Chapter 22: 14.1: 14.1

Du Tinglan was secretly surprised. Yuyi had just arrived in Chang’an so how could she know the name, Lu Zhaoan?

After thinking about it more, the day of the Jinshi Banquet on the Moon Lantern Pavilion was very lively this year, plus Lu Zhaoan was ranked first among his peers this year. A’Yu has many ears and eyes around her, so it is not strange that she knows. 

She nodded embarrassingly: “Yes.” 

Madam Du felt bitter and hateful: “So you left the nunnery to privately meet this Lu Zhaoan?” 

Du Tinglan clenched the corner of the quilt tightly, and her tears fell like strings of broken beads. Teng Yuyi silently patted Du Tinglan’s shoulder. When she calmed down a bit, she held back her breath and asked: “Sister, what exactly happened afterwards?” 

Du Tinglan wiped her tears, and was barely able to stabilize her mind: “I was determined to retrieve those letters. I was afraid that mother would find out that I left the Jingfu Nunnery, so I hurriedly went to the bamboo forest. Who knew that there was going to be a large number of servants outside the bamboo forest, and a tent was set up in the front of the forest to prevent people from passing through. Only when I inquired about this, did I learn that Prince Cheng wanted to take the short route to the Moon Lantern Pavillion to play cuju1蹴鞠, cù jū = is considered as ancient Chinese soccer, a competitive game that involves kicking a ball through an opening into a net without the use of hands.” 

“Prince Cheng?” 

“Yes.” Du Tinglan cried for a while, and afterwards became more and more calmer, slowly recalling, “At that time, there were several carriages that were stopped outside the forest, and I knew that it was impossible to go in. Without any better option, I could only leave with Maid Hong. Who knew that when passing by the west side of the bamboo forest, I would find that the west entrance was not set up with a tent. Lu Zhaoan and I had arranged to meet in the northwest side of the bamboo forest, so we turned back again, and there was indeed no one blocking the west side of the bamboo forest.” 

Teng Yuyi secretly pondered, so as it turned out, Lin Chengyou undoubtedly ordered people to seal off the forest, but sister still found a way to enter the forest. 

“Maid Hong and I waited in the forest for a while, and Lu Zhaoan never showed up. It was pitch dark in the bamboo forest, and I started to get scared. Just as we were about to leave along the same path, a woman’s laughter was heard from the treetops at this moment. I looked up, and I saw a large black thing crouching on the treetops silently. Before we were able to shout for help, that thing jumped down, and what happened after… I don’t know.” 

Du Tinglan recalled that terrifying scene, and in a split second, her face turned ghostly pale. Madam Du patted and consoled her and only after a while, did Du Tinglan calmed down.

Teng Yuyi said in a cold tone: “Sister, did you see Lu Zhaoan in the bamboo forest at that time?” 

Du Tinglan had lingering fears, and shook her head: “It was too dark in the bamboo forest, and to distinguish the road in the forest, you must have a lantern. However when Maid Hong and I had an accident, we did not hear either human voices or illuminating things nearby. It can be seen that Lu Zhaoan either did not plan to meet me at all, or had not yet arrived at the bamboo forest.” 

Teng Yuyi sneered: “When Duan Fu and I went in, except for that evil spirit, we did not see anyone else. After we saved biao jie2biao jie = older female cousin, there was no one peeping or lingering nearby.” 

Madam Du was so angry that she was uncontrollably shaking all over: “What a coward!” I reckoned that he had either fled long ago, or hid aside.”  

She stared at Du Tinglan with red eyes: “What do you want mother to say? You are usually such a well-behaved and clever child, but unexpectedly would actually keep such a secret from your father and mother… forget about this, you still fell for such a disgraceful person!” 

How could Du Tinglan not have regrets? She made a mistake in falling for him, and almost lost her life in the end. Her tears fell like rain, and she said sorrowfully: “Mother can lecture this daughter no matter how she wants. Everything was this daughter’s fault. Mother must not hurt her health.” 

Even though Madam Du was very angry, she still thought that her daughter was wronged in the end. She angrily glared at her daughter for a while before taking Du Tinglan into her arms. The mother and daughter both cried together. 

Teng Yuyi’s eyes were cold. This person is not a coward, but instead is a vicious and merciless refined scum. If biao jie and Maid Hong were really harmed by Lu Zhaoan in her previous life, he saw someone taking action for him this time. Maybe this was exactly what he wanted. 

It’s just that there is something that does not make sense. At that time, Lin Chengyou passed by the bamboo forest. If that evil spirit was also in the forest and with Lin Chengyou’s Taoist skills, it was impossible for him not to notice. Because of this, that thing probably sneaked in after Lin Chengyou left. 

In such a short period of time, wouldn’t it be too coincidental for the old tree spirit to discover the whereabouts of biao jie and Maid Hong, and attack them? 

If it wanted to find a beautiful woman as a prey, why not go to a crowded place with a lot of people? It instead chose such a quiet and remote place. 

Unfortunately, before the old spirit could explain this matter clearly, it was beaten back into its original form by Lin Chengyou because of the disturbance of the strange lighting.

“I will not let that bastard get away.” Madam Du said hatefully. “Not to mention that those letters of yours are still in Lu Zhaoan’s hands, whether the events of that night have anything to do with him is still uncertain. I have to tell your father about this matter, and let your father come up with a good plan.” 

While speaking, Du Yuzhi and Du Shaotang came. Madam Du did not wait for the father and son to be able to take a look at Du Tinglan, and immediately told them everything about this matter. 

Du Yuzhi rolled his eyes, and fainted on the spot. 

Madam Du and Du Shaotang hurriedly pricked his acupuncture point, and only then, did Du Yuzhi wake up leisurely. 

Du Tinglan felt so guilty that if it weren’t for Teng Yuyi stopping her, she would have almost fallen off the bed.

Du Yuzhi was so angry that his hands and feet were ice-cold, and he could not manage to lecture his daughter before he severely cursed at Lu Zhaoan.  

He worked in the Imperial Academy before, and after the publication of the list of successful candidates, he had also read Lu Zhaoan’s poems. At that time, he felt that his imposing manner was quite distant, and was certain that this person was aspirational. Who knew that he would be such a despicable person. 

“If it weren’t for the fear of ruining the reputation of Lan’er, I would expose that person’s moral conduct tomorrow. How could such a dog be tolerated in court? Let me think about what kind of accusation to use. Right, if the loan is not repaid, I will first denounce Li Zhaoan to the Ministry of Appointments for not repaying a loan. At that time, this vile person may not necessarily even be able to protect his scholarly reputation if he passes the examination.” 

Madam Du was startled and said: “My lord, we don’t have the evidence for the loan, and if we go denounce him for no cause and reason, not only will Lu Zhaoan not plead guilty but I’m afraid that my lord will also be falsely accused of framing him.” 

Du Yuzhi paused: “It is me who has become muddled due to anger! Then let’s go ahead and investigate, a vile person like him, who has been in Chang’an for more than three months, will always have a moment of doing misdeeds. Once I find a fault, I will immediately find the official from the Imperial Censor Department to impeach him. As long as he can be denounced, it can also be regarded as helping the imperial court dispose of a person with bad intentions. I will also send a letter to Yangzhou, and by all means, inquire clearly about this person’s various deeds in Yangzhou.” 

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Du Shaotang has always had an honest and good relationship with his sister. Ever since he entered the room, his eyes were red from beginning to end, and hearing what his father said, he was also high-spirited: “This son will now go find someone. No, there is no need to be so troublesome, I will immediately find people to cover this bastard with a sack, and beat him soundly.”  

Madam Du shouted: “You come back! Beware of letting the cat out of the bag3reveal a secret carelessly or by mistake, this person is right in our hands. Don’t let your anger out, and instead keep it inside. Even if we want to teach that person a lesson, it should be your father that personally steps up.” 

Du Shaotang was discouraged, and weakly stomped his foot: “This can’t work either, that can’t work either, then what should be done?” 

While saying this, he crouched down in front of his sister’s bed, everyone did not have an idea. 

Teng Yuyi secretly thought. All the methods that Uncle and Shaotang thought of were obvious, but to deal with a vile person like Lu Zhaoan, common methods will not work. 

Zheng Pushe is a very cautious person. In her previous life, before marrying off his only daughter to Lu Zhaoan, he must have done a detailed investigation. The Zheng family has so many disciples. Even the Zheng family failed to find out about the dishonorable actions of Lu Zhaoan which shows how good this person is at concealing themself. 

Perhaps Lu Zhaoan’s only fault was biao jie; therefore, when he married into the Zheng family in her previous life, this person was impatient to erase this. 

Du Yuzhi said irritatedly: “Don’t be afraid, I will go out and make arrangements.”  

Teng Yuyi suddenly said: “Uncle, how do you plan to deal with this matter?” 

Du Yuzhi panted angrily: “Let Dong’er go find someone, and hire eight to nine people from the market to inquire about all the actions that Lu Zhaoan has done in the past few months!” 

“Good idea. However, uncle has never dealt with the people in the market. Do we need to check their background before hiring them?” 

Du Yuzhi was startled: “This…” 

“It really does cost quite a lot to hire so many people to investigate. If they are not able to find anything for a while, how long will we need to investigate for there to be any main clues found?”

Du Yuzhi repeatedly stroked his beard: “Then we will keep on investigating! As long as I can ruthlessly teach that bastard a lesson, I can just sell this off some properties at worst!” 

Teng Yuyi said: “Then where does uncle plan to first start investigating? And how does uncle plan on negotiating with those people in the market4btw “the people in the market”, refers to people who do business or people who are uneducated on the street?”  

Du Yuzhi snorted coldly: “I will personally go do it. I don’t believe that this arrangement will not work.” 

Teng Yuyi had a headache. Her uncle looks firm and indomitable on the outside, but in fact, he is very innocent and naive. If he really personally goes, this matter will definitely turn into a mess. 

She said: “Such a rascal is a double-edged sword. Once there are lots of people, there will definitely be a lot of miscellaneous mouths. If uncle does not have any way to control them, not only can we not catch a handle5information that can be used against on Lu Zhaoan, but it’s also likely to provoke a lot of trouble.” 

Du Yuzhi and Madam were startled. Right, they are not afraid of anything else, only afraid of leaking Lan’er’s privacy. 

Teng Yuyi said seriously: “I have a remark to make, but I don’t know if uncle is willing to listen to it or not.” 

Du Yuzhi waved his hand impatiently: “There is no harm in speaking.” 

“Can you hand over this matter to my father’s subordinates to investigate?” 

Du Yuzhi looked up in surprise, and Teng Yuyi said with a smile: “The longer this matter drags on, the more unfavorable it is for sister. My father’s subordinates are experienced in the matter of military affairs, and they know how to deal with wicked people. We can deploy them earlier, and save us from having to deal with any other trouble.” 

Du Yuzhi was hesitant. His salary is only enough to maintain his family expenses. In order to save money, a lot of servants have long been dismissed. There were few servants in the household, and all of them were old women, and weak children. If he recklessly went to western market to hire people, the money that will be used is indeed not a small number. 

Moreover, what A’Yu said does make sense. He has never dealt with the people in the market before, and even if he goes to the western market temporarily to find people, those various people are all cunning and reckless. In case, Lan’er’s reputation is ruined by their mouths, then the losses will certainly outweigh the gains. 

Teng Yuyi patiently waited for her uncle to loosen his mouth. Her uncle had a temperament of being rash and upright, and it was normal for him to not save his face6 this means not saving his reputation/name. However when it comes to the affairs of his children, uncle will never let his reckless temperament get to him. 

Du Tinglan originally had been silently wiping her tears, but seeing that her father was hesitant over and over again, she softly persuaded: “Father, A’Yu and uncle are not outsiders, and this matter has a lot of twists and turns. In order to avoid any unfavorable changes in this matter, it is still necessary for father to make a decision early.” 

Teng Yuyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Her biao jie’s temperament was far more broad than the temperament of her uncle, and in fact, is the most decisive one in the family. 

Madam Du nodded and said: “What Lan’er and Yu’er said is correct. One is only afraid that before we are able to find a handle on Lu Zhaoan, we will have instead harmed Lan’er. My Lord, just do as Yu’er said, and leave this matter to these old subordinates of brother-in-law.” 

Du Yuzhi sighed heavily: “Forget it, forget it, I can only blame myself for being incompetent.” 

As soon as the words came out, he suddenly realized that these words can cause a misunderstanding, so he cleared his throat, and said uneasily: “Yu’er, everything is up to you.” 

Thank you for the support! This full chapter is quite long, so I’ll probably split it into three to four parts!

1蹴鞠, cù jū = is considered as ancient Chinese soccer, a competitive game that involves kicking a ball through an opening into a net without the use of hands2biao jie = older female cousin3reveal a secret carelessly or by mistake4btw “the people in the market”, refers to people who do business or people who are uneducated on the street5information that can be used against6 this means not saving his reputation/name

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