met free Chapter 257 Parting Ways
Chapter 257 Parting Ways
The man planned in his mind to cling to Lin Shu, and his body acted accordingly.
He swayed as he stood up, bowed to the crowd, and introduced himself in a rather awkward manner: "Greetings, esteemed guests. My name is Huai Mu!"
As he got up, Huai Mu seized the opportunity, pretending to be exhausted and falling towards Lin Shu, while shouting along with the action:
"Hey! Sister, move aside! This is improper between a woman and a man..."
Before she could finish speaking, Lin Shu had already jumped away quickly, even pulling Xu Jingyun a little further away as well!
Immediately afterwards, a dull thud of flesh hitting the ground rang out, kicking up a cloud of dust on the dirt road.
"Ouch...!" Huai Mu's wrists and cheeks were scratched by the pebbles on the ground, making his injuries even worse. He grimaced in pain and cursed inwardly: What's wrong with this woman? She actually moved aside when I told her to?
Huai Mu rubbed his bruised area and slowly got up. The wound on his front seemed to be bleeding again, but he deliberately exposed the injury, looking at Lin Shu with a mournful gaze, and said in a sweet voice:
"How could you be so heartless, sister!"
Ji Wan and the others standing nearby were utterly dumbfounded; Ling Huanan looked at Lin Shu with a mocking expression; Xu Jingyun's hand returned to Lin Shu's waist, slowly applying pressure...
Lin Shu subtly reached out and grasped the hand on her lower back, frowning and pursing her lips, her voice cold and distant as she exposed her lie: "You faked the fall! I'm not your sister."
Huai Mu's face showed a hint of embarrassment, but he seemed to have seen this kind of scene before and quickly recovered, chuckling awkwardly as he tried to smooth things over:
"Ha! I... I must have lost too much blood, I lost my balance for a moment! May I ask your name, ma'am?"
Lin Shu found it inexplicably grating to hear this person calling her "sister" repeatedly. Why did it feel so natural for her to call her that when A-Zhu did? She also wondered how A-Zhu's injuries were! When she woke up, the entire Imperial Preceptor's mansion was deserted, so she had no idea where the remaining members of the Witch Clan had gone!
Seeing that Lin Shu's expression was somewhat solemn, Huai Mu added what he thought was a thoughtful gesture: "Today, we are all grateful to this elder sister and everyone else. In the future, I wonder if Huai Mu could serve by the elder sister's side..."
Ji Wan and the others standing nearby were almost laughing in anger: ...She, Lin Shu, is 'this older sister,' and we are 'everyone'!
“No! And…” Lin Shu refused, then paused, looked Huai Mu over, and continued speaking impatiently, her words piercing to the heart:
"Judging from your appearance, you must be twenty-five! I'm only eighteen!" So don't randomly claim to be your older sister!
"Pfft..." Xu Jingyun finally couldn't help but laugh out loud when she heard this.
The others, even Ling Huanan who always had a gloomy face, and the guards who were nearby, couldn't help but chuckle.
"You..." Huai Mu was somewhat embarrassed, but ultimately dared not confront Lin Shu directly, so he turned his attention to Xu Jingyun, the only man beside her: "What are you laughing at!"
In Huai Mu's mind, men are born to depend on women. This man in front of him is just a little luckier than him, having met Lin Shu first. What right does he have to laugh at him?
Xu Jingyun raised an eyebrow, tilting her chin slightly with a look of disdain, her expression clearly saying: Of course I'm laughing at you!
Huai Mu was about to say something more when Ji Wan, fearing that he might anger Xu Jingyun and have the Prince of Nanli beaten up, quickly stepped in to smooth things over and inquire about the man's condition.
“Young Master Huai Mu, let’s talk about you first! Where are you from? How did you end up here? And do you recognize those two corpses in the woods?”
Upon hearing the voice, Huai Mu turned to look at Ji Wan. Although his voice was rough, he was quite handsome. He was not as good-looking as Lin Shu, but he was still considered top-notch!
So, he started plotting again. His eyes darted around, and he feigned deep grief, beginning to weave a story in a soft, weak voice:
“I am from An County, and the woman in the woods is my sister and her child.”
I am the fiancé of the magistrate of An County. We planned to get married in half a month, but who knew that the magistrate's husband could not tolerate me and sent people to set fire to my house to kill me last night.
I finally escaped the city, but my sister tragically died protecting me, and she also lost her only child... Waaah..."
As he spoke, Huai Mu was already sobbing uncontrollably. He had deliberately portrayed himself as miserable and helpless in order to get along with these people.
Sure enough, even that idiot Ji Wan clenched his fists, filled with righteous indignation and wanting to stand up for him!
Xu Jingyun's voice, which sounded like a half-smile, suddenly rang out, attracting everyone's attention:
"Is that so? But if the magistrate of An County, Zhengfu, initially agreed to let you marry into the family, why did he send someone to kill you before the wedding?"
There's one more thing that Hui Ching-wan didn't mention: would an older sister really sacrifice her own daughter for her younger brother?
"This...it might be because he can't have children! I heard that he's been married into the Gu family for many years but hasn't had any children yet, and his wife's family has long been dissatisfied with him. As for my marriage, it was arranged by the Gu family, and he's resentful, so naturally he wants to get rid of me..."
Upon hearing this accusation, Huai Mu momentarily forgot about arguing with Xu Jingyun and hurriedly tried to prove himself. Finally, he pointed three fingers to the sky and swore:
"I swear, everything I've said is true. If I'm lying, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"
Huai Mu swore he wasn't afraid at all, since what he said was a mix of truth and falsehood, it all depended on how he put it!
Xu Jingyun gave a mocking smile and turned to look at Lin Shu.
Lin Shu pursed her lips and thought for a moment, then said to Ling Huanan:
"We'll split up. You take your maternal grandfather to Mengzhou Prefecture to meet with your father, and I'll go to An County."
“Alright.” Ling Huanan nodded. Now that they had encountered this matter, and not only were there survivors, but it also involved officials of the imperial court, so it was not appropriate to ignore it.
Just as Ling Huanan was about to turn around, he seemed to remember something, so he took out his personal seal from the pouch at his waist and handed it over: "Take this."
Lin Shu knew what she meant; she was using the title of Prince Dingbei to intimidate local officials!
Lin Shu took it, looked at it, and handed it back. Under Ling Huanan's questioning gaze, she took out a long rectangular seal from her bosom (actually from her spatial storage), on which were engraved the bright words "Imperial Envoy".
Ling Huanan raised an eyebrow, realizing that Feng Han had appointed this rebellious daughter as an imperial envoy!
After discussing the matter, everyone parted ways. Ling Huanan, along with his personal guards and the Nanli delegation, went to Mengzhou Prefecture first; while Lin Shu, Xu Jingyun, and Ji Wan went to An County with Huai Mu.
Ji Wan mounted his horse, looking energetic, and said, "Let's go! To An County!"
Huai Mu, seeing that only a few of them remained, finally realized what was happening and felt a pang of panic. His voice became somewhat impatient: "Where to? An County?"
"Yes, Young Master Huaimu, we're taking you to seek justice for your family! Don't you want to go?"
Xu Jingyun said with a suspicious look. He could naturally see the other party's panic, so he deliberately provoked her, since he had just tried to cling to Lin Shu!
Huai Mu hesitated for a moment, then could only say dryly:
"I...I did think about it. But the dead can't be brought back to life, so let's forget about it! Besides, the other party is the county magistrate's husband, who has absolute power in An County, we..."
"Don't worry! Since we dare to intervene, we will definitely get justice for you!" Ji Wan, being the simpleton he was, couldn't see the other party's displeasure at all, and even comforted him considerately.
Huai Mu was furious. Of course he knew these people were not simple, but even so, he didn't want them to go to An County! He was only playing the victim so he could leave with them!
Seeing this, Xu Jingyun couldn't help but laugh.
"Let's go." Lin Shu's calm voice rang out, and everyone responded and set off.
Throughout the journey, Huai Mu sat on Ji Wan's horse, his heart filled with anxiety and unease.
What to do! What to do! If I get involved in those things, I'm doomed! I shouldn't have provoked these people!
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