Transmigration; Married to My Ex-Fiancé's Uncle-Chapter 206; Lu family 9

"Understood Master. Do you want me to operate quietly, or should I apply pressure?"

Lu Yuze considered this carefully. "Quietly, for now. I don’t want to tip off anyone who might have been involved. If this were murder, if someone in the Lu family orchestrated Xia Lin’s death, they’d be watching for any sign that I’m asking questions. Move carefully, use your external contacts, and keep this completely off the books."

"Payment structure?"

"Cash. Untraceable. Set up a separate account under one of the shell companies we use for sensitive acquisitions. I don’t want any financial trail leading back to Yuyan Conglomerate or to me personally."

Ah Yue nodded. "Timeline?"

"As quickly as possible without compromising thoroughness. But Ah Yue?" Lu Yuze’s voice dropped to something almost dangerous. "If you find evidence that someone in my family murdered my wife, I need you to be absolutely certain before you bring it to me. Triple-check everything. Because once I know for sure, there will be consequences. Severe ones. And I can’t afford to act on faulty intelligence."

"Understood, sir." Ah Yue paused, then asked carefully, "And if the investigation confirms it was natural causes after all?"

"Then at least I’ll know," Lu Yuze said simply. "And I can stop wondering. Stop feeling like I failed to protect her because I didn’t see a threat that was right in front of me."

For just a moment, something raw flickered across his features, grief, guilt, rage, all tangled together and quickly suppressed behind his usual mask of cold control.

Ah Yue saw it, recognized it, and understood.

This wasn’t just about information. It was about closure. About a wound that had never properly healed because Lu Yuze had never had the luxury of processing it, he’d been too busy keeping his daughter alive.

"I’ll find the truth," Ah Yue promised quietly. "Whatever it is."

"I know you will." Lu Yuze’s expression hardened again, the brief vulnerability locked away. "One more thing. I want background checks run on everyone who’s been in contact with Yuyan or even came close to her. All the staff, teachers at Yuyan’s school, and anyone who has had repeated access. If the family is asking questions, they might try to plant informants or apply pressure through proxies."

"I’ll have preliminary reports within forty-eight hours."

"Good." Lu Yuze dismissed him with a slight nod. "Keep me updated. Daily reports, encrypted channels only."

Ah Yue stood, moved toward the door, then paused with his hand on the handle. "Sir? For what it’s worth, I never thought Xia Lin’s death felt entirely right either. I just didn’t know if you wanted to hear that."

Lu Yuze looked up sharply. "Why didn’t you say something?"

"Because you were barely holding yourself together," Ah Yue said bluntly. "You were managing a dying child, building a corporate empire out of spite and desperation, and running on maybe three hours of sleep a night. The last thing you needed was me adding conspiracy theories to your burden. But if you’re ready to look now, if you’re ready to know..." He shrugged slightly. "Then I’m ready to dig."

For a long moment, the two men regarded each other, employer and employee, yes, but also something closer to brothers-in-arms. Comrades who’d survived wars together, both literal and metaphorical.

"Dig deep, Ah Yue," Lu Yuze said finally. "And if you find the people responsible, bring me their names. I’ll handle the rest personally."

The promise in those words was absolute and utterly chilling.

Ah Yue smiled slightly, a rare expression on his usually stoic face. "Understood, sir. I’ll be in touch."

He slipped out of the office as quietly as he’d entered, leaving Lu Yuze alone with his thoughts and the growing certainty that the past he’d thought he understood was about to reveal secrets he’d never imagined.

And if those secrets pointed toward murder, toward betrayal from within his own family?

Then the Lu family was about to discover that the Frozen King’s wrath, when finally unleashed, was a force of nature that left nothing but scorched earth in its wake.

— — — — — —

Back in her corner office, Shuyin found Yuyan and Chen Xiao exactly where they’d been throughout the entire confrontation, near the windows, surrounded by coloring books and scattered supplies, trying to maintain some semblance of normal childhood activity despite the adult drama that had just exploded around them.

Yuyan was still helping Chen Xiao organize his coloring pencils, but her hands had gone very still now that Lu Cheng had left. The careful neutrality she’d maintained during her uncle’s presence was beginning to crack at the edges, stress and uncertainty showing through the composed mask she’d worn so perfectly. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Chen Xiao seemed oblivious to the deeper implications, mostly just relieved that the scary man who’d burst in shouting was gone. He continued coloring with serious concentration, his small tongue poking out slightly between his lips as he tried to stay inside the lines of a cartoon dragon.

But Yuyan understood.

Understood that what had just happened was significant, dangerous even. That denying family, claiming a false identity, protecting Shuyin’s secrets, all of it had consequences that would ripple outward in ways they couldn’t fully predict yet.

Shuyin dismissed Tank, Blade, and Razor with a subtle gesture, sending them to wait outside and give the children some privacy. Ting Fei understood immediately, moving to the door and ushering the others out, closing it softly behind them.

Then she moved to where the children sat, settling onto the floor beside Yuyan rather than taking a chair, putting herself at the girl’s level, making herself approachable, available.

"You did well," she said quietly, reaching out to tuck a strand of silver-white hair behind Yuyan’s ear. The gesture was gentle, almost maternal, and she saw the girl’s shoulders relax fractionally at the touch. "That was incredibly brave. And brilliant. You protected us both with your quick thinking."

Yuyan nodded, but her silver eyes were starting to shine with unshed tears, the emotional armor she’d worn during the confrontation finally beginning to crack now that the immediate danger had passed and she was safe in Shuyin’s presence.