Chapter 109 Li Yanei lures Lu Zhaoruo into a trap
A few more days passed.
Lu Zhaoruo's earlier move has finally shown its effectiveness.
The storyteller, Mr. Wang, told her that she had taken the entire Shen family to court and severed all ties with them. This story not only spread throughout Jizhou City, but also reached people outside the city.
Today, "Lu Ji Embroidery Building" is very famous.
Many ladies came from far and wide, and the embroidered tower was bustling with visitors.
Several elegantly dressed wives of officials placed large orders for decorations for birthday banquets and weddings, specifically requesting that Madam Lu personally supervise the embroidery.
Even her fabric shop and tailor shop benefited from the boom, with orders pouring in and incomes plentiful.
At this moment, Lu Zhaoruo was looking down at her abacus, and the shop was so quiet that only the soft sound of the beads clinking could be heard.
The curtain moved, and Gui'er, the maidservant who served Wan Miaoniang, tiptoed in.
With a smile on her face, she gave a proper bow: "Greetings, Madam Lu. My wife asked me to inquire about the progress of the embroidery of the sparrow-carrying-branch skirt she prepared for her younger sister's coming-of-age ceremony. My wife is eagerly awaiting it."
The sound of the abacus paused for a moment.
Lu Zhaoruo felt a little strange. Just a few days ago, Madam Wan clearly said there was no rush. Why did she suddenly start urging her?
Her younger sister's coming-of-age ceremony is still seven days away.
She remained expressionless, only replying gently, "Miss Lao Gui'er, please tell her that we have a lot of orders lately, and the embroiderers are all rushing to finish. This dress only needs a few stitches to be completed, it will be done soon."
Gui'er followed up with, "Then... can it be finished before 7 PM tonight?"
Lu Zhaoruo originally planned to submit the document the day after tomorrow, but seeing that the other party was indeed in a hurry, she nodded: "Since it is urgent, I will tell them to work on it first. It should be ready before 7 p.m.
Gui'er smiled even more upon hearing this: "That's wonderful! To tell you the truth, my wife is holding a coming-of-age banquet for my little sister at our Shuyu Courtyard tonight. My little sister has always admired someone as capable as you, Madam Lu. When she heard that the dress was embroidered by you, she was overjoyed and kept pestering her older sister to invite you over for a drink and to meet you."
She spoke warmly and added, "Madam Wan always remembers that you are an old acquaintance with a deep friendship, and now that she has taken such good care of you, she would like to invite you over for a visit."
Lu Zhaoruo's fingers never stopped moving the abacus beads, but her mind was racing.
What deep friendship did she have with Wan Miaoniang?
In this life, she clearly intended to distance herself, so this sudden invitation seemed rather strange.
But the other party spoke so tactfully and mentioned the young girl's good intentions, making it difficult to refuse.
She pondered for a moment, then finally nodded: "I see. Then tell Lady Wan that I will arrive on time at 7:00 PM with my formal dress."
At approximately 1:45 PM, Lu Zhaoruo took Sun Jing with her when she went out.
Sweetwater Lane was located in a secluded spot in the west of the city. At this hour, there were no pedestrians on the road, only a few scattered barks of dogs and the faint sound of the night watchman's clapper in the distance.
The alley was deep and narrow, and the further you went in, the fewer lights there were. Only a lantern in Sun Jing's hand illuminated the bluestone path under his feet.
Shuyu Courtyard is hidden at the very back of the alley, requiring you to turn several corners.
Sun Jing followed half a step behind her, his eyes scanning the dark walls on both sides and every possible dark corner with vigilance.
As they reached the last corner outside Shuyu Courtyard, Sun Jing suddenly stopped and exclaimed in a low voice, "Fu'er?"
Not far away, a thin figure dressed in coarse cloth was standing in the shadows at the base of the wall.
How did she end up here?
Sun Jing was greatly alarmed; this secluded alley was definitely not the time or place where his younger sister should be.
Lu Zhaoruo also spotted the figure and said softly, "Go and ask her what happened."
"Fu'er! What are you doing here?"
Sun Jingchao hurried a few steps away.
The figure trembled violently at the sound, then turned and ran into the darker alley!
Sun Jing was stunned.
What's wrong with Fu'er?
Lu Zhaoruo also frowned; Fu'er's reaction was too unusual.
"Master, this..."
Sun Jing was caught in a dilemma, wanting to chase after her but stopping himself, as his duty prevented him from leaving Lu Zhaoruo's side easily.
Lu Zhaoruo said decisively, "Go after her quickly! This place is too secluded; we absolutely cannot let her get lost on her own! I'll go into the courtyard now; Madam Wan is inside, nothing will happen to her."
Sun Jing hesitated for only a moment before clasping his hands in a deep fist salute: "I will go and return immediately!"
After saying that, he ran in the direction where Fu'er had disappeared.
Lu Zhaoruo watched his figure disappear before taking a deep breath and turning to walk towards the gate of Shuyu Courtyard.
The courtyard gate was ajar, and dim light shone through the crack.
She pushed open the door and entered, but it was eerily quiet inside. The courtyard was empty, not at all like the lively scene of a banquet. There was no coming-of-age banquet to be seen.
Her heart sank suddenly. Realizing something was wrong, she abruptly turned around—
With a muffled creak, the courtyard gate was slammed shut from the outside, followed by the clear sound of the bolt falling!
Lu Zhaoruo gripped the brocade box tightly in her hand, her gaze quickly sweeping across the quiet courtyard, and called out, "Madam Wan?"
No one answered.
Only the faint sound of the night wind passing through the corridor could be heard.
She raised her voice again: "Gui'er? Is she there?"
She spoke again: "Madam Wan, I have delivered the dress. Please come out and meet me."
Still no one answered.
Her heart was pounding.
An uneasy premonition welled up inside me.
Just then, a low chuckle came from the shadows of the pillars, tinged with a sticky smugness: "Madam Lu, you've kept me waiting."
Then, a man with an ordinary appearance and slightly dark circles under his eyes slowly walked out from the shadows, holding a folding fan.
He wore a triumphant smile, like a hunter admiring his prey that had fallen into his trap.
It was none other than that young master Li!
Lu Zhaoruo's heart sank suddenly, and she took several steps back. In an instant, she understood—this was a trap set specifically for her!
The "Fu'er" from earlier was also a carefully arranged decoy, just to lure Sun Jing away from her!
Li Yanei unfolded his folding fan with a "whoosh," shook it lightly twice with feigned elegance, and laughed, "Madam Wan and her maid are very sensible. They vacated this courtyard early on, leaving it for the two of us... to enjoy a romantic night together."
Spend the night together?
Lu Zhaoruo felt a chill run down her spine—
She never expected that Wan Miaoniang, who was also a woman, would be so self-deprecating, aiding and abetting evil, and helping Li Yanei to set a trap for her!
She suppressed her surging nausea and anger, cautiously took half a step back, her back ramrod straight, and said coldly, "Young Master Li, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to abduct a woman?"
"Forcibly abducting women?"
Li Yanei chuckled, his murky gaze sweeping over her like sticky filth. "This is an invitation to a beauty! Tsk tsk... Such beauty and grace, truly a fairy-like figure, far superior to that Miao Niang, it's just that her temperament... is a bit too fiery."
He took a few steps closer, his pungent smell of alcohol hitting you: "But even the wildest horse becomes docile after you get used to it, my lady..."
He lowered his voice, his tone nauseatingly suggestive, "Give in tonight!"
Lu Zhaoruo suddenly turned around and pulled the door bolt, her hands trembling slightly with anger and fear, but the door remained as if it were welded shut.
Li Yanei was smug, as if he had expected this: "Don't waste your energy. So what if you open the door? The guards outside are all my men."
"You beast! Shameless!"
Lu Zhaoruo cursed angrily.
"Go ahead and curse, curse all you want!"
Far from being angry, Li Yanei became even more excited, grinning and saying, "Let's see if you can still curse when we get to bed... I'm afraid you'll only be able to scream! Haha!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
