Chapter 35: The things we do for family

Duke Lu's residence, the main courtyard.

Luckily there was no one in the room when she rushed in, which she deeply appreciated. She wasn't in the right mood to answer any questions, especially since anything she said would be reported to madam Lu.

Su Liya took off her clothes and stood in front of the mirror to check the extent of her injury. Her ankle hurt so she couldn't stand for long, she sat on the bed closest to the mirror. Apart from the throbbing pain at the side of her head and ankle, she hadn't sustained any serious injuries.

She also had some bruises, on her sides and a few cuts on her hands and legs. Su Liya laid back on the bed and checked her ankles, it didn't look serious nothing a little rest and hot balm won't fix. There was a light knock at the door, Su Liya stood carefully and answered the door.

It was one of the maids that had followed them from Zhu Manor, she was sent over by Tian Tian with warm water and a basket of medicine. Su Liya stepped aside to let her in, the maid helped clean up and dress her wounds before leaving.

Before leaving, the maid informed her that Tian Tian asked her to rest for some time. Which Su Liya translated to code for take your time I will help cover for you. Su Liya was grateful for that, she nodded and saw the maids off.

After resting for two hours, Su Liya went out to Zhu Fengyin's room. Zhu Fengyin was reading a book when she walked in, She brought down the book and rested it on her chest. Zhu Fengyin's eyes widened as she saw the bandage wrapped around her forehead.

"What happened to you? Why are you injured?"

Su Liya smiled as she brought her hands up to rest on the bandage, she replied, "I fell while I was walking".

Zhu Fengyin hissed "How exactly does that happen? Have you no working eyes? Don't lie to me and tell me how you got so injured?"

"nothing happened Young Miss, I fell at the laundry room. Don't worry it is nothing serious, it is just that I hit my head when I fell"

"Is that so?"

"Yes," Su Liya smiled sweetly.

Zhu Fengyin Watched her for some seconds then looked away. She wanted to press on but suspecting that Su Liya didn't want to tell her anything because Tian Tian was present. She looked to her side and said to Tian Tian "You have worked hard, step out. Let Su Liya take over".

"Yes," Tian Tian replied, bowed and left the room.

Zhu Fengyin watched her leave, then stood from the chaise and walked to the tea-table. She sat on a stool and pointed at a seat, She said to Su Liya "Sit".

Su Liya nodded and smiling, she sat opposite Zhu Fengyin. "I am not going to change my mind, so don't press on", she said looking Zhu Fengyin in the eye.

Zhu Fengyin gave up when she saw the stubborn expression on her face. "Tell me when you are ready".

*******

Two days later

Su Liya and Zhu Fengyin ran into Zhu Fenfang once again, this time on their way to Madam Lu's courtyard. Zhu Fenfang was on her way out accompanied by the Lu Siblings, Lu Yiling and Lu Yaozhu.

Su Liya's heartbeat quicken as they got closer to the trio, this was her first time meeting Lu Yaozhu since the incident. She was actively trying to avoid running into him, to the point of staying indoors. She wasn't about to raise any more suspicion, she had taken Lu Yiling's warnings to heart.

Both parties stopped for some time to exchange greetings with each other. Su Liya kept her head down during the greetings and stayed quiet. She avoided drawing any attention to herself. Su Liya left her hair down at one side of her face to cover the bandage at the side of her forehead.

However as she bends down, a small breeze blew, raising her hair which drew Lu Yaozhu's attention to her injuries. Throughout the brief greeting, Lu Yaozhu eyes bead trailed on Su Liya. He noticed her strange behaviour, he always felt that Su Liya contrary to popular gossip was never Showy but reserved.

However right now looked to be scared, she bent so low that Lu Yaozhu bead sure that if it was possible to bury herself in the ground she would. He hadn't run into her in days, it was almost like she was avoiding him. He had been informed by Yu Tao that Su Liya had stayed indoors.

She didn't look like herself at all, Su Liya looked a little pale. There were scratches on her cheeks but it was the bandage on her forehead that caught his attention. She wasn't like this the last time they met, the injuries didn't look so old, which meant it must have happened within these few days.

Lu Yiling sneered when she saw Su Liya and Zhu Fengyin coming closer, it wasn't possible to avoid running into them so they could only slow down. "why do I have to run into this girl again", Lu Yiling thought frowning slightly.

While she felt a little worried when she saw Su Liya's injuries, she didn't let it show on her face. She consoled herself with the thought that she was doing this to protect her family's interest. "At Least, she didn't end up dead", she thought.

Zhu Fenfang bribed a main to report on the events of the Lu family and had been informed of what happened to Su Liya. She hadn't expected Lu Yiling to take this route but had been overjoyed when she found out that she had.

Now that she saw the injuries first hand, Zhu Fenfang was glad. Su Liya deserved this and more for the embarrassment she caused her, she wished that the injuries would leave a scar. Su Liya was always praised for her beauty, a scar like this would put an end to that. Her lips curved into her first genuine smile at that thought.

Lu Yiling wasn't aware of the thoughts going through her mind, she only felt like she needed to prevent Zhu Fenfang from remembering what she had seen last time. She had already noticed her brother looking at that fox.

She looked at Su Liya sharply and said "we won't keep you anymore, Sister-in-law. You should get going while we see sister Fenfang off. We will take our leave now".

Zhu Fengyin smiled and said goodbye. The trio walked past them, while they continued walking to Madam Lu's Courtyard.