Chapter 141 She really did commit suicide!
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
Lu Bai suddenly sat up. Tomorrow was her wedding day; how could she explain if her bride was lost?
"Madam, it's true! I've searched inside and out, but I can't find Miss Mingzhu!"
Madam Lu's anger flared up instantly. She had sent four or five servants to guard Lu Mingzhu and locked her in a room. Could it be that even this couldn't keep a weak woman under control?
A slap landed squarely on the maid's face. Madam Lu cursed and pinched the maid's cheek.
"Useless thing! If Lu Mingzhu doesn't find you, I'll sell you to a brothel! Now get out of here!"
The maid was so frightened by Madam Lu that she got up tremblingly and ran out of the room.
"Mother, what should we do?"
Lu Mingsi was the most anxious. If Lu Mingzhu didn't marry that tea merchant smoothly, then her dowry would be gone.
"Don't worry, Kyoto is only so big, where could she have run off to? Come on, this is no small matter, let's go tell your father and ask him to send more people to search for her."
Madam Lu had long been wary of Lu Mingzhu's scheme, and she never let Lu Mingzhu eat her fill when she brought her meals. Who knew that Lu Mingzhu, who was so weak, could still escape?
It's impossible for her to do it alone; could it be that someone is secretly helping her...?
An incense stick later, a maid brought news that the person had been found on the bridge over the moat.
The orange-red sun had disappeared below the horizon, and night had fallen, with twinkling stars dotting the sky.
Lu Mingzhu, her black hair flowing freely, wore a fiery red wedding dress. She looked up at the long-lost starry sky and inhaled the scent of freedom in the air.
She was a lively person, and if it weren't for the notes Yu Nian secretly sent her as her source of comfort, she would have really gone crazy from being cooped up in that corner of the gatehouse.
Lu Mingzhu had been waiting day and night, and finally the day came when it all would end.
"You damned...Mingzhu, what are you doing standing there? It's dangerous! Come back!"
When Lu Baishi arrived at the bridge, she almost let slip that she had let something slip. She saw Lu Tao's face in the crowd and immediately put on the act of a loving mother.
Lu Mingzhu turned her head to the side, her small face appearing exceptionally pale in the night, her almond-shaped eyes fixed on Lu Baishi.
"From childhood to adulthood, I have always endured everything, never expecting any pity from you. Yet now you humiliate me like this! You sell me to merchants just to provide dowry for your legitimate daughter!"
Lu Mingzhu's voice was quite loud. The Pinglan Bridge over the moat was adjacent to the bustling Sanhua Tower, and the commotion and the crowd gathered there quickly attracted the attention of many passersby.
"Whose daughter is this? She looks like she's wearing a wedding dress."
"I heard that this family sold their illegitimate daughter to raise money for their legitimate daughter's dowry!"
"Tsk tsk, selling their own daughter, how heartless."
The whispers drifted into Lu Tao's ears on the wind. He was a high-ranking official and someone who cared about his reputation. If his own affairs were to become the talk of the town, his colleagues would be at a loss for words.
The comment itself is a minor matter, but with so many people watching, if it gets to the ears of those with ulterior motives, the Censorate will submit a memorial impeaching him tomorrow.
“Mingzhu, what are you saying? Although you are a concubine’s daughter, you are still your father’s daughter.”
Lu Tao wanted to appease Lu Mingzhu, but he didn't know that his words "illegitimate daughter" would completely chill Lu Mingzhu's heart.
This is the title she least wanted in her life.
Lu Mingzhu took a step towards the bridge. In the night wind, her body felt light and swaying, as if she were about to fall.
"At this point, you don't need to pretend to be kind fathers and mothers anymore. If I am fortunate enough to become a vengeful ghost, I will come back to take back everything you have done to me!"
Lu Mingzhu turned her head, and when she jumped down, she truly felt a sense of relief.
More than hatred, she felt exhausted; she truly didn't want to be a daughter of the Lu family anymore.
"Mingzhu!"
No one expected Lu Mingzhu to be so resolute, leaving behind only two sentences before jumping off.
A streak of red light plunged into the river and disappeared with a splash into the swift current of the moat.
"Go save them! Get down there quickly!"
Lu Tao leaned on the railing of the bridge, looking down but could only see pitch blackness.
The servants hurriedly ran down to the bridge, but the current was so swift, and the darkness made it impossible to see anything clearly. Even the best swimmers dared not go down, and everyone hesitated on the bank.
"Mother, what should we do... She, she really jumped into the river and committed suicide... I, I'm scared."
Lu Mingsi was still a young girl, and the sight of this scene made her palms turn cold. In particular, Lu Mingzhu's shrill voice frightened her so much that she clung tightly to Lu Baishi's arm.
"Good child, don't be afraid. Go home first, leave this to your mother."
Madam Lu was also still shaken. She comforted Lu Mingsi, but looking at the bottomless moat, she felt that something was amiss.
...
In a warehouse in Kyoto, Yu Jing, who should have been in Medicine King Valley, was pacing around the courtyard like an ant on a hot plate.
The time he had agreed upon with Yu Nian was drawing ever closer, but he still hadn't seen Lu Mingzhu, and his anxiety was growing stronger in his chest.
This plan was dangerous, and he did not approve of it. If there was even the slightest mistake, Mingzhu's life would be in danger.
After a while, a noise suddenly came from the gate of the courtyard, and a figure wearing a black cloak entered the courtyard.
"Mingzhu?"
Yu Jing subconsciously turned around and finally saw the eyes he had been longing for day and night.
"Brother Jing!"
Lu Mingzhu couldn't help but burst into tears. She thought she would never see Yu Jing again in her life.
Are you alright? Are you hurt?
Lu Mingzhu shook her head. After she fell, she was rescued by someone arranged by Yu Nian. That person was highly skilled in martial arts and had immense strength.
He leaped into the air, carrying a large rock, and just as he threw it away, he caught Lu Mingzhu and brought her here.
"That's good. We shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's hide in the caravan that's leaving the city later. Once we're gone, we'll be safe."
Yu Nian arranged a caravan in advance and gave Chunyu Han's golden fish tally to Yu Jing, so that the Golden Guards guarding the city gate would not make things difficult for them.
Yu Jingxin knew that his sister couldn't have come up with such a meticulous and daring plan. But after hearing Mingzhu say this today, he realized that his brother-in-law was secretly helping him.
Yu Jing has no way to repay such a great kindness now, and can only keep it in his heart for the future.
The caravan consisted of eight people, all of whom Yu Nian had obtained from Chunyu Han. They were absolutely safe. There were two empty boxes on the carriage specifically reserved for Yu Jing and Lu Mingzhu.
Although it was completely dark, it was not yet curfew time, and there were quite a few people leaving the city. Caravans often traveled overnight, and blending in with them did not seem out of place.
The group waited in line for the Jinwu Guards at the city gate to inspect the caravan. When it was the caravan's turn...
A group of Imperial Guards suddenly filed out, led by a member of the Bai family, the Crown Prince's right-hand man, Bai Xun, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards.
A burly man rode his horse to block the city gate, brandishing the Crown Prince's golden token.
"His Highness the Crown Prince has decreed that all goods leaving the city must be opened and inspected without fail due to the theft at the Eastern Palace!"
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