Chapter 26
What exactly is so rare about it?
The deer trembled, its teeth chattering, whether from fear or cold, it was hard to tell.
If she hadn't looked closely, Lu Qin would have had a hard time recognizing that this was her older brother.
The once robust and imposing Lu Ming, who used to walk with an air of superiority, has now become this wretched creature.
Judging from the looks of it, he had spent all his money after escaping and had been living in poverty for a long time, which is why he was in such a sorry state.
Lu Qin guessed it was pretty close, and then Lu Hua continued to boast, "Big brother, second brother, I've been wandering around the west side of the city for many days, searching every street, and finally, I've found him in the pile of junk, just as you entrusted me with."
"I didn't expect this guy to be so popular. As soon as we brought him back here, quite a few people chased after him, but my men chased them all away."
Sure enough, those who kept chasing after him were probably creditors waiting for him to repay his debts.
Lu Qin stared at the disheveled Lu Ming for a while, then, imagining the scene of creditors snarling for their money like hungry wolves, she suddenly covered her mouth, lowered her head, and her shoulders trembled.
Lu Hua looked blankly at her eldest brother, not understanding, and then looked at her second brother with a questioning look.
Hao Jingshi looked at the person sobbing in his arms, and was also at a loss. He thought she had taken pity on him, so he waved his hand and said, "Go buy some food."
Lu Hua didn't understand but did as she was told. Before she even left the house, she heard a series of loud, bell-like laughs behind her.
Hahahahahahaha.
Lu Qin couldn't hold back any longer, so she simply raised her head and openly mocked Lu Ming, "You didn't take the money you used to escape and gamble it away, did you? Hahahaha! You think you can be a villain? Hahahaha, hahahaha..."
She laughed very unrestrainedly, bending over backward like a goldfish splashing in the water. Luckily, Hao Jingshi held her tightly and prevented her from falling over.
He waved for Lu Hua to come back.
"Pah!" Lu Ming was furious, his skinny face wrinkling with anger. "Lu Qin, you've put me in this state, and you're still gloating! Aren't you afraid of retribution?!"
"Wow, I'm so scared!" Lu Qin shrank into Hao Jingshi's arms. "Husband, there's a mad dog that's going to bite people. I'm scared. Please protect me."
Hao Jingshi snorted: "A skeleton, one kick and it'll fall apart, what's there to be afraid of?"
Lu Ming: "…………"
Seeing Lu Ming's anger, Lu Qin stood up from Hao Jingshi's arms and walked slowly to Lu Ming.
Seeing that Lu Ming was about to pounce and bite someone, Lu Hua quickly came over and held him down.
"Lu Ming, how dare you curse me?"
Lu Qin leaned down slightly and spread her hands towards Lu Ming.
“You’ve been using my name to cheat people with those shoddy materials, and I haven’t settled accounts with you yet.”
Lu Ming paused for a moment: "You're talking nonsense and slandering me!"
“Slander?” Lu Qin straightened up and crossed her arms. “The person behind you, his son was harmed by you. He was covered in rashes and had a high fever. If it weren’t for my husband’s miraculous healing, he probably wouldn’t be here anymore.”
"With witnesses and physical evidence, are you saying I'm slandering you?"
Lu Hua felt very empathetic after hearing this, and pressed down on Lu Ming again. As if sensing the gaze of the person behind him, Lu Ming began to feel a little scared.
"What...what do you want? Lu Qin, I'm your brother, we're family..."
Lu Qin interrupted her rudely: "When you and your cheap mother were doing something wrong, did you never think that we were family?"
She didn't want to waste words with him and looked down at him.
"But don't be afraid, I'm not as vicious as your mother. Your father is old and can't bear the pain of losing a son. For your father's sake, I won't tear you to pieces."
"As long as you confess all the despicable things you, your cheap mother, and your cheap sister have done, and give everyone an explanation, I'll have my husband pay off all your gambling debts and send you out of the city. How about that?"
Upon hearing this, Hao Jingshi paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow at her in confusion: Pay off this bastard's debt? Me?
Lu Qin blinked: Good husband, you're just kidding him.
Hao Jingshi: ...Oh.
Lu Ming was initially very interested, but seeing the two exchanging glances, he felt something was amiss, so he remained silent.
Seeing that he wouldn't accept the toast, Lu Qin lowered her head again and said vividly, "It's fine if you don't want to go. Then I'll have Lu Hua hand you over to your creditors. They've been waiting for you for so long, they'll definitely take good care of you."
At this point, Lu Hua pulled a large cleaver from behind her and held it to Lu Ming's neck to intimidate him.
With the cold blade pressed against his neck, Lu Ming's legs went weak. He thought that apologizing was better than dying, so he nodded repeatedly and agreed: "Okay, you... how do you want me to apologize?"
“Of course, it’ll be a public humiliation,” Lu Qin said with an unfriendly smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you be all alone. I’ll send someone to tell Aunt Zhao that she’ll definitely like this wonderful gift.”
Lu Ming's eyes narrowed, and he felt a surge of hatred, but he dared not make a move because Lu Hua still had a kitchen knife to his neck.
Lu Qin clicked her tongue twice at him dramatically, as if to say that karma is a cycle.
She then said to Lu Hua, "Little brother, thank you for your hard work. Please take good care of him these next few days, make sure he eats well, and don't make it seem like we're mistreating him or forcing him to confess."
Lu Hua: "Okay, big brother."
“Take him with you, eat as much as you want.” Lu Qin said, slipping back to Hao Jingshi’s side, snuggling into his arms, and giving him a suggestive wink, “Your second brother will pay for it.”
Hao Jingshi gave a helpless smirk, opened the drawer beside him, and threw a silver ingot over.
"Thank you, Second Brother!"
Lu Hua accepted it steadily, responded, and happily pulled Lu Ming up.
Lu Ming was dragged away like a tattered rag.
Seeing that there were no more bystanders, Lu Qin turned to Hao Jingshi and blew him a kiss: "Husband, thank you for your expense, I love you!"
"Come on." Hao Jingshi grabbed a pen and scribbled randomly. "You're always trying to fool me."
"Oh, you stingy guy." Lu Qin leaned forward, blocking his eyes and forcing him to look at her. "I'll take care of these messes right away. Hmph, I'll repay my husband tenfold then."
Hao Jingshi shifted his gaze and muttered, "I don't care about that little bit of money."
Lu Qin: "Oh, so what does my husband find so appealing?"
Hao Jingshi glanced at her, then pulled her head to one side with one hand and continued drawing.
Lu Qin leaned back again, innocently asking, "Tell me, what is it?"
"..."
"What's so rare about it? What's so rare about it?"
"..."
"What's so special about it... um..."
...
An hour later, Lu Hua returned excitedly, saying that she had found a perfect place for Lu Ming to settle down—his family's pigsty.
After bursting into laughter for a while, Lu Qin became serious and began to direct the grand drama that Hao Jingshi had been planning for a long time.
First, fatten up Luming a bit to avoid making him look too pitiful, like someone who's done something bad.
Then, take Lu Ming to the victim's home to apologize, clear up the misunderstanding, and spread the news that Lu Ming would be paraded through the streets to confess his guilt, so that Aunt Zhao would know.
Finally, and most importantly...
"vomit."
At dinner, when Ling'er brought over a plate of fish, Lu Qin immediately wrinkled her nose and covered her mouth and nose with her hand.
But it was no use; she still smelled a fishy odor and couldn't help but gag.
"What's wrong, sister-in-law?" Hao Jinglan asked worriedly, putting down her chopsticks and handing her tea.
Lu Qin patted her chest, took the tea and drank it all in one gulp, but vomited after only drinking half a cup.
Seeing this, Ling'er quickly handed her a silk handkerchief and then ran to get a banner to wipe the ground.
Both Madam Hao and Master Hao stopped eating: "What's wrong with Qin'er?"
Lu Qin covered her mouth with a handkerchief and whispered, "I haven't had a good appetite lately and I'm always nauseous. It's my fault for being so disrespectful."
"Are you feeling unwell?" Old Madam Hao gestured to the maid beside her to move the fish to a different position, and then asked Hao Jingshi, "Jingshi, have you checked on him? What could be the cause?"
Hao Jingshi was about to pick up his chopsticks when he heard this. He glanced at Lu Qin, held his chopsticks, and said, "Oh, Mother, it's nothing serious. She... she is pregnant."
"Ah?" Upon hearing this, Mr. Hao and Mrs. Hao were overjoyed. "Really?"
Lu Qin smiled shyly and nudged Hao Jingshi with her elbow.
Hao Jingshi glanced at him and said, "Absolutely true."
Although Hao Jingshi answered readily, his face showed an indifferent and aloof expression, which made Lu Qin nervous, fearing that her in-laws might notice something amiss.
Fortunately, the servants all bowed and offered their congratulations, and Mr. and Mrs. Hao were immediately overjoyed, happily repeating "good, good, good" without harboring any suspicions.
Taking advantage of the moment when everyone's attention was diverted, Lu Qin pretended to vomit and moved closer to Hao Jingshi, covering her mouth and whispering, "Can you act a little more convincingly?"
Hao Jingshi, without moving his lips and biting his teeth, mumbled, "I've never really been a father."
Lu Qin tried her best to guide her, saying, "Think about it, you have a child now, aren't you happy?"
Hao Jingshi glanced at her sideways, a knowing smile playing on his lips, a consistent "don't mess with me" attitude.
Lu Qin sighed, looking at the way the child was laughing. It wasn't the kind of laughter that made someone happy to become a father; it was more like someone who had been cheated on and wanted to strangle the child.
She thought for a moment, then a brilliant idea struck her. "My husband, I've been sick for a few days and haven't had time to finish embroidering the sachet yet. As compensation, I'll embroider a belt for you as well, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Hao Jingshi's eyes crinkled into an undisguised smile, a much more natural smile than before: "Okay."
His smug expression was seen by Mr. and Mrs. Hao as they turned around. They didn't think much of it and said they would inform Mr. Lu and arrange a family banquet to celebrate.
After the celebrations, rewards, and instructions had been given, everyone began to eat in harmony.
To complete the whole act, Lu Qin pretended to have a poor appetite, and thus received a bowl of freshly cooked mixed porridge.
She gripped the spoon handle, secretly pleased.
Everything went very smoothly; she successfully fooled her in-laws and eased tensions in the family.
What's even more remarkable is that they inadvertently helped her, allowing her plan to move to the next stage more quickly.
Since we're having a family banquet, Father and Aunt Zhao will be coming too.
This is a... rare and opportune moment.
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