When Zhong Xuran left the post station the next day, he came to say goodbye. Xu Shichu had no intention of making friends with officials, so he just regarded him as a chance encounter and did not take it to heart.
Little did she know that after Zhong Xuran returned to Beijing and handled the case, he went to the Prime Minister's Mansion with gifts to express his gratitude.
It happened that on this day, Luo Yaqing returned to her parents' home after having a quarrel with Zhou Wencun, and met Zhong Xuran at the door.
Luo Yaqing, who had just gotten off the carriage, saw a tall and handsome man being respectfully welcomed into the mansion by the butler, so she asked the doorman, "Who was that person who just came in?"
She was inexplicably concerned.
The doorman replied, "That person is the chief inspector of the prisons in Beijing, Si Zhong. He has come to visit you today."
"Master Zhong?" Luo Yaqing whispered these three words. For some reason, she felt a sense of frustration and irritation in her heart. With an unknown anger, she frowned and asked, "Why did he come to visit my father?"
"I don't know," the concierge replied.
Luo Yaqing ignored him and walked into the house.
"I am sorry for coming to your house, Prime Minister Luo." Zhong Xuran bowed to Luo Changqing and said, "I was injured while handling a case in another place a few days ago. I happened to meet Madam Luo at the post station. Madam Luo gave me some medicine, which enabled me to return to the capital safely. It is reasonable for me to come to your house to express my gratitude."
Zhong Xuran was a straightforward person, and he was always impatient with those roundabout ways, so he told Luo Changqing the reason for his visit.
Luo Changqing was a little surprised. After Xu Shichu left the capital, he seemed to have disappeared and never thought of sending a message back to the prime minister's residence. Therefore, he had no idea that Xu Shichu had met Zhong Xuran at the post station.
"It's just a small favor. I'm sure my wife doesn't take it to heart. Lord Zhong, there's no need to come here in such a grand manner to express your gratitude." Luo Changqing said calmly.
"Madam Luo means well, but I cannot take her kindness for granted. After all, if I didn't have the medicine for her wounds, I might have returned to Beijing half dead or even with hidden dangers. How could I be as healthy as I am now
If Madam Luo comes back, I want to thank her in person. Last time at the post station, I wanted to thank her but I had no conditions. Now that I have returned to Beijing, I can only send a small thank-you gift. I wonder if it is inconvenient for me to give it to Madam Luo in person?"
Zhong Xuran said this openly.
Luo Changqing was stunned for a moment before answering, "My wife is still traveling outside the city and has not returned to Beijing."
Zhong Xuran didn't expect Xu Shichu to not come back, but he didn't think too much about it. He just said to Luo Changqing: "This is really unfortunate. When Madam Luo comes back, please ask Prime Minister Luo to convey my gratitude and these gifts to her."
The thank-you gift was for Xu Shichu, and Luo Changqing couldn't help her refuse it, so he nodded in agreement.
Seeing that Zhong Xuran was handsome and spoke in a mature and steady manner, Luo Changqing began to have some favorable impressions of this young official.
After finishing talking about Xu Shichu, he started talking to Zhong Xuran about the cases in the Criminal Justice Department. Trying and investigating cases was Zhong Xuran's strong point, and Luo Changqing was a sensible person, so the two of them unexpectedly got along very well and were surprisingly consistent in some of their views.
Luo Changqing admired Zhong Xuran even more, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that if he had a daughter, wouldn't it be a perfect match for the father-in-law and son-in-law if he invited him to be her son-in-law
He didn't know that his dream came true in his previous life. Zhong Xuran really became his son-in-law, but he missed it in this life.
Because they got along well, when Zhong Xuran said goodbye, he even saw her off to the door of his study out of respect for her talent.
Luo Yaqing just came over from her sister-in-law's place to look for her father, and she bumped into Zhong Xuran's face. When she saw Zhong Xuran's appearance, she inexplicably felt that she had seen him somewhere, so she stared at him.
When Zhong Xuran saw that the person coming was a young woman, he quickly lowered his head and politely did not look at her again. Then he said goodbye to Luo Changqing and left.
"Father, that man is Lord Zhong? What kind of official is he? He is so arrogant. Please send him off in person!" Luo Yaqing felt very uncomfortable when she saw that the man did not even look at her and avoided her from a distance, as if he despised her.
She is the apple of the prime minister's eye, young and beautiful. Is that Zhong guy blind? He has no interest in her at all!
Luo Yaqing had just had a fight with her husband and was in a bad mood. Just when she was doubting her own charm, she happened to meet Zhong Xuran, who was "avoiding her as much as possible", which made her even more annoyed.
But she couldn't find a reason to get angry. She couldn't say that it was wrong for others to ignore her, right? So she found an excuse to get angry.
Luo Changqing sighed and said, "At such a young age, he is already a powerful prison officer. He has a promising future. He is a promising talent and a calm and generous person... If you hadn't married, he would have been a rare good man. What a pity!"
After he finished speaking, he realized that his words were not appropriate, so he quickly changed the subject and asked his daughter: "You are back, have you met your brother and sister-in-law?"
Luo Yaqing answered absentmindedly: "I have seen it."
She was still thinking about what her father had said. If she had married Mr. Zhong, would everything have been different
Her heart began to surge, and after having this thought, she could no longer hold back. Her father praised Lord Zhong, and he did not even look away when he saw her, a member of the opposite sex. He must be a polite and not lustful person. Only a man like this can keep himself clean, right
The more Luo Yaqing thought about it, the more she couldn't calm down. Why did she quarrel with Zhou Wencun this time? It was because she knew that he had secretly had an affair with her maid who came with her as a dowry, and kept it from her and said that it was because she was jealous. If she wasn't jealous and didn't arrange a concubine for her husband, would he have to be so secretive about taking in a woman
Ke Luoyaqing clearly remembered that when he proposed to her, he promised her that there would only be her and only one woman. But now he has gone back on his word, as if the vow of not marrying another woman had never been made.
Even though she was unwilling to admit it, Luo Yaqing actually regretted it in her heart. She had been coaxed into going with Zhou Wencun's sweet words and had disobeyed her father and brother, thus trapping herself in the mud pit of Shunyi Palace.
Since she married into the palace, she realized how wonderful her life was when she was still married in her parents' home. However, after getting married, she was disliked by her mother-in-law, targeted and schemed by her sisters-in-law, and accused by her husband of being stingy and jealous... She became more and more haggard day by day, like a delicate flower broken by a storm, without any power to resist.
"Why do you look so sad? Are you not living well in Shunyi Palace? Doesn't Zhou Wencun take good care of you?" Luo Changqing couldn't help but frown when he saw his daughter's haggard and pale face.
"No..." Luo Yaqing wanted to deny it, but when she saw her father's understanding look, her eyes became sore and she almost cried, "Zhou Wencun said that I was his only woman, but he was secretly having an affair with my maid. Dad, I don't accept it..."