Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 57

Chapter 57: Young Master Lu

Boom—

A vast spiritual consciousness spread out like a tidal wave, surging instantly from the backyard to the front, scrubbing through Huanxue Villa from the inside out.

In the servant boys’ room in the front courtyard, Shen Yan scrambled up from his bed, hurriedly threw on his outer robe, and ran outside. Long Shaoye and Fang Renji also sat up with bewildered faces. The powerful spiritual consciousness just now was like a towering wave, slapping them awake from their dreams; they hadn’t yet realized what was happening.

Soon, a dialogue between Shen Yan and a familiar voice drifted in from the front courtyard.

“Where is he?” the person asked.

“…May I ask whom the Villa Master is seeking?” Shen Yan’s momentum was clearly suppressed, but he wasn’t crushed; he braced himself and asked back.

“Who else could it be?” the person said coldly.

“If the Villa Master is asking about Steward Rong, please forgive this lowly one, but I do not know where Steward Rong has gone,” Shen Yan’s voice sounded somewhat stifled.

“Yan’s gone crazy!”

Long Shaoye and Fang Renji were huddled behind the window, peeking out through a small hole they had just poked in the paper.

Hearing Shen Yan’s answer, Long Shaoye got anxious.

“Steward Rong clearly went to the Shen Family Manor. Why did he say he didn’t know!”

Long Shaoye was whispering, thinking only Fang Renji next to him could hear. Unexpectedly, before his voice even faded, one of the two people standing in the courtyard turned his head.

Shen Bingsi’s gaze pierced through the night, coming straight for Long Shaoye.

Long Shaoye felt his heart tremble and instinctively tried to dodge to the side of the window. However, in the next instant, he felt someone grab his back collar, dragging him off the bed and onto the floor.

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Shen Bingsi had entered the servant boys’ room unnoticed and was standing on the floor in front of the sleeping platform. Long Shaoye had been dragged right to his feet. Terrified, he couldn’t get up for a long time.

“V-Villa Master.” Long Shaoye looked up to see Shen Bingsi looming over him like a dark cloud. His voice trembled.

“You tell me. Where did Rong Xie go?” Shen Bingsi’s voice sounded as if it were dipped in glacial ice.

“I-I…” Long Shaoye’s mind went blank. Instinctively, he spilled everything. “Brother Rong went to the Shen family… He… he said he was going to get something and would… would be back soon…”

Shen Bingsi narrowed his eyes slightly.

“When did he leave?”

“H-half a month ago…”

Shen Bingsi asked two more questions, to which Long Shaoye shook his head in ignorance.

Suddenly, the pressure constricting Long Shaoye’s chest vanished. He could breathe again, though his legs were still weak, leaving him slumped on the floor.

Shen Bingsi stepped over his body and strode out. He transformed into a streak of golden light, vanishing into the night beyond the threshold.

“…”

After Shen Bingsi left, Shen Yan came in to help Long Shaoye up. Fang Renji also climbed down from the bed, bringing a handkerchief to wipe his face.

“Yan, I’m so useless,” Long Shaoye’s voice carried a hint of sobbing. “The Grand Villa Master was too terrifying. I couldn’t control myself at all and said everything… Did I get Brother Rong into trouble?”

“It’s okay,” Shen Yan comforted Long Shaoye. “The Grand Villa Master is a Nascent Soul cultivator after all. It’s normal that we can’t withstand his spiritual pressure. If you hadn’t drawn him away, I would have told him where Brother Rong went eventually. The urgent matter now is to tell Brother Rong quickly that the Grand Villa Master has gone to find him.”

“Right, right…” Long Shaoye let out a small sigh of relief.

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Shen Yan took out the Transmission Jade from his bosom and sent a contact request using the method Rong Xie had taught him. The jade floated in mid-air, flickering with green light for a while.

Soon, the call connected, and a gentle voice came through: “Shen Yan? Has something happened?”

Shen Yan recounted how Shen Bingsi had come out of seclusion, found Rong Xie missing, and forced them to reveal his whereabouts.

“Shen Bingsi is out?” Rong Xie was surprised.

“Yes… Brother Rong, he might be coming to find you very soon,” Shen Yan paused. “…Will this bring you any trouble?”

“Not at all. If he comes, things will actually be easier to resolve,” Rong Xie said calmly.

Hearing Rong Xie say this, the three little ones finally relaxed.

“Don’t worry, it won’t affect anything. I’ve already arrived at the Shen family, and everything is progressing smoothly. Tomorrow morning I’ll go to the yamen to get the stamp, and the matter will be mostly done…”

Rong Xie stopped halfway; someone on his end seemed to be calling him. Rong Xie answered with a smile, then turned back to remind Shen Yan and the others that it rained often in late summer and autumn, so they shouldn’t forget to bring in the laundry dried during the day. Other matters could wait until he returned.

Ending the transmission, Shen Yan patted Long Shaoye on the shoulder, and Long Shaoye finally felt at ease.

“But, Yan, I still don’t understand. Why did you seem to be intentionally defying the Grand Villa Master when he first asked you?” Long Shaoye recalled that moment and looked at Shen Yan in confusion.

“Hmm… I just don’t like that look of his, acting like he’s always right about everything,” Shen Yan said.

“Shh—shh shh shh!” Long Shaoye immediately pounced to cover Shen Yan’s mouth. “Yan, are you crazy? You can’t say things like that!”

Thousands of miles away, in Heyang County, at the Shen Family Manor.

Rong Xie put down the Transmission Jade and walked out of the guest room.

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On the veranda outside the guest room, a dashing young gentleman with an outstanding temperament and tall stature, dressed in ink-bamboo brocade robes, was waiting.

The gentleman held a folding fan inscribed with the character “Lu,” fanning himself slowly and waiting patiently. Seeing Rong Xie come out, he closed the fan and cupped his hands in greeting.

“Junior Brother Rong, forgive my intrusion. Were you busy just now?”

“Just a small matter at the villa; it’s resolved now,” Rong Xie smiled. “Master Lu, please.”

“After you, Junior Brother Rong.” The gentleman surnamed Lu made a “please” gesture, patiently waiting for Rong Xie to go first before following unhurriedly.

It had only been a day since Rong Xie arrived at the Shen Family Manor. During the day, he had met Old Master Shen, Second Uncle Shen, and others. Then he had made the rounds meeting relatives from various branches of the Shen family. Drinking tea, smiling, talking about Shen Bingsi—it had been non-stop. His face was stiff; it felt like ten years’ worth of social obligations and family visits had been crammed into this single day.

However, things were progressing even more smoothly than expected.

Just as he had anticipated, the Shen family members, who usually didn’t give Rong Xie a pleasant look, became immediately proactive upon hearing that he might be getting married and establishing a family. They practically wished they could find out who the other half was right then and there, pack the two of them up, and send them into the bridal chamber. They even generously offered to host the wedding banquet at the Shen Family Manor, declaring that the Shen family was Rong Xie’s family. Whether Rong Xie was marrying into another family or setting up his own household, the Shen family would be his strongest backing.

Of course, only a ghost would believe that. Based on Rong Xie’s years of experience dealing with the Shen family, the real meaning of these words was: A servant married out is like spilt water—getting out clean is the truth. Don’t expect the Shen family to take in any burdens. Rong Xie being on the household registry as a foster son is one thing, but don’t even think about getting his shy new wife or their future little burdens onto the Shen family tree.

This suited Rong Xie perfectly.

Rong Xie then went with the flow and proposed that he needed to move out of the Shen family and set up a separate household.

Upon hearing this, the Shen family members were momentarily dazed, suspecting their ears had deceived them—especially Old Master Shen and Second Uncle Shen. They repeatedly asked the maids and page boys around them what Rong Xie had just said, wondering if they had misheard. How could anyone listed on the noble Shen family household registry want to wipe their name from it?

An indescribable sourness rose in the chests of Old Master Shen and Second Uncle Shen. They felt their dignity had been greatly offended. Although Rong Xie had merely made a reasonable request calmly—that to marry his shy new wife, he had to move his identity from the Shen family registry—his calm attitude, devoid of any regret, annoyance, or sentimentality, deeply hurt the Shen family’s self-esteem. It reached the point where they began to doubt: Is Rong Xie moving his registry really, simply, for the sake of marriage?

Could there be some other conspiracy?

In the eyes of the Shen family, Rong Xie was by no means a simple, honest man. As the saying goes, a child’s character is apparent by age three. Rong Xie had shown a scheming nature even as a child. Before anyone could react, he had latched onto the young and ignorant Second Young Master, fully utilizing his charming means to firmly grasp the Second Young Master’s heart. Originally just an orphan with no parents, a low-class servant destined for the slave registry, he had somehow maneuvered until the Second Young Master stood up for him, raising hell to get him onto the Shen family registry and keeping him as a foster son with a different surname. Later, he even tested with three types of spiritual roots at the Lingjing Sect’s testing stone, leaping to become an inner sect disciple of the Lingjing Sect—a status even the legitimate young masters and ladies of the Shen family found hard to reach…

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Looking back at the past, one could predict the future. In the Shen family’s view, Rong Xie wouldn’t do business at a loss. Since he was pushing so actively to move his registry, he must be gaining some huge benefit from it—at least a benefit greater than remaining on the noble Shen family registry. Such benefits were likely rare. The Shen family couldn’t guess what it was, but they didn’t want to let Rong Xie off easily, allowing him to get what he wanted without any effort.

Thus, from the moment Rong Xie formally proposed moving his registry, the Shen family’s attitude underwent a subtle change. They were no longer in a hurry to bring out the documents and push the process forward. Instead, they sat down, drank tea, and began probing from various tricky angles about exactly who Rong Xie’s shy new wife was.

By this point, the situation had essentially reached a stalemate. Rong Xie faced only two choices: one was to continue talking about the arrogant young lady from a remote aristocratic family he had fabricated, but the more he said, the more likely he was to make a mistake; the second was to order Wang Mu, who was acting in secret, to proceed with Plan B.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, an unplanned character suddenly appeared on the scene, bringing Rong Xie powerful external support.

This person was Lu Yinglin of the Qinghe Lu Clan.

He was the dashing gentleman holding the “Lu” folding fan, waiting outside Rong Xie’s room.

The Qinghe Lu Clan and the Heyang Shen Clan were old acquaintances from generations past. Long ago, the two families had fled from the north together and settled in the upper reaches of the Qing River. Later, the Shen family moved to Heyang, and the two families rarely interacted.

Despite the infrequent contact, the Shen and Lu families still recognized each other. And this Lu Yinglin was a leader among the younger generation of the Lu family; even the Shen family had to offer a few words of praise when he was mentioned.

Lu Yinglin had a talent for cultivation but was naturally lively and disliked restraint. He had withdrawn from the Xuantian Sect’s inner sect early on, transferring to the Liujin Sect to do business. Later, he co-managed the Yuanbao Auction House with others and now held a very high position there.

This time, Lu Yinglin had come to the Lingjing Sect on business and incidentally visited a potential major client—Rong Xie.

Coincidentally, when they compared itineraries, Lu Yinglin happened to be returning to his hometown as well, traveling the same route as Rong Xie. So they changed their dinner plans to traveling back together, planning to discuss auction matters on the way.

As they chatted, Lu Yinglin learned about Rong Xie wanting to set up a separate household to marry a mysterious young lady who didn’t wish to be named.

At the time, Lu Yinglin had only asked a few casual questions, seemingly unconcerned with matters unrelated to business.

Who would have thought that upon arriving at the Shen family, during the tea gathering to which the Shen family had invited him, hearing the Shen family change their tone and repeatedly question Rong Xie about his mysterious partner, Lu Yinglin would unhurriedly interject:

“Oh, I have also heard of that wealthy young lady. It turns out the one she fancies is actually Junior Brother Rong. Truly a match made in heaven.”

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When Lu Yinglin said this, Rong Xie’s heart skipped a beat, and he couldn’t help but look at him.

He didn’t know what game Lu Yinglin was playing or why he suddenly started testifying for him.

Crucially, this mysterious young lady didn’t actually exist. What if the “wealthy young lady” in Lu Yinglin’s understanding conflicted with Rong Xie’s previous description?

However, Lu Yinglin’s subsequent responses made Rong Xie realize his worry was entirely superfluous.

Lu Yinglin spoke with a mix of truth and fiction, sounding so serious that even the Shen family couldn’t find fault. Listening from the side, Rong Xie almost had the illusion that this wealthy young lady really existed.

With a third party testifying, the Shen family had no choice but to believe it.

“In my opinion, Junior Brother Rong having a good place to go brings only benefits to the Shen family, not harm. The Shen family is located remotely and cannot provide support—our Lu family has suffered from this disadvantage as well. Having a reliable friend outside to look out for each other is even more precious. Once Junior Brother Rong establishes himself, it will be like Sword Saint Shen has a second harbor to shelter in… Old Master, Second Uncle Shen, don’t you think this junior makes sense?”

In the end, Lu Yinglin’s thorough speech removed the Shen family’s last shred of doubt. They agreed on the spot to take the necessary identity documents to the yamen the next day to process the transfer for Rong Xie.

The stalemate Rong Xie thought he couldn’t break was resolved just like that.

Although Lu Yinglin might have just helped Rong Xie to ensure his business proceeded smoothly, Rong Xie was deeply grateful and pondered finding an opportunity to properly thank him.

However, based on his observations, Lu Yinglin didn’t seem to lack anything. He didn’t know what gift to give, and treating him to a meal seemed too trivial.

Just as Rong Xie was fretting, Lu Yinglin mentioned that several young masters and ladies of the Shen family were drinking and admiring the moon in the garden, discussing major events in the cultivation world, and asked if Rong Xie wanted to go. Rong Xie usually declined such activities, but thinking he could learn more about Lu Yinglin, he agreed.

Talking as they walked, the two headed toward the garden.