The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 62 - 59, Jin Jian visits

Zhao Pan felt like the sun had risen from the west today.

Though this vicious wolf gave out money with an aloof and unpleasant demeanor,

the benefits bestowed upon them were very real.

Could it be because he had done a good deed and received a reward, and thus was in a good mood?

This was the most plausible guess she could come up with.

"No... no problem," You Jinhua busily replied, treasuring the stack of silver notes, and carefully placed them into her withered purse, her voice slightly hoarse:

"Eldest Young Master, rest assured, the money will not be wasted."

You could waste some of it, Zhao Douan muttered to himself.

But changing one’s character too swiftly was inadvisable, so he simply responded with an indifferent "Hmm."

Then, as if he remembered something, he added:

"When I return, I have ordered a selection of rouge and powder from Rouge House, which will be delivered by the shop’s assistant. Take it and use it."

Rouge House... One of the largest cosmetics shops in the Capital, a century-old prestigious brand, with hefty prices and delivery services.

Usually, its customers were the noble ladies of the Capital.

Of course, that was just among the circle of noble ladies.

The real royal nobles had their own exclusive shopping channels and the rouge they used was unbranded.

He even bought rouge and powder... Zhao Pan’s eyes filled with wonder, both highly alert and heart racing with anticipation—

After all, it was the age to love beauty, and she couldn’t resist such temptation.

"Eldest Young Master..."

You Jinhua’s eyes teared up even more, and she covered her mouth with her hand, moved to the core.

This was the first time in her memory that the stepson had given her a gift.

Kind-hearted Mr. Zhao couldn’t stand to see women cry; after hastily filling his stomach, he dropped a "I’m full" and headed straight to the central courtyard to practice martial arts.

He was toying with the treasured Flying Knife he had just acquired.

...

After the meal.

You Jinhua and her daughter stored away the silk and fabrics, then returned to the young girl’s chamber to reapply healing ointment.

Zhao Pan lay on the bed, hugging an embroidered pillow, feeling her mother’s hand gliding over her back, and couldn’t help but voice her confusion:

"Mother, what’s gotten into him today, giving this and that, what kind of ill intentions could he be harboring?"

You Jinhua sat on the edge of the bed, her dress—washed many times, now slightly too small and taut—threatened to reveal her curves.

Upon hearing this, she lightly spanked Zhao Pan’s bottom, and retorted:

"What are you saying, why must it be ill intentions?"

Pia... Zhao Pan pursed her lips and said:

"What else could it be? To me, it seems like the weasel paying respects to the chicken on New Year’s."

"Perhaps your elder brother regrets how he treated you yesterday, and he’s trying to make amends," You Jinhua offered her interpretation, searching for reason in her stepson’s abnormal behavior.

Zhao Pan countered:

"So, he hits me with a stick, then hands me a sweet date? Mother, you’re just too kind to him. He gives you a small smile, and you are over the moon. Who knows, tomorrow he may be in a bad mood, demand everything back, and add beatings on top."

The scars all over her body were the most powerful evidence.

Faced with this ironclad reality, You Jinhua was left speechless.

For a moment, the room was silent.

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"Knock, knock, knock." The sound of knocking echoed, and Zhao Douan’s voice came from outside the door:

"Zhao Pan, come out for a moment."

Startled, mother and daughter in the room panicked, Zhao Pan hastily burrowed into the blankets and reached for the short dagger—which served no actual purpose, offering only psychological comfort.

You Jinhua quickly got up:

"Eldest Young Master, Auntie is applying medicine to Paner, it’s not convenient..."

"Applying medicine?" Through the door, came Zhao Douan’s mocking tone:

"How can you learn your lesson if you don’t get hit? To think that just by picking up a discarded book of mine and mulling over it by yourself, you could step into cultivation and become a Martial Artist? Utterly foolish.

When you’ve completely wrecked yourself, with your qi and blood blocking your meridians, paralyzed at home, then you’ll have no choice but to eat my food for the rest of your life."

Inside the house.

Zhao Pan listened to the mocking words, her little face flushing with anger, but when she heard the last part, she froze.

She was acutely aware of her body’s condition and had previously thought, after being beaten, that she felt great, light, and relieved, mistakenly believing she had made progress in martial arts.

Now, hearing what Zhao Douan had said, it seemed like she was mistaken.

"Paralyzed?" You Jinhua, pale with fright, asked, "Paner will be paralyzed?"

"Heh, it was possible before," Zhao Douan said from outside, taking something out of his arms and placing it on the ground:

"If you want to strengthen your body in the future, use this for training. If you still cling to my tattered book and won’t let go, I’ll beat you every time I see you."

Having said this, he turned and left.

You Jinhua stood still for a few moments, then hurriedly pushed the door open, looking left and right, only to find that Zhao Douan was already gone.

"Mother, what did he leave behind?" Zhao Pan, wrapped in a small blanket and not daring to set foot on the ground for lack of clothing, craned her neck to ask.

She saw You Jinhua holding two objects, stunned, returning to the room.

Zhao Pan looked closely, one was a martial arts book named "Jade Heart Scripture," seemingly specifically suited for women’s physical strengthening methods.

The other was a pitch-black jar, wrapped with the words "Divine Dragon Temple," obviously a precious injury medicine for Cultivation Martial Artists.

Zhao Pan was stunned, her eyes like autumn waters looking in the direction where her brother had left, and she bit her lip, suddenly a little hesitant:

"Has he... really changed?"

Elsewhere.

Zhao Douan returned to his own room and pushed the door open; inside was a bathtub filled with warm water.

It was what he had ordered the servants to prepare after a day and night of busyness, feeling grimy and dirty all over.

Now he stripped off his clothes, jumped into the bathtub, rested his arms on the edge, and luxuriated in the warm soak, letting out a comfortable sigh.

"The persona I’ve built up at home is preliminarily remade…"

"Yes, based on my experience during this period, the correct usage of a persona is to show improvement in front of allies while maintaining a bad reputation externally, that way the benefits are maximized."

"Tackling the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice… Tough one, no plan yet… Yes, every cloud has a silver lining, will think more about it tomorrow."

Zhao Douan’s thoughts drifted as his gaze landed on the interwoven beams above his head.

Suddenly, the air above the beam twisted slightly, and a figure slowly emerged:

Wearing a black priest robe embroidered with gold lines, with slightly curled black hair and pale skin, exuded a mysterious aura, "Zhu Dian," Priest Jin Jian, sat on the beam, dangling her boots.

At that moment, the girl was locking her gaze directly below her, onto Zhao Douan in the bathtub, her focus sharpening…

Zhao Douan: "…?"

Jin Jian: "...!"

A brief silence.

In the bathtub, water splashed up abruptly, and Zhao Douan startled and "actuated a pixelation effect," his eyes wide:

"Priest Jin Jian?! What are you doing in my room?"

The confused young girl, Jin Jian, blinked and her voice was ethereal:

"I told you earlier, I would come to find you after I was done."

Zhao Douan opened his mouth to ask, "When did you get here?"

Jin Jian, who answered every question, responded, "When you were at the Rouge House."

"…" Zhao Douan felt as if a herd of llamas was racing through his mind.

So, Heavenly Master Zhang’s little disciple definitely had a peeping habit!

To have been following him around all this time, even until now.

"Priest, you should know that entering someone’s room without knocking is very inappropriate," Zhao Douan protested solemnly from the bathtub.

Jin Jian considered it and felt it made sense, her face showing regret:

"I’m sorry, then I’ll go out and reenter from the front door."

Saying this, she made to float down.

"Wait!" Zhao Douan quickly stopped her, helplessly saying, "Just speak your mind."

After all, she had seen everything… and if the servants at home were alarmed, it would cause a lot more trouble.

By the way, why was this girl so awkward and naive…

"Okay." Jin Jian readily agreed, sitting back down,

Zhao Douan let out a breath and asked in a deep voice, "May I ask, Priest, how is it going?"