Chapter 043 The moment of acting
"Why else? Isn't it just to deal with Prime Minister Han?" Lian Qiuzhi seemed reluctant to say more. "Just remember, the decree of reinstatement could come at any moment, in a month or two at the earliest, or half a year at the latest. By then, not only will your second uncle be reinstated, he might even be promoted to a higher rank. So at this critical juncture, you better behave yourself and don't provoke the Fang family! If you delay the Xu family's recovery, I will expel you from the Xu family!"
Xu Zhenying pretended to be horrified and said, "I understand."
She smiled again, looking Lian Qiuzhi up and down. "No wonder, in the prison, the Lian family's maternal grandfather forced my second aunt to divorce to avoid exile, but my second aunt refused to do so. It turns out she had long anticipated that my second uncle would rise to prominence, so she pretended to be loyal to him!"
"How dare you! How can you interfere in the affairs of our elders?!" Lian Qiuzhi looked a little embarrassed, and said angrily, "You are truly rebellious. If you dare to say another word, I will teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents!"
"Second aunt, I was wrong. How could I dare to do that? I'm so happy right now." Xu Zhenying smiled and shook Lian's arm, acting like a little girl. "When we return to Bianjing City, we must deal with Liu Jieshi and make sure he doesn't steal our things. I want to make these escorts live a life worse than death!"
"Nonsense! The escorts were just following orders. Liu Jieshi deserves to die, but Zhao Bantou has never made things difficult for us, so why should we make things difficult for them? You've told me to be careful with what I say—"
"Alright, alright..." Xu Zhenying interrupted her impatiently, "Don't worry, Second Aunt, this matter is known to heaven, earth, you, and me. I will never tell anyone!"
"I'm glad you know!"
Xu Zhenying affectionately took Lian Qiuzhi's arm and walked back quickly. Only after they were quite far away did Lian Qiuzhi dare to glance sideways at the figure hiding behind the tree. With a hint of fear, she said to Xu Zhenying, "Do you think... will he believe what we just said?"
Xu Zhenying's expression calmed down, and she instantly let go of Lian Qiuzhi. The familiarity on her face was gone. She raised her hand to smooth her hair and said indifferently, "Of course it will happen. After all, it's better to believe it than not. Zhao Bantou is a very cautious person and would never dare to risk offending an official appointed by the imperial court."
Lian Qiuzhi was still worried, "But what if he sends someone to investigate?"
Xu Zhenying glanced at Lian Qiuzhi with a half-smile. "Investigate? How? We're so far away from Bianjing City now. How can he investigate? Who can he send? The escorts here are a temporary team and don't trust each other. Such matters must be handed over to confidants before they can be trusted. Who else can he ask? Moreover, what we made up touched on the top secrets of the Great Zhou Dynasty. How can he, a mere escort, verify our lies? Zhao Bantou will definitely figure this out. Instead of spending a lot of effort to verify whether what we said is true or not, it is better to pretend to be ignorant and take good care of us along the way, quietly letting our Xu family remember his kindness. This is the safest way."
Even though Lian Qiuzhi could think of all this, she was still very scared because of what she said to anger Zhu Guojiu. She raised her eyes to look at Xu Zhenying and saw that the man was calm and composed, with clear eyes and no fear at all.
In a trance, she seemed to feel that Xu Qingying's expression was somewhat familiar.
Lian Qiuzhi was stunned, her heart skipped a beat, and she remembered -
Xu Qingying's expression at this moment was very similar to her father's.
He was calm and composed, and in a blink of an eye, the masts, oars, and sails were reduced to ashes, and he remained calm even when Mount Tai collapsed in front of him.
"Second aunt, don't be afraid." A wave of warmth came from his arm. Meeting those indifferent and calm black and white eyes, Xu Zhenying smiled faintly. "It's all done. We just have to wait for the results. I will bear any bad consequences."
Lian Qiuzhi laughed dryly twice and covered her chest. She felt that she must be confused. She actually felt that the all-powerful Zhu Guojiu was not as scary as the dead girl in front of her.
Crazy, crazy, really crazy.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the hill, Xu Lezhi was following closely behind Fang Xun, the eldest son of the second branch of the Fang family. Fang Xun was short, but he walked quite fast, his feet moving like the wind. Xu Lezhi didn't dare to call out his name, so he could only quietly and quickly follow him.
Xu Lezhi had walked such a long way during the day, and now every step she took felt like she was walking on the edge of a knife. She was angry and anxious, and couldn't help but blame Fang Xun in her heart. She had lowered herself to get close to Fang Xun, but why was Fang Xun like a wooden lump? If it weren't for the possibility of the Fang family's revival, she would have looked down on the short and thin Fang Xun who was as thin as a bamboo pole.
Her ideal man must be tall, strong, handsome, and preferably have a clean family background, be rich and powerful, and love, respect, and hold her in his hands.
As for Fang Xun, he could only be considered her retreat.
It would be best to get through Fang Xun and let the Fang family adopt her as their adopted daughter. This way, she doesn't have to marry him and can also take the opportunity to get rid of her status as an exiled prisoner.
Thinking of this, Xu Lezhi felt happy and it didn't hurt as much when he walked.
She quickly followed Fang Xun, walking across a small hill, and saw that they were getting farther and farther away from the post station. There were no lights, only moonlight. The mountains and forests were silent, with only the sound of the wind.
She was a little scared, but she was also curious about why Fang Xun came so far away. She was thinking about going back, but suddenly she looked around and saw two figures.
Under a tree not far away, there was a man and a woman. The shorter one was Fang Xun. The woman opposite looked familiar. Xu Lezhi thought she seemed to be the eldest daughter of Li Xiucai.
The two people were very close, as if their figures were pressed together.
Xu Lezhi was instantly furious, as if something she loved was taken away. She rushed over angrily, but saw Li Zhaodi lying on the ground covering her foot, as if she had sprained it. Her face looked a little painful, and there were a dozen wild fruits scattered around.
Xu Lezhi was furious and said, "Li Zhaodi didn't fall down earlier or later, but had to fall down on the road where Fang Xun was passing by. It would have been fine if she fell down, but she had to act so weak and spineless. It was disgusting to look at!"
Fang Xun hesitated for a moment, and seeing that there was no one around, he couldn't bear it after all. Just as he was about to go up to help, someone suddenly passed by him. He saw a slightly chubby face with round eyes and fair skin. He didn't look very old.
It seems to be a girl from the Xu family.
The girl smiled brightly, but stood between them forcefully, and asked, "Brother Fang Xun, what's going on?"
Fang Xun bowed and said, "Sister Xu, I was just passing by and saw this girl fall. It's great that you've come. Please help me help her up. As a man, it's really inconvenient for me."
"I see." Xu Lezhi turned his head and glared at Li Zhaodi, frightening her so much that she shuddered and quickly said, "I'm fine. I just didn't see the stone on the ground and twisted my ankle. Thank you, young man, and thank you, young lady."
After saying that, Li Zhaodi stood up with difficulty. Fang Xun immediately bent down to help her pick up the fruits. Xu Lezhi rolled his eyes secretly, thinking that Li Zhaodi had so many tricks up her sleeves and was indeed a master at seducing men.
She endured it without saying anything, and simply bent down to help pick up the fruit, but with a look of concern on her face, she said, "Miss Li, you must be careful. There may be wild animals in the nearby mountains and forests. How could your family let you go out alone?"
"I...I..." Li Zhaodi had no choice but to bite her lip, as if she was a little afraid of Xu Lezhi. "My sister is still young, and we don't have enough food. Dad asked me to pick more fruits to prevent my brother from going hungry tomorrow—"
"Your father is truly heartless—" Xu Lezhi said with concern. He then secretly exerted force and lifted Li Zhaodi up without a second thought. "Master Fang, let me take Miss Li back home. If someone uninformed sees you two alone together, they might think Miss Li was deliberately seducing you, or that you had arranged to meet here on purpose. If such a rumor gets out, it would damage the girl's reputation."
Li Zhaodi was so frightened that her body trembled, and she was so anxious that tears were about to flow out. She quickly waved her hands and said, "I didn't..."
Fang Xun was also frightened, as if he had just realized the consequences. His childish face was full of nervousness. "No way, Miss Li and I really just met by chance. If that's the case, I'd like to trouble Miss Xu to testify for us--"
Seeing that his threat had achieved its purpose, Xu Lezhi immediately comforted the two of them, saying, "Don't worry, I won't say anything nonsense. If anyone asks, I'll just say that the three of us were together. If you run into this again, Mr. Fang, just call me for help—"
The two men burst into tears of gratitude, and even Fang Xun was afraid and said, "I'm really sorry to trouble Miss Xu. Miss Xu is so kind, Fang Xun will remember it in his heart."
Xu Lezhi smiled sweetly at Fang Xun, thinking that Fang Xun should remember him this time, feeling quite proud. He then helped Li Zhaodi walk towards the camp.
Li Zhaodi secretly hated herself for being useless and falling down while picking fruit. She also believed Xu Lezhi's words without a doubt and was afraid that she and Master Fang would be seen by others. If that happened, not only would Master Fang be implicated, but her father would also beat her to death.
The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. She didn't notice that Xu Lezhi was walking very fast. When they reached an open space, she felt a strong force at her waist, and she stumbled. She flew out in an instant and fell into the thorn bush beside the road.
The thorn bush was full of barbs. Li Zhaodi screamed "Ah" and then touched her face to find that there was a cut on her face caused by the barbs, and blood was now flowing out.
She tried to get up, but as soon as she exerted force, the barb pierced into her palm, causing another wave of pain.
Xu Lezhi looked down at her from above, his face devoid of any warmth from earlier. He looked at her sternly, "I'm warning you, don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Are you trying to seduce the young master of the Fang family? Bah, don't you look at your own status? You're the daughter of a scholar, and you dare to snatch things from me, Xu Lezhi?!"
Li Zhaodi was so frightened that she trembled and burst into tears. She said, "Miss Xu, you misunderstood. I really just happened to meet Mr. Fang—"
"Meet by chance? Are you kidding me?" Xu Lezhi sneered, "Are you thinking that the Fang family will be revived in the future, so you can't wait to show your affection? You are so young and don't know what you are. The young master of the Fang family has seen all kinds of stuff, how could he like a young girl like you? If I see you flirting with Young Master Fang again, I will tell everyone that you tried to seduce Young Master Fang. I hope your father will beat you to death, you slut!"
Li Zhaodi didn't dare to resist. She was terrified and dodged, saying, "I understand. From now on, I won't dare talk to Master Fang again..."
Xu Lezhi said these words harshly, then turned away.
Finally, he turned around to look at Li Zhaodi who was lying in the bushes and trying to get up.
There was blood on Li Zhaodi's face, with a small cut. Xu Lezhi was originally a little guilty and scared. What if Li Zhaodi came to cause trouble for her with her face disfigured?
But then he thought again, Li Zhaodi's father doesn't love her and her mother doesn't care about her, so who will make decisions for her?
Thinking of this, Xu Lezhi felt refreshed and went back humming a little tune.
Meanwhile, Li Zhaodi struggled to get up. She didn't have time to clean herself up, so she half-knelt to pick up the wild fruits that had fallen on the ground. Wiping away her tears in grievance, she muttered, "It's over, it's over! If I don't have twenty fruits, my father will scold me to death."
When the wind blew in the forest, Li Zhaodi, who was only wearing that single piece of clothing, became extremely dirty and staggered with cold. She sniffed her nose and carefully avoided the thorn bushes to pick up the scattered fruits.
If I miss the time, I'm afraid my father will be angry.
Li Zhaodi endured the severe pain, holding a bag of fruit in her hand, and staggered towards the post station.
Madam Cao picked out a few rotten fruits and left a few plump, fresh ones. She seemed to be completely oblivious to the wound on her face and only instructed, "Send these to your father and mother."
Li Zhaodi responded and carried the remaining fruit to the donkey cart. Hu Yi Niang, the Li family's concubine, was lying on the cart. Seeing Li Zhaodi limping, the eldest daughter said unhappily, "Why are you dawdling so slowly? Are you pretending to be sick? Hurry up and make the bed. Your brother needs to go to bed."
Aunt Hu disliked the strong smell and crowdedness of the large bunk bed in the post station, and insisted on sleeping on the donkey cart. Fortunately, the temperature was not very low recently, so she dragged the donkey cart to the eaves in the backyard, spread a sheet on it, and it became a simple bed.
Li Zhaodi wiped the blood off her face and quickly handed the fruit over. Aunt Hu was still dissatisfied and picky: "Eating this stuff every day, my mouth has become bland-"
Li Xiucai, who was standing by, seemed to be in a bad mood and no longer had the same affection for Aunt Hu as before. He said in a rough voice, "Come on, it's good to have something to eat. Once we get the twenty taels of silver, we'll go to the post station and have a good meal."
Li Xiucai saw Li Zhaodi dodging and evading, and glared at her unhappily. Then he saw the wound on her face, frowned, and asked, "What happened to your face?"
Li Zhaodi lowered her head and said in a muffled voice, "I accidentally fell while picking fruit just now—"
"You're so stupid! You can't even do such a small thing..." Li Xiucai had just had a disagreement with Xu Deyuan. If it weren't for Mrs. Lian, he wouldn't even want to give him five days. Xu Deyuan was a fifth-rank official, but he was so stingy. He also disliked Li Zhaodi, who was on good terms with the Xu family girl. "A girl's face is the most precious thing. How are you going to get married after you're disfigured? Don't expect me to find a doctor for you in your current situation... You're old enough... You should be grateful. Remember not to cause trouble for your parents..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com