Chapter 113 (Chapter 113) - I Don't Believe...
Chapter 113 Disbelief
Lu Xiaofeng has experienced many awkward situations, and each time he manages to make things pass less embarrassingly. Of course, this is also thanks to his thick skin; sometimes, being a little thick-skinned isn't a bad thing.
But now, Lu Xiaofeng felt that he probably couldn't get through this situation. He looked at Hua Manlou, then at the eldest son of the Hua family, then at Master Zhu, then at Zhu Xi, and finally could only sigh, "I'm serious."
He wasn't trying to cover for Sikong Zhaixing; he was just telling the truth. While that rascal Sikong Zhaixing did indeed like to steal, he only ever stole things, and would return them after playing with them for a while. Stealing a person—that was probably a first for him.
Based on Lu Xiaofeng's understanding of Sikong Zhaixing, he was quite certain that he had been threatened. However, after saying those words, he felt as if he were making excuses for someone, which made him very uncomfortable.
Sigh, if only Sikong Zhaixing hadn't been scheming against himself, but now Zhu Xi and Hua Manlou have been dragged into it too. Even if he's telling the truth, Lu Xiaofeng is still in an awkward position.
"I believe your intuition is correct," Hua Manlou said with a smile.
Lu Xiaofeng cast a grateful glance at Hua Manlou. It was Hua Manlou who not only believed in him but also helped him out of a predicament. He would be Hua Manlou's best friend for life!
"I don't believe it." Zhu Xi put her hands on her hips.
Lu Xiaofeng said, "I..."
“It’s not that I don’t believe your judgment, it’s that I don’t believe Sikong Zhaixing.” Zhu Xi raised her hand, stopping Lu Xiaofeng from saying what she was about to say. “You said Sikong Zhaixing was threatened, but he could also be colluding with others, or there could be some other reason. We haven’t caught him yet, and we don’t know the reason, so I’m not willing to give him the assumption that he’s innocent. Besides, Sikong Zhaixing should be grateful that the person he caught was me, not some other woman.”
Even if he was threatened, does that mean Sikong Zhaixing was right? He stripped a woman of her outer garments and threw her into another man's bed. How can you say he did the right thing?
Sikong Zhaixing only met someone like her who didn't care about formalities at all. If he had arrested a woman from an old-fashioned family, would he have committed suicide to preserve his reputation? Thinking of this, Zhu Xi's expression turned sour.
Although women in the Great Zhou Dynasty could become emperors, officials, or inherit family businesses, this was only possible for two or three generations. In previous dynasties, women could not become emperors, officials, or inherit family businesses. All a woman could receive was a generous dowry, and nothing more.
The previous dynasty did not treat women like this, where they were practically confined to their chambers. Even today, many families are still self-righteous, judging women solely by gender and disregarding ability, treating the women in their households almost like cats or dogs, and even having the ridiculous notion that one should die to preserve chastity.
If the woman Sikong Zhaixing threw away today was raised in such a household, wouldn't that be taking a life? Regardless of what others think, Zhu Xi is not going to let this matter pass so easily, and neither is Sikong Zhaixing.
Lu Xiaofeng fell silent. "I'm sorry, I..." He hadn't thought of that.
Zhu Xi glanced at Lu Xiaofeng and snorted. "I'm going to capture Sikong Zhaixing and ask him what exactly happened."
Master Zhu nodded, "Very well, I'll let..."
"Father, let's go ask someone powerful for help." Zhu Xi's eyes sparkled as she said this. "That person is incredibly capable. She captured Xiao Shiyilang before, so taking him to Sikong Zhaixing would be a piece of cake for her. Let's go ask her for help, okay?"
Master Zhu said, "Are you talking about the Shadowless Sword Token that has recently gained fame in the martial arts world?"
"Yes, yes, that's her." Zhu Xi nodded repeatedly. "She can definitely do it." She had always wanted to meet Ling Hao when she was in Kyoto, but something always happened that prevented her from doing so. This time, she took the opportunity of visiting Ling Hao because of Sikong Zhaixing's matter. Even if she couldn't get anyone's help, she could at least meet Ling Hao.
The eldest member of the Hua family said, "I've also heard of the reputation of the Shadowless Sword. Her martial arts are indeed very high. If we can get her to help, I believe Sikong Zhaixing will be captured soon."
Master Zhu nodded. "That's true."
Lu Xiaofeng, who hadn't dared to speak since earlier, quietly cleared his throat.
"What are you doing?" Zhu Xi's tone was rather unfriendly. Indeed, she was currently taking her anger out on Lu Xiaofeng because of Sikong Zhaixing. She wasn't some saint; of course she could take her anger out on him, and besides, her anger was only a small amount, so why couldn't she?
Lu Xiaofeng didn't care about Zhu Xi's tone. Putting himself in her shoes, he would also be angry. "I just wanted to say, have you forgotten that Linghao and I are friends?"
Zhu Xi had truly forgotten about this matter, or perhaps she subconsciously severed ties between Ling Hao and Lu Xiaofeng. One was a great hero in her eyes, and the other was a somewhat annoying and mischievous friend; they seemed like an impossible pair.
"Can you persuade her to come?"
Lu Xiaofeng honestly shook his head, "I'm not sure either, it's up to you to make a decision." He was just her friend, not her, and couldn't make the decision for her.
"I knew it." Zhu Xi felt a little better.
Lu Xiaofeng: "..."
Sure enough, Zhu Xi disliked him again. Sigh, I'm used to it, really.
Hua Manlou, who was standing to the side, lowered his head and smiled.
The next day, Ling Hao received two invitations, one in the name of the eldest son of the Hua family and the other in the name of the patriarch of the Zhu family. Seeing these invitations, Ling Hao was somewhat confused, "I don't seem to know them?"
Although she knew Hua Manlou, she genuinely had no dealings with the Hua family of Jiangnan. As for the Zhu family patriarch, her only connection with them was when she paid someone to arrest someone. She wasn't some martial arts master, nor a high-ranking official, so why were they sending her invitations?
When Gongzi Mingyue saw Linghao staring at the two invitations, she went over to him.
Ling Hao handed him the post to look at.
After reading the post, Gongzi Mingyue threw it on the table. "Fine, see me if you want, don't see me if you don't. Anyway, it's probably nothing important."
"Let's meet them after a moment's thought. I'm quite curious why they came to see me."
Then, Linghao met the Zhu family father and daughter, the Hua brothers, and oh, and there was another person who looked like an outsider.
When she saw Lu Xiaofeng, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Lu Xiaofeng, why do you seem... a little too well-behaved today?" Even though Lu Xiaofeng seemed no different from every time they met before, always smiling as soon as they met, she just felt that he was different from usual.
Hua Manlou said with a smile, "He seems a little guilty today."
Ling Hao was quite curious; there weren't many things that could make Lu Xiaofeng feel guilty. But what was more important now was the purpose of the two families and the unofficial staff member who had come to see her.
"Sir, here's what happened." Master Zhu looked around; among this group, he was the oldest and of the highest seniority, so he would speak for them.
The Zhu and Hua families decided to cooperate with the imperial court. They only discussed some potential areas of cooperation with the court initially; more detailed discussions were still needed. Since they would be staying in the capital for quite some time, Master Zhu and the eldest son of the Hua family decided to go together and further discuss the cooperation.
But at that time, they received a note from a beggar, which said that the fifth daughter of the Zhu family and the seventh son of the Hua family had encountered trouble, and the location was also attached to the note. Although Master Zhu believed that his daughter was protected by six skilled warriors and would be safe, and although the eldest son of the Hua family believed that his seventh son was also safe due to his martial arts skills, and although they both knew that the real messenger had ulterior motives, they couldn't bear the possibility of anything going wrong, so they went to the address written on the note.
Thus, the incident of Zhu Xi being thrown into Lu Xiaofeng's room occurred. Now they want to ask Ling Hao for help to subdue Sikong Zhaixing and find out from him who is plotting against their two families.
After hearing their account of what happened, Gongzi Mingyue raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you sure you want to cooperate with the imperial court?"
Master Zhu and the eldest son of the Hua family exchanged a glance, then nodded, "Yes."
“Sikong Zhaixing is a thief,” Gongzi Mingyue chuckled lightly, his laughter devoid of any sarcasm, yet conveying a sense of contempt. “He was probably one of those people Fang Yingkan bribed. A thief is bound to be afraid of officials, especially greedy and cowardly ones.”
He was greedy, so he accepted Fang Yingkan's money, even though he knew Fang had ill intentions and that Youqiao Group was no good. He was also afraid of death, worried that if the matter were discovered, they would be implicated and be executed by the emperor. So he decided to sabotage the whole thing.
They probably thought that if the Hua and Zhu families became enemies, their cooperation with the imperial court would be impossible. Of course, those people weren't fools; they didn't believe things would stay stuck there forever. What they wanted was the time it took for the imperial court to find someone else to cooperate with. During that time, they could do many things, such as destroying evidence or distorting the facts to silence Fang Yingkan completely.
Without evidence, it cannot be proven that they were greedy for money; Fang Yingkan has completely shut up, so they are still clean and honest officials.
Gongzi Mingyue's brows were already full of contempt. "Those greedy bastards are best at playing dirty tricks." In fact, he felt that those people were probably so fat that they couldn't even use their brains properly.
To want the Hua and Zhu families to become enemies, yet resorting to such petty and hesitant methods, is truly laughable. If one were to really take action, the best method would be to ensure Zhu Xi dies a gruesome death in Hua Manlou's bed, while Hua Manlou is crippled by Zhu Xi's final act of resistance before his death.
With one dead and the other crippled, no matter how calm the Hua and Zhu families are, no matter how much they know there's something fishy going on, they'll inevitably become enemies. The rift has been opened, and it can never be repaired; the relationship between the two families will only worsen.
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Author's note: The mastermind behind this: No, who is the bad guy?
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