Chapter 77 Sending the entire Shen family to the prefectural government office
Lu Zhaoruo suddenly stopped smiling: "Perfect, then let's go to the state government office together and see if your reputation as 'loyal merchants' is real or fake!"
Upon hearing this, both Shen Rongzhi and Shen Qingshu felt a vague unease.
Shen Rong stepped forward, her voice clear and gentle, tinged with bitterness: "A Ning... I've wronged you, I'm willing to apologize..."
Dongrou couldn't help but speak angrily: "Young Master Shen, what's the use of apologizing now? Your family is trying to drive my wife to her death!"
"How dare you! How dare you, a mere servant girl, interrupt!"
Enraged, Zhang stepped forward to strike.
Lu Zhaoruo grabbed her wrist with a firm and steady grip, unlike her usual gentle demeanor.
Zhang vaguely remembered that, in the past, whether she was beating the maid or her, the girl always looked timid and frightened...
Lu Zhaoruo's eyes were as cold as knives: "I almost forgot, I also need to sue the Zhang family of Shenmen..."
She raised her voice: "An elder murders a child!"
She forcefully shook off Zhang's wrist.
Zhang trembled all over, almost collapsing, and despite her guilty conscience, she forced herself to say, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Lu Zhaoruo smiled slightly and turned her gaze to the outside of the main hall: "That bowl of 'medicinal soup' is waiting outside the door."
Looking up, Zhang saw the two servants who had been sent to dispose of the body the night before standing outside the door with their heads bowed. One of them was holding the bowl of medicinal food.
Her legs went weak, and she collapsed to her knees.
Shen Qingshu also staggered and almost fell, but for the first time, Shi Tou did not step forward to help him up.
Stone thought to himself, "Your retribution has come."
Shen Rongzhi murmured in a daze, "Mother... she actually poisoned me?"
He truly knew nothing about this.
He looked at Lu Zhaoruo, his eyes glistening with tears, and said in a pained voice, "A-Ning... I really didn't know..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was abruptly interrupted by a cold, commanding voice. Xiao Yeming stood up abruptly: "Guards! Take all of them to the prefectural government office!"
At a command, eight armored naval soldiers rushed in and swiftly subdued Shen Rongzhi, Lin Yingyu, Shen Qingshu, and the still struggling Zhang Shi.
Zhang struggled, "General Xiao, weren't you... weren't you here to congratulate the Shen family? Why are you helping her?"
Xiao Yeming ignored him.
Lu Zhaoruo turned and walked towards the door, her clothes fluttering in the wind.
Although Gu Xian felt that there was still more to say, he quickly composed himself and followed.
The four "servants" who had been guarding the door retreated to the side of the road, exchanging glances with each other.
For them, today is a truly spectacular 'show'.
Just as the group was walking towards the gate of the house, amidst Zhang's wailing and screaming, a clear cry of a little girl suddenly broke the silence...
Zhang was startled and cried out, "My granddaughter!"
Why is she crying? Wasn't she supposed to be taken care of by Granny Zhou in the yard?
Lin Yingyu could no longer contain herself and her expression became flustered.
Then, Greenie walked steadily towards them, carrying "Pearl Maiden".
Following behind was Granny Zhou, who was bruised and swollen and limping. Granny Zhou said, "Madam, the eldest daughter beat up this old servant and even took the girl away."
Lu Zhaoruo glanced at Zhang Shi and Lin Yingyu's pale faces, and a faint smile appeared on her lips: "This is your own granddaughter, Zhang Shi, and the biological child of Lin Niangzi and Shen Langjun. Naturally, she should be taken to the state office together, so that it will be convenient for blood recognition, right?"
Zhang's pupils constricted sharply, and she exclaimed in horror, "You...you knew all along..."
Lu Zhaoruo smiled but remained silent.
Zhang suddenly realized what was happening and hissed, “So you knew all along! No wonder you refused to adopt her that day no matter what… So what about that lowly servant Li Chunyan… Ah! It was all your plan! You vicious woman…”
"Hmm!"
Xiao Yeming glanced at her, and the guards beside him immediately gagged Zhang Shi with a strip of cloth, silencing her unfinished curses.
Looking at the crying child in Lü'er's arms, Lin Yingyu finally lost her composure. She turned to Shen Rongzhi in a panic, only to see him still trying to maintain his gentle demeanor, but his face was filled with a bleak helplessness.
Shen Rongzhi was thinking.
Ah Ning's current actions are simply because she learned that I had married someone else, and she was filled with jealousy and resentment, which is why she acted so fiercely.
He thought he understood her deeply, but after all, they were childhood sweethearts; how could they so easily sever their past bond? Once she calmed down, she surely wouldn't have the heart to truly put him in such a desperate situation…
As the group was escorted out of the Shen residence, they attracted the attention of the neighbors who stopped and peered out to watch as soon as they reached the alley entrance.
At the alley entrance, Wang Wu, Xiao Yeming's personal attendant, was already standing and waiting, leading several tall, fine horses.
Upon seeing Xiao Yeming emerge, he immediately strode forward.
Xiao Yeming turned to Lu Zhaoruo and said, "The journey is not short, please mount your horse, Madam Lu."
As he spoke, he personally took the most docile chestnut horse from Wang Wu's hands.
Lu Zhaoruo was slightly taken aback...
She never expected that the taciturn and aloof Commander Xiao would be so thoughtful as to prepare a horse for her.
Does she usually not even give me a second glance?
Fortunately, she had been learning horsemanship since childhood, so she didn't refuse and nodded slightly: "Thank you, Commander Xiao."
With Dongrou's help, she deftly flipped herself onto the horse, her movements fluid and graceful as her skirt fluttered, clearly indicating that she was used to riding horses.
This swift and beautiful skill caused a barely perceptible hint of surprise to flash across Xiao Yeming's eyes.
Not only is Sister Lu exceptionally talented in literature and possesses a refined and resilient character like bamboo, but she also has such a forthright and spirited air...
He lowered his eyes.
She was even more stunning than he had imagined.
Shen Rongzhi also witnessed Lu Zhaoruo leaping onto her horse.
He knew that she had learned riding from her brother Lu Bohong since childhood, but because he had once expressed his dislike for women being so flamboyant, she had never touched a saddle again.
Now, seeing her sitting upright on her horse, her back straight, her clothes fluttering in the wind, it's as if the gentle and docile woman of the past has suddenly shed her old shell, and a strange and dazzling radiance flows from her body.
He stared blankly, a complex sense of amazement involuntarily welling up in his heart.
It was as if only now, at this moment, that he truly saw what she was meant to be...
Lu Zhaoruo sat upright on her horse, her gaze calmly sweeping over the staggering Shen family members beneath her feet, her demeanor composed and unhurried.
Xiao Yeming immediately gestured, and Wang Wu handed the reins of another horse to Lu Zhaoruo's elder brother, Lu Bohong.
Lu Bohong immediately cupped his hands and said generously, "Thank you, Commander Xiao!"
He quickly mounted his horse and stood guard beside his sister.
Xiao Yeming and Wang Wu also jumped onto their horses one after another.
Upon seeing this, Gu Xian immediately cried out, "Hey! Where's my horse? Where's I?"
He circled the horse once, raising an eyebrow at Xiao Yeming, who was sitting upright on the horse, with displeasure.
Xiao Yeming glanced at him indifferently and said in a flat tone, "This matter seems to have nothing to do with Master Gu, so there is no need to go to the state office together."
Gu Xian jumped up and down in anger: "How can it be nothing? How could I miss such a grand show?"
He lowered his voice, gritting his teeth, "Xiao Yeming, you're really disloyal!"
Having said that, he turned away sullenly and waved his hand dismissively at his attendants: "Go! Quickly prepare a sedan chair for me! The fastest one!"
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