The Night Before the Divorce, She Was Reborn to Before Her Marriage - Chapter 62

When a man dons his armor, he loses the steady composure of his daily life and gains a sharp, formidable edge. The coldness between his brows at that moment mirrored a commander who had long weathered the storms of the battlefield.

Suppression of bandits was bloody work. Even without looking, Ning Fu knew that beneath Lu Xingzhi’s armor, there must be many fresh wounds.

“I have troubled you, Young Master Lu,” Ning Fu said softly.

Lu Xingzhi stole an extra glance at her. She seemed more despondent than usual, as if a heavy cloud hung over her heart. “Is the Fourth Miss unhappy?” he asked in a low voice.

Ning Fu looked at him, forcing a smile as she denied it. Lu Xingzhi handed her a novella he had brought along, saying, “Keep this, Fourth Miss, to pass the time on the road.”

Just then, a small beggar approached to beg for food. As Ning Fu reached out to give something, Lu Xingzhi cast a cold, sharp look at the child. The beggar retreated slowly into the distance, eyes filled with a silent, fearful resentment.

“Fourth Miss, have your carriage follow me,” Lu Xingzhi commanded, turning back.

Ning Fu hesitated. Though her heart ached with pity, she ultimately let the curtain fall.

“Liangzhou is over-run with bandits,” Lu Xingzhi explained from outside the carriage. “If beggars can obtain food and clothing too easily, they become tools for the bandits to extort wealth. For the sake of profit, the bandits will only cause the number of beggars in Liangzhou to multiply.”

“I guessed as much,” she replied. Beyond that, not all nobles were kind-hearted. If these people became accustomed to begging and accidentally offended a person of high status, they could lose their lives. To some, these lives were nothing more than ants.

“Lord Ning is already working hard to change their circumstances,” Lu Xingzhi added. “Once the various factions in Liangzhou are settled and the bandits are eradicated, the common people will finally live in peace.”

The Journey to the Manor

When they reached a section of the road where debris was piled high like a mountain, the path became too narrow for a carriage. Lu Xingzhi dismounted, lifted the curtain, and said, “Fourth Miss, ride my horse. I will lead you across.”

“But I brought many things,” Ning Fu protested.

“Someone will deliver them to the manor for you,” Lu Xingzhi said, glancing at the bundles in the carriage.

“There are clothes in there for you,” Ning Fu added. “When I was making garments for my maternal grandmother, I made two for you as well.”

Lu Xingzhi looked at her for a long moment before offering a rare, genuine smile. “Thank you, Fourth Miss.”

In the next heartbeat, he lifted Ning Fu onto the horse with a single arm. The beast was arrogant and bristled at being handled by an outsider, growing restless. But after Lu Xingzhi gave a sharp flick of his whip, the horse—though clearly indignant—fell still.

“Perhaps I should just walk,” Ning Fu whispered. This horse had a foul temper, seemingly worse than Zong Si’s steed. In her past life, she had suffered a fall from a horse; though her equestrian skills were not poor, she dared not carelessly ride such a spirited animal.

The corners of Lu Xingzhi’s mouth curved slightly. “With me here, Fourth Miss has no need for worry.”

His two subordinates traded glances. When had Lord Lu ever been so attentive to a woman? They had heard he fought for this assignment in Liangzhou specifically to hasten his promotion so he could marry the woman he loved. It seemed the rumors were true.

As they traveled, Lu Xingzhi patiently answered every question Ning Fu had.

“The bandit leader is actually a woman?” Ning Fu’s first thought was of the hardships a woman must have faced to be driven to such a life.

“Not only is she a woman, but many of them want Lord Lu to be their ‘Mountain Consort,'” one subordinate joked. “They say if Lord Lu submits to her, she’ll surrender to the government. Lord Lu’s luck with women is truly enviable.”

Ning Fu felt a pang of complexity. She knew a man as handsome as Lu Xingzhi would naturally have many admirers, even among the noble ladies of the capital. Once he returned to the capital to receive his rewards, even more women would set their sights on him.

Caught in thought, she realized Lu Xingzhi was watching her, seemingly gauging her reaction. Her face instantly flushed hot.

“I have no such ‘luck,'” Lu Xingzhi said, looking directly at her. “Those bandits only wish to coax me into a trap so they can dispose of me.”

It sounded like an explanation. But why explain to her? She was not his wife. Ning Fu sighed inwardly, feeling a momentary sense of loss, but she quickly steadied her resolve to focus on the business at hand.

Reunion with her Father

When Ning Fu finally saw Ning Zhenyuan, it was the middle of the night. The middle-aged man hadn’t even had time to change out of his official robes, having rushed to meet her.

“Father.” The moment she saw him, the heavy stone in her heart finally dropped.

“Are you exhausted? It is meager here; I have wronged you,” Ning Zhenyuan said. In Liangzhou, he lived simply with only four servants, spending most of his time on official business. Only upon hearing his daughter was coming did he hurriedly arrange a decent living quarter.

“As long as I am with Father, I could endure living in a cowshed,” Ning Fu replied.

“If that were the case, your mother would surely divorce me,” Ning Zhenyuan joked.

Ning Fu turned serious. “Regarding the Li Fang matter, nothing was found.”

Ning Zhenyuan was surprised. Now that Zong Si had returned to the capital, everyone was still guessing the outcome of that investigation.

“From what I know,” Ning Fu continued, “Liangzhou is influenced by three factions. The two weaker ones unite against the strongest. Since Grandmother likely won’t be implicated in the Li Fang affair, why not use her influence to break this balance?”

“This balance was intentionally created by someone,” Ning Zhenyuan said meaningfully.

Ning Fu knew he meant the Prince Xuan Manor. Under this stalemate, all three factions had to rely on Prince Xuan, allowing him to control them.

“If only one power rules Liangzhou, your governance will be easier, Father. And the foundation you build here will serve you well in the future.”

Ning Zhenyuan knew the potential benefits, but he remained cautious. “The Prince Xuan Manor might not let this go easily.”

“The Emperor cannot touch Grandmother, and Prince Xuan is currently preoccupied,” Ning Fu suggested delicately.

“You are right,” Ning Zhenyuan mused, “but we cannot rush things in Liangzhou. By the way, A-Zheng will be returning to the capital soon.”

Ning Fu’s eyes lit up. “When?”

“Don’t be impatient. It should be around the time of your Ji Li (Coming-of-Age ceremony).”

The Passing of Time

During her days in Liangzhou, Lu Xingzhi visited the Ning residence frequently. Ning Zhenyuan trusted him completely and was happy to see him interact with his daughter. He admired Lu’s character and felt that if Lu became his son-in-law, his daughter would never be mistreated.

Often, Lu Xingzhi would sit with her, carving small trinkets to pass the time. Ning Fu noticed that every five strokes, he would blow away the wood shavings—a habit strikingly similar to Zong Si’s.

“Why do you blow every five strokes?” she asked.

Lu Xingzhi’s eyes flickered. “It was a habit from making arrows in the wild. I carried it over to carving.”

One afternoon, while napping in the sun, Ning Fu fell into a nightmare. She dreamed of a cold-eyed Zong Si holding a blade to her throat. She whimpered in her sleep, “My Lord, please don’t kill me.”

She woke up drenched in tears and instinctively threw her arms around the figure in front of her, sobbing uncontrollably. She thought she had moved on, but she had only been pretending.

Lu Xingzhi held her tightly, his voice hoarse. “I am here. Do not be afraid.”

Realizing it wasn’t her maid, Dong Zhu, Ning Fu froze and quickly pushed him away. “I… I have offended you, Young Master Lu.”

“Did the Heir Apparent (Zong Si) bully you in Yongzhou?” Lu Xingzhi asked.

Ning Fu forced a smile and shook her head.

“Stay away from him in the future,” Lu Xingzhi said firmly. “Do not worry; I will ensure he does not trouble you.”

The Return to Yongzhou

A few days later, Princess Kangyang came in person to fetch Ning Fu. Having realized Ning Fu was only angry because she had been kept in the dark about the Princess’s plans, Kangyang spared no effort in coaxing her back.

By the time Ning Fu reached her Coming-of-Age, nine months had passed since she first arrived in Yongzhou. She had grown thinner, but her features had become more defined, and her youthful air had been replaced by a graceful, womanly charm.

Lady Jingcheng remarked that while she once thought the courtesan Yue-niang was the most alluring woman, Ning Fu now surpassed her—possessing a beauty that was both cold and elegantly regal.

Meanwhile, Zong Si had not mentioned marriage nor replied to letters for a long time. Jingcheng suspected he had forgotten her—and she relished the thought of how much he would regret it when Ning Fu returned to the capital.

Lu Xingzhi’s letters, however, arrived like clockwork—one every half-month—much like a devoted husband reporting his duties from afar.

“When you return to the capital this time,” Jingcheng teased, “those noble young lords will be fighting each other just to catch a glimpse of you.”