Chapter 416: Bewitching Butterfly Court
“Father, what’s going on?”
Tao Jia looked confused. “Isn’t Duan Zhen Lu Sheng’s fiancé? Why did it become Lord Chu?”
He could not understand how Lu Sheng, who had lived in the village for a long time, was related to Chu Sihan.
“It’s a long story.”
Li Zheng said calmly, “As for Lord Chu and Lu Sheng, I only heard that this marriage was appointed by the State Minister. I’m not sure about the rest.”
“Appointed by the State Minister?”
Tao Jia was shocked.
Everyone in Xuan Yue Country knew about the State Minister, right?
In Xuan Yue Country, the State Minister’s status was almost the same as the Emperor. Sometimes, even the Emperor obeyed him.
Furthermore, he had once heard that not only did the State Minister know everything, but his spells were also very impressive.
A marriage appointed by such an amazing person was no different from an imperial edict.
If the marriage was appointed by the Emperor, Tao Jia would probably have some doubts. However, there was nothing to be surprised about the marriage appointed by the State Minister.
It was said that the State Minister could read fortunes. In that case, Lu Sheng and Chu Sihan must have been destined by fate.
“What’s wrong with that?”
Mdm Fang walked in with a dustpan and placed it in a corner. Then, she looked at her son and said, “Our Lu Sheng is not bad now. I heard from your Aunt Yu that she previously went to the capital to help them catch criminals. The Emperor even rewarded her with two gold ingots.”
“There was such a thing?”
Tao Jia was not the only one who was shocked. Even Li Zheng was shocked.
They were already shocked that Lu Sheng knew Chu Sihan.
How amazing was she to even receive the Emperor’s reward?
“Of course.”
Mdm Fang said proudly, “I didn’t believe it when I heard from Aunt Yu. I specially went to the Lu family to take a look. It was Lu Ran who told me personally. How can it be fake?”
Li Zheng frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
This was not only a matter of bringing honor to their ancestors, but also the honor to the entire Liu Yue Village.
How could he be kept in the dark about such a big matter?
If he knew, he would definitely publicize it in the village and let those gossipy people hear about what Lu Sheng had done.
“I wanted to tell you, but Lu Sheng forbade me.”
Mdm Fang shrugged helplessly.
“Why?”
Li Zheng frowned.
“You know that girl’s personality. She’s used to keeping a low profile.”
When Li Zheng heard that, he also felt that Lu Sheng was too low-profile sometimes.
“Why didn’t Lu Ran tell me about this?”
Tao Jia said unhappily.
Although he was older than Lu Ran by a few years, he had the best relationship with Lu Ran among the younger generation in Liu Yue Village.
Initially, he had a good relationship with Duan Zhen. However, after Duan Zhen became a scholar, his personality changed.
Ignoring the fact that he had stayed away from him, but Duan Zhen only hung out with the rich in school. He either ignored or mocked Tao Jia.
He was a straightforward person and disliked people like Duan Zhen the most. Hence, his relationship with Duan Zhen became distant after that.
On the contrary, he became closer to Lu Ran. Although Lu Ran had given up on himself after Mdm He’s death and even hung out with Sun Hu and his gang, Tao Jia still believed in Lu Ran.
This was also the reason why Lu Ran would come and find him every time he heard of his return despite ignoring others.
Lu Ran actually did not tell him that Lu Sheng had met the Emperor and received such a huge reward. He was too much!
“You can’t blame Lu Ran.”
Mdm Fang yawned and continued, “It’s all because Lu Sheng forbade him from speaking. If I hadn’t gone to ask him personally, he might not have told me.”
“Enough.”
Li Zheng sighed softly. “Since Lu Sheng is unwilling to say, forget it. Jia’er, go back and rest early too.”
—————
As night fell, the streets lit up with red lanterns hanging on both sides of Huang Yang Town.
The night market continued, but there were fewer people than during the new year.
“Are you close to Tao Jia?”
When the carriage entered the alley, Chu Sihan suddenly spoke faintly.
Lu Sheng smiled secretly.
It was indeed not easy for Chu Sihan to hold it in until now.
“Still alright.”
Lu Sheng pondered for a moment and said lightly, “He has a good relationship with my brother. I remember that when I was young, he often came to my house to play with my brother.”
“Why were you walking together today?”
Chu Sihan thought for a while and could not help but ask the crucial question that had depressed him the whole way.
In Lu Sheng’s line of work, she couldn’t have gotten Tao Jia to send her off because she was afraid of walking at night, right?
Lu Sheng said disapprovingly, “Oh, he sent me back because he has something to ask me.”
Chu Sihan’s frown deepened, but Lu Sheng pretended not to see it.
She lowered her head and stared at the candlelight, deliberately not looking at him.
“What did he ask?”
After holding it in for a long time, he finally asked this question.
Lu Sheng suppressed the smile in her heart and looked at him with an indifferent expression. “Nothing much. Brother Tao is a businessman. He previously knew that I have some rare items here, so he came to ask.”
Was she mentioning Brother Tao so loudly because she was afraid that he could not hear her?
Chu Sihan’s heart kept bubbling with jealousy, but he resisted the urge to show it.
Lu Sheng giggled.
His hesitant expression amused Lu Sheng.
“Lord Chu, your eyes are getting closer.”
If she did not explain herself, his eyebrows would probably stick together soon.
“Brother Tao already has a wife and child. They are in Yu Shan Town. As to why he sent me back just now, he indeed had something to ask me.”
When he heard that Tao Jia already had a wife and child, Chu Sihan’s expression returned to normal.
He coughed lightly and said, “I’m not bothered by these. It’s just that there’s a difference between a man and a woman. It’s indeed not good to let him send you back at night.”
“Oh?”
Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow. “Are you not a man?”
“This is different.”
Chu Sihan said coldly, “I’m your fiancé. Even if others say something, it’s not a misunderstanding.”
Lu Sheng snorted coldly.
“What’s wrong with that? Everyone in Liu Yue Village knows Brother Tao’s character. Even if those people gossip about him, others won’t believe them.”
“That might not be the case.”
When Chu Sihan heard that she was protecting Tao Jia, his mood, which had initially improved, worsened.
“Let’s not talk about this.”
Lu Sheng looked at him and asked, “Lord, do you know about Yong Fu Town?”
Seeing her stern expression, Chu Sihan could not help but temporarily put down his jealousy.
“I know. It’s only a thousand miles away from here. If we ride horses, we can reach there in about three to four days.”
He looked at her suspiciously and asked, “Why are you suddenly asking this?”
“A thousand miles away from here?”
Lu Sheng frowned. “Then was there a drought in Yong Fu Town a few months ago?”
“A drought?”
Chu Sihan shook his head. “I’ve never heard of it.”
Yong Fu Town paid the same amount of taxes as previous years. How could there be a drought?
“I heard that there was a drought in a small village called Wen Shan Village in Yong Fu Town. The grain harvest was halved, but taxes were still paid. In the end, there was not enough food. Children and elders either fell ill or died from hunger.”
If there was a drought a few months ago, what would they eat in winter?
They could drink snow water, but what about food? They couldn’t just drink water and not eat, right?
“There’s such a thing?”
Chu Sihan frowned. Who would dare to hide such a big matter from him?
Lu Sheng sighed softly. “I only heard about it. I don’t know if it’s true for now. However, this concerns human lives. Lord, it’s better to send someone to investigate.”
She had traveled a lot with her master in her previous life. She had also seen skinny people due to prolonged hunger and poor nutrition.
Even now, she was still shocked by that scene.
In order to let the villagers have enough nutrition, her master even stayed behind to perform a ritual for them. After summoning rain and leaving some food for the villagers, he left with her.
Chu Sihan nodded and said solemnly, “I’ll check it out myself tonight.”
Lu Sheng suddenly remembered that Chu Sihan was different from her. He could teleport, but she could not.
It seemed like she had to study these runes another day.
Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow. “Lord, can you bring me along?”
She did not have other capabilities, but she had the ability to perform a ritual and let the heavens rain heavily.
Chu Sihan nodded slightly. “Okay.”
He couldn’t ask for more.
At this moment, the carriage stopped.
Chu Yun said, “Lord, Miss Lu, we’ve reached Lu Mansion.”
“Okay.”
Lu Sheng answered and lifted the curtain to alight. Chu Sihan followed her.
He said to Chu Yun, “Chu Yun, go back to Lin Jiang Mansion tomorrow and help Constable Ji solve the recent case.”
“Yes!”
Chu Yun did not think too much about it. He only thought that Chu Sihan stayed behind because he could not bear to part with Lu Sheng.
In the past, he did not quite understand the term ‘femme fatale.’ Now, he understood.
Miss Lu was undoubtedly the rumored ‘femme fatale.’
In the past, his Lord would handle big and small cases himself.
Now…
Sigh, let’s not talk about this anymore!
He would cry if he spoke too much.
Chu Sihan nodded slightly. “Go back and rest first. We’ll set off tomorrow morning.”
“Yes!”
After Chu Yun agreed, he bade Lu Sheng farewell and left in his carriage.
Lu Sheng looked around and said to Chu Sihan in a low voice, “Lord, let’s go.”
Chu Sihan raised his eyebrows slightly and asked with a faint smile, “Aren’t you going in to tell everyone?”
“Oh, right!”
Lu Sheng smiled. “I’ll let Uncle know first before we leave then.”
“Leave?”
The sudden voice scared Lu Sheng.
Two black figures jumped down from the wall.
Under the light of the red lanterns at the entrance, Lu Sheng finally saw their faces.
Who else could it be but Lu Zhou and Shangguan Dian?
The person who asked was Lu Zhou.
Lu Sheng was speechless.
“Master, Uncle Demon King, is the door broken?”
Shangguan Dian shook his head. “It’s not broken.”
“If it’s not broken, why didn’t you come out of the door but climb over the wall?”
Lu Sheng narrowed her eyes and raised her eyebrows. “You’re so sneaky. What bad things are you preparing to do?”
“I’m not prepared to do anything bad. I just thought of…”
“Ahem!”
Lu Zhou suddenly cleared his throat.
Did this fellow know what a ‘white lie’ was? If the little girl knew that he was going to that kind of place, would she still let him go?
Chu Sihan scanned the two of them and explained to Lu Sheng, “There’s a new Bewitching Butterfly Court on the street recently. It’s said that the ladies there are all as beautiful as fairies. Their wine is also top-notch.”
Lu Zhou clicked his tongue and narrowed his eyes. “Lad, how did you know so much? Did you go behind my disciple’s back?”
He did not know if the wine there was the best, but when he passed by it today, he was indeed attracted by the fragrance.
“Uncle-Master Lu, you’re joking.”
Chu Sihan said coldly, “Don’t forget that the Bewitching Butterfly Court needs the approval of the officials to open for business. Coincidentally, when that procuress went to find my cousin, I was there. When she found out, she gave me two jars of wine.”
Of course, he did not take the wine. Instead, Shi Yi carried them away.
As for the girls inside, he had heard the guards secretly chatting when he went to see Fu Xianyun today.
“Where’s the wine?”
Shangguan Dian asked happily.
Chu Sihan smiled lightly. “I’ve given them away.”
Shangguan Dian was speechless.
He was happy for nothing.
Lu Sheng raised her eyebrows. “In that case, Master and Uncle Demon King were planning to go to the Bewitching Butterfly Court?”
“Don’t worry, disciple!”
Lu Zhou said, “I promise that I’ll leave after getting the wine!”
“I understand.”
Lu Sheng blinked at him. “Although you’re an immortal, you still have needs. I understand. Go ahead.”
Lu Zhou was speechless.
Perhaps he was overthinking. Not only did the little girl not object, but she also seemed to be very supportive.
Shangguan Dian smiled and said, “No matter how pretty those girls are, how good can they be? Your master doesn’t even like the beauties of our Demon Realm, much less those ordinary girls.”
“Really?”
Lu Sheng’s eyebrow raised.
In that case, her master did have high standards.
She had seen those women from the Demon Realm before. They were indeed beautiful.
She did not know how Chu Sihan’s mother looked like such that she was fancied by her master.
Shangguan Dian smiled and said, “Uncle is telling the truth. If you don’t believe me, ask your master.”
“Enough.”
Lu Sheng waved her hand. “Hurry up and go.”
Lu Zhou raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t told us where you’re going.”
“Oh.” Lu Sheng explained, “I heard today that there was a drought in a small village in Yong Fu Town not far away. However, no one reported it, so I wanted to find out the truth with the Lord.”
“Really?”
Lu Zhou nodded. “Do you need my help?”
“No need.”
Chu Sihan said coldly, “I can still handle such a small matter. There’s no need to trouble Uncle-Master Lu.”
“In that case, go ahead.”
Lu Zhou nodded. “I’ll explain it to your uncle tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you, Master.”
Lu Sheng smiled. “Master, go and drink with Uncle Demon King first.”
Lu Zhou nodded and left with Shangguan Dian.
After they left, Chu Sihan looked at Lu Sheng and confirmed, “Wen Shan Village in Yong Fu Town, right?”
“Yes.” Lu Sheng nodded.
Chu Sihan nodded slightly. With a wave of his hand, a black vortex appeared in front of them.
When their bodies were submerged in the vortex, the vortex gradually became smaller and finally disappeared.