Chapter 47
Don't blame her for acting on behalf of Heaven.
The mansion was pitch black and silent.
In the night sky, a tiny star, as small as a grain of sand, faintly shone.
In the middle of the night, Lu Qin woke up for no reason. She subconsciously hugged herself, but found nothing. Looking down, she realized that Babao was gone and she was already lying on the bed, covered tightly with the quilt.
She turned to the side and found that Hao Jingshi was not beside her. The other side of the bed was empty, with only the bed curtains swaying slightly and the sheets without any wrinkles.
At first glance, the place was deserted and desolate, as if she had been abandoned there.
Lu Qin felt uneasy and couldn't help but sit up abruptly.
Just as she was about to put on her shoes and get out of bed, Ling'er, who had been dozing off against the corner of the bed, woke up and rubbed her eyes.
"Why is the young mistress awake?"
Seeing that Lu Qin was about to put on her shoes, Ling'er quickly turned around to serve her.
As she picked up her shoes, she blurted out, "Young Master just went out and asked me to watch over you. Young Madam, I'm not good with words and don't know how to comfort you. Please don't be too sad. No one can predict matters of life and death."
Lu Qin paused for a moment, then slowly came to understand the meaning of those words.
Babao is dead.
She had originally thought happily that raising a puppy with Hao Jingshi would be like raising a child together, and it wouldn't make him too disappointed.
Who could have foreseen the unpredictable nature of life, that his wish would ultimately be dashed.
Perhaps because she had just cried, Lu Qin felt weak and powerless all over, and her mind was filled with confusion. "Where did my husband go?"
Ling'er said, "If the young master doesn't say, this servant naturally wouldn't dare to ask. But the young master took Xuan Lan with him, so he probably went far away and won't be back for a while."
Lu Qin was silent for a moment, unable to understand where he would go in the middle of the night.
She said "oh" and then added, "You don't need to stay here anymore. Go back to sleep. I'll take a walk in the yard."
"No, I'll stay with you."
As Ling'er spoke, she offered a helping hand. In truth, thinking of the lively and energetic Babao, she felt sad, not to mention the young mistress who had raised it with her own hands.
The young mistress was feeling bad at the moment, and the young master was not here, so she couldn't leave the young mistress alone.
Thinking about it, Ling'er hurriedly ran to get a thick cloak and put it on Lu Qin.
She clung to Lu Qin's arm and wouldn't let go. Lu Qin didn't answer, but gently patted the back of the hand that was holding hers, which was taken as tacit consent.
The two of them carried lanterns and walked around the courtyard. To keep her from getting upset, Ling'er would tease her from time to time and tell her interesting stories.
Lu Qin wasn't happy, but she smiled in response. As she walked, she suddenly noticed a small mound of earth in the yard, very low, like a bump in the ground.
“That was buried by the young master,” Ling’er whispered when she saw her looking at Babao’s grave.
Upon hearing this, Lu Qin went forward, squatted down in front of the small grave, and touched the top of the mound of earth, just as she would touch Babao's head.
"I originally thought he was carefree and easygoing, but I never expected him to be so thoughtful."
Ling'er sighed softly, "Young Master cares about Babao, but he cares about you even more. I think he was feeling sad but didn't want to say it, so he went out to clear his head."
Lu Qin nodded: "Then I'll wait for him to come back here."
After saying that, he asked Ling'er to find a wooden board and a carving knife, and then squatted down to carve a tombstone for Babao.
The star in the sky shone alone, and the yard was filled with the soft scraping sound of a small knife cutting through wooden planks.
Not long after, the door creaked open and two travel-worn people entered.
Hearing the noise, Lu Qin stopped what she was doing and turned her head to look.
Xuan Lan, carrying a lantern, darted in along the wall in no time. Behind her, Hao Jingshi's figure gradually appeared in the night, tall and slender, like a pine tree.
Upon seeing Lu Qin, he paused, then strode towards her.
"Waiting for me, young master?"
"Where has my husband gone?"
The two asked the question at the same time, then stared at each other in surprise. Seeing this, Xuan Lan pushed Ling'er away without saying a word.
"Why are you up?" Hao Jingshi squatted down next to Lu Qin, his clothes still carrying a hint of the coolness of the evening breeze.
Lu Qin turned her head back and continued scraping the wooden board with her knife, pouting, "I couldn't sleep when you weren't here, so I came out to carve a tombstone for Babao... After walking for so long, people who didn't know better would think that a demon had lured my husband away at night."
The tone wasn't like an accusation, but rather a hint of reproach.
Hao Jingshi looked down at the knife and wooden board in Lu Qin's hand and explained, "I wanted to buy a similar puppy to coax you, but it's late at night and there are no vendors around. I'll have to go tomorrow."
Lu Qin was a little surprised after hearing this, and her hands unconsciously slowed down. Then, she felt a warmth in her heart.
"Enough, my husband. Even if I see another dog, I'll still think of Babao." She lowered her eyes and held Hao Jingshi's hand in one hand. "Originally, I listened to what the fortune teller said, not wanting my husband to be disappointed about having children..."
Don't overthink it.
Hao Jingshi interrupted her, immediately snatched the carving knife and wooden board from her hand, and quickly carved the tombstone, placing it in front of the small grave.
The two stood silently facing Babao's grave for a while. Just as Lu Qin was about to say something, Hao Jingshi grabbed her hand and led her into the house.
"If you feel sad, then don't take care of it. Whatever makes you happy."
"What fortune telling? I don't believe in that."
...
The little dog handing out flyers on the street never appeared again.
Lu Qin was depressed for several days because of Babao. Babao was dead, and she could not bring it back to life, nor could she find the murderer or even take revenge. She disliked this feeling of powerlessness and having to accept her fate.
News of Babao's death quickly spread throughout Xuande Street. People felt sorry for him and would always offer a few words of comfort to Luqin when passing by a clothing shop.
After that, whether out of fear of evoking nostalgia or out of taboo, fewer and fewer people on the street wore clothes with the Eight Treasures pattern.
People gradually forgot about Babao, but Lu Qin couldn't forget it. She would still sit at the door and stare blankly at the iron basin of Babao when she had free time.
Seeing this, Aunt Zhao from the ceramics shop next door couldn't stand it anymore. After lunch that day, she took a small ornament and walked over shakily.
“Girl, this is an eight-treasure shaped clay sculpture I made. Take it as a keepsake.”
Aunt Zhao slowly sat down next to Lu Qin, opened her palm and handed her the small eight treasures, saying softly, "Excessive grief is too harmful to your health."
Lu Qin paused for a moment, then took the food and examined it closely. "Thank you, Auntie. Your cooking skills are truly unparalleled."
She gently rubbed the puppy's head with her fingertips. "Don't worry, Auntie, I'm much better than before."
"I just want to find the killer, but I can't understand who I offended and who could be so cruel to a little dog."
"Alas, the human heart is the most unpredictable thing." After hearing this, Aunt Zhao sighed and looked at the little treasure with a regretful expression.
After she finished speaking, she glanced at the people coming and going on the street, and hesitated several times before continuing.
Lu Qin noticed this and patiently waited for her to speak.
"I'd like to ask a question."
After a while, probably seeing that there were fewer people, Aunt Zhao lowered her voice and continued to ask her, "Did you give Zhang Gui some silver before your shop opened?"
"Zhang Gui?" Lu Qin asked, confused. "Who is Zhang Gui?"
Seeing her reaction, Aunt Zhao seemed certain, and the knot in her brow untied.
She watched the pedestrians and lowered her voice even further: "That's the magistrate's son."
Never heard of it.
Lu Qin was completely bewildered and still didn't quite understand what this matter had to do with the county magistrate's son.
Seeing that she was clueless, Aunt Zhao was even more eager to enlighten her, so she took her to her ceramics shop for a short rest and explained the reason to her in detail.
Zhang Gui was a dissolute young man who loved to associate with bad influences. This group of people, relying on the power of Zhang Gui's father, acted tyrannically on the streets and even made an unwritten rule that anyone who opened a shop in the area had to send Zhang Gui some good things as a tribute from time to time.
No one wanted to offend him, so they all complied. Some stubborn people refused to give in, so Zhang Gui led his men to cause trouble, making it impossible for them to continue their business. After witnessing his scoundrel nature, everyone became even more obedient. Those who couldn't stand Zhang Gui naturally moved away quietly.
Over the years, the shops have changed hands many times, but only one clothing shop has remained a constant – Qian Yuming, the son of the Qian family, has some connections with Zhang Gui and always gives him a lot of benefits, so the business has always been thriving in the most prosperous area.
But the other clothing shops weren't so lucky. They didn't have a prime location, were already struggling to make ends meet, and couldn't afford to pay huge tips, so Zhang Gui started picking fights with them.
Clothing shops went out of business one after another, and eventually no one dared to open a clothing shop and compete with Qian Yuming for business.
There was only one clothing store on the street, so naturally there was no shortage of customers. Qian Yuming had always made a profit and didn't care about the quality or style of the clothes at all, so everyone was still wearing the same clothes as last year.
Some nobles, tired of their clothes, would go to other places to buy new ones, and Zhang Gui wouldn't dare to make things difficult for them. As for ordinary people, there was naturally nothing they could do.
The Qian family had been enjoying their dominance for a long time and had gotten used to it. Little did they expect that a small deer clothing shop would suddenly appear and block their way, accompanied by a dog.
Even a dog could make more money than him, so Qian Yuming was naturally unconvinced. However, he wasn't stupid and didn't want to offend anyone directly, so he sneaked into the crowd and attacked the dog.
"This group of people has always been like this; they don't respect people, let alone a dog."
After finishing her sentence, Aunt Zhao sighed and said, "However, it is indeed difficult to determine who the murderer is. Perhaps it is a servant of the Qian family, or perhaps it is a brother of Zhang Gui. In any case, neither of them would do it themselves. Even if you can find evidence, they will only let someone else take the blame."
Lu Qin remained silent. After listening to the old woman's kind words of advice, she felt resentful.
Therefore, it's highly likely that Babao's death is related to these two people. She was new to the area and hadn't offended anyone; in fact, she had made many friends because of Babao. The only people who would inexplicably see her as a thorn in their side are these two, as the old woman mentioned.
Those two bastards, it would have been fine if they had targeted her, but they also had to hurt a helpless little dog.
Lu Qin felt an intense rage, her fingers unconsciously gripping the corner of the table until the tips gradually turned blue.
Aunt Zhao noticed that her expression was off and that she didn't seem to want to let things go, so she couldn't help but say, "Girl, I still advise you, Zhang Gui is not someone to be trifled with. Let go of your resentment and let this matter pass. Don't dwell on it anymore; it won't do you any good."
"I understand your kindness, ma'am. I won't tell anyone about this."
Lu Qin didn't want to refute her good intentions, so she just smiled obediently and said that she would listen to advice and asked the old lady to visit often in the future.
She sat for a while longer, chatting with the old woman for a few minutes. When the street gradually filled up with pedestrians, she said goodbye to the old woman, intending to buy a few pieces of ceramics before leaving. The old woman refused to accept the money, so she stuffed the silver into a vase beside her and ran off.
Lu Qin hurried out the door, the words she hadn't spoken echoing in her mind.
Of course, we can't just let it go without understanding why.
Whoever he is, since he has committed so many evils, don't blame her for trying to do justice to Heaven.
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