Lu Jin asked back, "How can you be sure it wasn't her? She was the only outsider present."
Lu Tianyun was furious. "Father, everyone here is a suspect, except Fushu. What good will it do her to spread this? She'll just get a reputation as a gossip. She's a smart person, and she keeps her word. This is definitely not her. Please, Father, don't wrongly accuse my friend."
Lu Jin was slightly stunned. He hadn't expected his daughter to place such importance on this friend, someone she'd only just met, to even contradict him, her father, for her sake. If she were an ordinary girl, why would she frequent such a lowly place as a gambling den? If she were an ordinary girl, why would she cause a scene in court and disrespect her parents and officials? If she were an ordinary girl, why would she gossip?
He had no good impression of Hua Fushu and even disliked her. Naturally, he couldn't let his carefully educated daughter be led astray: "Why don't you go to the Ye Mansion and ask your good friend if she was the one who spread the news? People who don't keep their promises are not worth making friends with!" After saying that, he turned away, the anger between his brows only growing.
Lu Tianyun looked at Lu Jin's back and said, "Father, I will prove to you that Fu Shu is not that kind of person!"
Bisi and Xinyan were just outside the house, so they naturally heard the quarrel between Lu Tianyun and Lu Jin. They had followed Lu Tianyun for many years, and this was the first time they saw Lu Tianyun and Lu Jin quarreling, and it was over an outsider.
When the two entered, they saw that Lu Tianyun's face was blue, and he looked furious. Xinyan wanted to say something, but the words were choked in her throat.
Bisi had been with Lu Tianyun the longest, even two or three years earlier than Xinyan. This was the first time she had seen Lu Tianyun so angry. After her expression calmed down a bit, she slowly said, "Miss, the master is also worried that you are not careful in choosing friends. I have only known Miss Fushu for a short time, and I believe that Miss Fushu is not the kind of person who does not keep her promises."
Lu Tianyun asked, "Do you also believe in Fushu?"
Bis nodded.
Xinyan said, "Miss, why don't you go to the Ye Mansion and ask Madam Fushu?"
Lu Tianyun nodded after thinking about it, and asked Bisi to prepare gifts and some cakes that Hua Fushu liked to eat. He also asked Xinyan to harness the carriage and change clothes before heading to Ye Mansion.
After Hua Fushu left the Bao family, she went straight back to the General's Mansion around noon. Before that, Ye Shiheng was afraid that she would not eat well outside, so he asked Side to take her back to the mansion for lunch. From then on, she would try to go back to the mansion for lunch if she could. If she had to, she would eat at Doctor Li's house. Mrs. Li was also an easy person to get along with, and she got along well with her.
Before dinner time, Hua Fushu returned to Penglai Residence. When she reached the yard, Side called her and handed her a letter. On the envelope was a painting of a red plum blossom and her name was written.
Painting plum blossoms on envelopes was a unique habit of her master. Normally, she would only do so when she needed help. She figured she had something important to ask her out. She took the letter, unearthed the paper, and was startled by its contents. It said someone was impersonating a member of the sect and interfering in the affairs of Cheng Wenbo, the prefect of Yuezhou. Her master wanted her to go to Yuezhou and investigate.
Her master's status was too different to hers to handle the matter personally, so he asked her to go to Yuezhou to investigate. Her master was a cautious person, so even the words on the letter were written by Aunt Honeysuckle who was by her side.
He put the letter in his arms and walked into the courtyard. He saw a fairy in a moon-white silk dress standing in the pavilion. She walked over quickly and said with a smile, "Tianyun, why are you here? How long have you been here?"
Lu Tianyun said: "I just arrived."
Hua Fushu glanced at the tea and snacks on the table. "They just arrived. The tea must be getting cold."
She pulled Lu Tianyun to sit down and asked Lizhi to make a pot of new tea. Lizhi bowed and went back to make tea.
The two of them started chatting about family matters, and Lu Tianyun brought up Madam Huaping's abdominal pain. "My mother's father, Marquis Wenyuan, came to our house today and accused my father of neglecting my mother. My mother had accidentally eaten something she shouldn't have eaten without knowing it, but word of this spread among the people and reached Marquis Wenyuan's ears. Marquis Wenyuan has always loved my mother, but he's also a bit impatient. When he heard the news, he naturally wanted to ask my father for an explanation. I don't know who spread this story, and it almost severed the relationship between the Lu and Luo families."
When Hua Fushu was bored, he would gossip about other families. While eating mung bean cake, he asked, "Didn't you check? Logically, the rules in a big house like yours are the most strict. How could you allow people to gossip and spread rumors?"
Lu Tianyun sighed softly, "Even if we investigate, we still don't know who it is. He has a mouth on his body, and no one can shut him up. It's not easy to force a confession by torture."
A pair of phoenix eyes couldn't help but glance over, but was caught by someone. Out of a woman's sensitivity and suspicion, Hua Fushu was incredulous: "Tianyun, you won't doubt me, will you?"
Lu Tianyun weighed it carefully before saying, "Fushu, is it really not you?"
Hua Fushu put down the half-eaten mung bean cake and smiled faintly: "Tianyun, if you trusted me, you wouldn't have come to the General's Mansion to question me. You are the first friend I met in the capital. However, I didn't expect that I was so untrustworthy in your eyes."
Lu Tianyun suddenly realized that she had been too impatient and had lost her composure. She felt guilty for a moment and was about to apologize when Hua Fushu had already ordered Sanqiao: "Qiao'er, send the guest away."
She spoke lightly, and Lu Tianyun felt strangely uneasy, as if two rivers had suddenly separated. Hua Fushu had already left the courtyard, and as she saw him about to leave, she hurried after him and asked, "Fushu, do you have any?"
Hua Fushu stopped and didn't look back at Lu Tianyun. There was a hint of disappointment on his face. He said lightly, "No, this matter has nothing to do with me."
Hearing this, Lu Tianyun smiled. She knew that Hua Fushu was not such a person. She could proudly tell her father that she did not make the wrong friends. Hua Fushu had already entered Feiyuan. She glanced at the back that disappeared at the outer gate, with a hint of apology in her eyes.
Sanqiao escorted Lu Tianyun to the entrance of the General's Mansion. The driver of the Lu Mansion led the carriage towards Lu Tianyun. She said, "Miss Sanqiao, please tell Fushu for me. I trust her. She is not the first friend I have met, but she is the one I cherish most."
Sanqiao said, "Don't worry, Miss Lu. I will tell you. You are a little angry, but you will be fine in a couple of days."
Only after watching Lu Tianyun get into the car did Sanqiao return home.
The three generations of grandparents and grandchildren from Feiyuan were having a meal. When they saw Hua Fushu coming in, the old general's face darkened slightly, and it was obvious that he did not welcome her arrival. However, Hua Fushu ignored her and moved a stool to sit down. Then, he quickly took the bowl of white rice that Yuzhi handed to Ye Songyan.
Ye Songyan couldn't help but blink, thinking that he had seen it wrong. The white rice that should have been his was snatched away by someone.
It was indeed robbed.
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