The tall and upright figure stood at the door. Gu Yan Chen's aura spread, and Li Chuan Hu's breathing hitched. He was so oppressed that he dared not even lift his head. His knees buckled, and he almost fell to his knees. Lu Song stood behind him, not directly facing Gu Yan Chen's pressure, and fared much better, at least he could still speak.
"Young master, you jest. I will take you and the young lady to see Madam right away." He made a gesture to invite them in, respectfully ushering them into the house.
Qing Ya glanced at the two of them with disdain. "Heh, if you had let my young lady in earlier, wouldn't that have been better? You had to put on such a show and end up humiliating yourselves?"
Lu Song nodded subserviently, his lowered eyelids hiding the malice in his eyes.
Gu Yan Chen sheathed his sword and turned, taking Lu Nian Fu's hand. "Madam, where does Mother live?"
"Follow me."
The two ignored the servants' appraising gazes nearby and went directly to the main house. Li Chuan Hu wanted to follow but was blocked by Qing Ya. "Eldest uncle, my young lady has deep affection for Madam, her mother. Would you be so tactless as to disturb their private conversation?"
Li Chuan Hu was spineless in front of Gu Yan Chen, but he showed a different face to Qing Ya. "A stepdaughter, really? What deep affection? Who knows if she will torment my sister behind closed doors?"
"Tsk, playing the 'thief crying 'stop thief' trick. You really are a master at it."
Li Chuan Hu, guilty conscience struck, was greatly alarmed by her words. "You, what do you mean?"
Qing Ya grinned, flicked her hand, and walked away. The north wind blew her mocking voice. "Whatever the eldest uncle thinks I mean, that's what I mean!"
In the dead of winter, Li Chuan Hu broke out in a cold sweat. Had everything he had done been discovered?
No, that was impossible. Lu Nian Fu was in Yangzhou, how could she know what happened in Xiangshui County? He was definitely overthinking it. He grabbed Lu Song's hem. "Steward, do you think they know everything?"
"Know what? Uncle, you don't need to scare yourself." Lu Song was contemptuous in his heart. He had only been tricked by a maid, and he was already in a panic. How could he have found such a partner?
However, the stupider Li Chuan Hu was, the more advantageous it was for him. Dealing with a fool was much easier than dealing with a smart person.
Li Chuan Hu was still uneasy. "What if she sees through something?"
Lu Song lowered his voice. "Eldest uncle, have you forgotten? Back then, your sister, along with the Wu family and Sun Shao Kang, almost forced the eldest young lady to become a concubine. That debt hasn't been settled yet. If it were you, would you help the person who harmed your enemy and left them paralyzed in bed?"
How could that be possible?
He would celebrate with firecrackers if he didn't do anything else.
Li Chuan Hu's heart settled. He patted Lu Song on the shoulder. "You see things clearly. Don't worry, after this is done, I will not treat you unfairly."
On the carved bed, Madam Li lay with vacant eyes, still unable to accept the fact that her eldest brother had harmed her.
Lu Nian Fu entered the room at this moment, and Gu Yan Chen came in with her.
He was not wearing official attire, but his ordinary black, fitted clothes could not hide his handsome and upright demeanor. The beautiful couple walked in slowly. She opened her mouth, but only managed a few "mmph, mmph, mmph" sounds.
To expose her eldest brother's true colors, Wei Jing brought Doctor Yin in the middle of the night and forced him to give Madam Li an acupuncture treatment, causing her to feign paralysis. It was said that after three days, she would automatically recover.
Lu Nian Fu held up her middle finger and whispered "shh," then sat by the table and began to drink tea.
"Tsk, I never thought that the dignified Madam of the Lu family, once fallen, would not even have a cup of hot tea. Qing Ya."
Qing Ya's response immediately came from outside. "Miss, what is it?"
"Go brew a pot of tea. I will have a good chat with Mother."
"Alright."
Qing Ya was quick. Not only did she brew tea, but she also brought two plates of dim sum from the kitchen. The dim sum was not what Lu Nian Fu liked. Qing Ya said, "Miss, please make do with what you have. I heard that the eldest uncle intends to sell off some of the household servants. Everyone is in a panic right now, so the kitchen can at best supply main meals, let alone make dim sum."
Lu Nian Fu looked at Madam Li. "Where are the servants' deeds of sale?"
Madam Li naturally could not answer. Wei Jing, who was on the roof beam, whispered, "Li Chuan Hu thought she was truly paralyzed. He searched the room several times and took away a lot of gold and jewelry. His subordinate kept the deeds of sale, so he couldn't find them."
Lu Nian Fu gave him a thumbs-up.
After Qing Ya withdrew, Lu Nian Fu beckoned Gu Yan Chen to drink tea and eat dim sum, not sparing Madam Li another glance. Madam Li could see but not speak, and her heart was filled with unsaid words. Seeing Lu Nian Fu's relaxed posture, she felt as if she were being choked with anger.
She only got up after drinking half a pot of tea and finishing both plates of dim sum. Of course, most of the dim sum had been eaten by Gu Yan Chen.
Madam Li thought the torment was finally over, but Lu Nian Fu walked to the bedside and smiled. "Mother, since we're putting on a show, we must go all the way. Daughter has offended you."
Then, with two loud slaps, two bright red palm prints appeared on Madam Li's face. She widened her eyes in disbelief, only to see Lu Nian Fu casually take the silk handkerchief handed by Gu Yan Chen, carefully wipe her hands, and walk out.
Her slender and delicate back seemed as if it would fall with a gust of wind.