Chapter 58 The Lu Family Are All Cold and Heartless

Upon hearing the report, Lu Huaijin's eyes narrowed instantly, and he lifted his foot to leave.

Su Yao subconsciously reached out and tugged at his sleeve, saying with urgency, "My lord, I'll go with you to take a look."

Lu Huaijin paused in his stride. He hesitated for a moment, looked at Su Yao, and seeing her tense expression, ultimately raised no objection.

He turned his hand to clasp Su Yao's, pulling her along in long, hurried strides toward the head madam's courtyard.

Along the way, Su Yao's steps were rushed as she tried her best to keep pace with Lu Huaijin.

Stepping into the courtyard, they were met with utter chaos.

Maids and matrons gathered in groups of three or five, whispering to one another with panicked expressions. The sound of their incessant chatter drifted into her ears, though the words remained indistinct, only serving to tighten the knot in Su Yao's chest.

Her gaze swept across the crowd, her heart leaping straight to her throat.

The atmosphere inside the room was even heavier and more oppressive, stifling enough to make one breathless.

The head madam sat in a chair, her face as pale as paper, her eyes fixed blankly upon a corpse before her.

Su Yao's gaze followed in that direction. The moment she clearly made out the face of the deceased, her eyes widened instantly and she drew in a sharp breath.

It was Caiwei!

In an instant, she felt her legs turn to jelly, as if all strength had been drained from her feet, leaving her swaying precariously.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Lu Huaijin extended his arm in time to steady her firmly.

"Be careful."

Then, wearing a stern expression, he turned to Madam Lu and asked, "What is the meaning of this?"

Madam Lu knitted her brows tightly and slowly explained, "Just now, the patrolling servants noticed something amiss in the lake. When they fished it out, they discovered it was Caiwei. Only... only... by the time she was pulled up, she had already stopped breathing."

As she spoke, she raised a hand to wipe away her tears. "How could this silly girl be driven to such a desperate act?"

Lu Huaijin cast a cold glance at the corpse on the floor, pondering inwardly. He had thought her to be clever, but never imagined she would be as foolish as a pig, throwing away her life so lightly.

"Huaijin, Caiwei went to your courtyard this afternoon. Did something happen? Did she say anything?" Madam Lu looked toward Lu Huaijin.

Lu Huaijin's expression remained calm as he replied indifferently, "My cousin merely delivered some bird's nest and then left."

Naturally, he had no intention of saying anything more. Besides, since Caiwei was already dead and there was no evidence left to confront him with, talking more would be pointless.

"It is truly bizarre. Why would she suddenly seek her own death when everything was fine?" Madam Lu knitted her brows, her face full of perplexity as she muttered incessantly.

Lu Huaijin said coldly, "Perhaps my cousin was unwilling to become a concubine."

At these words, Madam Lu's expression instantly froze, as though she had been heavily slapped across the face, her complexion shifting between red and white.

Naturally, she caught the implication behind her son's words—wasn't this a blatant accusation that she had driven her own niece to her death?

For a moment, Madam Lu was at a loss for words, not knowing what to say. Filled with pent-up anger and anxiety with nowhere to vent, she sat in silence.

"This girl only just arrived in the capital, and now such a tragedy has occurred. This..."

"Send someone to report the loss to my aunt's family, and say that my cousin failed to watch her footing on a night walk and fell into the water..."

Madam Lu's face remained gloomy. Though unwilling, she knew there was no other choice at present. Turning to instruct Nanny Li by her side, she said, "It seems we can only do that. Prepare a generous amount of condolence money for the funeral."

Nanny Li opened her mouth, seeming as though she wished to say something, but ultimately swallowed the words back down.

She remembered that this cousin of theirs actually knew how to swim, and quite proficiently at that; how could she possibly have drowned? There had to be something fishy about this.

Her gaze inadvertently collided with Lu Huaijin's. Seeing his stern expression and the chill emanating from his eyes, Nanny Li felt a cold shudder run through her, sending an inexplicable shiver down her spine that made her dare not think any further.

"This servant will see to it right away," Nanny Li replied in a low voice, then hurriedly left the room.

Su Yao still felt shaken to her core. The person who had been standing alive before her very eyes just today—how could she be gone after barely half a day...

Sensing the chill in her fingertips, Lu Huaijin gently squeezed her knuckles.

Su Yao raised her eyes to meet his gaze. For a fleeting second, she caught complex emotions swirling within Lu Huaijin's eyes, but before she could decipher them, he had already looked away.

"I recall Caiwei had a younger sister—what was her name again?"

Madam Lu spoke up abruptly, her voice shattering the silence within the room.

A jolt went through Su Yao's heart as she thought to herself that the deceased's body was not yet cold, yet Madam Lu was already casting her sights upon the younger sister.

The Lu family members were truly all cold-blooded and unfeeling; Lu Huaijin was like this, and Madam Lu was no different.

Lu Huaijin turned to Madam Lu with a solemn expression. "Mother, with such a tragedy befalling the household, let us set aside the matter of taking a concubine for now. It would be better to give my cousin a proper burial first, and invite Master Liaokong from White Cloud Temple to perform a ritual for her so that her soul may rest in peace."

Hearing this, Madam Lu was slightly taken aback, but soon felt her son's words made complete sense. She nodded and said, "We shall do as you say. We will go to White Cloud Temple tomorrow."

Only then did she notice Su Yao standing behind Lu Huaijin, which only deepened her displeasure. With a look of disgust in her eyes, she said coldly, "Miss Su, you shall accompany me tomorrow."

"Yes," Su Yao replied in a low voice.

The next day, as the morning mist was just beginning to clear, the procession from the Lu residence set off in full grandeur for White Cloud Temple.

Along the way, the carriage rumbled along, kicking up clouds of dust.

Upon arrival at White Cloud Temple, Master Liaokong was already waiting at the mountain gate surrounded by a host of monks. With hands pressed together in a Buddhist salute, he chanted unceasingly, the continuous sound of sutra-recitation echoing through the air as he announced that a three-day ritual would be performed for Caiwei to deliver her soul to salvation.

Entering the temple, the group was guided to the quarters prepared for them.

The rooms were furnished with simplicity, radiating the tranquil serenity of a Buddhist sanctuary. After Su Yao and Chuntao settled their belongings, they followed the others to the Grand Buddha Hall to listen to Master Liaokong chant the sutras.

At first, Su Yao managed to muster her energy and keep pace with the rhythm of the chanting, but as time dragged on, drowsiness overtook her.

Her eyelids felt increasingly heavy, and her head began to nod in a hazy fog.

Madam Lu, seated to the side, was already immersed in the solemn atmosphere of praying for her niece's salvation. Catching sight of Su Yao's state out of the corner of her eye, her brows instantly locked together in deep displeasure. With an icy tone, she reprimarked, "If your heart is not in this, do not stay here to dawdle and disrupt the sanctity of the ritual."

A jolt of panic shot through Su Yao, and she quickly lowered her head, brimming with grievance.

She knew very well within herself that ever since becoming pregnant, her body tired far more easily. Drowsiness had become an everyday norm by this hour, yet she dared not offer any explanation to Madam Lu and could only bear it in silence.

However, a short while later, the wave of sleepiness returned. Unable to suppress it any longer, she let out another yawn.

This exact scene was caught by Madam Lu, whose expression turned even gloomier as she snapped angrily, "Get out!"

Left with no choice, Su Yao lowered her head and, supported by Chuntao, hurried out of the Grand Buddha Hall to rest in her own quarters.

"Chuntao, I got up far too early today and I'm utterly exhausted. I'm going to sleep for a little while. Wake me if Madam and the others come looking for me," Su Yao said feebly before shedding her outer robe and climbing onto the bed.

Chuntao tucked the blanket over her, then seated herself quietly to the side to keep watch.

Su Yao quickly drifted off into dreamland. In her hazy state, it felt as though a long time had passed, yet simultaneously only a brief moment, before she was gently shaken awake by Chuntao.

Rubbing her sleep-filled eyes, she assumed Madam Lu had sent someone to look for her again, causing a flicker of anxiety to stir in her heart.

"Miss, wake up quickly!"