Chapter 348 - Chapter 348: All these Women are so Capable

Chapter 348: All these Women are so Capable

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

After angrily speaking, Grand Commander Xu’s wife quickly poured him a glass of water.

In the past few days, the relationship between the couple had improved. Previously, Grand Commander Xu blamed his wife for not bearing children and didn’t pay much attention to her, but now he realized it was his own issue, he felt guilty for burdening his wife with his own infertility.

Grand Commander Xu felt remorseful and treated his wife better than ever before.

“Don’t get agitated. Let’s check again. If it’s really someone from our household, why haven’t we found any evidence?” Lady Zhang said, trying to calm him down.

Just then, their maid entered and reported, “Master, Lady, Lady Lu is here to visit.”

Upon hearing this, Grand Commander Xu and Lady Zhang exchanged glances and muttered to each other, “Is she here to settle the score or for my illness?” Lady Zhang whispered, “I think she’s here to settle the score.”

As for the treatment of his illness. thev couldn’t h0De for too much. Whether or

not Lady Lu would provide treatment was another matter.

Of course, Lady Zhang didn’t dare to say that, fearing it would hurt her husband’s feelings.

Grand Commander Xu immediately instructed the maid, “Go and invite Lady Lu inside.”

Lady Zhang stood up promptly and said, “I’ll personally go and invite her.”

Lady Zhang, accompanied by her personal maid, went outside to invite Lady Lu into the house, leading her to the backyard’s main hall.

Grand Commander Xu noticed Lady Lu’s nervousness and forced a smile. “Lady Lu, how are you daring enough to come out at this time?”

Lady Lu smiled and replied, “I can’t just stay at home because someone is keeping an eye on me, can I?”

She didn’t beat around the bush and directly asked, “I came here this time to ask Grand Commander Xu and Lady Zhang if you have found the person who leaked the matter we discussed.”

Grand Commander Xu and Lady Zhang immediately put on troubled expressions, “We’ve checked multiple times and questioned all the servants in the house, but we couldn’t find any abnormality.”

Upon hearing Grand Commander Xu and Lady Zhang’s words, Lady Lu asked, “Have you also investigated Grand Commander Xu’s concubines? Have you checked all of them?”

This question left Grand Commander Xu and Lady Zhang stunned. They had forgotten to investigate the concubines in their house. They assumed that the leak must have come from one of the servants who overheard their conversation. As a result, they neglected to investigate the concubines in the Xu home.

Grand Commander Xu, with an incredulous expression, said, “My concubines wouldn’t do such a thing.”

As he spoke, he remembered the concubine who had deceived him and made him wear the cuckold’s hat.

If the person responsible for this leak was one of his concubines, then what kind of people had he accepted into his household?

Grand Commander Xu’s face underwent unpredictable changes. Meanwhile, Lady Lu paid no attention to him and turned to the maid beside Lady Zhang, saying, “Which one of the concubines in your household was closest to Lady Xu Qingyin?”

Since the servants in the Xu household had no issues, it was highly likely that one of the concubines was involved.

Xu Qingyin’s inexplicable pursuit of Xie Yunjin back then might be because someone had encouraged her. Otherwise, how could she be so determined to pursue Xie Yunjin? Lu Jiao had even asked Xie Yun in himself, but he didn’t know Xu Qingyin. Yet suddenly, she appeared and declared him as her target.

If it weren’t for the leakage of the secret this time, Lu Jiao wouldn’t have thought much about it. But with the incident of the secret being leaked, she felt that Xu Qingyin’s initial interest in Xie Yunjin was not pure.

In the main hall, the maid froze when she heard Lu Jiao’s words and quickly turned to look at her master and Lady Zhang.

The masters had previously issued a prohibition order that Xu Qingyin’s name should not be mentioned in the Xu mansion anymore.

Grand Commander Xu paused momentarily and angrily glared at the maid,

“Didn’t you hear Lady Lu’s question?”

The maid hesitated for a moment and quickly said, “Lady Xu and Lady Shen were very close. They got along like sisters.”

“Lady Shen?”

Lu Jiao suddenly became sensitive to this surname. She thought of Shen Xiu from the Xie village.

Although she had instructed the scar-faced man to take Shen Xiu to that place in Qili, she had no idea if he actually delivered her there. So could this Lady Shen be Shen Xiu?

If this was Shen Xiu, then Lu Jiao could understand Xu Qingyin’s previous actions and the leakage of the secret. It was all because of Shen Xiu’s resentment towards her. By now, she probably resented Xie Yunjin as well.

Lu Jiao calmly looked at Grand Commander Xu and asked, “What is the full name of this Lady Shen?”

This time, Grand Commander Xu’s answer was, “Her name is Shen Lian.”

The name didn’t quite match, but Lu Jiao didn’t let it go. She further asked, “When did you take Shen Lian as a concubine?”

After thinking for a moment, Grand Commander Xu said, “It was probably about two months ago, I can’t remember the exact time.”

Lu Jiao’s eyes darkened for a moment. The timing matched up, so it’s very likely that this woman named Shen Lian is Shen Xiu. That’s why Xu Qingyin inexplicably pursued Xie Yunjin, and someone from the Xu family leaked the news of Xie Yunjin becoming the assistant to the magistrate.

Lu Jiao spoke in a low voice, “I want to meet this Shen Lian in person.”

Grand Commander Xu and Lady Zhang exchanged glances and asked in a low voice, “Is there something wrong with this woman?”

Lu Jiao shook her head and said, “It’s too early to say for sure. I’ll know after I meet her.”

Immediately, Grand Commander Xu asked Lady Zhang’s maid to summon Shen Lian and bring her over. If this woman truly leaked the secret, there’d be many ways he could deal with her.

As the maid went out to fetch Shen Lian, Lu Jiao casually asked Grand Commander Xu, “How did you find and then take in Shen Lian as your concubine?”

“Before, I was drinking with a few friends at a restaurant. After getting drunk, I slept with Shen Lian. It wouldn’t be right to not give her a proper status, so I took her as my concubine.”

Lu Jiao squinted her eyes and asked, “Does Shen Lian have any family?”

“Yes, she has a fierce older brother who wanted to sell her. In the end, I gave her brother a hundred taels of silver.”

After Grand Commander Xu finished speaking, Lady Zhang, who was beside him, glared at him with displeasure.

Grand Commander Xu immediately put on a smiling face and even reached out to pinch Lady Zhang’s hand.

In front of Lu Jiao, Lady Zhang naturally couldn’t explode in anger.

Lu Jiao continued to ask Grand Commander Xu, “What does her brother look like?”

“He’s tall and sturdy, with a scar on his face. He looked quite intimidating.”

Once Grand Commander Xu said that, Lu Jiao confirmed that the new concubine Grand Commander Xu took in was indeed Shen Xiu. That’s why Xu Qingyin inexplicably pursued Xie Yunjin. This must be Shen Xiu’s doing, and she was the someone who leaked the news of Xie Yunjin becoming the advisor to the magistrate.

Thinking about Shen Xiu hiding in the dark and repeatedly causing these incidents, Lu Jiao’s face involuntarily turned cold. This time, she couldn’t let Shen Xiu off lightly anymore.

While Lu Jiao was deep in thought, a little maid rushed in from outside the door and reported, “Master, ma’am, there’s a Master Xie waiting to see you outside.”

In the main hall, Grand Commander Xu and Lady Zhang quickly looked at Lu Jiao. Could this Master Xie be Scholar Xie?

What was going on with this couple? Why did they come one after another? And if they had to come, why didn’t they come together?