Chapter 94 Who exactly is Lin Yingyu's backer?
Shen Rongzhi stared blankly at her smiling face, his fingertips digging into the cracks in the wooden bars, forcing a smile: "If you really don't care, why did you come to this prison to see me?"
How could I not love it?
She clearly still hates herself; that hate means she hasn't forgotten her feelings!
Ah Ning, you've always been the most stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside...
Lu Zhaoruo suddenly remembered her business and took out a white jade pendant from her sleeve.
The jade pendant was warm and translucent, but the character "沉" (chen, meaning sink) was clearly engraved on the back.
"Does Young Master Shen still remember this item?"
She gently twisted the cord with her fingertips, letting the jade pendant slowly rotate in the dim light.
When Shen Rongzhi saw the jade pendant, his face turned ashen.
Lu Zhaoruo carefully observed every change in his expression and said, "It seems you remember. But why is this jade pendant in Geng Qionghua's hands?"
"I...I don't know..."
His pale lips trembled, and he subconsciously lowered his head.
Lu Zhaoruo continued unhurriedly, "More than a month ago, Geng Qionghua came from the capital. She not only brought me a 'chastity arch,' but also told me that her husband had a chance encounter with you at sea. She said that you were on your way home to reunite with me, and you even took out this jade pendant that you kept close to your body to show people, saying that you had a surprise for me..."
She suddenly chuckled, her gaze sweeping over Shen Rongzhi like a knife: "Then they said you were brutally murdered by the Japanese pirates, your body left without a trace. But now it seems..."
She deliberately dragged out her words, "Isn't Young Master Shen standing right here perfectly fine?"
Shen Rong forced a smile and said calmly, "Absurd! I have never met any of her husbands at sea. This is clearly a lie she made up!"
really.
He did not encounter Geng Qionghua's official at sea at all.
Why did Geng Qionghua fabricate such a lie?
His hand trembled slightly in his sleeve, but his face remained calm: "Perhaps she is very close to you as a sister and wants to help you get a memorial arch for your chastity so you can live out the rest of your life in peace."
Lu Zhaoruo stared at his seemingly innocent expression and asked again, "Then why is this jade pendant in her hands?"
A fleeting look of panic crossed Shen Rongzhi's eyes, followed by a perfectly timed expression of surprise: "I lost it the day I left home... Perhaps she found it?"
He shook his head with a wry smile, "I was in such a hurry that I didn't even notice."
Lu Zhaoruo scrutinized him suspiciously.
He immediately swore an oath, saying urgently, "Ah Ning, I swear! I never met her husband at sea, nor did I ever take out the jade pendant to show anyone!"
Looking at his swearing, Lu Zhaoruo suddenly recalled that snowy night that year. He knelt in the courtyard, snowflakes covering his shoulders, but his voice was as hot as fire: "I only ask that my wife grant me this once. I swear that I will return in glory. At that time, the shop will be prosperous, and my wife will only need to manage the accounts. No one will dare to look down on us again. I, Shen Rongzhi, will definitely make sure that my wife lives a good life with my own abilities!"
She suddenly chuckled softly: "Young Master Shen, how dare you swear an oath in front of me?"
He then asked, "How much is your vow worth now?"
Shen Rongzhi's cheeks flushed red, but she forced a sincere expression: "This time... I really didn't lie to you."
Lu Zhaoruo naturally knew that the encounter at sea was fabricated by Geng Qionghua.
However, the fact that the jade pendant inexplicably appeared in Geng Qionghua's hands, and whether it was lost as he claimed, remains unknown.
She slowly raised the jade pendant, examining its simple, childlike carvings against the light: "Do you still remember that I spent three nights carving this jade pendant for you?"
Shen Rongzhi looked at the jade pendant and said, "Of course I remember... I wore it with me day and night back then, and never took it off."
Before she could finish speaking, her fingers suddenly loosened...
Snap!
The jade pendant hit the ground and shattered into several pieces.
Shen Rong subconsciously squatted down, wanting to pick it up: "A Ning! You..."
"This jade pendant..."
Lu Zhaoruo glanced down at the broken pieces on the ground, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Now, just like you, you disgust me."
She lifted her foot, her embroidered shoe grinding forcefully against the broken jade, her voice almost a whisper: "Disgusting things should naturally be smashed to pieces."
Before Shen Rongzhi could speak, she turned and left.
Behind him, Shen Rongzhi's voice called out: "A-Ning..."
Lu Zhaoruo said, "You will serve three years as a penal servitude, and after serving your sentence, you will be exiled two thousand miles away. Shen Rongzhi, this is the price you pay for deceiving and cheating me."
She suddenly stopped and glanced back at Shen Rongzhi, who had collapsed to the ground: "We will never see each other again in this life."
The figure disappeared into the dark corridors of the prison, leaving no trace.
Shen Rongzhi slumped on the filthy straw mat, his face ashen.
The dignity that had been painstakingly maintained for twenty-one years was shattered completely in an instant.
He was no longer a scholar, no longer a handsome young man, but a prisoner about to be permanently banished from the world, to toil like livestock in the wilderness until his death.
Even if they were lucky enough to be granted a general amnesty, they would return disgraced, homeless, and despised by everyone.
His father's gruesome "bloodshed in the courtroom" only reduced his exile by a thousand miles, which made him feel even more ashamed.
The mother was sentenced to death by hanging.
Fisherwoman!
He suddenly remembered Lin Yingyu...
She was sentenced to three years in prison and 100 strokes of the cane.
Three years later, she was released from prison. How did a woman support her eldest daughter and unborn child?
He struggled and lunged toward the cell door, shouting hoarsely, "Officer! Please, have mercy and let me see the fisherwoman!"
A jailer strolled over, chewing on a blade of grass, and sneered, "Take care of yourself first! Your mistress is living the high life in prison, and your eldest daughter has a wet nurse to serve her. They're much better off than you!"
Shen Rongzhi was stunned, taking it as a joke.
The jailer leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Speaking of which, young master Shen, just who is your mistress? Even the prefect is exceptionally lenient with her; even General Xiao's influence isn't this effective!"
Shen Rongzhi trembled, looking at the jailer's expression as if it were true.
But what kind of support could the fisherwoman have? She was just an orphan girl from a fishing village...
The jailer continued, "Once news arrives from the capital, she will most likely be released."
Belonging to the capital?
release?
A light suddenly flashed in Shen Rongzhi's lifeless eyes. If it were true, the fisherwoman would definitely save him too.
The streets were deserted and desolate late at night.
Lu Zhaoruo carried a lantern and walked towards the embroidered building.
Lin Yingyu's words echoed in his mind: "You don't really think I'm going to be tortured, do you? I'll be out of here soon."
According to the law, Lin Yingyu's crimes cannot be lightly pardoned.
On that day, Xiao Yeming, a fifth-rank military officer, was present in the courtroom. The prefect was clearly aware of this relationship and did not show favoritism when sentencing the defendant.
But Lin Yingyu's calm, confident, even arrogant expression didn't seem fake...
If she can truly escape punishment, it means that the powerful backer behind her is someone whose influence surpasses that of a fifth-rank general.
Lu Zhaoruo slowly stopped and looked at the deep night before her.
She was just a merchant's wife; even if she had some wealth, how could she possibly contend with such power?
However, every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor.
Even though Lin Yingyu is hateful, she is nothing more than a knife that takes advantage of a weakness.
The ones who actually wielded the knife and injured people were the ungrateful Shen Rongzhi, and the mean and cruel Shen Qingshu and Zhang Shi.
As long as these three people—
He was sentenced to three years of penal servitude and then exiled two thousand miles away.
One of them had already died from hitting his head.
A hanging in the autumn.
The misfortune and humiliation they brought her were now over.
As for Lin Yingyu's unfathomable backing, if she is determined to take revenge, then I will rely on Xiao Yeming!
Xiao Yeming—currently a fifth-rank military general, but in the future he will be a powerful Marquis of the Seas, ruling over the seas!
No matter how powerful Lin Yingyu's backer is, can he be more powerful than a marquis personally appointed by the emperor?
Sudden.
A burly figure burst out of the dark alley and slammed into her shoulder.
Caught off guard, Lu Zhaoruo stumbled and fell to the ground, the lantern rolling to the side...
"Are you blind?!"
The burly man cursed gruffly, his face contorted with menacing features in the moonlight.
Lu Zhaoruo rubbed her aching wrist and looked up, only to be met with a fierce face, a scar running from her brow bone to the corner of her mouth...
Her blood suddenly froze.
She knew this person!
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