On the long street outside the Marquis of Jing'an's residence, firecrackers crackled continuously, echoing through the street. After the explosions, the air was filled with the scent of gunpowder, while children, unaware of what was happening, ran about and played.
Adults were also curious and gathered to watch the excitement.
The Marquis of Jing'an was alarmed.
"It's people from the Lu family—a large group, making quite a commotion," a maid hurried into Yutang Courtyard to report to the Old Madam.
At that moment, in Yutang Courtyard were the Old Madam, Second Miss Zheng Yutan, Third Madam, Third Young Master Zheng Hao, and the various young ladies of the third branch.
"People from the Lu family? Are they here for revenge?" Third Young Master Zheng Hao asked.
The maid did not know.
"It must be revenge," he speculated. "Grandmother, hasn't the eldest sister claimed to be the disciple of the Ghost Doctor? The Lu family must be here to demand an explanation."
Upon hearing this, the Old Madam was furious.
"That wretched girl—she only ever causes trouble for us," she said.
A grandmother should never speak of her granddaughter in such a way.
But whenever she thought of Zheng Qian, the Old Madam felt a splitting headache. If not for appearances, she would have long since expelled her from the family.
"Grandmother, please don't be angry," Zheng Yutan gently consoled her.
The Old Madam found it hard to calm her anger.
"Grandmother, let's go take a look," Zheng Yutan said softly, her brows slightly furrowed. "We can't let the eldest sister be bullied. After all, she is still a young lady of our household—it concerns our family's reputation."
But the Old Madam did not think so.
She wanted to go see for herself—if the Lu family intended to attack Zheng Qian, she would take the opportunity to drive her out of the residence.
She wanted to watch with her own eyes how Zheng Qian would try to argue her way out of this.
Someone so disgraceful should be sent to a country estate and left to fend for herself—and before leaving, she should return the eighty thousand taels of silver.
"Let's go," Third Young Master said, standing up first.
As they walked out, a smile he could not suppress curled at his lips—today, he would finally see that wretched girl suffer.
What good would medical skill do her now?
With the Lu family coming to confront her, her reputation would be completely ruined from today onward.
Let's see how proud she could still be.
When Prince Ancheng heard about this, he would likely keep his distance. Then the Marquis could step in and demand the money back from the prince—he probably wouldn't refuse.
Third Young Master and Zheng Yutan had already devised their plan—to take Zheng Qian's life.
Before that, they only intended to retrieve the money.
Third Madam also wore a faint smile.
Only the illegitimate Third Miss Zheng Xi felt a bit uneasy; she could not bear to see her eldest sister suffer like this.
When they arrived at the main gate, the Marquis had not yet arrived, and Zheng Qian had not appeared either.
Fourth Miss Zheng Qin, young and mischievous, pointed at Old Master Lu and the group behind him. "How bold of you! Do you even know where you are? How dare you cause trouble here?"
Behind the Lu family, hundreds of onlookers—drawn by the commotion of the firecrackers—had gathered, surrounding the Marquis's residence completely.
"Good—so many people are watching," Zheng Yutan thought coldly. "The Lu family's trouble will spread quickly. Eldest sister really has terrible luck—just after gaining some fame, she's about to be publicly humiliated."
How pitiful.
But then again, the eldest sister had always been pitiful—never once enjoying any glory.
Third Young Master and the others shared the same thoughts.
Fifth Young Master Zheng Run did not go out. Unaware of Zheng Qian's late-night rescue of the Lu family member, he only thought the Lu family had come to cause trouble and force her to stop claiming to be the disciple of the Ghost Doctor. He was very anxious.
He rushed to the gate, intending to stand up for his eldest sister.
At that moment, the Marquis also arrived.
Seeing the dense crowd outside, his brows furrowed tightly, his hands clenching.
Although it was Zheng Qian who would be embarrassed, it still concerned the reputation of his own household.
"What is the meaning of this?" the Marquis shouted sternly.
Fifth Young Master followed behind and shouted as well, "What are you doing? My eldest sister's medical skills are outstanding—how has she ever taken advantage of your Lu family? If you dare trouble her, our Marquis's residence will not forgive you!"
The Marquis turned and glared at his younger son. "Shut up."
But Fifth Young Master refused to be silenced.
The crowd began to understand the situation and realized what the Lu family intended.
"So they're here to cause trouble."
"I heard the Zheng family's eldest daughter brought a dead man back to life and claimed to be the disciple of the Ghost Doctor. But the Ghost Doctor is the ancestor of the Lu family—they certainly won't tolerate that."
"Of course they won't. In the past, any so-called disciples of the Ghost Doctor were driven out of the capital by the Lu family."
"So the Zheng family's eldest daughter is just a fraud."
"A fine young lady, yet she resorts to fame-seeking—truly pitiful."
The onlookers chattered among themselves.
"Master Lu, why not go inside and talk?" the Marquis said politely to Old Master Lu.
After all, the Marquis's residence could not even afford imperial physicians; for minor ailments, they relied on the Lu family.
Who would want to offend a family with such excellent medical skill?
Thus, even though the Marquis was nearly furious, he still spoke calmly, maintaining his composure.
But Old Master Lu shook his head.
"Marquis, we are waiting for the eldest miss. We will only speak with her. We will not bring trouble to your residence."
Some in the crowd, seeing themselves as righteous, spoke up.
"Let your eldest miss come out—let everyone bear witness. If she falsely claims the title of someone else's ancestor's disciple, isn't that impersonation? The Lu family is justified in seeking justice!"
"Exactly—we can testify for the Lu family. Your household should not bully them!"
"Bring out Miss Zheng!"
Zheng Yutan watched the scene and knew her eldest sister had incurred widespread anger.
Eldest sister, you likely won't even be able to enter a wealthy merchant's household like the Wen family. If you retreat into a temple and live in seclusion, I might spare your life.
After all, Second Miss Zheng was so "kind."
Third Young Master was nearly ecstatic.
Third Madam and the Old Madam also looked on with malicious satisfaction, waiting for Zheng Qian's downfall, planning to push the Marquis into punishing her.
Amid the noisy chaos outside, a figure in pale purple appeared behind the Zheng family members.
She held a cat in her arms and walked with light, graceful steps.
Only then did everyone realize that the Zheng family's eldest miss was a tall, elegant woman.
Compared to her, the second miss appeared petite and delicate.
Holding a pure white cat, Zheng Qian looked relaxed, showing no fear or urgency. Instead, she calmly asked, "What is going on here?"
The Lu family stepped forward.
Fifth Young Master quickly moved in front of Zheng Qian, thinking they were about to attack.
But instead, everyone in the Lu family—including Old Master Lu—fell to their knees and bowed deeply to her.
"Lu family descendants pay respects to our ancestor."
The entire scene fell into dead silence.
Everyone froze—whether worried, amused, or excited—every expression turned blank in that instant.
The chaotic crowd fell silent. The only sound was the Lu family kowtowing three times.
"Welcome our ancestor home."
Everyone stared at the Lu family as if they had seen a ghost.
Who were they kneeling to?
Who were they calling their ancestor?
Then they heard Zheng Qian's gentle, clear voice: "Get up. You've all behaved well."
"Thank you, Ancestor," the Lu family—all of them, including Old Master Lu—said loudly in response.
Everyone: "..."
There was no mistake—the "ancestor" they referred to was this very Miss Zheng.
Had they… seen a ghost?