Chapter 23...
On the way home with Hu Datian, A Lang and A Yu walked far behind. Hu Datian was in a hurry to get back to work, so he didn't pay attention to them. Anyway, they were almost at Hezhuang, and the two children wouldn't get lost.
Seeing her father leave, Ayu frowned and asked her brother, "Why did Second Aunt come here just now? What was she planning this time?"
"I don't know her." Ah Lang thought for a moment and said, "She's probably trying to curry favor with Father again and get some benefits for Ah Fu."
Ayu nodded her little face, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Second brother, sister is locked in that urn, she must be scared..."
“Father just delivered it, so we can’t take it yet,” Ah Lang said. “Let’s go later.”
"What if Father asks us?"
“Father might not know it’s us. Even if he does, we can pretend we know nothing, and there’s nothing he can do about it,” Ah Lang said. He frowned as he recalled the scene when the Lady He and her strange brother were holding his book when he delivered the bone urn not long ago.
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Wei Yin's clothes were soaked with sweat, so she went back to the He residence to change her clothes and have a meal. Suddenly, she remembered that she was still a wife, so she went to check on He's father. Except for He Wenqing, who had been sent out by the old master He, everyone else was there. Although He Wenqing's marriage to Chen Xuanhua was supposed to bring good luck, He's father's illness did not improve at all.
Madam He assumed she had slept until this hour and arrived, so she said with a sarcastic smile, "My daughter-in-law, you've come very early today."
Wei Yin asked with a smile, "Mother, is Father feeling better?"
It would have been better if she hadn't asked. Asking only fueled Madam He's anger. She scolded her, "How dare you ask! Xuanhua came to serve you early in the morning. As a daughter-in-law, you only come when your father-in-law is seriously ill. Isn't that a bit too impolite?"
The servants under the eaves outside the room dared not utter a sound. It was Chen Xuanhua who kindly stepped forward to speak on behalf of Wei Yin: "Mother, please don't upset yourself. My sister was feeling unwell when she returned from the capital. She has been visiting Father frequently these past few days. She must really be feeling unwell, which is why she came a little late."
Mrs. He: "You don't need to say such things on her behalf."
"I wasn't speaking up for my sister, I was just telling the truth." Chen Xuanhua smiled and said a lot of words of comfort before Madam He stopped pursuing the matter. Then she said that Madam He had been there all morning without resting and coaxed her to go back and rest first.
After coaxing Madam He away, Chen Xuanhua pulled Wei Yin aside and said a few words. Wei Yin had no idea that A Zhu had blindfolded her and stolen her amulet. She only thought that she was dizzy because she was too weak and didn't think much of it.
As Madam He helped the old woman out of the room, they bumped into two old women from Old Master He's room leading a stout, coarse country woman from the courtyard toward Old Master He's side.
Curious, she called over one of the old women and asked, "Who is this woman?"
The old woman replied, "She's from He Village. I heard her husband's surname is Fu or something like that, I can't quite remember. She just ran over to see the old master, and he told me to take her there."
"Why would the old man want to see her, a country woman?"
"Then we don't know either." The old woman shook her head, then replied, "However, this woman did come to the mansion once this year, and the old master met her in person, but we really haven't heard anything about what happened."
Madam He glanced at the woman, and the middle-aged woman, seeing her looking over, bowed very obsequiously to greet her. Madam He, curious, beckoned her over and asked, "What brings you to see the old master?"
The woman simply said, "It's nothing..."
"What is it that the old master wants to see you about?" Madam He was getting annoyed when she saw that she wouldn't tell.
The woman was very nervous and quickly became very careful.
Since it was the person Old Master He wanted to see, Madam He didn't want to pry and ask too many questions, fearing that the old man would be unhappy if he found out. So she had to suppress her curiosity, glared at him, and waved her hand, saying, "In that case, take him there. Don't delay the old master's business."
The old woman and the other woman left.
Madam He, however, had some doubts in her heart.
What could be so important about this woman that would require the old man to see her in person?
However, as his daughter-in-law, she didn't dare to ask too much about Old Master He's affairs, and just pretended not to see it and let it go.
In the evening, before He Wenqing had returned, Wei Yin came out of He's father's room and walked towards her own room. Liu Mama, who was at the other end of the corridor, came towards her and said that the farmer had come again, looking as flustered as last time.
Upon hearing this, Wei Yin's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that those two kids really released Ah Zhu again?
But didn't Lu Hun say that he had already placed a seal?
After thinking about it, she decided to go to Lu Hun's residence first.
Lu Hun's residence was arranged for him by Granny Liu. It was a quiet courtyard in the northeast corner with two or three rooms. Behind it was a large bamboo forest, so the rooms rarely saw sunlight. It was cool and secluded. The servants usually found it gloomy and rarely went there. Granny Liu originally wanted to arrange a room with good lighting for him, but he insisted on staying here and didn't want anyone to serve him. Granny Liu thought he was very strange.
As Wei Yin walked in, she felt a chill on her body, and it was strangely dark all around, but fortunately there were candles lit in the room, so she could see.
Wei Yin called out twice from outside the door, but no one answered.
Is Lu Hun not here?
As she was thinking, a rusty blue longsword shot towards her face with a whoosh. It was Lu Hun's Broken Army sword. The Broken Army looked frightening, but it stopped abruptly when it was half an arm's length away from her. Then, it gently touched Wei Yin's wrist with its hilt.
Wei Yin stared at the sword, bewildered.
After nuzzling her a few times, Po Jun flew slowly into the house, looking back every few steps, just like a human.
Is this sword calling her inside?
Wei Yin was intrigued when he saw his flying sword and immediately followed after it with great interest.
All the doors and windows in the house were wide open, and the wind blowing through the bamboo forest rushed into the room.
Against the west wall stood a pearwood armchair, and Lu Hun lay motionless on it. His eyes were closed, and his face was paler than usual. His tall, thin brow bones seemed to be furrowed in pain. He held a book tightly in his hand, his knuckles and veins bulging out, and the book was crumpled into a mess.
Lu Hun used to cherish books very much in school.
She noticed that Lu Hun's behavior was very strange.
She mustered up the courage to push him.
The sixteen-year-old boy's skin was cold and devoid of warmth. Startled by her, he instinctively reached out his long, thin fingers and firmly grasped Wei Yin's hand. At the same time, Wei Yin heard him suddenly shout in a hoarse voice.
"Mother--"
Wei Yin paused, trying to hear what he was saying, but Lu Hun had already opened his eyes tremblingly.
He stared blankly at her, his eyes red, and his melancholy and sorrow were impossible to conceal. After a long while, he came to his senses, immediately let go of her hand, lowered his head, and stood motionless, staring blankly at the crumpled book in his hand, remaining silent for a long time.
Then, he reached out and smoothed out the crumpled pages of the book one by one, before raising his face and asking in a gentle voice, "What's wrong?"
Wei Yin told him about Hu Datian's visit, and Lu Hun nodded. He then concealed himself and followed her.
Hu Datian arrived and squatted in the same wisteria-covered corner he had squatted in before. However, he didn't come alone this time; Ah Lang and Ah Yu came with him.
Ah Lang's usually composed expression turned somewhat grim. When Hu Datian saw Wei Yin arrive, he quickly stood up, looking anxious and at a loss. But before the father and son could speak, Xiao Ayu spoke up: "Madam, my second brother and I just went to... to Pudu Temple to see my elder sister, but we found that her urn of bones had been taken away by someone and is now missing."
Wei Yin asked, "Where did it go? Did any monks see anyone touch it?"
Hu Datian then said, "We just asked the abbot and others, and they said that they seemed to have seen it when they were doing evening prayers in the main hall before dinner. After everyone went to eat, they didn't pay attention to it and don't know who took it."
Wei Yin looked at A Lang and A Yu with some suspicion, "You two..."
Ayu hurriedly said, "My second brother and I absolutely did not touch it!"
Ah Lang remained silent, lost in thought.
Hu Datian hadn't considered the two children at all. In his mind, what could two twelve-year-olds possibly know? So he muttered to himself, "A urn was neatly placed in the main hall. It wasn't anything valuable. How could it be missing? It's really strange. But Ah Zhu was inside. I wonder what might happen..."
At this moment, Ah Lang, who had been deep in thought for a long time, suddenly interrupted Hu Datian and hurriedly said to Wei Yin, "Madam, Second Aunt came this morning."
Wei Yin immediately thought of Liu Shi, and also of what Lu Hun had said before about Wu Jiang and Gongshu Duan plotting to depose Duke Zhuang.
Hu Datian was confused by what they were saying: "Dali's wife did come this morning, but what does that have to do with her?"
Wei Yin ignored him and stared straight at A Lang: "What exactly is going on between you and A Yu? Even now, you still won't tell us?"
When Wei Yin asked him a question, A Lang lowered his head, pursed his lips tightly, and refused to say a word. A Yu looked at Wei Yin, then at her brother, and also bit her lip tightly. Hu Datian looked at them with a confused expression. After a long while, A Lang finally raised his head. His cold gaze lingered on Hu Datian for a while before he looked away and then spoke more calmly than an adult.
"Madam, let's go to Second Aunt's house first to find my elder sister. I'm afraid Second Aunt has ill intentions."
After saying that, he turned around and headed towards Hu Dali's house.
Upon hearing the latter part of what Ah Lang said, Hu Dali froze. He seemed to remember something and couldn't come back to his senses for a long time. Fortunately, Ah Yu saw this and quickly pulled him back to his senses.
Wei Yin and the others didn't have time to say anything more and hurriedly followed.
Hu Dali's house is at the end of Hezhuang. Ah Lang was in a hurry, so he took a shortcut instead of going around to Hezhuang from the riverside road. Soon, the group arrived at Hu Dali's house.
A note from the author:
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The novel will be available for purchase in a couple of days, and I'll be updating daily from then on, usually around 9 PM.
After finishing Ah Zhu's story, the second story will basically consist entirely of the love triangle between the male and female leads and He Wenqing (there will probably be forced marriage, immorality, and madness; I won't reveal more).
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