Chapter 177: “The Mistress”

In the letter, Old Master Leng first expressed concern for his daughter’s health.

Both of his daughters had weak constitutions.

Especially the elder daughter, who had been much stronger than her younger sister when they were children, but in recent years, she had grown increasingly frail.

Old Master Leng advised her not to take things too much to heart, emphasizing that maintaining her health was more important than anything else.

Following that, he included a record of Lu Ting En’s recent activities.

Lu Ting En’s life generally followed a routine: home, court, and the office.

Since his return to the capital, he hadn’t made any other notable moves.

Aside from attending court and dealing with official matters, he spent most of his time at home.

Occasionally, he would go out for social events, but these were mainly held at a restaurant called Zhuang Yuan Lou.

Leng Qing Yu noticed that according to the records, Lu Ting En had stayed at Zhuang Yuan Lou five times since returning to the capital.

This was a slightly higher frequency than before.

Zhuang Yuan Lou was an old establishment in the capital, catering to the city’s elites.

To offer better accommodations for distinguished guests, it provided private rooms for meals and also had rooms for guests to rest in.

Lu Ting En had a room that he had rented long-term at Zhuang Yuan Lou.

Whenever he got drunk, he would simply stay there.

He claimed it was because he didn’t want to disturb Leng Qing Yu’s rest.

When they had just married, Leng Qing Yu wasn’t used to it. It wasn’t until one time when he had gotten drunk at home, for no reason at all, and started smashing things in the bedroom, that Leng Qing Yu realized he had a poor tolerance for alcohol and that his staying out was truly to avoid disturbing her.

Since then, Leng Qing Yu had turned a blind eye to it, simply instructing the servants around the Marquis to take good care of him.

His stays outside weren’t frequent.

Generally, it was just two or three times a month, sometimes a little more.

From this travel pattern, there was no fault to be found.

It fit his reputation for being discreet and self-disciplined.

Leng Qing Yu pondered for a moment and then read the next part of the letter:

“I believe that after being married to Lu Ting En for over a decade and always presenting yourselves as the epitome of a loving couple, your sudden desire to investigate his activities surely means you’ve noticed something.

Just looking with your eyes wouldn’t reveal anything, so I had someone investigate Zhuang Yuan Lou carefully.

This time, they finally found some clues.”

Old Master Leng briefly mentioned the investigation process.

However, Leng Qing Yu knew that after so many years without leaving a trace, Lu Ting En must have been very secretive in his actions.

It seems that a lot of effort was spent to uncover this issue.

The letter from her father continued:

“After investigating, I found out that while the wine house has resting rooms for guests, every time Lu Ting En gets drunk, he does not sleep in the shop but instead goes out through the back door into a small alley.

I had someone keep watch for several days, and sure enough, Lu Ting En invited a colleague for drinks. After his colleague left, Lu Ting En went to the back courtyard.”

The words “back courtyard” were vague, with a large blot of ink above them. It was clear that the writer hesitated when writing this part.

Leng Qing Yu continued reading:

“In the back courtyard, there is a low door. After Lu Ting En went out through the low door, someone immediately met him. My people watched from a distance and only saw them enter a small yard.

Lu Ting En did not leave until the next morning, when he came out from the small yard, returned to the wine house through the back door, and left in a carriage.”

It was clear that her father was somewhat agitated when writing this part. The handwriting had become hurried and messy. Further down, there was another blotch of ink, as if something had been crossed out.

Her father continued:

“I had people stay in that outer yard for two days and discovered that it was occupied by a mother and her son. The son is about thirteen or fourteen years old and studies at Feng Ming Academy in the capital.”

The letter stopped abruptly here.

It seemed that Leng Qing Yu’s father had already figured something out but did not want to place undue pressure on his daughter with his own suspicions. He had laid out the facts, leaving her to make her own judgment.

Looking at the thick letter, Leng Qing Yu surprisingly did not feel the heavy emotion she had expected. Instead, she felt a sense of relief, as if everything made sense now.

Leng Qing Yu had not expected that, in such a short time, she would have come to terms with the fact that Lu Ting En had a mistress outside.

She couldn’t even imagine how devastated she would have been if she had known this in the past.

A cold smile curved her lips.

It was truly impressive how carefully Lu Ting En had managed his affair, keeping it so discreet.

Leng Qing Yu picked up a pen and wrote a reply to her father. In the letter, she first assured him that she was safe.

Then, she spoke about the matter of reclaiming her daughter.

“Xin Ran’s medical skills are outstanding. Under her care, my health has greatly improved. Please don’t worry, Father. When the time is right, I will bring Xin Ran to visit you. You will surely like her!”

Leng Qing Yu carefully described ten of Ye Xin Ran’s virtues.

As for the matter of her daughter being swapped, she glossed over it, merely calling it an accident. The family that had swapped her daughter had already received their due punishment.

She said nothing at all about her own poisoning.

Because she knew that, with her father’s personality, if she mentioned it, he would surely rush to the Marquis’s residence.

Though the Ye family was wealthy and influential, they were still somewhat inferior to the Marquis’s household.

She didn’t want to put her father at risk because of her own problems.

Moreover, she didn’t want to give Lu Ting En any chance to use the Leng family’s vulnerabilities to take revenge.

“Lu Ting En’s matters are already known to me. There’s no need for you to worry, Father. When I return to the capital, I will handle it myself.”

Over the years, the Lu family had been draining her, and she planned to make them pay back everything they had taken. Ideally, she hoped they would tear each other apart, giving her a sense of justice.

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During dinner, Leng Qing Yu told Ye Xin Ran and Lu Chang Qing the contents of her father’s letter.

“Lu Ting En’s affair has now been confirmed. The old man only found out that the mistress has a son, but I suspect that Lu Zhi Yi is also the child of that mistress.”

“Mother, my sister was swapped to the Ye family, and Ye family’s daughter was taken away. If Lu Zhi Yi is the mistress’s child, what happened to the Ye family’s child?”

Lu Chang Qing realized something terrifying.

Although he had already suspected it, he was still shocked by Lu Ting En’s cruel actions.

“There was no daughter with the mistress. As for the Ye family’s child, either he was sold, or he is no longer alive.”

Leng Qing Yu’s expression grew cold.

She hadn’t realized just how deep Lu Ting En’s scheming was, and how effortlessly he had played the switch.

Looking back, she now suspected that her being forced to stay in Yun Tong County to give birth might have been part of Lu Ting En’s plan.

“Mother, why don’t we go back now and destroy his mistress’s hideout? We can ruin Lu Ting En’s reputation and see if he’ll continue to put on his facade!”

Lu Chang Qing could no longer contain himself.