Chapter 172
Luo Chengzhang summoned Luo Shenyuan. The matter of Third Lady Luo's disappearance without explanation needed to be clarified. Going against Lu Jiaxue would be tantamount to seeking death. He preferred to say that Luo Yining had died of illness and then marry Luo Shenyuan off to a second wife. As for Luo Yining, she would no longer have any connection to the Luo family.
Luo Shenyuan listened to his father's words and drank his tea slowly: "Don't worry about this, father."
When he wanted to marry Luo Yining, he was also so stubborn and would not let anyone say a word.
Luo Chengzhang advised, "Why bother with her? She's been kidnapped like this. Even if she comes back, she should be hanged to prove her innocence! The Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues cannot be so corrupted!"
Luo Shenyuan's teacup hit the table heavily, and the boiling hot tea splashed everywhere!
Luo Chengzhang was startled, but Luo Shenyuan didn't say anything.
There was a long silence in the room, and then Luo Shenyuan spoke again, his tone still light: "Father, do you know why I wanted to marry my seventh sister?"
Luo Chengzhang didn't want to think about this question. Luo Shenyuan continued, "When you've suffered so much, everyone is as indifferent and contemptuous of you as before. At this time, if someone who treats you well appears, what will you think of her?" You can't help but think of her as the warmth in your life, the part of his humanity.
The beautiful future he imagined was all related to her. Without her, he didn't know what beautiful things there would be in his future. So no matter what happened to Yi Ning, he would find her and bring her back.
"So father, don't talk to me about this anymore... Actually, what does the Luo family mean to me?" He sneered and left the hall.
Luo Chengzhang's palms felt cold.
Outside, under the moonlight, he vaguely thought of that maid, Luo Shenyuan's biological mother. She had always been quiet and reserved, and Luo Chengzhang hadn't been particularly fond of her, not as much as the other one. She'd poisoned the other maid, killing her, leaving two bodies, and she hadn't noticed anything unusual. If it weren't for Old Lady Luo, no one would have known it was her.
Yes, how could he have imagined that the girl's son would become the current Luo Shenyuan, the pillar of the Luo family.
His maid came in with a hand warmer: "...Second Master, it's very cold, please warm your hands."
Luo Chengzhang waved his hand and said, "Go find the fourth young master. I want to ask him about his homework."
*
A few days later, Luo Shenyuan received word from his spies that their secret guards hadn't found Luo Yining's whereabouts. The official road led from Gansu, Shaanxi, and Shanxi to Hebei, Huguang, and Sichuan, with several carriages departing simultaneously along the way, scattered to various locations. The further down they went, the fewer traces of his presence became. He scrutinized the paper, crumpled it up, and told his men, "Keep searching, but don't alert anyone. Go to Shanxi and Shaanxi. Lu Jiaxue's stronghold is in those areas."
After a few days of contemplation, Luo Shenyuan had calmed down from his near-collapse. He began to carefully consider whether to go looking for it himself. It was undoubtedly very risky, but he was afraid that as his anxiety grew, he would be tempted to do so. But in such a vast sea of people, finding it was impossible; he knew it.
My second thought was that maybe he should have sought that position first. He'd always wanted that position, even if it wasn't for Yi Ning, he was a man of undeniable ambition. But even if he was incredibly intelligent and resourceful, if he followed the normal path to cabinet, he'd still have to be at least thirty. There were actually many things he could have done to expedite the process, but it wouldn't have seemed so righteous.
Of course, justice has never been his first consideration, especially after she got into trouble.
As long as he is in that position, why would he be afraid of not being able to check and balance Lu Jiaxue?
The emperor was a little relaxed yesterday, so he should release the teacher today.
Luo Shenyuan fastened his court robes himself, remembering how she would squat before him, helping him get dressed, complaining, "Your court robes have too many ties," or "The sugar-filled buns this morning weren't tasty." He stood there quietly for a moment, the air filled only with drifting dust. Then he went out and boarded the carriage, heading for the palace.
The emperor had just changed out of his Taoist robe and into his dragon robe. He seemed absent-minded and no one knew what he was thinking about.
After the routine report was completed, the Imperial Household Department would perform a ceremony. The Qingliu faction had already made preparations and had asked Grand Secretary Xie to intercede on Xu Wei's behalf. He should be released today.
Who knew that a eunuch would come in with a memorial, announcing that he wanted to see the emperor. Luo Shenyuan glanced at the handwriting on the memorial, his face changed slightly, and he immediately had a bad premonition.
The emperor took the memorial and read it. Not knowing what was written on it, his expression became extremely ugly, even gloomy.
"Push Xu Wei up."
These six words were much gentler than before, yet they still cast a heavy gloom over the entire hall. Luo Shenyuan thought to himself, "Oh no!"
Although the emperor was foolish and obsessed with women and Taoism, he was not a tyrant. On the contrary, he was very smart. He stopped scolding Xu Wei and became serious at this time.
Actually, Xu Wei's life in prison was not too bad. After all, the emperor was just angry with him for a while, and who knows if he would be reused in the future. In addition, he had a good reputation among the people, and the jailers did not make things difficult for him. It was quite appropriate for him to be forced out at this time. However, the emperor looked at him coldly and threw the memorial in front of him: "More than 200,000 taels of silver were seized from the home of Wei Yingchi, the deputy envoy of Liaodong. He said that he was attacking the Hetao area, but he used the excuse of being old, weak, sick and disabled to embezzle more than 200,000 taels of military pay. Now the whole army was wiped out and no one survived. It was you who recommended Wei Yingchi back then, right? He has been friends with you for so many years and has been exchanging letters with you. Is this true? You are the Minister of Revenue, and the payment of military pay must go through the Ministry of Revenue. You are also involved, right?"
Xu Wei's mouth moved, and the whole army was annihilated... Was Wei Yingchi dead? He had recommended Wei Yingchi back then, but he knew his friend's personality well, and he knew he would never embezzle military pay! He was always frugal, and his house in the capital was just a small courtyard with two entrances, and he only had an elderly wife. He wanted to buy her a gold hairpin, but he hesitated again and again.
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