Mistakenly Connected to the Jade Flower Branch

Nianyao kept a straight face and squinted at Luo An. Luo An blinked innocently. Nianyao instantly felt like a vicious big bad wolf and Luo An a weak and innocent little white rabbit. She couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Luo An breathed a sigh of relief, touching the wound on his face: "This fight was so unfair..."

Nianyao snorted coldly: "Injustice? I didn't burn the Yuan mansion down because I was giving Yuan Feng face. He'll never learn if he doesn't learn his lesson from spreading rumors and causing trouble."

Luo An shook his head: "Nanfei probably thinks the Yuan residence is dilapidated and is trying to make us his suckers. The repair costs will most likely fall on our shoulders..."

Nianyao scoffed: "A sucker? He can just renege on his promise? I'll take his surname if I have to pay him a single penny."

Luo An quickly stopped him: "Let's keep my surname."

Nianyao couldn't help but sigh, "General Yuan is so frugal, growing vegetables in his garden. He's a general, yet he's this poor..."

Eighth Sister chimed in, "Madam, I grew the vegetables. The garden used to be overgrown with weeds, which I found wasteful, so I switched to growing vegetables..."

Luo An laughed and said, "A second-rank general earns no more than two hundred taels of silver a year. Nanfei's things are all top-notch; a complete set of clothes and shoes, from the inside out and from top to bottom, costs thirty to fifty taels. In addition, Yuan Feng spends less than a month or two in the mansion a year. He has neither the money nor the inclination to hire someone to tend to his flowers and plants."

Nianyao couldn't understand: "...Do you think Yuan Feng is crazy? Why does she have to fall for Nan Fei? It's one thing to spoil him, but to send him to brothels..."

Nianyao was deeply troubled and couldn't get over the fact that married men went to brothels.

Luo An decided to vindicate Nan Fei: "Drinking, listening to music, and watching dances to relax is human nature. Besides, brothels are full of all sorts of people, and you can get all sorts of information out of a man after he's drunk and in bed."

Brothels and teahouses are hubs of information and intelligence. Qin Jiu only knows you attend the Imperial Academy, while Nan Fei knows you attend the Seven-Day Imperial Academy. Guess where he got that information…

Nianyao sensed something was off and raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"

Luo An innocently replied, "To tell you the truth."

Nianyao asked, "Why didn't you go with him to gather information and intelligence?"

Luo An said, "I'm a doctor; my job is to treat illnesses and save lives. He's different..."

Nianyao thought about it and was still unwilling: "...There are so many men in the army, all kinds of shapes and sizes..."

What kind of person Yuan Feng likes has nothing to do with her? What's with her indignation? Could it be...?

Luo An recalled Nian Yao's comment that it was a pity Nan Fei got married too early, and felt inexplicably displeased: "...Hmm...you're right...the Dahe Gang has so many men, all kinds of shapes and sizes..."

Nianyao noticed Luo An's tone was off, even his brows were furrowed, and she knew she had said the wrong thing. Nianyao tried to pull him closer, wanting to say something to appease him, but her hand hurt as she moved. She cried out, "Ouch...it hurts so much..."

This usually tough girl actually managed a convincing display of coquettishness. Luo An, ever the smooth talker, held her round, bandaged hand, intending to conjure up a poignant scene of tearful longing, only to find himself speechless with emotion…

Tiger, who was eating sunflower seeds next to him, couldn't take it anymore and vomited: "Boss, stop being so effeminate, it's disgusting..."

Nianyao flew into a rage, slamming her hand heavily on the table: "Call me Madam... Ah..."

Nianyao's face contorted in pain; her hand was really about to break.

Seeing the situation was bad, Tiger jumped down, clutching the sunflower seed box. He hadn't run two steps when, for some reason, he leaped back and grabbed Eighth Sister, pulling her down the slope...

Eighth Sister didn't know kung fu, so she couldn't keep up with Tiger. Her feet were still on the first step, her head almost touching the ground. Tiger tried to pull her but couldn't. Looking down, he saw Eighth Sister's eyes wide with fury, looking exactly like a fierce female Zhang Fei…

Tiger felt a chill and let go of her hand, then ran away.

Eighth Sister lay face down on the steps, struggling to her feet. Her shrewish temper flared instantly, and she chased after her, yelling, "...You pig-headed bastard...I'll skin you alive..."

Eighth Sister was running too fast and was about to collide with someone head-on. Eighth Sister stopped, her shoes sparking as they scraped against the ground, and she lurched forward due to inertia.

Gu Yu, being the clever girl she was, nimbly jumped to the side. With a thud, Eighth Sister landed flat on her face, a perfectly executed move.

Tiger turned back to try and save her, but only managed to stand in front of her. To ease the awkwardness, Tiger scratched his head and joked in a refined manner, "Miss, such a grand gesture is unworthy of my respect!"

Nianyao looked at Luo An and emphasized again, "He is your medical apprentice..."

Before Luo An could even admit it, he saw Eighth Sister suddenly scramble to her feet and slap him hard across the face. The sound was louder and clearer than when she had just fallen.

Five finger marks immediately appeared on Tiger's face. He was dumbfounded, touching his stinging cheek: "You... how could you hit me..."

Joking aside, what's with the hitting? Eighth Sister's eyes widened in anger, she rolled up her sleeves, channeling Zhang Fei and Guan Yu: "I'm hitting you..."

Tiger covered his face and ran away: "Dark, ugly, fierce, and brutal... Whoever marries him is doomed..."

Eighth Sister was about to chase after him when she noticed half a foot sticking out of the shoe; the shoe was torn, and her clothes were torn too. She angrily took off the shoe and threw it at Tiger.

Tiger ran a few steps and looked back, only to see a shoe flying straight at his face with its mouth wide open, impossible to avoid...

Tiger grabbed the shoes in his hand, looked up and froze: "You... why are you crying..."

The one who got hit didn't cry, but the one who hit him did? Another shoe flew over and hit him in the face again. Eighth Sister wiped away her tears and ran barefoot back to her room.

Gu Yu then stepped forward, suppressing a smile, and said, "The Prince invites the young master and his wife to come over for a visit and have dinner at the Prince's residence."

"Is my uncle inviting me?" Nianyao raised her hand, looking quite pitiful: "I'm injured."

Luo An smiled and said, "I'll go. I'll be back late, so you should get some rest and don't wait for me."

Nianyao pulled him along: "...Just say I...say I'm pregnant with twins...and need to rest...it's not good for me to go out...say you were accidentally scratched by a cat...and...you know..."

Luo An said seriously, "I understand, it's the twins' will that's at play. The Yuan family mansion is dilapidated and not enough to suppress the fetal energy..."

Nianyao said, "Okay..."

Even someone as composed as Gu Yu couldn't help but glance at him sideways: the young master seems like a completely different person after getting married.

As expected, Luo An didn't return for dinner. Nianyao unwrapped her exaggeratedly bandaged hand, went to soak in the hot spring, and when she returned to her room, Ba Mei brought her medicine.

Nianyao said, "That's too much of an exaggeration. I'm not a porcelain doll. I just hurt my hand, and they're already bandaging it up and giving me medicine..."

Eighth Sister said, "Madam, this is a prescription written by the young master, worth a thousand taels of silver. The young master said..."

Nianyao interrupted, "A thousand or ten thousand taels of gold is nothing more than his mouth. Nanfei is unreliable; don't believe a word he says..."

Eighth Sister paused for a moment, then advised, "...This medicine calms the mind, relieves irritability, nourishes yin, soothes the nerves, and calms anger. Madam is pregnant with twins, so her emotions are easily unstable..."

Eighth Sister thought to herself: They almost tore the Yuan family mansion apart, weren't they afraid of upsetting the baby?

The twins themselves said it was alright, but others said they couldn't handle it. Before she could finish speaking, Nianyao picked up her bowl, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one gulp: "Alright... I'm perfectly calm..."