Qinling wasnât originally called "Qinling." As Zhu Pingniangâs eldest daughter, she suffered from the burden of the names Zhu Pingniang gave her... Similarly, she bore a very embarrassing name.
Her current name is one she chose herself.
Xu Changâan actually detected something was off quite early on.
He visited Qinlingâs residence, which was a place imbued with a scholarly atmosphere, simple and clean, permeated with the rich scent of ink, with walls filled with calligraphy.
At that time, Xu Changâan felt puzzled, because among all the paintings and calligraphy on the walls, the most conspicuous, positioned centrally like stars surrounding the moon, was not a famous piece or a masterpiece, but merely two words.
[Qinling]
Xu Changâan found it odd; Qinling actually placed her name in the center of her room?
In the countless pieces of art, putting oneâs name centrally â what kind of action is this?
Calling it narcissistic would be an understatement.
However, Xu Changâan realized that his Shishu Qinling was absolutely not a narcissistic person after spending time with her, so he thought the name "Qinling" had been written by Zhu Pingniang, which meant Zhou Pingniang had an esteemed place in her heart, and thus he did not pay much attention to it.
But if you told Xu Changâan about this now, he would immediately understand.
What esteem?
Qinling was clearly using the most conspicuous method to tell herself that she was no longer that certain someone with an embarrassing name; now her name was Qinling.
Putting such large characters in the center was to wash away the dark history Zhu Pingniang brought during childhood.
Looking at it this way, placing her name in such a prominent spot is very normal.
Xu Changâan should understand this feeling, after all... his current name is also chosen by himself.
Yes, Yun Qian thought so too.
Their husbandâs karma lines are always similar to those of Xu Changâan, and if Yun Qian had to choose one, she certainly hopes these girls resemble Xu Changâan, not her.
From here, some girls emerge, for instance, those whose karma lines with Xu Changâan werenât as evident before... Qinling?
Xu Changâanâs name is self-chosen.
Qinlingâs name is also self-chosen.
So, even if thereâs similarity,
itâs not unreasonable, because Yun Qian indeed likes Qinling a lot, after all... Qinling once tried to persuade Xu Changâan to drug her, and this alone could elevate Qinlingâs status in Yun Qianâs heart by several tiers.
If Qinlingâs heart wasnât full of Zhu Pingniang, her score in Yun Qianâs heart would only be higher.
Besides Qinling, Zhu Pingniangâs name was also self-chosen, and in the future, there will be a Miss Lu with a self-chosen name too...
Thus, in Yun Qianâs current heart, the karma line involving Zhu Tongjun, a mother with two daughters, might just be bundled and delivered together?
So, she thought of Xiaohua.
Given that this mother-daughter pair each has their own surname, and since Miss Luâs name is pending, then... why canât it be Xu?
This is Yun Qianâs thought.
And so she voiced it out, without considering how Miss Lu might feel about it.
"..."
Miss Lu is very respectful towards her dear Ms. Zhu, and naturally listens to her.
Of course, dissatisfaction exists, mainly because Zhu Pingniang doesnât have any talent in naming, at least her current name is just ordinary, the kind most commonly found in a brothel.
No, even within the brothel, her name might be more garish than some tacky combinations...
Whenever her name is brought up, Miss Lu would feel so embarrassed sheâd be ashamed.
The girls at Flower Moon Building also know her taboo, hence they just call her "Steward Lu," and those daring enough may call her "Ms. Lu," with no one daring to mention her name.
Including Zhu Pingniang, she probably knows her naming skill is too lacking, so even if Miss Lu looks at her with a complaining gaze, she knows sheâs at fault.
Fortunately, with Qinling as a precedent, as long as Miss Lu enters the Immortal Sect in the future, her new life starting with... giving herself a new name would be very normal.
Miss Luâs unwillingness to share her name with Yun Qian is different from the Rowing Maiden.
The latter doesnât want to leave a trace on Yun Qian and Xu Changâanâs journey, preferring to remain as a passerby.
While Miss Lu purely finds it embarrassing.
Which woman would want her crush to know she has a gaudy name?
Especially since there are two of them...
Hence, Miss Lu adamantly refused to divulge her name.
But as Yun Qian mentioned, everyone should have a name... It would be impolite to not introduce oneself... So To prevent Yun Qian from misunderstanding, Miss Lu first explained her plight to Yun Qian, asking her not to mind her rudeness.
Once she enters the Immortal Sect and gets a lovely name, she will naturally apologize to the girl...
But what Miss Lu did not anticipate was Yun Qianâs matter-of-fact expression as she looked at her, asking if she wanted to change her surname?
"?" Miss Lu was puzzled.
Just like Qinling retained her rightful surname, even if abandoned by relatives, Miss Lu never had intentions of changing her surname.
As Ms. Zhu told her, no matter the past, itâs part of her.
Yet what confused her more were Yun Qianâs subsequent words.