I Am This Type of Woman

Ban Hua and Ban Heng froze in unison. They turned their heads and saw a man dressed in a plain brocade robe and a silver crown, standing a few steps away with two guards. He looked like he had just emerged from the forest.

Ban Hua calmly handed the shovel to Ban Heng, stood up, and patted the dirt off her robe. However, because her hands were covered in mud, the more she patted, the dirtier it became. She simply gave up and performed a man's equal-rank salute towards the newcomer: "Greetings, Cheng'an Bo. My younger brother and I are playing a treasure-hunting game."

"Treasure-hunting game?" Rong Xia looked at the dirt covering the siblings from head to toe. If not for the intricate and ornate embroidery on their riding outfits, they wouldn't have looked like noble children at all.

"My younger brother is young. After reading a few storybooks, he wanted to emulate those virtuous predecessors who do good deeds," Ban Hua threw a "shut up" look at Ban Heng. "For example, having destined people find the silver he buried and escape poverty and illness, things like that."

Rong Xia's expression became somewhat complicated for a moment, but he quickly smiled and pulled out a handkerchief, offering it to Ban Hua: "Your younger brother is truly kind."

"Thank you, but no need." Ban Hua lifted her sleeve and roughly wiped her face. Such a small handkerchief, what could it possibly clean? However, this Rong Xia was truly handsome. Even up close, he was so perfect. Shen Yu, the one who had recently broken off their engagement, didn't have such good skin, nor such a straight nose.

Seeing that Ban Hua didn't accept his handkerchief, Rong Xia smiled faintly and put it away: "Do you need our help?"

"Forget it, this kind of thing has to be done secretly. If someone finds out, it won't be mysterious anymore." Ban Hua kicked the two bags on the ground and said to Ban Heng, "Go call the guards to clean this up."

"Oh." Seeing that he could escape this awkward atmosphere, Ban Heng immediately jumped up from the ground and turned to leave. Being caught doing such a foolish thing, even if he didn't care about losing face, he felt so embarrassed in this situation that he wanted to bury his face in the hole he had just dug.

"Disturbing Cheng'an Bo's scenic enjoyment was truly unintentional. This young woman will take her leave now." After the guards came and took away the two sandbags filled with silver, Ban Hua cupped her hands towards Rong Xia. "Farewell."

Rong Xia bowed apologetically: "I have disturbed your and your younger brother's playful mood. Please forgive me."

"You're too polite. Then… you continue?" If she were dressed in her usual finery, Ban Hua would be willing to spend more time with a handsome man like Rong Xia. However, she was currently wearing a man's hairstyle and covered in dirt. Speaking another word to anyone in this state was an insult to her beauty.

"Walk slowly, Young Lady." Rong Xia performed an equal-rank salute to Ban Hua. Ban Hua had no choice but to return the gesture, turned around, kicked some dirt into the hole she had dug, and trotted away.

The forest returned to its tranquility. Rong Xia looked at the hole in front of him, chuckled softly, and then his tone turned cold: "Have you found out?"

"Reporting back to Lord Bo, Lady Ban and Heir Ban did indeed come up the mountain unintentionally," a middle-aged man emerged from the bushes behind him. "It is said that these siblings are renowned troublemakers in the capital, and they haven't done anything proper on a daily basis."

"Lady Ban?" Rong Xia thought for a moment. "The one whose engagement was broken off recently?"

"Yes, that's her." The middle-aged man thought to himself, which family could raise children who bury silver for fun? In the entire capital, apart from Marquis Jingting's Residence, it would be hard to find another.

Rong Xia walked to the side of the mountain path and watched the two siblings slowly descending the mountainside. His tone was unreadable: "Their sibling relationship seems quite good."

"They are biological siblings born of the same parents, so naturally, their relationship wouldn't be bad." After Rong Xia's attendant replied, he suddenly remembered certain things from the past and immediately fell silent.

"Sister, the lie you told just now wasn't convincing at all," Ban Heng grumbled. "As a renowned troublemaker in the capital, how could I do such a boring thing?"

"If you're so capable, you do it," Ban Hua took the handkerchief handed to her by the female guard and wiped her face clean. "I've never been so embarrassed in my life."

Ban Heng muttered softly: "But you can't make me take the blame for this."

"Have you heard the saying, 'One's hand is short when one takes money'?" Seeing Ban Heng's unhappy expression, Ban Hua flipped the handkerchief over and wiped the mud off his face, coaxing him softly, "Alright, I had no other choice. I couldn't let him suspect our motives."

Ban Heng took the handkerchief and roughly rubbed it on his face: "What was he doing in the forest so early in the morning? Admiring the scenery?"

"These elegant gentlemen inevitably have some eccentricities. Maybe he wanted to stay on the mountain at night to watch the stars and the moon and compose some poetry and songs," Ban Hua glared at Ban Heng. "Why do you care?"

Ban Heng looked around and whispered in Ban Hua's ear: "You said the new Emperor in your dream looked good and wasn't surnamed Jiang. Could it be Cheng'an Bo?"

"How is that possible?" Ban Hua shook her head. "This kind of refined gentleman doesn't seem like someone who would do such a thing."

"Appearances can be deceiving. We can't rule out the possibility just because he's elegant and refined," Ban Heng snorted. "Those noble consorts in the palace, which one isn't gentle and charming, a thousand times charming? But what their true nature is, perhaps even they themselves have forgotten."

"Who could pretend to be a gentleman for so many years? Wouldn't they go crazy?" Ban Hua thought about it and felt that this possibility was unlikely. "Those beauties in the palace are only gentle and charming in front of His Majesty. Cheng'an Bo's literary talent and refined demeanor aren't something that can be faked."

"That's true," Ban Heng nodded. "If I had to be so restrained, I wouldn't be able to stand it for more than three days."

The siblings rode side by side. Many people were queuing at the city gate, waiting to enter. Nobles of Ban Hua's status didn't need to queue like this. Sitting on her horse, she faintly heard the sound of a baby crying.

Following the sound, she saw a young woman dressed in coarse cloth holding a one or two-year-old child. Her face was full of anxiety, but no matter how she tried to soothe the child, it wouldn't stop crying. She was so anxious that tears were about to fall.

Ban Hua lowered her raised whip. She snorted softly, dismounted, and walked up to the woman: "What's wrong with your child?"

The young woman saw that the young lady in front of her was dressed as a young man, wearing a brocade robe and boots embroidered with phoenix patterns and inlaid with pearls. Guessing that she was of noble status, she thought that her child's crying had disturbed her and apologized repeatedly: "I'm sorry, I disturbed you. I'll soothe him right away."

Ban Hua saw that the child's cheeks were flushed and his lips were an unhealthy color, so she said: "Is the child sick?"

The somewhat haggard-looking woman nodded, tears welling up in her eyes but not daring to fall.

Ban Hua looked at the long queue ahead, reached out and touched the child's forehead. It was alarmingly hot.

"Come with me," Ban Hua raised her voice when she saw the woman hesitating. "Hurry up."

The woman didn't dare to resist any longer. Hugging the child tightly, she timidly followed behind Ban Hua. She had heard from the villagers that some noble ladies in the city had bad tempers. If someone was careless enough to offend them, being whipped was a light punishment; being thrown into prison for a period of time was also possible.

She wasn't afraid of being punished, but what about her child?

While the woman was lost in thought, Ban Hua handed her token to the city gate guard. The guard saluted her and, without even looking at the woman holding the child, let their group pass.

"Alright, you can take the child to see a doctor yourself." Ban Hua mounted her horse, patted its rump, and the horse trotted to catch up with Ban Heng.

The woman was stunned for a moment before realizing that she had simply encountered a kind-hearted noble. She looked down at her crying child, took a deep breath, and thought, even a noble had come to help, her child would definitely survive.

"Sister, where did you go just now?" Ban Heng, seeing her catch up, turned his head and glanced back, but there was nothing unusual.

"Went to do a good deed." After Ban Hua said this, she saw Ban Heng looking at her with suspicion.

"What does doing a good deed have to do with you?" Ban Heng knew his older sister very well. Her greatest hobbies every day were eating, drinking, and dressing up. She ate the most exquisite food and wore the finest clothes. She was usually too busy showing off her new clothes and jewelry to have time for good deeds.

Ban Hua rolled her eyes, but even when a beauty rolls her eyes, it's still beautiful. So, when she made this rude gesture, it appeared charming and cute.

However, this scene, when it fell into Shen Yu's eyes, wasn't so cute. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that the siblings hadn't noticed him and hide to the side, but Ban Heng called out to him first.

"Shen Yu!" Ban Heng pointed at Shen Yu. "You stop right there!"

"This humble official greets Heir Ban," Shen Yu glanced at Ban Hua on horseback. "Greetings, Lady Ban."

"Oh, it's not your day off today. Why aren't you on duty, Scholar Shen?" Ban Heng flicked his whip and glanced at the woman beside Shen Yu, sneering, "I wonder what kind of beauty she is, tsk."

"A woman's beauty lies in her bones, not her skin. Heir Ban and this humble official have different tastes. I have nothing to say." Shen Yu took a step back. "Please, you two."

Even if Ban Heng wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, he could still tell that Shen Yu was implying that his sister was only beautiful on the surface. His face immediately changed with anger.

"Crack!" A whip lashed across Shen Yu's body. Shen Yu groaned in pain, and the woman beside him screamed in fright.

"I hate men who speak in a roundabout way the most," Ban Hua lashed out with the whip again. Shen Yu, a scholar, hadn't even reacted before the whip landed on him again. "If you pointed at this Lady and said, 'This woman, apart from her looks, is worthless,' I could still respect you as a man. Now, saying a few sarcastic words and putting on a sanctimonious appearance, who are you trying to fool?"

"Lady Ban, this humble official is still an official of the court. You whipping this humble official in public is going too far." Shen Yu glanced at the surrounding crowd watching the commotion, feeling embarrassed.

"Hmph," Ban Hua lifted her chin slightly. "This Lady is just this willful. What can you do about it?"

"You shrew…"

"Crack!"

Another lash landed on him.

"Although pointing at me and cursing would make you seem more manly, I still have to whip you. A dignified Scholar, actually insulting a woman in public, is this the demeanor of a scholar?"

Author's Note:

Ban Hua: I'm courting death, I enjoy it, all enemies are just air.

ʕ◉ᴥ◉ʔ

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