On the 28th day of the first lunar month, the heavy snow that had been falling for days finally stopped, and the sky began to clear.
The sun shone brightly, making the snow on the branches in the inner courtyard of the Ouyang Mansion seem to be slowly melting. A gentle breeze blew, and Wu Luoluo sat with the old lady in the corner, enjoying the sun and chatting idly. The old lady got so excited that she told all the embarrassing things about the Ouyang family's grandsons when they were young, which made Wu Luoluo giggle.
Before long, a servant came to report, "Ancestress, there's an honored guest in the mansion. The master ordered us to invite Miss Wu to the main hall."
Wu Luoluo was secretly surprised. Why did they invite her when there was an honored guest in the Ouyang Mansion? She looked at the old lady with a worried look.
The old lady nodded, stood up with the help of the maid beside her, and took Wu Luoluo's hand as they walked towards the main hall. As they walked, she asked, "Who is the guest? Why do they want Luoluo to show up?"
The servant replied truthfully, "Answering the ancestress, the guest is the prefect. It is said that his arm was injured a few days ago. He heard that you were treated by a divine doctor a few days ago, so he came to the mansion to ask about the whereabouts of the divine doctor. After the master learned of this, he didn't dare to be negligent and asked us to invite Miss Wu to take a look at the prefect's injury."
Hearing this, Wu Luoluo's face turned pale and she stood there in a panic. What should she do? Prefect Nie actually came to the Ouyang Mansion! His real intention was not what he claimed. He must be here for the young master!
The old lady saw that Wu Luoluo looked extremely panicked and couldn't help asking, "Luoluo, what's wrong with you?" Could it be that Luoluo had never met any important people and was just at a loss because she heard that she was going to treat the prefect?
Wu Luoluo pulled the old lady's hand to one side and whispered through gritted teeth, "Madam, Prefect Nie may come to make things difficult for me."
The old lady asked puzzledly, "What do you mean?"
Wu Luoluo told the old lady all about the feud between Prefect Nie and Shangguan Yun. The old lady was stunned. No wonder she had heard some vague rumors from idle people in the early years that the prefect had a preference for men. She thought it was just hearsay and nonsense! She never thought that the prefect would really force a handsome man for his own desire.
She had also seen Luoluo's fiancé with her own eyes. He was indeed an extremely handsome young man in the world. The old lady quickly asked, "Where is your young master now?"
Wu Luoluo: ...
After hesitating for a long time, Wu Luoluo shook her head and lied, "He didn't want to drag me down. He sent me to your mansion to stay overnight and then left. Now, I don't know where he is..."
The old lady patted Wu Luoluo's hand to comfort her and said, "If you don't want to see the prefect, go back and rest for a while. I'll go and deal with it. I'll say that you're not feeling well and it's not convenient for you to treat him today!"
Wu Luoluo said with a pale face, "Thank you, madam, for being willing to protect me, but I'm afraid this won't work. First, I don't want to implicate your mansion. Second, if I decline today, there's no guarantee that he won't come again tomorrow. By then, it will be even more difficult to explain to Master Ouyang."
The old lady thought it made sense and sighed, "Then we can only brace ourselves and meet him. Then we'll say that our medical skills are not good enough to help and try to get rid of him."
Wu Luoluo nodded. For now, this was the only thing they could do.
The old lady took Wu Luoluo's hand and walked towards the main hall all the way.
The two stepped into the main hall one after another. The head of the Ouyang family in the main seat quickly greeted them and supported the old lady, whispering, "Mother, why did you come too? Take care of your health!" Then he introduced his mother and Wu Luoluo to Prefect Nie sitting on one side.
The old lady led Wu Luoluo forward to pay their respects and sat down properly on one side.
Prefect Nie looked much haggard. The sleeve of his disabled arm hung empty. His pair of sinister eyes stared fiercely at Wu Luoluo, with hatred in them.
A man beside Prefect Nie sneered and said in a sarcastic tone, "Long time no see. How have you been these days, junior sister?"
Wu Luoluo was shocked. The man beside Prefect Nie was actually Wang Jiu!
The head of the Ouyang family asked in surprise, "You two actually know each other?"
Wang Jiu said in a deep and cold voice, "Not only do we know each other, but my junior sister has committed a heinous crime! She is in the same group as the man who assassinated Prefect Nie! No wonder we searched everywhere but found nothing. It turns out that my junior sister has been hiding in your Ouyang Mansion!"
The head of the Ouyang family's expression froze, and he carefully glanced at Prefect Nie.
What was going on? Weren't they just saying that they wanted to meet the divine doctor to treat the prefect? Now, how could it turn out that Miss Wu was an accomplice of the wanted criminal?
Prefect Nie ignored the surprised look of the head of the Ouyang family, glanced at the trembling Wu Luoluo, and coldly asked, "Where is the young master now? Confess and you'll be lenient. I won't make things difficult for you."
Wu Luoluo gritted her teeth and replied bravely, "Reporting to the prefect, I'm not an accomplice, and I don't know where the young master is now!" She really didn't know if the young master was in the guest room or in the carriage. These two days, the young master had been really bored after reading the medical books. He probably went out for a stroll when no one was around.
Wang Jiu pointed at Wu Luoluo and shouted, "You're lying! The young master has always been inseparable from you. I saw with my own eyes that you led him to the Ouyang Mansion that night! Now, in front of the prefect, you actually say you don't know? Wu Luoluo, quickly confess the truth!"
Seeing that Wu Luoluo's face was flushed and she looked extremely embarrassed, the old lady coughed lightly and arched her hands, "May I ask, prefect, who is this?" What the hell? He came up and questioned Miss Wu sharply. Is this how they come to the Ouyang Mansion as guests?
Wang Jiu's expression changed. It seemed that the old lady really wanted to protect Wu Luoluo.
Prefect Nie glanced at the old lady and replied casually, "He is my subordinate. He was authorized by me to investigate this matter. Miss Wu, quickly confess the truth!"
Wu Luoluo was in a panic, but she pretended to be calm on the surface and said, "I thought Prefect Nie really came to me for medical advice! It turns out you're here to blame me? But I'm afraid you'll be disappointed this time, sir! I really don't know where the young master is."
Seeing that Wu Luoluo refused to confess, Wang Jiu was a little angry. That night, Wu Luoluo was drugged with an aphrodisiac, and only having sex with a man could relieve it. These two had always been inseparable, so they must have had something going on! But now she still flatly denied it. Wang Jiu's face looked a bit ugly. He whispered something in the prefect's ear.
Prefect Nie arched his hands to the head of the Ouyang family and said, "Master Ouyang, I recognize this woman as the accomplice of the man who assassinated me. I need to take her back to interrogate her about the motive. Please do me a favor and hand her over to us. I also believe that the Ouyang family won't shelter the suspect who assassinated me, right?"
"This..." The head of the Ouyang family stood there stunned and didn't say a word for a long time.