The Trick to Teasing a Noble Family's Son - Chapter 27

After hearing what the other person said, Lin Xia lay silently on the ground for a second.

Wei Lan turned and walked away. Lin Xia stood up, brushed off the dust, and was about to leave when she was suddenly grabbed by two people. A strong young girl in men’s clothing smiled at her, saying, “Young master, please come with us.”

“Who… who are you?” Lin Xia asked in alarm, carrying her medical box on her back. Before she could finish, she felt a cold blade against her waist.

She fell silent. She was dragged and thrown onto a carriage.

As Wei Lan reached the tavern’s entrance, Wang Xi and Lin Che hurried down, worriedly asking, “A-Lan, why’d you jump down like that? You scared us to death!”

“My apologies,” Wei Lan said with her usual gentle smile. “I saw an old acquaintance.”

“Oh?” Wang Xi glanced at Wei Lan’s carriage, having witnessed her forceful abduction of the youth. Curious, he asked, “That young master was…”

“An old friend from the border,” Wei Lan replied, flipping her wrist to open her fan, shielding herself from the afternoon sun. Squinting at the horizon, she said, “It’s getting late. Lan will take his leave.”

“We’ll stay a bit longer,” Wang Xi replied, smiling without pressing further, “Let’s see you off.”

“No need,” Wei Lan said, turning, closing her fan, and waving. “I’ll drink with Brother Xi another day, .”

With that, she got into the carriage.

Inside the carriage, Lin Xia was tied up tightly but sat quietly, neither struggling nor cursing, curiously observing her surroundings.

She looked about fourteen or fifteen, with lively eyes and a delicate face. Though not as tall as Wei Lan, she wasn’t particularly short among men. She had an Adam’s apple, which moved as she swallowed, looking very agile.

Wei Lan studied her curiously, using her fan to pull down Lin Xia’s clothes a bit. Seeing the protective heart mirror underneath, she chuckled, “Turns out you’re really a girl.”

Propping her head with one hand, leaning on a small table, Wei Lan fanned herself lightly. “Who are you?”

“This humble one is Lin Xia,” she replied, sensing the imposing aura of someone either rich or noble. Knowing such people disliked lengthy talks with commoners, she understood the question implied name, occupation, origin, and purpose. Respectfully, she continued, “Descendant of the Lin clan of the Imperial Medical Bureau, trained in the Valley of the Medicine King since childhood, now in the capital seeking my kin, aiming to be a wandering physician.”

The Lin clan of the Imperial Medical Bureau.

This family once basked in glory in Great Chu. The Lins were a medical lineage, with three generations serving as heads of the Imperial Medical Bureau, the emperor’s personal physicians. A surname tied to a department meant unparalleled dominance in it. So it was with the Lins.

However, ten years ago, a palace intrigue implicated the Lin family. The then head of the Imperial Medical Bureau, Lin Cheng, misdiagnosed the Empress Dowager’s illness, leading to her death. The emperor, though furious, only expelled the Lin family from the Imperial Medical Bureau out of respect for their past contributions.

Since then, the Lin family ceased practicing medicine, but their reputation persisted.

Hearing Lin Xia hailed from the national master Lin family, Wei Lan’s interest piqued. Smiling, she said, “You saw through my disguise at a glance. Your medical skills are impressive.”

Hearing this, Lin Xia felt bitter.

Initially, she thought the person before her was just a young lady in disguise, but now it was clear this person was not just playing dress-up. Such aura and presence were beyond a mere noble lady’s.

As a transmigrator from the 21st century with a vivid imagination, Lin Xia had spun countless scenarios when Wei Lan boarded. All pointed to one thing: this person’s high status and disguised gender were secrets not to be revealed!

Cold sweat broke out on her back. She looked up and said quickly, “Young Master, consider this incident never happened. I swear not to speak of it. I’ll leave the capital today, never causing you trouble.”

Wei Lan, playing with her fan, smiled, “Too late.”

Lin Xia’s face turned pale. She had crossed over into this world and, after growing up in a declining family, had come to embrace this world. She’d studied under a master and come to the capital to revive her family’s medical prestige with her skills. Was one sentence about to end it all?

Quickly analyzing the situation, Lin Xia spoke rapidly, “Young Master, I recognized your disguise due to minor flaws undetectable to most but obvious to someone skilled in medicine and anatomy. I can help you improve your disguise. I dare not boast, but in medicine, I excel. Wouldn’t killing me be a waste? I’ll offer a poison, with the antidote in your hands. You give me the antidote monthly to control me. I’ll serve you faithfully. Please spare me!”

Hearing this, even Ran Mo felt uneasy.

It was the first time she had encountered someone so ruthless to themselves; What a freak.

Wei Lan, however, remained expressionless, making it unclear whether she agreed or not. She looked out the window, saying slowly, “A Lin coming to capital just to be a wandering physician? No ambitions for the Imperial Medical Bureau?”

Lin Xia was stunned, then quickly realized what Wei Lan was implying.

Ambitions for the Imperial Medical Bureau?

Of course, she had them!

But the Lin family was expelled by the emperor. Returning to the Bureau under their name was impossible, she’d likely fail the entrance exams.

Seeing Lin Xia’s expression, Wei Lan’s mind settled. Lin Xia was usable. Her medical skills aside, her attitude toward women impressed Wei Lan. Ran Mo, trained by Wei Lan, still held traces of this world’s male-superior views, but Lin Xia genuinely believed women equaled men. To use her, though, Wei Lan needed to investigate her background first.

She smiled and closed her eyes to rest. Lin Xia, analyzing Wei Lan’s attitude, began to feel a glimmer of hope.

Could it be… Wei Lan not only wanted to spare her but also help her enter the Imperial Medical Bureau?

Each schemed silently. Near the Changxin Marquis Manor, Ran Mo blindfolded Lin Xia. Once stopped, they carried her into the mansion and locked her in a secret cell.

After leaving Lin Xia in the cell, Wei Lan instructed Ran Mo, “Investigate this Lin Xia. See how hard it’d be to erase her ties to the Lin family.”

“Yes,” Ran Mo nodded and left. Shortly after, a shadow guard, Ye Yi, appeared upside down from the rafters like a bat, saying seriously, “Master, Xie Zichen seems to be inquiring about the eldest young master’s whereabouts. Should we check on it?”

“Hmm?” Wei Lan looked shocked.

Inquiring about Wei Hua? What is Xie Zichen up to?

Wei Lan immediately rushed to the street, while on the other side, Xie Zichen sat in a parked carriage, feeling conflicted as he watched Wei Hua happily picking out jewellery in a shop.

After having Xie Tong inquire about Wei Hua’s whereabouts, Xie Zichen decided to arrange a chance meeting.

To counter the impact Wei Lan had on him, he decided to tackle it at its root.

Decisive, Xie Zichen acted on his thoughts. Even without feelings for Wei Hua, her face—so like Wei Lan’s—made it acceptable.

He’d dressed carefully: a white undershirt, a wide-sleeved robe with black embroidered cranes, hair half-tied with a jade crown. He’d even considered the capital’s trend of men wearing makeup but recalled his friend Wang Ning’s “I need to touch up my makeup” and abandoned the idea, heading straight for Wei Hua.

Upon arriving, he immediately spotted her in the jewellery shop.

Wei Hua was indeed like Wei Lan but with a more feminine touch. She seemed to favour pink, wearing a light pink dress with a peach blossom veil and a green belt that accentuated her slim waist. Her head was adorned with many ornaments, complementing her delicate face.

She had painted eyebrows, curved like willow moons, making her eyes look softer, a significant difference from Wei Lan. A plum blossom mark on her forehead added a touch of allure.

Chatting and laughing with another woman, she looked every bit a young lady. Xie Zichen expected the same heart-pounding impact as with Wei Lan, but oddly, facing her beauty, his heart remained calm.

This calmness comforted him, though it made him doubt if Wei Hua could truly help him forget Wei Lan.

After much thought, he stepped out, entering the shop.

Pretending to browse, he stayed silent, watching Wei Hua. Noticing her eyeing a jade hairpin near him, he reached for it first. “That hairpin, let me see it.”

Wei Hua glanced at him, annoyed. Xie Zichen, holding the hairpin, felt her gaze and turned, meeting her irritation. After a moment, he said, “Like it?”

Wei Hua froze, her expression betraying her interest. Xie Zichen, inwardly calm, said expressionlessly, “If you like it, it’s yours.”

“Uh… Young Master…” Wei Hua grew wary, studying him. “Do you know me?”

“He knows me!”

A clear voice came from outside. A young man in a blue robe entered, holding a fan. Wei Lan smiled, taking the hairpin from Xie Zichen’s hand and playing with it.

Xie Zichen said nothing, feeling strangely guilty.

Wei Lan’s clear voice rang from outside. A blue-robed figure, fan in hand, swept through the curtain, smiling as she approached Xie Zichen, taking the hairpin from his hand and toying with it.

Xie Zichen stayed silent, inexplicably guilty.

Wei Lan fingered the hairpin, raising an eyebrow.

“Fourth Young Master Xie,” she said with a cold smile, “I treat you as a brother, and you go after my sister?”

Xie Zichen: “…”

Something about this logic felt off.

Wei Hua, hearing this, looked at Xie Zichen in shock and fear- Even he likes me? This Xie Zichen must be a freak!