Chapter 57 Give Up I will never talk to him again in my life...
After hearing this, Chen Lianxiu quickly whispered to Luo Wuniang, "Wu Niang, I told you last time, I didn't mean that..."
"I know," Luo Wuniang's voice was still high and deliberate. "But they're asking me for help again, and I was thinking, since they're so sincere, why not talk it over again? You should think about it and don't refuse so bluntly."
"Wu Niang, please keep your voice down." Shen Lianxiu's ears felt a little hot. "Don't talk about this anymore."
Luo Wuniang curled her lips and finally lowered her voice: "I'm telling him this. Although he will leave eventually, it's better to get rid of him sooner so that I can rest assured. You see, you don't have a man around you. If you had listened to me and remarried earlier, this scoundrel from the capital would never have come around. Your men at home would have beaten him away!"
Shen Lianxiu smiled awkwardly.
"If you ask me, you might as well agree to it first, so as to scare him." Luo Wuniang said again.
"No, that's not good."
Chen Lianxiu also knew that what Luo Wuniang said was a solution. However, Zhou Linjin was not a real pervert who suddenly came to him, and she did not really remarry. Her hasty discussion of marriage might not have much impact on him. It would be better to wait until he had to return to the capital. Moreover, it would not be good to agree to the Wang family on purpose and then destroy the bridge after crossing the river.
"Okay," Luo Wuniang carefully pointed at Zhou Linjin who was talking to An An over there, "Be careful, don't let him know that you didn't talk to the one from the Wang family."
Shen Lianxiu was helpless: “Okay.”
After Luo Wuniang left, Chen Lianxiu walked over and waved to An An. An An was originally showing her dying flower to Zhou Linjin. When she saw Chen Lianxiu calling her, she immediately ran over like a puppy.
Shen Lianxiu touched her head and found it was all sweaty from working in the medicine garden.
"Go take a shower first, then eat." Shen Lianxiu said.
She had already boiled hot water in the kitchen, so she just took it and mixed it with cold water. Since Zhou Linjin was outside, she didn't want to carry water back to the room, so she just took a shower in the kitchen. When An An heard that she was going to have a bath, and that she could play in the water, she rushed in immediately and took off her clothes.
In front of Zhou Linjin, Chen Lianxiu slammed the door shut again.
As soon as she entered the room, she asked An An, "What did he say to you just now?"
Everything else is fine, but Chen Lianxiu is afraid that Zhou Linjin will say something he shouldn't say in a hurry, such as he is An An's biological father. She has already decided to break up with Zhou Linjin, and An An will only live with her. Anyway, they have been living like this for all these years. Suddenly letting An An know that she has a father and severing the relationship between them will be bad for An An. It is better not to let her know. When she grows up and can accept what is between them, it will be the real time to tell her.
An An said: "He asked An An if she was tired, and An An said no, and then showed him An An's little flower."
"What else?"
Children don't have good memories. An An scratched his head and thought for a while before saying, "He also asked An An if she wanted to go to the capital. Mother, what is the capital?"
Shen Lianxiu said: "It's not a good place."
An An seemed to understand: "Oh."
When asked again, she couldn't remember anything and just kept asking Shen Lianxiu to let her play in the water.
Zhou Linjin stood outside the door, listening to the sound of water splashing inside, the sounds of children playing, and occasionally Chen Lianxiu's whispers. Although he couldn't hear what they were saying clearly, it made him feel sometimes comforted and sometimes sad.
He should have been inside, but now he could only hear the sounds through the door.
After a while, Zhou Linjin turned around and went outside to call Bi Cha.
He said to Bi Cha, "I will be leaving soon. I will come back tomorrow morning. You don't have to come with me. Just stay here and watch over them."
Bi Cha agreed, and then said, "My dear, you haven't had a good rest for several days. It's okay to come later tomorrow. At least you can get some sleep."
Zhou Linjin did not respond.
Bi Cha knew that he could not persuade her, but he still sighed. He didn't know how much Zhou Linjin's self-punishment of forgiveness could move Shen Lianxiu. Seeing that he was unwilling to say a word, it was probably difficult.
After a while, Zhou Linjin continued, "There's one more thing. There's a family surnamed Wang at the entrance of Baixi Village. Go and tell them to stop targeting your second wife and keep quiet."
Bicha responded dryly.
Zhou Linjin lingered until the sun had completely set and Chen Lianxiu and An An started to eat, then he rode away.
When Shen Lianxiu was ready to go to bed, he found that Bi Cha did not follow Zhou Linjin, but was still outside.
She thought about it, then walked over and asked, "Did he leave you here?"
Bi Cha nodded and answered honestly, "My dear, I asked you to stay with me."
Although it is summer, there is still dew outside at night, and it must not be pleasant to spend the night outside.
Chen Lianxiu actually had no resentment towards Bi Cha, nor would she vent her anger on him because of Zhou Linjin. To be more precise, she just didn't want to continue to be entangled with Zhou Linjin himself. She did have resentment, but in order to let herself go, Chen Lianxiu had been trying to eliminate it for so many years.
"There are a few rooms in the back. I'll clean up one for you to live in." Chen Lianxiu said to Bi Cha.
The family originally opened a clinic. Although it was a farmhouse, the place was not small. Most of the rooms in the back were no longer used, but there were some cleaner ones that Chen Lianxiu used to let patients who were in poor condition rest.
Bi Cha scratched his head. Chen Lianxiu was so nice to him, but he felt embarrassed. After all, a whole day had passed and she hadn't said a word to Zhou Linjin!
He pointed to the carriage not far away, but still declined slightly and said, "My lady, don't bother me. I can sleep in the carriage."
The carriage was where Shen Lianxiu came. It wasn't very big, and there were no bedding or a small couch. She was afraid it would be uncomfortable to sleep in it for a night. Seeing Bi Cha looking at her cautiously again, she knew what he meant, so she said, "That room is ready. You can sleep there directly. It's no trouble."
Bi Cha laughed twice and said, "Thank you, my lady."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Shen Lianxiu hooking her finger at him. Bi Cha couldn't help but walk closer and heard Shen Lianxiu say to him: "However, I also have something to tell you, and you have to do it for me."
Bi Cha had a bad feeling, but he still said, "Just let my wife say it."
"When he comes tomorrow, tell him for me that I will never speak to him again in my life, so that he will give up." Chen Lianxiu said lightly.
Bi Cha naturally didn't dare to nod, and asked, "Ah? Why is that?"
Chen Lianxiu said, "If I don't speak, he won't recognize me at all, so we are strangers. I had to speak to him before, but I won't speak anymore and we will continue to be strangers."
"Then you are not strangers!" Bi Cha said.
"Just tell him this, this is what I mean, and tell him not to waste his energy."
Bi Cha was silent for a moment, then continued, "Second Madam, I have something to say to you from the bottom of my heart. It's not my turn as a servant to say this. Now that the young master has recognized you, it's impossible for you to break up completely. Let's not talk about what to do with the young lady. As for the Duke's Mansion, the madam and the others will definitely know about it. Even if the young master has to leave due to official business, they will definitely not let you stay outside like this. The Duke's Mansion is your home, and you should take the young lady An An back with you."
Shen Lianxiu was silent. Except when facing Zhou Linjin, she was not so indifferent to other people: "This is my home, not that place."
"My dear husband hasn't had an easy time these past few years. I know you don't want to hear this, but think about it. He didn't remarry even after hearing the news of your death," Bi Cha continued. "Even though they stopped looking for the road where you died, my dear husband would often ride back and forth on horseback alone, just wondering if he could find you..."
Perhaps because he was afraid of offending a taboo, Bi Cha did not continue.
Chen Lianxiu didn't say anything after hearing this, but just said: "I'll take you in, let's rest early."
***
After a long and dusty journey, Zhou Linjin returned to the government prison after midnight.
Although it seems impossible for Chen Lianxiu to follow him back to Beijing at the moment, he still needs to spend a lot of effort. It would be best if he could continue to stay in Chenzhou for a while and wait for Chen Lianxiu to gradually change her mind. However, Zhou Linjin will not delay the progress of the case for this. He has always made a clear distinction between public and private matters.
There can be no delay on Chen Lianxiu's side, and there can be no delay on this side either.
The bailiff came forward to take his horse and led him into the prison.
Although Bi Cha was not there today, as soon as Zhou Linjin arrived, someone immediately served him freshly brewed hot tea.
Pei Qian was right in front of him.
At this time, Pei Qian was tied to the rack with a black cloth covering his head. He seemed to be asleep at first, and only moved slightly when he heard the noise.
Zhou Linjin raised his hand, and the bailiff took off the black cloth on his head.
"Everyone, go down."
After everyone left, Zhou Linjin took a leisurely sip of tea and asked, "You still won't tell me?"
Ever since the Pei family was imprisoned, Zhou Linjin had secretly sent all his findings to the capital and presented them to the emperor. However, Pei Ruoyan was already dead, and Pei Qian and his companions remained silent, leading to the matter remaining unaddressed. In truth, Hu Jun's murder was a cover-up from the outset. While an investigation was certainly warranted, the greater goal was to uncover Prince Hui's allies. Hu Qingshan had long suspected that his son, Hu Jun, had been murdered by Prince Hui's men, but lacking proof, he deliberately spread these terrifying rumors in the capital.
Now all the clues point to Pei Qian. The other members of the Pei family are not important. As long as Pei Qian's mouth is opened, many things will come to light.
But Pei Qian also knew that once he opened his mouth, not only himself but also the Pei family would be doomed. As long as he kept silent, everything would be just hearsay.
Zhou Linjin never used torture when trying prisoners. Those were inferior methods and could easily lead to gossip. But for someone like Pei Qian, falling into Zhou Linjin's hands would not be much better than being tortured.
He locked Pei Qian in a dark room and put a black cloth on his head, making him unable to tell the time and gradually blurring out the space he was in. Not only that, when he could no longer distinguish between day and night, he also did not allow Pei Qian to sleep. The yamen runners would ring a gong in Pei Qian's ear every incense stick of time. Just one sound, but it was enough to keep Pei Qian awake.
Zhou Linjin usually came at night. Before he came, he would instruct the yamen runners to let Pei Qian sleep for half an hour. This was not a pardon for Pei Qian, but rather a way to wake him up again when he finally fell into a deep sleep after being exhausted both physically and mentally. In this state, Pei Qian would be easily defeated.
In just a few days, Pei Qian had become so haggard that he looked unrecognizable. He was a wealthy young man who had grown up in luxury and had never suffered such torture.
Pei Qian raised his eyes with difficulty to glance at Zhou Linjin. He smiled at first, then said, "It seems that Master Zhou is not much better than me."
Although Pei Qian knew that Chen Lianxiu was not dead and would be found by Zhou Linjin sooner or later, seeing him like this made him sad every day.
Zhou Linjin frowned when he heard this.
"I've found her."
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The author has something to say: Second update [milk tea]
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