I become a god in another world

Chapter 374 Madam Lu
Chapter 374

Madam Lu speaks softly and gives a good impression.

She was very nervous facing Zhao Fusheng. She half lowered her head and drooped her eyelids. She did not dare to look directly into Zhao Fusheng's eyes. While she spoke, she kept reaching out to lift her temples and tuck them behind her ears, showing her anxiety vividly.

Zhao Fusheng looked at her expression and guessed what she was thinking.

Although Zhao Fusheng tried to speak as quietly as possible when speaking to Madam Lu, she was the Commander-in-Chief of the Demon Suppression Command after all, and Ding Datong and others were very respectful to her, which to some extent deepened Madam Lu's fear of her.

Thinking of this, she turned her head and winked at Meng Po.

Meng Po understood the meaning of the music and immediately stepped forward, put her hands in the large pockets on the front of her apron, and said with a smile:
"I don't think Madam Lu's accent sounds like that of a local."

Although Zhao Fusheng smiled when she spoke, her eyes were sharp and she looked intimidating without being angry.

In comparison, Meng Po is old, with sagging cheeks that make her face look slightly round. When she smiles, she looks kind and amiable, just like an old person next door, which makes people feel even more intimate.

She spoke slowly, which effectively eased Mrs. Lu's inner tension.

As soon as Meng Po finished speaking, Madam Lu pursed her lips and smiled, and whispered:

"This mother-in-law heard it? I'm originally from Tongzhou——"

"Tongzhou?" Meng Po raised her voice and said with a smile:

"I never expected to meet a fellow villager when I was out and about."

After finishing speaking, he added:
“It’s fate.”

"Is mother-in-law also from Tongzhou?" When Mrs. Lu heard this, she raised her head curiously.

This raise of her head made it easier for Zhao Fusheng to look at her.

She had a pretty face, with slightly round cheeks, a slightly pointed chin, round eyes, a slightly short nose and a short philtrum.

Although there were fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and between her eyebrows, Madam Lu looked young and seemed to be in her early thirties.

"I am originally from Changzhou, and later married to Tongzhou. My husband's family is from Tongzhou." Meng Po deliberately added a few more words.

This casual conversation immediately let down some of Lu's defenses. She smiled, and two scissor-like lines appeared at the corners of her eyes:
"Then we are indeed fellow villagers. My mother's family is originally from Caoyang County, Tongzhou—"

With these two greetings, the tense atmosphere immediately relaxed a lot.

Madam Lu's tense body also relaxed slightly.

Zhao Fusheng was observant. After realizing this, he immediately cast his eyes on the child in Lu's arms and asked with a smile:
"Is this your son?"

When Madam Lu first heard her speak, her body tensed up, then relaxed a little.

She looked down at the child lovingly, then reached out to tidy up the child's hair and said softly:
"Yes, this is my son, his name is Pan'er."

"Pan'er?" Zhao Fusheng was stunned.

Mrs. Lu's real name was 'Chen Duozi', and now she named her son 'Lu Pan'er', which means both Duozi and Pan'er, as if she really needed a son.

"Well, this is my mother—" She sighed, and stopped talking. Then she looked down at her son with a face full of pity:

"I was afraid that the adults would not like the child's noise, so I told the child not to run around randomly, but he ran over here by himself and disturbed the adults."

"It's okay. Since we are here, let's chat for a while." Zhao Fusheng said with a smile:

"This ship will have to sail for another month, so we still have a lot of time to get along with each other."

Madam Lu smiled shyly:
"The lord is right."

Zhao Fusheng saw that she was gradually letting down her guard and said:
"We just arrived in Changping County last night. When we set out today, we heard Ding Datong mention that your family was traveling with us. We don't know much about you yet." After she finished speaking, she saw that Madam Lu seemed a little scared, so she hurriedly said:
"I see there are people of all ages in your group. Is it inconvenient to travel this time?"

Madam Lu nodded:

"Your Excellency has a good eye. We are indeed traveling with our family, so it is not very convenient to travel. Fortunately, thanks to your Excellency, it is much more convenient to take a boat."

After such a back and forth conversation, when Zhao Fusheng asked further questions, he noticed that Madam Lu's muscles relaxed, and she was no longer as frightened as before. Her tone of voice became much more normal when she spoke, and there was no tremor in her voice.

She knew what was going on, so she asked directly:

"How many people are there in total?"

Madam Lu answered obediently:
"There were 12 of us in total, including my mother and I."

"Who are they?" Zhao Fusheng asked again.

Madam Lu said:

"I am with my grandfather and his wife, the two children of the Lu family, my uncle's family of three, my mother and sister, and three servants."

There weren't many members of the Lu family traveling together, but the titles mentioned by Madam Lu sounded quite complicated.

Zhao Fusheng changed his mind and asked again:

"I heard from Ding Datong that you plan to go north to Shangyang County?"

When Madam Lu heard this, a look of worry appeared on her face and she nodded:
"Yes, we, we plan to go with the adults to Shangyang County and get off the ship near Wenxing County--"

"Did something happen at home?" Zhao Fusheng asked.

Mrs. Lu's eyes gradually turned red, and she was at a loss. Just as she was in a dilemma, she suddenly heard someone calling her from a distance:

"Chen Duozi!"

The voice that was shouting was a woman.

The people who were talking were interrupted by the sound and turned their heads at the same time. Madam Lu's face showed a trace of helplessness mixed with timidity.

"Hey, here I come." She responded, then turned to look at Zhao Fusheng and explained in a low voice:

"It's my aunt." She said a little uneasy at the end, pressing the child's shoulders with both hands:

"Sir, my family is calling me, I have to go back."

Zhao Fusheng didn't say anything, but turned to look at the woman.

The woman was about forty years old. She had her hair in a simple bun, pinned with only a silver hairpin. She wore a scarlet top and a thick blue skirt.

Her face was long and thin, with two wrinkles at the corners of her mouth, and because of the drooping corners of her eyes, she looked a little fierce.

Seeing Zhao Fusheng's gaze, she seemed a little scared, her lips trembled, and she timidly shouted:
"grown ups."

Zhao Fusheng ignored her greeting and turned to look at Kuai Manzhou.

The few of them had been talking for a while, the little girl had been playing with the ball for a while, and the child in Madam Lu's arms had tears in his eyes and was biting his lips to hold back his tears.

She said:
"Man Zhou, if you 'pick up' your brother's ball, return it to him."

When Kuai Manyun heard this, he immediately became very happy and responded in a crisp voice:
"it is good!"

She didn't really want the ball, she just didn't like the fact that others had it but she didn't, so she wanted it immediately and took it away by force.

She thought that based on Zhao Fusheng's temper he would yell at her for stealing other people's belongings, but she didn't expect that Zhao Fusheng didn't scold her. Instead, he protected her. This greatly satisfied Kuai Manzhou's psychology and made her feel very good.

Seeing that she was defending herself at this time, the child felt indescribably happy, and even when she asked her to hand over the ball, the child did not resist.

She put away the ghost line, put the ball in her palm, and passed it to Lu Paner:

"Give."

Lu Paner's snot flowed into her mouth. She looked at Madam Lu timidly, put one hand in her mouth and sucked it, making a sizzling sound, but she didn't dare to reach out to take it.

"Why don't you thank your sister, you naughty child..." Madam Lu said in a gentle voice. When the child heard her words, he reached out to take the ball back from Kuai Manzhou and replied obediently:
"Thank you sister."

"You're welcome." Zhao Fusheng said with a smile.

After this matter was settled, Madam Lu looked timidly at the woman in the distance and whispered:
"I am sorry to bother you, sir. I will leave you now."

"Go."

Zhao Fusheng said calmly.

The mother and son walked away hand in hand. When they approached the woman, she scolded:
"Before we boarded the ship, the adults told us not to mess with these nobles. Now that Old Master Lu is gone, the family's livelihood is becoming increasingly difficult, and Zhu'er is getting married soon. You should not cause trouble. If something goes wrong, it will implicate us—"

Amid the woman's repeated scoldings, Madam Lu was in good spirits and responded in a low voice.

……

After the three men left, the deck returned to silence.

Meng Po looked at the backs of the people and frowned:

"Ms. Lu looks like she's having a hard time—"

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly:
"She shouldn't be Lu Yuhe's first wife."

Meng Po was slightly surprised when she heard this.

She had traveled far and wide over the years and dealt with a lot of people, so she was able to make out some clues from the few words she exchanged with Madam Lu.

But Zhao Fusheng is still young, and his vision is so vicious.

"Your Excellency has noticed?"

"There are a total of 9 people from the Lu family on this trip." Mrs. Lu was also very interesting when she mentioned these nine people.

When she mentioned Lu Yuhe, even though they were husband and wife, she called him "Master".

This title lacks the intimacy and casualness of husband and wife, but is more respectful.

Zhao Fusheng guessed:
"Perhaps she was originally a concubine and was promoted to the first wife."

She was not making a groundless guess, but based it on the "uncle" mentioned by Madam Lu herself.

Coupled with her aunt's scolding attitude towards her, it is very likely that Madam Lu originally came from a poor family, which is why this aunt was so casual when advising her.

When Meng Po heard her say this, she immediately became interested and asked:
"Then you may be able to guess why the Lu family went to Wenxing County, Shangyang County?" After saying this, he smiled and said:
"If you can guess this, you are truly amazing!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Kuai Manzhou, who had originally spread out his ten short and thin fingers, also raised his head curiously.

Seeing the child's interest, Zhao Fusheng also became interested and said with a smile:

"I guess it's for Lu Yuhe's daughter to marry."

"what?"

When Meng Po heard this, she was stunned.

"To send off a bride?" Her mind raced, and she immediately remembered what her aunt's wife had said before: Zhu'er was about to get married.

"One is called Zhu'er and the other is called Pan'er. Madam Lu mentioned that they have a pair of children." Zhao Fusheng said:

"Lu Pan'er was born to Chen Duozi, so Zhu'er might be born to Lu Yu and his first wife."

Judging from the aunt's disrespectful attitude towards Chen Duozi, the uncle's family traveling with the Lu family should be relatives of the original wife.

To this day, the uncle’s family still has contacts with the Lu family and can travel together, which shows that they have a good relationship. From this, we can infer that “Lu Yuhe should be a widower whose wife has died.”

Meng Po was surprised, then nodded in agreement:

"Your Excellency is right."

Zhao Fusheng said again:
"Lu's aunt mentioned that Zhu'er was going to get married soon, but Chen Duozi also said that she was going with her daughter, and since her aunt was going with her, they must be sending her off to get married."

At this point, she frowned:
"But if it is really a wedding, it should be a happy event, but the Lu family did not look happy. Instead, they looked sad when they mentioned going back to Wenxing County, Shangyang County--"

She remembered what Ding Datong said this morning when he said an old friend wanted to go with him: something happened at home.

From this, it can be seen that the Lu family’s marriage may have other twists and turns.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said:
"Forget it, stop meddling in other people's business. We are just traveling together anyway. As long as nothing goes wrong along the way, we will separate when we reach Wenxing County."

Meng Po was also a person who had experienced many ups and downs. She nodded when she heard this:

"Your Excellency is right. We are here to escort the ghost fetus, so it would be best if we don't create any complications."

They chatted for a few more words, and seeing that the thick morning fog showed no signs of dissipating, once the novelty of being on the ship wore off, they all returned to their cabins to rest.

After noon, a maid came on the boat to call everyone to eat, saying that the meal was prepared and everyone should go to the hall to eat.

Zhao Fusheng had not eaten much in the morning, so he was not very hungry at this moment. However, it was boring to sit in the cabin. If there were many people in the hall, he could sit down and listen to people's gossip. At the very least, it would be good to listen to Ding Datong talk about the ghost cases that had occurred in Changping County in the past two years, so as to broaden his horizons.

The three of them went to the hall and saw that all the people from Changping County were there.

Several familiar faces seen last night were all there. In addition to the ghost riders, there were also about a dozen messengers. When they saw Zhao Fusheng coming, they all stood up in unison and their expressions became much more reserved.

Zhao Fusheng gestured to everyone to take their seats.

People from Wan'an County were also there, and they came towards her.

There were five or six large tables in the cabin, with various stews on them.

It was winter now, and a lot of food had been stored in the cabin in advance. The variety was quite rich, and the air was filled with the aroma of food.

Ding Datong led Zhao Fusheng to the main seat and sat down. She took a look at the dishes and then turned to look at Ding Datong:

"What were you talking about earlier? You were talking so excitedly."

Ding Datong said quickly:

"Speaking of the Lu family, sir, the woman from the Lu family sent a bowl of rice earlier, saying that she made it herself and came to apologize to you for offending you today."

After saying that, Ding Datong pointed to a covered casserole on the table.

The casserole was bigger than a soup bowl and had a lid. From the tiny holes in the lid, hot steam rose slowly, mixed with a special aroma.

Seeing this, Meng Po reached out to lift the lid.

Under the lid was a bowl of millet rice, the rice was shiny and clumpy, and it was topped with toppings made of lean meat, bamboo shoots and mushrooms. The topping soaked the rice and looked very appetizing.

Meng Po's eyes lit up and she praised:
"Ms. Lu is really skillful."

After hearing her praise, Ding Datong secretly glanced at Zhao Fusheng's expression and was very satisfied. His impression of the Lu family immediately improved, and he also followed suit in praising:

"You are quite sensible. My Lord, you can try it later. If you like it, let this Lady Lu come to serve you later."

Zhao Fusheng smiled as Meng Po brought the clean bowl to serve the rice, and replied to Ding Datong:
"We are just borrowing the boat to travel with you. There is no need for us to do such menial work. It is enough to just try this kind of food once."

Ding Datong disagrees:
"It is her blessing to be able to serve the master. If I could cook, I would cook for the master every day."

"..."

Zhang Chuanshi, who was standing by, heard this and showed contempt on his face. He wanted to complain, but he didn't know how to start - biting people at random is a technical job, and when it comes to Zhao Fusheng, Zhang Chuanshi became cautious.

　Today is a good day
　　(End of this chapter)