Chapter 31 (Revised)

Don't come looking for him again.

On the way here, Lu Ping kept urging Aunt Zhao to think of a way to appease her father, but Aunt Zhao remained unmoved.

She raised her head, looking up at the azure sky above as she walked.

Although it was winter, the sunlight was clean and bright, and she felt quite dazed.

As a child, she also lived in a large courtyard that stretched as far as the eye could see.

She liked to bask in the sun, but her mother wouldn't allow it, so she would sneak out and look at the square sky.

Every time she returned to her room, her mother scolded her, saying she was restless. Her mother ordered a maid to slap her palm, but then hugged her and cried. She couldn't understand, only feeling a burning pain in her palm.

Later, she kept a parrot, which her older brother liked and took away. She argued with him, but was scolded in return.

She secretly shed tears at night, and slowly realized that her mother was just her father's concubine, and she was just an illegitimate daughter who was not valued by the family, not even as good as her older and younger brothers.

She gradually became heavy-hearted, and at a young age she learned to read people's expressions and began to plan carefully, going to great lengths to climb up to the Lu family, even if she could only become a concubine.

She tried every means to please Master Lu, and finally thought she had won her husband's favor, only to find that it was all in vain.

After the First Madam gave birth to Lu Qin, Master Lu completely ignored Lu Ming and only had eyes for Lu Qin.

She was insanely jealous of Lu Qin because, as a daughter, she had never received the same favoritism from her father as Lu Qin had during her childhood.

She was also jealous of the First Madam, because her children would follow the same path as her stepmother.

She had painstakingly planned for years, quietly eliminating the First Madam, and had waited until today, thinking she could finally get rid of Lu Qin as well...

But this brat caught them completely off guard.

Thinking of this, Aunt Zhao gave a self-deprecating laugh, which was quite bitter.

Originally, she wanted to find an opportunity to make Lu Qin lose her child and lose one of her support, but unexpectedly, Lu Qin took the drastic step herself.

Even tigers don't eat their cubs, let alone Lu Qin. She had no reason to kill her own flesh and blood for revenge. After much thought, she finally understood the deeper meaning behind it.

It's likely that Lu Qin's stomach was empty from beginning to end; it was all a setup to throw her into disarray.

She was misled and preoccupied with planning for her two children, only wanting to get rid of Lu Qin's unborn child. Little did she know that Lu Qin was actually there to seek revenge on her.

Lu Qin must have been absolutely certain that she was going to make such a big fuss, knowing that her journey was fraught with danger.

It's a pity that the situation she had painstakingly built up collapsed like a building falling apart because of her momentary impatience.

What she longed for ultimately trapped her for life.

...

As soon as Aunt Zhao arrived, Ling'er brought Lu Hua and the bandit leader with her.

Because it involved Lu Qin's family's private affairs, Hao Jingshi made an excuse to leave, saying he was going to the banquet hall to give some instructions.

Following Lu Qin's prior instructions, the bandit leader meticulously recounted the events of Madam Lu's fall off the cliff years ago and produced the silver notes that Aunt Zhao had given him.

"Master Lu, this is the silver note that Aunt Zhao gave me back then. She coerced and bribed me to lead my brothers to kill Madam Lu, saying that she would double the reward if we succeeded. I... I deserve to die..."

After hearing the whole story, Master Lu was extremely disappointed in Aunt Zhao and questioned her, "The evidence is conclusive, with witnesses and physical evidence. What else do you have to say?"

“Master,” Aunt Zhao looked at him pitifully, “there’s a lot of misunderstanding here. Let’s talk about it back at the manor.”

"How dare you return to the Lu family?" Master Lu roared. "The Lu family will not tolerate you. Get out of the Lu family today!"

Aunt Zhao knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down her face: "Master, the Hao family relatives are all in the banquet hall. If this matter blows up, it will also bring shame to the Lu family."

That makes sense. Master Lu hesitated for a moment and suppressed the urge to scold her.

He turned to Lu Qin and said, "Qin'er, take good care of yourself. I'll deal with this matter when I get back."

Lu Qin looked at her father's tired eyes, nodded, and did not press him further.

Aunt Zhao has been with Father for many years, and now that her hypocritical mask has been torn off, Father will probably not be able to accept it for a while.

She said, "Father, please take care of yourself. I will definitely visit you when I have time."

"Qin'er, take care of yourself too." Master Lu patted her shoulder affectionately, then stood up.

He took a few steps, looked down at Aunt Zhao who was still kneeling on the ground: "Family scandals should not be aired in public. Come back to the banquet hall with me. After this family banquet, we will settle this score."

"..."

Seeing her father turn away in a huff, Lu Ping quickly bent down to help Aunt Zhao up.

Lu Qin slowly lay down, watching Aunt Zhao straighten her legs one by one. Her face darkened, a stark contrast to her pitiful appearance when she was pleading.

"Lu Qin, you're really something," she said calmly. "To avenge your mother, you've completely fooled the Hao family."

Lu Qin looked at her innocently: "What are you talking about, Aunt?"

As she spoke, she suddenly covered her lips with one hand and deliberately said, "No, perhaps I shouldn't call you Aunt anymore. Since you have been expelled from the Lu family, you are no longer a member of the Lu family and are not worthy to speak to me."

Aunt Zhao's face turned extremely ugly. She pointed at her, sneered, and walked straight out the door without saying a word.

Lu Ping followed closely behind, and before leaving, she turned back and glared at her hatefully.

Lu Qin glared back and spat fiercely at their retreating backs.

...

After Aunt Zhao left, Lu Qin lay on the bed, feeling quite pleased with herself, recalling the scene that had just unfolded.

This is truly a highlight of my life. I've gotten rid of my biggest grudge, solved my in-laws' pressure to have a baby, and no longer have to deal with the nagging from all my relatives. It's so liberating!

She tossed and turned in bed, and soon heard footsteps. She quickly pulled the covers over herself and pretended to be asleep.

She heard a rustling sound beside her ear. The person seemed to be bending down to observe her, so close that their breaths mingled.

Lu Qin was afraid of being exposed, so she closed her eyes nervously, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong.

Sure enough, a moment later, she heard Hao Jingshi let out a series of mischievous laughs through his nose.

"Stop pretending, it's me."

Hao Jingshi pinched her cheek with two fingertips. "Get up. I made you a bowl of ginger soup. Drink it while it's hot to warm you up."

Lu Qin scoffed, opened her eyes, sat up abruptly, and took the steaming bowl: "My husband is so thoughtful, he must be hiding something and waiting to set a trap for me."

Upon hearing this, Hao Jingshi made a gesture as if to snatch the bowl back: "Then don't drink it, you're biting the hand that feeds you."

"It's so cold outside, and Aunt Zhao pushed you into the water. You're bound to catch a cold. If you get a fever in the middle of the night, don't cry and ask me to treat you."

Seeing him reach out, Lu Qin nimbly turned her body, protecting the bowl as she drank it all in one gulp.

Then, she shoved the empty bowl back into Hao Jingshi's hand and stuck out her tongue: "She didn't push me, I jumped myself. A woman who isn't ruthless won't have a stable position, you know?"

Hao Jingshi couldn't understand what she was muttering in the second half of her sentence, so he just threw the bowl aside, pulled up the blanket and wrapped her up.

“You are quite carefree. Just now, Aunt Zhao said in public that you were faking your pregnancy. Luckily, I covered for you. I don’t know if Father and Mother have become suspicious.”

"Let her struggle as she pleases." Lu Qin shrank deeper into the blankets, looking like a chicken roll. "She's not a doctor, nobody will believe her. With my husband covering for me, things won't be exposed."

"Here we go again." Hao Jingshi glanced at her. "You use me as a shield when you're doing bad things, and you use me as a shield when you're afraid of doing bad things. You're quite shrewd."

Lu Qin immediately cheered, "Yay! I knew my husband would protect me!"

Hao Jingshi: "...Did I say that, young master?"

Lu Qin: "Because my husband is stubborn but soft-hearted and loves to say the opposite of what he means, what he just said meant that he agreed."

"..." Seeing her act shamelessly, Hao Jingshi was used to it and nodded repeatedly.

“In that case, I will do as you say, Madam. However, as a way of repaying you… I also have a request that you must grant.”

"What?"

"Ever since we got married, I've either been sleeping in the side room or on a makeshift bed on the floor. I'm thinking..."

Hao Jingshi spoke softer and softer, and couldn't help but glance at Lu Qin to see her reaction.

"Does my husband want to sleep in the bed?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Qin understood immediately and generously replied, "No problem. My husband always protects me, and I am not ungrateful. If my husband hadn't already married me, I would have definitely given myself to him. What is such a small matter as giving up the bed? Then tonight, my husband will sleep on the bed, and I will sleep on the floor."

"Uh." Hao Jingshi's eyes quickly glanced at the bed again, as if measuring it back and forth. "Actually, this bed is not small. It can fit two quilts."

"Why put two quilts here?" Lu Qin looked down as well.

"Then put a bed there," Hao Jingshi said, as if speaking to her, yet also as if talking to himself. "If Madam leans against me, she can be covered up."

"Hmm?" Should I lean on him?

Lu Qin then understood that he wanted to share a bed with her, and the tender dream she had before suddenly came to mind.

She blushed slightly, clutched the corner of the blanket, and stammered, "Husband, perhaps..."

"It's settled then."

Hao Jingshi blurted out as if making a decision, cutting off her second half of the sentence, afraid that she would not agree.

He never mentioned it before, nor did he want to force it, and he was too embarrassed to say it directly.

But now, Lu Qin is increasingly clinging to him and teasing him, and he is gradually getting used to this intimacy, even wanting to be together every moment and never be apart.

He longed to sleep in the arms of his beloved, and having waited a long time for this opportunity, he naturally couldn't let it slip away easily.

After Hao Jingshi finished speaking, his face flushed again.

He dared not look her in the eye, so he imitated her and said, "Because Madam is always full of nonsense and likes to play dumb, she must understand and agree now."

...

Upon learning of Lu Qin's sudden loss of her child, Master Hao was also plunged into grief, and what should have been a family banquet turned into a mourning for the child.

Seeing that the two heads of the household had no appetite, the Hao family's relatives also lost interest and stepped forward to comfort them, and the gathering eventually ended hastily.

The next day, Ling'er happily brought back news from outside, saying that Master Lu had divorced Aunt Zhao and kicked her out of the house, and that he would never see her again.

Lu Qin was overjoyed and immediately ordered Lu Hua to release Lu Ming, leaving him to fend for himself.

A few days later, news spread through the streets that Aunt Zhao had fallen from her horse and died. It was said that she had encountered a group of masked thieves on her way back to her parents' home and was unfortunately killed. Lu Ping was not spared either.

The incident was so sudden that Lu Qin was still a little frightened. When she chatted with Hao Jingshi, she said, "Life is truly unpredictable. I didn't want her dead, but she died anyway."

Hao Jingshi said nonchalantly, "She deserved it."

Seeing that he showed no surprise, Lu Qin felt something was off. She rolled her eyes and suddenly caught sight of Xuan Lan hanging upside down in the tree, resting with his eyes closed.

She seemed to understand what was going on.

Seeing Aunt Zhao's tragic end, the bandits all assumed it was Lu Qin's doing and became even more fearful. So they begged her to spare their lives, saying they could learn to sing and tell stories, live in the Lu family, perform for Master Lu to entertain him, cook and do laundry, and take care of him in his old age as atonement.

Lu Qin thought that her father was indeed lonely in the mansion, so she agreed. She even specially ordered her secret guards to stay in the Lu mansion to protect her father and prevent any unforeseen events.

The bandit leader was extremely grateful and immediately summoned dozens of his men down from the mountain. They moved into the Lu family's residence in a grand procession, kowtowed to Master Lu, and announced that they would henceforth be called the "Lu Family Gang."

Lu Qin was both amused and exasperated.

She suddenly gained a group of followers; it seems her skill in winning them over is truly remarkable.