Chapter 123 Spicy Rabbit, Braised Duck...

Meng Wanying only learned about this after Lu Xingzhou left Bianjing. She went to Lu Shen and said, "Master, is it inappropriate to send Xingzhou to Lin'an? Lu Zhao hates us mother and son to the bone, he will definitely not listen to Xingzhou."

"Does it matter whether I listen or not? The important thing is that the marriage was ruined. Lu Zhao doesn't give me, his father, any face, so I'll make him suffer." Lu Shen was full of resentment, and people still bring it up to this day.

“But Lu Zhao is a martial artist. If he attacks Xing Zhou, Xing Zhou will be no match for him.” Meng Wanying was worried about her son’s safety.

"It would be even better if he made a move. As long as Lu Zhao dares to make a move, I have a hundred ways to make sure he can't stay in Lin'an!" Lu Shen was displeased to see Meng Wanying crying. "Why are you crying? No matter how arrogant Lu Zhao is, he wouldn't dare to kill anyone. Besides, don't you want to see Xingzhou become successful?"

Meng Wanying naturally thought that she had been a mistress for half her life and still had no official status. Even her son had no good future, and when he reached marriageable age, he couldn't find a good family to marry into.

No large family would be willing to marry their daughter to a concubine.

Meng Wanying dreams of having her son included in the Lu family genealogy.

The obstacle for them, mother and son, was Lu Zhao.

Now, Meng Wanying is old and her beauty has faded; she and Lu Shen only have some past affection left.

She knew that Lu Shen liked obedient women, so she wiped away her tears and said, "Then let's listen to the master. Lu Zhao is indeed disrespectful to his elders. No matter what, he shouldn't have damaged your reputation, and he should be taught a lesson."

“That makes sense. I trust Xingzhou’s skills; he’ll definitely make things go smoothly for us.” Lu Shen felt a sense of satisfaction at the thought of Lu Zhao’s exasperated expression.

Meanwhile, Lu Zhao, who was far away in Lin'an, received a letter from Bianjing and immediately went to find Old Madam Lu.

In the study under the cover of night, only two candles were lit.

After reading the letter, Old Mrs. Lu frowned. She knew her son was confused, but he was still her son, and she couldn't just cripple him.

But the contents of the letter made her expression serious.

"What do you plan to do?" Old Mrs. Lu had feelings for her son, but she only felt disgust for Lu Xingzhou, her son from another family. She didn't need any grandsons and didn't need Lu Xingzhou, a son from another family, to carry on the family line.

Lu Xingzhou's existence not only strained the internal relations of the Lu family but also damaged its reputation. She disliked Lu Xingzhou from the bottom of her heart.

Lu Zhao remained expressionless. When he was a teenager, he had once stormed into the home of Lu Xingzhou and his mother with a sword.

He almost killed Lu Xingzhou and his mother.

“I listened to my grandmother and let them live, living by the principle of ‘I won’t offend others unless they offend me.’ But grandmother, Lu Xingzhou insists on coming to Lin’an to die, so the only option is to prevent him from reaching Lin’an.” Lu Zhao’s expression remained calm. He had imagined countless times what would happen to Lu Xingzhou and his mother.

Grandma Lu sighed, "Lu Xingzhou certainly deserved to die, but taking his life will also damage your karma. Zhao'er, you're about to get married. It's not that your grandmother wants you to be virtuous, but you have to think about the future when you do things."

She paused, then continued, "It's easy to kill Lu Xingzhou, but we can't do something that would hurt ten thousand enemies while losing eight thousand of our own. Let him live, but don't let him return to Bianjing unscathed."

As long as people are alive, it's not a big deal. If the investigation really does reach Lu Zhao later, Old Madam Lu can help him out.

But Lu Xingzhou died at Lu Zhao's hands, and if things really escalate, Lu Zhao will have a hard time getting away with it.

Lu Zhao understood the old lady's concerns. "Grandson understands."

After watching their grandson leave, Old Madam Lu and Granny Kong sighed, "My grandson seems calm on the surface, but he's not like that at all. I'm afraid it was Meng Wanying and her son who instigated Lu Xingzhou to come to Lin'an. Oh well, this is their retribution. I couldn't stop Zhao'er."

"Don't worry, Grandma. I think the eldest young master has matured a lot. He will definitely handle things properly," Granny Kong reassured her.

Grandma Lu nodded. "I hope so."

In the following days, Old Madam Lu was uneasy and inquired every day whether Lu Zhao had left the city.

Fortunately, Lu Zhao did not leave the city, which relieved her.

In fact, only Qingjiu went out once, but no one noticed Qingjiu's whereabouts because Qingjiu returned very quickly.

He also brought two wild rabbits and specially delivered them to Qiao's shop.

"When I went to collect the rent, the tenant farmers caught these with animal traps. Cuizhi doesn't know how to handle them, so the adults asked me to bring them to you to eat." Qingjiu carried two plump wild rabbits. "Aunt Qiao, where should we put them?"

Looking at the wild rabbits, both of which had broken legs and could not be kept, Lin called over her eldest son, "Jiawang, take them, skin them, and kill them. Remember to keep the skin intact. After drying, you can make a hat for Le'er."

She then went to look at the green wine. "These two wild rabbits are very plump. We can't finish them in one meal. When they're stewed, we'll have someone send some to your residence so that the old lady can have a taste."

Speaking of food, Qingjiu couldn't help but swallow, but remembering her master's instructions, she shook her head against her will, "Thank you, Aunt Qiao, but it's not necessary. We have an old lady at home, and the food is very good. Your family is large, so there will definitely be enough to eat."

The aroma of the food in the restaurant made his mouth water, so he quickly said, "I have something to do, I'll head back now!"

Seeing that Qingjiu had run away, Lin had no choice but to give up.

Qiao Jiawang cleaned the rabbit and brought it to the kitchen to ask how it was to be cooked.

Qiao Jiaxing glanced at it and said, "Make spicy stir-fried rabbit pieces; Mianmian likes to eat this."

“Okay, then I’ll cut the rabbit meat.” Qiao Jiawang and his younger brother now have a great understanding. One of them is mainly responsible for cutting vegetables, while the other cooks. Cao Yuan and Hu Qianqian will come to help, and sometimes they will also help make a cold dish.

Without Qiao Mianmian, there are fewer signature dishes, but the restaurant can still operate.

After cutting the rabbit meat, fry it in oil first, then fry some peanuts and dried chili peppers for later use.

Qiao Jiaxing also sliced ​​braised duck and steamed it in a pot.

When Qiao Mianmian arrived with her nephew, the meal was almost ready. A plate of spicy rabbit meat, with its appealing color, aroma, and flavor, was served, and the pungent spiciness stimulated her taste buds.

"Delicious! The rabbit meat is fried just right, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside." Qiao Mianmian gave her second brother a thumbs up. "Second brother, your cooking skills are getting better and better."

Qiao Jiaxing chuckled, "Eat more if you like. It's still a bit different from what you make. You should also try this braised duck. It was sent by my third uncle's family. My third aunt made it too salty, so I boiled it in water. It's just right now."

Qiao Mianmian picked up a piece of braised duck. The meat was firm and had a unique flavor after being marinated and air-dried. It tasted different. "It's delicious. With the osmanthus sauce, it's sweet and salty. I can eat an extra bowl of rice!"

"Eat more if you like." Madam Lin looked at her daughter with affection, and felt a pang of reluctance as she thought about her daughter's upcoming marriage.

If it weren't for Old Madam Lu's promise to return to Bianjing, she definitely wouldn't have let her daughter get married so early.

Thinking of the Lu family, Lin thought of her daughter's marriage. She calculated the days and realized it was only a few days away.

"Stay home these next few days and don't run around with Sanhua. People will talk if they see you," Madam Lin instructed carefully. "Learn some needlework from your grandmother. I don't need you to be a pro, but if your clothes are torn, you should be able to patch them yourself, right?"

"Mom, I've known how to do this for a long time." Sewing and mending isn't difficult, and Qiao Mianmian has always been good at it. It's just that she wasn't required to do these things at her parents' home. Before, she had her mother and grandmother, but after her two sisters-in-law came, it was even less of Qiao Mianmian's turn to do it.

Lin didn't believe it. "When you get home, show it to me."

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to whatever you say. After all, I'm your most sensible and obedient daughter!" Qiao Mianmian leaned closer with a happy smile.

Unable to argue with her daughter, Lin smiled and pushed her away, saying, "What are you doing? We're eating! You have to behave properly when you're at your husband's family home. Even though you don't have to serve your in-laws, you can't let them find fault with you."

Now, whenever she sees her daughter, she has a lot to say.

Qiao Mancang, who was standing to the side, had heard this so many times that he was tired of it. He put some food on Lin's plate and said, "Alright, alright, she's eating. Our Mianmian is so well-behaved and sensible. Even if you don't tell her, she definitely knows all this."

Qiao Mianmian nodded and said, "Mom, eat some vegetables."

"I know, you all..." Madam Lin stopped talking and buried her head in her food. Since opening the food shop, the family's meals had improved a lot, and she had gained some weight and was eating more.

After a satisfying meal, it's time to rest.

The Qiao family ate until their bellies were full, but Lu Xingzhou and his party encountered trouble. They were still three days' journey from Lin'an. First, they encountered a boulder rolling down and damaging their carriage, and now they had encountered bandits.

Lu Xingzhou and his servant hid behind a stone wall. Neither of them had ever seen such a scene before, and they were trembling with fear.

"Young master, isn't it said that Lin'an is a prosperous area and there are no bandits?"

"How was I supposed to know we'd be so unlucky?" Lu Xingzhou was furious, his voice low and menacing. "If the carriage were still here, we wouldn't have been unable to escape."

Because the carriage broke down, Lu Xingzhou was afraid he wouldn't make it in time, so he had to have someone lead him along a back road. If he took the official road, he wouldn't encounter any bandits, but by the time he arrived in Lin'an, Lu Zhao would likely already be married.

"What do we do now... hiccup..." The servant started hiccuping in fear, but then he heard a dog barking not far away, so he quickly covered his mouth.

Lu Xingzhou was equally nervous, his heart pounding in his chest. He prayed he wouldn't be discovered, but unfortunately, he was found out.

When several bandits appeared with knives, Lu Xingzhou was so scared he wet himself.

"I told you you couldn't escape." A bearded bandit pointed his knife at Lu Xingzhou. "Judging by your appearance, you must be a young master from a wealthy family. Hand over all your gold and silver jewelry!"

"Here...here you go, it's all yours!" Lu Xingzhou was afraid of dying. He couldn't die here. He hadn't yet passed the imperial examinations, nor had he made Lu Zhao unhappy. He absolutely couldn't die here.

He threw the entire bundle out, saying, "Brothers, all our belongings are here, take them all!"

When the bandits saw the silver notes in the bundle, their eyes lit up. The bearded bandit gave the others a wink, and they understood: their leader was going to blind and mute them so they wouldn't be able to find them.

Seeing the bandits approaching, Lu Xingzhou shouted, "What are you doing? I've given you all the money, please let me go! Or you can send a letter home to my family, and we'll give you even more money!"

"Do you think I'm stupid? Sending someone to deliver a message would just let the soldiers know where we are! I may be a robber, but I'm not that greedy. Don't worry, we won't kill you, we'll just make sure you can't speak anymore," the bearded bandit roared. "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and restrain him!"

He thought to himself that he was really lucky this time. Sure enough, the villagers were right. A big truck had come down the road.

Hearing that the bandits wanted to cut out his tongue, Lu Xingzhou fought back desperately. If he became crippled, he would never be able to take the imperial examinations again. "Do you know who I am? I am the second young master of the Lu family! If you dare to harm a single hair on my head, my father will never let you off!"

Upon hearing the words "Lu family," the bearded bandit immediately frowned. "You're also surnamed Lu? I'm asking you, what's your relationship with Lu Zhao of Lin'an City?"

Lu Xingzhou didn't understand what the bandits meant. He looked at them without saying anything, still pondering.

The bearded bandit, however, had no patience. He plunged a knife into the servant's thigh, and after hearing a scream, he demanded sharply, "Tell me, what is your relationship with Lu Zhao?"

"I'll talk, I'll talk! Lu Zhao is our young master. Gentlemen, please, please spare us! Our young master is the commander of Lin'an. If anything happens to us, he will definitely avenge us!" The servant was desperate and grasped at straws, thinking that since this place was close to Lin'an, the bandits must have heard of the young master's impressive deeds and might be afraid of him.

As soon as he finished speaking, the bearded bandit spun the hilt of his knife and slashed a bloody hole in his thigh.

"You really are a family!" The bearded bandit was furious. "Do you know why I became an outlaw in this small mountain? It's all because of your so-called young master. He led troops to suppress bandits, leaving me nowhere to go and forcing me to hide everywhere!"

All his hatred for Lu Zhao was transferred to Lu Xingzhou at this moment. "You are Lu Zhao's younger brother. You've come at the perfect time!"

"No, I'm not!" Lu Xingzhou sensed something was wrong and quickly waved his hands. "Although I'm his brother, we're enemies. No, to be precise, I'm not his brother at all. I'm not even in the Lu family... Pfft..."

Before Lu Xingzhou could finish speaking, the bearded bandit chopped off Lu Xingzhou's hand with his giant knife. The action was so fast that Lu Xingzhou didn't even have time to react to the pain.

"Throw him into the pack of dogs, let him taste what it feels like to be torn apart by vicious dogs!" The bearded bandit hated Lu Zhao to the core. "Under the cover of night, dump his body on the main road. I want Lu Zhao to experience the pain of losing a loved one!"

"No! I really am Lu Zhao's enemy!" Lu Xingzhou roared, but the bandits didn't believe him. How could brothers be enemies? He must be lying to them!

Lu Xingzhou couldn't understand it until his death: how could he be so unlucky?

He glared menacingly, thinking of the academic achievements he hadn't yet attained and Lu Zhao, with whom he was about to have a happy marriage, but he didn't connect all of this with Lu Zhao, only thinking that he was just too unlucky.

Even at the very last moment, Lu Xingzhou died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

The bandits unleashed their immense hatred for Lu Zhao on Lu Xingzhou and his group, torturing Lu Xingzhou to death and then dumping his body on the official road.

It wasn't until dawn the next day that the people discovered Lu Xingzhou's body, and they rushed to his aid.

When the magistrate of a nearby county learned that bandits were causing trouble again, he dared not send troops to suppress them himself, so he had to ask for help from Lin'an City. Along with the bandits, he also sent the Lu family's token.

The prefect summoned Lu Zhao to his side, opened his mouth several times, and finally sighed, "Please accept my condolences. I have already ordered the troops to be assembled and will definitely wipe out the mountain bandits."

Although it is unknown which member of the Lu family died, the prefect can only offer his condolences at this moment.

“With your troops leading the army, I believe we can surely wipe out the bandits.” Lu Zhao put on a sorrowful expression. “Please allow me to accompany you, sir. Although I do not know who died, since he is a member of the Lu family, I should collect his body and avenge him.”

"But you're getting married soon, you..."

"It's alright, I'll be back before the wedding." If Lu Zhao is too indifferent, it might arouse suspicion, since they only know he's a member of the Lu family, not who died.

In the prefect's view, they must be relatives attending Lu Zhao's wedding banquet. Since they were able to attend the banquet, it meant they were close, and it was normal for Lu Zhao to be upset and want to avenge them.

He comforted Lu Zhaodao, saying, "The timing of the bandit suppression is uncertain. Why not postpone the wedding? That way, you can give your family an explanation. What do you think?"

"Let's take it one step at a time. If we really can't come back in time, then we can talk about postponing it." Lu Zhao suggested setting off immediately, otherwise the bandits would escape. The prefect agreed.

In fact, Lu Zhao had all the bandits' whereabouts under control. He was originally going to suppress the bandits, but now he used the bandits to get rid of Lu Xingzhou. After he finished suppressing the bandits, no one could trace him back to Lu Zhao.

As for Lu Shen and Meng Wanying in Bianjing, he was eager to see how they would react when they learned of Lu Xingzhou's death.