Not Your Typical Villianess

Chapter 135: His runaway wife

Duke Wu's mansion

Some minutes earlier, at Lu Yingjie's study.

Lu Yingjie read through the reports sent down two days ago by the clerk at the ministry of justice. He had a lot of pending work in his hands, which had piled up during his short stint in the ice prisons. One would think that considering what his entire family, himself included had been put through these past few days. The Emperor would give him a few more days break, even if it was only just three days but that wasn't the case.

Prime Minister Shi's demotion affected every single department not just his main office. It had created a massive backlog caused by the frequent arrest of officials. Emperor Zhong wished to root out the remnants of former prime minister Shi's men. Everyone was invited to work overtime to make up for the absence of a prime minister. 

Lu Yingjie didn't get mad when the reports arrived the next day after they were released. It was a lot like the Emperor not to make life comfortable for him. For a paternal uncle, he wasn't concerned about how things turned out for his nephews. He would be very okay if something happened to them.

The letter summoning him back to court four days from now came in with another set of reports delivered yesterday morning. He has gone through half of the latest set when he felt a headache coming. He put down the last report he was going through and stood. He needed to stretch his legs, he walked out of the room and stood in front of his study.

He looked out at the peach tree in the middle of his courtyard. The afternoon sun felt a lot

hotter than usual, it was nearly time for his next dose of medicine. His face got sour at that thought, he couldn't avoid taking the medicine. Not since Zhu Fengyin took charge of the arrangement, she had done so after discovering that he didn't like taking his medicine.

He went back into his rooms and took out a few jars of peach wine, he was in the mood for a drink or two. He walked to Lu Yaozhu's study with the jars of wine, there was no maids insight at his brother's courtyard which was usual during this time of the day.

There was no one to announce his presence, He walked to the sliding door and knocked. There wasn't any answer, 'the window was open so he must be in. A'zhu usually answered after a knock', he thought looking to the side of the building to check once more if the window at the side of the window was open. 

He knock once more before pushing the door open, "let us have a drink, A'zhu. I brought over my best stash", he said as he walked in. His brother's fast movements made him pause by the step, eyes open wide. A male jacket was draped around his sister-in-law's shoulders while his brother hugged her tight. He quickly turned around, "sorry for interrupting you two". 

Blushing heavily, Su Liya quickly rearranges her clothes. She pulled out of Lu Yaozhu's hold and rushed out of the room through the other door. Lu Yaozhu frowned as he watched her leave, he played heavily at his brother when he turned back around. 'Talk about having horrible timing' he thought as he stood out walked to the table at the centre of the room.

Lu Yaozhu grunted his reluctance at being interrupted, "let us get this over with".

Lu Yingjie walked to the other side of the table and after placing 12 jars of peach wine on the table, he sat opposite Lu Yaozhu. He could barely look his younger brother in the eye, there was a few seconds of awkward silence. Lu Yingjie broke the silence with an apology "Sorry for the bad timing, that was my bad_" 

Lu Yaozhu walked to the cupboard behind him, took out two cups of wine and brought them back to the table. He pushed a cup to his elder brother, picked up a jar of wine and unlocked the jar. He poured some in his cup before interrupting Lu Yingjie, "Stop talking and drink". He brought the cup to his lips and tipped it up. 

"Okay", he replied. He picked up another jar and poured himself a cup of wine. They drank silently for some minutes. 

Three jars in and Lu Yaozhu was finally ready to talk glanced at his brother and said "I heard that the clerk at the palace came over with a summoning letter. When are you expected back at court?"

"In for days, I was hoping that he would extend my stay longer but he didn't. Once again, his conscience seems non-existent" he downed a cup of wine.

"He must be mad that his plan failed, He put a lot of thought into that plan. Too bad."

"Of only he can be as dedicated as he is in getting rid of our Lu family in properly running Northern Wei. Maybe he would stop supporting corruption, the Emperor hasn't concluded on the Sun family's case. I need that settled before returning to Ningzhuo. It is already snowing heavily in the north, before long the rods might get blocked". 

Lu Yingjie sighed, "there is a lot of backlogs thanks to the former Prime Minister's sudden removal from office. It might take a while".

He tapped his fingers on the table gently and replied "I understand but brother it might be a good idea to settle Yiling's marriage before all the chaos of selecting a new Prime Minister began. O received reports that a lot of high ranking noble families were heading into the capital" 

Lu Yingjie grimaced at the thought of what the much arrival in town would entail. "All hell is about to break free"

"Don't worry about that, I already spoke with mother. Apart from events that cannot be avoided, everyone is to stay indoors. Luckily Yong'er is undergoing in-house preparation for the Imperial exams and won't be going out often. I don't want anyone of us to be casualties in this fight for the position of Prime Minister"

"Yes, we have a lot of problems without adding that. I will make sure to make my lack of interest in that position obvious. In the end, the decision is ultimately up to his Majesty, do you have any idea who he is most likely to choose for the position?"

"The obvious choice would be Zhu Yawen but he has already made his stance obvious. Word on the street is that your father-in-law will be retiring soon. He must have gotten tired of everything"

Snotting loudly, Lu Yingjie replied "I will believe that when I see it. Until then I will remain vigilant"

They spoke of a few other topics before, Lu Yingjie returned to the main courtyard.

********* 

Meanwhile at Su Liya's end 

Rong Rong and Baozhai took a step back when the door was pushed open and their mistress ran out. They ran after her, catching up with her in the garden, she stopped by the fish tank to catch her breath before walking back to her room briskly.

They didn't notice her dishevelled clothes and red face until they were inside her room. Baozhai glanced from the male outer jacket wrapped around her to her loosened up blouse and said nothing. She could already guess what happened based on her appearance. Baozhai helped her get changed into a simple gown. 

Su Liya was distracted ever since she got back from Lu Yaozhu's room. She couldn't quite wrap her head around what had just happened in there. The kiss had been so unexpected but while she was surprised by the kiss, it was the fact that she had enjoyed it that got her confused. She had noticed t that she no longer thought of him as a character in a book.

This world felt so real, as did everyone she had net so far. She felt comfortable here than in her world after staying here for almost a year. Here she had family and friends, she had people who cared about her but in her world. She had nothing, she was so alone. 

She had grown comfortable with being alone but staying here made her appreciate having someone to rely on but this was not her home. To her this place was only a dream, it could be over as quickly as it began. Once she was done with her mission, she will have to go back to her world. She couldn't afford to hold on to this dream, not when it would only bring her pain.

Over the next two days, Su Liya avoided Lu Yaozhu like the plague, she didn't want to be drawn deeper into this fantasy he was selling her. Luckily their rooms weren't that close and were separated by a garden apart from during family mealtime they did not run into each other as much.

Lu Yaozhu predicted she would follow this route when she rejected his request to join her for dinner the next day. Her hands reported that she was already asleep but he knew that she wasn't. He decided to give her one more day to hide before going all out.