Chapter 37: Escape from Marriage White Moonlight 14 What are you secretly criticizing me for? ...
Ali pursed his lips nervously: "What do you mean, sir?"
Lu Jingming's brows knitted even tighter: "Could it be that his brain is damaged?"
Ali murmured, "...It's not broken."
"Then why are you asking when you already know the answer?" Lu Jingming leaned back, looking ready to accuse someone. "When you scolded me, weren't you thinking really fast?"
There was clearly no expression on his face, he was just staring at her seriously, and a powerful pressure surged like a tide, making Ali's legs go weak.
She held onto the pillow beside her and cleared her throat. "That was then, and now is now. How can we compare them?"
Besides, I don’t think I was wrong to curse.
Ali didn't dare to say the latter part of this sentence.
"You're a duplicitous liar," Lu Jingming said, moving closer to her, his dark eyes dark. "What are you secretly criticizing me about?"
Ali pressed himself against the car wall, staring closely at him. "I, I was thinking, going out in such a big way just to buy this box of pearls is really..."
Lu Jingming raised his eyebrows slightly. Ah Li saw his own reflection in his eyes, and his aura was all around him. "...This is really too much trouble, Master."
Lu Jingming took in her unwilling expression, snorted, and sat back down. "Miss, you take yourself too seriously. Who said I went out just to buy this?"
Ali curled his lips: "Yes, then it is. If it's not, then it's not."
Lu Jingming ignored her interruption: "You haven't answered my question yet."
Ali looked at the box full of pearls, then looked at his fingertips and nodded honestly.
That box of pearls can be sold for a lot of money.
A flicker of satisfaction flashed across Lu Jingming's eyes. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Ali say, "But this is too valuable. Ali can't accept it."
There was a moment of silence, and Ali continued, "Having Ali live here is already a nuisance to me. I shouldn't accept anything without doing anything. Besides, Ali will be leaving soon, so I'm really failing to live up to your kindness."
As soon as he finished speaking, the carriage stopped in front of the Lu Mansion. Ali seized the opportunity and jumped down like a rabbit, which scared Aunt Wei outside.
Before the astonishment in his eyes could dissipate, Ali's figure disappeared from his sight.
The curtain in front of him was lifted and then lowered, and the few rays of light that seeped in illuminated Lu Jing's face, which was smiling with anger.
The next moment, the pearls in the box scattered all over the floor, making countless crisp clatters. Uncle Wei's concerned voice came from outside the car: "Sir? What's wrong?"
Lu Jingming lifted the curtain and got out of the car, and ordered in a cold voice: "If Lord Wu comes to visit in the near future, inform me immediately, without delay."
"Yes, sir."
Uncle Wei looked at Lu Jingming's receding back and thought that Lord Wu seemed to be coming too often recently, and his expression was not very good every time he left. He wondered what he talked about with the young master.
*
The County Magistrate's Mansion in the north of the city.
Wu Mian sat at the table, feeling extremely anxious. It was the first day of the new year, but he felt so worried that he seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.
The study door was pushed open, and the beautiful concubine walked in gracefully, holding some snacks in her hands.
He scolded her a few times, "How many times have I told you that you cannot enter my study at will?"
"Your Excellency is right. I understand." She put down the tray with a sweet smile and walked behind Wu Mian. Her soft and boneless hands climbed onto his shoulders, kneading them lightly or heavily.
The tense expression on Wu Mian's face relaxed a little, but when he saw the letter on the table, he sighed deeply again.
"My lord, what are you worried about?" The beautiful concubine exhaled a sweet breath.
Wu Mian tapped the letter with his finger. "It's all about the Lu family! This guy is challenging me and putting me in the middle. I'm in a difficult position."
The concubine observed his expression and said, "The Lu family? Is that the salt merchant from Xingyang County? I heard they are extremely wealthy."
"Who else could it be if not his family?"
Wu Mian had a severe headache, so the concubine put some soothing ointment on her fingertips and massaged his temples in circles.
The blockage problem of Shiqu River will not be completely solved until at least the spring. Now the passage of ships on the river depends on the opinion of him as the county magistrate. However, because Lord Wang is here, he can only treat all those who come to ask for mercy equally and dare not show partiality.
Originally, nothing would have happened, but in order to show off their status as royal merchants, the Lu family built their salt ships to be large and heavy. Five or six such large ships would cause traffic jams eight out of ten times when crossing the Shiqu River.
Whenever the Lu family's boats passed through, no other boats could enter the river for a long time, which had a great impact and caused complaints from all parties.
Wu Mian didn't want to pay any attention at first, but people from other merchant ships blocked the county magistrate's office several times. He remembered what Lu Jingming had said to him before, that one should not put personal interests above public interests, so he went to see Lu Jingming again.
Lu Jingming then showed him a way: if there were any Lu family merchant ships approaching, they should first pull over and wait, and only let them go after other ships passed.
"Will this not affect your business?" Wu Mian asked.
Lu Jingming chuckled: "My family's business is all fixed, and it was chosen by the court, so how can we talk about influence?"
Wu Mian nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes! How could I forget this!"
Lu Jingming continued, "It's just a short journey by water. I don't think father will mind. If Lord Wu still has concerns, I can write a letter back home to explain the matter."
Wu Mian was very grateful and dared to do it.
But if this letter wasn't from Mr. Lu, who else could it be? Every sentence in the letter questioned him, asking why he had deliberately blocked the Lu family's merchant ship and why he had been so slow to let it pass.
Lu Jingming's words were clearly a lie.
But Wu Mian couldn't figure out why he did this? Wasn't he also a member of the Lu family?
The concubine listened carefully, her voice like the sound of a spring, her long eyebrows slightly furrowed. "My lord, you have worked so hard. Was it this Master Lu who asked you to go out this morning?"
Wu Mian leaned in her arms and nodded slowly.
After receiving Lu Jingming's invitation, he ignored the fact that today was the first day of the Lunar New Year, turned down all social engagements, and immediately rushed over in a rage.
Lu Jingming, however, remained calm and showed no remorse after hearing his words. Wu Mian was even more furious when he saw this. "Mr. Lu, how do you think we should resolve this?"
Lu Jingming only gave him one sentence: follow the rules and no compromise.
"How can I say this to Master Lu?!" Wu Mian couldn't sit still at all. The words in Master Lu's letter were very harsh. He was afraid that he would come to Shangxi County in person in a few days to ask him for an explanation. By then, the snowflake silver sent to his mansion every year would probably be gone.
"No! I must tell Mr. Lu the truth!" As he said that, he was about to walk out.
"Are you courting your own death, sir?"
A light sentence nailed Wu Mian to the spot.
Lu Jingming continued, "Last year, Shangxi County was hit by a flood. The court allocated hundreds of thousands of silver coins to dredge the river and resettle the victims. May I ask, sir, where is all this silver?"
Wu Mian broke out in a cold sweat: "Of course it was all used for disaster relief."
Lu Jingming looked at his trembling face and said, "Really? There are few people living around the Peijiu River. How many victims could there be? Could it be that all the disaster relief funds were used to dredge the river, but it still couldn't be dredged?"
Wu Mian turned around: "But this is not what the master asked me to do, I——"
"Sir, be careful what you say!"
Wu Mian was stunned. Lu Jingming's expression was no longer the same as before. "When did this junior say such a thing? Is there any witness? Is there any written record?"
Wu Mian opened his mouth, speechless. At that time, he did have the intention to embezzle this huge sum of money, but he was too timid, so he asked Lu Jingming first.
Lu Jingming naturally tried to stop him from doing so, but Wu Mian was still unwilling. Lu Jingming saw this and thought of several compromises for him, but he still did not agree with him doing so.
But he was blinded by greed at that time and felt that he had heard the hidden meaning of Lu Jingming's words. He went back and pondered over it for several nights, but still couldn't help but put all the disaster relief money into his own pocket, and deceived the court again.
He did this in secret, not even telling Lu Jingming. How did he know about it?!
Wu Mian regretted his decision at this moment. Lu Jingming's words before leaving were still ringing in his ears:
"Which is more important, losing the annual tribute or losing your official hat, or even your life? Your Excellency is a wise man and will naturally make the right choice."
After Wu Mian finished speaking, his face turned pale.
The concubine was horrified. "How could Master Lu threaten you like this? He's just the son of a merchant. How dare he threaten an official?"
Wu Mian gave a bitter laugh and said, "What about merchants? What about officials? Now your master's life is in his hands, how can we talk to him about this?"
According to the law, he should be executed for embezzling disaster relief funds, and he did more than that while in office.
Seeing Wu Mian's constant troubles, the beautiful concubine thought for a moment and said, "In my humble opinion, it would be better to agree to Master Lu's request."
Wu Mian glanced at her and said, "How can a woman from the backyard know about the affairs of the previous dynasty? Don't be nosy."
"Sir, everyone says that listening to both sides will lead to enlightenment," the beautiful concubine walked around to him and acted coquettishly, "Sir, you might as well listen to what I have to say."
Wu Mian remained silent.
The beautiful concubine sat in his arms, her fingers tracing his chest as she said, "Mr. Lu gave you two options. My Lord is wise. You have already made up your mind. You must have chosen to save your life and not offend Mr. Lu."
"But Your Excellency is still hesitant at this moment. There are two reasons for this."
"First, Master Lu is threatening you in this way. You must be unhappy and unwilling to answer him so straightforwardly. Second, you are worried that if you offend Master Lu too much, you will be retaliated against in the future. My Lord, is my guess correct?"
Wu Mian touched her smooth face and said, "You really understand my heart. In your opinion, what are the meanings of these two points?"
The concubine held his hand and said, "A real man can bend and stretch. If you can save your life, Mr. Lu will be punished for offending the Lord later."
Wu Mian couldn't help but nodded.
"There's another layer. From what you said, Master Lu is a man of deep thoughts and scheming. He might inherit the Lu family's assets in the future. If you sell it to him now, then..."
Seeing that Wu Mian seemed to be lost in thought, the beautiful concubine stopped talking and nestled peacefully in his arms.
After a while, Wu Mian's smile deepened, and he embraced his concubine affectionately: "You are truly my sweetheart."
The beautiful concubine slowly hooked her hand around his belt and walked forward, but her mind was recalling the scene of her younger brother coming to the house to deliver New Year gifts yesterday.
She was originally from a good family, but her family was poor and had no choice but to sell her to the county magistrate's mansion. Fortunately, after entering the mansion, she soon won the county magistrate's favor and was able to provide money to support her family. Now her younger brother is studying in a private school in the county, waiting to take the spring examination after the spring.
The New Year's goods delivered to her home yesterday were obviously more than in previous years, so she asked and found out that her younger brother often went to the Lu family to discuss poetry, books and economics with Mr. Lu. Mr. Lu was very talented and never treated him differently because of his humble status. Her younger brother admired him very much.
Years ago, my younger brother went to the Lu family several times. Seeing that he was poorly dressed, Mr. Lu gave him a lot of things and told him to prepare well for the Spring Examination.
The Mr. Lu that my younger brother talks about is completely different from the one that adults talk about. My beautiful concubine's heart always leans towards my family, so she said those words to comfort adults just now.
She smiled at Wu Mian like a flower, thinking that this could be considered as a good relationship and accumulating blessings for her brother's success in the imperial examination.
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