SFS Chapter 168 Past Events
Chapter 168 Past Events
"I think we are lucky." Shang Wan threw the hair dryer behind her and handed Lu Chengjing another dry towel. "A Le happened to save a little girl, and it turned out to be Er Ya. Now Er Ya is recuperating in the Qiao Mansion. When she recovers, she can go to the prison to meet Lin Jianshui."
Thinking of Erya's situation, Shang Wan felt complicated. "The Lin family is so cruel that they are willing to send their own child to the devil's den. If I were Chen Guifang, I would go crazy and drag their whole family to be buried with me."
After saying that, she couldn't help but yawn.
In this world without nightlife, she is forced to have a more regular lifestyle.
Lu Chengjing's hair hadn't dried yet, so he said, "Go to sleep if you're sleepy. I'll come after I finish drying my hair."
"I'll wait for you." Shang Wan put her arms around his slender waist and leaned her head lightly on his shoulder. She was so sleepy that even her voice was a little muted.
Lu Chengjing paused while wiping his hair, then quickened his pace. After drying it hastily, he lowered his eyes to look at the person leaning on his shoulder, only to see a peaceful sleeping face.
He subconsciously moved lightly, picked the person up and laid him on the kang, then blew out the candles.
Shang Wan was just a little confused and woke up as soon as his position changed.
Lu Chengjing pulled her into his arms, patted her on the back, and whispered, "Go to sleep."
"No, I suddenly thought of a question." Shang Wan became more awake and asked the question that he had been ignoring, "How do you know these things?"
Lu Chengjing’s previous answer was “coincident”, which sounded very perfunctory.
Now that the case has come to light, Shang Wan feels it necessary to ask for clarification.
She reached out and pinched Lu Chengjing's earlobe, warning him, "Don't say it was a coincidence anymore."
Lu Chengjing told the truth, "Lu Shuhui told me."
"Lu Shuhui?" Shang Wan thought for a while before digging out this person from the original owner's memory.
Lu Shuhui is Lu Chengjing's second sister. She was born to an aunt, but her mother died when she was still an infant. She was then raised under the name of Madam Lu. Because she was too taciturn, she was not close to the three sons and one daughter born to Madam Lu.
In the second year after her coming of age, Lu Shuhui was married to the governor of Huzhou Prefecture, Zhao, as a concubine. After her marriage, Lu Shuhui only returned to her parents' home once, and rarely wrote letters to them.
People in the Lu residence basically never mentioned this second aunt, so the original owner knew very little information about her.
Unexpectedly, Lu Shuhui had a private connection with Lu Chengjing.
"How did she know about this?" Shang Wan frowned, "Could it be that Prefect Zhao is also involved in this matter?"
Lu Chengjing sneered, "It's more than just involvement."
Shang Wan listened to him quietly. The more he listened, the more he felt that both the Lu and Zhao families were a group of scum who deserved to go to hell!
Everything was caused by the prefect Zhao, and the Lu family could only be regarded as one of the accomplices.
The accomplices were responsible for collecting good-looking young children and secretly sending them to Huzhou Prefecture, with someone to pick them up along the way.
When they arrived at Huzhou Prefecture, these children became cash cows for Prefect Zhao.
Some were given away when they were young, while others were raised and sent to brothels or the backyards of wealthy gentry. When they grew old, they were sold to neighboring small countries like livestock to squeeze out the last drop of surplus value.
Over the years, the hidden lines have become wider and wider, spreading out like a spider web. Once you get stuck, you can't escape. You either work together or you lose your head.
The silver flowed into the pockets of the mastermind and accomplices like water, and each of them sucked the blood and flesh of innocent people and made a fortune.
Officials and businessmen colluded and committed numerous evil deeds. Even though the people were filled with resentment, it could not be heard by the authorities because officials protected each other, so the people lived in dire straits.
Shang Wan frowned, "Why did Lu Shuhui tell you this?"
"She is also a poor person." Lu Chengjing sighed softly, hugged Shang Wan tighter, and slowly told her what happened to Lu Shuhui.
It all started with Lu Shuhui’s biological mother, Aunt Qin.
Aunt Qin is the daughter of Master Lu’s wet nurse. She is two years younger than Master Lu. The two grew up together and can be considered childhood sweethearts.
After the death of her wet nurse, Aunt Qin had nowhere to go, so she sold herself to become a maid for Master Lu. Because they grew up together, Master Lu treated her differently from other maids, and as they came and went, they developed a secret relationship.
After Mr. Lu became an adulterer, Aunt Qin naturally became his maid.
After Mr. Lu married Mrs. Lu, he promoted Aunt Qin from a maid to a proper concubine.
Aunt Qin was a gentle and kind person, and Master Lu took good care of her because of their childhood friendship. Unfortunately, she became weaker after giving birth, and was often too sick to get out of bed, and soon died.
On her deathbed, Aunt Qin was thinking about her only daughter and begged Master Lu to register her daughter under the name of Madam Lu and to find a good family for her daughter in the future. She would remember the kindness of the master and his wife even after her death.
Mr. Lu felt pity for her and agreed readily.
But this pity quickly dissipated with the death of Aunt Qin.
The happiness of a biological daughter cannot compare to the wealth and glory of the Lu family.
However, the 28-year-old girl was married by her father to a man who was nearly 50 years old and older than her father as a concubine.
Lu Shuhui was unwilling in her heart, but she had no one to support her, and she was too timid by nature to dare to resist, so she stepped into the fire pit of the Zhao family.
Magistrate Zhao's original wife gave birth to two sons and one daughter for him. The daughter is about the same age as her stepmother Lu Shuhui.
There were many beauties in the backyard of the Zhao mansion. There were seven or eight concubines, even more maids, and three illegitimate children, all of whom were older than Lu Shuhui.
How could Lu Shuhui, a bride who had never been involved in any crime, be a match for these people?
She had two miscarriages during her pregnancies, and finally gave birth to a daughter with the help of a folk remedy. However, her body was damaged during the childbirth and she could no longer have children.
I thought at least I had a daughter to accompany me, but I never expected that my daughter died before she was one year old.
Lu Shuhui almost went crazy, and spent the whole day muttering about her daughter. She was sent back to her parents' home by the despised prefect Zhao, who told her to recover before returning.
Mr. Lu blamed Lu Shuhui for not giving birth to a son for Magistrate Zhao, and that all the family property in the future fell into the hands of his first wife's children. He disliked Lu Shuhui very much.
Mrs. Lu didn't care about this daughter who was not her own, and even felt a little resentful about her, so she naturally didn't care.
The servants took advantage of the situation and added insult to injury, which made Lu Shuhui even more mentally ill. She became determined to die and wanted to commit suicide by jumping into a well.
Lu Chengjing happened to rescue the person, and Lu Shuhui might just want someone to talk to, so she told Lu Chengjing everything that should and shouldn't be said without thinking.
At that time, Lu Chengjing was just thankful that there was no one around, otherwise both of their lives would have been lost because of her words.
After venting her anger without caring about anything, Lu Shuhui regained her senses. She was terrified and begged Lu Chengjing not to tell anyone, otherwise both of them would die.
Lu Chengjing couldn't do anything, so he agreed to Lu Shuhui's request. Not long after that, Master Lu sent Lu Shuhui, who was in better spirits, back to Huzhou Prefecture.