As expected, this man recognized her, and even knew that she is cross-dressing! That is crazy!She did not reply. However, she accelerated her walking speed.
Eventually, when she reached the courtyard, the man was no longer following her. But Liu Wei was sceptical that he was hiding somewhere spying on her. She imagined his burning gazes on her back, which makes her extremely uncomfortable.
She returned to her room. When Xiao Li saw his mother"s return, he immediately dashed into his mother"s embrace, "Dad, you are finally back!"
"Mhm." She mindlessly replied and sat on the bedside.
Xiao Li gently climbed onto his mother"s outer robe, "Dad, are you unhappy?"
"No."
"Is it the same uncle just now that provoked dad? Xiao Li knew that that uncle is a bad guy! The moment dad sees him, dad becomes unhappy!" The little boy said indignantly, pouting his round baby cheeks.
Liu Wei"s anger dissipates, amused by what her son said, "You know a lot considering for a child."
Liu Xiao Li continued to squirm into his mother"s embrace, "Anyway, whoever dad doesn"t like, Xiao Li doesn"t like too!"
Unknown to the reason, Liu Wei became uncomfortable when Xiao Li called her "Dad".
Who knew that his real dad had appeared?
Liu Wei felt annoyed with that thought. Isn"t it just a one-night stand? Why is it so complicated!
The ancient times are so bothersome!
……
During dinner, Liu Wei brought Xiao Li to eat out at a restaurant. She did not want to have a meal with that man.
Before that, she went on a trip down to the post office to send a letter to Qu Jiang.
After leaving the post office, she immediately went into the restaurant located opposite.
This restaurant is the only good restaurant that serves tasty food in Fu Ping county. And because of that, the restaurant is filled with many people during dinner time. Every floor was occupied with customers.
The waiter greeted them to the second floor. Who knew that the moment when they went up, Liu Wei totally understood what does the idiom "enemies on a narrow road" actually meant.
Seeing that handsome man seated next to the windows, her face stiffened. She immediately turned, wanting to walk away.
However, the moment she turned, a non-bearded middle-aged man, was blocking her path, "Sir Liu, my lord has invited you to have a meal together."
Liu Wei raised her brows. She recognized this person. He is one of the three suspects from yesterday. When they returned from the Li Family village, they were no longer in the Ya Men. No one knew where the three suspects went because the two bailiffs fainted at the lobby.
When the bailiffs woke up and mentioned that they were attacked by the suspects, the magistrate was so angry that he wanted to capture them. However, it was put aside since they were not the murderers and the situation about Li Yong was tricky.
She thought these three people would have left. Yet, they are still roaming freely around the Fu Ping county without care.
Liu Wei looked at the man in front of her. Her face slightly darkened, "I am not acquainted with your lord."
"You will be acquainted once you meet him." The middle-aged man replied, neither servile nor overbearing. As if not letting her go unless she meets his lord.
Liu Wei frowned. In the end, she thought that since she needed to eat and someone offered to treat, she might as well take up the offer. She nodded, "Alright, I"ll meet your lord."
The middle-aged man was satisfied. He brought her to a private room.
When they reached the entrance, the middle-aged man knocked on the door. He called, "My lord."
A while later, an old man voice spoke from the inside, "Come in."
When the door opened, Liu Wei could see the table filled with a variety of dishes. Seated on the main seat was a poised and elegant old man wearing luxurious robe and accessories. He had wrinkles on his face, but he wore a big smile.
"You came."
Liu Wei lightly nodded, "Old man."
"Come over and take a seat."
Liu Wei led her son to enter. Liu Xiao Li recognized this grandpa. He met him at the frontcourt yesterday. Tons of question marks were written on his baby face. He could not understand why the grandpa was so polite even though they only met once, and even wants to treat them to a meal.
"Dad……" He called out weakly, pulling on to the hem of his mother"s robe.
Liu Wei held her son"s hands and carried him up. She put him down on a chair and sat down on one next to him.
Seeing how easy-going Liu Wei is without feeling unrestrained, he smiled, "Forgive me if I have caused any inconvenience for suddenly inviting you for a meal."
"No worries. May I know what I can help you with?"
The old man waved his hands, "We can talk about this later. Let"s eat first."
Liu Wei looked polite on the surface. But a warning alarm was ringing in her heart. In fact, she had already felt that something was unusual about this old man. No matter was his stance, aura, or his facial feature with that small smile, she could something was different.
It was as if she had a gut feeling that this person was not that simple even though he did nothing.
For now, Liu Wei treats it as her sixth sense for being a woman.
All the dishes that were prepared were made of precious ingredients. At least in the Fu Ping county, it was considered the best quality.
However, the old man did not eat much. He only took three bites for every dish, and some he only ate a bite.
Furthermore, the middle-aged servant was at his side, serving soup and putting food on his plate.
She observed while she ate. After observing a period, her heart clenched.
Her fingers trembled as the hand holding on to the chopsticks became numbed.
"Why are you not eating Sir Liu? Are the dishes not fit to your taste?"
The voice of the old man tremored the whole room. Liu Wei barely managed to calm the waves of her heart. She put down her chopsticks and calmly replied, "The dishes are good. It is just that I cannot eat much during the evening."
Liu Xiao Li had telepathic connections with his mother. Seeing that his mother has put down her chopsticks, he had also placed it down; Obediently placed his hands on his knees and sat with a straight posture.
The old man"s eyes were smiling. Leaning on his chair, he sighed, "Sir Liu is smart. I presumed you already know my ident.i.ty."
Liu Wei understood what he was trying to say.
Initially, it was a wild guess. But this time, Liu Wei could confirm.
Liu Wei pursed her lips and muttered, "Sorry to be rude. Could I ask if the man standing next to you yesterday was the General standing guard outside now?"
The old man laughed, signalling to the middle-aged servant.
The servant bowed and opened the door. He announced, "Third Young Master, the lord is inviting you in."
Following on, Liu Wei saw the man she doesn"t want to see the most, striding into the room charmingly.
The last expectation of Liu Wei shattered. She could not define what was it she was feeling.
The middle-aged servant closed the door and returned to his spot next to the old man side. Liu Wei muttered, directing at the servant, "How may I address this eunuch?"
Liu Wei mentioned "eunuch" as her last test.
But the other party only bowed and calmly replied, "Your slave is Qi Fu."
Liu Wei"s heart sank. She managed to maintain her vigour and smiled, "So it is Eunuch Qi. Greetings to Eunuch Qi."
After she finished, she immediately stood up and gave a deep bow to the old man seated at the host seat, "Greetings to the Emperor. Your humble official, Liu Wei, is a coroner from the Qu Jiang Government. I beg your forgiveness for not giving proper respects to the Emperor as it is outside of court and the Emperor is wearing casual robes."
Liu Wei did not know if she was considered too lucky or unlucky to be able to chance upon the Emperor at such a remote and desolate place like the Fu Ping county.
The old man simply waved his hands, "No worries. I am simply mingling with the people incognito. I do not want this to be made public. Take a seat first."
This time around, Liu Wei would not sit no matter what.
She secretly took a glance at Rong Leng and wonder if he had already reported to the Emperor about her cross-dressing.
"Ah-Leng, have you mentioned that case with Sir Liu already?"
Liu Wei"s heart suddenly clenched.