Wang Daxia's mind was strung together with money; everything was about money, money, money.
Wei Caiwei recalled that when Wang Daxia arranged the "chance encounter" at the altar that night, he had mentioned that Lu Bing went to the underground death row cell early in the morning to see Ding Rukui and instructed the jailers to set up an altar in the courtyard that evening.
During the "chance encounter" with Ding Rukui in the courtyard just now, Ding Rukui held a brilliantly written thousand-word eulogy and read it aloud to mourn the deceased. She heard that the eulogy was written for Wei Nanshan and his wife.
Ding Rukui had been imprisoned underground for ten years, completely cut off from the outside world, so of course, he had no idea that Wei Nanshan and his wife had passed away one after the other within a single day.
Thus, as clever as Wei Caiwei, she roughly deduced what Lu Bing had said to Ding Rukui that morning.
Wei Nanshan was merely a retainer who took care of Ding Wu. Lu Bing wouldn't go out of his way to visit Ding Rukui for the sake of an insignificant person.
Lu Bing must have discovered the name "Clerk Ding Wu" on the Household Certificate and then followed the clues to dig "me" out.
But it didn't matter if he dug me out. My identity was flawless; Lu Bing couldn't do anything to me, at most he might try to intimidate or trick me with words.
Wei Caiwei, confident and composed, leaned on her crutch and stood up, saying, "I'll go see Lord Lu right now."
Wang Daxia followed along as well.
Thanks to the imperial physician's skillful treatment, Lu Bing's condition had stabilized. Lu Ying was holding a bowl of medicine, feeding it to Lu Bing spoon by spoon—his hands still had some issues with gripping, making it difficult for him to hold the bowl steadily.
After drinking the medicine, Lu Bing rinsed his mouth. Lu Ying offered him a piece of preserved fruit to sweeten his mouth and ease the bitterness, but Lu Bing slowly shook his head. "I'm not a child; a little bitterness is fine. It's good to feel the bitterness—it's much better than having no sensation at all."
Wei Caiwei noticed that Lu Bing's speech was still somewhat slurred, as if he were talking with food in his mouth, but his meaning was clear enough for others to understand. She was instantly amazed by Imperial Physician Song's exceptional medical skills, far beyond her own abilities. Her adoptive parents and Ding Wu were right—the capital was a place where dragons and tigers hid, full of talented and extraordinary individuals.
"Help me sit up," Lu Bing said.
Seeing her once-mighty father now as fragile and helpless as an infant, Lu Ying felt heartbroken but showed no sign of it on her face. Forcing herself to stay strong, she repeatedly told herself that her father would surely recover. She helped him shift from lying down to a semi-reclining position, propping several pillows behind his back.
Bound by blood, Lu Bing comforted her in return, "I'll get better soon; don't worry. When people get old, they all get sick."
Only now did Lu Ying understand why her father had suddenly started asking every day whether she was eating her three meals on time and urging her not to stay up late and to go to bed early. It turned out her father's health had taken a serious turn, and he hoped she wouldn't follow in his footsteps.
Lu Ying nodded, "I know. I've already eaten dinner on time and even had an extra bowl of rice today."
"That's good, such an obedient child," Lu Bing reassured Lu Ying before turning his gaze to Wei Caiwei, who was leaning on her crutch. "You may sit to reply."
Wei Caiwei sat on the rosewood chair by the couch. Wang Daxia also moved a lightweight official's armchair to sit, but Lu Bing stopped him, "Not you. You're a young, strong lad; standing for a while won't hurt."
Lu Ying added, "Since you had the spare time to climb a tree, cut branches, and make a crutch, you must have energy to spare. No need to sit."
Wang Daxia stood up straight.
Lu Bing looked at Wei Caiwei and asked, "Do you know why I called you here?"
Trying to trick me again. Wei Caiwei replied, "This common woman does not know."Lu Bing asked, "I heard you just met with Ding Rukui—why have you been concealing your acquaintance with Ding Wu all along? Did you come to the capital to act as a bridge between the father and son?"
So it was about this matter!
Wei Caiwei remained unruffled and replied, "This common woman has never deliberately concealed anything. If no one inquired about my past in Tieling, how could I bring it up? It is true that I came to the capital with the intention of finding a way to relay messages between the father and son, exchange news, and report their safety. But this matter requires opportunity, and I never expected to meet Ding Rukui so soon."
Wang Daxia had already learned about Wei Caiwei's relationship with the Ding family while carrying her on his back earlier. Lu Ying was the last to discover she had such a background and remarked, "So you're not an ordinary widow after all."
"Not necessarily a widow," Lu Bing, despite his severe illness, did not forget to impart his experience to his own flesh and blood, saying, "One may know a person's face but not their heart. To uncover someone's background, start with the people around them. According to the Embroidered Uniform Guard's surveillance of Ding Wu in Tieling, both Ding Wu and she remain unmarried to this day. When did a widow come into the picture?"
Lu Bing's gaze was sharp as a torch, instantly exuding a murderous aura that made it impossible to tell he had just suffered a stroke. "You have impersonated the real Wei Caiwei. In fact, it's highly likely you killed her on her way to the capital, obtained her Household Certificate, and assumed her identity to come here."
The atmosphere immediately grew tense.
Wang Daxia leaped three feet in shock, exclaiming, "Lord Lu! Murder demands retribution! Without evidence, my lord, you shouldn't make baseless accusations!"
Wei Caiwei and her father, Lu Ying, naturally sided with her father, finding his reasoning sound. She said, "Wang Daxia, if you keep interrupting recklessly, you'll have to leave."
Wang Daxia covered his big mouth. He couldn't leave—if he weren't here, Wei Caiwei would be even more isolated and helpless.
Lu Ying said to Wei Caiwei, "All signs indicate that you are highly suspicious. I assure you, I will not wrong an innocent person. However, if you refuse to cooperate, speak evasively, only disclose what benefits you, and continually hide things from us, causing us to take detours, once bitter consequences arise, you will have to bear them alone.Lu Bing and Lu Ying played the roles of the stern and gentle interrogators, finally showing some tacit understanding.
"I did not kill anyone," Wei Caiwei said. "This common girl is Wei Caiwei herself. Apart from lying about my marital status, everything I have disclosed is true. Lord Lu is wise—this common girl is indeed unmarried."
What?
Lu Bing and Lu Ying exchanged glances: they had successfully tricked her into revealing the truth.
Wei Caiwei suddenly changing her self-reference from "this common woman" to "this common girl" shocked Wang Daxia the most. He leaped even higher than before, forgetting Lu Ying's warning, and pointed at Wei Caiwei, saying:
"You, you, you! You're not a widow? You deceived me? Where did the spirit tablet of your deceased husband at home come from? What about you repeatedly saying your heart belongs only to your late husband? And you—you even set a place and laid out chopsticks to offer meals to your deceased husband at every meal! You acted more like a widow than a real one! You completely fooled me!"
Wang Daxia was like a girl deceived by a playboy, who had given her body and heart and even become pregnant, only to find out he was actually a scoundrel with a family."Disguise is meant to make oneself appear credible. If pretending to be a widow only makes me seem suspicious, then this disguise is unnecessary." Since I'm going to pretend to be a widow, the more authentic the better. A spirit tablet, offerings, and words mourning a deceased husband are all essential." Wei Caiwei removed the white silk headscarf from her bun and said:
"In Tieling, my parents were renowned doctors on Xiangya Mountain. I assisted them since childhood, and all the patients knew me. By age fourteen, I was already diagnosing patients alongside my parents at the clinic. Most locals trusted my medical skills and didn't look down on me for being young and unmarried. But after leaving Tieling for the capital, while practicing medicine along the way to earn travel expenses, few people in unfamiliar places were willing to believe that an unknown unmarried young girl could understand gynecology and perform medical miracles..."
"Having faced too many rejections during the journey with dismal business, as soon as I entered the capital, I completely transformed my appearance. I went to a clothing store to buy plain garments and to a coffin shop to purchase a blank spirit tablet, disguising myself as a married widow. To outsiders, only a woman who has been married would understand the troubles and illnesses of married women, know about pregnancy preservation and childbirth matters, and thus be willing to consult me for medical treatment."
Wei Caiwei's explanation was seamless. Though it involved disguise and lies, it was understandable.
In her previous life, Wei Caiwei only sought revenge and didn't care about business, always presenting herself as an unmarried maiden.
In this life, Wei Caiwei needed to prevent her dead husband from self-castration after revenge, so she had to stay here. Thus, from the first day of her rebirth, she planned her backup plan - practicing medicine as a widow.
Wang Daxia still found it hard to believe. Being afraid of ghosts, during that night they stayed together, he had been anxiously explaining to the spirit tablet that it wasn't his idea to come - that the widow had invited him to stay over.
If I had known this earlier, why did I agonize over it!
My sincere heart was ultimately misplaced!
Wang Daxia was filled with regret, pointing at Wei Caiwei, "What about the spirit tablet inscribed with 'Spirit Tablet of Deceased Husband Wang Erlang'? My surname is Wang, and I'm also the second son. What do you mean by this?"
Wei Caiwei said, "Oh, the spirit tablet was newly purchased and originally blank. That day when Agent Chen took me to see the property, I immediately liked that house. Agent Chen mentioned the neighbors were the Wang family, a hereditary thousand-household official family for five generations, known for their charity and good reputation. I rented the house on the spot. When I returned to the inn, I took out the spirit tablet, mixed the cinnabar evenly, and casually wrote 'Spirit Tablet of Deceased Husband Wang Erlang' on it."
Wang Daxia asked, "Why Erlang? Dalang would have been just as easy to write!"
Wei Caiwei replied, "I don't know either. I just casually wrote 'two' - probably because the character for 'two' has the simplest strokes. I didn't mean anything else. If you mind, I can go back and buy a new spirit tablet and change it to 'Spirit Tablet of Deceased Husband Wang Dalang'."
Previously, it was always Wang Daxia who left others speechless with his remarks. Today he finally saw what it was like to be on the receiving end. Infuriated by Wei Caiwei's glib explanation, he said exasperatedly:
"Wang Dalang won't do either - you can't use my surname! Now that we've exposed your widow disguise, why keep a spirit tablet at home? Who are you putting on this act for?""For showing to clients," Wei Caiwei explained. "Women in the capital are quite generous and tend to trust widows more. I've only been here a few days but have already earned some silver. Since I usually present myself as a widow, suddenly appearing as an unmarried woman would make me seem like a fraud. How would patients dare to consult me then?"
Wei Caiwei looked at Lu Bing and Lu Ying, "Lord Lu, Commander Lu, my disguise as a widow wasn't meant with ill intent—it was merely to make a living in a foreign place. I've never harmed anyone through this. After this matter concludes, I'll continue practicing medicine as a widow to help others. I beg both of you to permit and help keep this small secret for me."
Wang Daxia fumed, "Who says you haven't harmed anyone? You've hurt me!"
Author's Note: Wang Daxia: The more beautiful a woman is, the better she lies. My sincere heart was ultimately misplaced!
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