Chapter 71 Fortunately, I faked my death and am still alive!
Shen Rongzhi's voice was hoarse: "Brother Lu, I really didn't know that Zhao Ruo had..."
Zhang interrupted, "Rong-ge'er has only been home for a short while, and hasn't been informed yet!"
Lu Bohong laughed angrily: "He hasn't been informed yet? So he didn't even visit his wife when he returned home? The matriarch of the Shen family has just passed away, yet the whole mansion is decorated with red and white. Master Gu, when you entered the door, did you sense even a trace of mourning?"
Gu Xian closed his fan and sighed softly: "Just now, I thought that Madam Lu had just recovered from a serious illness and was celebrating three happy events, so the house was filled with joy."
He said in a low voice, "No wonder I came here and didn't see Madam Lu come out."
"Bang."
A muffled thud suddenly sounded inside the hall.
Lu Bohong punched Shen Rongzhi hard in the left cheek.
Caught off guard, Shen Rongzhi staggered back a few steps, his usually gentle face flushed red, and blood from his lips stained his clothes.
"Smack!"
Lin Yingyu's eyebrows shot up, and she darted between the two, slapping Lu Bohong across the face.
Lu Bohong slightly turned his head to avoid it, glaring angrily at Lin Yingyu. Although he was crude, he kept in mind the ancient saying that "a good man does not fight with a woman," and in the end, he did not lay a hand on the woman.
Zhang rushed forward, her fingers trembling as she wiped the blood from her son's lips. When she saw Lin Yingyu daring to raise her hand at Lu Bohong, her old face turned ashen.
This guy who just returned from overseas is really arrogant and ignorant!
Shen Qing's face was ashen.
That stupid woman! No matter how fallen the Lu family is, Lu Bohong is still a legitimate martial arts scholar and a patrolman receiving a salary from the imperial court! How dare a woman from the inner quarters lay a hand on him?
He was about to step forward to reprimand him when Gu Xian sneered, "The Shen family has some grand rules. How dare a mere concubine lay a hand on the mistress's brother? Besides, Lord Lu is a martial arts champion and an official of the imperial court!"
"Someone come here."
Xiao Yeming's voice wasn't loud, but it was like cold iron tempered with ice, clearly penetrating the hall: "Take him down."
He didn't move, only coldly glancing at Lin Yingyu.
His pale face remained expressionless, except for a pair of deep eyes, in which a hint of anger was surging, but he suppressed it with his strong self-control, turning it into a terrifying fierceness in his eyes.
How dare you hit Sister Lu's brother?
If it weren't for representing the imperial court at this moment, and if it weren't for the fear of disrupting Sister Lu's plan and ruining the important matter... I would definitely have taken that hand away from her with my own hands!
Two guards entered the courtyard upon hearing the noise.
Although Lin Yingyu was restrained, she straightened her back, patted her belly, and said loudly, "I come from a fishing village and do not know etiquette, but I know that husband and wife are one! Even if he is an official, he cannot be allowed to beat his husband!"
Her gaze was intense, showing no fear.
Shen Rongzhi's chest suddenly felt burning hot...
Yes, what he coveted was the fisherwoman's passionate, sea-scented devotion, her unwavering sincerity that allowed her to curse the government, overturn tables, and trample morality into the mud for him.
It's not about "a gentleman being cautious even when alone".
He hurriedly knelt down, his forehead almost touching the ground, and said in a panicked voice, "General Xiao, please calm down! I am pregnant and was momentarily confused, which is why I acted so rashly. I beg your forgiveness!"
He then hurriedly turned to Lu Bohong, bowing deeply and saying, "Brother-in-law, please forgive me! It is all Rongzhi's fault for managing the household poorly, allowing his concubine to act arrogantly and rudely, thus offending you, brother-in-law!"
Shen Qingshu quickly stepped forward, knelt down, and said urgently, "General, please be understanding! My lord, please calm down! Lin comes from a fishing village and is unfamiliar with court etiquette. Although she has offended the officials, please consider that she is pregnant and acted in a hurry to protect her husband... I beg General Xiao and Nephew Lu to be magnanimous and forgive her this time!"
Zhang also kowtowed repeatedly, but she was indignant. Even though the fisherwoman acted rashly, the Shen family was still a "loyal merchant" that had been commended. What did it matter if she hit a mere inspector?
When Lu Bohong saw that Shen Rongzhi was kneeling down to plead for a woman from a fishing village and was protecting her so earnestly, he couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness and sorrow.
I feel heartbroken for my younger sister's grievances and sacrifices.
He clearly remembered that when Shen Rongzhi offended Li Yanei, his younger sister pleaded for him, but he cowered behind her, too afraid to show his face...
Every time he was in danger, it was his younger sister who shielded him. When had he ever protected his younger sister like that?
The two elders of the Shen family also pleaded for mercy from a mistress. When have they ever treated their younger sister well?
If my younger sister were to witness it with her own eyes, wouldn't it be like having her heart ripped out?
"Haha... The way you're kneeling and begging for mercy for this mistress shows you care about her a hundred times more than you care about my sister!"
Lu Bohong suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly, his laughter desolate, and his face was covered with tears.
Zhang hurriedly retorted, "If Zhaoruo were still alive... she would be so virtuous and understanding! After all..."
"After all what?"
Gu Xian slowly interjected, tapping her palm lightly with the ribs of her fan, "After all, when she was alive, you didn't treat her like a human being either?"
Zhang's face turned deathly pale instantly.
Shen Qingshu also coughed awkwardly.
Shen Rongzhi frowned slightly, his tone filled with guilt: "I have wronged Zhaoruo and let her down, but she is so kind and benevolent, if she were alive, she would not have the heart to pursue this matter..."
Why would she pursue this?
He knew Lu Zhaoruo too well; she was a woman of strict manners, gentle nature, and always put him first.
Even if she hadn't died of illness, even if I had asked her to give up the position of mistress to Yingyu, she would probably have silently agreed, right?
Months ago, if it weren't for the lowly maidservant by her mother's side informing Lu Zhaoruo that he had married another woman and had children outside, she probably would have already raised her and the fisherwoman's child under her wing, treating them as the apple of her eye and showering them with love.
"She committed the crime of assaulting an official."
Xiao Yeming reiterated in a cold voice, his tone flat yet carrying an undeniable authority.
Zhang and Shen Qingshu were so anxious that they were covered in cold sweat.
Unexpectedly, Lin Yingyu broke free of the restraints and thrust her pregnant belly forward, asking, "Does being an official give you the right to beat a woman's husband without cause?"
Without cause?
Lu Bohong smashed the tea table next to him with a punch.
His eyes were red with anger: "He fled overseas on the very night of his wedding, begging my younger sister to take care of him and manage the household! My younger sister is kind and generous, and what did she get in return? She got you to have an affair with him overseas and become pregnant. Is this what you call unjustified?"
He trembled all over, “My little sister’s body is barely cold, and you have not set up a mourning hall, nor hung a white banner, but are here dressed in red and green, drinking and laughing! Such treacherous and disloyal people…”
"Why can't I hit him?"
He stared intently at Shen Rongzhi: "After you returned home, did you even visit my younger sister once? Do you still have any conscience left? Did you ever think about the suffering she endured at home for more than three years? Did you return for money, or because she is seriously ill?"
Shen Rongzhi's voice remained gentle: "Bo Hong, please calm down and listen to me..."
Lu Bohong interrupted him, tears welling up in his eyes with heartache: "If I had known you were such a beast in human skin, I would have stopped my little sister from marrying into your cannibalistic Shen family."
Shen Rongzhi's expression finally changed... He had planned everything, but he never expected that this brute would actually pass the martial arts exam!
"Lu Bohong!"
Lin Yingyu suddenly called him by his name.
She took a deep breath, and a smile bloomed on her face: "How can this be entirely the husband's fault? He went out to sea to trade and unfortunately contracted malaria, his life hanging by a thread. It was I who climbed cliffs and gathered herbs, taking care of him without taking off my clothes for three whole months until he was saved... Three years in the fishing village, supporting each other through thick and thin, is this affection not the will of heaven?"
She smiled slightly. "I think if Sister Lu were alive, with her kindness, she wouldn't blame me at all; on the contrary, she would be grateful to me for saving my husband's life."
Lu Bohong's knuckles turned white from clenching his fists. What a sharp-tongued mistress!
Lin Yingyu continued, "I never imagined that Sister Lu would suddenly pass away. All the way here, I was filled with anticipation, only hoping that I could be her sister in the future and serve her with peace of mind. I never thought of taking her place as the mistress of the Shen family. She will always be the mistress of the Shen family..."
She implied, "This humble woman has never cared about such empty titles."
"We have just returned and heard this terrible news. We are equally heartbroken. The reason we did not immediately arrange the funeral is that the woman's pregnancy is unstable. The geomancer said that 'double mourning offends the fetal spirit,' which may harm the husband's bloodline. Therefore, we had no choice but to postpone it... All of this is for the sake of the Shen family's offspring."
Gu Xian leaned closer to Xiao Yeming, half-hiding his face with his fan, and whispered, "This fisherwoman is incredibly eloquent; she can even make a dead person sit up and say thank you."
Xiao Yeming's face was ashen, and the look of disgust in his eyes grew stronger.
Lin Yingyu's eyes flickered, and she became even more earnest: "Sister Lu is known for her virtue, gentleness and magnanimity. If she knew this in the afterlife, she would not be able to bear seeing her husband and children suffer and her family in turmoil."
"Your Excellency is the elder brother of the late master's mother..."
She suddenly looked up, her almond-shaped eyes wide open, a hint of reproach in them, "Doesn't she know that all she ever wanted in her life was for her husband's health and her family's harmony? Why did she have to break into the door today, beat and humiliate her husband, and bully us, the widows?"
She paused, her voice filled with sorrow: "If she knew from beyond the grave..."
"Thank goodness—"
A clear, melodious voice, like the gentle lapping of a jade spring, suddenly rang out, cutting off her words: "I am still in the mortal realm!"
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