My Wife is a Frustrating Genius!!! - Chapter 52

Once the three of them entered the room, the soldiers outside closed the door, leaving the family with enough space to discuss matters.

After seeing the door shut, Lu Zhengliang sat down on a nearby chair. “You two, sit down as well.”

Lu Jiahe glanced at Cheng Yi upon hearing this, understood the meaning in her eyes, and then pulled her to sit on the chairs opposite Lu Zhengliang.

Lu Zhengliang pursed his lips, sighed as he looked at the two of them, and hesitated for a long while before speaking. “About what happened today, I hope you can let the second son off.”

Cheng Yi had been observing Lu Zhengliang all along. Noticing his low spirits and the few strands of white hair that had appeared at his temples, she knew he had been troubled by this matter for quite some time.

However, Lu Jiahao had repeatedly committed so many wrongdoings without facing any consequences. As Lu Jiahe’s wife, she still wanted to help her husband seek some justice.

“Father-in-law, do you realize that what he did tonight wasn’t just about teasing Jiahe like before? He wanted to take our lives.” Cheng Yi frowned as she looked at the man who had clearly aged significantly over the past few days. She still wanted to test whether he truly cared for Lu Jiahe as his son.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhengliang’s frown deepened. Although he hadn’t been particularly attentive to Lu Jiahe in the past, the boy still carried his blood. Now that brothers had turned against each other, how could he not feel heartache? Yet, both sons were dear to him. He couldn’t bear to abandon either.

“In the end, this is my fault. I blame myself for not disciplining him properly before, which led him to make such a grave mistake.” As he spoke, Lu Zhengliang raised his hand to rub his forehead.

“Jiahe, it’s not that I didn’t want to be close to you. I think over the years, your grandmother must have told you a lot about the issues between me and your mother. You are my own son, how could I not care about you?”

“When your mother passed away, I felt guilty. Every time I saw you, I was reminded of her. I always tried to avoid you to escape from this matter, to escape the debt I owe to you and your mother.”

Lu Jiahe turned her head away, no longer listening to what followed. Nowadays, she wasn’t as emotionally stirred by mentions of her mother as she used to be. She believed what Cheng Yi had told her, that her mother now lived among the stars, watching over her and keeping her company.

She wanted to embrace a new future, not dwell in sorrow day after day as she had before. She feared that her mother, up in the stars, would be saddened to see her like that.

As Cheng Yi listened to Lu Zhengliang’s words, she kept an eye on Lu Jiahe’s expression.

For a moment, she felt that Lu Jiahe seemed to have matured, no longer wearing her emotions on her sleeve or exposing her vulnerabilities for outsiders to see.

“Father-in-law, do you know how they treated Jiahe all these years? I don’t think you could have been completely unaware. If you truly loved Jiahe, you should have stepped in to stop it back when she suffered so much injustice, instead of only showing concern now, after he’s been caught and something has happened.”

“Do you know what this seems like?” Cheng Yi frowned as she looked at him. At this moment, she genuinely ached for all the hardships Lu Jiahe had endured in the past.

Lu Zhengliang lowered his head as he looked at the two of them. He understood the implication of her words all too clearly.

Cheng Yi could tell from Lu Zhengliang’s expression that she already had her answer. “Neither you nor I have the right to persuade Jiahe to change her mind, because the whip hasn’t struck you. You cannot understand just how much hardship she has endured over the years.”

After hearing Cheng Yi’s words, Lu Zhengliang covered his face and began to sob.

The two women stared at each other expressionlessly, unsure whether Lu Zhengliang’s tears were those of a crocodile or genuine tears of remorse born from heartfelt sorrow.

“It’s my fault, I failed you.” Lu Jiahe stood up, wiping the tears from his face. He walked step by step toward Lu Jiahe, looking at her with a face full of guilt. “In this matter, whether you choose to release your second brother or not, I won’t blame you. He brought this upon himself!”

Seeing this, Lu Jiahe turned her head to look at Cheng Yi, as if searching for an answer in her expression.

“You’re married now. Surely you don’t expect me to make every decision for you?”

Cheng Yi believed that the other person needed to have her own convictions, so she directly refused the questioning look directed at her.

“Oh.” Lu Jiahe rubbed her nose upon hearing this.

Although she truly wanted Lu Jiahao to taste the suffering she had endured, Cheng Yi had long ago told her that everyone has their own set of principles when it comes to making decisions.

The weight of good and evil differs in each person’s heart. If you are someone who strives to do good, no matter how many hardships you face in the future, the outcome will ultimately help you grow. If you are someone who often commits evil deeds, no matter how smooth the path ahead may seem, you will eventually face retribution, either upon yourself or upon those closest to you.

In truth, Cheng Yi had known from the very beginning what Lu Jiahe’s answer would be. She knew that Lu Jiahe was a kind-hearted person. Although she sometimes talked back or did things that made Cheng Yi angry, her inherent character was something that most young masters in the Lu family, and even in Bianjing, could not match.

Lu Jiahe pursed her lips and thought for a long while before standing up and saying to her father, “This time, it was only because my wife had the foresight that I wasn’t harmed. If there is a next time, I will make sure he pays back double.”

Hearing this, Lu Zhengliang sighed inwardly, thinking that his youngest son’s temperament was just like his mother’s, soft-hearted and kind.

“Don’t worry, I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter.”

Lu Jiahe did not respond to her father’s words. After all, in her heart, Lu Zhengliang was a biased father, and she didn’t put much faith in what he said.

Knock, knock, knock!

“Master Lu, have you finished discussing?”

The magistrate, standing outside the door, felt that the group had been inside long enough and knocked to remind those inside.

Lu Zhengliang quickly walked to the door and opened it, then took a few gold ingots from his pocket and instructed his attendant to distribute them to the officials present.

Seeing this, Diao Yuqing felt that her precious son would likely be spared from imprisonment and immediately stopped her wailing. She grabbed Lu Zhengliang’s arm, looking at him with questioning eyes.

“This won’t do. This won’t do!” The magistrate, seeing that Lu Zhengliang intended to bribe him, hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.

In an ordinary household, he might have accepted it, but the token Xue Wanning had shown earlier had thoroughly frightened him. If he were to accept Lu Zhengliang’s gold in front of them, he would undoubtedly be dismissed and investigated the very next day.

Not worth it, not worth it at all.

“Young Master Lu, how would you like the criminal and the two suspects to be dealt with?” The county magistrate bypassed Lu Zhengliang, stepped into the room, and bowed respectfully to the two seated on the chairs.

Lu Jiahe pursed her lips and licked her dry ones. “Dispose of them according to the current laws.”

Upon hearing this, the magistrate nodded and immediately called out, “Take the criminal Lu Er to the prison to await punishment tomorrow. As for the suspect Lu Jiahao, for offending a member of the royal family in public, administer twenty strokes of the cane!”

“What?!” Diao Yuqing froze upon hearing this. “Wasn’t it said that Hao’er had nothing to do with it? Why is he still being caned?!”

The magistrate glanced at her and snorted lightly. “He dared to provoke someone from the royal family, this is already the masters being lenient with him!”

Everyone present furrowed their brows at the magistrate’s words. A member of the royal family? Who could it be?

Diao Yuqing collapsed to the ground on the spot. Having offended someone from the royal family, how could her Hao’er ever hope to take the imperial exams or become an official in the future!

Lu Jiahe and Cheng Yi both thought of Xue Wanning. They suspected that she must have a relative in the palace holding a high position, which was why the magistrate had refused Lu Zhengliang’s ‘temptation of gold’ and punished Lu Jiahao.

After this incident, Lu Jiahe and Cheng Yi no longer wished to waste time on the road. One night, they secretly took Guo’er and Lu An, hitched the carriage, and hurried toward the capital.

Xue Wanning, realizing too late that the two had left, flew into a rage, slapping her thigh in frustration, and immediately set off with a group of people to chase after her masters.

It took several days for the four of them to reach the capital. Exhausted from days and nights of nonstop travel, they found an inn as soon as they entered the city, rented rooms, and rested.

It took another two days for them to fully recover.

“These past few days, I asked you to look for houses. How did it go?” Cheng Yi sat at the table, sipping porridge, and glanced at Guo’er and Lu An, who were eating beside her.

“Reply, Madam, we found two suitable residences and have already arranged with the owners to view them this afternoon,” Guo’er replied while peeling eggs for her mistresses.

Cheng Yi nodded. After resting for two days, she no longer felt the nausea that had plagued her even while walking. “What about you? Can you go this afternoon?” She turned her gaze to the pale-faced person beside her.

“I can.”

Although Lu Jiahe was a local, she had never traveled in such a rushed, almost fugitive-like manner before. It had left her feeling unwell for several days.

“Alright, then we’ll go see them this afternoon. If possible, we’ll finalize the purchase. It won’t be long before you have to take the exams, and you won’t be able to study peacefully in such conditions.”

“Okay.” Lu Jiahe took a bite of a steamed bun. She had already made up her mind: she would not use Cheng Yi’s money to buy the house. Instead, she planned to use all the savings she had accumulated since childhood to purchase a cozy home for the two of them.

Meanwhile, in another residence in the capital, a man dressed in a constable’s uniform was bending over, whispering into the ear of someone wearing a four-clawed python robe.

The man in the python robe stroked his beard after hearing the constable’s report. “I never expected that little girl to be clever enough to feign ignorance and conceal her identity after leaving the palace. She even managed to secure such a well-connected family as her marital backing, far more resourceful than my useless elder brother.”

“By the way, arrange for someone this afternoon to ensure they purchase the residence we prepared. Understood?”

“Understood, sir.”