Chapter 17: Not Only Will I Help Him, But I Will Also Make Him Fully Understand

After being punished, with her palm still faintly aching, Lu Shujin didn’t dare doze off again. Yet, she couldn’t focus on the lesson either—her mind was in complete disarray.

It wasn’t as though she’d never been beaten before. When she was younger, her aunt had been cold and harsh, punishing her by making her kneel with swollen hands whenever she made a mistake. But Lu Shujin was clever; once she learned that mistakes led to punishment, she rarely made them again. Over the course of more than ten years, she had only been beaten a few times, and each time, she remained calm—never afraid or upset.

But now, she couldn’t ignore the numbness and lingering warmth in her palm.

She was also painfully aware that Xiao Jin had mischievously teased her and then taken two strikes of the ruler on her behalf, purely because he found it amusing. Just like he would spend money at the Yuhua Pavilion, buying drinks for all the girls to entertain himself—completely without reason.

Yet she couldn’t bring herself to concentrate.

Xiao Jin glanced at her several times, but each time, he saw her staring intently at Tang Xueli as if she was listening attentively.

Losing interest, he looked away.

When the class finally ended and Tang Xueli left, the students collectively relaxed, sighing with relief, chatting among themselves about what to eat next or other trivial matters.

Few still remembered the incident where Lu Shujin and Xiao Jin were punished. And even if they did, they only thought of Lu Shujin as an innocent victim dragged down by the troublemaking young master.

Lu Shujin’s legs were numb from sitting. After changing her posture and waiting a moment, she was about to stand up when Wu Chengyun snuck over.

“Brother Lu, are you okay?” he asked, his gaze falling on her left hand.

Lu Shujin quickly hid her left hand behind her back and smiled. “I’m fine.”

Wu Chengyun looked at her with deep sympathy, his eyes practically overflowing with pity. To him, Lu Shujin seemed like the most unfortunate person under the heavens. Lowering his voice, he whispered, “Just hang in there for a few more days. That troublemaker Xiao Jin won’t stay in Jiazi Hall for long. He’ll soon give up and go back to his old class.”

“Be careful of bringing trouble upon yourself,” Lu Shujin warned hastily.

Although Wu Chengyun was sometimes annoyingly chatty, repeating the same question over and over without any sense of boundaries, he was one of the few in Jiazi Hall who cared about her. She didn’t want to see him end up like Liu Quan, who had been beaten by Xiao Jin until he was left sobbing and sniffling.

Wu Chengyun, realizing his mistake, quickly covered his mouth and looked around in a panic. But Xiao Jin had already left long ago and couldn’t have heard him.

“You’ll see,” Wu Chengyun whispered again, “Xiao Jin won’t last past the test two days from now.”

Once her legs had recovered, Lu Shujin joined Wu Chengyun, and they headed to the dining hall together.

The dining hall was always crowded. If they arrived neither too early nor too late, finding a seat would be impossible. So Lu Shujin usually waited a while, letting the first wave of students finish eating and leave. That way, seats would naturally become available.

But the moment they entered, they saw a rare sight in the dining hall.

The intense summer heat turned the dining hall into a steamy oven, especially with all the food cooking. Most endured it, but not Xiao Jin, who valued his comfort. He never came to the dining hall when it was hot.

But today, with the cloudy, rainy weather bringing a refreshing breeze, he was there eating.

He was listening to his companions with a faint smile on his face, his sleeves rolled up, revealing his fair, well-toned arms. His collar was lazily half-open, showing a glimpse of his collarbone, and he was playfully waving a fan he had snatched from Ji Shuoting, casually fanning his forehead and making the strands of hair around it flutter.

His table was crowded, yet the space around it was clear—other students avoided it, making it stand out.

Seeing this, Wu Chengyun’s guilt over speaking ill of Xiao Jin resurfaced. He shrank his head down and dragged Lu Shujin in a wide arc around the crowd, heading straight to the food counter.

For the past two days, Lu Shujin had been surviving on plain flatbread. Even though the sight of the bread now made her lose her appetite, she chose it again because it was cheap—she wouldn’t act impulsively just to satisfy her cravings.

But just as she took out her coins to buy the bread, Wu Chengyun stopped her. “Why are you eating bread again?”

“It’s affordable,” Lu Shujin replied.

“Get a bowl of rice today. I’ll pay,” Wu Chengyun offered.

Lu Shujin immediately refused. It wasn’t because of some noble refusal to accept charity but because she didn’t want to owe anyone a favor. Owing someone meant finding a way to repay them, which was a hassle. She had no intention of getting too close to anyone.

Politely declining his offer, she bought a piece of bread and walked out.

From across the crowded hall, Xiao Jin’s sharp eyes caught sight of Lu Shujin. His gaze followed her for a moment, which didn’t escape Ji Shuoting’s notice.

Turning to look, Ji Shuoting asked, “I heard you and Lu Shujin got punished in class today?”

“Mm.” Xiao Jin nodded. “He was bold enough to fall asleep during Tang Xueli’s class.”

“But he only got one strike, and you got five. Are you sure you didn’t drag him into trouble?” Ji Shuoting teased.

“You know how these bookworms are—always the teachers’ favorites.” Xiao Jin scoffed, his gaze trailing after Lu Shujin. He noticed her holding a piece of bread as she left and suddenly spoke to one of his friends, “Go buy me one of those flatbreads she’s eating.”

He was curious about what was so great about that bread that made this bookworm eat it three days in a row.

The flatbread quickly arrived, still warm. Xiao Jin took a single bite, then tossed it onto the table with a look of disdain.

“Disgusting.”

Xiao Jin suspected that Lu Shujin didn’t actually enjoy eating the flatbread. His suspicion was confirmed in the afternoon, when he saw her nibbling on the bread while reading.

She ate slowly, taking large bites each time, causing her fair, round cheeks to puff out. Yet, she chewed each bite for a long time, as if it were hard to swallow.

Xiao Jin took a seat, stretched out his long legs, and pulled out his unfinished book, The Affairs of the Charming Widow.

During the afternoon class, Lu Shujin used her left hand as little as possible, letting it rest while her right hand did all the work—whether grinding ink or flipping pages. Occasionally, when her right hand was free, it would unconsciously rub her left palm, which must still be hurting from the punishment.

Watching this, Xiao Jin mocked her silently. Such a delicate bookworm—crying over just one strike?

After class, Lu Shujin didn’t even bother eating. She rushed back to her dormitory, grabbed some silver coins from her small book box, and quickly left the academy, heading straight to find the woman Yang Peier had mentioned—Granny Rong.

Granny Rong was sewing in her courtyard when Lu Shujin arrived. Seeing her, the old woman smiled and greeted her warmly.

Fortunately, Granny Rong was a kind and approachable person. Lu Shujin explained her troubles, mentioned needing help from the old woman’s son-in-law’s friend, and even handed her a small cloth-wrapped packet of silver.

Granny Rong hesitated briefly before agreeing. Originally, she suggested that Lu Shujin wait for two days, but fearing something might go wrong with a delay, Lu Shujin pleaded for her to take her there immediately.

Moved by her sincerity and seeing the desperation in her eyes, Granny Rong agreed. Locking her door, she led Lu Shujin to her son-in-law.

Her son-in-law, a man named Zhao with an honest face, listened to Granny Rong explain the situation. After accepting the small packet of silver, he led Lu Shujin to his friend at the police station.

Surprisingly, things went much smoother than expected. Just as Lu Shujin was beginning to feel relieved, trouble appeared.

Brother Zhao took a long time in the police station. When he finally came out, his expression was troubled, making it clear that things had gone wrong.

“My friend said there have been a few sudden, unexplained deaths in the southern district lately. They are busy investigating and have no time to help you,” he explained.

Lu Shujin panicked. “But we just need to make a quick trip to the northern district—it won’t take long! I can pay more silver!”

Brother Zhao looked conflicted, sighing. “It’s not about the money. Those deaths are strange, and the southern district’s police stations are on alert, fearing an outbreak. If it’s really an epidemic, and the higher-ups blame them, they will all be in trouble. They don’t have time for anything else. You should try another way.”

Unwilling to give up, Lu Shujin begged a few more times, but Brother Zhao only shook his head and eventually returned the packet of silver to her.

Left with no options, she had no choice but to take the silver and return to the academy.

That night, she couldn’t sleep, the anxiety of saving Yang Peier weighing heavily on her. Her pale face became even more striking under the dark circles around her eyes.

Early the next morning, she went to Dingzi Hall to find Jiang Su. Even though asking for his help again made her feel shameless, she had no other choice. Gathering her courage, she explained the situation, hoping his uncle could help.

Jiang Su, straightforward as ever, didn’t mind at all. “Is this still about the money you owe?”

“No, I want to rescue a woman from Yuhua Pavilion.”

“You want to redeem a courtesan?” Jiang Su was shocked, pulling her aside to whisper, “Even Brother Xiao wouldn’t dare to do something so crazy! What’s gotten into you?”

“It’s complicated. I can’t explain it all now. I need to meet with your uncle to discuss it properly.”

Jiang Su agreed, promising to speak with his uncle that evening and give her an answer the next day.

But if Jiang Su’s uncle couldn’t help, Lu Shujin truly had no idea what else she could do to save Yang Peier.

All morning, she seemed like a wilted flower, sighing in distress with her head down. Her dejection was obvious enough that even Xiao Jin couldn’t help but glance at her repeatedly.

Jiang Su hadn’t yet spoken with his uncle, but during lunch, he casually mentioned it to Xiao Jin.

“He wants to redeem a woman from Yuhua Pavilion?” Xiao Jin’s eyes widened in disbelief. He never expected Lu Shujin—the teachers’ favorite—would dare to do something like this.

“Which girl has he set his eyes on?” Ji Shuoting asked, equally surprised. “There aren’t any exceptionally beautiful girls in Yuhua Pavilion.”

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