Lu Xiaoyun pulled Zhu Yu into her arms, resting her chin on the top of his head, which exuded a faint fragrance, and closed her eyes: "Zhu Yu, I was wrong. But I just want to be with you as soon as possible and give you a proper status."
Zhu Yu rested his head on her strong chest, where a hot and powerful heart beat, a heart that belonged only to him.
Three years? With Father's current health, I'm afraid he won't last three years.
Zhu Dan's actions not only thwarted his father's idea of choosing a concubine for him, but also prevented his marriage to Lu Xiaoyun, and he also gained a good reputation.
Lu Xiaoyun lifted Zhu Yu's fair wrist and looked at him with a smile: "The points on this bracelet have been fluctuating, but they've remained around eight thousand points. What did you do?"
Zhu Yu's eyes darted away: "I didn't do anything, just saw that the score was reduced, so I went to see Lu Jinmi every now and then."
During this period, he often received praise from those around him, and the score on his bracelet decreased every day.
That won't do. He has to stay inside Lu Xiaoyun's body, so Lu Jinmi becomes a helpful assistant.
Once his score returned to 8,000, he left without looking back, infuriating Lu Jinmi to the point of jumping up and down. However, she couldn't do anything about it and ended up looking haggard with anger.
Qi Yu rushed over: "Miss, the Lin family from Jiangnan has sent someone. The Duke has asked me to bring you back to the manor."
The Lin family of Jiangnan? The original owner's mother's maternal family. Since her mother's death, they have severed ties with the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Why are they here?
Zhu Yu and Yu returned to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
In the front hall, the Duke of Zhenguo, Lu Yucheng, and Qi Wanting were all present.
When Zhu Yu entered, he saw a middle-aged man, around forty years old, sitting at the lower end of the table.
The man was well-dressed and was probably the butler or attendant of Old Master Lin.
Upon seeing Zhu Yu, her eyes immediately reddened. She took a few steps to stand before him, looked him up and down several times, wiped away her tears, and choked out, "Are you Miss's daughter? You look just like her. Miss, if you could see me in heaven, you would have allowed this old servant to meet you today."
Lu Yucheng: "Xiaoyun, this is Uncle Lin, the butler who serves my maternal grandfather."
Zhu Yu bowed slightly to him: "Hello, Uncle Lin. How is my maternal grandfather's health? We, the younger generation, are unfilial for not visiting him."
Uncle Lin shook his head with tears in his eyes: "Master is not well. His health has been gradually declining since the beginning of the year. A few days ago, I received a message from the Duke and learned that Miss died a violent death nineteen years ago. Fortunately, the villain is now in prison. He cried a lot and his health has improved. However, Master has been lonely and ill these past few years, and his body has long been failing."
Although the Lin family was a prominent and wealthy family in Jiangnan, the old master Lin only married one wife in his life and had only one daughter, the original owner's mother.
Her daughter died of postpartum hemorrhage a few years after marrying into the capital. Overwhelmed with grief, Madam Lin also passed away not long after.
The Duke of Zhenguo had not received any news until two years after the passing of Old Madam Lin.
He went to Jiangnan immediately, but not only did his daughter die tragically, his son-in-law married a second wife before his daughter's body was even cold, and they had twin daughters. He was so angry that he wanted to break his legs, so how could he let him into the mansion to pay his respects?
This was the first time in many years that Uncle Lin had stepped into the gates of the Duke of Shengjing's mansion.
The group was startled. Lu Yucheng immediately said to the Duke of Zhenguo, "Father, I would like to go to Jiangnan with my sister to visit my maternal grandfather."
The Duke of Zhenguo nodded: "Alright, I'll go with you."
Uncle Lin hesitated, "Your Excellency, I'm afraid... I'm afraid the master doesn't want to see you. How about I take the young master and young lady back first, and after they've comforted the master, Your Excellency, you can go then?"
The Duke of Zhenguo sighed and nodded. Well, if he went rashly, it might be bad for his father-in-law's illness.
"Very well. Ah Cheng, Xiao Yun, you two will go south with Steward Lin tomorrow."
The two agreed, while Zhu Yu pondered how to get Lu Xiaoyun to go along, so that while she was in Shengjing, the Fifth Prince wouldn't find an excuse to see her.
Uncle Lin sighed deeply and wiped away his tears: "Lord Duke, my master has always been troubled by Miss's death, and he still refuses to believe that Miss died from postpartum hemorrhage. Now that we know who killed Miss, his heartache has been greatly relieved. I wonder when the murderer will be brought to justice?"
Zhenguo Gongdao said, "The evidence in this case is conclusive, and the trial should be over soon. However, the execution of the accused will probably have to wait until after autumn."
Zhu Yu thought to himself that he should have the fifth prince issue an order to the Jingzhao Prefecture to send Fang Shi on her way as soon as possible. It was a waste of the Great Zhou's food to keep such a person alive.
Uncle Lin sighed softly, "In that case, this old servant will return first. After the murderer is brought to justice, the young master and young lady will return to Jiangnan to visit the master. Otherwise, if this worry is not resolved, the master will not be at peace day and night."
The Duke of Zhenguo nodded.
Just as they were talking, someone from the Jingzhao Prefecture arrived.
They said they were there to inform everyone that the Fang family's murder case had been concluded and that the execution was scheduled for noon the day after tomorrow.
Everyone was slightly taken aback. Although Fang had killed Lin and two maids, it was not a serious crime like Zhu Heng's treason. Why was the execution suddenly carried out ahead of schedule instead of following the custom and waiting until autumn?
The Duke of Zhenguo hurriedly asked, "Why didn't we wait until autumn?"
The official from the Jingzhao Prefecture replied, "I only heard that His Highness Prince An sent someone to the Jingzhao Prefecture half an hour ago, but I don't know the specifics of what they said. I'm only here to inform the Duke that Fang and her maid Wei will be executed the day after tomorrow afternoon."
It turned out to be Lu Xiaoyun. Zhu Yu's lips curled up. It must have been right after he left that Lu Xiaoyun sent someone to the Jingzhao Prefecture.
Lu Yucheng glanced at Zhu Yu and saw the slight smile on his sister's lips, and he understood the general idea.
Uncle Lin's eyes were red-rimmed as he bowed deeply to the man from the Jingzhao Prefecture: "This old servant thanks you, sir."
The man waved his hand, bowed to the Duke of Zhenguo and the others, and left.
“Uncle Lin, since that’s the case, then after Fang and the others are brought to justice, my sister and I will return to Jiangnan with you.”
Uncle Lin wiped away his tears with his sleeve: "Okay, okay."
After Uncle Lin was taken away to be settled, Qi Wanting also returned to her room with her maid. Her newlywed husband and sister would be going to Jiangnan in three days at the latest, and she needed to prepare their luggage.
Inside the front hall, only the Duke of Zhenguo, Zhu Yu, and Lu Yucheng remained.
"We will depart for Jiangnan in three days to comfort your maternal grandfather on my behalf."
The two agreed in unison.
"Once I've finished dealing with things in the capital, I'll go to Jiangnan to pick you up. I'll stay at an inn. If your maternal grandfather is willing to forgive his father, then let me know."
"Yes. Father, it was a misunderstanding back then. Grandfather is not an unreasonable person, I think he will understand."
The Duke of Zhenguo nodded and sighed, "It was indeed my fault back then, and it's understandable that your maternal grandfather wouldn't forgive me."
Because of his blind filial piety, he fell into his mother's trap and was drugged, which led to his one-night stand with Fang Shi and the birth of the two sisters, Lu Jinpei and Lu Jinmi.
Later, he still didn't learn from his mistakes and had a younger son, Lu Yuyi. What else could it be but his own fault?
"Second Miss, Third Miss, Second Young Master, you can't go in. The Duke and the others are discussing matters. You can't go in." A maid's anxious voice came from outside the hall, trying to stop them.
"Get out of here!" It was Lu Jinmi, her voice filled with anger.
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