“You’re threatening me!”
Bai Dalao clenched the documents, knuckles white. They contained incriminating evidence: his influence over official appointments, secretly issuing tea passes to Wu merchants, shielding them under the law, tax fraud, and more.
He was terrified. How could the Lu family in Chao Xi estate know of his secrets?
Seeing Bai Dalao both angry and ashamed, Lu Ling calmly said, “Threat? Sir Bai, you misunderstand. I merely wish to show my sincerity. Without sincerity, how else could I know so much about your affairs?”
The Bai family, soft yet unyielding, could only be confronted directly. Exposing these flaws shamed anyone—but was necessary.
Lu’s father, exhausted from flattering Bai Dalao the previous day, simply sipped tea, letting Lu Ling take the lead.
Bai Dalao, terrified, realized the father and son had likely investigated him beforehand, exposing his weaknesses while maintaining a righteous facade.
“You are so treacherous. I would never let Shu Rui fall into your hands!”
“It is late, Sir Bai. Why maintain such a posture? Do you think I am unaware of how the Bai family treats you?” Lu Ling’s eyes grew colder. “The Lu family has already been courteous. If you intend to exploit him, these documents would not be here.”
“Don’t use fabricated evidence to intimidate me!”
Bai Dalao, desperate, invoked his superior: “Deputy Wang is wise and just. He will clear my name!”
Lu’s father set down his teacup, smiling. “Sir Bai, you say Deputy Wang is wise. We are both acquainted with him. He would not make things difficult for you.”
Bai Dalao opened his mouth but could not speak.
“I advise you to return and persuade your mother. She has your and the Bai family’s best interests at heart. She would not risk Shu Rui’s future over pride.”
Lu Ling, unwilling to argue further, issued a final warning:
“You still have some dignity in the county. The Lu family has shown courtesy. Lose that dignity, and handling matters becomes easier for us. I want Shu Rui’s household registration and marriage documents. You have two days. If I do not receive a satisfactory response, these papers will reach their proper destination.”
Bai Dalao was horrified. The Lu family was determined to secure Shu Rui.
Leaving the Lu residence, he was in a daze. A coachman had to steady him as he climbed in. His mind raced. Instead of returning straight to the Bai household, he waved the driver to head to Deputy Wang’s residence.
“Sir Wang, I owe my career to you. The Lu family has come to the county acting so imperiously. Please, protect this humble officer!”
Bai Dalao arrived, covering his face, pouring out his complaint.
Deputy Wang, far from naive, asked why Bai Dalao had clashed with the Lu family.
Bai Dalao explained that at the banquet the previous day, he had offended them unintentionally. Deputy Wang frowned. “If you do not speak the truth, why come here?”
Bai Dalao continued: “My cousin visited Chao Xi estate to see old friends last year. Unexpectedly, the Lu family took a liking and now demands marriage. My mother and I favor another family; we cannot accept the Lu family.”
He added, aggrieved: “I politely asked the matchmaker to refuse. Yet the Lu family won’t relent. They bully us. Especially Lu Ling, a man of martial background—he intimidated me!”
Deputy Wang listened, skeptical. Could the Lu family really act so harshly over a marriage proposal? Normally, seeking a marriage is not an act of enmity. Who would create such a scene over a match? Perhaps Bai Dalao was exaggerating, or the Lu family held grudges from his previous position.
He questioned Bai Dalao further. Seeing the young man swear the truth, Deputy Wang believed him.
“Sir Wang, you must help this humble officer. If I overcome this, I shall serve you faithfully. My cousin is also under your protection—how can the Lu family usurp him?”
Bai Dalao pleaded while wringing his hands.
After consideration, Deputy Wang decided to visit the Lu family to mediate. Not purely out of goodwill—Bai Dalao had been dutiful in the past, and if trouble arose, it could reflect badly on him.
Deputy Wang visited the Lu residence. In fact, he had more senior connections with Lu’s father than Bai Dalao did.
Back when Master Lu had passed the county-level examination, there were literary gatherings in the city. He had met people at one or two of these events. Later, after passing the provincial examination, he appeared at even more occasions. Deputy Wang was not the most scrupulous official either; when there was no risk to himself, he was well-practiced at currying favor. Back then, when Master Lu sought a position, he had gone through Wang’s channels.
Because of this old acquaintance, Deputy Wang could still act as a mediator regarding the Bai family’s affairs.
“Old Wang, out of friendship, I’ll be candid with you. You know my eldest son has been away from home since childhood. My wife and I have always felt guilty. Now the boy has grown, and he has set his mind on marrying Bai Dalao. If he cannot marry him, he cannot settle down. As his father, I must see this through to make amends.”
Master Lu had anticipated that Deputy Wang would come, and he responded calmly: “It truly has nothing to do with past official matters. Now that we are both in office, why would I dwell on such things?”
After gathering the facts at Lu’s residence, Deputy Wang kept quiet about Bai Dalao, offering no comment. Turning back to speak with Bai Dalao, he instructed him never to bring up the matter of his cousin again, pretending that he had never heard the previous remarks.
Bai Dalao, seeing that Deputy Wang returned with only these instructions, felt as though he had fallen into an icy chasm. All thoughts of having Wang intervene on his behalf were dashed. The only option left was to return home and persuade Jiang Shi.
“They still want the household registration, the marriage certificate—marriage in full form! Pah, fools dreaming!”
Jiang Shi’s eyes burned red with rage. “It’s divine justice that hasn’t struck him dead yet!”
Bai Dalao listened silently behind his hands as his mother vented, the words bitter and unkind.
Sensing that Bai Dalao’s expression had changed, Jiang Shi pressed: “Could it be that you agreed?!”
Bai Dalao remained silent.
“You agreed to what? Speak properly! Only a few days have passed, and you’ve turned your head and forgotten your word?”
She cried out, then wept: “If it weren’t for your future prospects, how could your second brother have married into the Wu family? I still didn’t dare mention the Lu family’s proposal, fearing it would upset him more. But you, stepping in for your brother, you mean to drive me and your brother to death!”
For several days, Bai Dalao had hardly slept over this matter. Seeing his mother continue to pressure him, he felt deeply troubled.
“Now, if it goes against Mother’s wishes and angers you, then I might as well die. The whole Bai family would die with me!”
Hearing this cold exclamation, Jiang Shi abruptly stopped crying. She grabbed his sleeve. “Dalao, what do you mean by that?”
“Out of respect for your wishes, I refused the Lu family. Yet they won’t relent. I went to Deputy Wang in person. He instructed me not to mention Shu Rui’s matters again!”
Jiang Shi’s heart skipped a beat. “Deputy Wang’s meaning… does it imply they will not take that little rascal?”
“He is farsighted and magnanimous; he won’t offend the Lu family over a mere boy.”
Bai Dalao said, “The Lu family is resolute. If we do not follow their wishes, they will expose my misdeeds in office!”
“What?”
Jiang Shi nearly went mad.
Bai Dalao exhaled heavily. “Now I have no recourse. Mother, if you insist on satisfying your pride, disregarding all we have finally gained, and drag the entire Bai family down, I shall obey you in all things. Whatever you demand, I shall follow.”
He lowered his head and remained silent.
Jiang Shi collapsed into her chair, cold running through her entire body. She had thought her family could exploit Shu Rui’s weaknesses, but unexpectedly, the Lu family had already discovered Bai family’s vulnerabilities.
She could not understand why a respectable family like the Lu’s would go so far for that boy. After thinking, she wept again. “Why such a bitter life? Back then, your father insisted on bringing that little rascal home. I tried to stop him, but failed, knowing it would inevitably lead to disaster.”
Her heart churned in a sea of bitterness. She had been confident, but now, knowing the Lu family held Dalao’s weakness, she could only cry.
The Bai family had barely gained a foothold in officialdom. If they tore ties with the Lu family, relying on Bai family’s strength might still win a fight. But now, with their weaknesses exposed, what chance remained?
If the Lu family delivered evidence to the county office or to Bai family’s enemies, Dalao’s post would be at risk—consequences too terrible to imagine. If it came to that, even the suffering of the second brother would be in vain.
Jiang Shi seemed to lose all strength.
On the day Master Lu and Lu Ling came to the Bai household to discuss the marriage, the sun shone brightly, but the Bai family wore grim expressions. Tea was served by Madam Li. Seeing Lu Ling, she fainted from shock. Jiang Shi, thinking it might be heatstroke, had servants help her up, thinking that at this time of year, she herself had not yet lost her strength, but the old woman collapsed first.
The Lu family delivered the betrothal gifts, and the Bai family handed over the household registration and marriage documents. Bai Dalao displayed remarkable composure, as if unaffected by the previous unpleasant encounter with the Lu family, truly appearing pleased with the good match. Jiang Shi, meanwhile, wore an expression of restrained anger.
She observed Lu Dalao, who would marry Shu Rui. Handsome and competent, from a respected family. Yet Lu Dalao himself appeared stern and cold, not someone easy to get along with. Among her anger, she found some solace in the fact that Shu Rui was not interested in Lu’s second son—otherwise, she might have truly died of rage.
Afterwards, Jiang Shi asked, “Where is he now?”
Lu Ling took the household registration and marriage certificate. “Aunt, do not worry. I will see to him myself.”
Hearing this title, Jiang Shi instinctively glanced at Lu Ling sideways, only to meet his face, then sulkily withdrew her eyes.
“If one is to marry, one ought to return from home for the ceremony.”
Lu Ling’s brow twitched slightly. “Aunt, you needn’t worry about those thoughts; no trouble for the eldest cousin.”
Seeing the situation, Bai Dalao added, “What Lu Dalao says is right. Mother, you need not concern yourself with Shu Rui’s affairs.”
Jiang Shi gritted her teeth, yet could not argue. She allowed the Lu family to conclude matters and leave.
Once the Lu family departed, her body ached from anger. After resting with Madam Li, she went to speak about the fierce shopkeeper she had seen at Chao Xi estate—that Lu Dalao himself. The shock caused her to faint again, falling ill for many days.
Bai Dalao’s second brother, learning of her illness, came to visit. Initially, the household had hidden Shu Rui’s marriage from him. But eventually, through a careless servant, he learned of it and caused an uproar at home.
Once the matter was settled, the Lu family father and sons quickly traveled to Chao Xi estate. On the way, Master Lu shook his head about the Bai household: “A bad bamboo produces a good shoot. It is remarkable that Shu Rui grew up in such a family with such a good character.”
Lu Ling, driving ahead, said: “His surname is Ji. His biological parents lived in Chao Xi estate, and his years at Bai family were full of hardship.”
Master Lu nodded. “In my leisure, I reviewed the records. According to them, Master Ji was indeed a good official, considerate of the people, and kept accounts clear during his tenure.”
Lu Yu, although not heavily involved in his elder brother’s affairs this time, still handled family connections efficiently, tidying networks on this side.
He commented to his father and brother: “Bai Dalao has held office barely a year and has already committed so many misdeeds. Bai family is unlikely to last. It is fortunate we resolved matters for the eldest sister-in-law early.”
Lu Ling also realized the Bai family’s shamelessness. He had wanted to act, but observing their tendencies, self-destruction seemed inevitable. He preferred not to soil his hands; after all, Shu Rui had grown up here, and he wished to respect that bond.
Looking ahead, he found they had already reached the boundary of Jizhou, recalling all the events shared with Shu Rui.
He remembered Shu Rui’s exasperation, insisting they were not husband and wife, and how no explanation seemed sufficient. Shu Rui had even chased him down, worried about his injuries, ensuring soup was prepared at the station.
All memories surfaced vividly. Though initially a false marriage, true mischief, it had now endured into something real.