Chapter 152: Seeing You with a Joyful Heart

Chapter 152: Seeing You with a Joyful Heart

This was truly a case of rising from the ashes.

Lu Mingchao no longer paid attention to the ongoing trial. She knew the case was clear, and the situation settled.

Lu Lei's innocence was clear.

Lu Mingchao adjusted her cloak, opened a simple oil-paper umbrella, and walked towards the carriage outside the county office alley.

She had a vague idea why Cheng Zhi did not implicate Jade String Gentleman and Zhang Cheng.

It was still that sentence: stick to the image of a struggling, pitiful person.

Moreover, implicating them wouldn’t do much good.

Lu Mingchao held up a simple oil-paper umbrella as she walked through the long alley outside the county office.

Her cloak fluttered in the wind, from afar, she looked like a delicate flower in the snow.

Before she left the long alley, the umbrella was already heavy with snow.

The wind swept up the snowflakes in flurries.

They danced over the umbrella, landing on her shoulders and hair, lingering without melting.

Lu Mingchao pursed her lips and smiled lightly, playfully poking the umbrella with her fingertip. The snowflakes fell like petals from a shaken tree.

It was like snowflakes rising like willow catkins, or salt scattered in the air.

At the entrance of the alley, Xie Yan stood quietly in a black cloak, holding a dark umbrella.

Lu Mingchao was momentarily stunned.

She felt a burning heat in her chest, impossible to ignore.

She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she last saw Xie Yan.

She hadn’t kept track or counted the days, nor had she felt the deep longing of legends.

Xie Yan had things to do.

She also had things to do.

But in this sudden reunion, she realized she had missed Xie Yan.

The lack of longing came from a sense of security and trust.

A radiant smile spread across her lips.

For some reason, she wanted to stand there, waiting for A Yan to approach.

The black cloak made A Yan look even more striking.

In short, it was a sight to behold.

Their eyes met at just the right distance.

Xie Yan seemed to read her thoughts, his expression softening as he walked towards her, umbrella in hand.

"Mingchao," Xie Yan turned slightly, positioning himself against the wind.

Lu Mingchao looked up, pointing to her chest, and smiled warmly, "A Yan, seeing you fills my heart with joy."

Her mouth isn't only for arguing.

She could voice her thoughts, joys, and sorrows.

A faint blush spread across Xie Yan's earlobes and cheeks, like the first bloom of peach blossoms, whether from the cold wind or his inner shyness.

He gripped the umbrella handle tightly with one hand, while the other gently cradled Lu Mingchao's hand, his eyes shining like crystal-clear icicles by the lake, sparkling in the winter sun.

Clear and pristine.

It was the unexpected meeting of the cold wind and the lake water.

Silence speaks volumes.

"A Yan, aren't you curious about the latest developments in Cheng Zhi's case against the eldest brother?"

Xie Yan smiled, "It must be just as Mingchao predicted."

"Mingchao's smile says it all."

Lu Mingchao hummed softly, "A Yan's smile is just as telling."

"So, is it a double stroke of luck?"

Xie Yan nodded, "The second young master of the Sun family has a lead on the lost pearl."

"Originally, it was Ganlu, a maid from Yunhua at Fuxiang Tower, who by chance ended up serving the second young master of the Sun family."

"Yunhua is a shrewd woman. She traded a maid for the Sun family's favor, buying Ganlu's contract from the madam with her own money and handing it over to the second young master of the Sun family."

"The second young master of the Sun family rented a small courtyard for Ganlu and kept her as his mistress."

"Two years ago, Yunhua was bought out by a wealthy merchant and taken into his mansion as a concubine. With Yunhua gone, Fuxiang Tower forgot about Ganlu, which is why Shu Yuan's Shadow Guard couldn't find her for so long."

"They say the scenery at the Taoist temple after a snowfall is unmatched. We should pick a day to go and enjoy it," Lu Mingchao said, holding Xie Yan's hand, stepping onto the carriage with a stool, and resting her head on his shoulder as usual.

Xie Yan whispered, "The Taoist temple Sun Zhiye chose for his parents is remote, with a harsh environment, few visitors, sparse incense, and nothing worth seeing."

Lu Mingchao narrowed her eyes, murmuring, "People can be scenery too."

"The scenery doesn't intoxicate people; people intoxicate themselves with it."

"True enough."

The carriage moved slowly, and Lu Mingchao yawned sleepily, her eyes quietly closing.

Xie Yan looked at the dark circles beneath Lu Mingchao's long lashes, feeling both helpless and heartbroken.

In the small study behind Chaofu Grain Shop, aside from the account books, there were page after page of well-laid plans.

What else could he do for Mingchao?

As the sky grew dark.

The snow ceased.

Amidst the snow-blanketed scenery, the flickering candlelight shone more brilliantly than ever.

In her foggy recollection, Lu Mingchao couldn't quite recall whether the carriage detoured to the back door of Chaofu Grain Shop, or if she stumbled back in a haze, or cozily curled up in A Yan's embrace.

She only knew that when she opened her eyes, the room was cloaked in dimness.

Only the nearby candlestick cast a warm, golden glow.

The warm light flowed like quicksand, enveloping Xie Yan, deep in his work.

Inside the room, the charcoal fire blazed brightly.

Xie Yan, dressed in a snow-white inner robe, sat upright, his head slightly bowed, holding a brush. He paused briefly, then resumed writing in an instant.

The candlelight bathed his face, giving him the appearance of a jade statue.

Lu Mingchao thought to herself, at first glance, he still exuded the aura of a scholarly gentleman.

Time slipped by silently in the stillness.

When Xie Yan stood up, Lu Mingchao finally murmured softly, "A Yan."

"You're awake?" Xie Yan collected the scattered papers on the desk, then adjusted the candlelight by the bed to make it brighter.

He then sat on the edge of the bed, clutching a stack of papers.

"Mingchao, these are all the personnel and assets currently under my control."

Lu Mingchao leaned against the soft pillow and accepted them in a daze.

As she flipped through the pages, it felt as if a boulder had plunged into the lake of her heart.

Xie Yan was truly a man of profound depths.

In just a few years since escaping and settling, he had built such a vast fortune. She was utterly amazed.

Xie Yan explained, "It wasn't solely my effort."

"Some were the Xie family's former assets, kept secret, known to few even within the clan. Thus, they evaded confiscation and extermination."

"After lying low for a long time, once the storm passed, I took over the surviving assets and personnel with the Xie family's secret orders. That's how we reached this scale today."

"However, these properties are quite scattered."

Lu Mingchao's eyes brightened, "Scattered has its advantages."

"A wise move, like a cunning rabbit with multiple burrows."

After gaining a clear understanding in her heart, Lu Mingchao placed the papers on the brocade cover and grasped Xie Yan's fingers, speaking earnestly, "A Yan, tell me in detail about the past."

"The noble families in the capital are tight-lipped about the Xie family's massacre, and I know very little about it."

"If there's blood vengeance to be taken, it must be done."

"A Yan, don't hide it anymore. On the day you saved Shu Yuan, you should have known that the old stories, the old people, and the old grudges would have to be brushed away from the surface of the blood-stained sand and revealed to the world."

"The Xie family massacre."