My concubine is pregnant, I tear up the marriage certificate and marry another powerful official

"The flood in the southeast region is very serious. Otherwise, the salary would not be deducted. Brother, our house can no longer sit and wait for death. Yun Qing is in the prime of her life. If I can't even prepare her dowry, I would be unworthy of being her brother." There was a trace of calculation in Lu Zhili's eyes.

Lu Yanxiu asked in astonishment: "What do you mean..."

"I heard that the position of Secretary Supervisor is vacant. You can think of a way to get promoted."

"It's not me who has the final say on promotion or demotion, so how can I find a solution?" Lu Yanxiu had long been tired of being a secretary-general. Even if he was promoted to the fourth-rank secretary-supervisor, the content of his duties would still be almost the same. What's the difference?

Wouldn't it be better to just promote him to a high position?

Lu Zhili already knew what kind of person his brother was. Seeing that he had no fighting spirit, he could not help but admonish him: "Official ranks are promoted layer by layer. If you want to be parachuted into a high position, that's fine, but do you have any ability? Or any talent?"

Lu Yanxiu shook his head.

"In that case, then listen to me."

"What about you? Aren't you going to take the exam next year?" Lu Yanxiu asked.

"I will not take part in the exam. As for why, Brother will know the answer after the matter is accomplished."

Lu Zhili raised a smug smile, as if he was very confident. Watching him leave the study, Lu Yanxiu was a little confused. Wasn't it for fame that he had studied so hard for so many years? But he said he would not participate?

Brain problem?

The lively atmosphere of the Lantern Festival gradually dissipated.

The carriage from the Lu Mansion came back very late. Liu Qiuqiu returned to Tingyuxuan and had just told Mingchun to prepare water for bathing. After she left, a figure jumped out from the darkness and almost scared Liu Qiuqiu.

"What are you here for?"

Liu Jinglei appeared in front of her wearing servant's clothes. She was so scared that she quickly pushed him into the dark and said, "Didn't we agree that I would send someone to give you the money in the next two days? Why are you here?"

"The day after tomorrow is too long. I'm going to a brothel tomorrow, so you have to give me some money first!" Liu Jinglei stretched out his hand and asked for money as a matter of course.

Liu Qiuqiu complained in a low voice: "You are such a grown man, but you can't find a way to make a living? Do you think the Lu Mansion is a treasury of gold and silver? Inexhaustible? I already regretted following Lu Yanxiu. I got an empty shell for nothing. It's hard to even eat a bite of meat!"

She felt depressed when she thought about the current situation of the Lu Mansion.

If she hadn't seen Lu Yanxiu being so generous and carefree outside, Liu Qiuqiu wouldn't have thought of hooking up with him. But after all, she had lived a good life for a few years. During those years in the other courtyard, she secretly saved a lot of money, but her home was a bottomless pit. No matter how much money she saved, it would be exhausted one day.

At the same time, the imperial court deducted his salary to support the flood relief efforts, and Liu Qiuqiu was really complaining.

"How come I heard that half of the princess's dowry is in the Lu Mansion?" Liu Jinglei didn't believe that the Lu Mansion had no money, and just thought his sister was pretending to be poor. Back then, Lu Yanxiu was very generous in the restaurant, and he would give a waiter ten taels of silver casually. Now, how long has it been, and he has no money?

There were also rumors that when the princess married Lu Zhiping, she left all her dowry at Lu's mansion and took only half of it with her when she left. Royal things were expensive and valuable, and a hairpin could buy a shop, so why worry about not having money to spend?

Liu Qiuqiu had stayed in the Lu Mansion for so long, and had also asked Lu Yanxiu about the whereabouts of the dowry.

Liu Jinglei thought for a moment and said, "It must have been hidden by that old woman. You should go ask around her. If it really is a priceless dowry, then we won't have to worry about food and drink for the rest of our lives."

"How could that damn old woman let me know so easily? If I'm too aggressive, she'll doubt Yi'er and Jiao'er's identities again!" Liu Qiuqiu frowned slightly, feeling that the old lady was not an easy person to deal with.

Liu Jinglei smiled coldly: "Yier Jiao'er is not a child of the Lu family... My dear sister, if you want to live in the Lu family without worries from now on, you can't let this old woman stay!"

As soon as Su He left, Liu took charge of the Lu Mansion. Although she said that she was tired and had no intention of managing the place, she did not give up.

As long as she was in the house, Liu Qiuqiu could not rest completely at ease.

She looked at her brother in the darkness with her dark eyes and said nothing.

It has been a hazy autumn rain these past two days, and the fallen leaves in the yard have covered the bluestone slabs, making it look a bit deserted.

Su He just came back from the Zhaixing Restaurant and found out who had pocketed all the income for the past two years.

She thought about how she was always worried that Lu Zhili would be bullied in the Imperial College when she was in the Lu Mansion, so she would give him some money every once in a while to help him with his relationships. But she didn't expect that he was the most thoughtful one, and all the income from the Zhaixing Restaurant in the past two years went into his private pocket.

Roughly speaking, the money was enough for him to buy several large houses in Beijing.

"Miss, can't we let Second Young Master Lu take this money without being clear about it?" Pei Xia asked.

Su He handed the umbrella to her, twisted the wet hem of her skirt, and said lightly: "It doesn't matter if you give it to Lu Zhili, but you need him to pay for it with other things."

Pei Xia didn't understand.

"Next year, I want him to fall off a cliff in the imperial examination."

Su He looked at the bird perched on the eaves. It was soaked all over and a gust of wind blew, almost causing it to fall off.

In his previous life, Lu Zhili submitted his name for the imperial examinations twice.

Before his first spring examination, he visited Su Ronghai to thank him for sending him to study at the Imperial Academy. Otherwise, he would not have made friends with the powerful and paved the way for his future.

However, Lu Zhili decisively chose to refuse the exam, but took the exam again three years later and successfully achieved success.

Su He recalled the past and couldn't help but sigh at Lu Zhili's intentions. He had been coveting the position of Minister of Rites for a long time, and he actually gave up the opportunity to take an exam to frame the Su family. He deserved death!

But this time, he will no longer have the opportunity to enter the court and meet the emperor!

"Miss, someone from the next courtyard has sent something."

A maid brought something in, and Pei Xia opened it and saw that it was a plate of cakes.

"This is……"

The maid said, "Master Lu next door said that the Poria cocos cake sent by the young lady is very delicious. He recently thought that the peach blossom cake is good, so he specially sent it to the young lady to taste."

Peach blossom pastry?

During this season, only the palace would keep peach petals refrigerated all year round for the concubines to enjoy.

Su He looked at the light pink peach blossom cake in the lotus dish and ordered, "Put it down."

The maid bowed and said, "Master Lu also asked if there is any clue about the matter of Zhaixing Restaurant. If you need his help, just ask."

Su He said: "I understand, you can leave now."

The Zhaixing Restaurant has now been closed down, and the other two missing girls were indeed found in the small courtyard next door.

The powerful and influential people testified for Lu Zhili. Although he was safe and sound, they also put forward a scapegoat, who was the waiter that day. It was said that he was a distant relative of the Lu family and was temporarily bewitched.

The high-sounding reasons were not enough to convince everyone, but some people defended Lu Zhili and there was nothing they could do to him for the time being.

Su He leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes to think. Lu Zhili had extensive connections in the Imperial College in recent years. If she wanted to put pressure on him regarding the restaurant, the only way was to... break his network of connections.