Chapter 33 Chapter 33 Separation
The person has not been found. It is unknown whether he moved away on his own initiative or was hidden by someone.
Du Lingjing asked Jiang Fengchuan to stay at the Du Mansion in Chengqingfang first, as doubting each other would not help the matter in any way.
Lu Shenru also sent Chong'an away and gave him more instructions.
"Let Chongping come to see me in person."
The Baoding and Zhending areas are not very close to the capital, and it takes two or three days to travel back and forth by fast horse.
Du Lingjing couldn't help wanting to go to Baoding in person to find out the truth, but her status was no longer what it used to be, and she thought that the marquis might not agree.
Sure enough, she only mentioned it once, and then she heard him say.
"My lady, don't worry. This matter has been delayed for several months. These two days won't make a difference. Since I promised you that I would find the person for you, I will not break my promise."
He said and shook her hand.
Du Lingjing looked over and saw him sitting with his head tilted, his heroic and proud brows, a calm expression as he let her look at him, a slight smile on his lips.
"Leave it to your own husband, what else do you have to worry about?"
The fresh tea leaves in the teacup swirled around in the cup for a few times before finally returning to the edge and clinging to the teacup.
Du Lingjing wasn't worried, but she didn't expect that he would be so sure about what he said to her.
This matter is quite complicated, and we don't know how many forces are involved. Just the fact that each party has been looking for people for such a long time and has not found any trace of them shows that this matter is very difficult to handle.
He spoke to her so confidently, so how much effort would it take to make this certain?
This need not be the case.
She slowly looked up from his collar to his eyes.
She wanted to say that at the moment he and she had the same goal, he wanted to find the Fu party members to attack the Shao Group, she would certainly not stop him and would thank him, but if in the future, his plans no longer agreed with hers, then there was no need to force him and she would just find a way herself.
However, before she could utter this, Yu Mu's staff suddenly sent someone to come over and said that he wanted to see the Marquis for an urgent matter.
Du Lingjing didn't want to delay him, so she asked him to go to the outer courtyard and sat alone in front of the desk to think.
Outer courtyard.
When Lu Shenru first heard Yu's staff say that the two young masters in the Rongchang Marquis's Mansion had beaten someone to death, he couldn't help but frown.
"Let's put this matter aside for now and talk about it later."
But Yu Yi, the staff member, looked embarrassed and said, "But Lord, the people from the Rongchang Marquis's Mansion are here again. This matter may be a bit tricky. It is related to the missing people in Baoding."
Is it related to those missing members of the Fu Party?
Lu Shenru frowned even more and asked him to speak.
Yu's staff member said that the two young masters in the Rongchang Earl's mansion were used to being domineering and overbearing, and once they had a conflict with others after drinking.
The other party was a country gentry family in northern Zhili. A few days ago, two scholars came out of the family at once. That day, they were very happy and got drunk.
The two sides had a conflict over a trivial matter, and neither of them gave in, and they started to curse each other. The scholar from that family was very sharp-tongued, and he cursed the two young masters of the Rongchang Earl's Mansion so hard that they got so angry that they stabbed the two scholars to death with a knife.
Blood was seen during the banquet, so how could the matter be resolved peacefully? The two young masters of the Rongchang Earl's Mansion went all out and killed the other four people at the banquet.
But such a big thing, the truth can't be hidden, and the relatives of that family hid themselves for fear of being silenced. When the wife of the Rongchang Earl found out, she fainted and tried to find someone to suppress the matter with a lot of money. But the relatives who knew about it disappeared.
When the people from the Rongchang Marquis' Mansion came before, they did not dare to disturb their own lord who was leading troops to fight outside the Great Wall, so they could only come to the Marquis' Mansion for help and ask the Marquis' Mansion to help find someone. Yu Mujiao agreed on behalf of Marquis Lu.
But this time, the Rongchang Earl's Mansion came in a hurry again.
"It was the Shao family who sent the message," To be exact, it was not Shao Boju, but Shao Boju's uncle Shao Zun, Yu's staff whispered, "The Shao family hid the relatives who were silenced. They wanted to exchange people with the Marquis, and the exchange was the missing Fu party members in Baoding."
Lu Shenru frowned and closed his eyes.
It seems that Shao Zun thought the same as Jiang Fengchuan, believing that the members of the Fu party were in his hands.
He pursed his lips and said nothing. The cold winter wind blew at his feet, and he walked towards the study in silence.
Although Shao Zun and Shao Boju, the uncle and nephew, are not on good terms, once Shao Boju's evil deeds are all exposed, the Shao family will be unable to escape the responsibility.
Now that he received the call from Jiang Jialiulang from Baoding, Shao Zun thought that he had already grasped the whereabouts of Fu Chen and his men, and even that they had been hidden by him.
Shao Zun wanted to exchange the two evil creatures in the Rongchang Marquis' Mansion for the people of the Fu party in his hands.
If the Shao family does not reveal the fact that the two sons of Rongchangbo killed people to silence them, he will exchange the evidence presented by Shaobo for the Shao family.
As for how Shao Zun dealt with his nephew Shao Boju, that became the Shao family's business later.
He could also use this opportunity to protect the children of the Rongchang Marquis's Mansion, especially when the Rongchang Marquis was leading the Yongding Army to fight outside the Great Wall for him, his heart could not waver.
It’s really a “good deal”!
Lu Shenru raised his hand and pushed the door of the study room open heavily. The door slammed shut, and the suffocating air in the room rushed out from the door, making the door curtain rattle.
Yu Yi couldn't help but look at the Marquis. "Madam Bo even wanted to come to the Marquis in person to beg him, but I stopped her. Madam Bo's eldest son died on the battlefield at the border. She finally got these twins, but she spoiled them too much and did such a thing. Madam Bo also regretted it deeply, but if this matter is exposed, these two young masters will most likely have to pay for their lives, and Rongchang Marquis's Mansion and the red book and iron certificate will probably be gone."
The Rongchang Marquis's Mansion also fought for the Lu family for many years. The eldest son of the Marquis's wife was killed in the battle outside the Great Wall in the 14th year of Hongqi, along with half of the generals of the Lu family. At that time, their heads were cut off by the Tatars outside the Great Wall. Upon hearing the news, Rongchang Marquis vomited a mouthful of blood and was in a coma for more than ten days.
Afterwards, Earl Rongchang hated the Tatars even more, and he led his troops in battle more and more fiercely. After Lu Shenru returned to Beijing, Earl Rongchang was in charge of half of the border army.
The Lu family and the Yang family of the Rongchang Earl's Mansion have been relatives for generations. Lu Shenru's widowed second aunt is the younger sister of the Rongchang Earl and the aunt of the two young masters.
Things have come to this point, and Yu's staff can no longer make the decision.
However, the Marquis has not found the person he should give, and he is still looking for him. But if he finds him later, will the Marquis exchange him for the Fu party members?
If the evidence of the crimes of Fu Dangren and Shao Boju falls into Shao Zun's hands, I am afraid his life will be in danger... ...
As the winter wind howled, the gloomy sky pressed down, and there was a hint of heavy snow in the air, but the wind in the capital was too dry, so there was no chance of snow falling.
The remaining staff members were waiting for the Marquis's decision.
But the man did not speak immediately. After a while, his voice became deep, as deep as the sky that was pressing down at this moment.
"Put it aside for now, and don't respond to it."
Yu Mujiao calmed down and said, "Yes."
... ...
In the evening, he returned to the main courtyard a little late and saw his wife sitting by the bed, reading a book with a light on.
She said she was reading a book, but she didn't turn a page for a long time and didn't even notice him enter the room.
The man took off his outer clothes and sat down beside the bed. He saw that she had been holding a page in her hand, and had squeezed it until the pages were damp.
He simply pulled the book out of her hand.
"My Lord..."
He raised an eyebrow and asked her, "Madam, are you reading or studying? You might as well rest your eyes."
She hummed softly, and Lu Shenru saw that she looked depressed, so he held her arm.
"Don't think about it, just leave it to me. Go to sleep."
He had to go to court early tomorrow morning. Recently, there were more reports of war at the border, so he couldn't take a break like he had in the past few days. He said to his wife, "I may not be able to come back from the palace tomorrow, but you have to eat well and don't be absent again."
Du Lingjing nodded and said "hmm" softly.
He got up before dawn to attend the morning court. Du Lingjing was no longer sleepy, so she got up from time to time, thought about things, and walked to the Du family mansion in Chengqingfang.
When Liu Lang saw her coming, he quickly asked the stove to prepare food for her. He first asked for fresh vegetable dumplings, then a bowl of noodle soup. Finally, he thought for a while and said, "How about cooking and making two side dishes for my sister-in-law?"
Du Lingjing was actually amused by him.
Liu Lang is quite good at cooking. In the past, San Lang's spleen and stomach were damaged by the medicine he took and he couldn't eat anything, so Liu Lang personally cooked for San Lang three meals a day.
Du Lingjing laughed, "This is my own mansion, you act more like the host than I do."
Liu Lang said it was not a big deal, "What's important is that if my sister-in-law doesn't have a proper breakfast, my third brother will scold me if he finds out."
Du Lingjing was stunned for a moment, thinking that Sanlang would not scold him for such a small matter, but inexplicably she remembered that someone had been telling her last night not to forget to eat...
Her thoughts flashed through her mind, and she let Liu Lang do as he pleased while she went to take a look around her father's study room.
After a while, the food was served, but Liu Lang did not come to eat with her. She did not ask, but just found some old letters from her father, in which there were several friends who were among those who disappeared in Baoding.
There was a Mr. Hong, who was a subordinate of my father when he was an official in the imperial court. The two of them worked very well together, and later when my father entered the cabinet, he promoted him as well.
He was a very serious person, and naturally he was not like Mr. Liao, who would bring candy to this little girl. Instead, Mr. Hong would ask her questions about her studies every time he came, as if he was asking questions to his nephews who were pursuing official careers. Fortunately, Du Lingjing could always answer them, and Mr. Hong stroked his beard and said, "Jingniang needs to continue to learn."
How could Du Lingjing not dare to refuse? She kept saying yes. Later, when she was occasionally a little careless while editing books, she would inexplicably think of Mr. Hong's strictness and work even harder.
But Mr. Hong resigned from his official position and returned home after his father passed away. He has never been heard from since, so he didn't expect to be included in this list.
In addition to Mr. Hong, there is also Lord Feng. Lord Feng is much older than her father and they can be considered close friends. The one who disappeared in Baoding this time is his grandson, whom Du Lingjing had also met when she was young.
Mr. Feng's grandson Feng Xiang is four years younger than her. Every time they meet, Du Lingjing has to prepare some food for him. He always shyly calls her "Sister Jingniang"... ...
Many old friends, who had had more or less interactions with her, were now missing.
Where are we now?
She had a quick breakfast and sat in her father's study, reading letters and notes for a long time, when Liu Lang suddenly strode in from outside.
He didn't look very happy, and Du Lingjing frowned.
"Please sit down first." His wounds had not yet healed. "I will tell you slowly if you have anything to say."
Liu Lang said that this matter could not be explained slowly. He snorted and laughed, "When I came out of the Marquis' Mansion yesterday, I happened to see the staff of the Rongchang Marquis' Mansion talking with the remaining staff of the Marquis. It seemed very urgent, so I took the time to inquire about it."
Yesterday he received news that the two young masters of the Rongchang Earl's Mansion might have committed a serious crime, so he paid a large sum of money to have someone investigate further.
Just now, he sent someone to investigate and got back the message. Liu Lang looked at Du Lingjing and said, "Sister-in-law, guess what? The Rongchang Marquis's Mansion has committed a serious crime. It seems that the Shao family has captured a witness and wants Marquis Lu to replace him."
He told Du Lingjing all the information he had obtained at a high price.
"... ...There is no movement from the Marquis's Mansion and the Earl's Mansion at the moment. I wonder what they are up to. Could it be that the people who are against the party are really in Marquis Lu's hands?"
If that's the case, then he really came right with what he said casually.
The charcoal fire in the study burned out at some point, leaving only a tiny bit of smoke that was gradually suppressed by the cold air.
Du Lingjing's heart began to be troubled.
If the person was really found and hidden by him, then both Chong'an and he would have acted too exaggeratedly and revealed nothing.
She couldn't imagine that someone could tell lies so naturally.
If this is true, this person is very cunning, as deep as the abyss, and extremely scary...
However, when she learned the location from Liu Lang, she mentioned to him that Ruan Gong should bring people to accompany Chongping, but he laughed and said, "If Manager Ruan goes out, you will have no one to help you. Besides, Ruan Gong is too busy."
So at that time only Chongping sent people to go.
Liu Lang's expression became fierce, "If he really hid them, and we exchanged them with Shao now, everyone would surely die in Shao's hands."
Du Ling's heart beat irregularly as she calmed down, but she took a deep breath and exhaled.
She shook her head slowly, "No. If so, he could just tell me that the person was captured by Shao Boju in advance, wouldn't that be a bargain?"
Afterwards, he exchanged roles with Shaw Brothers, and there were no flaws.
But Liu Lang said that this was not the case. "It was during these two days that Shao held the Rongchang Marquis's residence hostage and asked Marquis Lu to replace him. He may have hidden someone first and had not yet figured out how to deal with him. It just so happened that Shao proposed the idea of replacing him."
Du Ling was silent for a moment, "Does he really have to do that?"
Liu Lang naturally felt that there was, but Du Lingjing inexplicably felt that he did not lie to her about this matter.
Chongping probably really didn't find the people who opposed the party.
But whether he found it or not, things were different from before.
She couldn't help but think of what she had heard about the household affairs in the Marquis' Mansion these days.
The Yongding Marquis's Mansion and the Rongchang Earl's Mansion were indeed on good terms, and he seemed to respect his widowed second aunt very much. He sent people to send her tributes every month, and even intended to invite his aunt to the capital for some time.
She suddenly remembered that on the day after their wedding, she followed him to the Lu family ancestral hall. At that time, he whispered a few words to the tablet of a peer before leaving.
The second wife of the Lu family had a son who was only one year younger than Lu Shenru. The two brothers grew up together and were inseparable. But later, the second master of the Lu family died suddenly for unknown reasons. The second wife had no other children and lived in the dowry farm given to her by the Rongchang Earl's Mansion... ...
At this time Liu Lang suddenly said something.
"Even if he doesn't have the person now, if he finds the person later, he might exchange him with the Shao family for the Rongchang Marquis' Mansion. In other words, can he give up the Rongchang Marquis' Mansion for your sake?"
Du Lingjing lowered her eyes and chuckled helplessly.
"I don't think I have such a big face."
As things have developed to this point, it is clear that she and he can no longer work together with the same interests.
In this case, instead of him making things difficult for her, it would be better for her to take the initiative to part ways.
Instead of relying on whether she has enough face in the eyes of others to get things done, it is better for her to hold the most important things in her own hands.
These are all people related to her. Is it a long-term solution to keep relying on others?
Eventually, she had to face it herself.
She took a deep breath and said, "We have to find people ourselves."
When she said this, Liu Lang said, "I will go with my sister-in-law."
But his injuries were not healed yet. Although there were no people chasing him like when he came to report the news, the people chasing him had dispersed at this moment, but Du Lingjing still said, "Forget it, you should take good care of your injuries."
But I heard Liu Lang say.
"What's the big deal? I've been lucky since I was young, and I'll never die. Besides, if I don't go to save people in such a big event, Third Brother will blame me."
Du Lingjing looked at him helplessly, but a smile appeared between his brows, as if all the wounds on his body had healed, he said.
"Sister-in-law, let's use bamboo leaves to tell fortunes and ask if Third Brother's trip will be smooth?"
Du Lingjing was not good at fortune-telling, but he saw him take out a few bamboo leaves from his arms and throw them down.
The bamboo leaves fluttered in the air, and one of them spun around and finally fell into Du Lingjing's hand.
She was stunned for a moment, and even Liu Lang was silent. After a while, he said, "Brother misses you..."
Du Lingjing's eyes were slightly moist, while Liu Lang carefully looked at the hexagram displayed on the bamboo leaves.
"Tsk, Ji Ji hexagram."
"Ji Ji Gua?" Du Lingjing only knew a few things, "Good at the beginning, but chaos at the end?"
Liu Lang said that it was true, "but this hexagram of water and fire is a good hexagram. As long as we are careful and cautious, the end result may not be chaotic."
At this point, he raised the corner of his mouth, "We should be able to find someone."
As he spoke, he looked at Du Lingjing again, and the meaning in his eyes showed that this was what his third brother meant.
Du Lingjing couldn't help but smile. Regardless of whether it was Sanlang's intention or not, the hexagram indicated a good omen, which was a good thing.
She couldn't help but feel certain, and seeing that it was not too late outside, she asked Ruan Gong to call for help.
But even if all the people in Chengqingfang were called and taken away, it would not be too many for searching people in the mountains.
Du Lingjing thought about it and asked Qiulin to take the money. "Prepare the money. You don't have to go to Baoding. Just use the money to hire escorts, runners, or even idlers to go to the mountains."
Jiang Fengchuan couldn't help but say, "The more people who know about it and rush to the scene, the better. We can muddy the waters and prevent them from being found by a certain family. This will make it safer."
He looked at Du Lingjing and whispered, "Sister-in-law is really smart."
Qiulin and Ruan Gong all laughed when they heard this. Qiulin said, "Sixth Master just found out?"
The young man's handsome face was even more smiling, "Don't blame me, sister-in-law, I found out too late."
Du Lingjing was too lazy to chat with him, but she had transferred people out of the capital, and the marquis was still in the palace and could not leave.
He always arranged people to protect her. Now that she was going out of the capital to find someone, it was not appropriate for her to take the guards of the Marquis' Mansion with her.
She told the four guards to go back to the mansion first, so that they could also take a letter to the Marquis.
"This time I am leaving the capital for my own private matter. Please thank the Marquis for his assistance. You don't have to follow me."
Unexpectedly, the four of them refused to leave. "Madam, we were specially selected by the Marquis to protect you. How can we leave you and go back to the mansion?"
They said that only one person should be left to report the news to the Marquis.
Du Lingjing didn't say anything, but someone snorted.
"Those who know are guards, and those who don't think they are surveillance, and they follow them closely."
As soon as Liu Lang said this, the four guards turned pale and explained to Du Lingjing that they were not monitoring him, "The Marquis has absolutely no intention of monitoring Madam."
"Then your wife asked you to go back home, why didn't you go back? If you don't go back, how is it different from being under surveillance?"
The four guards were sweating profusely.
Du Lingjing quickly told him to stop being so sarcastic, but also said, "I will write a letter for you to take to the Marquis. I will explain in the letter about leaving the capital, so you don't have to worry."
He probably felt relieved that she took the initiative to separate from him.
She went back to the study and wrote a letter, and then said, "The Marquis must have something important to do while he's in the palace. It won't be too late to pass it on when he returns home."
The four guards were in great distress, but they had no choice but to leave.
After the four of them left, Du Lingjing and the others did not delay any longer and headed south out of Beijing towards Baoding.
*
A war broke out in Liaodong. Although it was only a small-scale war, it seemed to echo the Tatars in the west.
Lu Shenru stayed in the palace that night. There was an early morning court session the next day. After the early morning court session, the emperor stayed in the imperial study for nearly two hours to discuss matters.
Dou Ge Lao suddenly asked, "I heard that some of the children in the Rongchang Marquis's mansion are difficult to take care of. I wonder if this will affect Rongchang Marquis's leading the troops outside?"
Rongchang Bo is leading his troops outside the Great Wall. If the battle with the Tatars is unsuccessful, the situation in Liaodong will also change.
The emperor asked, but Lord Dou did not elaborate. Lu Shenru snorted in his heart and went out during the break to ask someone to pass the message to Yu's staff.
He asked Yu's staff to stabilize the Rongchang Marquis's residence first, "but... ...don't touch the Madam's people."
Chong'an quickly went to deliver the message, and when he came back, he saw that the Marquis had finally put the affairs of the palace aside for the time being and was walking out of the palace.
Chong'an thought of the news he had received from home and hurried forward.
As soon as he stepped forward, Lu Shenru asked.
"Madam, how have you been doing these past two days at home?" He strode towards the tall palace gate tower, straightening his wide sleeves that were blown up by the wind. "Madam, have you forgotten to eat because you are too worried?"
I was distracted while reading that day for the whole night, and I don’t know what’s happened to me in the past two days?
Lu Shenru asked and saw Chong'an blinking and whispering.
"My wife is not at home."
The man raised his eyebrows, but he didn't stop and walked faster and faster, heading towards the direction of leaving the palace and returning home.
"You went to Chengqingfang?"
He guessed that she should not have gone to Guilin Tower, but might have gone to her father's study to look through some old things.
But when he asked, he heard Chong'an's voice become even lower.
"My Lord, the Madam has left the capital."
The man paused. Chong'an hurriedly took the letter from his arms.
"Madam left a letter for you."
He took the letter, which was written in her beautiful handwriting.
He didn't open it right away, but asked, "Yesterday's letter? It was delivered today?"
Chong'an quickly explained, following his wife's original words, "... Madam was afraid that it would delay your important event, and she said it wouldn't be too late to wait for you to return home."
She was afraid that he would be delayed, so she waited until he returned home...
The man's deep eyes were frozen in the cold wind, which blew up the sleeves of his crimson court robe again. As they twitched, Lu Shenru opened the letter.
My Lord, please allow me to report.
... It's hard to abandon old friends. The Marquis has helped me before and after, and Du Lingjing is grateful. Now the situation has changed, and I dare not bother the Marquis with our personal affairs.
I will go look for it myself now. If I can find it successfully, I will report it in detail to the Marquis when I return to the capital. If I get stuck on the way and cannot return, the deeds for the central and western routes of the Du Mansion in Chengqingfang are all in the Marquis' Mansion. I hope the Marquis will accept them.
After taking a look at it, the man laughed inexplicably.
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