Chapter 1349: Side Story: Having the Whole World in View (26)
Chapter 1349: Side Story: Having the Whole World in View (26)
Editor: Atlas Studios
Though her children were important to her, so was her husband. Mu Yangling immediately decided that once Little Bear’s wedding was over, they would go out for a trip. Even if they couldn’t go too far, they could still travel nearby.
More concerned about Qi Haoran, Mu Yangling even handed most of the wedding preparations to Zhu Liang.
Qi Haoran immediately felt much better and found the boys much more pleasing to the eye.
Extremely jealous, Little Bear rubbed his butt and said to his younger brothers, "Father is just jealous and can’t bear to see Mother focus all her attention on me. Just wait. When you guys get married in the future, you will definitely be beaten up, too."
Little Lion scoffed at this and said, "We won’t forget our mother when we have a wife. Even if we get a wife, our mother is still number one in our hearts. Just based on this, Father won’t beat us up."
Tiger Head and Little Leopard nodded repeatedly.
Little Bear snorted. He didn’t forget his mother when he had a wife!
What Little Leopard was most interested in was the process of how their big brother had fallen in love. In any case, their daddy already threatened to beat them up once every few days, and they were already used to it.
Little Bear said seriously, "Your sister-in-law will definitely treat Mother well in the future. Daddy’s worries are completely unfounded."
Since his father had made it so clear, Little Bear wasn’t a fool, so he naturally guessed his father’s worries. For so many years, he hadn’t been willing to make do when it came to his marriage partner. Firstly, he wanted to find someone he truly fancied, like his parents. Secondly, he had high expectations. Not only did he hope that his wife could take good care of his mother, but he also hoped that she could take good care of his younger siblings and prop up King Rong’s estate with him.
As the eldest son, he carried a heavy burden on his shoulders. He knew that, unlike his father, he could not thoroughly protect his wife and completely shield her from external matters. It was just like how he knew that he could not find a woman who could fight by his side the way his mother did with his father.
Therefore, he hoped that his future wife could help him out in domestic matters. If she could be of one mind as him, have a good character, and have a determined personality, that was good enough for him.𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
He had been searching for such a girl. The moment he saw Lu Deyin, he knew that she was the person he had been seeking. He could not ignore the intense beating of his heart and the admiration in his eyes for her.
Actually, Qi Wenjin and Lu Deyin’s encounter was a very tacky scene of a hero saving a damsel in distress. It was very similar to his parents’ first meeting, except in his parents’ case it was a beauty saving a hero!
Sunny and breezy, it was the best time to travel and admire the flowers and pay respects to Buddha. Hence, some young ladies in the Lu family made arrangements with some female friends to go to the Temple of Eternal Blessings in the suburbs of the capital to offer incense.
Of course, Lu Deyin was not included. As it was her mother’s death anniversary that day, she brought her brother, Lu Jiashu, to Lingyin Temple to light the Everlasting Lamp and perform rituals for her mother.
The Temple of Eternal Blessings was above the Lingyin Temple, and there was not much distance between them. When they came out after completing the ritual, they happened to encounter the young ladies who were heading down the mountain. Nobody knew what had happened in between, but two of the three carriages Lu Deyin had brought were damaged. In the end, she could travel back with her brother and three servants in one carriage. The remaining two carriages and servants were left at the Lingyin Temple.
The Lu family members who went down the mountain with them did not wait for them to leave. Not long after they left the mountain, they encountered mountain bandits.
As it was the hottest period of the year at the time, the Emperor moved to the temporary imperial residence to avoid the heat and called along his brother and sister-in-law. Qi Wenjin went to report to the Emperor on political matters and visit his parents at the same time. On his way back, he encountered Lu Deyin and her group.
Fortunately, Lu Deyin was lucky—their carriage stopped not far from the fork in the road. Otherwise, Qi Wenjin might not have been able to see and save them.
At that time, the three servants had all died under the bandits’ swords. Lu Deyin clutched her brother’s hand tightly in one hand and held a golden hairpin in the other, all the while glaring fiercely at the bandits. At that time, her golden hairpin was facing outwards and her eyes were glaring fiercely in front of her, like a female wolf protecting her cub. Seeing this scene, Qi Wenjin’s heart raced for a moment.
Hence, he did not hesitate to rush forward with his guards to save her. However, the real reason why he wanted to marry her was because of her subsequent performance.
Lu Deyin put down the golden hairpin with her trembling hand and, on unsteady footing, pulled her younger brother along to thank Qi Wenjin. After introducing herself, she asked, "If it’s convenient for Young Master, could you send us siblings back to the Lu Residence?"
Qi Wenjin agreed readily. Seeing her pale face and feeling pity for her, he could not help but point at the subdued mountain bandits and say, "This is the suburbs of the capital, and security has always been good. Not to mention mountain bandits, there aren’t even many thieves. These people are probably instructed by someone. Miss, you must make sure to interrogate them."
Lu Deyin was tempted, but with a nudge from her brother, she slowly shook her head and said, "Thank you for your kind intentions, Young Master. However, I think they’re just bandits from outside the city. I’ll just leave the government office to deal with them."
Qi Wenjin couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows. After pondering for a moment, he said, "I’m the heir of King Rong, Qi Wenjin. Miss, if you change your mind, feel free to let me know. I can get the Ministry of Justice to focus on the trial."
Qi Wenjin could tell that Lu Deyin was wavering. For a moment, he almost thought that she was about to agree, but in the end, she still shook her head and refused, indicating that they were just a group of ordinary mountain bandits.
Seeing that she clearly knew who the mastermind was but did not want to expose them, Qi Wenjin could not help but be a little annoyed and curious. Hence, after ordering his men to send the siblings back to the Lu Residence, he personally escorted the group of "mountain bandits" to the Ministry of Justice.
However, he did not get much out of them. He only found out that someone had indeed hired them to kill the siblings. However, even these mountain bandits did not know who the mastermind was because they never met during the transactions. The transmission of news and payment was done under the rocks of a dilapidated temple.
Qi Wenjin somewhat understood Lu Deyin’s concerns. The person who wanted to kill the siblings was obviously an acquaintance, or perhaps her family. If they could not take them down in one go, she’d risk alerting the enemy. By being certain that these mountain bandits were instructed by someone, she and her brother would only be in greater danger.
Qi Wenjin immediately ordered that no one was allowed to spread the matter of the interrogation, and that this would be dealt with as a case of ordinary mountain bandits.
After turning around, he immediately ordered someone to investigate the Lu family.
Lu Deyin was the eldest daughter of the Lu family’s second legitimate son. It was said that Lu Deyin’s father was extremely talented and had been a jinshi for five years in Taikang. Also, it was no secret that her father doted on her very much.
Through bribing an old servant of the Lu family, Qi Wenjin found out that the deceased patriarch of the Lu family had once wanted to pass the position of clan head to his second son.
Comparatively, the eldest son of the Lu family was somewhat mediocre. A juren in the Imperial Examination, he was now a fifth-grade official in the capital. In spite of his mediocrity though, he controlled the Lu family’s connections.
Lu Deyin’s mother passed away due to difficult labor in the fifth year of Taikang. It was said that Second Master Lu had sought an external position and was about to take his wife and children there to take up the post when they encountered bandits on the way.
As the war had just ended, there were indeed many small clusters of bandits everywhere. During this incident, Second Madam Lu went into labor prematurely and passed away after giving birth to a seven-month-old boy. Second Master Lu’s thigh suffered knife wounds, leading to him becoming crippled without timely treatment.
As for the seven-month-old baby boy, it was unknown if it was because he was born prematurely or because he had suffered an impact whilst in his mother’s womb, but his intelligence had been slightly affected. Till now, he was still like a four or five-year-old child.
Second Master Lu passed away four years ago due to illness. Lu Deyin’s mourning period had just ended last year and she was already 18 years old this year.
Qi Wenjin didn’t know if the Lu family’s encounter with the mountain bandits back then was an accident or if someone had instigated them, but Lu Deyin and her younger brother were indeed the targets of a deliberate and malicious attack this time.
What surprised him was that Lu Deyin was very calm throughout it all. After the incident, she could actually make the Lu family not suspect anything at all. It was indeed impressive that she could shield her silly younger brother and keep them safe and sound under the watch of formidable enemies until now.
Moreover, according to Qi Wenjin’s observation, she had a good nature. She would try her best to protect the servants serving her, never once giving up on them.
The more Qi Wenjin looked at her, the more he felt that this girl was the one. When he found out that she was not engaged, he asked his mother to send betrothal gifts to the Lu Residence.