Chapter 97 Bury Him with His Life
What is this?
Yu Nian bent down and stared intently at it, picking up the small white circle between her fingertips. There were words engraved on it in a hollowed-out pattern. Before Yu Nian could see it clearly, Chun Tao's scream exploded in her ears.
"Miss! What are you doing with that thing?!"
Chun Tao walked over quickly, knocked the thing that Yu Nian had just picked up out of her hand with a handkerchief, and then hurriedly wiped her hands.
"This paper money is very unlucky. People avoid it when they see it. Miss's wedding day is coming soon, so these things must not be touched."
Yu Nian raised an eyebrow, thinking it was something else, but it turned out to be paper money. The paper money of the Great Zhao Dynasty has quite a variety of styles.
But Chun Tao's words made Yu Nian feel that the burden on her shoulders had become even heavier.
It wasn't her big day that was coming; it was more like she was about to face a terrible disaster. With a fickle and ruthless character like Chunyu Han, Yu Nian didn't know how she would get through her wedding night.
"When someone has a funeral, the paper money for the dead flies into our yard."
The wind was quite strong, and more than one piece of paper money drifted in from the outer wall.
Chun Tao was somewhat surprised by Yu Nian's question.
"Miss, didn't you hear what the Regent said?"
Yu Nian's lips twitched slightly, a hint of helplessness in her eyes. Had Chun Tao already reached the point where she could talk about anything with Chunyu Han?
Chunyu Han's acting skills have truly reached a level of perfection, completely fooling everyone around Yu Nian.
"Chunyu Han was quite busy today. I only saw him once and didn't say anything."
Yu Nian really didn't want to recall the nightmares that happened today.
Chun Tao followed beside Yu Nian, her expression clearly showing disbelief. Her young lady would be gone for half a day; could a meeting really take that long?
But this was ultimately the master's business, so whatever Yu Nian said went.
"Actually, you recognize this person. The one attending the funeral outside is Lu Wenshu, the eldest son of Minister Lu. Miss Lu has also gone home to attend the funeral today."
Lu Wenshu is dead?
Yu Nian tilted her head in confusion and asked Chun Tao, "Wasn't it supposed to be a hundred lashes followed by exile? How did he suddenly die? Although a hundred lashes would definitely have taken half his life, Minister Lu is still the Minister of Justice. Wouldn't he have bribed someone to save his son's life?"
This is no small matter. Lu Wenshu's case involves Yu Ning, and it's hard to guarantee that this matter won't affect the Prime Minister's residence.
"Logically speaking, that's true, but even if you have the money, you have to be able to slip it in. The execution site was designated by the Emperor himself, the Eastern Depot. I heard that after Lu Wenshu was whipped, he didn't even leave the gates of Xuanhua before he died..."
Chuntao helped Yu Nian back to her room, closed the door, and whispered to Yu Nian.
"That Lu Bai cried and wailed at the city gate for two hours, then fainted and was taken home."
This ruthless approach is really in line with the style of the Eastern Depot.
But how could the Eastern Depot dare to take such a heavy-handed approach to Minister Lu's eldest son without the authorization of their chief eunuch?
Yu Nian could guess the intricacies of the situation. Everyone in the officialdom knew the situation perfectly well. The struggles in officialdom were a matter of life and death, and it seemed that things were not going to be peaceful for a while.
Yu Nian could not control other matters, but she had to protect Lu Mingzhu.
"Chuntao, it's getting late. You should take two servants to greet Mingzhu. The Lu family has suffered such a big disaster. Madam Lu Bai has lost her son, and she will definitely be blamed for it."
Since it was inappropriate for the master to personally handle this matter, Yu Nian sent Chun Tao to scout ahead first.
...
At Minister Lu's residence, the four large red lanterns above the gate had been replaced with white ones with black characters. White linen and prayer flags filled the courtyard, and white paper money was scattered all over the place, so dense and oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
In the Great Zhao Kingdom, those who died during their exile while under criminal charges were allowed to be sent back to their hometowns for burial, but their coffins could not be kept at home.
In the vast hall, Madam Lu sat before Lu Wenshu's empty memorial tablet, her eyes bloodshot.
"My son, my poor son, he left us before he was even married..."
Lu Bai's voice was already hoarse from shouting; every word she uttered sounded like a broken bellows.
"Alright, stop howling. Do you think you can get the document back by howling like this?"
Lu Tao's complexion was not much better than Lu Bai's. Lu Wenshu was his only son, and he was also very sad. But the dead cannot be brought back to life, and Lu Bai's constant weeping made him even more uneasy.
"You old man, do you have no heart left? Your son is gone, and I, as his mother, can't even cry? If you weren't so incompetent, the clerk wouldn't have lost his life!"
Madam Lu is already over forty years old. If she wants to have another son, who knows when she will be able to have one. Lu Wenshu is her only support as the head of the household. Lu Tao simply cannot understand her feelings.
"I'm incompetent? Who angered Chunyu Han first? I told you long ago that he's ruthless and unscrupulous. He's not even in the same league as Yu Huaifeng, but you wouldn't believe me. Now that something's happened, you're blaming me. You're all talk and no action, all you do is cry when trouble comes your way!"
Lu Tao was also seething with anger. This time, their scheme against Yu Huaifeng's son had failed, and they had ended up losing their own son's life instead. Before, it was just a matter of differing stances, but now they had completely offended Chunyu Han, and Lu Tao's position in the court had become extremely precarious.
If we're not careful in the future, we might not even be able to protect the Lu family.
"Father, Mother, please stop arguing. My elder brother's body is barely cold. If he could see you like this from beyond the grave, how could he rest in peace?"
Beside Lu Baishi, Lu Mingsi, who was also dressed in mourning clothes, quickly spoke up to dissuade her.
"Hmph, look at you, you're not even as sensible as your daughter. Don't you always brag about your mother's family? From now on, don't come to me for your problems, go beg the Bai family!"
After Lu Tao finished speaking, he turned and left, leaving Lu Baishi, whose eyes were red, to shed tears alone.
She didn't dare tell Lu Tao that the Bai family was now living in fear, and the Empress no longer summoned her; she had become a pawn abandoned by the Bai family.
“Madam, someone from the Prime Minister’s residence has come to take Miss Mingzhu back. They say that Miss Yu Wu has some important work that Miss Mingzhu needs to help with.”
A servant from the Lu family came in with difficulty to report the arrival, thinking to himself that the Prime Minister's people had come at a really bad time.
"The Prime Minister's residence has gone too far!"
Upon hearing the report, Lu Mingsi immediately rebuked.
"Go tell the people at the Prime Minister's residence that she wants to observe mourning for her elder brother at her home..."
Before Lu Mingsi could finish speaking, Lu Baishi reached out and interrupted her.
"Go ahead, send two clever maids with Mingzhu to the Prime Minister's residence. It's not appropriate to stay at someone else's house and order their maids around."
Lu Bai's words confused Lu Mingsi: "Mother, haven't you always disliked her? Why..."
"Mingsi, you're still young, you don't understand."
A shadow fell over Lu Bai's eyes. She could no longer rely on anyone; she could only rely on herself.
"Written document, you can wait on your way to the Yellow Springs. Your mother will make sure that the Yu family is buried with you!"
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