Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 24 Suspicion
Lu Jing wore a cyan ring on his thumb. He folded his hands in front of him, unconsciously turning the ring and speaking slowly, "A few days ago, the remnants of Huainan conspired in Nanfeng Tower. The Jinyiwei were ordered to arrest them, but several escaped. The Jingdu Prefecture and Jinyiwei worked together to hunt down the fugitives for several days. Last night, they caught a live person, who identified my sister-in-law as a remnant of Huainan."

Lu Zhu blurted out, "How is it possible!"

Su Qingwan's heart sank, and her eyes swept across Luzhu. She calmed herself down and didn't dare to interrupt. Su Qingwan said, "I was born in the Xie family in Jiangnan, and married to the Lu family for three years. How did I become a remnant of Huainan?"

"The thieves have no way to escape, so they may want to drag others into the water." Lu Jing's voice was neither slow nor fast, but full of pressure. "Why did sister-in-law appear in Nanfeng Tower?"

His cold eyes stared at Su Qingwan solemnly, and his gaze seemed to have substance. Ordinary people would have been frightened out of their wits.

Su Qingwan said coldly, "That day, after I inspected the business, it was already dinner time, so I went to Nanfeng Tower to eat, in the private room on the east side of the fourth floor. Later, I heard the sound of fighting, so I took Luzhu downstairs and saw the Jinyiwei fighting with others. I hid behind the pillars with my guests and wanted to wait for you to finish the case before leaving. Unexpectedly, Nanfeng Tower caught fire, and I was dizzy from the crowd. Before I could react, you stabbed me. I have to thank my third brother for showing mercy and recognizing me in time, otherwise my soul would have crossed the Naihe Bridge."

Lu Jing had never encountered such a tough opponent since he became the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei. He bowed and apologized, "It was my recklessness. I will let my sister-in-law punish me."

"How dare you."

The two of them sat in silence for a while. Lu Zhu and Li An even breathed lightly. The last rays of sunset disappeared in the horizon. The sky was dim and the wind blowing through the hall brought the sultry summer heat.

Lu Jing said solemnly, "I believe that my sister-in-law was innocently involved in the Huainan remnant case, but since someone has testified, in order to clear my sister-in-law's name, when you recover from your injury, follow me to the Jinyiwei prison to confront the thief face to face."

"As a married woman, I will be criticized if I stay out for too long. I'd better finish it as soon as possible and go home. How about tomorrow?"

Lu Jing looked at her solemnly, not finding any trace of guilt or fear in her eyes. He nodded, "Okay."

At dinner, the maid from the other courtyard brought three dishes and one soup, two meat dishes and two vegetarian dishes. Lu Jing didn't know Su Qingwan's taste, so the dishes were very light, suitable for someone recovering from an injury. Su Qingwan had no appetite and only drank a little soup. Lu Zhu was even more nervous and lowered her voice, "Miss, someone was arrested and gave you away. It's not good for you to confront him face to face. I'm going to pass the order to kill him at all costs."

"Killing someone in the Jinyiwei prison is like throwing a meat bun at a dog, and there is no way back." Su Qingwan was much calmer than her.

Lu Zhu was anxious, "What should I do then?"

Su Qingwan narrowed her eyes. "Lu Jing said that he caught a killer. Did he really catch him?"

Maybe this was a scam, deliberately designed to defraud her.

Lu Zhu suddenly realized what was going on and stood up, slamming the table. "I will go out quietly at night. If anyone is really arrested, Chen Feng will definitely leave a message."

"Sit down!" Su Qingwan said coldly, "If this is a conspiracy, there are spies outside the door. If you go out to get information, you will be trapped. Don't do anything."

"Can we just sit and wait for death?" Lu Zhu was upset.

Su Qingwan was calmer than ever. She knew that being impatient and panicking would not solve any problems. "Lu Jing was able to climb to the position of deputy commander of the Jinyiwei in such a short time. He is definitely not an ordinary person. Since the situation has been set, we should not give him more leverage."

Lu Zhu was very upset and in a bad mood, but she ate a lot. Su Qingwan had a poor appetite, so all the food went into her mouth. Across the wall was Lu Jing's main courtyard.

Lu Jing was reading official documents in the study. Recently, the court was arguing over the remnants of Huainan. The civil officials and military officers were clearly divided. The civil officials hoped that the remnants of Huainan would be severely punished, while the military officers hoped that the Jinyiwei could produce hard evidence and not accuse innocent people. The court meeting was more noisy than the vegetable market at the corner of the street. Because of the fire in Nanfeng Tower, the people were injured and killed. The memorials from the censors impeaching Lu Jing flew onto the emperor's desk like snowflakes.

The emperor also gave clear instructions, to play the long game and catch the big fish. If the King of Huainan really has a descendant still alive, find him and execute him secretly. The Jinyiwei is the emperor's personal guard, and Lu Jing is the emperor's sharpest knife. The secret order was also given to Lu Jing.

Since the Jinyiwei received a secret letter half a year ago saying that the King of Huainan still had descendants in the world, the emperor sent Lu Jing to investigate secretly. After checking in the capital, he sent him to Huainan. In order to conceal his whereabouts, he also said that he was going to the southwest to carry out a mission.

The King of Huainan had one wife, two concubines, three sons and five daughters. In the twelfth year, all nine clans of the King of Huainan were killed. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the King of Huainan's concubines and five daughters were killed. The Crown Prince of Huainan and his brother, General Zhaowu, died in battle. The person who was ordered to go to Huainan was Liu Jiang, the current commander of the Jinyiwei and Lu Jing's master. Liu Jiang said that the entire clan of the King of Huainan was killed, and none of his children survived.

At that time, the Prince of Huainan was engaged to the eldest daughter of the King of Yan, who is now the Princess, but they did not get married yet. There were no concubines in the house, so there were no children. This was the only son of the King of Huainan who was engaged. Therefore, the direct line of the King of Huainan should be extinct. Liu Jiang told him that it must be the bloodline of the side branch that escaped and caused trouble in the capital.

Lu Jing was thinking about Huainan. Li An came in with tea. After placing the teacup on the table, he said, "Master, the lights in the eldest young lady's courtyard have been turned off, and her maid hasn't gone out either."

Lu Jing did capture a Huainan assassin, who accused Su Qingwan of being deceived by Lu Jing and deliberately cheating her.

If Su Qingwan felt guilty and confused, she would definitely send someone to get the news. Once her maid went out to get the news, she would not be innocent.

When the Jinyiwei arrests someone, they can turn the slightest clue into irrefutable evidence.

"You have been keeping an eye on them these days. Have you found out any information?"

Li An was nervous and shook his head. "The eldest young lady's wife has been unconscious, and the maidservant is like a gourd with its mouth sawed off. She said nothing."

"You useless piece of shit!" Lu Jing scolded, "You haven't gotten any answers in three days. What's the use of you?"

It was normal for Li An to be scolded, and he didn't dare to talk back.

After a moment of silence, Li An said, "Master, there is something strange. After the eldest young lady passed away, everyone in Meilan Garden was dismissed, leaving only Nanny Li. Those servants were brought in by the Xie family, but the eldest young lady did not call them back after she came back. Now the servants in Meilan Garden were placed by the eldest lady, and some of them were bought from the matchmaker. These bought maids all know martial arts. The eldest young lady's current personal maid Lu Zhu knows medical skills and a little martial arts. She is very tight-lipped and very loyal to the eldest young lady. I dare say that if the eldest young lady wants her to die, she will immediately commit suicide. Such a loyal servant can only be a house-born child, cultivated by the master's family, and grow up with the master and live together."

Lu Jing understood what Li An said. After Xie Zhaolan died and came back to life, there was a strange loyal servant by her side. He was definitely not bought temporarily. If he had only been with Xie Zhaolan for a year, it would be impossible for him to have such loyalty.

"Let's put this aside for now." Lu Jing's face was grim. "Send someone to the prison to make arrangements. We'll know tomorrow if she's innocent."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)