After being reborn, I became the apple of my enemy's eye.

Chapter 142 Provocation Fails

That night, Zheng Jihua made a bed in Yan Yun's room and stayed by Yan Yun's side.

Yan Yun kept waking up because Zheng Jihua had to change the dressing on her face from time to time.

As for the ointment that Lu Lan gave me, I used it as well.

Zheng Jihua looked worried, afraid that her face would be scarred.

The concubine had initially offered to stay and take care of Yan Yun.

Zheng Jihua could tell at a glance that she was distracted; it was less about taking care of her and more about her focusing on herself.

Zheng Jihua sent her back.

"You should go back and rest early too. There's no need for so many people to guard this house now."

The concubine wanted to say something more, but before she could speak, Zheng Jihua waved his hand and said in a harsher tone, "If I tell you to leave, then leave."

The concubine lowered her head meekly, naturally not daring to say another word.

Wait until you come out of the house.

Lu Lan came over carrying a quilt. When she saw the concubine, Lu Lan simply nodded without even bowing.

The concubine called out to her.

"You stop."

Lu Lan turned around.

The concubine squinted at Lu Lan and said meaningfully, "Is this how the General's Mansion teaches you manners? You should kneel down when you see the principal wife."

Lu Lan smiled.

Looking at the small amount of money in front of her, she felt even more that she was really stupid.

Behind her was the General's Mansion, why should she kneel? If anyone should kneel, it should be her kneeling before him. One day, she should be the one kneeling before him to pay her respects.

Thinking that Zheng Jihua was still inside, she didn't want to cause any trouble with this stupid woman.

"Sister, you should go back first. The adults are waiting for me."

Upon hearing this, the concubine exclaimed, "What did you say?"

Lu Lan deliberately said, "If you didn't hear me clearly, I'll say it again. The master is still waiting for me over there. I'll stay with the master tonight."

After Lu Lan finished speaking, she went into Yan Yun's room with a smug look on her face.

The servants had already prepared quite a lot. Lu Lan only brought the quilt over because she was worried. She had chosen the person in front of her herself, so she naturally wanted to hold on to him wholeheartedly.

Just like a mother watching over her father, she couldn't protect him, but she still wanted to do what she could.

She placed the quilt on the recliner beside her, saying, "Husband, it's late at night, and you might catch a cold. I've brought you the quilt. I'll keep Ning'er company tonight too."

With such a beautiful wife, Zheng Jihua was naturally happy.

He originally thought that Lu Lan, from a military family, would be just as arrogant as Lu Mingyuan and his ilk, but on the contrary, she was gentle as water, understood his feelings better than a concubine, and was also good to Ning'er.

He was satisfied with Ning'er.

I felt sorry for her and came over.

Zheng Jihua said, "You don't need to work so hard. The servants will take care of the household affairs. You just need to keep an eye on them. But I'll have to trouble you a bit tomorrow. Come and see Ning'er during the day. I have important business to attend to."

Lu Lan smiled shyly and said, "Husband, you're not saying it's hard work. Ning'er and husband are family."

Zheng Jihua's feelings for her were indeed growing stronger, and hearing her thoughtful words naturally made him happy.

"You should go back tonight; I'll take care of things here."

Lu Lan stopped nagging Zheng Jihua and said, "Since you have something to say, I will listen. Please take care of yourself. You are just as important to me as you are to me."

Every word the two exchanged reached Yan Yun's ears, and he felt as if they were filthy.

Lu Lan actually said some tender and affectionate words, which made everyone blush.

Zheng Jihua didn't care whether the maids were with him or not. He put his arm around Lu Lan's waist and kissed her cheek.

Lu Lan feigned a panicked expression, but she wasn't afraid at all.

Zheng Jihua whispered something in her ear.

Lu Lan gave Zheng Jihua a light shove, saying, "My husband is really naughty. I'll go back to my room first."

"Get some rest, you've worked hard too."

"As long as my husband understands that Lan'er's intentions are for his sake, that's enough."

Yan Yun finally managed to outlast them.

Zheng Jihua took care of Yan Yun for one night.

The next day, I really couldn't get away and had to go out.

He is currently in need of physical care.

The fact that those guys from the Southern Territory were coming to the capital to offer their congratulations presented a good business opportunity for him, a merchant. If he could bring those goods from the Southern Territory to the capital, he could certainly make a fortune.

Zheng Jihua instructed the maids to keep a close eye on their young mistress.

The maids trembled with fear. They all knew about Granny Zhu's suicide by hanging, and were naturally even more terrified of this young lady. Unfortunately, they had all signed indentures, so they couldn't leave even if they wanted to.

As soon as Zheng Jihua left, Yan Yun immediately opened her eyes and was about to get up, and those guys couldn't stop her at all.

"Miss."

Lu Lan got up early to bring soup to Deng Jihua, so she slept less, but as long as she could use it for affection, that was fine.

"My lord, you may drink in the carriage."

Lu Lan saw Zheng Jihua off and returned to find Yan Yun standing in front of the door of the next house.

Lu Lan quietly approached and patted Yan Yun's shoulder, as if deliberately trying to scare her.

"Ning'er."

Yan Yun heard Lu Lan's voice and immediately turned around, with Lu Lan following behind her.

As soon as she entered the room, Lu Lan told the maids to leave, saying she would take care of her mistress.

The maids didn't dare leave either, and all waited outside the courtyard.

With no one else in the room, Lu Lan sat down.

"I truly never expected that you would suffer like this for a mere maid. Should I say you're kind-hearted, or that you're a master of disguise?"

Yan Yun looked at Lu Lan.

She didn't understand why she had taken the initiative to come up to her and say these things.

Lu Lan looked at Yan Yun and said gently, "You don't need to look at me with such a pitiful and innocent look. In my opinion, you and I are the same kind of people, both of us with our own goals and what we want to achieve."

Lu Lan then began to recount the scene of seeing Yan Yun in Changgu City.

"Back then, you probably don't know how envious I was of you. You were living in that small Changgu City, yet you were enjoying a better life than me. I, Lu Lan, am the daughter of a general, yet I can't compare to you, a country girl. I was in a bad mood back then. I didn't like you the first time I saw you. Later, you were going to marry my third brother and even make him marry into the family. The three of us suffered a lot."

Lu Lan snorted coldly.

"You actually wanted to marry a mute girl. At that time, I wondered what the purpose of everything in this world was? And why was there such a gap between you and me? Later, when I saw your father, I understood. It turns out that the one who was powerful was never you, but Zheng Jihua. Sure enough, I didn't choose the wrong person. You see, I don't hate you or envy you at all now. On the contrary, I feel sorry for you. After all, you are my daughter now, and you still have to call me mother."

Yan Yun grabbed the unfinished medicinal soup from the side and splashed it directly at Lu Lan.

I wonder what she's trying to show off. If she thinks it's good, she should keep it to herself and not come here to flaunt it in front of me? Zheng Jihua is a treasure, so you, Lu Lan, should just stick with him and not swagger around in front of me?

Even though Lu Lan had medicine splashed all over her face, she wasn't angry. She still looked at Lu Lan with a smile, carefully examining her face. "To be honest, you really are quite ugly. That concubine's face looks the same, so you two look almost identical. You're both ugly women."

Yan Yun suddenly felt that Lu Lan must have gone mad today, which was why she came to his side and said these things.

He had never spoken ill of her from beginning to end, yet she regarded him as her greatest enemy.

Now, Yan Yun couldn't bear to listen to these words any longer. She looked at Lu Lan and suddenly asked directly, "Then tell me, if I tell Zheng Jihua everything you've said, do you think he will continue to love you? Or do you think he will believe me, his daughter?"

Upon hearing the words, Lu Lan's eyes widened instantly. She stood up immediately and looked at Yan Yun in surprise, saying, "You, you're not mute, are you?"

In her view, it was precisely because Yan Yun was mute that she could speak her mind so freely. After all, a mute cannot speak. From Yan Yun's interactions with Zheng Jihua, she vaguely sensed that Yan Yun did not like her father, nor did she like her mother. Now that Granny Zhu had died because of her maid, the old lady would naturally not be able to either…

That's why she dared to say those things to Yan Yun.

After all, seeing Yan Yun in pain was a happy thing for her.

But when she heard Yan Yun speak, she wavered again. He was clearly a mute, so why could he speak?

She suddenly realized and looked at Yan Yun, "So you've been lying all along."

Yan Yun sneered.

"Lies? How could I be as good at lying as you, Lu Lan? You're so vicious. If you remember the first time we met, you must remember that time you stabbed me with the silver needle you had hidden in your hand. You were already prepared then."

She was born a bad seed.

“Now that we’re here, let Zheng Jihua come back. I’ll tell him everything. I also want to know whether he dotes on you, his concubine, or favors me, his only daughter.”

Although Lu Lan was also panicked, in an instant, she heard Yan Yun calling out "Zheng Jihua, Zheng Jihua" repeatedly.

Who would always address their elders by their first name?

After weighing the pros and cons, Lu Lan immediately gave in.

“Ning’er, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have spoken so bluntly. I’m sick, probably because I’ve been poisoned by the poison of saying one thing and meaning another.”

Yan Yun looked at her face, which resembled an open book, and saw how quickly it changed.

“We’ve always kept to ourselves, but now that I’m sick, you’re kicking me when I’m down. You’re really enjoying the show.”

"Ning'er, it's a misunderstanding, you've misunderstood me."

There's no room for misunderstanding when you say something like that.

Although Yan Yun spoke, she wouldn't actually tell Zheng Jihua about Lu Lan's secrets. People like that are often the most dangerous, and it's a shame to have someone like that around.

That was a dagger capable of tearing them apart.

Lu Lan would also threaten her because she spoke up, after all, she had too many dirty and filthy thoughts that she didn't want to be exposed in front of Zheng Jihua.

Yan Yun had no doubt that Zheng Jihua would go to that point on her own. As for Lu Lan, she was no match for him; that was something Yan Yun knew at least.

After speaking, Yan Yun felt weak all over.

She looked at Lu Lan and immediately told her to get out of there, "Don't ever show your face in front of me again."

Lu Lan, however, was still worried about her and looked at Yan Yun pleadingly, saying, "Ning'er, I really lost my mind today. I have no ill intentions towards you or my husband."

Yan Yun does not need it.

Zheng Jihua has no other intentions towards him.

"go out."

Yan Yun was unwilling to continue being mute.

Lu Lan left the house crying.

Yan Yun leaned on the table.

A white eagle flew in from outside, with something tied to its talons. Yan Yun immediately reached out to untie it.

There was a bright yellow chicken leg inside the oiled paper.

Yan Yun looked at the note.

"You need to eat meat to recover."

Nan Yunjing.

The maids came in, and Yan Yun had already opened the window and released the white eagle out before returning to his bed.

This is just an ordinary day out of tens of thousands of days.

Zheng Jihua encountered a fortune teller.

Two sentences were enough to attract Zheng Jihua's attention.

"My lord, please wait a moment. Let me tell your fortune."

Zheng Jihua naturally didn't believe it and started walking away.

"Ruling the world, the phoenix travels a thousand miles."

Those who were with Zheng Jihua said that what the Taoist priests in the martial arts world said was not surprising.

Zheng Jihua was drawn to his words and stayed.

He looked at the old man in front of him.

The other party simply asked Zheng Jihua to extend his hand.

"If you believe, sir, I can tell your fortune with a wave of my hand. If it is inaccurate, I will not charge you a single penny."

Zheng Jihua ordered his servants to step aside.

He stretched out his hand.

The other person reached out and touched him, and then recounted most of Zheng Jihua's life story.

He was exceptionally gifted from a young age, truly a dragon among men.

Unfortunately, he was unlucky and encountered villains who plotted against him. However, in middle age, he was helped by a divine person and rose to prominence.

"My lord, am I right?"

Zheng Jihua neither said whether it was right or wrong, nor did he set off.

Even though the person didn't hear a reply, they continued to speak.

But this calamity is destined to befall you, sir.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jihua immediately pulled off the black cloth covering the other person's head, as the person finished speaking without missing a single detail.

Looking at the man's white eyes, which were filled with pus and blood, they were completely invisible.

Zheng Jihua had even more concerns in his heart.

He looked at the person in front of him and asked, "What is that calamity you mentioned?"

The other party hesitated to speak.

Zheng Jihua immediately took out the silver he had on him and threw it into the broken bowl on the ground with a clatter.

The old man couldn't see clearly to begin with, and when he heard the sound, he didn't look over or reach out to touch it. He simply told him that this calamity was destined to be his.

If you wish to change things, you should have a daughter, namely Ning'er.

Zheng Jihua admitted that he has a daughter.

The old man said, "You can't be her father."

Zheng Jihua sneered. Everything he did was for this daughter, yet he insisted that Ning'er could not be his daughter.

The old man said that her fate was incompatible with the man's, and only one of you could survive.

Zheng Jihua's expression darkened slightly as he looked at the old man. "Just who are you?"

The old man suddenly laughed and said, "He's just an old blind man who can't see the world."

The daughter of an adult has a strong destiny. If you continue to be her father for even one more day, your lifespan will decrease by one day.

Zheng Jihua didn't want to hear him talk about his daughter.

The calculations didn't resonate with my own heart.

He asked, "Then what is this 'ruling the world and soaring like a phoenix across a thousand miles' that you speak of?"

Both the master and his daughter possess exceptional destiny, but if the master rises to prominence, his daughter will die young. Conversely, if the daughter becomes an outstanding individual, the master's life will be destined to be like rotten wood, repeating a life of decline.

After speaking, the man reached into the broken bowl to retrieve the silver coins, weighed them in his hand, then put them in his pocket and got up to leave.

Zheng Jihua stopped the person.

He put the silver he was carrying back into the bowl.

"What is the solution?"

The old man then overturned all the silver that Zheng Jihua had put in onto the ground.

He only accepts the calculations he makes himself; he doesn't accept anything else.

"That depends on what the adults choose."