CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 37: LI MANSION

Leading the way in front of Lu Qing was the governmental official who previously escorted Li Wencai home along with Fu Lu. Fu Lu did not let him leave thereafter, and he had been staying at Li Wencai’s home for several days.

He was now trembling with fear, taking each step cautiously, as if he was afraid that a wrong step might cause the "Golden-faced Judge" behind him to draw a knife and cleave him in two.

Zhu Yu noticed that throughout the journey, the mansion was eerily quiet; if not for a few servants doing some cleaning, it would have seemed like nobody lived there.

Even those servants, upon seeing a governmental official leading Lu Qing and Zhu Yu from afar, hurriedly clutched their brooms and dodged to the side in fright.

It’s often said that "when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter." Whether these servants benefited from the situation on usual days or not, over the past few days, they must have realized that the tree of Li Wencai was about to fall, so they were all trembling in fear, living in constant anxiety.

Finally, they arrived at Li Wencai’s bedroom, and from a distance, Zhu Yu saw Fu Lu standing at the door. Even without a clear view of his face, his towering and imposing physique was unmistakable.

Fu Lu had long noticed the three of them. When Lu Qing approached, he cupped his fist, bent forward, and said, "My Lord!"

"How has Mr. Li been lately?" Lu Qing asked.

"Reporting to you, my lord, I have instructed the household cook to prepare meals in various styles for Mr. Li daily, ensuring that he is not disturbed by outsiders. He is doing quite well," Fu Lu replied seriously.

"Very good," Lu Qing said to Fu Lu in a low voice unique to him when wearing the golden mask, "Since that is the case, I will not disturb Mr. Li’s recuperation.

You must stay vigilant and ensure no one disturbs Mr. Li here."

"Understood!" Fu Lu replied decisively.

The volume of their conversation was evidently enough for the people inside the room to hear.

Through the papered window behind Fu Lu, Zhu Yu vaguely saw a shadow moving inside, as if Li Wencai wanted to come out after hearing Lu Qing’s voice.

Lu Qing saw it too, but he did not hesitate and promptly turned away from the door, giving instructions to Fu Lu as he walked and then turning back to tell the governmental official, "Ask the servants of the Li Family to prepare a side courtyard."

The governmental official dared not delay for a moment, promptly responding and running to find the servants at the Li Mansion.

Zhu Yu heard a door opening behind her, and it seemed Li Wencai was murmuring something under his breath.

Lu Qing’s steps showed no signs of stopping, and Zhu Yu only heard Fu Lu say, "Mr. Li, please return inside to rest."

Being inexplicably sent back home and forcibly confined in his room for recuperation, without knowing what was happening outside,

Under such circumstances, Li Wencai actually managing to rest well would truly be seeing a ghost.

He must have been tossing and turning in his once extremely comfortable bedroom these past few days, unable to eat or sleep well, sitting on pins and needles.

Yet Zhu Yu could not muster any sympathy.

It wasn’t long before the servants at Li Wencai’s house had prepared a quiet side courtyard for them. The place was quite spacious, with vines climbing over the low walls, and clusters of small flowers hanging from the moon gate, creating an unusual sort of charm.

Sadly, staying here would probably bring them no delight at all.

Zhu Yu stayed in the room next to Lu Qing’s. She went in to have a look, and when she came back out, she saw Rune hurrying out of Lu Qing’s room. Seeing Zhu Yu, he stopped in his tracks, "Second Young Lord!"

"What are you up to?" Zhu Yu asked.

"My lord has instructed me to bring the second master of the Lu Family here for questioning," Rune replied, "He suggests you take this opportunity to rest for a while. I will return shortly!"

Zhu Yu’s cheek twitched slightly, and she nodded to Rune.

That’s good, to take the opportunity to rest for a while...

She had already been resting for several days at the Qingshui County Government...

In the past, when things got busy, there was neither day nor night, and she longed for a day of leisure, doing nothing, just quietly staying alone.

Yet when she finally could quietly be by herself, a strange sense of panic and indescribable confusion arose, leaving her momentarily unsure of who she was, what day it was, or whether she truly existed in this world.

There was a small pavilion in the courtyard, and Zhu Yu sat on a stone bench inside the pavilion. As long as she wasn’t indoors, she always wore the leather mask for safety; it was fine for short periods, but after a while, it felt stifling, with the leather sticking to her face, making it uncomfortable.

In the pavilion, away from the sun, she was more comfortable.

A light leather mask felt uncomfortable after wearing it for a long time, and Lu Qing’s heavy golden mask was worn from morning till now, which must have been incredibly uncomfortable.

On the surface, it appeared to be honor and trust, but beneath that, it felt like a heavy shackle...

As she pondered, Zhu Yu’s peripheral vision caught sight of the vine on the low wall swaying, not appearing to move in the wind.

Then, a head with coiled hair like a snail appeared among the vine gaps on the wall.

Then came a bright and smooth forehead, two eyebrows, and a pair of sparkling eyes...

Their eyes met those behind Zhu Yu’s mask, and both parties froze for a moment.

The outside wall suddenly erupted in a flurry of chaotic sounds, and the coiled head that peeked over the wall disappeared, with footsteps receding into the distance.

Zhu Yu felt uneasy and hurried to Lu Qing’s place. He was sitting inside the room, waiting for Rune to bring over the second master of the Lu Family, and he looked over at Zhu Yu’s anxious entry with some confusion.

Zhu Yu quickly informed Lu Qing of her sighting of someone sneakily climbing the wall, expecting him to be vigilant. To her surprise, he chuckled lightly after hearing it.

"No worries," he waved to Zhu Yu, gesturing for her to sit beside him, "A ’clumsy thief’ whom even you can easily spot won’t be capable of doing much harm, not worth our attention."

These words made Zhu Yu feel somewhat uncomfortable, as if she had been looked down upon.

However, she had no retort, because in terms of hearing and vision, not to mention Lu Qing, even Rune or Fu Lu could outmatch her significantly.

So it somehow made sense for Lu Qing not to be too concerned about the person climbing the wall.

Soon after, Rune returned, followed by a man in a round-neck robe with small sleeves, wearing a scholar’s cap, pale and beardless.

This person had a weak appearance, his steps unsteady as he hurried to keep up with Rune. Rushing due to urgency, his feet tangled, and he nearly fell to the ground.

Yet, he paid no mind to his awkwardness, straightening his tilting scholar’s cap while trying to catch up.

Rune arrived first at the doorway, cupped his fists to Lu Qing and Zhu Yu sitting inside, and said, "My Lord, the Lu Family housekeeper’s younger brother has been brought."

The man in white rushed to the doorway, and not daring to cross the threshold, immediately knelt outside with a plop, prostrating himself on the ground, "Student Lu Jingxing, greets the Lord Imperial Censor!"

"Lu Jingxing, do you know why I summoned you today?" Lu Qing asked sternly.

Lu Jingxing trembled on the ground, "My Lord calls this commoner, wishing to settle accounts for the Lu Family’s past acts of bullying and monopolizing in Qingshui County."

"You do speak frankly; it seems your studying of the Holy Books was not in vain."

Lu Jingxing replied in a quivering voice, "If I claim ignorance, I would indeed be deceiving you, my lord.

All the places I have lived, and the clothes and shoes I wear, the books I have read over the years, and many of the family’s relatives, are all funded by my brother’s earnings from running the brewery business.

Though I have never been involved in the brewery’s affairs, I cannot in good conscience say I am unrelated to these matters.

However, my brother has been missing for many days, neither seen alive nor dead. While our family and relatives are not in mortal danger, we have suffered greatly, losing the sense of smell overnight, and even taste has vanished entirely, the family’s brewery turning foul, making business impossible.

Now, even if I wish to atone for my brother’s sins and make amends, I am powerless.

Today, since the Lord Imperial Censor has summoned me, I am willing to, according to the laws of Jin Country, take punishment in place of my brother; please, handle my case!"

Saying this, Lu Jingxing knocked his head forcefully against the ground with a thud, exerting considerable strength, with no falsehood.