Chapter 205: Cause And Effect
After leaving the restaurant, the three people each returned home. Shang Wan drove the ox cart to the tea house to pick up Lu Chengjing.
Master Chu invited Lu Chengjing to the tea house for a chat to discuss painting.
When Shang Wan arrived, she found Qiao Yu’an was also there. The three were still discussing in the private room. Shang Wan stood at the doorway, glanced in without entering, beckoned a shop assistant and ordered a pot of tea, then sat in the lobby watching the crowd coming and going outside the window, slowly sipping her tea.
Half a shichen later, Lu Chengjing and the other two came down from upstairs.
“Chengjing, your younger brother’s wife is here.” Qiao Yu’an was the first to see Shang Wan sitting by the window and nudged Lu Chengjing, who was talking to Master Chu, with his elbow.
Lu Chengjing looked up. Shang Wan smiled at him and raised her tea cup.
Lu Chengjing’s lips unconsciously curved up, and he strode over.
“All settled?” Shang Wan turned over her empty tea cup and poured a cup of tea for Lu Chengjing.
Lu Chengjing picked up the tea cup and took a sip, saying warmly, “I’ll see Master Chu off, wait for me a moment longer.”
“Alright.”
Hearing the response, Lu Chengjing then set down the tea cup and walked back.
Shang Wan’s gaze followed him, landing on the youth in a moon-white robe standing beside Qiao Yu’an.
This should be Master Chu.
He was about twenty-something, not particularly handsome, but pleasant to look at, with a faint smile at the corners of his mouth that gave a spring-breeze warmth.
Perhaps sensing Shang Wan’s gaze, the youth turned his head, nodded politely to her, and quickly looked away.
Shang Wan’s ear tips twitched lightly, taking in the three people’s conversation entirely.
After seeing the man out, Lu Chengjing returned, pulled out a chair and sat across from Shang Wan. “Sorry to keep you waiting, niangzi.”
Shang Wan set down her tea cup and smiled as she asked, “Have you eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Wontons.”
The two went to eat wontons together.
Earlier at the restaurant, after finishing the discussion, the meal had gone cold, and none of the three had eaten much.
The shrimp skin fresh meat small wontons from the stall were one per bite, fresh and flavorful.
Shang Wan ate some and packed some to take away.
Having found something delicious, of course she had to bring some home for the family.
On the way back, Lu Chengjing drove the cart, but they got stuck at the city gate.
Upon asking, they learned that the Lu family’s carriage had broken down, blocking the road sideways. No one could enter or exit; they were repairing it.
Shang Wan stood on the ox cart and looked into the crowd, spotting Madam Lu at once, supported by Li Shi as she stood beside the carriage.
Compared to the last time they met, Madam Lu’s face was much more haggard, and she had lost a full circle of weight.
Li Shi’s condition wasn’t much better; all her arrogance seemed gone.
What surprised Shang Wan was the person standing behind the two—Liu Yuzhi, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.
Why was she here too?
She grew even more curious about what relationship Liu Yuzhi really had with the Lu Residence.
“Let’s go via the East City Gate.” Shang Wan reached out and tapped Lu Chengjing’s shoulder. It was unclear how long this blockage would last; better to take a detour.
It was unclear if Lu Chengjing had seen Madam Lu and the others. He softly agreed, tugged the reins to turn the ox cart toward the East City Gate.
But today seemed to have stirred up the Lu nest; at the city gate, they ran into Master Lu trying to cut in line to enter the city.
The two locked eyes. Lu Chengjing was expressionless, Master Lu looked unpleasant with sinister eyes. The way he looked at Lu Chengjing was nothing like looking at his own son; it was more like looking at his father’s killer.
Neither spoke. Shang Wan looked around, held back from chiming in, but didn’t plan to waste time here. She poked Lu Chengjing’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Lu Chengjing withdrew his gaze and drove the ox cart past the adjacent carriage.
A heavy cold snort came from behind. Master Lu called out to stop Lu Chengjing.
“Are you satisfied now?”
Lu Chengjing didn’t turn back, his voice cold. “Cause and effect, self-inflicted.”
“Unfilial son!” Master Lu bellowed angrily, but Lu Chengjing ignored him and drove the ox cart away.
Master Lu’s angry curses continued from behind, but clearly Lu Chengjing intended to ignore them completely, not turning back once.
But Shang Wan couldn’t stand listening. Her fox, why should he be cursed like a grandson?
For the sake of his own father, a curse or two was fine, but this endless tirade!
With a flick of her wrist, a pebble shot out, hitting Master Lu square on the forehead as he cursed vigorously.
The pebble’s sharp edge broke the skin, and blood immediately appeared.
Master Lu clutched his forehead with an ouch and toppled into the carriage. The cursing stopped at once.
Chaos and turmoil erupted inside the carriage, filled with the shouts of servants and maids.
Shang Wan clapped her hands in satisfaction; her ears finally returned to quiet.
Lu Chengjing turned back to look at her, a hint of starlit amusement in his eyes.
Shang Wan glared at him irritably. “What are you looking at? Drive properly.”
She muttered, “Pushover!”
Though the mutter was soft, they were close, and Lu Chengjing clearly heard it.
He promised warmly, “It won’t happen next time.”
Shang Wan ignored him and closed her eyes to nap.
After some unknown time, Shang Wan suddenly asked, “Did you plan this?”
Lu Chengjing lifted the edge of his bamboo hat and turned to look. “What?”
Shang Wan stared at him. “Keep pretending.”
Lu Chengjing blinked innocently. “Please enlighten me, niangzi.”
Shang Wan: “…”
She irritably pulled the bamboo hat back over her face, her voice muffled through it.
“About the Lu family—before, you stopped me from dealing with Lu Chengyuan. Was that to leave the Lu family a path to survival?”
The words ‘blood relation’ were the hardest to untangle, impossible to clarify.
Lu Chengjing was momentarily stunned, then burst into bright laughter.
He rarely laughed like this. Shang Wan lifted the bamboo hat to look at him, eyes surprised. “What are you laughing at?”
The amusement deepened in Lu Chengjing’s eyes. “In niangzi’s heart, your husband actually has such clever schemes—how could that not warrant a laugh?”
Shang Wan: “…”
“Don’t be cheeky!”
She asked seriously, “You’re really saying it wasn’t you who planned it?”
Lu Chengjing’s smile faded, and he slowly shook his head. “Even someone as shrewd as the current emperor’s chief advisor wouldn’t dare claim flawless calculations. How could I have such ability?”
The Lu family being able to cut off the tail to survive was merely cause and effect.
Lu Shuhui was a cause, he was a cause, the Wang family was a cause; all these factors led to the current situation that could be called a coincidence.
However, convincing Doctor Wang to intervene must have taken great effort from Lu Chengyuan and cost him dearly.
The youth’s brows lowered, hiding the darkness in his eyes deep within, not letting anyone glimpse it.
Shang Wan scrutinized him carefully. This fox had a long rap sheet; no wonder she suspected him.
She was a textbook case of once bitten by a snake, fearing ropes for ten years.
From the letter Lord An sent the day before yesterday, the Lu family had been in a must-die situation, but Doctor Wang’s intervention had revived it.
Even with heavy losses, if they survived this and lay low patiently, the Lu family might rise again using the Wang family’s influence.
The messenger who delivered the letter also mentioned that Lord An was about to head to the capital city to face the emperor.
Once this case fully unfolded, who knew how many officials would fall.
Of course, the purpose of Lord An sending someone wasn’t just to deliver the letter, but also for the spiritual medicine in Shang Wan’s hands.
He would bring Madam with him to the capital this time. If Madam fell ill on the road, having spiritual medicine would be convenient.
This time, Shang Wan was very generous and gave a whole bottle, delighting the confidant who beamed and thanked her profusely.
He wanted to give silver, but Shang Wan refused, and her words were beautifully put.
—The hardest debt to repay is one of favor. As long as Madam An needs spiritual medicine, Lord An would owe this favor indefinitely.
