Do Not Offend the Reborn Wicked Wife-Chapter 277: Xiang Yin and the Others Are Coming!

Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Xiang Yin and the Others Are Coming!

Li Qingmu’s face twitched slightly, indeed, it was to ask about this!

His heart was shocked, and his face carried a gravely serious expression.

"Is Lord Zhao referring to the government official... Are you talking about your nephew, Zhao Xuan?"

"Yes, yes, that’s him! Back then, he went to the Jiangling area to have fun, reached Qingtian County, and ended up being killed by a group of men in black there. To this day, I haven’t found the real culprits. Do you have any news?"

Li Qingmu pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "Not much useful information. At the time, he went hunting with us, but when we encountered a downpour in the mountains, we initially intended to find a cave to shelter from the rain, but instead ran into the men in black and got separated."

"Separated?"

"Yes, I, along with a friend, Xiang Yin, initially ran together with Zhao Xuan. However, the weather was too severe, and it was deep in the mountains. We were unfamiliar with the terrain and got separated as we ran. Xiang Yin and I temporarily found a cave to avoid the rain."

Li Qingmu looked up, his expression somewhat gloomy and guilty: "Lord Zhao, you also know that in such a situation, we could barely protect ourselves and couldn’t go out to find him. We had to wait until the next day when the weather cleared up to search, but we looked in the mountains for a long time and never found him. We really failed him in this matter."

Li Qingmu’s face showed genuine remorse. He wasn’t naturally cold or bloodthirsty; often, he was forced by circumstances.

At that time, Zhao Xuan was too ruthless, determined to have someone die in his place. How could he bear to kill him?

If Zhao Xuan had been willing to face those three assassins with them, even if it would lead to the mastermind’s reckoning, he wouldn’t have hesitated.

That’s loyalty.

But Zhao Xuan wasn’t righteous to him, so he couldn’t be blamed for not being loyal in return!

Zhao Mengran saw Li Qingmu’s honest and guilty face and shook his head slightly. They saved lives out of righteousness, not saving was their duty. In that kind of situation, they couldn’t be blamed.

"Did those men in black... say anything?"

Li Qingmu was silent for a while, just about to say no, when suddenly, he remembered something.

At that time, at the Xinan Camp, when he and Yue’er went deep into the enemy’s rear to burn their supplies, Cao Jing had once asked him if he had ever killed someone.

At that time, he slipped up, and since he was a Cao family member, he had no sense of vigilance and admitted he had killed at the age of fourteen.

He wasn’t worried that Cao Jing would spread that he killed at fourteen, but such a thing, better safe than sorry, what if he accidentally mentioned it and it spread?

Wouldn’t that be troublesome!

Thinking of this, without much thought, Li Qingmu said: "Yes! When Xiang Yin and I were escaping, we encountered a man in black. We thought we were doomed, so we fought desperately, and ended up killing him by sheer luck. We found a token on him, and there was a word written on it."

"What word?"

"Xue!"

"Xue?"

Zhao Mengran was stunned, was it the surname Xue?

In Shengjing City, the prominent family with the surname Xue was Empress Dowager Xue’s clan, capable of dispatching assassins. Only Empress Dowager Xue’s family was left.

But... he had no hatred with Empress Dowager Xue, why would they kill his nephew?

"Imperial Censor Li, are you sure?"

Zhao Mengran was still a bit incredulous and confirmed once more.

Li Qingmu said gloomily: "My lord, this is no small matter. Even if I had the guts to, I wouldn’t dare to lie, would I?"

Li Qingmu was indeed bluffing, but Zhao Mengran, seeing his naive appearance, didn’t look like he was lying and sighed: "It’s my fault! In that case... thank you!"

He cupped his hands in thanks and turned to leave.

Li Qingmu watched his departing figure, his eyes growing deep; he had not expected this matter would eventually come around.

But so what? If time were reversed and he faced the same situation again, he would still do what he did to survive!

As Zhao Mengran left, an Imperial Censor came over to inquire about the situation. Li Qingmu just casually responded and then, using the excuse of writing memorials, continued to bury himself in work.

In the evening, after leaving the office, Li Qingmu returned to the General Mansion and found Long Yue. The first thing he said was: "Zhao Mengran came to me!"

"What do you mean?" Long Yue was startled, and then, thinking of something, her face changed slightly, "Does he suspect you?"

"No, he just came to inquire about Zhao Xuan, the government official I killed back then."

Li Qingmu propped his chin with one hand, staring at a bowl of soup on the table, watching the ripples form from being touched, and said softly, "I fear someone mentioned this matter."

"Just deny it flatly. The events of those days have passed for so long; who can verify it?"

Today, Long Yue was in a rare good mood and served Li Qingmu a piece of lamb and fish, placing them in his bowl: "Don’t overthink it; perhaps he just came to ask?"

"No, I must be prepared, can’t wait until they really come knocking to deal with it. Besides... there’s one person who knows my secret."

"You mean... Xiang Yin?"

"Yes, he knows! The real breakthrough still lies with Xiang Yin. If he doesn’t speak, it’s fine; if he speaks, there will be big trouble... Yue’er, I plan to go back once to talk to Xiang Yin."

"A Mu, there’s no need."

"Hmm, why not?"

"They... are coming in a few days!"

"What?"

Li Qingmu was startled, finding it hard to believe.

"Really, see, this is a letter from Qiao’er. She has just finished her confinement and is planning to stay in Shengjing City while the weather is warm."

"Does the Xiang Family plan to expand their business to Shengjing City?"

"Yes, the Xiang Family deals in grain, weaving, banking, and now they’ve become a major pharmaceutical trader, accumulating a lot of wealth. They’re unwilling to stay in a small place like Qingtian County and want to venture into Shengjing City. Of course, there’s also an important reason: we’re here!"

It’s true that having acquaintances makes earning money easier.

Li Qingmu chuckled quietly: "What a coincidence, I was just thinking of finding them, but they come on their own, which is good. This way, there’ll be less trouble. When will they arrive?"

"According to the letter, it should be within these two days."

Long Yue handed Xiang Yin’s letter over.

Li Qingmu took a look, then burned the letter.

"When they arrive, they can catch the Dragon Boat Festival, and I can accompany you to watch the dragon boat races. That’s not bad."

Long Yue looked at Li Qingmu, and seeing his gloomy expression, asked worriedly: "And... what about you? Will you not accompany me?"

The Dragon Boat Festival is a grand festival, even the court allows some unimportant officials to take a holiday; Li Qingmu should be included.

"Silly girl, of course, I’ll be with you! Since marrying you, I have never properly spent a festival with you, which is my fault as your husband. This time, I’ll definitely make sure you have fun!"

Li Qingmu chuckled softly and lightly scratched Long Yue’s small nose.

Long Yue felt content in her heart and nodded gently: "Okay!"