Translator – Xiao He Lian
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Chapter 71.1
It was midsummer, and the chirping of cicadas from far and near rose and fell in Lu Yan’s ears. Lu Yan was half asleep and half awake. He opened his eyes in a daze and saw Shen Zhen who was trying to stay cool with half of her body pressed against the wall. He endured for a moment, and finally grabbed her wrist and held her in his arms.
Summer clothes were thin, so thin that when she got close to them, the man’s cold eyes changed.
The man’s iron-like temperature made Shen Zhen hold her breath involuntarily. His eyes moved from the incense burner to the beams of the house and he clenched his palms.
Lu Yan turned her chin, put his nose against hers and pecked her lightly.
Their eyes met and Shen Zhen raised her hand as if possessed by a ghost and touched his chin.
Lu Yan didn’t grow a beard and he always shaved it neatly. But no matter how diligently he shaved, a twenty-four-year-old man would have some fine stubble when he woke up.
Shen Zhen herself didn’t have one, so she liked to touch him. In the past, this man was too cold, and she didn’t dare to touch him, but now she is not afraid.
The man chuckled, “Have you had enough fun?”
There was a hint of a smile in Shen Zhen’s eyes as she replied “no”.
The thin white fingertips were still moving across his face.
The next moment, Lu Yan turned his hand and pressed her under him, rubbing her white neck with his chin until it turned red and hot. He let her go only when she laughed and begged for mercy.
After washing, the two had their meal together.
On the table stood a bowl of bright yellow pumpkin porridge, a bowl of bright green vegetable porridge, a plate of evenly spread poached chicken, a small plate of sauce next to it, a plate of shredded chicken in vinegar, a plate of taro-braised cabbage hearts, and a few steaming sugar cakes.
Shen Zhen slowly stirred the pumpkin porridge in the bowl with a porcelain spoon. There were also lotus seeds, red dates, yam, and wolfberry. As she moved, a faint sweet fragrance emanated from it. It was really a bowl of porridge with good color, aroma and taste.
After a while, Lu Yan put down his chopsticks, picked up the prepared towel, wiped his hands, and asked, “Are you used to Fang momo’s food?”
Shen Zhen nodded.
She thought that he was obviously more picky than she was, so the people he chose must be excellent.
“Ng.” Lu Yan stood up, pinched her face and said, “Wait for me to come back and take you somewhere later.”
Shen Zhen suddenly raised her head, stood up, looked at him and asked, “Where are you going to take me?”
Lu Yan said: “You will know when the time comes.”
——
May 28th, Jingzhao Prefecture.
As soon as they entered the government office, Lu Yan and Sun Xu received an anonymous letter of complaint – someone had converted a mansion in Chongren street into a place for gambling.
The Jin Dynasty was prosperous on the surface, but the treasury was in serious deficit. Emperor Chengyuan raised taxes last year and ordered a ban on gambling in Chang’an. Anyone who dared to disobey the order and run a casino without authorization would be severely punished once discovered.
At the very least, it’s five years in prison.
The residences in Chongren street were the first places where foreign businessmen stayed when they came to the capital. The geographical location here is excellent, with the imperial city to the west, the East Market to the east, and Pingkang street to the south. It can be said to be the place with the largest flow of people in Chang’an.
Sun Xu straightened his black hat and said, “The casino incident is of great importance. How about Lord Lu going with me? We can split up and block them from the front and back to avoid those sneaky servants reporting to others.”
Lu Yan tossed the wolf hair brush in his hand and nodded, “Alright.”
When they reached Chongren street, General Cao, along with his servants, immediately surrounded the residence. Lu Yan and Sun Xu entered from the front and back doors respectively and caught a room full of gamblers red-handed.
“Ah!” a howl erupted.
Lu Yan looked in the direction of the sound and saw two big men in the middle of the room, holding down a man who was crying for his parents. The man had only four fingers left and he kept kowtowing to a woman who was sitting on a high place.
At this time, the yamen officers rushed in, packed up the evidence in the house and took it away one by one.
When the government officials arrived, the place immediately became chaotic.
Sun Xu ordered the yamen runners to take away everyone in the house.
The court banned gambling, firstly, because gambling was extremely profitable and should not be run by the common people, and secondly, because there would be trouble in the casinos every now and then, with things like losing fortunes and lives.
However, neither Lu Yan nor Sun Xu had expected that the owner of this casino was actually the wife of the Earl of Suning- Shen Lan.
Lu Yan frowned.
The person in front of him should be… Shen Zhen’s aunt?
Shen Lan knew that she had no room for quibbling with the evidence, so when she returned to Jingzhao Prefecture, no matter how Lu Yan interrogated her, she only had one question, “Before you torture me, can you let me see my husband?”
Lu Yan said coldly to the outside of the door: “Where is Lord Xie? Has he been invited?”
“He is already at the door.”
As they were talking, the Earl of Suning, Xie Cheng, walked in, raised his hand in dismay at Shen Lan, then put it down helplessly, saying, “I have long forbidden you to do those things… How dare you go behind my back! Ah!”
Shen Lan smiled coldly and suddenly felt that her retribution came too quickly.
When the Shen family was in trouble, she gave up on the Shen family, so when she was in trouble, no one would come to protect her.
Lu Yan looked at the couple who fly away when disaster struck1(There is a famous saying that goes, “Husband and wife are birds of the same forest.” The next line is “When disaster strikes, each of them flies away.” This saying is often quoted in ancient literature. It is used to describe some selfish people who abandon their husbands (or wives) at a critical moment, emphasizing personal selfishness.) and pursed his lips. He guessed that soon, Xie Cheng would ask for a chance to talk to each other alone.
One… two.. three……
Xie Cheng turned around and said to Lu Yan politely, “Lord Lu, my wife and I have something to say to each other in private.Do not know whether it can be a convenience?”
Lu Yan stood up and went out, “You are too polite, My Lord.”
Xie Cheng smiled and said immediately, “I owe you a favor, Heir Apparent.”
However, Suningbo and Shen Lan could never have imagined that the cell they were in was the “West Twin Room” of Jingzhao Prefecture. The so-called West Twin Room means that there is another secret room on the west side of this cell and the furnishings are the same as those in this room.
To put it bluntly, it is designed for monitoring.
This was a secret of Jingzhao Prefecture. No one knew about it except the Governor and the two Magistrates.
Lu Yan walked into the secret room and sat down. After a while, he heard Shen Lan speak, “My Lord, your method of crossing the river and destroying the bridge is too despicable! The money went into your pocket and I have to bear the blame, so that you can make that cheap wench in the side courtyard your legitimate wife?”
Xie Cheng frowned and said, “It’s already come to this, Madam, you should think about Ge’er. He is my legitimate son. If I lose my title, he will have nothing.”
Shen Lan said with tears in her eyes: “For a family like the Suning Earl’s Mansion, is it difficult to find someone to take the blame?”
“Take the blame?” Xie Cheng moved the stool aside and sat down. “Do you think it’s that easy? What is Jingzhao Prefecture? Is this the local county government?”
“You and I have been married for many years, so I’ll say what I have to say.”
Shen Lan asked quietly, “When the Shen family was in debt, it was you who did it, right?”
Xie Cheng was stunned. “What did you say?”
T/N – Hi guyz, I initially wanted to keep the traditional Luna calendar when translating the timelines, but I decided to switch to the usual Gregorian calendar instead because I thought it would get confusing for y’all. The timeline is important in this story so, i thought to make it easier for all of u to understand. I will edit the previous chapters later. 🙏❤️
