Chapter 41: Escaping Marriage, White Moonlight 18: Telling a lie requires countless...
On the way back to the mansion, Xiao Shun was driving when he suddenly heard Lu Jingming ask him, "How credible do you think what Master and Madam Pan said today is?"
Xiao Shun thought for a moment and said cautiously, "I think it's 50% credible and 50% unbelievable."
Lu Jingming leaned back and tapped his fingers twice: "Which ones are credible? Which ones are not credible?"
"Master and Madam Pan's attitude when speaking of Miss Nine doesn't seem fake," Xiao Shun explained slowly. "Miss Nine wasn't valued within the mansion, which is why Master Lu so casually married her off to the Liu family, whom he loathed. After Miss Nine disappeared, the Pan Mansion didn't send anyone to search for her."
The attitude and tone of the two men just now are still vivid in my mind. It doesn't sound like they are talking about their daughter at all, they are even worse than strangers.
There was a gloom in Lu Jingming's eyes. Although he had long known the vicious hearts of this couple, he still felt a pang of pain in his heart when he heard it with his own ears.
How have you been through all these years?
Xiao Shun's voice continued, "But what Madam Pan said about being kidnapped by bandits doesn't sound true. I noticed Master Lu gave her a look, probably to distance himself from the Liu family."
"Whether this was just something Madam Lu made up on the spur of the moment, or whether the bridegroom reported it this way, we still don't know. I'm afraid we'll have to investigate among the bridegrooms who attended the wedding."
Lu Jingming closed his eyes and ordered calmly, "Wait until the Pan family finds everyone. Bring them over and I'll personally interrogate them."
Xiao Shun agreed: "But will Mr. Pan do what you say?"
Lu Jingming snorted coldly: "He dare not not do it."
Pan Yuan could not afford to offend either himself as an official appointed by the court or the Lu family behind him.
Besides, he had never thought about maintaining a relationship with the Pan Mansion. From the day he returned to Xingyang County, this huge Pan Mansion was just a dead house in his eyes.
"Sir, do we still need to continue searching for Miss Nine's whereabouts?"
"Go on," Lu Jingming's voice gradually lowered, "The sooner we find her, the less suffering she will suffer." He came back too late.
"Yes, I obey your command." Xiao Shun replied.
Before Lu Jingming got out of the car at the Lu Mansion, Ah Fu came running over in a hurry, as if he had been waiting for a long time. "Sir, the master got very angry in the study and ordered you to see him as soon as you return home."
Lu Jingming's eyes paused, his long eyelashes covering the coldness in his eyes, and he followed Ah Fu into the mansion.
"Rebellious son!"
Before Lu Jingming even entered the room, a boiling hot teacup had already fallen heavily on him, shattering porcelain pieces all over the floor.
He said nothing more, but simply lifted his robe and knelt down: "I don't know what I have done wrong, but I hope my father will teach me. Don't get yourself hurt by getting angry."
Master Lu's eyes widened in anger as he pointed at him, his tone agitated, "I don't know what you did wrong. Such a big thing happened in the shop in the capital, and you actually dared to hide it from me? If your brother hadn't discovered it in time, it would have caused a huge mistake and ruined my Lu family's foundation!"
Young Master Lu was standing beside Master Lu at the moment. Upon hearing this, he quickly supported him, his expression worried: "Father, please take care of yourself. Jingming is young and this is his first time in charge of the shop. It's not a big deal if he got distracted for a moment. Father, please give him more advice."
"If this is not a big mistake, does it really have to wait until he destroys the Lu family before it becomes a big mistake?!" Master Lu was so angry that he was shaking all over and kept shouting for his servants to bring the family rules.
Young Master Lu immediately stopped him and said, "Father! Father, no matter how wrong I am, you cannot use family rules casually!"
Lu Jingming looked at the scene of loving father and filial son before him, feeling it was particularly ironic. He raised his eyes and looked directly at him, "Father, please be patient. I wonder what you are asking about today? I really can't remember what I did wrong to make you so angry."
His tone was calm, and his ink-black eyes looked at him without avoiding or avoiding. Master Lu felt inexplicably uncomfortable, followed by an even stronger rage.
"Today I will teach you a lesson so that you know what you should and shouldn't do!" Master Lu snatched the stick from the servant and beat him down himself.
When the stick tied with densely packed vines fell on his back, Lu Jingming fell forward uncontrollably. His face turned pale, and he clenched his teeth without making a sound.
What happened today was a trap set by his good brother, and now Mr. Lu would not listen to his explanation at all.
Mr. Lu was well-read and always believed that a good son is made under the stick. He specially ordered his servants to make the sticks used to enforce family rules. One stick would tear the skin and flesh apart. An ordinary person would beg for mercy after being hit by four or five sticks, but Lu Jingming endured ten sticks.
Seeing him sticking his neck out and refusing to admit his mistake, Master Lu felt that his authority as the head of the family was being challenged, so he hit him harder.
"You think that I can't control you just because you're an official. Let me tell you, even if you die, you're still a descendant of my Lu family!"
Seeing that their master's back was covered in blood and his robe was soaked in blood, Ah Fu and Xiao Shun knelt down and kowtowed for mercy as if they were risking their lives.
Young Master Lu stood behind Mr. Lu, his eyes filled with pride.
As soon as this concubine's son came back, he became extremely powerful and became the talk of the town in Xingyang County. He was so greedy that he wanted to compete with him for the family property. Since he was so unkind, he should not blame himself as his brother for being unjust.
The original plan did not go so smoothly, but this fool was not at home at such a critical moment, and often ran to the remote area of Shangxi County, which gave him a perfect opportunity to take action. He understood the temperament of the father and son and hit them with one blow.
Seeing that Lu Jingming was bleeding more and more and was about to die, Young Master Lu rushed out and hugged Master Lu's legs: "Father, please don't hit me anymore! If you hit me again, I'll make him resign himself to death!"
Mr. Lu finally came to his senses and dropped the stick in his hand. Lu Jingming was already shaky and was only holding on with one breath.
"Call a doctor, call a doctor quickly!" Mr. Lu finally panicked.
Ah Fu and Xiao Shun were able to rush over and support Lu Jingming: "Master, Master, hold on!"
Lu Jingming was already very weak, with sweat on his forehead, his eyes half closed, breathing in more than out, but his mind was still full of thoughts.
Where exactly did I neglect this?
*
Lu Jingming has not appeared in Shangxi County for fifteen days.
Another wave of cabbages came out in the field. After harvesting them, Ali put them on the ox cart and sat bored on the edge of the field, looking into the distance in the direction of Xingyang County.
There was no news about Lu Jingming from Uncle Wei and Aunt Wei.
Ali suddenly realized that she seemed to have no way to find Lu Jingming.
Farming is busy in the spring, and people can be seen working hard everywhere in the surrounding fields and mountains. The scene is peaceful and quiet, but Ali's heart is unusually restless, as if something is about to happen.
She clutched the corner of her clothes nervously, wondering if something had happened to Lu Jingming.
Once this thought appeared in Ali's mind, she could no longer get rid of it. She stood up suddenly and prepared to drive back.
As the sky gradually darkened, she vaguely saw a person walking towards her at the end of the path. Ali thought she was seeing things and murmured, "Is that the young master?"
She jumped out of the car and walked towards the man.
"Young Master! It's really you!" Ali was overjoyed when he saw the person in front of him.
She had been helping out in Xu Ying's shop and selling vegetables at the market these days, and had learned a lot. She had a lot to say to Lu Jingming.
Lu Jingming's face was abnormally pale. He grabbed her arm and his eyes were frighteningly red.
Ali was stunned and put his other hand on his forehead: "Master, are you sick?"
Lu Jingming stared at her and shook his head slowly.
The temperature under his hand was indeed normal. Ali withdrew his hand, his eyes concerned: "So what happened?"
Lu Jingming stared at her for a long time and said softly, "I remember you said that you fell off a cliff and were killed by bandits near Shangxi County?"
Ali was startled and subconsciously avoided his gaze: "Yeah, why are you asking this suddenly?"
"The imperial court recently issued an order to suppress bandits. The government needs to find out the patterns of these bandits' movements so that they can catch them all in one fell swoop to prevent other passers-by from being bullied again." Lu Jingming explained with a serious expression.
Ah Li remembered what Aunt Wei had told her. It seemed that the young master's official position was responsible for matters like this. She ignored the doubts in her heart and nodded: "Is that so? Then what can I do to help you?"
"I remember you said at that time that all the people in the wedding procession were killed by bandits, and only you escaped by chance?" Lu Jingming observed her expression calmly.
Ali almost forgot the lie she told and what she said at the time, but she didn't expect Lu Jingming to remember it so clearly.
She had no choice but to continue nodding.
Telling one lie requires countless lies to cover it up. For the first time in his life, Ali felt a little regretful about telling a lie.
The setting sun gradually sank behind the mountain, and the farmers put away their tools and went home in groups of three or four to eat. For a moment, they were the only two left here.
Lu Jingming looked down at A Li, not exposing her lie: "Do you remember how many people were in your group? Were there any maids accompanying you? These people were killed by bandits, and you need to report them one by one to the county government."
Ali thought for a moment and remembered: "There were two maids accompanying us, but I can't remember how many people were in the group."
These two maids originally served in her yard, but they were always mean and vicious, lazy and gluttonous. They couldn't afford to offend her, so they often bullied her and almost killed her several times.
She hated them.
Unexpectedly, with a single order from Madam Ni, the two of them became her dowry maids.
When listening to them discussing how to serve their son-in-law in the future, Ali just smiled and said nothing more.
She had already made up her mind to escape on the road, and she didn't even tell her mother the night before her wedding, so that she could watch her get into the bridal sedan with all her heart.
In order to find an opportunity, Ali naturally would not let them serve him closely along the way. They were happy to be idle and followed the team from a distance, not getting close to the sedan chair at all.
After she escaped, these people and things had nothing to do with her at all. When Ali mentioned these two people, her expression was cold and casual, and her tone was naturally not good.
Lu Jingming suddenly loosened his grip on her hand and took a few steps back.
It was getting dark, and Ali couldn't see his face clearly. He walked up to him and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lu Jingming's voice trembled for some reason: "A-Li."
This was the second time he called her name directly. The first time was in front of Wu Mian, but that was just an act in public.
Ali couldn't help but be stunned.
"A-Li, are you really the maid of Miss Nine of the Pan Mansion?"
His words were like a huge rock or a lake, which immediately caused huge waves in Ali's already uneasy heart.
This is her biggest secret. If nothing unexpected happens, she will take this secret into the grave and bury it forever along with her identity as Pan Yunli.
Ali forced himself to keep his expression unchanged, and at this moment he used again the skill he had learned from lying since he was a child without changing his expression.
Her tone was relaxed, even with a hint of a smile: "Ah? Yes, I am. Didn't I say that when I first met you?"
"Sir, how could you have forgotten even this? If I weren't a maid in the Pan Mansion, how would I know what you just said?"
"Didn't Miss Nine explain to you clearly how harshly she treated me?"
Ali spoke more unconsciously, with his hands clenched tightly behind his back.
She looked at Lu Jingming with a smile as usual, and even made a few jokes.
Ali's reaction was flawless, which successfully deceived Lu Jingming and finally broke the string that had been tense in his heart.
"...It was a maidservant beside Miss Nine who pushed her off the cliff. I saw it with my own eyes!"
"Miss Nine was pushed overboard by her, and her body floated away in the river. Please spare her life, sir! I've said everything I can!"
Under torture, the sedan bearers who were escorting the bride revealed a truth that was completely different from what the people in the Pan Mansion said.
She was killed by the maid who followed her.
But he still had the delusion that the maid in front of him who might have killed her was the one he had been looking for.
Lu Jingming had never hated himself so much before.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
