Now that he stepped across the screen, Wang Yanqing found that not only was he well built, but he was also extremely good-looking.
He had sharp eyebrows, starry eyes, a high nose bridge, and his face was long and narrow. He was very handsome and straight standing, but his face skin was white cold, simultaneously growing a pair of amber eyes that sparkled with emotion and ruthlessness. His lip was thin, and the corner of his mouth faintly carried a smile, creating a cold and indifferent feeling.
Aesthetically speaking, his skin was too white for the army, and his complexion was beautiful. He already felt unreasonable and unstable. Not like an unshakable soldier, but like the kind of smiling man with evil intentions that would stab you in the back.
Wang Yanqing did not know why she could subconsciously make this comparison. Who did she subconsciously formulate this idea from?
Wang Yanqing was at a loss, and at this moment, Lu Heng had sat down beside Wang Yanqing. Seeing Wang Yanqing’s confused and perplexed expression, Lu Heng smiled and said: “Younger Sister, what are you thinking?”
His tone was intimate and natural and carried the dissatisfaction of being neglected. All at once, he stunned everyone in the room. Ling Xi and Ling Luan looked toward the Commander in shock. They remembered that Wang Yanqing could read their expressions, so they quickly bowed their heads, wishing to block their eyes and ears.
Hearing these words, only God knows if they still have a chance to live until tomorrow.
However, Wang Yanqing did not notice Ling Xi or Ling Luan. All her attention was on Lu Heng. She heard this form of address, and instinctively felt something was not right: “You called me Younger Sister?”
“That’s right.” Lu Heng smiled and affectionately patted her head, “you don’t remember your Second Brother?”
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*Stepping Bed refers to a traditional bed frame/room/base combo. If you search “拔步床” you will see pictures of it! Check it out if you are waiting for the next chapter, it’s pretty neat. This is also shown in ancient C Dramas, and I know there are some of you here who watch…