Chapter 221 2/3

Lu Mingshan looked intently at Wei Dongzheng and said, “Mr. Wei, judging by her expression, she is not lying. Her son’s trouble is indeed related to you.”

“Are you in cahoots with her?” Wei Dongzheng became increasingly furious.

Lu Mingshan remained unfazed by his anger, pinched his fingers, and said, “The brother-in-law this woman refers to has nothing to do with your lawful wife. You treat your concubine as a wife, but you do have a brother-in-law.”

Wei Dongzheng’s expression changed. Indeed, his concubine had a younger brother, a lively and sweet-talking child whom he rather liked.

“Madam, please describe your son’s situation in detail,” Lu Mingshan said, looking at the woman.

The woman, crying, explained the situation. She had been directed here by someone under Li Zhu’s command, not genuinely seeking forgiveness but aiming to trouble Wei Dongzheng.

The woman was a local from the capital, with a small business that provided a decent living. In the capital, many families sent their children to school, and her eldest son was one of them, doing well academically with hopes of earning a title. However, he had offended Wei Dongzheng’s concubine’s brother. The two boys attended the same private school, and a small conflict had escalated, leading Wei Dongzheng’s concubine’s brother to bring a gang to beat her son. Worse, he intimidated the school’s teacher into refusing to teach her son and spread malicious rumors, ruining her son’s reputation and preventing him from studying elsewhere.

Li Qingzhi immediately recognized this as ancient school bullying.

“Master Wei, our family runs a small business, and your brother-in-law eats and takes from us to the point where we can hardly continue our business!” the woman cried again. “Please, have mercy on us!”

Wei Dongzheng realized the woman was probably telling the truth but was nonetheless enraged by her public accusations, which seemed calculated to trouble him. Despite his anger, he said, “Madam, I was unaware of this matter… rest assured, I will return and reprimand that brat!”

He had given up on his plan to coincidentally meet the emperor, wanting only to leave quickly. But Lu Mingshan spoke again, “Mr. Wei, your heart is not sincere.”

Wei Dongzheng glared at Lu Mingshan.

Undeterred, Lu Mingshan said, “Mr. Wei, there is a villain beside you. If you do not distance yourself, you may lose your position or even your life!”

No one likes to hear such ominous words, and Wei Dongzheng’s face darkened.

Lu Mingshan remained calm, “Mr. Wei, do not mistake a cuckoo for a magpie.”

“What are you saying?” Wei Dongzheng was taken aback.

“May the Heavenly Lord bless you… Mr. Wei, everything in this world has its cause and effect. Your lack of righteousness has brought a cuckoo into your household… if you don’t believe me, go home and see for yourself.” Lu Mingshan smiled and left Qingyun Restaurant, soon disappearing from sight.

Inside the restaurant, everyone was stunned by his words. Dining at Qingyun was expensive, attracting wealthy patrons who were generally well-educated and understood the idiom “a cuckoo in the magpie’s nest.”

Lu Mingshan’s mention of a cuckoo in Wei Dongzheng’s household made them wonder—was he referring to the concubine, or perhaps Wei Dongzheng’s son?

Everyone watched as Wei Dongzheng, after a brief hesitation, hurried out. He needed to see for himself!

As he left, several curious patrons followed him, eager to witness the spectacle. Even Du Yongning joined them, asking Li Qingzhi if he wanted to come along.

“Brother Du, you go ahead. As for me… you know I have a fondness for good food,” Li Qingzhi said, eyeing the dishes on the table.

“Brother Li, I’ll be right back!” Du Yongning said and left.

Li Qingzhi smiled, sitting back down to continue his meal.

Upstairs, Emperor Qi Jun, intrigued, watched the commotion with Lu Qingxi. Although his eyesight and hearing were poor, he could grasp the gist of what was happening and grew even more curious.

Lu Qingxi explained the situation in detail, and Qi Jun was astonished. “Is Master Lu still here?”

“Master Lu left after speaking,” Lu Qingxi replied.

“What a pity. I wanted to meet him,” Qi Jun sighed.

Concubine Liu was also curious, “Master Lu asked Master Wei to go home and see… I wonder what he will find.”

“Your Highness, I will send someone to find out immediately,” Lu Qingxi said and sent someone to investigate Wei Dongzheng’s house, then urged the emperor and Concubine to continue eating.

The emperor and Concubine, still hungry, resumed their meal while Li Qingzhi slowly ate downstairs. He needed to replenish his energy after using it all on the emperor.

After Li Qingzhi finished his meal, Du Yongning returned, exclaiming, “Brother Li, Master Lu is incredible! Master Wei found his concubine in bed with another man. It turns out that his youngest son is likely not his.”

Li Qingzhi already knew this but still feigned surprise. Wei Dongzheng was over fifty, and his youngest son was only eight. His concubine, under thirty, clearly had no genuine affection for him. A young, beautiful woman with an old, unattractive man? It’s no wonder she sought comfort elsewhere.

His favoritism towards his concubine, driving away his wife to let the concubine manage the household, only made things easier for her. She was a flower in the cow dung, and it was reasonable for her to seek emotional and physical solace elsewhere. However, she was still a bad person, as evidenced by her brother’s behavior.

The “villain” Lu Mingshan referred to was her. When Li Qingzhi learned of this, so did the emperor.

The emperor remarked, “Wei Dongzheng is truly foolish, not even respecting his lawful wife.”

Concubine Liu’s expression subtly changed, as she was the emperor’s first woman but not his lawful wife. The empress, now deceased, had often targeted her, and the emperor always respected his lawful wife.

Ignoring these unpleasant thoughts, Concubine Liu continued planning her next steps.

In the following days, Lu Mingshan’s reputation soared. His advice to Wei Dongzheng to return home had led to Wei discovering his concubine’s infidelity. This incident quickly spread, and people in the capital began to see Lu Mingshan as almost divine. This was only the beginning! After this incident, Lu Mingshan performed several more feats, making his reputation even more extraordinary.