"What is Xiao Yun's relationship with Zhuqing?" Zhu Debiao asked. Zhu Zhuyun thought for a moment. "It's hard to tell. Zhuqing's attitude toward him is very respectful. They don't seem like lovers, more like a student and a teacher. But the way Zhuqing looks at him—" She paused. "That isn't the way a student looks at a teacher."
"You'll make the arrangements for tomorrow," Zhu Debiao said, picking up his brush again. "Don't embarrass Zhuqing. She's been away from home for years. It wasn't easy for her to come back."
Zhu Zhuyun lowered her head. "Yes."
"Go on. I still have some matters to handle." Zhu Zhuyun turned and left the Study Room, gently closing the door behind her.
Zhu Debiao sat alone in the Study Room, his gaze falling on the framed portrait on the desk.
Inside the frame was a middle-aged woman with a gentle face and dignified bearing. He reached out and stroked the edge of the frame, his fingertips lightly tracing across the glass.
"Zhuqing..." His voice was very soft, so soft it was like he was talking to himself. "After all these years, you finally came back. Tomorrow, I'm going to take a good look at you."
Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Zhu Zhuyun's carriage was already waiting outside the inn.
The carriage was very ordinary. It bore no Zhu Family crest and had no lavish decorations, only a black-painted cabin and a blue cloth canopy. It looked just like an ordinary merchant caravan carriage.
Xiao Yun stood before the second-floor window of the inn, watching the carriage stopped at the entrance, then turned to look at the four women behind him.
"After I leave, stay in the Spirit Medicine Garden. Don't go out." Shui Bing'er and Spirit Flame Maiden nodded,