Chapter 94: Chapter 62 Uncle Liu Kun_3

Was he that confident in Liu Zide’s article?

Hardly.

Previously, the Liu Family only knew how to make money and eat their meals, but now, it seems as if auspicious smoke is rising from their ancestral tomb. The two brothers have both passed the examinations with honors. Are they truly that remarkable? You must know that there are countless talented scholars in this world, like Scholar Wu, who has studied diligently for over a decade, yet also failed to achieve recognition like Sun Shan.

Moreover, the year before last at the autumn provincial exams, the time Liu Zixian passed...

It was shortly after Lu Qian was arrested.

Outside, Wang Chunchi was still basking in the compliments of "The eldest son becomes an official, so does the younger," while Lu Tong was lost in thought until the sound of Yin Zheng putting down her chopsticks interrupted her reverie.

Only when she saw Yin Zheng put down her bowl did Lu Tong say, "If you’re done eating, you can go."

Yin Zheng nodded, wiped the corner of her mouth, and looked with confusion at the noodle bowl in front of Lu Tong, "Are you not going to eat some more? The noodles have gone cold."

The cold noodles had clumped together, losing even their most fragrant aroma.

"No need."

Lu Tong glanced down at the noodle bowl and stood up.

"These noodles... they no longer taste the way they used to."

...

Inside Shangjin Gate, as evening fell, the smell of porridge and rice drifted from the Palace Marshal’s Mansion.

Duan Xiaoyan squatted on the ground, pushing noodles from the bowl to feed a black dog in the courtyard.

The black dog had an agile build and evenly proportioned muscles; its silken, jet-black coat glistened in the fading sun, giving off a lustrous, scaly shine. It was a beautiful hound, though it ate without much grace.

Pei Yunmeng, entering from outside, was greeted by this scene, and remained silent for a moment before speaking, "Feeding it again?"

Duan Xiaoyan lifted his head and called out "Brother," then excitedly said, "Brother, look, hasn’t Zhizi lost a lot of weight recently? Doctor Lu’s medicinal soup is really powerful."

Pei Yunmeng glanced at the black hound, "It’s not overweight."

"You’re just doting on her," Duan Xiaoyan said while petting the dog’s head, "Zhizi is a Dog Handler of the Palace Front Office, representing our office’s dignity. Moreover, as a girl, it’s certainly prettier for her to be a bit more slender."

"Since when does a dog represent the dignity of the Palace Front Office?" Pei Yunmeng joked with a laugh and walked into the courtyard.

Seeing him enter, Duan Xiaoyan remembered something and got up to call after him, "Oh right, the Deputy returned just now and seemed to be looking for you."

Pei Yunmeng made his way inside the office, first stopping at the military roster room to properly place the roster book he was holding. Upon exiting the room, he was immediately confronted by Xiao Zhufeng at the doorway.

"Back so early," Pei Yunmeng walked towards his room with Xiao Zhufeng following behind him.

"Today I took people to the Department of Military Affairs," Xiao Zhufeng reported.

Pei Yunmeng asked, "How did it go?"

"Lei Yuan is dead."

Pei Yunmeng entered the room, "Expected. With the incident involving Lu Dashan, many implicated individuals have fallen into my hands, and naturally, they’re busy silencing them."

Xiao Zhufeng closed the door behind himself and mentioned, "Lu Dashan’s case is related to the Crown Prince, and now the Department of Military Affairs and the Department of Criminal & Justice are involved... The Crown Prince, I’m afraid, already has the support of the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion."

"Don’t worry," Pei Yunmeng said with a smile, reaching out to unbuckle his long sword from his waist, "There are plenty of hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the Imperial City. It’s not over yet, the outcome is still uncertain. What are you anxious about?"

Xiao Zhufeng fell silent for a moment before continuing, "There’s another matter."

"What is it?"

"Today at the Trial Court, I saw Doctor Lu coming out of Fan Zhenglian’s residence."

Pei Yunmeng paused in the act of removing his sword.

Xiao Zhufeng, with a deadpan expression, reminded him, "It’s the female doctor we encountered at Wan’en Temple, the one who resolved the encirclement for you, yet did not seem to want to bother with you."

Pei Yunmeng laughed, "Which of your eyes saw that she did not wish to bother with me?"

"Both my eyes and Duan Xiaoyan’s," Xiao Zhufeng replied. "Aren’t you curious about her purpose for visiting Fan Mansion?"

"To be honest, I am a bit curious," Pei Yunmeng said as he set the sword on the table and sat down on a chair, "Doctor Lu appears to dislike the powerful and wealthy, to the extreme. Even when officials come to buy medicine, she makes it challenging for them. Visiting Fan Mansion in person is quite unexpected."

"To say she has no ulterior motives, I don’t believe it."

Xiao Zhufeng asked, "Should we have someone keep an eye on her?"

Pei Yunmeng laughed, "No need. We’re short on staff in the office with all the recent work, so let’s not waste manpower unnecessarily."

Xiao Zhufeng gave an "Oh."

Yet Pei Yunmeng changed his mind, "Actually, tell Duan Xiaoyan to have someone watch Fan Mansion and pay attention to Lu Tong’s movements in and out of the mansion."

Xiao Zhufeng gave him a meaningful look.

Pei Yunmeng grabbed a paperweight from the table and tossed it at him while laughing, "Don’t misunderstand, I’m just thinking, since Fan Zhenglian and the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion are secretly in contact, perhaps a lot of information can be extracted from his residence."

"As for Doctor Lu..."

He tapped his finger on the table thoughtfully and added, "Fan Zhenglian is a government official, not a commoner merchant. If something happens, it will certainly attract investigation by the Imperial Court. Besides, Fan Mansion also has guards."

"...Even if she is audacious, she wouldn’t dare to commit murder in an official’s residence, right?"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read