Daoming
When Mu Qing returned to the Lu residence, Du Jiniang saw him off. He covered up the time he had been missing by saying that he had met her on the road and fainted from fear. As for the injuries on his neck and face, he said that they were caused by collisions and friction when he was trying to avoid a rabid dog.
Two years ago, she demonstrated her ability to drive away wolves when she rescued people in the mountains.
Remembering her quick thinking at the time, and seeing her injuries, Master Lu couldn't help but become suspicious. As soon as Du Jiniang left, he pressed her for an answer: "That mad dog was even more ferocious than a wolf?"
Mu Qing thought for a moment, "I guess I've been slacking off these past two years, and my reactions aren't as quick as they used to be."
She looked up and saw that Master Lu's face was solemn and his eyes were deep, as if he could see right through people's hearts.
Fortunately, the Third Madam was nearby, looking at her with pity and saying, "You must have been frightened. Don't talk about this anymore, go back to your room and apply some medicine." With that, La Muqing returned to Ningxiang Residence, where she applied medicine and comforted her for a while before finally stopping.
As night fell, Mu Qing couldn't sleep. She waited until the third watch of the night before changing her clothes and going out again.
On the way back to the mansion by carriage during the day, at the request of Aunt Man, Du Jiniang invited her out, but Mu Qing declined. However, she asked Du Jiniang where Aunt Man and the musician lived.
Wutong Lane was very convenient, being near the Lu residence. She found the small courtyard in no time. The houses inside had a simple structure, and by the moonlight, she could get a general idea of the kitchen and main room.
It was a bit dark in the bedroom, so she sat down by the musician's bedside and lit the candle on the table.
Probably due to the stimulation of the light, the person on the bed rustled and turned over, and upon opening their eyes, saw a flash of bright light.
Mu Qing held the kitchen knife to her neck, and with her other hand, she covered her lips with her finger, signaling her to "Shh!"
Lu Xier's pupils contracted sharply, but after recognizing the person by the bed curtains, she calmed down. "It's you."
"You actually recognize me?" Mu Qing was somewhat surprised. "This is the first time I've seen you like this."
She looked at the face on the pillow and thought it resembled Master Lu somewhat, but then wondered if it was because she had heard about his identity that she thought so.
Lu Xi'er frowned after being scrutinized for a while and asked, "Are you going to kill me?"
Mu Qing honestly replied, "I haven't decided yet."
"..." Lu Xi'er was stunned for a moment, "Killing me would solve everything, wouldn't it?"
Mu Qing shook her head; letting her do it would only cause her more trouble.
"If you commit suicide, it might be the end of everything."
"But I had no such intention."
"So what are your intentions in returning to the Lu family?"
Lu Xier pursed her lips but did not answer.
Mu Qing waited a while and then said, "Tell me, and maybe I can grant your wish."
Lu Xier gave a disdainful smile. "I've reclaimed everything that belongs to me. Why do I need your help?"
Mu Qing sighed, "You're really unfriendly."
"..." Who's unfriendly?
Lu Xier stared at the person holding the knife by the bedside, her gaze wishing she could drill into her brain to see what she was thinking.
But then she saw her holding a knife to her, saying, "Turn around and let me see your birthmark."
Lu Xier asked warily, "Just looking?"
Mu Qing's expression was displeased. "If you show it to me voluntarily, then it's just looking."
Just as Lu Xier was about to look up, she felt the knife on her neck sink slightly. She bit her lip and turned around.
Mu Qing pulled back the covers and lifted her shirt, revealing a birthmark under her shoulder blade—a pinkish-red mark, resembling a begonia, with several finger marks of varying shades tinged with blue beside it.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Lu Xi'er felt a chill, pulled the blanket up, turned around and scolded, "Have you seen enough?"
Mu Qing asked, "Did you have physical intimacy with the Prince?"
Lu Xier blushed. She had been confident and self-assured when speaking to the fake lady who was impersonating her, but when she mentioned the prince in front of this fake lady, she couldn't help but feel a little ashamed.
Seeing that she avoided his gaze, Mu Qing assumed it was just shyness from a young woman, silently sheathed his knife, and left.
Lu Xier came to her senses, got up and looked at the lit candle on the table and the door that wasn't closed properly. She was sure she wasn't dreaming, and couldn't help but wonder what the fake young lady was up to.
Mu Qing's mind was in turmoil. Thinking about it, she felt exhausted. After returning to the Lu residence, she lay down until dawn.
As dawn broke, she got up early and went to pay her respects to Old Madam Meng as usual. She then recounted the story of encountering the dog on the way, which made the old lady frown with worry. Because of this, Mu Qing stayed at Qingyuan Hall for a while longer, chatting and joking to cheer up the old lady.
Returning to Ningxiang Residence, Mu Qing picked up "A Thousand Poems" to take another look, but as soon as she opened it, she found a note inside with poems written in delicate, small regular script.
The magpie has a nest, but the dove dwells in it. This young woman is going to her husband's home, escorted by a hundred carriages.
This is from the Book of Songs. The first line describes a cuckoo occupying a magpie's nest, and the second line describes the joyous scene of a woman's marriage. Master Lu San annotated this poem as a poem about an abandoned wife, with the cuckoo representing the new bride and the magpie representing the abandoned wife. However, the person who wrote this line on the note clearly had another meaning.
Mu Qing picked up the note from between the pages of the book, paused for a long time, and then asked, "Who touched this book?"
Ning Gu continued to question the maids, but they all said they didn't know. So she turned around and asked, "Miss, has anyone tampered with this book anywhere?"
She saw a note in Mu Qing's hand and was about to ask him further when she heard Mu Qing say, "No, I must have been overthinking it."
Mu Qing looked at the note; the handwriting was better than hers, flowing and delicate, just like Lu Xier's.
But the Lu residence is currently under tight security, so how exactly was the note sent in? Mu Qing glanced at the maid in the room. Ning Gu couldn't find out who it was. If they were to investigate further, it would probably cause a huge uproar and make everyone around them cry.
Mu Qing rolled the paper strip between her fingers, crumpled it for a moment, and then put it back in the book.
She calmed herself, closed the book, and turned to ask, "Are Master and Madam at home now?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than someone came from outside, saying that the master had invited him.
Mu Qing was taken aback. Master Lu rarely spoke to her directly, and when he had something to say, he would usually ask his wife to relay it. The fact that he had sent someone to invite her was probably because of what happened yesterday.
She continued, "Is Madam also at Jingsi Garden?"
The servant who came to deliver the message replied that only the master was present.
Shi Yu said, "When I passed through the garden earlier, I heard someone say that the musician from Wutong Lane came to visit Madam, and Madam invited her to sit in the flower hall. She is probably still there now."
Mu Qing smiled silently, and found that this wasn't so bad.
Having received so much care from the Third Madam, the thought of having to explain to her face that he had been deceiving her for so long made him feel guilty and he wanted to back out.
Mu Qing breathed a sigh of relief and headed to Jingsi Garden. As she passed through the garden, she heard the clear sound of a zither, a tune she had never heard before.
It was late spring, but the flowers and trees were still in full bloom, and there were more birds on the branches than before. There were also a few small birds mixed in, their cries clear and bright.
The study in Jingsi Garden was relatively quiet, with the doors and windows tightly closed.
Master Lu stood with his hands behind his back. After Mu Qing entered, he dismissed everyone else and said in a serious voice, "Tell me the truth about how you were injured yesterday."
Seeing this, Mu Qing couldn't bring herself to call him "father." She lowered her eyes and said, "To be honest, when I met you and Third Madam on the mountain, I was feeling lonely. When I saw that you two mistook me for your daughter, I took the liberty of claiming her as your daughter. In reality, my age doesn't match up. I am already twenty-one this year."
Master Lu looked at her, stroked his long beard, and showed no surprise. However, Mu Qing had her head down and did not see it.
Not hearing any condemnation, she secretly admired Master Lu's magnanimity and continued, "Yesterday's injury was caused by an old acquaintance. However, compared to my matter, you may be more interested in your biological daughter. I also happened to learn yesterday that your daughter is now in Weizhou and wants to reunite with you, but has no way to do so."
Master Lu paused in stroking his beard. "How do you know where she is?"
Mu Qing repeated what he had heard from Du Jiniang, adding two more sentences: "I have already met that Lu Qin player, and she does indeed have a birthmark on her back."
After a moment of silence, Master Lu said, "I will investigate this matter. Tell me again, how did you get injured yesterday?"
Returning to the topic, Mu Qing had no choice but to explain his background, "My father was originally the chieftain of Jinglei Village. You can find out about Jinglei Village by asking around. Although Jinglei Village has been wiped out, besides me, some others managed to escape. I encountered one of them yesterday. There may be others among them who already know that I am hiding in the Lu family. In the future, they may cause you trouble."
Who is the other party?
Mu Qing looked up and said, "Song Baixuan."
After Song Baixuan was critically injured and fell into the river, news that Yiyeju could obtain was not difficult for the Lu family to know as well. Not to mention, Song Baixuan was a student at Wansong Academy, and Master Lu the Third had been teaching there for the past two years.
As expected, Master Lu's face was ashen, and he spoke after a long while: "Go back first, and let me think about how to handle this."
Mu Qing exhaled softly, as if ice and snow were melting, and the seclusion frozen in the deep cave was finally exposed to the light of day. The stagnant breath began to flow. When she stepped out, she saw that the sky was cloudless and clear as if it had been washed.
Ning Gu walked to her side and sensed something was amiss. As soon as they left Jing Si Yuan, she asked what the master had said to her. Mu Qing simply replied that everyone would know in a while.
Ning Gu was kept in the dark and couldn't help but worry, feeling that something was going to happen. Not long after returning to Ningxiang Residence, she went to find the Third Madam.
Upon arriving at the flower hall, Ninggu saw the Third Madam and the musician chatting happily, and waited patiently.
At this moment, Master Lu arrived and asked his third wife, the musician, and the old woman beside her to stay, while sending everyone else away.
Ning Gu had no choice but to give up and returned to Ningxiang Residence, only to find all the maids outside, saying that their mistress wanted to be alone.
Ning Gu knocked on the door, but there was no response for a long time. She quickly asked someone to force the door open and enter. She found that everything inside was fine, except that a living person was missing.
I asked everyone, and they all said they saw the young lady go into the room and didn't see her come out.
Ning Gu hurriedly sent someone to inform the Madam and the Master.
Half an hour later, the Third Madam arrived at Ningxiang Residence, her eyes slightly red.
Ning Gu had her doubts, but obeyed her orders and accompanied her into the warm pavilion alone, where they looked around the house where Mu Qing had disappeared.
The third madam sat down at the table and slowly said, "Ning Gu, she is not Qing Xue, but she looks so much like me. Tell me, why is that?"
Ning Gu was startled. "Miss? How could she not be?"
“She confessed to the master. The one in the flower hall now is Qingxue. Her birthmark is exactly the same as when she was a child, and there is other evidence as well.”
Ning Gu was stunned. She didn't bother to ask for any evidence; she believed Madam's words. But if the real Miss Qingxue was someone else, then who had she been serving for the past two years?
The third wife stared at her until her face turned pale and she knelt down on the ground, trembling.
“That child,” Aunt Ning stammered, almost biting her tongue, “was indeed unsteady at birth. We originally intended to raise her well before sending her away, but one night, she suddenly disappeared. In order to make you forget, we reported that she had died.”
That child should never have been born. Her arrival would only prove her premarital infidelity, ruining her mother's reputation and making her unable to hold her head high for the rest of her life.
After thinking for a moment, Ning Gu asked hurriedly, "Does the master know her background?"
The third wife gazed at the sky with tears in her eyes, and murmured in a daze, "Perhaps he doesn't know, perhaps..."
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