CHAPTER 33: CHAPTER 33: DIRE NEWS

Wen Wan bought a crispy pastry and an osmanthus cake at a pastry shop called "Qinxiang Garden," and wrapped them in oil paper.

The umbrella stood outside the shop, rain droplets flowed down the top, leaving a small puddle on the bluestone floor.

It was still raining outside, with a layer of water accumulating on the ground, making it wet and slippery.

She held the pastries in one hand and an umbrella in the other, walking towards a study room not far ahead.

Song Wei was still in the study room picking out ink and paper.

...

Lu Yanqing had just chased away a few young men who were chattering by his ear, stood by the window looking out, suddenly a graceful figure caught his eye.

The woman wore a light green spring blouse; the fabric was not considered top-notch, but her graceful figure made up for it. Through the rain and mist, her face under the oil-paper umbrella appeared even more ethereal.

The small town didn’t have much foot traffic to begin with, and the continuous rain had made many people stay inside, unwilling to come out.

On the quiet street, she walked slowly, the oil-paper umbrella above her head like a blooming white camellia, attracting attention.

Lu Yanqing squinted his eyes, turned, and headed downstairs.

...

At the study room entrance, Wen Wan closed her umbrella, gently shook off the rain droplets, and from afar saw a richly dressed boy about twelve or thirteen years old coming this way.

He wasn’t holding an umbrella and was walking quickly.

Without any hesitation, Wen Wan immediately turned around, entered the shop, and grabbed Song Wei’s hand, pulling him out.

In a sudden premonition, she felt the boy would soon have someone forcibly take her away, and Song Wei would get seriously injured trying to save her.

Wen Wan didn’t know this person, but since the premonition was bad, it was clear the other party wasn’t a good person. They, as ordinary commoners, couldn’t afford to provoke such nobles and could only hide.

Song Wei had just picked out the paper and ink blocks and hadn’t paid yet when Wen Wan pulled him out. He looked confused, "What’s going on?"

Wen Wan’s small palm gripped his wrist tightly, preventing him from turning back. With the pastries in her other hand, she couldn’t do much else but use her eyes to gesture towards the oil-paper umbrella resting against the door, indicating he should pick it up.

Song Wei bent over, picked up the oil-paper umbrella, and opened it.

Wen Wan had no intention of explaining and directly led him in the opposite direction of the boy.

Lu Yanqing rushed over through the rain but ended up with nothing. He turned to look at the departing couple, furrowing his brows tightly.

If it wasn’t because he felt the woman looked familiar, he wouldn’t have run through the rain from such a distance, only to let her escape!

——

Once they were out of the street and into a small alley sheltered from the rain, Wen Wan finally stopped.

Glancing at Song Wei by her side, due to their hasty escape earlier, he had held the umbrella mostly over her, leaving his left shoulder wet.

Wen Wan hurriedly used her sleeve to wipe him down.

Song Wei held her hand and said there was no need.

Wen Wan was worried he might fall ill from getting wet in the rain.

Song Wei smiled warmly, "I am healthy and not that fragile."

After saying that, he couldn’t help but ask about her unusual behavior earlier, "Why did you suddenly pull me away?"

Wen Wan smiled shyly and lied, saying she thought the shop’s things were too expensive and they could buy them somewhere else.

"The truth?" Song Wei smiled faintly at her, a charm of a mature man in his smile.

Even though they shared a bed every night, Wen Wan still found herself blushing and her heart racing.

Seeing his young wife’s embarrassed appearance, the amusement in Song Wei’s eyes deepened. He didn’t pursue her "misstep," and indeed they went to another shop to buy cheaper ink and paper, then the couple went together to visit Song Yuanbao at the town school.

——

Lu Yanqing returned to the private room and quickly ordered a servant to prepare hot water for a bath.

He had just taken off his wet clothes and gotten into the bath when one of the people he had driven away earlier returned, pushed open the door, and anxiously said to the person behind the screen, "Young Marquis, the mine has completely collapsed, the workers inside are all buried."

Lu Yanqing, in the Capital, was a notorious second-generation rich kid. Although he had seen death, it was all those from lowly background, like slaves and servants. A mass death of this scale was new to him.

After all, Young Master Lu was only twelve, his life experiences precluded him from having the emotional resilience of adults.

As soon as Cheng Fei finished speaking, Lu Yanqing’s face immediately turned pale.

Not hearing a response for a while, Cheng Fei became even more anxious and hurriedly asked, "Young Marquis, what do we do now?"

Lu Yanqing took a deep breath, his eyes darkly asked, "How many died?"

Cheng Fei shook his head, "I rushed over at once, I don’t know yet."

Lu Yanqing thought for a moment, his expression turned ruthless, "Anyone confirmed buried, wipe their names from the register and create a new one with only the living."

Cheng Fei trembled, "Is the Young Marquis trying to remove all evidence?"

Lu Yanqing sneered, "As long as I don’t admit it, those who died didn’t work under me, their deaths have nothing to do with me."

"But what if they report to the government..."

"If the Ningzhou Prefect and the County Magistrate dare to handle this, they can say goodbye to their careers!"

Cheng Fei thought it over and realized the Young Marquis was right.

The Da Huan Mountain Coal Mine was illegal to begin with. If the Ningzhou Prefect and Pingjiang County Magistrate dared to accept such a case, and it got out, the court would hold them responsible first. If the situation spiraled, those two would end up in trouble.

——

After the rain, the road was muddy and slippery.

Song Wei and his wife returned home from town by evening; the rain hadn’t stopped but had intensified.

Even though they wore raincoats while riding the ox cart, they were still half-wet, and as soon as they got home, they went to change clothes.

Song Fang had cooked dinner and was arranging the bowls and chopsticks in the kitchen.

Suddenly, the tightly shut courtyard door was banged upon, the sound urgent and hurried amidst the rain.

Over on the west side of the house, Song Wei was still changing clothes.

Seeing no one came out to answer the door, Wen Wan opened her umbrella and ran over to open the door, only to be stunned by the sight of her father.

Father Wen was drenched, covered in yellow mud from head to toe, and who knows how many times he had fallen along the way, looking extremely disheveled.

Wen Wan hurriedly pulled her father inside, suggesting he take a hot bath and change clothes before discussing anything.

Yet Father Wen stood still, as if his feet were leaden, his eyes bloodshot, a cloud of sadness on his face.

"Wanwan, father is sorry to you." He wiped his face, choking up, "It was I who went to find your father-in-law to go to the mine. But I didn’t expect the coal mine to be illegal, and once we got there, there was no daily wage of fifty coins.

Those bastards didn’t regard us as humans. Whoever worked slower got whipped. Both your father-in-law and I are elderly and can’t bear to work day and night like that. Last night I discussed with him, planning to find a chance to secretly escape, but I didn’t expect the mine collapsed this morning, and your father-in-law..."

Wen Wan’s complexion changed drastically, clutching Father Wen’s sleeve, signaling him to finish his words.

"The mine collapsed, and your father-in-law... didn’t make it out."

As soon as Father Wen finished speaking, a "clang" was heard. At some point, Granny Song, who had been standing in the back with a basin of water, had her hand falter, and the basin fell to the ground.