The New Year was approaching soon. Old man Lu Lancheng wanted to go to the countryside to celebrate the New Year. No matter how Lu Mingyuan tried to persuade him, it was useless. Finally, Lu Zifeng stepped in and the old man agreed to celebrate the New Year in the capital.
Lu Zifeng said.
"Grandpa, look at how many people there are in our family now, including the master and the servants. Let's not talk about taking them all back now. Even if we only take the personal maids and nannies back, our house in Lujia Village is not big enough to accommodate them."
"How about this, Grandpa, when the New Year comes, I'll have someone build a big house in Lujia Village, so we can live there comfortably when we go back, right?"
After hearing this, the old man immediately became happy and no longer worried about finding some old brothers to talk and chat.
Lu Mingyuan looked at the sky helplessly and said to Tan Yunniang beside him.
"You see, our son is capable and can earn money. He promised the old man to build him a big house in Lujia Village after the New Year. The old man is happy. Alas, as a son, I have no ability to earn money and cannot build a house for the old man, so my words are useless!"
After hearing this, Tan Yunniang covered her mouth and laughed, then patted his shoulder and said angrily.
"What nonsense are you talking about? You can't blame the child. Feng Ge'er didn't come back for this family. Look at what kind of life you lived before. If Feng Ge'er hadn't come back, we could have walked from Bingzhou Prefecture to Luzhou Prefecture. "
"Now that you've enjoyed a few days of happiness, you don't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is? You are the one who enjoys the blessing of a son in this life, and there will be more blessings in the future."
Lu Mingyuan burst into laughter.
"Oh my, my wife is so good at talking! Why didn't I know this before?"
Tan Yunniang also smiled when she heard this.
"You should know how I've lived these past ten years. I've always regretted why I went to the fields to help you deliver food that day. You wouldn't starve to death if you skipped a meal, but my child is gone. When I found out it was your sister-in-law who did it, I wanted to kill her."
Lu Mingyuan embraced Tan Yunniang and held her in his arms. "I'm sorry. This is all due to that vicious woman's narrow-mindedness. You have suffered so much over the years. Even so, you still love Lu Ziyi very much. Just like mother said, you are a good person. She also told me not to let you down."
After hearing what Lu Mingyuan said, Tan Yunniang finally felt a little comforted.
The New Year has arrived. Lu Zifeng didn’t know the current year before. After asking around, he found out that this year is the 33rd year of Emperor Qing of Dayu Dynasty.
During the Chinese New Year, apart from visiting the prefect Nan Qingyun's house to pay New Year's greetings, Lu Zifeng also went back to the village with his father to pay New Year's greetings. The rest of the time he stayed at home reading and practicing martial arts.
Who would have known that after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Lu Zifeng was invited to Nan Qingyun's house again late at night.
"Greetings, sir. I wonder what you want me to do today?" Nan Qingyun didn't let Lu Zifeng finish his greetings before helping him up.
"Zifeng, uncle has something I need your help with?"
Lu Zifeng had never thought that there would be a day when Nan Qingyun would ask him for help, and said with a smile.
"Sir, if you have something to say, you may as well speak directly, as long as I can do it."
Nan Qingyun looked at Lu Zifeng with a smile. This kid was really a rascal, but he was not angry. Instead, he said.
"Just yesterday I received an official document from the neighboring Yuzhou Prefecture. A flower-plundering thief has appeared there. He is extremely skilled in martial arts. He escaped during a recent pursuit. On the 13th day of the first lunar month, he entered our Luzhou Prefecture. As you know, all the capable people in my uncle's mansion accompanied Prince Jing's family to the capital. Now that the flower-plundering thief has arrived in our Luzhou Prefecture, even if we send a letter to the capital, it may be too late. So my uncle wants you to help during this period and see if you can catch that flower-plundering thief."
Lu Zifeng nodded and said, "Master Nan, I can help with this little thing, but I'm not good at finding clues. Also, has the flower thief arrived in our Luzhou Prefecture, or is he in the surrounding counties?"
Nan Qingyun shook his head. "I don't know for now, but we need to prepare now. Cases may happen at any time, so uncle means that you should not travel far for the time being, in case I need to find you but can't find you."
Lu Zifeng said, "Okay, I'll stay at home for the time being, and when the time comes, Master Nan can send someone to find me."
After leaving the prefectural yamen, Lu Zifeng went home. After returning home, he still had to say something to his father.
Lu Zifeng originally thought that nothing would happen so soon, but who would have thought that he would not be invited to the prefectural yamen by Nan Qingyun that night.
Nan Qingyun was walking back and forth in the lobby with a frown on his face. He had not expected that the flower thief would be so crazy. In just five or six days, he had raped four or five unmarried women. When he saw Lu Zifeng coming, he didn't care about the rules and directly pulled Lu Zifeng to sit down.
"My dear nephew, I just received an official document half an hour ago. In the past five or six days, five incidents of women being robbed have occurred in Cang County, which is under the jurisdiction of Luzhou Prefecture. Two women have chosen to commit suicide because they could not bear the humiliation, and three more women have become homeless."
Lu Zifeng frowned and said, "It seems that the flower-stealing thief is seeking revenge against the imperial court. He must have been chased too hard in the neighboring prefecture!"
Nan Qingyun smiled bitterly.
"My nephew really guessed it right. The prefect of the neighboring city is my classmate, and he hates evil with an abhorrent temper. So this matter is probably because they pursued him too hard. However, if they didn't pursue him more closely, it would not work. That flower-plundering thief has violated more than ten women in the neighboring city and killed more than ten people!"
Lu Zifeng nodded. "What do you mean, sir?"
Nan Qingyun looked at Lu Zifeng helplessly.
"I've told you so many times, just call me Uncle Nan, no need to be so polite, not to mention that you're my son's marksmanship master."
Lu Zifeng bowed and said, "Okay, sir, this is not the time to worry about this. Let's talk about what to do. You know I have never done such a thing. I am only responsible for catching criminals."
Nan Qingyun didn't dwell on this matter anymore and said.
"Now, Uncle needs you to go to Cang County with the constables from our yamen and capture that flower-stealing thief at a critical moment. If he resists, he can be executed immediately."
Lu Zifeng nodded and said, "I understand. I'll go home now and tell my father to have the detectives come directly to my house to look for me."
Nan Qingyun nodded and said, "Go ahead. I'll start making arrangements. Oh, and Feng'er, I've got you a badge so it'll be easier for you to get around when you're out in the world."
Lu Zifeng turned around, took the badge, thanked him, and went home.
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