Lu Baichuan's mind went blank. He went out to work as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) on the second day of his marriage, which meant that he became a father on his wedding night.
He had a son, but now his son's name is also on the death list.
This is the fourth year, and he has failed to be a good son, a good husband, or even a good father.
While he was enjoying immense success running a gambling den in Nantai, his family was suffering from a severe drought.
When his martial arts skills improved and he was appreciated and praised by his superiors, his entire family, including his son who was not yet three years old, perished under the blades of bandits.
His original intention was to make a name for himself and give his whole family a better life, but what actually happened?
His family suffered terribly during the disaster and died tragically on the way to escape famine, and there was nothing he could do.
Is this the good life he's always wanted?
He truly felt incredibly free and at ease being all alone.
In order to return home, he suffered severe injuries. After returning home, he was still not fully recovered and embarked on the journey to find his relatives while still covered in pain.
After traveling to so many places, he discovered that his entire family had died in Changzhou!
He grabbed the county magistrate, his eyes red, and asked, "Are you sure the bodies and names match?"
The magistrate, trembling, said, “Your Honor, the vast majority of the people in Lu Family Village died outside Liu Family Town. Their bodies were piled up like a small mountain. At that time, Changzhou was in turmoil, and no one was in charge for a long time. When we were collecting their bodies, we found the identification tags they were wearing. Some of them had lost their tags, leaving only their bones. Comparing the names of the Lu family members, we could find that each one matched up to their name…”
"grown ups!"
"master!"
Lu Baichuan couldn't hear anything. He just felt everything go black and lost consciousness. His body had already reached its limit after all the hard work of searching for his family.
Lou Chong rushed forward to help him up and shouted at the magistrate, "Go find a doctor right away!"
The magistrate didn't know what relationship this official had with the Lu family, but seeing him like this, he was also anxious. This was a high-ranking official from the capital, and a confidant of Prince Chen. If something happened to him, he would really be in deep trouble!
When he woke up again, it was already the evening of the second day. They stayed at the county government office. Given his physical condition, Lou Chong dared not take him to stay anywhere else.
"Master, your body is severely depleted. You should rest for a few days."
Lou Chong saw that he was about to get up as soon as he woke up, so he hurriedly went forward to help him.
Lu Baichuan insisted on getting up and said, "Let's go."
Lou Chong asked, puzzled, "Where are we going?"
"Go back to Jingzhou."
He pursed his lips, his mouth tasted of blood, and he felt terrible, but he wouldn't allow himself to stay.
Wasn't he eager to make a name for himself back then? Now that he has no worries, isn't it easier for him to realize his dreams?
Lu Baichuan chuckled self-deprecatingly, feeling like a despicable person who had managed to make his selfish desires seem so noble.
Therefore, every day he lived from then on, he had to live with the honor he had worked so hard for, carrying the regret and resentment of his whole family, so that he could live in endless self-blame for the rest of his life in order to get rid of his hatred!
"Master, we can't rush off like this. Let's eat something first!"
When Lu Baichuan was unconscious, Lou Chong took off his mask. Now, looking at the many wrinkles on his face and his body that couldn't even stand up straight, even the tough guy couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
His master has had a really tough time getting to where he is today.
Having followed him for many years, Lou Chong knew what kind of person he was; in fact, Lou Chong's life had been saved by him.
He saved so many people and did so many good deeds outside, but his whole family died so tragically. Anyone would find it unbearable.
Lu Baichuan wouldn't listen to any advice. What right did someone like him have to eat to recover from his injuries? He'd rather go back to the battlefield and kill a few more enemies!
Even though it was very late, the two still left the county government office at Lu Baichuan's insistence.
Lou Chong was going to prepare a carriage for him, but he didn't need it at all. He mounted the horse and sped off in an instant, his movements even more agile than Lou Chong's.
Lou Chong knew that he couldn't accept the fact that his family was gone and wanted to seek spiritual sustenance by torturing himself. Fearing that he would really ruin himself, he hurriedly followed him.
The magistrate and several of his men stood at the door to see them off. They didn't quite understand the behavior of the master and servant, but they weren't interested in asking any questions. After all, the two of them hadn't done anything special since they came; they had just checked the death register and stayed there for a day.
The magistrate yawned, said nothing, and went back to sleep.
Being an official in this godforsaken place will require a lot of effort if he wants to get promoted in the future. He needs to catch up on his sleep while he still has nothing to do, otherwise, when things get busy, sleep will be a luxury.
He Jiuniang has received a reply from her family. Their meaning is that they don't know much about cooperation with others, so it's up to He Jiuniang to decide. As long as she thinks it's suitable, then her family thinks it's suitable too.
So He Jiuniang met with Cheng Xuewei several more times to finalize the cooperation and sign a contract.
Cheng Xuewei had previously offered a 40/60 split, but He Jiuniang decided against taking advantage of her. After all, Cheng Xuewei's intention was not only to open stores in the prefectural city, but also in the surrounding counties. The amount of money involved was considerable, and it wouldn't be easy to break even.
To be fair, it would be more convenient to split it 50/50.
Cheng Xuewei was surprised by her generosity and happily agreed, thinking only of finding someone to run the shop well so that she could earn more money for the Lu family when the year-end dividends were distributed.
He Jiuniang missed her son so much that she wanted to go home for two days. Remembering Qin Jian's request, she wanted to go with him to visit his home. However, when she sent someone to look for him, she was told that Qin Jian had gone out on business and would not be back for the next day or two.
He Jiuniang went back by herself, figuring there would be plenty of opportunities in the future; if it didn't work out this time, she could try again next time.
Just as she was about to set off, she saw a familiar carriage coming toward her. Wind chimes hung on the carriage, making a tinkling sound when the wind blew.
He Jiuniang got out of the carriage and waited for them to come over. Seeing Ling Yue and Ling Xue helping Jiang Ruoya out of the carriage, she went up to help her as well and asked with concern, "Is Madam feeling unwell somewhere?"
"No, I came to see Jiu'er!"
Under He Jiuniang's treatment, Jiang Ruoya's condition has greatly improved. She can sleep without taking medicine these past few nights, and her complexion has improved a lot. However, her spirit has not yet returned to normal. When she talks, she likes to hold her hand and even likes to pinch her cheek, just like she treats a child.
However, He Jiuniang did not reject such contact.
Lingyue said, "Madam He, my wife heard that you are going home for two days and she was reluctant to part with you, so she came to see you off and brought you some pastries to eat on your way."
Ling Xue added from the side, "This was made by our lady herself!"
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