Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Where did you get so much money?

Chun Zhi did not look back as she said: “Yes. Can you leave now?”

Lu Jing Yun felt as if a knife stabbed his heart, then he gave a bitter smile and called softly: “Chun Zhi.”

His voice sounded rough as he asked: “Can you please not talk to me like this?”

Chun Zhi answered coldly: “No.”

At her answer, Lu Jing Yun thought: [As expected.]

Chun Zhi finished speaking and walked inside, reaching to shut the courtyard gate, but Lu Jing Yun moved faster and stepped in first.

Chun Zhi said in an icy voice: “Lu Jing Yun, don’t think that just because you are an official you can do whatever you want. Take one more step and I will go to the yamen to report you for breaking into a private home.”

Lu Jing Yun stopped and did not move forward as he said: “I only want to ask about the night before last. Did Zhou Rong come to you? Did he do anything to you?”

He found the words hard to say.

Since coming back to Nanzhou to assist with the case, he knew well that Zhou Rong was a shameless lecher. Almost no woman he set his eyes on could escape.

If Chun Zhi had really been…

Chun Zhi cut him off as she said: “Isn’t it a little late to ask about that now?”

She did not want to speak of that night at all. Every time she thought of Zhou Rong touching her face and ripping her clothes, she felt sick. After Huo Qi brought her home, he never brought it up again. Yet Lu Jing Yun still came to ask about it.

She said in a cold tone: “Also, what happened that night has nothing to do with you. Why should I tell you?”

Lu Jing Yun looked at Chun Zhi with a hard-to-name expression as he said: “Zhou Rong is dead.”

He could not tell Chun Zhi that Zhou Rong came after her because Ji Ru Zhen pushed him from behind. He also had no face to admit that the many troubles she faced these days were because of him. So he chose to share the one thing that might make her happy: Zhou Rong’s death.

Chun Zhi froze, then after a moment said: “That is great.”

Lu Jing Yun thought: [I knew Chun Zhi wanted to hear this.]

He went on as he said: “Zhou He and his son Zhou Rong harmed Nanzhou for years. Prince Chang’an tried the case himself, sentenced both to death, and confiscated their estate to comfort the people.”

Chun Zhi’s heart leaped: [Great. Then Huo Qi should be back soon.]

Her eyes held a smile, but her face stayed stern as she said to Lu Jing Yun: “Are you done? You can go.”

She would treat his visit as a message delivery and not argue with him.

Lu Jing Yun looked at Chun Zhi and asked: “Can’t you let me come in and sit for a while? I have so much I want to say to you.”

Chun Zhi said: “No. And I have nothing to say to you.”

Lu Jing Yun started to speak again, but a blue-cloth carriage rolled in from the mouth of the alley and stopped at the tofu workshop gate.

A long, pale hand lifted the curtain. Huo Qi stepped down and saw Chun Zhi and Lu Jing Yun speaking at the courtyard door. He said nothing, only raised his brows a little.

Chun Zhi saw Huo Qi and her eyes lit up as she slipped past Lu Jing Yun and hurried forward to greet him: “You’re back!”

Huo Zheng let Chun Zhi throw herself into his arms. The corners of his lips lifted on their own as he held her close and said: “Seeing me back makes you this happy?”

The Shadow Guard who was pretending to be an ordinary coachman and had just brought the prince back to Peach Blossom Lane quickly looked away. He was afraid the prince would silence him when he returned to the Capital, so he quietly turned the carriage around and left first.

Chun Zhi wrapped her arms around Huo Qi’s neck and said with a bright smile: “Of course. I heard Zhou Rong is dead.”

Huo Zheng asked: “Who told you?”

Chun Zhi glanced at Lu Jing Yun.

Huo Zheng understood at once that someone had delivered the good news before him.

Huo Zheng spoke in a flat voice, though his eyes toward Lu Jing Yun were not friendly, as he said: “Why is the top scholar here?”

Watching Chun Zhi treat him like a stranger while she was so close to Huo Qi, Lu Jing Yun felt even more bitter as he said: “I came to check on Chun Zhi.”

Huo Zheng asked: “Finished checking?”

Lu Jing Yun rasped: “Finished. I have nothing else. I’ll take my leave.”

Huo Zheng gave a quiet “Mm” and led Chun Zhi inside.

They had only taken two steps when Chun Zhi hissed and drew a sharp breath.

Huo Zheng steadied her waist as he asked: “What is it?”

Chun Zhi said in a low voice: “Someone stepped on my foot when I went to watch the commotion today. It might be hurt. It kind of hurts.”

Huo Zheng said: “You should have told me earlier,” then he lifted her into his arms and strode inside.

Lu Jing Yun, who had started to leave, looked back and saw only Huo Qi’s back as he carried Chun Zhi toward the house. In that moment he suddenly understood very clearly that Chun Zhi had truly left him, and she would never look back at him again.

He closed his eyes and stood there for a long time before he walked away from Peach Blossom Lane with heavy steps.

Inside the small courtyard, Huo Zheng carried Chun Zhi into the room, set her on the bed, and gently took off her shoes and socks as he said: “I told you to stay home. Why did you run out? You went to see the excitement and got your foot stepped on.”

Huo Zheng did not know whether to scold or sigh.

Chun Zhi’s big toe was swollen blue and purple with pooled blood. How heavy must that step have been to crush someone like this? Her skin was fair, and the swelling showed even more on her pale, delicate feet.

Chun Zhi muttered under her breath: “No wonder it hurts so much.”

Huo Zheng took scissors, trimmed her toenail, put on some medicine, and wrapped it with white cloth.

He said to Chun Zhi: “Don’t walk around these two days.”

Chun Zhi answered: “That won’t do. I still have tofu to make.”

Huo Zheng said: “Skipping tofu for two days won’t starve you.”

Chun Zhi glared at him, cheeks puffed, as she said: “You don’t run a household, so you don’t know how expensive rice, oil, and salt are. How are we supposed to live without money?”

Yesterday, when Huo Qi went to Nanzhou City, Chun Zhi gave him one hundred and fifty taels. It was a big sum. How much tofu would she have to sell to earn it back?

Speaking of money, Huo Zheng took a pack of banknotes from his sleeve and handed them to Chun Zhi as he said: “Keep these safe.”

Chun Zhi asked: “Where did you get so much money?”

She took the stack and counted it three times. One hundred and fifty taels were the ones she had given Huo Qi earlier. Because she had hidden them in the soybean jar, the notes still smelled like soybeans. There was another five hundred taels on top.

Even money making money could not grow that fast. Chun Zhi stared at Huo Qi in surprise and asked again: “Talk to me. Where did this much money come from?”

Huo Zheng looked a little helpless. A mere five hundred taels was nothing to him, but to Chun Zhi it was huge.

He said casually: “Prince Chang’an gave it.”

Chun Zhi asked in confusion: “Why would Prince Chang’an give you so much silver?”