Chapter 294: Chapter 120 Thousands of Doors and Windows Glowing in the Sun_2
But he didn’t want to return, only sitting in the empty Imperial Guards quarters, as if intending to sit until the end of time.
Upon entering, Qingfeng saw exactly this scene. The handsome young man’s figure was lost in the darkness, without his usual sharpness, a few strands of weariness in his brows and eyes.
His footsteps hesitated slightly, but Pei Yunmeng had already heard him and raised his eyes to look his way.
"Back?"
"Yes, Sir."
Qingfeng entered, strode quickly to Pei Yunmeng, took out a sealed letter from his bosom, and presented it with a low voice, "Sir, all the information we could find about the Lu Family is in here."
"Mmm, you’ve worked hard."
Some days ago, due to some odd behavior from the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, Pei Yunmeng had sent Qingfeng to personally make a trip to Changwu County to inquire about news of the Lu Family.
Changwu County was a thousand miles away from Shengjing. Qingfeng rode hastily, switched to waterways in between, and managed to return on New Year’s Eve.
Pei Yunmeng looked down, opened the sealed letter in his hand, and Qingfeng, seeing him pull out the scroll, couldn’t help but speak, "One year ago in Changwu County, everyone in the Lu Family household died, their house was mostly burned down, and I found no clues upon searching the property."
Pei Yunmeng’s gaze shifted slightly.
Qingfeng bowed his head, thinking of the news he had inquired about, and silently sighed.
Due to the urgency of his mission, once arriving in Changwu County, Qingfeng did not rest but promptly started his investigation.
Changwu County was very small, with only a few streets. The neighbors all knew each other well, making inquiries not very difficult. Moreover, the incident of the Lu Family had been widely spoken of in Changwu County, so within the few days, Qingfeng had learned quite comprehensively about the Lu Family.
The head of the Lu Family, Lu Qilin, was an ordinary Teacher in Changwu County, living a humble life. Lady Lu had a grocery store, selling small everyday items. They had two daughters and one son: the elder daughter, Lu Rou, married into the Capital City’s Ke Family, which dealt in kiln ceramics, and died of illness a year after marriage. The younger son, Lu Qian, was imprisoned for assaulting a woman and theft in the Capital a year ago and was later executed.
When Lu Qilin learned of his son’s imprisonment, he rushed to Shengjing, but encountered a massive wave on the waterway, his boat capsized, leaving no trace. The remaining Lady Lu, having lost a daughter, son, and husband in a short span of time, went mad overnight, knocked over a lamp in the night, and perished in the fire.
People of Changwu County, when mentioning the Lu Family, expressed half pity and half dread, saying, "The Lu Family must have offended some unclean force; how else could they be so cursed?"
Qingfeng knew full well that the Lu Family had indeed offended something, but it wasn’t a malignant spirit; it was powerful people they had angered.
This was a family extermination tragedy.
Pei Yunmeng was still looking at the letter in his hands, frowning slightly as he read, "Liu Kun?"
The letter also mentioned Liu Kun.
"Liu Kun is Lu Qilin’s cousin," Qingfeng said.
Liu Kun was Lu Qilin’s cousin and used to live next door to the Lu’s in Changwu County. However, many years ago, Liu Kun took his family to seek a living in Shengjing.
This information was difficult to obtain, as the Liu Family had left Changwu County too long ago. Eight years ago, an epidemic broke out in Changwu County, killing many, and later, even younger people had no knowledge of the Liu Family.
Pei Yunmeng watched the sealed letter intently, his eyes inscrutable, "So, it was Liu Kun who personally sent his nephew to prison?"
"Yes."
Upon hearing of Lu Qian’s crime and his pursuit by the Imperial Court, it was Liu Kun who reported Lu Qian’s hiding place. This behavior didn’t seem unusual at first, but once the connection between the Liu and Lu families became clear, Liu Kun’s actions seemed rather lamentable.
Pei Yunmeng said indifferently, "I see, it’s for this reason."
The body lying tragically dead at the foot of Mount Wangchun, the sorrowful fate of the Liu brothers’ exile, Wang Chunchi’s mad frenzy... so the seeds of vengeance and grievances were here.
Indeed, what goes around comes around.
He lowered his gaze, eyes landing on the last lines of the letter, where it recorded the youngest daughter of Lu Qilin, Lu Min.
Seeing him like this, Qingfeng said, "Lu Qilin once had a younger daughter, Lu Min, born on New Year’s Day seventeen years ago, but she went missing during the plague outbreak in Changwu County eight years ago. It’s said she went with some kidnappers, maybe she’s dead. The Lu Family has never given up searching for the child over these years, but to no avail."
"In Changwu County, no news has been heard of Lu Min in these years," Qingfeng said, looking embarrassed.
He knew that Pei Yunmeng had sent him to Changwu County to confirm the identity of the Lu Family’s young daughter. But the people of Changwu County said that there had been no whereabouts of Lu Min in all these years.
Lu Min indeed had disappeared.
Pei Yunmeng didn’t speak, just looked at the sealed letter, his brows knitted slightly.