Chapter 68.1

The main reason why Lu Nong dared to let Zhao Xin in was that Zhang Kaiping was back, and not only him, but also Jiang Yu and Shen Jiming.

When Zhao Xin and the other military wives were knocking on the door, Zhang Kaiping and the other two climbed over the side wall, winked at Lu Nong, and then quietly slipped into the house.

It was clear they had followed Zhao Xin back.

Another reason Lu Nong felt comfortable letting Zhao Xin in was that she didn’t think Zhao Xin was desperate enough to do anything in front of everyone. At this point, it was just a portrait of a suspicious man. Even if Pei Ji’an and others catch the man according to the clues and prove that he is the one who attacked Lu Nong, would he really expose Zhao Xin?

Without concrete evidence, Zhao Xin was temporarily safe.

Everything was uncertain. If Zhao Xin were to do something to Lu Nong in front of everyone now, it would be a direct hit, leaving no room for struggle.

After all, someone who looked down on manual labor yet managed to endure five years as a nanny for the Xu family wouldn’t be so easily provoked.

Moreover, Zhao Xin wasn’t foolish. She would never engage in a losing deal. Lu Nong suspected she wanted to gather information from her and probe for weaknesses.

Zhao Xin was testing Lu Nong, and Lu Nong had her own plan. By letting Zhao Xin in, she aimed to keep her occupied and prevent her from contacting the men outside, thus buying time for Pei Zheng and Pei Ji’an.

Furthermore, continuously shutting Zhao Xin out might raise her suspicions, causing Lu Nong to inadvertently reveal her own situation. It was better to play along and keep her inside for now.

Didn’t Zhao Xin want to resolve the misunderstanding? Then they could take their time to discuss it thoroughly.

In the end, it would come down to who could keep their composure longer.

As Lu Nong welcomed everyone into the house, Aunt Wu came downstairs at that moment. She exchanged a glance with Lu Nong and promptly took over the role of hostess, saying, “Everyone, please sit down. I’ll go brew some tea.”

“Aunt Wu, let me help you,” Li Lingyi said, getting up to follow Aunt Wu into the kitchen. While Aunt Wu prepared the tea, Li Lingyi grabbed the cups.

Li Lingyi quietly leaned close to Aunt Wu and reassured her, “You don’t need to worry. Don’t panic. Jiang Yu and the others are here too, so there shouldn’t be any major issues.”

When Zhang Kaiping encountered Zhao Xin bringing Sister Zheng and the others to the Pei residence, he felt uneasy. He saw his mother, who was unaware of the truth but couldn’t call her out to clarify. Thinking quickly, he ran to Jiang Yu’s house to seek help, informing Li Lingyi so she could publicly support Lu Nong while he secretly protected her.

“Thank goodness,” Aunt Wu breathed a sigh of relief. Then she complained, “Every day is so hectic. Can’t we just live our lives peacefully? Why do they have to create such trouble? I think they must be too well-fed.”

Li Lingyi nodded in agreement.

The two women carried the tea into the living room. Lu Nong was sitting next to Sister Qin, while Zhao Xin and the others gathered together. Sister Zheng was speaking, “Today, we came mainly at the request of Comrade Xiao Zhao to mediate between Xiao Zhao and Xiao Lu. If you two have anything to say, please say it openly. Don’t hold back. Little grievances can grow into big conflicts, affecting our compound’s harmony and stability.”

Li Lingyi set down the teacups on the table, poured everyone a cup, and then sat beside Lu Nong.

“Xiao Zhao, you go first,” Sister Zheng encouraged Zhao Xin.

Seeing Li Lingyi’s actions, Zhao Xin couldn’t help but show disdain. However, when Sister Zheng looked over, she quickly changed her demeanor, speaking softly and sincerely, “This whole situation is actually a misunderstanding, and it has caused some negative impact on my and Sister Lu’s reputations.”

“I’d like to apologize first. When I was sick, I couldn’t thank Sister Lu in person and had to ask Sister Huo (from the neighboring Cui family, Huo Xiaoling) to express my gratitude. Sister Huo meant well, but she mentioned that Sister Lu should visit me when she had the chance. I didn’t expect…”

“Right, it was Sister Lu and Pei Zheng who saved me. How can I let my savior come to visit me? It’s reasonable for Sister Lu Nong to be angry.”

She wore a look of melancholy and guilt.

Lu Nong felt disgusted and thought to herself that Zhao Xin had no shame. They both knew why Lu Nong had been avoiding her.

And now Zhao Xin was still playing this charade, pretending to apologize while subtly portraying Lu Nong as arrogant and petty. She didn’t even realize how undermining her own reputation would help her.

Moreover, the way she was trying to undermine Lu Nong was far too low-class, as if it was merely a prank. Yet she had managed to manipulate others into sympathizing with her.

Sure enough, she heard Huo Xiaoling next to Zhao Xin comfort her by saying, “It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Lu Nong almost burst out laughing. This Sister Huo was still helping Zhao Xin speak. Zhao Xin kept pushing all the blame onto her, yet here she was, being sold out and still counting the money for them.

“Exactly, how could it be your fault?” a sharp-nosed woman with high cheekbones beside Zhao Xin chimed in. “Getting upset over such a trivial matter, and in the end, you have to personally apologize? I think some people are not only petty, but also arrogant. I don’t know what they are relying on.”

The malice in her words was glaringly obvious, prompting Lu Nong to shoot her a glance.

“What are you talking about?” Sister Qin interjected, turning to question Zhao Xin. “Who told you that Lu Nong was upset and wouldn’t come to see you? Your words don’t seem quite right to me.”

Zhao Xin looked taken aback. “Isn’t that how it is? I thought…”

Sister Qin interrupted, caught off guard by Zhao Xin’s question, as if once she finished her slander, she began to feign ignorance and play the good person.

“Um, no, that’s not the case. I wasn’t upset, you were mistaken,” Lu Nong calmly replied, seamlessly picking up where Zhao Xin left off.

“Since you weren’t upset, then why didn’t you go visit Xiao Zhao when Sister Huo came to persuade you multiple times?” the sharp-nosed woman continued to press Lu Nong.

Lu Nong looked at her quizzically. “I’m not familiar with Comrade Zhao. In addition to the time I saved her, I’ve met her twice in total and we’ve spoken less than three sentences. I thought that since I’m not familiar with Comrade Zhao Xin, it would be rude to disturb her rashly, so I asked Sister Huo to convey my condolences to her.”

“I assumed that would be the end of it, but I found it strange that Sister Huo kept urging me to visit Comrade Zhao. Does my visit really have the power to cure her illness quickly?”

Lu Nong feigned surprise at her own comment. “What a sin, what a sin! If that were true, not visiting Comrade Zhao would indeed be a terrible offense. I should be the one apologizing.”

“Comrade Zhao, I sincerely apologize. It was my mistake. I hope my absence hasn’t worsened your condition.”

“Sister Huo also mentioned introducing me to some people, I presume they are all of you? Are you all so eager to see me because, like Comrade Zhao, you have an illness that can only be cured by meeting me?”

After Lu Nong delivered this clever jab, apart from Sister Zheng and Zhao Xin herself, everyone else who had been defending Zhao Xin was left speechless.

Even a fool could hear the sarcastic undertone in Lu Nong’s words. Initially, they thought Lu Nong had let them in as a sign of submission, but she was actually there to make them furious!

Once they realized this, their faces turned pale.

Seeing their expressions, Lu Nong finally felt a sense of satisfaction.

In just a few days, she would be leaving for the south with Pei Ji’an, and she didn’t know when she would return to Beijing. Most of these women had husbands who were often a decade or more older than Pei Ji’an, and by the time Lu Nong returned, they might already be retired and living leisurely with their husbands, making their chances of meeting slim. So why should she fear them?

If she didn’t take revenge now, when would she?

Sister Qin couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Li Lingyi was the real talent in the room, acting like she didn’t hear Sister Qin’s boisterous laughter or see the awkward and grim faces around her. Instead, she turned to Zhao Xin with a look of understanding and concern. “Xiao Zhao, are you feeling better now?”

“One must treat their illness. It shouldn’t be kept hidden or avoided. If you trust me, I know several doctors who could help you. Early treatment means an early recovery.”

Her words were heartfelt and sincere. After hearing this, Lu Nong secretly gave Li Lingyi a thumbs-up. She was worthy of being the mother of the “sly” Jiang Yu.

One word: impressive.

Li Lingyi calmly held Lu Nong’s hand, hiding her own merit.

In fact, Li Lingyi and Lu Nong were not familiar with each other, and she had no intention of stepping forward. But as luck would have it, the people called by Zhao Xin today, except Sister Zheng, had all been jealous of Lu Nong behind her back, jealous of her being held in the palm of Pei Ji’an hand, and jealous of her having two good sons to protect her. Li Lingyi heard it all.

Li Lingyi had a happy family life, but before Lu Nong arrived, she had been one of the most slandered individuals, alongside Wang Hongmian. She had often been the target of gossip from this group and had long been dissatisfied with them.

While Zhao Xin had a spotless reputation, Li Lingyi saw through the scheming nature of this group, who were clearly under Zhao Xin’s influence, following her lead blindly.

With new and old grudges, the usually gentle Li Lingyi used the ladder handed to her by Lu Nong to vent her anger.

Sister Zheng was extremely embarrassed. If she couldn’t read the room at this point, she would have lived in vain for so many years. The two groups were divided, one led by Zhao Xin and the other by Lu Nong, with neither side willing to give ground.