pjbooks Chapter 25 Taking a Bath
Chapter 25 Taking a Bath
“My lord, I have now offended Liu Xinian. Although he has been dismissed from his post, his influence in Jinhua County has become deeply entrenched over the years. Now that you have left, I fear I will not survive, and may even die without anyone knowing…”
Tian Fugui spoke softly, his voice choking slightly towards the end.
Liu Shan noticed that He Qiong remained silent, guessing that he didn't want to stay, since signing the autopsy report and committing perjury would be a permanent stain on Tian Fugui's record.
It's impossible to completely trust someone like that.
However, as the saying goes: no one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, but to err is human, to forgive divine.
It wasn't unreasonable to keep Tian Fugui as a backup, and Liu Shan still felt a pang of pity.
……
The following day, under He Qiong's supervision, Liu Shan personally returned all the confiscated property of Ge Yuniang and Chen An to the two women.
He gave Chen An twenty taels of silver.
Liu Shan felt he was somewhat poor...
He gave Ge Yuniang two hundred taels of silver.
Liu Shan looked at her thoughtfully...
Wang Pinlian was just a blacksmith's assistant during his lifetime, and it was impossible for him to earn two hundred taels of silver.
But then he thought of Ge Yuniang's status before marriage. She must have been quite wealthy to be able to redeem herself back then. These two hundred taels were probably her dowry for herself.
Ge Yuniang noticed that Liu Shan kept staring at the silver in her hand, and couldn't help but overthink it. She forced a smile and said, "My lord, I am willing to give ten taels of silver to bury Yang Lian'er. I will definitely make sure it is a grand and dignified funeral for her."
Liu Shan's thoughts were diverted. He turned to look at Chen An, who was originally a rather robust man, but now looked extremely haggard. Not only were his eyes bloodshot, but even his hair had turned gray.
He nodded. Chen An only had twenty taels of silver. If he could get Ge Yuniang's help, his life would undoubtedly be much better, or even... wait.
Damn it?
Ge Yuniang lost her husband, Chen An lost his wife; the two lonely men and women, both suffering the same fate...
Liu Shan's modern mindset started acting strangely; if the two of them did this first... and then that...
He shook his head vigorously, trying to shake all the strange thoughts out of his mind.
Unexpectedly, Tian Fugui leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Sir, if we were to match Ge Yuniang with Chen An..."
Ok?
Great minds think alike?!
Liu Shan's modern mindset started acting up again. After successfully bringing them together, he planned to have Tian Fugui become his son, making a complete family of three...
"Snapped!"
Liu Shan lightly slapped himself in the face. What kind of weird and nonsensical thoughts were those!
Seeing that it was almost time, Liu Shan bid farewell to Ge Yuniang and Chen An, and followed He Qiong on their journey back to Cangzhou, escorted by his personal guards.
On the way home, Liu Shan felt both eager and excited, thinking that he would be home soon.
Not only was he happy, but even He Qiong, who was standing next to him, started humming a tune, though it wasn't very catchy. But she was in a good mood, and anything she heard made her happy.
After entering the city gate, He Qiong wanted to go to the government office to report the case as soon as possible. He looked at Liu Shan and invited him kindly, "You have made a great contribution this time. Come with me to the government office to meet Prefect Yin."
Liu Shan knew He Qiong meant well, but he was already eager to return home.
Moreover, he was just a clerk, and whether he would continue in this position was another matter, so there was no need for him to take himself too seriously.
Moreover, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Although Li Wanqing was only his wife in name, he still missed her after not seeing her for a few days.
Therefore, Liu Shan simply said "I'm leaving" and rode away.
The closer Liu Shan got to the gate of the Li residence, the more excited he became. Yesterday, he sent a messenger on horseback to Li Wanqing, saying that he would be returning today.
Logically speaking, his handling of this case has brought some honor to the Li family. Even if Li Wanqing has some prejudice against him, she should still greet him at the gate.
However, when he actually arrived at the gate of the Li residence—
The tightly closed door seemed to be silently mocking him, and even the two stone lions standing at the entrance were looking at him sideways.
Liu Shan's good mood vanished instantly, leaving him only with a sense of loss.
It was only then that the guards in front of the Li residence recognized Liu Shan. One of them hurriedly took the horse, while the other ran to call Aunt Zhou.
Aunt Zhou is an old servant in the household. She was Wang's personal maid when she married into the Li family and is now the head of the inner courtyard.
Aunt Zhou, being of advanced age, was already out of breath from running all the way from the inner courtyard. When she arrived, she took a long breath before she could finish speaking.
"Uncle...uncle, why are you back so soon?"
"If I don't come back now, then when should I come back?" Liu Shan's tone was clearly displeased.
"It's all my fault for speaking too quickly and saying the wrong thing. After receiving your letter, Miss calculated the time and estimated that you wouldn't be back until the afternoon, so she took Miss Jiang and Miss Xiao with Master and Madam to attend the Hundred Flowers Banquet at the Kang Prince's Mansion."
Aunt Zhou explained while calming her breathing.
Hearing this, Liu Shan felt even more distressed. According to the normal schedule, he would not be able to return until the afternoon, but in order to get back as soon as possible, he had been rushing all the way and had not even had time to rest.
At the same time, he thought to himself: This King Kang is quite the lively one. At the beginning of the month, there is the Spring Ploughing Ceremony, and at the end of the month, there is the Hundred Flowers Banquet. He really doesn't have a moment to spare!
"Young master, you've worked hard. I'll arrange for someone to bathe and change you right away." Aunt Zhou hurriedly gestured, signaling the servants to get to work immediately.
Only then did Liu Shan's expression finally soften. He nodded and led Tian Fugui toward his courtyard.
Seeing that her son-in-law had returned home, Aunt Zhou hurriedly sent someone to wait outside the Kang Prince's Mansion so that she could promptly inform the master and young lady of the news.
You should know that just yesterday afternoon, the master and young lady were arguing about whether or not to go out of town to welcome their son-in-law—
Li Polu wanted Li Wanqing to greet him at the city gate in advance, but Li Wanqing refused. She felt that an unambitious son-in-law was not worthy of her being so attentive, and even thought that her father was making a mountain out of a molehill.
However, Aunt Zhou would never tell her son-in-law about this, because harmony in the family is essential for prosperity.
When Li Wanqing rushed back and entered Liu Shan's room, she happened to find Liu Shan taking a bath in the tub.
Although she covered her eyes and retreated in time, she still saw everything she was supposed to see.
At this moment, Liu Shan was leaning against the edge of the bathtub, with his arms resting on the rim and a handkerchief covering his face. He was completely unaware that his thin body was creating a great visual impact on Li Wanqing.
"Ah~"
Li Wanqing belatedly exclaimed in surprise.
Liu Shan didn't react much. He leisurely pulled off his handkerchief and lazily asked, "You're back?"
"Yes, I'm back," Li Wanqing replied mechanically.
"Then hurry up and go inside and close the door, it's cold!"
Although spring has arrived, the temperature in Cangzhou is still relatively low.
"Oh," Li Wanqing replied blankly, and hurriedly went inside and closed the door.
But the moment she closed the door, she felt something was very wrong.
Being alone with a man and a woman in a room, especially thinking about Liu Shan's body, made her feel burning hot.