kvmb Chapter 378 I Got Married
Chapter 378 I Got Married
With a clear direction, Lu Yangyang's mindset also broadened.
After a simple meal and a night's rest, Governor Jiang arrived in Ning County.
The case of illegal salt mining at Ning County Salt Mine is of great importance, and it is no longer something that Lu Yangyang and his group can interfere with. However, the evidence is conclusive. Even if someone in the capital is trying to cover it up, at least the Ning County Salt Mine will be reorganized and will not be as chaotic as before for a while.
Lu Yangyang asked Jiang Zhiyi to take Wen Qingqing to treat the girls first, while she went to find Lu Wei.
After cooperating with the interrogation, Lu Wei was released. Knowing that Lu Yangyang was at Baihualou, he sent someone to deliver a message to Lu Yangyang, and the two arranged to meet at a teahouse.
When Lu Yangyang arrived at the private room, Lu Wei was already there. He was clean and presentable, but there was a dark patch under his eyes, which showed that he hadn't rested for several days.
He looked up at Lu Yangyang and said, "You've put on some powder? Your face looks so much fairer now. You don't need to be so formal to see me, do you? I've seen you when you were so dark I couldn't recognize you."
"If you can't speak properly, then shut up." Lu Yangyang raised her hand to slap him on the head.
Lu Wei instinctively covered his head with his hands, barely managing to avoid it: "How come you're still so immature after two years of studying in the capital?"
Lu Yangyang rolled her eyes at him, walked over and sat down opposite him: "Tell me, why aren't you staying in Qingzhou to take the imperial examination? Why are you here? Did you pass the examination? I spent so much money to support your studies, don't tell me you're just going to quit. I might as well just cripple you now, so I don't waste my money!"
"Stop!" Lu Wei hurriedly raised his hand. "Even if I forget my own surname, I can't forget that I had to pass the imperial examination! I was a scholar, of course I passed, and I was number one! Do you know what the number one scholar is called?"
Lu Yangyang was speechless: "Isn't the top scorer still a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations)? Does getting the top score in the Xiucai exam automatically make you the Zhuangyuan (the highest-ranking scholar in the imperial examinations)?"
Lu Wei: "...If you can't speak, you don't have to speak."
Lu Yangyang glanced at him disdainfully and slammed her hand on the table: "Lu Sanshui!"
Lu Wei's face darkened. "If you want to speak properly, then speak properly. How old are you? Still using nicknames to attack people. You really have no sportsmanship."
Lu Yangyang snorted coldly.
When Lu Wei was young, he was often sick. The doctor said he wouldn't live long, which terrified Lu's mother. Later, she found an old blind man from a nearby village to examine his bones and read his birth chart. The old man said that Lu Wei's destiny lacked water, and since his surname was Lu (meaning land), he needed water to thrive. However, Lu Wei's name was also auspicious, indicating that he would achieve great things in the future. So, she thought it best to give him a nickname like the villagers. The old blind man pointed to the character "淼" (miao), and his nickname became A-Miao.
Lu's mother thought the nickname was good, so she gave the old blind man a thank-you gift and took Lu Wei back home. She called Lu Wei by his nickname every day, hoping that he would recover from all his illnesses soon. As a result, the nickname spread throughout the village. The village children couldn't read and thought that Amiao was a cat, so they kept meowing at Lu Wei. Lu Wei had to patiently explain to them that Miao was the Miao of three waters, not the Miao of meowing. Now, the village children just called him Sanshui (Three Waters).
Lu Wei was so angry that his face turned green.
Regardless, Lu Wei's health did gradually improve after receiving this nickname, and his mother was finally relieved.
However, Lu Wei felt a lump in his throat whenever he heard the name "Lu Sanshui".
Lu Yangyang winked at him.
Lu Wei shook his head, resignedly saying, "Before you left, you entrusted all your belongings to me, asking me to take good care of your aunt. So I asked my mother to prepare meals and send them over every day, and I would also go to check on her when I had time. There was nothing unusual about her. However, a few months ago, one day, your aunt suddenly died at home. The doctor came and diagnosed her with an illness. Your aunt never interacted with anyone and often went mad, so no one suspected the cause of her death. The village chief then gathered everyone to pool their money to have a carpenter make a coffin and give her a simple burial. I gave him the money, saying it was what you left behind, and the villagers all helped with her funeral."
"Afterwards, I originally wanted to write to you, but the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Although I didn't have much contact with your aunt, we lived next door for so many years. I would occasionally see her wandering around the neighborhood late at night, and sometimes I could hear her crying. Shortly before she died, I returned from a vacation at the academy and heard her crying again. Some villagers passing by cursed at her, which means she was perfectly fine at that time. How could she suddenly fall ill and die? I know that she taught you most of your medical skills. Since she was a doctor herself and had moments of lucidity, how could she not know her own physical condition? If she felt that her body was failing, why didn't she tell you?"
"The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed, so I couldn't help but investigate. I originally planned to secretly dig up the grave, but guess what? I went to dig up the grave in the middle of the night and saw Magistrate Ling and his entourage in the cemetery. He seemed to want to dig up the grave as well, but after hesitating, he gave up and left. I dug up the grave after they left. In the summer, the body decomposes very quickly, but I've seen you dissect the body, so I know a little bit about it. The person inside was clearly not your aunt, which means there's definitely something wrong with this."
"But all traces inside and outside your house have been wiped clean, so I had no way to investigate. I could only focus on the tea shops and post stations that were the only way out of the city. After running around for many days, I finally found a clue. A few days after your aunt died, someone did see a carriage carrying a mentally challenged woman leaving Qingzhou. I tracked it all the way to the dock and got the news that she might have come to Jiangnan. Why would I bring your mentally challenged aunt to Jiangnan? Besides, I had never heard you mention this before, so I felt something was amiss and that's why I followed her here. I'll tell you what happened next. I stumbled upon Magistrate Liang's residence by accident. I originally wanted to check the household registration to see if there were any suspicious people, but I ended up finding that the group of people at the salt mine were all involved."
Lu Wei sighed: "So how could someone as righteous as me sit idly by? I just casually collected the evidence from the ledgers, and before I was even planning to hand it over, you showed up."
Lu Yangyang never expected that Lu Wei would go to such great lengths to come to Jiangnan just to find his aunt.
However, let alone Lu Wei's suspicions, if His Highness hadn't told her that, she probably would have also suspected that there was something fishy going on.
As for why Lu Wei would come to Jiangnan... it's highly likely that His Highness deliberately set up a trap, so that even if people suspect something, they can't find the place. The Southwest is thousands of miles away from Jiangnan, and Aunt should have been sent to the Southwest long ago.
Regardless, Lu Yangyang still looked at Lu Wei with emotion.
Lu Wei got goosebumps from her stare. "Stop looking. I'm done. It's your turn. What are you doing here?"
“Oh, you mean this?” Lu Yangyang said, “I’m married, and I came with my husband.”