Chapter 314 You lied to me first!
"Aqing, did someone tell you something?" Lu Huai explained, "Things are not what you think..."
Lin Zhiqing didn't have the patience to listen any further: "Master Lu, so what if someone else told me? If no one else told me, I'm afraid I would have been kept in the dark for a long time."
"At this point, you know that your original purpose for coming to the Lin family was not clean, right?"
Hearing this, Lu Huai was silent for a while, then nodded simply:
"Yes, I admit that I came to the Lin family from the beginning to investigate the imperial gift. However, the reason I investigated this matter was also for the Lin family. I had no intention of deceiving you."
Lin Zhiqing laughed again: "For the Lin family? Lord Lu's words are really funny. I used to think you were different from others, but now it seems that I was wrong."
"You know very well that what I hate most is deception and betrayal. Regardless, you did deceive me back then."
"Investigating the imperial gift wasn't a sudden decision on your part; it was premeditated."
"You don't have to be so high-sounding and use the Lin family as an excuse."
"If you say that investigating this matter is for your own advancement, I still respect your honesty."
"Honesty? The path to a higher position?" Lu Huai's heart suddenly choked, and all those explanations were stuck in his throat.
"Ah Qing, in your eyes, am I such a utilitarian person?"
His heart seemed to be broken, and he was in extreme pain.
Lin Zhiqing felt it and looked away: "But Lu Huai, you lied to me first."
Her tone was very calm, as if she was talking to a stranger.
Lu Huai was stunned for a moment. He was stung by the strangeness in Lin Zhiqing's words, but even so, he still wanted to explain:
"Ah Qing, listen to me. I did enter the Lin family that day with the mission of investigating the imperial gift and assisting you in the investigation, but that was only the beginning..."
"Sir Lu, there is no point in saying more. It's too late." Lin Zhiqing's gaze fell to the side and never fell on Lu Huai again.
Lin Zhiqing's estrangement came too suddenly and too violently.
Lu Huai tried to find a trace of sadness on her face, but her expression was too calm.
It was as if the feelings between them had never existed.
Lu Huai took a step forward and grabbed Lin Zhiqing's wrist:
"Ah Qing, you don't care about my explanation, but now you don't even want to look at me?"
Lin Zhiqing let him hold her as if the person in front of him was a stranger.
Such an attitude made Lu Huai's heart suffocate, and dense pain enveloped him.
He slowly let go of Lin Zhiqing's wrist, but still wanted to explain:
"Ah Qing, I'm in the Ministry of Revenue. I did hear that the Ministry was going to investigate the Lin family's imperial gift that day, but I didn't know about it when I entered the Lin family's Ministry of Revenue. It was my father who wanted me to help the Lin family."
"I didn't explain it to you because you were hiding your incompetence at the time. I didn't know how smart you were, and besides, we weren't familiar with each other then."
Lin Zhiqing turned around and asked, "What happened next? You had countless opportunities to explain."
"But Ah Qing..." Lu Huai's eyes were red.
"If I had spoken then, you would have rejected me as you do now."
"I don't want to become a stranger with you."
He was right. If he had confessed to Lin Zhiqing at any point in time that his original intention was impure, Lin Zhiqing would not accept it.
Jiang Liuyun was right. In addition to the people around him, Lin Zhiqing's Achilles' heel was also deception.
Perhaps their initial encounter was inherently contradictory.
Lin Zhiqing closed his eyes and shouted outside, "Zhao Yan, show the guest out."
Lu Huai's body trembled, and he took two steps forward, but Lin Zhiqing turned around and went into the inner room.
"Lord Lu, please come in." Chao Yan's voice was like a wall, separating the two of them.
Lin Zhiqing knew that Lu Huai had been standing there for a long time. Only when Chao Yan spoke again to see him off did the footsteps slowly fade away.
She slowly closed her eyes, and it felt like a huge hole had opened in her heart.
Chao Yan's worried voice came in: "Miss, Miss, are you okay?"
Lin Zhiqing did not answer.
Chao Yan sighed, left the room and closed the door.
But Lin Zhiqing could no longer hear those voices.
She seemed to have returned to the day when she first came to Dasheng. The surrounding environment was strange and unreal.
She felt like an intruder, out of tune with this world.
Aunt Mu was the first person to introduce her to this world.
But Aunt Mu had left her.
Lu Huai and Jiang Liuyun are the ones who help her further accept this world.
But Jiang Liuyun made up a huge lie to plot against Lin Zhiqing.
Lu Huai is the person she trusts and values the most besides Aunt Mu.
But now, he told Lin Zhiqing in person that his original purpose was not pure, and he came for the imperial gift.
Even if there were various explanations, Lin Zhiqing could not tolerate deception from the beginning.
At the beginning, she was wary of everyone in Dasheng. Now she has given her true heart to everyone, but in return she gets a truth that is not honest.
In a place like Dasheng, lies are always present.
She couldn't help but start to wonder why she was no longer as cautious as before.
It turns out that she can only trust herself.
Otherwise, how would she survive in this world?
The past came flooding back like a tide, and Lin Zhiqing recalled his first encounter with Lu Huai.
At that time, Lu Huai was never interested in other things, but when investigating the case of poisoning his cousin, he became very interested in the rhinoceros skin paint and the items of the Lin family.
Not only that, Lin Zhiqing also thought of something else.
The three items bestowed by the emperor on the Lin family were a set of headgear, a sword, and a painting.
As the memory becomes clearer, the past events seem to have answers.
At the Spring Banquet, Lu Huai had to attend the banquet even if he was teaming up with Jiang Liuyun.
Lin Zhiqing did not forget that the prize offered by the Grand Secretary's Mansion at that time was a set of filigree ruby headpieces.
In order to thank Lu Huai for his help, although she won the Spring Banquet, she gave the headdress to Lu Huai.
Afterwards, Lu Huai gave her a set of jade headwear in exchange.
After getting the headgear, Lu Huai disappeared for a while and never appeared again.
Lin Zhiqing didn’t know about the imperial gift at first, but later he found out that the imperial gift from the Lu family was a set of gold-thread headwear.
Headwear can be processed and modified, and she did not initially connect the two together.
She didn't know how this set of headwear ended up in the open, but it was obvious that the Grand Secretary's Mansion didn't know that it was a gift from the emperor.
Otherwise, they would never use this thing as a prize and give it to others for free.
And Lu Huai went there just for the imperial gift.
Lin Zhiqing also had an impression of the second imperial gift, a painting and calligraphy.
And Lu Huai is also involved.
That happened in Bianliang.
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