The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 170 Past Events

“I think we’re pretty lucky.” Shang Wan tossed the hairdryer aside and handed Lu Chengjing another dry cloth. “A-Le happened to save a little girl, and it turned out to be Er Ya. Er Ya is recuperating at the Qiao residence now. Once she recovers, she can go to the prison to see Lin Jianshui.”

Thinking of Er Ya's situation, Shang Wan felt complicated. "The Lin family is also heartless, willing to send their own child into a hellhole. If I were Chen Guifang, I would also go crazy and drag their whole family down with me."

After saying that, she couldn't help but yawn.

In this world without nightlife, she was forced to adopt a more regular lifestyle.

Lu Chengjing's hair wasn't dry yet. Seeing this, he said, "Go to sleep if you're sleepy. I'll come over as soon as I've dried my hair."

"Waiting for you to come together." Shang Wan reached out and wrapped her arms around his slender waist, resting her head lightly on his shoulder. She was feeling sleepy, and even her voice became a little slurred.

Lu Chengjing paused in drying his hair, then quickened his pace, quickly drying it before looking down at the person leaning on his shoulder, only to see a peaceful sleeping face.

He instinctively softened his movements, picked the person up horizontally and placed them on the kang (a heated brick bed), then blew out the candle.

Shang Wan was just a little groggy, but woke up as soon as she moved.

Lu Chengjing pulled her into his arms, gently patted Shang Wan's back, and whispered, "Go to sleep."

"I'm not sleeping. Something suddenly occurred to me." Shang Wan became a little more awake and asked the question she had been overlooking: "How do you know all this?"

Lu Chengjing's previous answer was just a coincidence, which sounded very perfunctory.

Now that the case is out in the open, Shangwan feels it's necessary to ask for clarification.

She reached out and pinched Lu Chengjing's earlobe, warning him, "Don't say it was just a coincidence again."

Lu Chengjing told the truth, "Lu Shuhui told me."

"Lu Shuhui?" Shang Wan thought for a while before digging out this person from the original owner's memories.

Lu Shuhui was Lu Chengjing's second sister. She was born to a concubine, but her birth mother died when she was still an infant, so she was raised under the care of Madam Lu. Because she was too taciturn, she was not very close to Madam Lu's three sons and one daughter.

In the second year after she came of age, Lu Shuhui was married off to Prefect Zhao of Huzhou Prefecture as his second wife. After her marriage, Lu Shuhui only returned to her parents' home once, and rarely even wrote letters.

The people in the Lu family rarely mentioned this second aunt, so the original owner knew very little about her.

Unexpectedly, Lu Shuhui had been in contact with Lu Chengjing in private.

"How did she know about this?" Shang Wan frowned. "Could it be that Prefect Zhao is also involved in this matter?"

Lu Chengjing sneered, "It's more than just being involved."

Shang Wan listened quietly to him, and the more she listened, the more she felt that the Lu and Zhao families were a bunch of scum who deserved to go to hell!

The whole thing started with that Prefect Zhao; the Lu family was just one of the accomplices.

The accomplices were responsible for collecting pretty young children and secretly sending them to Huzhou Prefecture, where they were met by someone along the way.

Upon arriving in Huzhou Prefecture, these children became a cash cow for Prefect Zhao.

Some were given away as puppies, while others were raised to adulthood and sent to brothels or the backyards of wealthy landowners and gentry. When they grew old, they were sold like livestock to neighboring small countries to be squeezed dry of their last remaining value.

Over the years, the covert network expanded, spreading like a spiderweb; once caught, there was no escape. One either colluded with the criminals or met a violent end.

The ill-gotten gains flowed like water into the pockets of the masterminds and accomplices, each sucking the blood and flesh of innocent people to amass a fortune. Officials and businessmen colluded, committing countless evils. Even though public resentment boiled over, it could not reach the emperor's ears due to the protection of officials, leaving the people living in dire straits.

Shang Wan frowned deeply. "Why would Lu Shuhui tell you about this?"

"She's a pitiful person too." Lu Chengjing sighed softly, hugged Shang Wan tighter, and slowly recounted what had happened to Lu Shuhui.

It all started with Lu Shuhui's biological mother, Aunt Qin.

Aunt Qin was the daughter of Master Lu's wet nurse. She was two years younger than Master Lu, and the two grew up together, so they could be considered childhood sweethearts.

After her wet nurse died, Aunt Qin had nowhere to go, so she sold herself into becoming Master Lu's maid. Because of their childhood friendship, Master Lu treated her differently from the other maids, and soon an affair developed between them.

After Master Lu became acquainted with women, Aunt Qin naturally became his concubine.

After Master Lu married Madam Lu, he promoted Concubine Qin from a maidservant to a proper concubine.

Aunt Qin was a gentle and docile woman who never caused trouble. Out of consideration for their childhood friendship, Master Lu took good care of her. Unfortunately, her health deteriorated after giving birth, and she was often so ill that she couldn't get out of bed. Before long, she passed away.

On her deathbed, Aunt Qin was thinking of her only daughter and begged Master Lu to register her daughter under Madam Lu's name, promising to find her a good family in the future. Even in death, she would remember the kindness of Master Lu and Madam Lu.

Master Lu felt pity for him and readily agreed.

But this pity vanished quickly with Aunt Qin's death.

The happiness of a biological daughter can never compare to the wealth and glory of the Lu family.

However, the young girl, who was only sixteen years old, was married off by her own father to a man who was nearly fifty years old and older than her father, as his second wife.

Lu Shuhui was unwilling, but she had no one to back her up, and because she had been raised to be too timid, she dared not resist. In this way, she stepped into the fire pit of the Zhao family.

Prefect Zhao's first wife bore him two sons and a daughter. His daughter was about the same age as his stepmother, Lu Shuhui.

In the backyard of the Zhao family mansion, there were many beautiful women, including seven or eight concubines, even more maids, and three illegitimate children, all of whom were older than Lu Shuhui.

How could Lu Shuhui, a newlywed who had never experienced danger, be a match for these people?
She suffered two miscarriages during her pregnancies, and finally managed to give birth to a daughter through folk remedies, but the childbirth damaged her health, and she was unable to conceive again.

He had hoped that at least he would have a daughter to keep him company, but unexpectedly, his daughter died before she even turned one year old.

Lu Shuhui nearly went mad, constantly muttering about her daughter in a daze. The disdainful Prefect Zhao sent her back to her parents' home, telling her to recover before returning.

Master Lu resented that Lu Shuhui had not given birth to a son for Prefect Zhao, and that the family business would fall into the hands of his first wife's children in the future. He disliked Lu Shuhui very much.

Madam Lu had never cared much about this daughter who wasn't her own, and even harbored some resentment towards her, so naturally she wouldn't interfere.

The servants, seeing which way the wind was blowing, took advantage of Lu Shuhui's misfortune, which made her mental state even worse, and she contemplated suicide by jumping into a well.

Lu Chengjing happened to save her, and Lu Shuhui probably just wanted someone to talk to, so she told Lu Chengjing everything that she should and shouldn't have said without thinking.

At that moment, Lu Chengjing was only thankful that no one was around, otherwise both of their lives would have been lost because of her words.

After venting her frustrations and venting her emotions, Lu Shuhui regained her senses and was filled with lingering fear. She begged Lu Chengjing not to tell anyone, otherwise neither of them would survive.

Lu Chengjing couldn't do anything about it, so he agreed to Lu Shuhui's request. Not long after, Master Lu sent Lu Shuhui, who was in better spirits, back to Huzhou Prefecture.