After that, as if in pain, he covered his face with his sleeve, choking up: "I still remember Master Yang and I were of the same school, sharing the bond of being classmates, traveling the lake with joy. Now we are both officials in different places, he suffered, how could I not want to save him?"

Lu Chang: "..."

He came here seeking help, yet ended up making the other cry, it was quite amazing. Fang Qin truly lived up to his name of being a master manipulator behind the scenes.

Lu Chang gritted his teeth inside but spoke with a dejected face: "Master Fang, once this matter spreads broader, it will be a great crime that is punishable by the execution of nine generations. Our families have deep connections, broken bones are still connected by the tendons, you cannot ignore this."

Fang Qin's face twitched fiercely; Lu Chang's remark had poked him in his weak point.

Fang Qin had a half-sister from the same father, born by 'connected chamber*' who did not receive much love. Even in her teens, she did not talk much to her older brothers, but this Lady Fang had once committed a grave deed when she was still young — she attempted to run away from home with another man, but failed.

*'connected chamber' is a term referred to the female servant of highest status in a family, she could be considered to be a concubine, but rank-wise, she would only be a bit higher than an ordinary servant. In order to make it convenient to serve her master at night, her room would be connected to her master's.

In fact, after the opening of the sea route, the era of rituals and music had collapsed for many years. If this were to happen in the eastern coast where the folks were open-minded, it would be nothing much. At most, there would only be a few remarks from an idling bunch, perhaps someone would even praise her for having courage at a young age - there were many foreign women showing their backs on the street and no one would have any opinions.

But this had happened in the Fang family.

Since the Yuan He Dynasty and after, a kind of custom gradually formed in the court. The more open the people were, the more conservative noble families became. It seemed that if they did not, they would not be able to reflect their noble and dignified bloodline. This matter had once caused the Fang family great humiliation, they intended to lock her up then send her directly to a temple to be a monk for a few years. Unexpectedly, the Lu family was currently wanting to use connections to climb the ranks. Overjoyed by this opportunity, they hurriedly charged in like flies encountering feces. At last, a cousin of Lu Chang who used money to buy position married Miss Fang.