June stared blankly at Zora, not knowing how to react. Seeing the spoon near his mouth, he opened his mouth, took a small bite, quickly accepted the spoon, and gently said, "Mm, it's delicious. You should eat too, my wife."
Lillian watched the two being so close and affectionate. She realized she could never snatch the man away now, and the anger in her heart had nowhere to go.
"Zora, you have really shamed the women of noble families. Marrying a brothel man as your husband? Everyone knows how dirty they are! Their lips have kissed thousands, their arms have held countless. The dirtiest, most heartless people are prostitutes!"
"Pfft..."
Lillian's loud insults drew attention. Guests at nearby tables and even passersby started looking at June and Zora.
Feeling proud, Lillian planned to walk away proudly.
Suddenly, with a "swish" and a "bang," a long green whip appeared in Zora's hand. She used a strange angle to wrap Lillian and slammed her hard onto the ground in front of the stall.
"Say that again if you dare."
Zora was truly angry now.
She was never a kind person. She was used to living freely as a spoiled noblewoman. How could she stand being insulted like this? She didn't care if Lillian was a so-called noble lady. She would settle it with her fists.
One whip after another landed. The surrounding people were so scared they backed away.
Lillian's maids rushed over to stop Zora, but Zora kicked each one flying with ease.
"Zora, you useless idiot, how dare you hit me! When I go back and tell my mother, you'll be in big trouble!"
"Ow, it hurts! I'll report you to the authorities! You just wait!"
"Ah! Stop hitting! Please!"
...
Whip after whip landed on Lillian, leaving bloody marks. Even though she looked pitiful, Zora ignored her screams and kept beating her.
"Please, I was wrong! I beg you, stop hitting me!"
"It's all my fault! I won't dare again! Please forgive me this time!"
Finally, Zora stopped, feeling tired after the beating.
She pointed at June and said to Lillian, "Apologize to him."
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't recognize how important you are, Young Master June. Please forgive me! If she keeps hitting me, I'll die!"
Lillian cried out miserably.
Her maids crawled over and hugged her, looking very pathetic.
June finally came back to his senses. He knew Zora had probably caused big trouble for his sake. He quickly walked over, gently tugging on Zora's sleeve, shaking his head with worry written all over his face.
Zora didn't plan to keep hitting. After all, her body felt exhausted. Fighting was tiring.
Seeing June so worried, Zora smiled and lowered her voice to ask, "June, can you write?"
"Yes, I can."
"Good, come here. I'll say it, you write it down."
Zora pretended to pull out a piece of paper from her sleeve. Since she didn't have a calligraphy brush, she took out a pen with ink inside.
As they passed by Lillian, Zora said coldly, "Get up, fix yourself, and sit at the next table. Wait for me. Also, because you caused the wonton stall to lose business, you know what you should do, right?"
June followed her to the table. Zora spread out a very clean piece of paper and handed him the small pen. June was amazed. The pen didn't need to dip in ink to write! He looked at it with great interest.
(The confession letter read something like this:
"I, Lillian, shamelessly harassed a good man in public today, behaved improperly, spoke rudely, and now realize my mistakes. I willingly accept Zora's punishment as a warning to others. I confirm this was entirely my fault and no one else is to blame. This letter stands as proof..."
—over 500 words.)
Zora told him to write the date at the bottom and have Lillian sign it with her fingerprint.
Zora tasted the wonton soup. It was still warm. After all that fuss, she was starving! Eating breakfast was more important!
June was completely stunned by Zora's actions. Like a little wife who had never seen the world, he quietly did as he was told and gave the letter to Lillian.
Lillian had been planning to go home and make trouble for Zora.
But when she saw the confession letter, she froze.
Just as she was about to refuse, she saw Zora's cold, dangerous gaze.
Immediately, Lillian obediently signed and stamped her fingerprint.
She threw five taels of silver onto the stall.
"Boss, those two bowls of wontons are on me. The extra is compensation."
She limped away in panic.
"Hahaha!" Zora couldn't help but burst out laughing.
June quietly sat down and continued eating wontons, not asking any questions.
Zora looked at him and noticed he didn't show any emotions—not even a little happiness—so she said, "June, you speak very little."
June paused, stood up, and bowed respectfully: "Thank you, Lady Zora, for saving me."
Zora waved her hand, telling him to sit down.
"Keep eating. I don't need you to thank me. I just noticed you're really quiet and don't talk much."
"I even beat up Lillian for you, but you don't seem happy at all."
Zora said casually.
June's face grew even paler. He slowly said, "You risked offending an important family's daughter to save me. I am deeply worried. If this brings you trouble, I could never forgive myself."
"I made her write a confession. Even if she's stupid, she won't dare to mess with me again."
Zora thought June looked really troubled and full of sadness.
"June, are you in some kind of trouble? Why don't you go home? Why are you staying in an inn?"
Zora found it strange. She was usually cold to everyone, but somehow she kept helping this man. Maybe because he was good-looking? Was she that shallow?
"My mother is very sick. I went home yesterday, but my mother begged me to leave. She said she didn't want me to watch her die."
"I couldn't find a five-hundred-year-old ginseng. I couldn't save her. I deserve to die..."
Before he finished speaking, June broke down in tears.
"Five-hundred-year-old ginseng?" Zora blinked, half asking, half thinking.
She started searching through her space. She remembered she had looted a big pharmacy in the early days of the apocalypse. She had found many century-old ginsengs but never used them.
Sure enough, she found them—sealed tightly in glass cases. She flipped them over to check the dates.
One hundred years old, three hundred years, seven hundred, one thousand...
After a while, June calmed himself down. He felt he had shown too much weakness in front of his savior, which he shouldn't have done. So he stood up and prepared to leave.
"Um, let me go with you. I'll take a look at your mother. I have ginseng."
June's eyes widened in shock. He looked at Zora with disbelief and excitement.
"My lady, are you serious? You really have five-hundred-year-old ginseng? Could you sell it to me? If you help me, I will serve you forever—even give you my life without hesitation!"