“Husband!”
Seeing Zhao Wenrong return, Lin Yushu hurried to meet him. “Zheng Mosheng was here just now!”
She called Zheng Mosheng by his full name and sounded anxious. “He and his senior brother broke in together. They knocked out Yingxiang and Yulan. They are extraordinary people!”
Zhao Wenrong steadied Lin Yushu at once and comforted her quickly. “It is all right, it is all right. I actually arrived a moment ago. With Brother Lu’s help, I stayed hidden so as not to alert them.”
“Ah?” Lin Yushu was surprised, then realised at once. “Young Master Lu?”
She saw Lu Zheng emerge from behind Zhao Wenrong with Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying. He smiled and nodded at her.
Lin Yushu could not help breathing a sigh of relief.
When she had first learned that Zheng Mosheng and his senior brother were extraordinary people, she had thought of borrowing Lu Zheng’s prestige to intimidate them. Yet she was not part of the cultivation world and did not know which side was stronger. She dared not drag others into danger lightly.
After persuading Zheng Mosheng to leave, she had assumed the matter was over. But that senior brother’s gaze had chilled her to the bone. So she planned to seek Lu Zheng’s help while they had only just departed.
She had not expected Lu Zheng to have already noticed the situation and returned with Zhao Wenrong.
“Brother Lu was worried Zheng Mosheng harboured ill intent towards you, so he kept me from showing myself. He wanted to catch him red-handed if he acted. Unexpectedly, the fellow’s nature is not bad. He left on his own.” Zhao Wenrong comforted Lin Yushu. “Yet it still frightened you.”
“I am fine.” Lin Yushu shook her head, then said urgently to Lu Zheng, “But that senior brother of Zheng Mosheng just now…”
Liu Qingyan stepped forward with a smile and took Lin Yushu’s hands. “We all saw it. Rest assured. We will wait nearby tonight. If he dares come, he will not escape.”
Lin Yushu nodded repeatedly, finally relaxing. She thanked them hurriedly.
…
After confirming Lin Yushu was temporarily safe, Lu Zheng waved a hand to wake the two maidservants. He and Zhao Wenrong returned to the outer hall. Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying stayed behind to chat with the still-shaken Lin Yushu, comforting her and casually mentioning that Zheng Mosheng and his senior brother were nothing in their eyes. They could crush them effortlessly.
Back in the outer hall, Zhao Wenrong cupped his hands repeatedly towards Lu Zheng.
“No need for thanks.” Lu Zheng said. “These two are people, not ghosts. And Zheng Mosheng was once your wife’s neighbour. Without evidence, it would not be proper for me to act.”
Though Zheng Mosheng had knocked out the two maidservants and entered the bridal chamber, he had neither harmed nor abducted anyone. At worst, it could be called improper conduct, not even a crime. It would instead harm Lin Yushu’s reputation.
As a law-abiding model citizen of Dajing, Lu Zheng naturally could not openly take justice into his own hands against ordinary people.
Well… though Zheng Mosheng and his senior brother were no longer exactly ordinary…
Zhao Wenrong nodded repeatedly, showing understanding.
“But that senior brother of Zheng Mosheng…”
Qu Huan’s parting glance at Lin Yushu had concealed nothing. It was filled with lust and greed.
“Rest easy. I have my eye on him.” Lu Zheng smiled and patted Zhao Wenrong’s arm. “He will never appear before you again. To me, he truly is just a minor figure. I do not even need to act personally.”
…
The wedding banquet ended lively and noisily near the hour of hai. Apart from the bride and groom, no one knew of the small interlude that had occurred.
In the early hours, during the hour of chou, all was silent.
A dark shadow sped from afar. In the moonless night, it resembled a ghost.
Soon, the shadow reached the Zhao family wall. With a light flip, it entered the residence, a faint smile on its lips.
Yet before it could act further, a large hand settled on its shoulder.
Qu Huan’s pupils contracted sharply. Without turning, he felt all his mana sealed. He could not muster a single trace.
In the next instant, he was carried back over the wall the way he came. Then he heard a clear voice.
“Brother Duan, sorry to trouble you with another trip tonight.”
“No trouble at all.” A hearty voice replied. “Cases involving extraordinary people are precisely the work of our Anomaly Suppression Department. I should thank Brother Lu for delivering merit to me.”
The Anomaly Suppression Department?
Qu Huan’s eyes widened in shock. Terror flooded him. He had never imagined that merely wanting to sleep with a mortal woman would attract the Anomaly Suppression Department.
He was no professional flower thief, only dabbling occasionally. How could they have staked him out specifically?
Duan Changzai probed Qu Huan’s true qi, nodded, and said, “Impure true qi. Likely from some minor sect or loose cultivator inheritance. Since he has a junior brother, there is a master. I will inquire when I return. Perhaps I should pay a visit and ask how he teaches his disciples.”
As he spoke, Duan Changzai pulled two porcelain vials from Qu Huan’s clothes, uncorked them, and sniffed. “A repeat offender.”
Qu Huan nearly fainted. He had never dreamed that simply accompanying his junior brother to deliver a message would land him in the hands of the Anomaly Suppression Department.
And…
With those two vials confiscated, he had no excuse to claim misunderstanding.
He was finished…
Watching Duan Changzai take Qu Huan away, Liu Qingyan could not help shaking her head.
Dajing did not ban prostitution, and the man clearly lacked no money. She could not understand why he insisted on this thrill-seeking approach.
“Just a minor interlude. Come, let us return to the Du residence and sleep.” Lu Zheng smiled.
For Zhao Wenrong and Lin Yushu, it might have been a major crisis. For Lu Zheng, it truly was only a small interlude.
…
Zheng Mosheng discovered his senior brother missing only the next morning. After searching fruitlessly, people from the Anomaly Suppression Department arrived.
Learning the truth, the two naturally turned against each other. Zheng Mosheng no longer delivered any message. He led the department’s men straight back to their sect.
Such minor matters held no further interest for Lu Zheng. The three stayed in Yizhou for three days, then returned to Tonglin County with Du Yueyao.
Liu Qingyan and Du Yueyao continued visiting Benevolent Heart Hall daily to treat patients. Shen Ying cultivated at Peach Blossom Ridge. The three Tu sisters carried on eating, drinking, playing, reading, and listening to operas each day. Yue Honghai also idled daily.
Only Lu Zheng shuttled between places, living the fullest life.
…
“Leaving the day after tomorrow?” Lu Zheng looked at the plane ticket in his hand. “Tickets all booked?”
Lin Wan nodded. “Leaving a few days early means fewer people at the airport. After all, more and more people in the country have money now. Even flights to Europe are packed during National Day.”
At present, China had no direct flights to Tanzania. All required transfers in Europe.
“Has Zhao Xiaodao freed up time?”
“Yes. He specially cleared a National Day slot. I hear everyone at his company is lamenting the lost earnings.”
Walking a few major commercial endorsements during the seven-day holiday would bring seven figures.
“Still Tanzania this time?” Lu Zheng asked. “Shall we change destination? Morocco or the Pharaoh Kingdom, perhaps?”
Lin Wan asked, “Do they have endless African savannah?”
“No.”
Lin Wan asked again, “Do they have lions, elephants, giraffes, and cheetahs?”
“No.”
Lin Wan shrugged. “Then why would we go there?”
