Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 48: Murder

"Okay." She got out of bed, took his sleeve and walked forward. Lu Yu was slightly taken aback, pulled her hand away, and without paying attention to her surprised expression, took her hand instead.

"Let's go." He said softly, leading her forward in her dazed state. Ji Meiqing followed behind him, her gaze fixed on their clasped hands, her eyes thoughtful.

The two left the place one after the other. Ji Meiqing was still thinking about what had happened today, and she was filled with doubts.

"Be careful for a while," he said, turning to look at her as she was lost in thought. He suddenly pulled her close, placed his hand on her waist, and whispered in her ear, "Be careful, don't get distracted and trip over a stone."

The voice was inexplicably pleasant right next to her ear, and Ji Meiqing was momentarily lost in thought again. However, when she came to her senses, her ears suddenly turned red.

"Oh..." She unconsciously turned her head to the side, and dared not look directly at Lu Yu beside her.

Lu Yu looked at her curiously, "What are you thinking about? Why are you so absent-minded?"

"N-nothing..." Ji Meiqing said calmly, her ears turning even redder.

Seeing her indifferent expression, Lu Yu assumed that nothing was wrong. The two continued walking forward, and Ji Meiqing secretly glanced at him twice before quickly looking away.

"It's likely that the princess was behind this. If she investigates, the outcome is uncertain. If she doesn't, then the only outcome is suspicion."

“I don’t think the princess is that stupid.” She said slowly, “Even when I deliberately provoked her just now, she didn’t get angry and admit anything or reveal any flaws.”

"Yes. So, be more careful in the future."

Ji Meiqing nodded, recalling what had just happened. And the act of making an example of someone—her face flushed red without her realizing it. Lu Yu glanced at her, puzzled.

"What's wrong? Are you hot?"

"No...no." She was a little embarrassed, her face turning red to her ears, and she had to lower her head. "I just suddenly got red, I couldn't control it..."

She chuckled twice, and seeing that he was still looking at her, she deliberately quickened her pace and walked ahead alone.

The two of them were still holding hands, and the warmth of their palms made her feel a little lightheaded, but more importantly, her hands were constantly sweating.

Lu Yu thought she was scared, so he comforted her, "It's okay, I won't let anyone hurt you."

"I..." Ji Meiqing paused, lowered her head, and after a while, she mustered up her courage, looked at him firmly, and asked, "Um, Brother Lu... what kind of girl do you like?"

"Why are you asking about this?" Lu Yu asked, somewhat puzzled, before smiling and saying, "You're not thinking about marriage, are you? Marriage is about fate. When the time is right, you leave it to destiny."

"I...no. I was just curious...just asking out of curiosity." She lowered her head, then asked again, "Do you prefer love at first sight or love that grows over time?"

"I don't know." He thought about it seriously before answering Ji Meiqing, "It's probably the kind that makes me feel very comfortable."

"Well... Brother Lu, do I feel comfortable looking at you?" She mustered her courage and looked at him, her eyes full of expectation. Lu Yu looked at her for a long time before finally smiling. "You're like my sister, clever and quirky, hard to understand."

"Really?" She lowered her head in disappointment. "Actually, all love at first sight is just lust at first sight. That's fine too."

She seemed to be comforting herself, but there was still a lot of hurt and disappointment in her tone. Lu Yu ruffled her hair and said, "Don't overthink it. If you like a man in the future, just say it boldly."

"I know." She looked up, thought about it seriously, and said, "I think Young Master Liu is quite good."

Lu Yu's face immediately darkened. "That Liu Yu is probably not a simple person. You should be careful."

"Oh." She nodded, her eyes unconsciously looking ahead.

Lu Yu looked at her with a rather helpless expression.

The two returned to their home one after the other. The house was such a mess that it looked like someone had robbed it. Ji Meiqing first searched her room; the bed, the table, and even the little sofa she had made herself... it was a complete disaster.

Thinking of her precious gold, Ji Meiqing immediately grabbed something and pried open the floorboards. Seeing that the money was still there, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Thinking of Lu Yu again, Ji Meiqing quickly ran to his room, which was also in complete disarray.

Ji Meiqing slowly walked behind him and looked at the room with him.

"What am I going to do? I have nowhere to sleep," she said helplessly.

Lu Yu frowned as the two looked at the mess in the room. There was another commotion outside. Ji Meiqing and Lu Yu went to the front and saw the village chief's wife leading a large group of strong men, each holding a torch and standing in front of Lu Yu's house.

"What are you doing!" she roared. "Is there no justice in this world? Is there no law?"

"You killed my husband, and today I've come to avenge him!" she cried out, her eyes red with rage. "If it weren't for you, my husband would never have left us!"

"I already told you, your husband was killed by the princess! What use are you to me? And why should I kill the village chief? Please think carefully before you cause trouble!"

Ji Meiqing angrily questioned them, then chuckled and said, "Do you also feel that your husband treated us very badly, so we killed him?"

"I didn't! How could the princess kill my husband! It must be you! He said he was coming to your place yesterday, and then he never came back!"

She insisted on shifting the blame onto Ji Meiqing and the others, but Ji Meiqing looked at her helplessly, not understanding why this person was so determined to take the blame upon herself.

She really didn't know how to evaluate this person.

"Who knows if you're lying? How could a princess of such high status possibly hold a grudge against us commoners!" She had such a righteous and self-righteous demeanor that Ji Meiqing almost laughed. Her eyes darted around her, and she suddenly noticed the mess in the room, and her expression suddenly turned serious.

"Did you build this house?" she demanded, her eyes so cold they could freeze you.

Those people held torches, making it look like they were going to burn the house down. Ji Meiqing turned around and went back to the kitchen. Lu Yu watched her go in and come out again, carrying a kitchen knife in her hand.

“If any of you dare to come up here, I will immediately investigate your crimes. Since killing one person is death and killing two people is death, you might as well come with us to the underworld and ask who killed your husband.”