Chapter 89 Exposure

After the exam was over, Xu Jingshu and Lu Yunshu took a car back.

Xu Jingshu was not in a good mood and remained silent the whole way, not even glancing at Lu Yunshu more than twice.

Lu Yunshu took a deep breath, "It's been a while since I've seen Madam. Has something happened today?"

Xu Jingshu looked at him and casually said, "It's alright."

"Just now I saw Madam and Young Master Ji standing together. Did they talk about something? Young Master Ji has been gone for many days, but has he returned recently?"

Lu Yunshu spoke lightly. If she hadn't seen the letters he had secretly sent earlier, she would have really thought he was just chatting with her.

Suppressing her disgust, she pretended not to notice his hypocrisy and said calmly, "I don't know. I only found out he was back today after seeing him."

Lu Yunshu smiled and took her hand on her lap. "I just heard from Mother that you almost fell. You're pregnant, so it's best to stay home as much as possible before you give birth."

Xu Jingshu: "I only came today because of my service to the people; otherwise, you wouldn't have seen me leave the house."

"Too."

Lu Yunshu gave a nonchalant reply, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes that disappeared in an instant.

The two returned to the mansion together. Xu Jingshu had just returned to her room and hadn't even had a cup of tea when Lu Yunshu arrived.

He usually spent most of his time in his study and rarely spent time with her in her room.

That's why she was surprised.

Lu Yunshu walked with steady steps, but with a hint of aggressiveness. Xu Jingshu sensed that the person was not well-intentioned, and her heart tightened.

A maidservant stepped forward to serve tea, but Lu Yunshu only uttered two words: "Get out."

Xu Jingshu was stunned. Looking at Lu Yunshu's back as she turned away, she knew something was wrong.

"Since you married me, have you ever had any complaints about me?"

Xu Jingshu's throat tightened. "Why do you say such things, my husband?"

Lu Yunshu slowly turned around, the sinister look in his eyes sending a chill down her spine. "If it weren't for my dissatisfaction, would Madam have sent the letters from my study to Chu Yu'an?!"

He was extremely patient. In her memory, he never raised his voice. Even when a servant accidentally broke his favorite vase, he forgave her gently.

His words today were like a knife stabbing into her heart, suffocating her.

"You married me and are now Mrs. Lu. How can you not consider my feelings?"

He questioned in a deep voice, each word striking his ears and ringing clearly in the room, like an ultimatum.

"Using the pretext of going out to reminisce to deliver a letter... Xu Jingshu, you still can't forget Ji Jinghe, can you?"

When the truth came out and she knew she couldn't hide it any longer, Xu Jingshu still blurted out a denial: "What do you mean? I don't understand."

Lu Yunshu let out a long breath and raised her voice, saying bluntly, "I'm asking you, why did you sneak into my study and hand the letter to Chu Yu'an?!"

Another fatal question.

Xu Jingshu suppressed her breath, "There's no reason."

With just a few simple words, Lu Yunshu's hopes were completely dashed.

That's how his wife, the one he loved, answered.

There's no reason why... So, when she handed the item over to someone else, she never considered his life or death.

Ji Jinghe's life or death is her only right.

Lu Yunshu clenched his fists, and under extreme restraint, he felt no pain.

“I have treated you well, and I thought that after we got married, we should be a family.”

Xu Jingshu scoffed coldly, repeatedly muttering the words "family".

It was truly absurd for those three words to come out of his mouth.

“Lu Yunshu, if you truly considered me family, you wouldn’t have sided with Yan Jun. You know perfectly well that Yan Jun was also involved in the death of my father. Now that you’re secretly having an affair with him, what face do you have to criticize me in the slightest?”

Attributing Xu Yun's death entirely to the Xia family is nothing but self-deception.

He couldn't bear to miss out on his promising future, yet he didn't want to lose his reputation as a virtuous son-in-law, so he deceived himself and tried to deceive everyone else.

“Jingshu, how can you be so rigid? If I didn’t care about you and couldn’t bear to see you suffer with me, would I have colluded with Yan Dang? Everything I’ve done is for you…”

"So that you can live a good life, so that you can respect him."

He waited for her for many years, falling in love with her when she became famous in the capital, and only marrying her when she fell on hard times.

She had no idea how happy he was when he learned that Xu's mother had agreed to let her marry him.

Right now, he has a beautiful and virtuous wife, a successful official career, and a happy family. The ending seems to be predetermined, but then he encounters Ji Jinghe.

Ji Jinghe, a top scholar who passed the imperial examinations three times, came from a wealthy family and was born into a rich family. He enjoyed the emperor's favor, talent, and ability... He had everything he could want, yet he was still at odds with Ji Jinghe.

He didn't understand what was so good about Ji Jinghe. Even Chu Yu'an had divorced him and was disliked by the Emperor, so why did Xu Jingshu still remember him and still help him?

Xu Jingshu shook her head. "Don't say such things to me. If you really care about me, you should take what you have and go to the palace to explain to the Emperor right now, instead of saying these useless things to me."

"If you always act with sincerity, how could you possibly be unappreciated..."

The last sentence seemed to strike his heart hard. Before she could react, Lu Yunshu rushed over, completely disregarding the child in her womb, and grabbed her shoulders tightly, his fingers seeming to dig deep into her.

"Xu Jingshu, anyone in this world has the right to say that, but not you. You are my wife, you should side with me, side with me!"

His eyes were bloodshot, as if he had fallen into the deepest hell and was in excruciating pain. The hatred on his face made him look like a completely different person, and his usual gentleness and restraint were nowhere to be seen.

After calming down a bit and realizing his rashness, he immediately retracted his actions.

"From now on, don't go out. Stay here and give birth to the child."

He turned and left, and Xu Jingshu, who was frozen on the bed, took a long time to recover from the shock.

She closed her eyes, still shaken.

The maid outside the door called her for a while, and when she came to her senses, she found that the teacup on the table had been overturned at some point, wetting most of her sleeve.

...

Yu An personally cooked a meal for Chu Zhuo An to reward him.

There are still two exams ahead, and he still needs to put in his best effort.

Baozhu ate the rice in her bowl and said contentedly, "I'm also benefiting from my husband's good fortune. I've really enjoyed my meal today."

Yu-an took a walk around the house to digest her food, watching her eat with a smile.

Baozhu said that she hadn't cooked in a long time, and her hands were clumsy when she was chopping vegetables today.

Baozhu paused for a moment: "The last time I can remember you cooking was when you were at the Ji residence. Back then, you were cooking for the master, and he carelessly threw it away... When I saw the master today, I almost didn't recognize him."

This is a precious pearl, let alone her.

Three months have passed in what feels like a lifetime.

"I wonder where the old man has been all this time. Does he have another trick up his sleeve?"

Yu An couldn't help but think of Ji Jinghe's previous methods, and she was really curious about what other tricks he might have up his sleeve.

However, the next day, another letter from Xu Jingshu arrived at the residence—

Yan wanted to discuss matters with Cao Bowei, who had just returned from the border, at Songshan Temple.

Cao Bowei, who was far away at the border, has actually returned?

Yu An was skeptical, but after examining the letters, he couldn't find any flaws.

The first two times Xu Jingshu sent people to deliver the letters, there were no writings on the envelopes, and the handwriting on the letters was no different from usual.

Instead of doing that, it would be better to get information directly from the Qi family.

Just then, Qi was coming to visit her after she had recovered, so Yu'an asked about it.

Madam Qi didn't hide anything, "My general is coming back to report some things to His Majesty and to see my daughter and me. He will be leaving in just two days."

Yu An nodded: "Indeed, this matter should not be publicized. It would be better for the general to quietly return after he has done his job."

Lady Qi: "General, you came back in a hurry this time and didn't bring much back. Next time you bring back something nice, I'll give you some."

Yu An smiled slightly but did not respond.

Incidentally, Yunxiu was asked to stay at the Cao residence for a few days, and the news she received was that Cao Bowei had returned.

After several confirmations, it should be correct.

After much deliberation, he finally passed the message on to Ji Jinghe.

What she couldn't do, Ji Jinghe had a way of doing; he could share the information with whomever he wanted. All she cared about was the result.

...

Two hours before the appointed time, Ji Jinghe received a letter delivered by Yu An.

The label also included the note, "It has been confirmed that this was sent by Xu Jingshu."

Cao Bowen did indeed return, but considering Lu Yunshu's private relationship with the Yan family, he felt somewhat unsure.

He folded the letter several times, heated the clay seal over a candle flame, pondered for a long time, and then called Qingque from outside the door.

"Prepare the horses, I need to go out for a bit..."

It was getting hot, but Ji Jinghe was still wearing a thick cloak as he rode away on horseback, entering Songshan Temple like a pilgrim.

However, after only a short time inside the temple, the courtyard mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

My premonition was clear: today is a trap.

But he still wanted to see who was attending the banquet today.

He stepped inside, walked deeper into the temple, and reached the backyard. He looked around and noticed someone approaching from behind, so he turned around.

"It's you!?"

Ji Jinghe's heart skipped a beat.

Xin Yanqing was puzzled and equally surprised. She stared at him for a long time without saying a word. "Yinchu, what are you doing here?"

Before Ji Jinghe could answer, the sound of banging on the door came from behind.

Ji Jinghe: "Leave immediately, this is a trap."

Xin Yanqing asked in bewilderment, "Didn't you call me here today?"

Ji Jinghe stopped answering and just kept pushing him toward the backyard.

Having been immersed in officialdom for several years, how could he not understand? Xin Yanqing stopped him, "Yinchu, since this is a trap, now that we're here, do you think we can escape?"

The guards filed in, surrounding the courtyard in layers. Yan Ling emerged from behind the rows of guards, his face as cold as ice, with a hint of smugness in his eyes.

"Did Lord Ji and Lieutenant General Xin have a good chat?"