Chapter 67

Even if there's only a sliver of hope, I will try my best.

Steep slope, haystacks, a dilapidated house...

Lu Qin awoke with a start from her unconsciousness. As she opened her eyes, she blurted out, "Quickly, take me to find my husband!"

As soon as she shouted, a doctor rushed forward and pressed her pulse.

"Qin'er..." Master Lu's soft call reached my ears, "What nonsense are you talking about, child?"

Lu Qin was bewildered for a moment, then lifted her head from the pillow and realized that she was surrounded by people.

Father, Lu Pan'an, the nannies, and... Zhilan?

"Why is Zhilan here too..." Lu Qin murmured to herself, "Could it be that time has been disrupted, and I've returned to the old Lu family mansion..."

No one could hear what she was saying; they only saw that she looked utterly bewildered. Master Lu couldn't help but ask the doctor, "Doctor, what's wrong with my daughter? Could she have gone mad from the shock?"

The doctor said, "Don't worry, Master Lu. Miss is just weak and has nothing serious to worry about. She just needs to rest well and eat more nourishing food."

Master Lu still seemed uneasy. Zhilan noticed this and immediately pointed to herself, asking Lu Qin, "Miss, don't you recognize me?"

Lu Qin thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "Zhilan, don't you need to take care of Nannan anymore?"

Zhilan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she hadn't lost her memory, and replied, "When the mistress saw that the clothing shop had been shut down, she inquired about it and found out that it was the son-in-law and the Hao family who had suffered the consequences... After learning that the Lu family was not implicated, the mistress specially sent me to the Lu residence to visit them and bring you some news."

Hearing this, Lu Qin finally realized that she had returned to her original form and felt relieved.

She propped herself up on the bed and sat up abruptly. Seeing this, a group of people stepped forward to help her, and several hands were stretched out in front of her at once, which looked rather comical.

Lu Qin blinked, then finally took Zhi Lan's hand: "What news?"

Zhilan took a step closer to her, glanced back at everyone present, and hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. Seeing this, Lu Pan'an understood that she wanted to say something in private, so he made an excuse to see the doctor out and led the rest of the people out.

The door was tightly closed. Master Lu walked from the side to the bedside, sat down next to Lu Qin, and said, "You can speak freely now."

"yes."

Zhilan took two steps back, knelt before the two men, and said in detail, "Master, Miss, our master has a friend who has always worked with Mr. Qian. A few days ago, he was chatting with his friend and learned that the governor's case had been concluded, Mr. Qian had been promoted for exposing Hao's crimes, and the Xiaolu Clothing Shop had also been taken over by the Qian family."

"Qian's father counter-accused the Prince of Pingfan of colluding with the Hao family, promising him the position of county magistrate, and then having him frame the governor and fabricate evidence. The emperor was furious and summoned the heads of the Hao family to the palace under the pretext of celebrating the little prince's full moon. He also issued an edict to deal with them, and the Consort was sent to a temple to be shaved and made a nun."

"Everyone was eager to curry favor with Qian Yuming. Qian Yuming was even more glamorous than Zhang Gui had been. He was very proud and often mocked his son-in-law, saying that he looked down on his arrogant manner and that his son-in-law deserved his fate. He failed to curry favor with the Consort and then angered Consort Fang. He deserved to end up like this."

Consort Fang, it's Consort Fang again.

Upon hearing this, Lu Qin recalled the day she had bumped into Consort Fang's maid bringing money into the palace.

She immediately realized that Hao's conviction was inextricably linked to Consort Fang, and that she might even have been the one to orchestrate it.

She clenched her fists and murmured, "What did my husband ever do to offend her so much that she harbors such resentment and went to such lengths to plot his death..."

“This servant does not know either. However, when this servant went to Guantao Temple, she met Consort Gui. Consort Gui learned that this servant was once a maid of the Lu family, so she drew a portrait and asked this servant to give it to the young lady. She said that the clothing design drawn by the young master was tampered with by this person, and not long afterward, this person was expelled from the palace for offending Consort Fang. She found it strange.”

After Zhilan finished speaking, she took out the drawing paper that Consort Hao had given her from her bosom and handed it to Luqin.

"Before the Consort could investigate, she was sent to a temple. She said that if Miss could find this person, there might still be a chance for things to turn around. At that time, she would try to seek justice for her clansmen."

Lu Qin slowly took the painting and unfolded it. There were only a few strokes on the painting, which could roughly show the person's appearance. Obviously, Consort Hao had tried her best to draw it based on her memory, and she really couldn't draw the details.

Finding someone based solely on a portrait is like searching for a needle in a haystack, but Lu Qin didn't want to give up any hope of saving Hao Jingshi, so she turned to look at Master Lu pleadingly.

“Father, I know where my husband is now. I must set off to find him immediately. Please send more people to search for the person in the painting.”

Master Lu sighed, “Qin’er, I think you’re just too anxious and talking nonsense. Your son-in-law has been exiled and is on his way to the border. How can you be sure he’s still there if you go now? Besides, the journey is long and arduous, and you’re pregnant. How can you possibly endure it?”

Lu Qin had anticipated his concerns, and before he could finish speaking, she threw off the covers, stood on her feet, and knelt before him again.

"Father, my mind is made up. Even if there is only a sliver of hope, I will try my best."

"Qin'er..."

"Please, I'm begging you. Jing Shi is the child's father, after all. If the child is born without a father, wouldn't that be pitiful? How will he be able to hold his head up in front of others in the future?"

"..." Seeing his daughter pleading like this, Master Lu was at a loss for what to do.

He looked at her with tenderness and finally agreed: "Alright, then let Pan An take a few men with you and bring plenty of dry food and silver. Be careful on the road."

Lu Qin slowly kowtowed: "Thank you for your kindness, Father."

...

To be on the safe side, Lu Qin decided to disguise herself as a man, and had Zhi Lan, who was traveling with her, also disguise herself. In addition to the things needed for the journey, she also brought some water and dry food for Hao Jingshi.

The men rode fast horses and set off ahead to scout the way, following the simple map drawn by Lu Qin. Lu Qin, Lu Pan'an, Zhi Lan, and a stern-faced bodyguard rode in a carriage and followed along.

Lu Qin calculated the time. The Hao family had only been exiled for a short time and had not yet covered a third of the distance. If they rode the fastest horse, they could probably arrive in about three hours.

These three hours were more agonizing than any other time.

Lu Qin prayed constantly, praying that Hao hadn't gone far, that the constables wouldn't make things difficult for Hao Jingshi again, and that she could endure the journey.

She lifted the curtain several times to let in some fresh air, and saw that the road was getting more and more remote and it was getting darker and darker.

After several twists and turns, the carriage finally arrived at the place she remembered.

Seeing that the place was empty and deserted, Lu Qin had the driver chase after Hao's group for a while in the direction they had left. Fortunately, Hao's group had not gone too far, and they caught up with them soon after.

The constables, probably tired from their journey, were sitting together drinking, eating, chatting, and laughing as they rested. The Hao family members also relaxed, leaning against haystacks for a short rest.

Seeing this, Lu Qin stopped the carriage a hundred meters away and instructed the servants to take the smoked meat pancakes laced with sleeping potion that they had prepared in advance and pretend to be passing by.

The aroma wafted over, successfully distracting the constables. Taking advantage of this, Lu Qin found Hao Jingshi's location and slipped behind the haystack.

"My husband," she called out.

Hao Jingshi, with his eyes closed, suddenly heard Lu Qin's voice and thought he was hallucinating.

Seeing him looking around, Lu Qin simply reached out and grabbed him: "I'm right here, turn around and look!"

Hao Jingshi was startled by her suddenly outstretched hand and then turned his head back.

Upon seeing a handsome young face, his mind went blank for a moment, but he immediately recognized that it was Lu Qin in disguise.

Hao Jingshi stared at her for a moment, then frowned and blurted out, "What are you doing here! Get out of here!"

"You recognized me so quickly."

Lu Qin peeked out from behind the haystack and rested her chin on his shoulder quite naturally.

She touched the scar on his face with heartache. "My husband has suffered. I've missed you so much these past few days. Have you missed me?"

Hao Jingshi felt uncomfortable being so close to her. After all, he had been hiking for many days and looked disheveled, and he didn't want her to see him like that.

He tilted his head: "You, you should leave right now. Who is your husband? You've mistaken me for someone else."

"You idiot." Lu Qin rolled her eyes at him. "No need to pretend anymore. I know everything. You did this to avoid implicating me."

"..." Hao Jingshi remained silent and glanced at the constables.

Lu Qin also looked around, and seeing that the men had succeeded, she walked out from behind the haystack with peace of mind.

"Don't worry, I came prepared. Look, those constables have eaten the flatbread I made and have already fallen asleep. They'll sleep for at least the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, which is enough time for us to have a good talk."

As she spoke, she sat cross-legged in front of Hao Jingshi and stuffed the water and dry food she had brought into his arms.

“They came all the way here just to rescue you.”

Hao Jingshi looked at the cloth bag in his arms, his expression relaxing slightly, but his heart was filled with mixed feelings: "How did you find this place?"

"That's how we found him." Lu Qin rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the person she had been longing for, feeling both joy and heartache, and couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile.

"My lord, I've come to tell you that Consort Gui sent me a portrait of the palace maid who stole your clothes. I've already asked Father to help find the person in the portrait. Don't worry, I will definitely seek justice for you. You must take care of yourself."

As Hao Jingshi listened, he stared at her intently, as if trying to see her true self through her makeup.

He gave a faint smile: "No need. The Emperor has always been suspicious of the Hao family and has long intended to eliminate them. He's just using this as an excuse to do so. Don't waste your energy getting involved. Just take care of yourself and the child. As long as you're well, I have no regrets."

“No,” Lu Qin insisted. “As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will not give up. Consort Fang hurt you for no reason and set a trap to frame the Hao family. She is truly vicious. If she succeeds, I will not be able to swallow this anger.”

After listening to her indignant speech, Hao Jingshi sighed with a half-smile.

He raised his hand, and the heavy shackles on his wrists made a "clattering" sound. Lu Qin realized that he wanted to touch her cheek, so she buried her face in his palm.

"Listen to me, let's stop here." Hao Jingshi gently traced the outline of her face with one hand, his voice slightly tired. "There's no way to turn things around now. Even if you have evidence to prove that Hao Shi is wronged, he may not change his mind. Moreover, Consort Fang is currently favored and has a deep mind. If you drag her to the end, you will only drag yourself and the Lu family into it."

“There is favor and there is loss of favor. I don’t believe she can remain in favor forever.” Lu Qin raised her head and said defiantly, “She schemes against others, and naturally others will scheme against her. A favored concubine like her with no family background has probably already become a thorn in the side of many people. Heaven has eyes, and she will reap what she sows sooner or later.”

Hao Jingshi looked down at her, cupped one of her cheeks in his hand, and said, "Consort Fang came to seek revenge on me. She has been planning this for a long time. I am the thorn in her side."

Lu Qin found it absurd: "You don't even know her, what grudge could you possibly have against her?"

After a long silence, Hao Jingshi said in a low voice, "She is your sister."

"My sister...?"

Lu Qin repeated it subconsciously. At first, she was confused, but then she belatedly realized that she had a younger sister who had been kicked out of the house, and that sister was Lu Ping.

She lay there, stunned, on Hao Jingshi's lap, her mind reorganizing her thoughts.

Her younger sister is Lu Ping.

Consort Fang is her younger sister...

Is Consort Fang Lu Ping?!

Lu Qin sat up abruptly, finally realizing what was happening, and stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

"Lu Ping...isn't Lu Ping already dead?"