Chapter 28: Prediction Comes True

The next morning, Xie Zhan received replies from both the Lu and Qin families, both of them declining his invitation.

He was baffled by the simultaneous rejection.

He could understand the Qin family’s refusal. After all, the Zhao family had already broken off their engagement with the Qins, and their affairs were no longer of great concern to the Qins. Moreover, the Qin family had the pride of their military background, and it was understandable that they would not accept his invitation for peace talks.

However, the rejection of the invitation sent to the Lu family was unexpected.

He had anticipated that Lu Songli, as his fiancée, would be challenged by the current situation. Coupled with the fact that the Lu family had just thoroughly defeated the Zhao family yesterday, he felt that for any reason, the Lu family should accept his invitation and come to the negotiations with a proud air.

Currently, the Lu family’s rejection of the negotiations seemed to completely disregard Xie Zhan’s thoughts and opinions, including his status as her fiancé. Xie Zhan keenly sensed that something he was unaware of had occurred.

While he was still pondering and trying to figure out the potential problems, a small servant from his courtyard rushed towards him excitedly, “Not good! Not good, Master!”

“What happened?”

“Miss Zhao committed suicide by cutting her wrists last night. They say blood flowed everywhere, staining the floor of the room red.”

After the initial shock, Xie Zhan calmly asked, “Anything else?”

He didn’t ask if Zhao Yutan was dead, for she was definitely still alive. The Zhao family would never let her die so easily. If she died, then the Zhao family would truly be left with nothing. However, this wrist-cutting suicide, coupled with the previous hanging incident, the same trick, had been played twice. If the first time was a mere act, then the Zhao family certainly wouldn’t dare to fool anyone again.

“The maid who slept with her was awakened by the smell of blood and discovered what happened. The imperial physician suspects that Miss Zhao acted after the maid fell asleep.”

“Did the Zhao family call in an imperial physician?”

“Yes, after the external doctors shook their heads, the Zhao family had to keep her alive with ginseng and then requested the imperial physician from the palace.”

“So, what’s the situation at the Zhao family now?”

“Miss Zhao is still in a coma. The imperial physician said that if she wakes up, she’ll live, but if she doesn’t, she won’t.”

After listening to the servant, Xie Zhan fell into contemplation. Had he misjudged? Had the Zhao family gone too far? Had Zhao Yutan couldn’t take it anymore and committed suicide? But his intuition denied his own guess.

Therefore, this was still a deliberate act by the Zhao family. They were going all out, seeking only to survive after death, but this ‘life’ also required an opportunity. Xie Zhan thought again, the Zhao family’s desperate approach didn’t seem like Zhao Wenkuan’s style. It was more like they were confident that someone had their back…

His eyes narrowed slightly as he ordered, “Go and find out what news comes from the Zhao family! Also, find out if anyone visited the house these past two days, and where Father has been and who he has met.”

It didn’t take long for his people to bring him the news he wanted.

It turned out that Zhao Yutan had left a suicide note before attempting suicide. In it, she wrote that she had been deeply slandered by the incident of falling into the water, and her reputation had been ruined. She had already contemplated death. Later, her family was also falsely accused and impeached because of her, and she was unable to solve the problem. Her actions might even bring a second blow to the family, and she felt ashamed to live on.

Zhao Wenkuan’s wife, Luo, went to the government office alone, requesting the Magistrate of Chang’an to order the arrest of those who had recently spread rumors and slandered her daughter. Considering that Zhao Yutan was still in a coma and might not wake up, the Magistrate agreed. Now, the constables were arresting people everywhere, and Chang’an City was in chaos.

Xie Zhan saw through the Zhao family’s two-pronged strategy. Firstly, they could frame the Lu family and directly crush the rumors. Secondly, they could pressure the Xie family, essentially giving them another chance to withdraw their engagement. In the end, everything the Zhao family was doing was aimed at the Lu family.

The other thing Xie Zhan had asked to be investigated also yielded results. When he saw Zhao Wenkuan’s name on the list of visitors, his face darkened. His father had accepted the Zhao family’s surrender. No wonder the Zhao family dared to act so aggressively.

Xie Zhan was in a bad mood. His father was too hasty. He had clearly said that there was no rush, to wait and see, and not to jump to conclusions! This was the first time he had tasted the bitterness of being the young patriarch.

Xie Mingtang: It wasn’t that he was in a hurry, but the Zhao family had offered too much, and he couldn’t refuse.

Since things had come to this, Xie Zhan planned to watch how the Zhao family would play out this drama!

People’s joys and sorrows are not interconnected. Compared to the gloomy Zhao residence, the Lu family was peaceful and harmonious.

Second Brother Xu had left the city early in the morning, after all, he still had to take care of the pig-slaughtering business at home. Lu Desheng saw him off alone. He usually had to go to court early, so he woke up early. After seeing Second Brother Xu off, he went back to his room to rest.

Since it was a day off, his father didn’t have to go to the Inspectorate to report for duty. Lu Songli had written a prescription early in the morning and sent someone to get the medicine from Doctor Zhou before boiling two large pots of herbal wash.

Lu Songli pulled her mother to wash her hair together, using one of the pots. For the other pot, she had the servants pour the boiled medicine into a wooden bucket and carry it to the main courtyard for her father to use.

In ancient times, women had long hair due to the custom of keeping their hair long from childhood. Her hair also reached her waist, but because of her weak constitution, her hair quality was also poor. As the saying goes, “Hair is the leftover of blood,” so her poor hair quality was to be expected. Once she replenished her body with medicine and nurtured her hair with herbs, it would definitely improve.

In ancient times, washing hair was a major project. There were no hair dryers, and with such long hair, it took at least a couple of hours from washing to drying.

It seemed like the court had invented the day off for this grand project? Rest day, rest day, as the name suggests, this day was for officials to wash their hair and bathe. Her father washed his hair on a rest day, which was every ten days, meaning he only washed his hair once every ten days.

Modern women, most of them have a bit of a cleanliness fetish, and Lu Songli was no exception. She couldn’t stand washing her hair only once every ten days. Before she traveled here, she washed her hair every other day. Here, washing it every five days was the limit she could tolerate. Not to mention her hair quality was already bad, it was the kind that was frizzy and prone to oiliness. Previously, Mo Bing would always put osmanthus oil on her hair when combing it, making it greasy and shiny. She didn’t want to think about it, the thought chilled her to the bone.

“You know, this medicine smells pretty good after washing your hair,” her mother said as they lay on the couch drying their hair.

“Of course,” Lu Songli had already mentioned that this prescription was a hair-nourishing secret recipe she had found before, containing over ten herbs like cypress leaves, he shou wu, dried ginger, angelica, etc., with a considerable amount of he shou wu, so the scent was naturally pleasant. Moreover, frequent use of this prescription for washing hair also had the effect of darkening and promoting hair growth.

News of Zhao Yutan’s attempted suicide reached the Lu Residence. The Lu family had already dried their hair and were about to eat.

Lu Songli curled her lips, it was the same old trick, she had already told them beforehand, don’t keep using this tactic. It was truly a last resort!

Her mother, Madam Jiang, shook her head after listening, “Again? It’s only been a few days since the incident of hanging, and now she’s cutting her wrist to bleed? Could this be another ruse?”

Lu Songli laughed, “That’s impossible. They’ve all called for the imperial physician, causing a stir in the palace. Zhao Yutan must have undergone surgery, and I’m sure a lot of blood has been shed.” Zhao Yutan has definitely suffered greatly.

“Master, Madam, Second Miss, Miss Zhao also left a suicide note.” The servant who inquired about the news said with a grim face.

“What does the suicide note say?”

“In general, it says that due to the incident of falling into the water, her reputation was ruined, and she had long harbored thoughts of death: later, the family was again subjected to slander and accusations because of her, she wanted to apologize and explain but returned empty-handed. Thinking that her actions might even bring a second blow to the family, she felt ashamed to continue living in this world.”

Lu Songli thought to herself, what a huge bucket of dirty water! Look, between the lines, isn’t she accusing the father and daughter of forcing her to death?

Bang! Madam Jiang was furious and slammed the chopsticks on the table, “What does she mean by this?”

The entire suicide note is provocative, and it really makes people think deeply.

“Mother, let’s not get angry.” Lu Songli sat closer to her, patting her back to calm her down. The suicide note does imply something, but it doesn’t name names, so they shouldn’t take it personally.

“Daughter is right, let her write her suicide note however she wants, it doesn’t name names, so what does it have to do with us? Don’t react so strongly.” Lu Desheng also maintained a calm demeanor, hmph, the Zhao Family only has these tricks.

Madam Jiang saw the father and daughter both behaving stubbornly, and her anger turned into laughter. “Alright, I won’t be mad anymore.”