Chapter 57 Tacit Understanding
Even if Wang Yanqing tried to speed up the questioning, the time exceeded their expectations. When they went out, they encountered an inccident. Wang Yanqing was in a hurry to leave, and she didn’t look back to see who the person was. The other party didn’t catch up either, so she assumed that nobody noticed.
Wang Yanqing breathed a sigh of relief and quietly returned to Lu Heng’s courtyard. Lu Heng heard footsteps outside, and without raising his head, he said: “The door is not closed, just come in.”
Wang Yanqing opened the door and turned to enter. Lu Heng was flipping through a pile of files under the light. He had a thick pile of documents in his hand, and he was pulling out several and placing them in separate piles. Lu Heng closed the volume in his hand and asked: “How was it, did it go smoothly?”
Wang Yanqing was still wearing palace maid clothes, and she didn’t want Lu Heng to worry, so she said: “There were no surprises, it went well.”
Lu Heng got up and poured her a cup of tea, put it in her hand, and said: “Moisten your throat first. Don’t worry, speak slowly.”
Wang Yanqing had been running around all night, and her mouth was indeed dry. She picked up the tea cup and the temperature of the tea inside was just right. Wang Yanqing just took a sip, relieved the dryness in her throat, and put it down: “Second Brother, there may be something strange happening in Hegu Village.”
Her lips were dipped in tea, and they were shiny under the light as if they had been coated with a layer of glaze. Lu Heng felt itchy when he saw this and he stretched out his hand. He pressed the corner of Wang Yanqing’s lips, stroking the non-existent water droplets, and asked unconcernedly: “Why do you say that?”
Wang Yanqing’s mind was focused on the case she just discovered, even if Lu Heng’s hand was messing up her face, she could bear it in a good-humored manner and reported her findings wholeheartedly: “After I entered the house, I took the opportunity to knock over their food boxes. The Liu family’s mother and daughter-in-law’s reactions to the food were very real, and their demeanor and actions were also in line with being a village family, not like they were trained. Later, I slowly asked about the disappearance. Their voices were full of resentment, and they were quite critical of the county magistrate and even the prefect, so when they answered in front of Prefect Cheng this evening, they hesitated and covered up a lot.”
Lu Heng was not surprised by this. With Cheng Youhai’s flattery, it was probable for the people under his rule to be dissatisfied with him. Instead, Lu Heng was curious about another thing: “You knocked over their meals, were they still willing to tell you the truth?”
“Of course.” Wang Yanqing stated her intentions, “I knocked it over on purpose, to create opportunities for them to help me.”
Lu Heng picked a strand of Wang Yanqing’s hair and fiddled with it. Although he didn’t speak, his eyes clearly showed his thoughts.
Why did you do that?
When he showed this look, it meant that he was serious. Wang Yanqing didn’t know how to explain, and asked: “Second Brother, if you just met two people, one who has helped you and the other who asks for your help, which one would you like more?”
Lu Heng said without hesitation: “Of course, it’s the one who helped me.”
“No.” Wang Yanqing shook her head, “Actually, you tend to be inclined to those who ask you for help.”
This sentence sounded strange at first, but after thinking about it, it was actually true. Lu Heng asked curiously: “Why?”
Wang Yanqing spread out her hands and said: “I don’t know either. Maybe it’s just human nature. I don’t cherish things that are easy to get, and I care a lot about what I give out on my own initiative.”
Lu Heng couldn’t help laughing when he heard this. He pressed the space between his eyebrows, his shoulders shaking slightly with a laugh.
“You’re right.”
Lu Heng was privately called a smiling tiger because he always had a smirk. It was rare for him to genuinely laugh, but recently, those rare few times were all related to Wang Yanqing.
He laughed enough, and a layer of cold light slowly enveloped the depths of his eyes. Wang Yanqing’s words summed up Lu Heng’s psychology very accurately. Lu Heng would still guard against a person who was kind to him; but if it was someone he brought back to be personally taken care of by him, and he kept devoting his time and energy, how can he be unhappy with this person? He couldn’t get angry and the other party would surely invade his life at a terrifying speed.
He had ready-made examples at hand.
After Wang Yanqing finished speaking, she found that Lu Heng had been silent for a long time, and couldn’t help asking: “Second Brother, what’s wrong with you?”
Lu Heng didn’t know what was wrong with him. Unexpectedly, one day, he would need the student to remind him that something was wrong.
Since when did his attitude towards Wang Yanqing become so dangerously like this?
Lu Heng calmed down and spoke with half-truth: “It’s nothing, just listening to Qing Qing’s words gives me a feeling of a crisis.”
Wang Yanqing was puzzled and asked in surprise: “Why?”
“You are very keen. As long as you are willing, it is very easy to get a man’s favor.”
His eyes were full of smiles, filled with broken light as if he was admiring a handful of water in the galaxy. Wang Yanqing was a little embarrassed, snorted softly, and said angrily: “Second Brother, how can you say that about your sister? Why should I bother with this kind of thing.”
“Don’t be angry.” Lu Heng hurriedly coaxed, “I’m just afraid that someone will like you so much that you will be deceived by him.”
“I won’t.” Wang Yanqing shot back flatly, with some pride and self-confidence in her disdain, “There are only a few things a man thinks about. Their lies are too inferior, so I won’t be deceived.”
“Then that would be great.” After Lu Heng finished speaking, he sighed decently, “But I’m even more worried.”
Wang Yanqing seemed to feel something, and her face froze slightly: “Why?”
Lu Heng looked at her and smiled, but did not speak. He asked: “What did you find out by doing that little trick?”
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He took the initiative to change the subject, which meant that it had to stop and she couldn’t talk about it anymore. Wang Yanqing changed the subject and said: “They complained about the county magistrate and the prefect, and if these people hadn’t neglected the government, they wouldn’t have been forced to break into the imperial court. Also, they said, before the court called for labor, people disappeared for no apparent reason. And one night, they heard a noise in the mountain, similar to an earthquake.”
Lu Heng’s eyes twitched slightly, this was very important information. Lu Heng asked: “Was it just people missing from their village?”
“Listening to their words, it seems to be more than that.”
Lu Heng went to the table to get the files. In the evening, the Imperial Guards brought all the relevant files of the Weihui Mansion. Before Wang Yanqing came back, Lu Heng was looking at the disappearance cases in previous years. But there were too many relevant records, and he rummaged through them aimlessly, making progress very slowly.
But now, Wang Yanqing provided him with a very important point in time, before the call for labor.
Wang Yanqing also helped Lu Heng look together. Wang Yanqing searched for a long time, but did not find any eligible cases, she leaned over to look at Lu Heng: “Second Brother, did you gain anything from your stack?”
Lu Heng didn’t speak, he threw the scroll on the table, without a sincere smile on his lips.
He didn’t find any suspicious disappearances either, which was the most suspicious.
Since the twelfth month of last year, there were no unsolved disappearance cases in the Weihui Mansion. Were the law and order here that good?
Lu Heng didn’t tell Wang Yanqing, he closed the file and said: “If you can’t find anything, forget it. You have been tired all day, go to sleep.”
Wang Yanqing hesitated: “But there are only three days…”
“There is still time.” Lu Heng stretched out his hand, squeezed Wang Yanqing’s chin, and said, “Have some confidence in your brother. Since I dared to make this promise, I will get out of this in one piece.”
Wang Yanqing immediately calmed down, she always trusted Lu Heng unreservedly, and every time the result proved that he was worthy of trust. Wang Yanqing hesitated and asked: “Then are you going to sleep too?”
Lu Heng nodded and said leisurely: “If a beauty in the late night asks this kind of question, how could I be willing to refuse.”
Wang Yanqing blushed, gave him a look, and said: “Don’t say that there are none of them. Are you going to Hegu Village tomorrow?”
Lu Heng still nodded, Wang Yanqing said immediately: “I’ll go too.”
Lu Heng sighed: “Hegu Village is built in the mountains, it will be very tiring. You will have your period in about two days, so it is not advisable to be going at this time.”
Wang Yanqing’s pupils dilated, and she was really shocked before she found her voice: “It doesn’t matter. I want to help you.”
After she finished speaking, she couldn’t hold back, and asked in an indescribable tone: “How do you know?”
Wang Yanqing’s period was irregular. In the past six months, she gradually improved with the help of medicine, but the timing would still differ. Wang Yanqing herself was not sure when it would come, how did Lu Heng know?
Lu Heng’s expression was very flat as if he was talking about when the sun would rise tomorrow, and he said calmly: “I remember the days each time your period came in the past six months, and it is not difficult to calculate from this.”
The expression on Wang Yanqing’s face was completely frozen, she didn’t want to continue this topic at all, so she hurriedly got up and opened the door: “Second Brother, I’ll go back first. Wait for me tomorrow, don’t go out quietly by yourself.”
Lu Heng was helpless, what did she think of him as, a thief?
“I know.” Lu Heng replied, “Since you don’t want to listen to me, you should pay attention to yourself. Now that you are outside, it is inconvenient to concoct medicine. You must be careful not to cause yourself pain again.”
When Wang Yanqing received her period last year, she fainted in pain. After taking the medicine for half a year, her symptoms were greatly relieved. Although her lower abdomen still suffered from pain in those days, the pain was almost negligible compared to the initial one.
Wang Yanqing nodded and ran away from Lu Heng’s house as if she were fleeing. Lu Heng stood at the door and watched her enter her room before closing the door calmly.
Lu Heng did not speak without meaning to Wang Yanqing, he did intend to sleep. There was nothing to find out in these files, and there was no need to waste time, it was better to recharge and meet the county magistrate who governed Hegu Village tomorrow.
Lu Heng was very interested now. What tricks were these people playing?
·
Everyone knew that Lu Heng had taken on a new case, and Lu Heng unceremoniously left the task of the palace’s night patrol to Chen Yin, took someone with him, and swaggered away.
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He was now under an order to investigate the case, and obstructing him was obstructing the emperor’s direct order. Others watched with piercing eyes, but no one dared to say anything.
Wang Yanqing simply packed a small bag and set off with Lu Heng. Hegu Village lived up to its name. It was in a low valley surrounded by mountains with a big river flowing not far from the village. The village was surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the scenery was beautiful, but it was very difficult to walk in and out of the village through mountain roads.
Their team was full of men and Wang Yanqing was not comfortable riding a horse, so she took a sedan chair instead. Fortunately, Prefect Cheng also rode in a sedan chair, and Wang Yanqing’s request was not as inconvenient. The magistrate of Qixian County was waiting at the entrance of the village early, when he saw a group of people approaching slowly on the road, he didn’t dare to neglect, and hurried up to greet them: “This official greets Commander Lu and sees Prefect Cheng.”
|| Sedan chair (轿) is an enclosed chair with two poles attached that allowed it to be carried by two men. Often seen in ancient dramas.
The carriers lowered the sedan chair, and Prefect Cheng came out. He looked at the surrounding mountains, not bothering to hurry at all, he was very tired.
Lu Heng turned over and dismounted. His posture was simple and neat, without a single extra move, in stark contrast to the bloated Prefect Cheng next to him. Prefect Cheng came over and spoke flatteringly: “Master Lu is really as light as a swallow, with extraordinary vigor and admiration from his lower officials.”
Lu Heng glanced at Cheng Youhai and was too lazy to answer. He glanced at the group of people in front of him, and asked: “Who is Li Zheng of Hegu Village?”
A well-maintained old man came up to greet him, cupping his hand and trembling: “Commander, I am Li Lin.”
Li Zheng was in his fifties, his hair was gray, and his waist was a little hunched. But compared with old men of his age, he was disease and disaster-free, his face was ruddy, and he was already very healthy.
Lu Heng asked: “Do Liu Shan and Liu Shoufu’s family live in your village?”
Li Zheng nodded quickly: “Yes.”
Liu Shan is the name of Aunt Liu’s husband, and Liu Shoufu was their son. Lu Heng said: “Lead the way ahead, I’m going to check out their house.”
Li Zheng didn’t dare to refuse, and quickly led Lu Heng, Prefect Cheng, and the county magistrate, Tao Yiming, to Aunt Liu’s house. Everyone’s attention was focused on Lu Heng that no one noticed a woman walking out of another sedan chair. She waited for the prefect and others to walk away before mixing in with the crowd watching the excitement and quietly following.
Aunt Liu was still locked in the palace, and now there was no one at home. Li Zheng opened the courtyard door, bent down, and said to Lu Heng: “Master Lu, this is the residence of the Liu Shan family.”
Lu Heng stepped into the firewood gate and scanned the surroundings silently. Although the yard was not big, it was well organized. There were hoes, sickles, and other farm tools piled in the corners, and fishing nets hung on the other wall. Lu Heng noticed that the wall was new and asked: “Did they renovate this place?”
“Yes.” Li Zheng replied, “In the past, Liu Shan’s family was very poor. Later, he married a capable daughter-in-law. Liu Shan himself was also diligent. When he had no farm work, he went fishing on the river to make allowances for the family, so their life at home was getting better and better. A few years ago, they saved a sum of money and renovated the wall. Later, they married their son and used the rest of their money. They wanted to save for a few more years and rebuild the house.”
Lu Heng didn’t speak and walked into the house. Before going out, mother and daughter-in-law didn’t know this kind of thing would happen. There was a copper lock hanging on the door, and Li Zheng was embarrassed. He rubbed his hands and said: “Master, calm down, but I don’t have the key to their house, I can’t open the door.”
Lu Heng picked up the lock and looked at it, then let go of it calmly, signaling the person behind him to unlock it. An Imperial Guard stepped forward, took out an iron wire from his sleeve, drilled a hole in the keyhole, and the copper lock popped open.
Li Zheng stared at this scene in amazement, with his mouth open, speechless. When the Imperial Guard opened the door, Lu Heng calmly patted his sleeve and stepped into the threshold.
This kind of lock was too simple, and he found it boring to look at. Lu Heng walked slowly through the house. Wherever he went, the crowd behind him followed. Prefect Cheng didn’t know what Lu Heng was looking for, so he accompanied him carefully and said: “Master Lu, this is a simple dwelling, and to have you here will be wronging you. Do you want to go to the county and arrange a banquet…”
Lu Heng interrupted him lightly: “Isn’t this kind of simple dwelling under the rule of Master Cheng?”
Prefect Cheng was instantly frozen and rendered speechless. Lu Heng swept the surrounding walls, and when he passed through the hall, he unintentionally flicked the table.
A gray streak appeared on the table. Prefect Cheng was embarrassed, and hurriedly said: “Don’t you see that Master Lu’s hands are dirty, quickly bring hot water to the master…”
Lu Heng took out a handkerchief, wiped his fingers clean, and said: “Prefect Cheng, I am not so delicate, don’t bother. Besides Liu Shan, Liu Shoufu, his son, who else was killed?”
Prefect Cheng was at a loss, looking at the magistrate of Qixian County, and the magistrate looked at Li Zheng. Li Zheng stepped forward tremblingly and said with a stiff smile: “There are fifty-two households in the village, each with two males, so a total of one hundred and two people were washed away by the flood.”
Lu Heng immediately asked: “What about the two others?”
Li Zheng smiled awkwardly: “The old man’s son passed the exam as a scholar and entered the county school.”
A scholar who passed the entrance examination gained fame and a reputation. Even if he couldn’t become an official, it was enough to exempt his family from labor enlistment and taxation. Lu Heng tapped his chin lightly: “So it’s like that. Where was the accident, take me there.”
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Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke. Lu Heng was not in a hurry, he just looked at them with a smile and waited patiently. In the end, Prefect Cheng couldn’t save face, and scolded: “Didn’t you hear what Master Lu said, where is the accident?”
County magistrate, Tao Yiming, stepped forward and said: “Commander, the Hegu Village labor force was wiped out on the way to the state capital, and no one knows where they were killed.”
“Oh?” Lu Heng asked, “Then how do you know that they were swept away by the flood?”
The house was silent. Lu Heng looked at Prefect Cheng and urged slowly: “Prefect Cheng, what do you think?”
Prefect Cheng looked embarrassed: “Qixian County reported it like this, and the lower officials didn’t think much about it… Tao Yiming, what in the world is going on?”
Tao Yiming lowered his gaze, paused for a while, and said: “It’s I who have neglected my responsibilities. The state government did not receive news of the arrival of the villagers from Hegu Village. During that time, there were many floods in the mountains, and I felt that they would have been washed away by the floods.”
Lu Heng glanced lightly: “Do you get many flash floods here?”
Li Zheng responded with a sigh and nodded slightly. Lu Heng then said: “Since there are frequent flash floods here, Li Zheng must be very familiar with them. I hope Li Zheng can guide us, I want to see the most flooded places in this area.”
Prefect Cheng hesitated: “Master Lu, the mountain road is difficult and dangerous…”
Lu Heng lightly interrupted Prefect Cheng’s words: “If the prefect is too tired, you can just stay here.”
Prefect Cheng choked on the remaining half of his words. Lu Heng had a higher official position than them. He was a celebrity on the emperor’s side, and he also controlled the Imperial Guards. For local civil servants like them, Lu Heng was nothing more than a person who held their life, death, and power. He could make them lose their jobs or get promoted with just one word. The officials did not dare to talk nonsense anymore and hurried out to make arrangements.
The villagers who were watching the excitement from outside the courtyard saw them entering the house and talking. After they came out, the officials led the horses and carried the sedan chairs. It seemed that they were going out again.
The villagers asked in confusion: “What is going on inside?”
“I don’t know, maybe something happened to the Liu family.”
“What a disaster this has caused, why are the magistrates here?”
“It’s not just our county magistrate, did you see that, that is our prefect. The person next to him is said to be a high-ranking official from the capital.”
The onlookers were amazed, and for a while, they guessed what was being said, it was very lively. The people behind wanted to know what was going on and kept squeezing in. A village woman was pushed from behind and fell, and hit the person next to her. The village woman stood firm and scolded: “The little bastards who cried wolf, why are you cramming people?”
The instigator was a group of half-grown children, and the leading child made a face at the village woman and soon disappeared. The village woman scolded them and turned back to see a lady. She was startled and muttered: “Did I bump into you just now… I’m sorry, I blame those boys for being so noisy. Which family’s daughter-in-law are you, and why have I never seen you before?”
Wang Yanqing nodded and smiled at the village woman, and said: “I came from the prefecture with the officials, I am not from here.”
The village woman let out a sound, her expression not surprised at all. She said that they couldn’t grow such beautiful people in their village. If it weren’t for the blue sky, the village women would have thought they had seen a ghost just now.
Lu Heng came out surrounded by a group of people. He saw Wang Yanqing and walked straight towards her: “Qing Qing…”
As Lu Heng approached, people didn’t know what was going on, and they automatically retreated, as if on instinct when encountering a dangerous creature. Just as Lu Heng touched Wang Yanqing with his hand, Wang Yanqing suddenly let out a soft cry, frowning and covering her abdomen.
Lu Heng paused in mid-air, then grabbed Wang Yanqing’s arm and asked naturally: “What’s the matter?”
Lu Heng supported her sideways, blocking the view from behind. His tone was concerned, but there was undisguised confusion in his eyes.
What was she doing? Pretending to be hurt to blame someone else up was too fake, right?
Wang Yanqing blinked at Lu Heng and said: “Master, I suddenly feel unwell…”
Lu Heng looked at her silently. For a moment, he thought that Wang Yanqing’s period had suddenly come, but looking at her expression now, it didn’t look like it. That caused him to be even more puzzled. She never mentioned anything before, why did this act suddenly come about?
Fortunately, Lu Heng grew up by the emperor’s side. He dare not say anything else. His ability to adapt and guess people’s thoughts should not be bad. He looked into Wang Yanqing’s eyes and seemed to understand her intentions: “If you are not feeling well, then don’t go to the mountains. Why don’t you stay in the village and rest for a while?”
Wang Yanqing breathed a sigh of relief, she was worried that Lu Heng couldn’t understand her meaning, but fortunately, he picked it up. Wang Yanqing nodded guiltily: “Okay, I’ve caused trouble to the Masters.”
Prefect Cheng heard the movement here, took a look, and asked: “Master Lu, can I dare to ask who this is…”
Lu Heng said: “This is my…”
Without waiting for Lu Heng to finish speaking, Wang Yanqing said first: “Maid.”
Lu Heng paused for a while, swallowed the rest of the words, and nodded with a smile: “Yes, she is my maid, who came with me today on errands. I didn’t expect her to feel unwell all of a sudden. I don’t know whose home is convenient, can she rest somewhere for a while?”
Master Lu spoke up and which one of the people present dared not give face. Everyone competed to agree, and this presented another stage of reading minds. Lu Heng looked at these people and silently guessed which one’s house Wang Yanqing wanted to go to. In the end, he squeezed the flesh on the inside of Wang Yanqing’s arm as punishment, and said: “Then I’ll trouble Li Zheng.”
|| Author’s Note:
Lu·Big Data·Heng: Guessing the emperor’s heart in court then a woman’s heart at home is really tiring.