Chapter 38

Do you dare to admit it?

Upon hearing the whistle, the guards rushed over and surrounded the thief.

The thief was eventually outnumbered and pinned to the ground. Xuan Lan, clutching his wound, went around to the door and kicked it open, letting the white smoke inside drift out.

"Cover your mouth and nose!"

"yes!"

The guards did as instructed and immediately split into two groups. One group tied up the thief and dragged him into the clinic, while the other group poured water on the incense stick to extinguish it.

"Where's the antidote?" Seeing Lu Qin and Hao Jingshi lying unconscious on the ground, Xuan Lan asked anxiously, "Give it to the young master and young mistress!"

"yes!"

One person fumbled to light a candle, while the other hurriedly found a bowl, dissolved the antidote in water, and gave it to the two who were lying unconscious on the ground.

The two were still embracing each other, and it took them some effort to drag them away separately.

Although they moved swiftly, the group was still somewhat affected, their heads spinning from the lingering incense. They forced themselves to walk out against the wall and shared the antidote in their bowls.

After the smoke had completely dissipated, everyone went back into the clinic and settled Lu Qin and Hao Jingshi on the floor, covering them with blankets.

After the drug took effect, the two men's eyelids twitched, and they gradually regained consciousness under the watchful eyes of a group of people.

Hao Jingshi was the first to regain his senses. He sat up shakily and looked around blankly when he realized he was in bed.

Lu Qin woke up later, holding her heavy forehead. She was stunned to see herself covered with a blanket and lying next to Hao Jingshi.

Good heavens, what's happening?!

How come they're lying here? Weren't they already done and getting ready to catch the thief?

She vaguely remembered the thief acting suspiciously, poking a small hole in the window, and then Hao Jingshi covering her mouth and nose...

Could she have been drugged?!?

Lu Qin's heart was pounding. She didn't dare to look up and face the guards directly. As if she had done something wrong, she secretly touched her clothes.

There's nothing wrong with it.

Luckily I didn't change into my pajamas, otherwise I would have been incredibly embarrassed.

Seeing the two of them lower their heads in unison, Xuan Lan seemed to understand something and dismissed the guards.

He knelt down and reported, "Young Master, Young Madam, you two were drugged and just fell into a deep sleep. It was this servant who had someone give you the antidote and carry you in."

Lu Qin silently rubbed her forehead, finally feeling relieved.

She said, "Why would a thief carry that kind of medicine when he has nothing better to do?"

"Oh. The thief is cunning, but luckily I was prepared."

Hao Jingshi muttered something along with it, his gaze wandering around. As he looked around, he suddenly caught sight of Xuan Lan's sleeve, which was stained with blood from a wound.

He fixed his gaze, but the room was dimly lit, making it difficult to see clearly: "What's going on?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Qin inadvertently raised her head, her eyes following where Hao Jingshi was looking. Xuan Lan also lowered her head, and seeing the two of them staring at her forearm, she replied, "Oh, this servant was stabbed by a thief, but it's nothing serious."

As he spoke, he turned his back to the two men, deftly rolled up his sleeves, tore them in half with his teeth, and hastily tied a knot over the wound.

Seeing this, Hao Jingshi called him to sit at the counter, and then got up to light a few more candles, preparing to apply medicine and bandages to him.

"Young Master, you mustn't do that." Seeing him bend down to search for the medicine powder again, Xuan Lan quickly stood up. "Young Master, please sit down. This servant will do it myself."

"Don't move." Hao Jingshi pressed him down to sit. "If you say another word, I'll poison you."

Xuan Lan had no choice but to obediently shut his mouth.

Hao Jingshi reached out and untied the knot on Xuan Lan's arm. He glanced up and saw Lu Qin frowning as she stared at Xuan Lan's bloodied forearm. He then asked her, "Madam, does it look good?"

"Um?"

Lu Qin then realized that it was impolite for the man to be bare-armed at this time, so she obediently turned her head away, intending to face the wall to avoid it.

Suddenly, she noticed a black-robed figure, resembling a sewer rat, sitting in the corner, and was startled.

The man was bound like a pretzel, his lower face completely covered by a mask, with only his eyes showing, which were vacant and unfocused, as if he had been given a spell.

The person is so well covered up that they must be a captured thief.

Lu Qin began to scrutinize the thief from head to toe. Just looking at his eyebrows and eyes... he seemed vaguely familiar.

She took a lit candle and held it up in front of the thief.

"Young Madam, that thief is probably under the influence of his own bewitching incense and is currently confused." Seeing Lu Qin examining the thief, Xuan Lan explained from the side, "This servant didn't give him the antidote. What do you think we should do?"

"It's an old friend."

Lu Qin suddenly understood and said abruptly.

Hao Jingshi and Xuan Lan were both puzzled and looked in that direction.

Lu Qin stepped forward and casually tore off the thief's mask, then quickly scooped up a ladle of water and splashed it on the man's face.

A familiar face awoke with a start, water dripping from its eyelashes, nose, and chin, glaring at her resentfully.

Lu Qin clicked her tongue dramatically.

"Hey, big brother, how have you been?"

...

Lu Ming shouted "Let me go!" dozens of times, but Lu Qin remained unmoved. She simply told Xuan Lan to take people back to the mansion to rest and then closed the door of the clinic tightly.

After not seeing him for so many days, she had almost forgotten that he even existed.

After Aunt Zhao died, she let Lu Ming go and let him fend for himself, but she never heard any news of him returning to the Lu family mansion.

Seeing how agile and strong he is now, far surpassing his former self, she could guess that he must have found a good place and was living a life of luxury again.

Lu Qin stared at him for a long time; she no longer needed to guess his motives for harming her.

"As the saying goes, 'One should look at a Taoist with new eyes after three days of separation.' I think that's exactly the case with you, elder brother. You've already developed such excellent skills in just a few days. It's truly admirable."

She placed the candle back into the lantern and said bluntly, "Tell me, what exactly do you want?"

"Pah!" Lu Ming spat at her fiercely. "Lu Qin, how dare you question me? You have no conscience at all! If you have a grudge, come at me! Why did you kill my mother?"

Just as I expected.

Lu Qin remained silent, not retaliating, and simply listened to his curses.

Honestly, she didn't know what to do with Lu Ming.

If it were anyone else, she could gather all the evidence, take the case to the authorities, and demand an explanation. But this person was her older brother, who was related to her by blood, and also her father's only son.

She always had to consider her father, so no matter what she did, she was never satisfied.

"You're such a jinx! You were sick and a burden on your family back then, and now that you're married, you're still causing trouble, making life miserable for the Lu family!"

Lu Ming continued to hurl insults, "Do you know what others think of the Lu family? Where do you put Father's face? He's so old, and he still has to suffer like this. Are you proud of yourself?"

"You have no regard for your father, no regard for this family, you ungrateful wretch..."

"Slap."

Before Lu Ming could finish speaking, he suddenly heard the sound of a sharp blade whizzing past his ear. He instinctively turned around and saw a short sword pressed against his earlobe, piercing straight into the cabinet, penetrating deep into the wood.

"Don't you dare say another word about her."

Hao Jingshi faced him from a distance, raised the hand holding the flying sword, pointed it at Lu Ming, his gaze as sharp as a sword blade, flashing with coldness, "I'll cut off your tongue."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ming immediately let out a cold laugh, completely unlike his previous weak and timid self.

"And what are you?" He glared at her resentfully. "Hao Jingshi, others may be fools, but I am not. No matter how smug Lu Qin is, she won't drive someone to their death. Who sent those people who killed my mother? Do you dare to admit it?"

After saying that, he gritted his teeth and said to Lu Qin, "Lu Qin, your husband is an indirect murderer."

A crisp "crack" suddenly rang out at this moment, the light burst open, then went out instantly, followed by dead silence.

The darkness around those lanterns seemed even deeper than before.

Upon hearing this, Lu Qin turned around and looked at Hao Jingshi. Hao Jingshi also glanced at her, seemingly at a loss, afraid that she really thought so.

But she shook her head at him.

She had known all along, but never asked directly, because Aunt Zhao's death was not unjust.

Those with hearts as venomous as snakes deserve this fate.

"I dare to admit what I've done."

As if reassured, Hao Jingshi said coldly, "In the past, I respected her as an elder and a relative, and didn't want to pay her any attention. But she was ungrateful, committed many evils, and repeatedly offended my wife..."

Since she deserves to die, I certainly won't let her live another day."

"You really think you're some kind of savior?" Lu Ming glared at him hatefully. "My sister is so young, and you still dared to lay a hand on her. What did she do wrong? All she wanted was to be your concubine!"

"My men only do good and eliminate evil; they never kill innocent people indiscriminately," Hao Jingshi said. "Lu Ping ran into the sword herself, but no one touched her. Besides, she was an accomplice in many things, so how can she be considered innocent?"

He stepped forward a few paces and bent down.

"Lu Ming, you're an upright man, so I still consider you a decent guy, but you insist on stealing—"

"Then whoever dies next might be anyone else."

Seeing him lower his body, Lu Ming stared at him for a while and then let out a series of eerie laughs.

"I'm all alone, what's there to be afraid of? Kill me or torture me as you please, but even as a ghost, I'll drag you down with me. Just you wait."

"You will die a horrible death. I will curse you every day, so that you will never get what you ask for."

His provocative attitude enraged Hao Jingshi, who strode over and pulled out the short sword that was hidden deep inside the cabinet.

"Husband!" Lu Qin quickly stopped him, fearing he might do something impulsive in his anger.

Seeing Hao Jingshi standing motionless with his short sword in his hand, Lu Ming glanced at the blade and shook his head nonchalantly.

"Come on, let the world know that the young master of the Hao family is a murderer who even dares to harm his own in-laws."

Hao Jingshi coldly watched his smug face, a mocking smile appearing on his lips.

"I'm not stupid, and I don't care to do it myself."

He sheathed his sword: "The reason you're not afraid is because you think Lu Qin will consider our relationship and stop me."

"If you insist on angering me, I'll tell you, don't try to act like a young master. You bastard, you're not Master Lu's biological son, you're the laughingstock of the Lu family."

These words surprised Lu Qin, who turned to look at him.

Lu Ming stared at him, his pupils trembling incredulously: "You're talking nonsense!"

"Nonsense?" Seeing the two of them looking over, Hao Jingshi put his arms across his chest and said, "Let me tell you, the night Aunt Zhao was divorced, I was afraid she would retaliate, so I had Xuan Lan follow her. Xuan Lan saw her leave the inn in the middle of the night and go to a grove of trees to meet someone."

"The two of them cried so passionately the moment they met that they didn't even take off their veils. Xuan Lan hid nearby and listened, and ended up hearing a shocking secret—this man was Aunt Zhao's old flame, but Aunt Zhao looked down on his family background and preferred to become a concubine in the Lu family. However, she couldn't forget her old feelings... and on the night before her wedding, she had an affair with him."

"Aunt Zhao tearfully confessed that she shouldn't have married into the Lu family for money, which led to her current predicament. She even admitted that you were their son and that she had deceived Master Lu by binding her abdomen with a sash. Your own father actually softened and agreed to take her back and search for you properly..."

As Hao Jingshi spoke, he glanced at Lu Qin, his tone indifferent, afraid that she would find it difficult to accept.

"Stop lying to me." Lu Ming glared at him, refusing to believe him. "You think you can just say whatever you want? Who knows if you made it up!"

"The inn is called Fulongju, the second room on the east side of the second floor. You can find out by checking at the counter," Hao Jingshi said. "Aunt Zhao's carriage didn't take the route back to her parents' home. My men split up and chased after it, which is how we caught up with it."

"Once Aunt Zhao died, that adulterer ran away quickly, and I've never been able to find him again."

"After the incident, I was puzzled. The Wu family members are all honest and law-abiding, so why would they steal? But now I have a clue..."

He stared at the deer's cry and smiled dismissively.

"The person who took you in is probably her old flame, isn't he? He instigated you to steal the clothing manuscript and frame the Wu family clothing shop, didn't he?"